what is one of the biggest misconceptions that we have about how our bags are handle? >> that we care. tonight on "20/20" -- true confessions. all of the dirty, little secrets from the experts who know all, see all and tonight, tell all. at the movies. >> the theater owner is going to kill me for this. >> inside the movie theater ones the lights are down. >> it's the mile high club. >> dry cleaners using this. >> and nail salons. >> she said i have the perfect tool. >> we have a video of a wood sander being used on people's feet here.

>> it's always ready when you need it. plus, behind the scenes at the airport. >> you should assume this bag is going to be handled in the worst way. >> your luggage lost, found, stolen and worst -- >> here comes the really gross part. the dirty panties. >> you found someone else's underwear in your bag. >> they're spilling everything tonight. >> honestly, we're just trying to get your side of the story. here now, elizabeth vargas and david muir. tonight, with the weekend finally here, we ask a simple question -- do you have any weekend plans, any errands to run? before you go to the movie theater, the drycleaner, the spa, the stunning true confessions from the people on the other side of the counter. >> that's right, david, we're breaking out our spies and spy cameras. first, nail salons. you'll look at power tools and mani/pedi, in a completely different way.

here's reena ninan. >> reporter: these days, if you want make a splash on the red carpet, you have to have your nails masterfully manicured, the glitzier the better. just ask katy perry and actress zooey deschanel. and just this week at the oscars >> this is called a mani-cam. >> lupita nyong'o got as almost as much praise for her polish as her performance. but before you try and bedazzle your fingers and toes -- >> it's really not about the glitter and the polish anymore. >> reporter: listen to the warnings from this industry insider. what do you think is the one thing that nail salons just don't want the consumer to know? >> there is danger lurking everywhere. the potential for infection is greater than people realize. >> hi, joan. >> reporter: a salon owner and nail tech for 34 years, athena elliot rates other salons for her website. she says they aren't necessarily

safe because too many salons take shortcuts. >> it's a lucrative business. we are a $7.9 billion industry, and unfortunately, there's a lot of money to be made at your cost. >> reporter: what have you seen? >> dirty tools, dirty tubs. that's the one where i really cringe a lot. >> reporter: she cringes not only because it's gross, but because it's also potentially dangerous. possibly living inside those whirlpool tubs, fungus, e coli and other bacteria. that can cause cuticle infections, finger herpes, staph, mrsa and more. but to find out the dirty truth for ourselves, 20/20 used hidden cameras, in glasses, purses and even a water bottle. and documented any germ spreading students, like this. check out this woman as she takes a cotton ball with nail

polish remover, uses it on her own nails and then the same one right on us. >> that's how we can impart bacteria on people. >> watch as she grabs this old nail buffer, what looks like white chaling is probably someone else's dead skin. without hesitating, she uses it on us. a major no-no. those devices are one-time use only according to state regulations. is it really so bad that everything must be cleaned and disinfected? we swabbed and swabbed and swabbed all over the salon, and sent it to the lab. in one foot bath, they found 28 million bacteria from feces. and on a pedicure towel, staph. >> if you have a break in the skin that is one way the staph can get into there, by using the towel. >> worst of all, we found salons using illegal instruments.

is that a nail tech or a ninja. look at the way she's dicing those callouses with a credo blade, it's banned in at least 45 states. >> that type of thing is meant for a doctor to use, not a nail technician to use. >> that semisurgical tool can cause bleeding, yet we found it readily available in nail salons. that's nothing compared to what athena has seen and experienced. she too goes undercover. >> probably going to go have unprotected nail sex. >> these are spy glasses. >> here she is getting a pedicure, when the employee busts out a home improvement tool to improve the condition of her feet. >> she said, i have the perfect tool. >> that tool, a dremel. a rotary device meant to drill and sand wood. >> drill, sand and so much more.

