Are you sure the wrapping script does not chdir? Did you try a standalone script with just the system(...) command? Put the following in your move.pl script to make sure you're in the right directory:
Found out though that I or it was in the correct directory. I had the idea I'd done something elementary wrong in my code. I'll let my output go into my to_move direct as a solution. thanks again. Gert
Also, as another sanity check, print the loop variables within each of your loops to make sure the loops are at least trying to process a list of files.