Files not moving after rename,

Here is my script it half works at the moment, it uses exiftool to restamp images. but when it then attempts to move the file from A > B they sometimes have the same filename so the handler adds “_a” etc. it get stuck at the moment as soon as it gets to the “_b” and it can’t shift it over.

Where am I going wrong?

tell application "Finder"
	set this_folder to (alias ((path to pictures folder as text) & "HELICON"))
	set itemList to every file in this_folder
	set theHotFolder to folder "Hal 9000:Users:matthew:Desktop:HotFolder"
	
	
	
	
	repeat with i from 1 to count of itemList
		set newFile to item i of itemList as alias
		set theFile to POSIX path of newFile
		set theCreator to do shell script "/usr/bin/exiftool -ownername " & quoted form of theFile
		if theCreator is equal to "" then
			do shell script "/usr/bin/exiftool -overwrite_original  -DocumentName='HeliconFocus' -ownername='Photographed_by_Me' " & quoted form of theFile
			
			delay 5 -- time here is needed to rewrite the file or ot won't move
			try
				move newFile to theHotFolder
			on error
				set {fileName, t_ext} to {name, name extension} of newFile
				set newName to my getUniqueName(fileName, t_ext, theHotFolder)
				set name of file fileName of this_folder to newName
			end try
			
		else
			try
				move newFile to theHotFolder
			on error
				set {fileName, t_ext} to {name, name extension} of newFile
				set newName to my getUniqueName(fileName, t_ext, theHotFolder)
				set name of file fileName of this_folder to newName
			end try
			
			
		end if
		
	end repeat
end tell

to getUniqueName(theName, theExtension, someFolder)
	(*
     check if someFile exists in someFolder, creating a new unique file name (if needed) by adding a suffix
          parameters -          theName, theExtension : a file name and his name extension
                              someFolder : a folder (finder item or alias)
          returns :     a unique name
     *)
	set {counter, suffixes, divider} to {0, "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz", "_"}
	if theExtension is not "" then set theExtension to "." & theExtension
	set theName to text 1 thru -((length of theExtension) + 1) of theName -- just the name part
	
	set newName to theName & theExtension
	tell application "Finder" to set theseNames to name of items of someFolder
	repeat while theseNames contains newName
		set counter to counter + 1 -- hopefully there aren't more than 26 duplicates (numbers are easier)
		set newName to theName & divider & (item counter of suffixes) & theExtension
	end repeat
	return newName
end getUniqueName
    on error
               set {fileName, t_ext} to {name, name extension} of newFile
               set newName to my getUniqueName(fileName, t_ext, theHotFolder)
               set name of file fileName of this_folder to newName

its this section here I realised it wasn’t moving at all, but how can I set the newly named file so that I can move it?

Move new name to thehotFolder

set relabeled to newName as string
				log relabeled
				move file relabeled of this_folder to theHotFolder

think this is working for me