The sudden reorganization of Harvard Student Agencies' household moving business at the start of September might have seemed like a straightforward decision based on financial factors HSA has been known to phase out or reorganize businesses on short notice before.

But this week John Seely, director of the State Department of Commercial Motor Vehicles, said the 25-employee HSA moving venture had been "an illegal operation" because it lacked the certification and cargo insurance the state requires for such businesses.

Daniel DelVecchio, general manager of HSA, confirmed this week that the sudden reorganization of the two-year-old moving program occurred because of potential legal problems, but declined to comment on the specific legal questions that led to the change. He called it "an internal policy decision HSA doesn't have to discuss."

Under the new moving operation, HSA will only supply student to help with the physical moving of furniture. It will not drive the furniture anywhere, or arrange for the leasing of moving trucks, as it had in the past.

DelVecchio said he is unsure how the new, more limited operation will fare financially because the agency completed the heavy summer months of moving business volume before the change was put into effect.