>> but definitely not someone's foot. >> she pulled it out and said, don't worry, don't worry. i can do this for you. and really basically freestyled on my feet. >> what did you think when they pulled out that sander? >> i was scared actually. >> then i started to think, wait a minute, that's the same pad that was used on the person before me and probably 20 people before me. >> that's just so disgusting. >> was that it? a one-time occurrence? no. when we visited that very salon a week later, we saw the staff going tim allen with that dremel tool. >> it's always ready when you need it. >> reporter: we went inside for answers. i'm reena ninan with abc's "20/20." we have video of a wood sander being used on people's feet here. why would they use that here? it's a violation of state regulations. the owner wasn't at the salon. his employee kim denied ever using the tool.

>> i don't use this machine. >> reporter: you are not even changing the discs so whatever germs go on the next person's feet potentially. when we point out that woman who was using the dremel is right next to her -- >> it looks exactly like the woman there. >> kim changes her tone saying customers like it. >> they want to sand to take off the dead skin. >> reporter: but you know this isn't an approved device. it's used for sanding wood. and you are putting it on people's feet. >> if i can't use this then i stop it. >> you don't want to use it any more. >> no more. >> while she said she did no wrong, kim promises to stop using it. so, how do state regulators deal with nail salon violations? we followed along with joanne ayotte, an inspector with the arizona state board of cosmetology. >> just here to do a routine inspection today. >> reporter: some like this one, clean. others not so much. >> this one has been used over and over again. it would have to be discarded. >> i'm seeing a loft grime in here. >> reporter: and the pedicure tub in this salon, downright

nasty! >> if the client came in contact with this, germs could be transferred if they open pores that cut into skin. >> reporter: that salon had multiple violations, but the inspector doesn't have the authority to shut them down. this salon owner, who says he has since cleaned up his act, will probably get a $250 fine. >> so many salons they just get slapped on the wrist by our state, they get fined and then they just start up again. >> reporter: athena wants everyone to know that there are also good nail salons out there too, and has a bit of advice, don't be fooled by the sticker price. are you safer in a five-star salon that charges five-times the price? >> absolutely not. dirty knows no prejudice. it's everywhere. and it doesn't matter if you are paying $50 for a manicure, or you are paying $10 for a manicure, it's still lurking. i'm rethinking my weekly manicure. before you get your claws out, we have some tips for you, how

to make sure your nail salons. is safe. go to our website for a list of warning signs and tweet us your spa stories at #abc2020. david and i will be right back. next -- dry cleaners, certainly not dry and not always clean. >> so that's what my clothes would be laundered in. >> we're busts the myths on everything from club soda to cashmere next. everything looking good. ♪

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there's breaking news to tell you about. >> a desperate search is underway for a malaysia airlines flight that has gone missing with 239 people on board, at least four americans, including an infant among them. the flight departed kuala lumpur and was due to land in beijing at 6:30 a.m. local time. the plane lost contact with air traffic control about two hours after takeoff, that would place the plane somewhere around here on its flight path. they have now been without

contact for over nine hours. what caused the plane to disappear is unclear, mechanical failure, pilot error, even terrorism have not been ruled out. there will be more on this developing story on your local news, abc station and on a special edition of "nightline" later this evening. we now rejoin "20/20." once again, "true confessions." here now, rebecca jarvis. >> reporter: you hand the dry cleaners your most precious, your most irreplacable garments and what do you get back? >> you shrunk it! >> reporter: not always what you thought. annoyance at the dry cleaner is so common. >> you're crazy, you're a fool. >> it shows up in tv and movies all the time. >> i don't see my yankee jersey. >> it's must be gone, i'm sorry. >> what? >> dry cleaners sometimes don't have the best reputation. >> reporter: jerry pozniak runs "jeeves," sort of the rolls royce of new york city dry cleaning. but tonight, he's letting us in

