A cosplayer says her movers broke nearly everything she owned in a cross-country move, including a sword she spent three months making

Between the packing and transportation, moving can be a stressful affair, which makes a good moving company invaluable. However, as cosplayer Margaux Millie recently shared on Instagram and TikTok, what do you do when the movers seemingly fail enough to leave you “financially devastated”? In a post that drew more than 100,000 views, Millie alleged that Texas-based All My Sons destroyed all her belongings during a cross-country move.

Millie’s video started with a look at a collector poster or graphic novel, sitting in a shattered frame. Then comes a montage of images: a desk that was broken in half, plastic containers that can’t even stand straight, broken shelves, torn-up boxes, bent art. In between the various images of broken belongings, she edited in an itemized list, all marked as damaged or missing, and alleged in the overlay text, “Itemized to around 12,000$ of damage.” 

Then came the clips. In one segment, you can see a mover attempting to handle a pile of broken plastic containers. Millie asks for clarification on some broken dresser drawers. In response, the man says, “No, the whole dresser is broken. So this is just the drawers. We took the drawers out, and we just… Boss told us to throw away the dresser.”

The company allegedly promised to make it right, but didn’t

In the post’s caption, Millie alleged, “From jump they lied to us (saying we were fully covered and that it was going to be a straight shot transport then putting it on a freight and losing it in New Jersey), only to then receive next to nothing intact.” When a commenter asked if the damage might have been because of how she packed things, pointing to her plastic totes, she pushed back. 

Millie claimed, “we paid them to pack it. Anything we didn’t have left in the totes they packed (notice the boxes say their name on them). And those plastic totes survived two cross country moves on trucks without an issue.” Her account could not be independently verified, and All My Sons has not publicly responded to her claims. However, it isn’t the first time All My Sons has faced these allegations.

In the three-minute clip, she showed her viewers that some of the damage was truly irreplaceable by sharing a clip of a sword she had crafted for a costume. In the clip, she alleged, “This was, uh, my dream thing to make. Spent three months making it. [They] cracked it in half, even though it had metal. See that clear metal rod.” She turns it to show the clean split. 

To show how All My Sons allegedly reacted, Millie edited in a clip from a phone call that she claimed was with a manager. In the call, he said, “We’re gonna make this right for you, regardless. Even without images. No matter what.” As he spoke, Millie added images of the purported settlement paperwork, where the company allegedly offered $1,471 in compensation against the $11,649.70 in estimated damages, noting in the overlay, “They did not make it right.” 

In her GoFundMe, she wrote that accepting that settlement would have required her to sign a release of liability, so she declined. In her post, Millie also says the company required photos for her to make a claim, but allegedly, the movers kept telling her that items were thrown away.

Her viewers were incredibly supportive. One user who identified as a mover noted that seeing boxes cut open and having furniture thrown away without the client’s knowledge are major red flags. Others suggested she file a police report and reach out to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

According to Petty Lawsuit, moving companies rank among the top 10 most complained-about businesses in the country. They claimed that moving scams, which include holding goods hostage, losing belongings, or bait-and-switch quotes, cost consumers up to $30 million every year. For interstate moves, where belongings are lost or damaged, the guide noted that you have nine months from the date of delivery to file a claim for lost or damaged goods.

Petty Lawsuit noted that federal law requires movers to provide a written estimate and offer two levels of liability: Released Value, which is free but only covers $0.60 per pound, and Full Value Protection, which costs extra but requires the mover to repair or replace items at their current value. 

If a mover ignores your claim, Petty Lawsuit wrote that the next steps often involve filing complaints with the FMCSA, the Better Business Bureau, and your state’s Attorney General. Many people find success by sending a formal demand letter via certified mail, which can often lead to a settlement without ever setting foot in a courtroom.