Complaint Review: A & G Vanlines

I first began my search for a moving company via the internet, I searched all sites to find a reputable company. A & G did not seem to have any complaints, so I decided to move through them.

My first experience was very friendly, I described my bedroom and the amount of things I had and they quoted me 1100.00. The lady offered a month for free and storage costs for any additional months at 60.00 per month. I scheduled my pick up time for 5/21/05.

5/20/05 I receive a phone call stating that the truck will not be able to make the pick up, as it has broken down in Portland; but not to worry it would be fixed by the 25th. I promptly called them back and got an answering machine. At that time I informed them that I would not be available to meet the truck driver because I was schedualed to be in Houston TX for training 5/22/05. I asked them to please call me back so that I could organize someone to be there to meet the truck. I never received a call back.

I finally got in touch with them on Tuesday at which time they told me that the truckdriver might make it Thursday. I did not hear from their driver until 12am Friday morning 5/27/2005.

I did not hear back from anyone for quite a while and had left messages, never receiving a call back. I began to get worried because I was sapposed to pay 50% upon pickup and I had not spoken with anyone regarding payment.

I finally was in touch with a lady named Edith (who apparently is the President of the company) I told her that I would like to arrange payment but that I did not feel comfortable paying so much because of the terrible service I had received. I felt like they had sold my things and now were asking for more money from me.

Edith told me that it was not possible, I would owe them the 50% and that was company policy, and part of the contract I had signed with them. I then said, what contract? I had never signed a contract, I was not able to be physically there upon pickup. Edith retorted to me that if I had not signed a contract that maybe they did not have my things. At this point I realized that their customer service was nonexistant.

I tried to contact other people in the company numerous time, and noone would call me back. Finally I gave up and tried to appeal to Edith's human side. I explained that I felt very uneasy with the company because of the way she treated me and that maybe because it is a buisey time of the season that she was stressed and took it out on me. However I thought it was very unproffessional and poor customer service. I was surprised when she apologized and addmitted her stress, she then said that she would speak to the owner and get back to me.

Two weeks later I still had not heard from Edith, I decided to speak with someone else who explained to me that the weight of my things was double their estimate, I owed 2,000 and my things were in a wooden crate so no i could not access them if I needed anything. According to this lady (Daniel) my things were in a wharehouse in Seattle somewhere. I asked for the address and she had no idea where it was located.

I tried to speak with another manager and was given Edith once again. This time I asked Edith why didn't you call me back I haven't heard from you in two weeks, she quickly retorted that I did not want to speak with her so she wasn't going to call me. She began to yell at me and tell me that she was not going to play games with me anymore. I would need to give them their money or they would not continue speaking with me. I asked her for the address in Seattle (with this treatment I just wanted to see my things and find out if they were still around). She then explained that my things were not in Seattle and that they were in California. She was still yelling and at this point I told her stop yelling. I said you will either be hearing from the police or my lawyer, she said fine and hung up.

In a later conversation Edith said that it was company policy to store things first in Seattle for one month free. When the month was over move them to California to store for 90 dollars a month (30 dollars more than the original quote). This story is very inconsistent because it hasn't even been a month since they retreived my things from my home. This has been a Nightmare.........I hope I get my things! Kari Seattle Washington

Kari
Kirkland, Washington
U.S.A.

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