on "dirty little secrets" of the industry. it makes you angry. >> it does make me angry. >> reporter: secret number one -- scummy solvent. let's face it, dry cleaning is a mystery for most of us. the key to the whole process, says pozniak, is this. the solvent. it's supposed to look like this. clear as a mountain stream. but the stream can turn to a swamp according to pozniak. >> it's kind of like taking a bath and you have bath water and five other people took a bath before you and then you got into that water, would you feel clean when you came out? >> reporter: pozniak says some dry cleaners cut corners and increase profits by neglecting to filter the solvent enough. eventually this gunk is left behind. so that's what my clothes would be laundered in? with dirty solvent. >> exactly. this is the bottom residue of dirty solvent. >> reporter: the industry insists this residue won't touch your clothes but even so -- if your dry cleaner isn't taking care of his solvent your white

dinner jacket could end up one of the 50 shades of gray. secret number two -- no work for the jerk. pozniak says most customers are great but if you act like a jerk, complaining about how something came out, he's heard of places that will only pretend to reclean the clothes. >> at bad dry cleaners, yes, i've seen it. these problems do exist. >> reporter: and secret number three, your stains tell all, yes, some dry cleaners are keeping tabs on you. and the embarrassing stains you bring in. lipstick on a collar, or whatever on a dress. >> no one knows more than the dry cleaner. >> reporter: it's cringe-worthy. on tv. >> i had nothing to do with that. >> sure, whatever you say. >> reporter: or in real life. ever gossip about people what they've brought in? >> when i was working with my dad, we had a client we had a nickname for, he was mr. condom. because every time we had a pair of clothes from him we usually found a condom.

>> this is so disgusting, i can't believe it. >> reporter: lydia noone knows every secret and every secretion of the cleaning biz. >> you know, there's the customer that always has gross stains on their clothes every week. it makes you wonder, what are they doing? >> reporter: lydia works at "20/20" today handling other kinds of dirty laundry. but while she was in school, she made extra cash behind the counter at her local dry cleaner. so, we decide she's perfect to do our dirty work. a kind of test of dry cleaners. which dry cleaners? lydia begins by loading this dryer with the names of over 1,000 located in new york. >> and the winner is -- >> reporter: after a quick spin, she selects ten places to check out. and what will be their challenge? that requires a visit to the stain master. >> we have ten identical pairs of khaki slacks and ten identical white shirts. >> reporter: meet alan spinvogel of the national cleaners association. using yellow mustard, red wine and blue nail polish.

like a degas of dry cleaning, he paints equal stains on each garment. >> they are difficult stains, and if they can remove these stains, they can probably remove any stain. >> reporter: impressive work but we wanted to test the cleaners honesty as well as their competence, so lydia adds something extra. a ten-dollar bill in each pants pocket, pozniak isn't confident >> i've heard of places it's "finders keepers." out of one pocket and into someone else's pocket. >> reporter: what will be removed? the mustard spot? the wine spot? the nail polish spot? or the ten spot? we are about to find out. lydia, along with intern haley peck, loads up a car with those befouled shirts and khakis and heads off. the ten cleaners are in brooklyn, queens and manhattan. from the high-priced spots in the "silk stocking district" to a low-rent outfit near housing projects. >> do you think you can get nail polish out? >> i don't know.

>> reporter: lydia and haley record the dropoffs. >> nail polish? >> this will be ready by monday. >> reporter: it will be a few days before we can see what comes out in the wash. >> you really don't know. >> reporter: so in the meantime, we dig more dirt with debra kravet. she runs apthorp cleaners, a top flight spot we aren't testing. she has a few more dry cleaning secrets you need to know starting the moment you stain something. what do you recommend people do, is club soda the answer? >> club soda is definitely not the answer. if it was we'd all fill up our cleaning machines with club soda! >> reporter: secret number four, no club soda! she says club soda does nothing except possibly make the stain worse. instead, gently dab the spot with a white napkin, or do nothing at all. true or false "dry clean only" means you have to dry clean it? >> no. >> reporter: that's right. secret number five, labels lie! for certain fabrics, like cashmere sweaters, handwashing is just fine. as long as you don't put it in the dryer.

but there's one more secret that gets us women hot under the collar. and secret number six, the gender gap. what did you think when you got the bill? >> i thought it was a mistake, i mean, it just doesn't make any sense. >> janet palmer was hotter than a steam iron when she discovered the dry cleaner charged her more than her husband to clean shirts. >> >> exact same shirt? >> yes. >> different size? >> yes. >> two dollars more. >> yes. >> reporter: outraged, palmer decided to call 50 dry cleaners in new york city. and while we can't say its true everywhere, she found women on average paid 73% more. 73% more for what? >> i have no idea. >> what would happen if you put a women's shirt on there? >> it just wouldn't fit. >> it's not sexist, it's economics. women's shirts cant fit on a pressing machine and have to be hand ironed, more labor equals more expense. maybe so, but janet palmer was

so put off she's boycotted dry cleaning for years. but not our lydia. our shirts fit on the presser. so no extra charge, but are they clean? and what about the 10 bucks hidden in the pants? how many cleaners gave the cash back to us? sad to report, but get this, out of ten cleaners just one. one. the other nine charged us "the sticky fingers tax." what's up with that? now, the moment of truth with those stains? lydia goes to vartest, an independent lab where they perform scientific stain analysis. overall, it's a mixed bag. the nail polish was the toughest, only three out of ten got that out, while nearly seven out of ten were able to clean the wine stain. as for the mustard on the pants, only six out of ten succeeded. but our biggest surprise, the cheaper spots did better than

the fancier places with the supposed expertise. >> and you don't know what goes on behind closed doors. >> reporter: kravet and pozniak agree. our test proves customers need to sample dry cleaners themselves. >> you just can't pick a dry cleaner by the one that's closest in your neighborhood. >> reporter: and stick with whoever wins! next -- baggage handlers. you're always in good hands? but not always. >> they'll throw it, kick it, toss it. >> and what they never tell you about check-in time. confess your carousel calamities. we had a crv and then we had the pilot. you got more with the ford escape... i'm glad we got the escape and we switched. yay! for me, it was driving the ford escape... it's that foot-activated liftgate...

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at the airport, as soon as you check in your bags, somebody else may be checking them out the the baggage handlers. just today, five were arrested at jfk in new york for using

mail bags as grab bags, stealing from them. what else goes on when that baggage carousel starts moving? here's deborah roberts. >> reporter: when traveling meaghan mccord wants what we all want, for her bags to arrive safely. so last october, the atlanta jewelry designer thought nothing of packing $6,000 worth of baubles, then boarding a flight to new york city to meet clients. were you nervous about the idea of checking your bag with jewelry in it? >> i just sort of thought, "oh, it will be okay. can't carry all this heavy stuff because it's heavy." >> reporter: at the baggage carrousel, anxiety. >> waiting, waiting, waiting, and then this bag never showed. >> reporter: meaghan was flabbergasted, but not this guy. what is one of the biggest misconceptions that we have about how our bags are handled? >> that we care. >> reporter: for 13 years william henry has worked as a so-called rampie. in his book, "the american-made baggage handler" he unloads the secrets of his profession. >> you should assume that this bag is going to be handled in

the worst way. >> reporter: this rampie likes the push-over technique. now, i see a lot these folks have been standing here for quite awhile. what's going on back there? >> they're in no rush. as they deliver the bags to the claim, these bags can fall out of the cart onto the ground. >> reporter: turbulence on the tarmac. bags rolling down like tumbleweeds. in reality, though, more than 99% of checked luggage arrives unscathed, but last december alone, there were nearly 224,000 reports of mishandled bags in the u.s. that includes damage, delay, loss and theft. >> you have hundreds and hundreds of bags, and you kind of become numb to the process. >> reporter: tim cigelske was a rampie for two years. what was your most egregious mistake? >> our crew loaded the wrong blag bags on the wrong plane. the engines are going, flights are coming in at different times, so there's confusion and things can go wrong. >> reporter: that sounds as familiar as the fasten your seat belt sign to globetrotting lawyer aaron hurvitz, who always travels with this fire-engine red duffle bag.

who'd misplace this? >> i don't know how you can get more bright than this. >> reporter: yet, like a jilted lover, he's been left standing at the carousel four times this past year, waiting for that bag. >> it's just pure frustration. you just throw your hands up and say, "great, here we go again." >> reporter: and guess what, aaron? >> pretty much a bag is a bag is a bag. >> reporter: think life is better in the front of the plane? think again. is the first-class bag going to be handled a little better by the baggage handlers? >> no, no. just because we see that tag on that bag that doesn't mean it's going to get any priority. >> reporter: in fact, that first class priority tag might even make your suitcase more attractive to a sticky-fingered handler. how does a baggage handler look into a bag? because i imagine there are cameras all around the airport. >> they find places that are not monitored. >> reporter: like these guys caught red-handed on hidden cameras in the belly of a plane at jfk airport. this one goes through a wallet and scores cash. this one snagged some new headphones. >> as long as they got that bag in area that's undisclosed, unmonitored, unsupervised, they can do what they want with that

bag. >> reporter: meaghan knows that for sure. her missing bag finally arrived to her atlanta home 23 days later with an unwelcome surprise. >> let's put some gloves on. >> reporter: why the rubber gloves? just wait and see. did you recognize any of these things? >> well, these are my jeans. and they're turned inside out. >> reporter: so somebody had worn these? >> yeah, then i find shoes, two sizes too big. >> reporter: so this isn't even your shoes? >> no, and then here comes the really gross part. and dirty panties. >> reporter: ugh, so you found someone else's underwear in your bag? >> yes, pre-worn underwear. >> reporter: ew. >> and then comes the jewelry bag. so i open it up, and i was just devastated. >> reporter: so they took all of your jewelry, except for these pieces? >> it felt violating. >> it's almost like a flea market out there. >> reporter: former nypd detective frank shea says, even your carry-on is not guaranteed a safe landing, if it gets hijacked as you head down the jetway.

>> and that's where most of the thefts are occurring, from the boarding gate to the belly of the plane. >> if one of the ground personnel says your carry-on luggage has to go underneath because the luggage bins are full, take the couple of minutes and take out the valuables that are in that bag. >> reporter: so what's a weary traveler to do to brace your beloved bag for impact? first, buy a four-wheeler. when we load a plane, if it doesn't have the wheels, they'll throw it, kick it, toss it. with four wheels they can just roll the bag. >> reporter: next, find a bag as strong as a tank. what is this made of? >> this is the same material the nfl uses for their shoulder pads and formula 1 uses for their racing cars. >> reporter: and as secure as fort knox. >> luggage that does not have zippers immediately gives people who steal luggage less options. >> reporter: and believe it or never check in too early. >> if you do it more than two hours early, they don't even have things set up for your flight yet. >> reporter: aaron hurvitz realized that was his fatal error.

>> i've checked the bag ahead of time and that's really where i run into trouble. >> reporter: so he now leaves no time for his bag to get tossed and lost. >> i think the real sweet spot to check your bag is anywhere between 45 minutes to 90 minutes before the flight. >> reporter: and, if you're really paranoid about keeping track of your bag, technology to the rescue. for $90 bucks you can get a tracking device like trakdot. i packed it in my bag on a recent trip to l.a., and just after landing, ta-da! i got an alert on my phone. my suitcase was in l.a., too! ah, the joys of reuniting with your bag. next -- lights, cameras -- bed bugs? >> lot of theaters have problems -- i won't say it. >> come on. >> from 10,000% markups to heavy-duty makeouts, confess the worst thing you have done at the movie, tweet us at hashtag "20/20." us at hashtag "20/20."

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"true confessions" continues. here's nick watt. ♪ >> reporter: you're packed inside a big dark room with a couple of hundred total

strangers. what's that smell? what's that guy doing? what's that on my foot? is that legal? that can't be clean. we are on a journey, swabbing theaters across the land and grilling the experts. >> there's nothing more crazy than owning a movie theater. >> reporter: to bring you the truth -- >> there's no law that says they have to clean these seats. >> yeah, that's disturbing. >> reporter: what goes on inside the movie theater once the lights are down? >> well, you can tell what goes on inside a movie theater with what you find after. >> ok, go on. >> used condoms. >> really? >> reporter: you have a romantic comedy, it's like the mile high club and it's going to happen in your theater, trust me many. >> have you ever caught somebody in the moment? >> yes. but if nobody complains, let them get away with it. >> reporter: what i always complain about are the prices, 8 bucks for a bucket of popcorn that costs, wait for it, maybe 8 cents to make? a 10,000% mark up. seriously.

♪ >> reporter: daylight robbery? well, not exactly. >> i make money by selling concessions. >> reporter: because, and here's a little-known fact, up to 70% of your ticket price goes to the studio and distributor, leaving the theatre owner with pocket change. some theaters get paid to play those endless trailers you must endure before the main event. but they all need to sell a lot of concessions just to stay afloat. and wait until you hear this. >> you got to do little tricks to, to get them to buy concessions. >> reporter: okay, like? >> well, in my theater, i've got a exhaust pipe that runs from the popcorn machine into the actual auditorium. they're going to have to come out and buy some popcorn. >> reporter: you used to pipe the smell of popcorn into the auditorium? >> oh no, we still do pipe the smell of popcorn into the auditorium. absolutely. >> sure, it smells good but you

don't have to eat everything in front of you. so says the fat guy. >> reporter: and if we dent all fall prey to the concession stand, our ticket prices would skyrocket. it's a nacho cheesy, hot diggity dog, trade off. but there is another problem with all that food. >> i don't like to eat messy food in the dark, right? you spill something, and then oh, god you touch something, and suddenly you're wearing it, right? i don't want to be that guy. >> the problem is, i am that guy, you're probably that guy, and so -- >> a lot of theaters have problems -- i don't want to say this, i won't say it. >> reporter: come on. >> i mean, let's say you -- you may have some little creatures running around your feet at night. roaches or rodents. >> you have to make sure you have a good exterminator. >> you walk around and your shoes stick to the floor.

so, who's going to wear sandals? god only knows what you're walking on or what's walking on you. bed bugs. late last year there reports of itching at a theater in wisconsin. and in 2010 the amc empire in times square closed temporarily while exterminators culled some little critters. remember i said we took samples we're going to go in and try to swab the seats at the floor without anybody noticing. we did this in a bunch of theaters in new york and los angeles and we came back to dr. philip tierno to analyze our results. >> the seat and other areas of the theater are contaminated with the public that sat before you. >> reporter: on theater seats, armrests and even 3-d glasses sealed in plastic. we found traces of all kinds of live organisms with big, scary names, microscopic bugs that can

cause things like food poisoning, boils and sinusitis. in a manhattan cinema we detected bacteria usually found in cattle and soil. don't ask me. on seats in both l.a. and new york, we found bacteria common in human feces more understandable just as gross. are there government laws as to how often you have to clean these chairs? >> no, unfortunately. there should be. some theaters don't. i've been in theaters that -- that they don't -- they don't clean up. >> reporter: okay, doc, so help us out, how do we not get that stuff in our mouths? >> if you're going to hit the armrest keep your hand in the air so that you can go to the dirty hand, this one that can touch anything including the outside of the popcorn box, and then you eat your popcorn with your good hand. always have a "good hand" and a "bad hand." >> reporter: micrococcus luteus on the armrest, you know, that's

almost forgivable. this is not. >> people who are texting while you're trying to watch the movie. you might as well bring a flashlight and shine it over your shoulder at the people behind you. >> reporter: the alamo drafthouse chain, which has a zero-tolerance cell phone policy, recently banned madonna from all their theatres for allegedly texting during "12 years a slave." >> until madonna apologizes, she's not welcome at the alamo drafthouse. >> reporter: and listen to this voicemail left by another patron kicked out for a similar crime. >> i didn't know that i wasn't supposed to text in your little crappy ass theater. >> seems like she maybe had a little bit too much to drink and gave us a piece of her mind. and it was very, uh, charming in its own way. >> you know what -- >> reporter: the chain used this as a public service announcement before r-rated movies. >> so, excuse me, for using my phone in usa magnited states of america! >> they gotta go.

i've had that happen many times. >> reporter: robert bucksbaum, who remember, will never break up a courting couple will kick you out for cell phone use. you've got a stricter policy on cell phone use than you have on having sex in the theater? >> absolutely. you know, if you're not bothering another customer, you get away with as much as you want in a movie theater. >> reporter: and that's why, when all's said and done, going to the movies is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. or off. perhaps. if you're those kind of people. >> tougher rules on your cell phones than on your clothes. let us know what you think, we're on twitter right now, use the #abc20/20. when we come back -- who hasn't had a moving nightmare. chasing down the movers, getting answers. you got to see this. next -- we're on the move with movers. from delivering delays to those way-off wait estimates. getting to the bottom of handle

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"20/20" continues with matt gutman. >> reporter: tonight, "20/20" viewers are sharing their hour row stories about moving. isa complains -- >> they gave a quote in the beginning, jacked it up $1,800 at the end. >> tara says -- >> i waited 65 days from date promised. lived in empty house 65 days. >> those furious complaints of rip-offs, of horrible service, of "stress to the max," were just another day at the office for this guy. how often would customers call you and complain? >> that was a daily occurrence. >> reporter: jason raffa spent nearly five years as a customer service agent in the moving industry. he confesses the process can be a minefield of potential rip-offs, especially if you hire a low-cost mover through a broker. so tell me the types of scams that you've seen?

>> the most part of the scamming is from the price inflation, from weight, packing. >> reporter: raffa says watch out, your initial estimate can turn out to be a low-ball number that gets pumped up once the company has your stuff. >> i have actually seen movers come in close to 10 grand more than what they were estimated. >> reporter: this is the kind of scam that goes on all across the country? >> unfortunately, yes, sir. >> reporter: j.j. stroh of the arizona department of weights and measures alerted us to the case of 81-year-old kathleen kennedy, who claims she got scammed when she moved from burbank, california, to mesa, arizona. stroh says rogue movers hiked the price of her recent move not once, not twice, but three times, demanding an additional $1,400 for extras like fuel, packing, redelivery and storage. and so the price can go from $775 to $2,600. >> yes, sir. and that's what we see quite often.

>> reporter: and stroh says ever since the client refused to pay the jacked-up price the company has kept her stuff. so what does she have with her? >> basically nothing. >> reporter: it's stories like that which have felicia karl of guttenberg, new jersey, sweating bullets about her upcoming move to houston, texas. so what are the nightmare scenarios that you've heard about? >> number one, delayed. number two, drivers only want cash. well -- and then the amount goes from 3,680 to something different. >> reporter: and raffa says that's not all she should be worrying about. >> you never know who's going to walk through that front door. >> reporter: take andy t. bueno, a mover with prior convictions for assault and criminal trespass and a recent bust in texas for shaking down clients. >> believe it or not, i have actually heard boxes being unpacked. >> reporter: taking out valuables. >> looking for jewelry, things like that. >> reporter: or how about taking a porn break? these new york movers, recorded on hidden camera, couldn't resist ogling a stash of smut

they discovered under this couch. one by one they all take their turn. in fairness, it's not a crime to look. what's the worst thing you've ever heard movers do? >> the worst thing has to do with a $10,000 persian rug. and the mover got upset and did his thing on her rug, a number two on her rug. >> reporter: number two. >> number two. >> reporter: do you know anything about the person who's driving your stuff to texas? >> i got his phone number, that's all i know. >> reporter: "20/20" agreed to pay for felicia's move. she heads off to texas. a day later, she suddenly gets a call, her mover says he's five days ahead of schedule. she scrambles and puts the pedal to medal driving from tennessee to texas, more than 1,000 miles, in less than 13 hours. don't try this at home. the next morning -- >> amazingly, i should be receiving my furniture and stuff today. very exciting. >> reporter: that's when felicia's luck runs out. >> what kind of big problems? the well? what exploded? >> reporter: felicia's driver tells her his truck is broken

down in louisiana. >> i mean, is this going to cost me anything else -- not good. >> reporter: her first fear has come true -- delay. >> well, there goes my peace of mind. >> reporter: felicia doesn't need the aggravation. she's starting a new job in just two days and needs her stuff to arrive. >> it could be anywhere. it could be days. it could be gone! >> reporter: after four days sitting in louisiana, the truck is on the move again, and the driver demands that felicia be in houston the following morning to meet him. but just before he's scheduled to arrive there's another delay. >> okay, so basically what happened is it just died again? or did you have another explosion? >> reporter: the driver's truck has broken down again, and felicia karl is furious. >> i've taken off this morning so i could get my furniture, and it's not here. it's just very frustrating. >> reporter: finally, five days and ten hours after felicia was first told to meet the truck --

>> he's on the move. my stuff is on the move. >> reporter: the moving van pulls into felicia's driveway, and despite all her worries her mover does not hit her up for more money. >> so what do you need from me? >> check. >> mover may show up, everything's perfect, and the cost that was estimated. but they still sat, inconvenienced. >> reporter: those delays were a huge inconvenience, but on balance felicia may have been one of the lucky ones. in the meantime, kathleen kennedy's stuff is still being held hostage, and we headed to los angeles to find out why. this lady's belongings were essentially hijacked, the feds say, for 2 1/2 months. we are just trying to figure you out why that was. >> that's not what happened. >> reporter: at first, no one wanted to talk to us at this moving company. honestly, we're just trying to get your side of the story. we were met with slammed doors. okay. this is joe. who's joe? we were then referred to the company's attorney. you say they have nothing to hide, but they've been slamming doors on us all day. i hope it's true, thank you.

the company denies any wrongdoing and claims kathleen agreed to the higher price. but just 30 minutes later, the company assures us the moving truck is headed to kathleen's new home in mesa, arizona, right away. so, they're in mesa? sure enough, a moving truck magically appears just hours later at the destination, delivering kathleen's stuff, now charging only slightly more than the original estimate. >> we have the actual inventory of what's on the truck. >> reporter: j.j. stroh and his men are on the scene, and he wants to know how this simple west to east move wound up going south. >> these are all violations and they are all warnings. >> have you guys ever had this happen? >> no. he points us to this document, revised estimate with the inflated price. >> this is the one we're discarding. the original nonbinding agreement was changed by the movers. that's illegal to be done under federal law. >> reporter: you may be

wondering, where is kathleen in all of this? unfortunately, she had a fall. she's recovering in a hospital, but the good news is, when she does come home, her stuff will be here after 2 1/2 months. feels good? >> i think it does. based on abc's phone, mrs. kennedy now has all of her furniture here in her apartment and life hopefully will get back to normal quickly. perfecat olive garden,can cren with our new cucina mia menu, for just $9.99. choose the homemade sauce that tempts you the most. like our addictively creamy garlic asiago, devilishly spicy diavolo or garden-fresh primavera with roasted vegetables. all made from scratch and made to order. served with your choice of our new artisinal pastas including gluten free. new cucina mia is all about flavor, all about you, and all just $9.99.

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