Complaint Review: Cross America Van-lines

TO WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN
SUBJECT Cheated by Cross American Van-lines during a recent move

Below is the gist and detail of the recent incident that happened on the planned move on 8/16/2008 thru Cross Van American Van-lines. We have been cheated by this moving company and would like some action be taken against them. Including refunding our money that we believe was over charged.

Gist of the Story:

1. Our intention was to move from Houston, TX to Dallas, TX (260 miles distance), from a two bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor to a two bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor on 8/16/2008.

2. We shopped around for quotes from various moving companies, and picked the best online quote from Cross America Van-lines [http://www.crossamericavanlines.us/, D.O.T # 1432339, MC # 540978].

3. Cross America Van Lines sent an estimator, Jacob, to our apartment on 07/21/2008, to prepare an inventory of our goods and provide us with a weight estimate of the shipment to be moved.

4. A quote was sent to us, via email, by the company's sales representative, Thomas, based on the estimated weight. The quote estimate was for $1225.00. This estimate was for a door-to-door move and included assembly and disassembly of furniture, loading and unloading, labor standard valuation for .60 cents per lbs, 30 days of free storage, etc. It also included free packing services (we were to be given 20 free boxes as well). He also promised to discount an additional $150 from this total amount if we signed the contract the same day.

5. We signed up the contract the same day, to take advantage of the $150 discount. We made a 15% down payment, to the amount of $161.25 [15% of (1225-150)] to the company through Paypal.

6. We discovered that some of our goods (washer and dryer) were not included in the inventory of goods for which the weight estimate was given. We alerted this oversight to Thomas and he revised the estimate and sent us a new quote. It accounted for the washer and dryer in the inventory of goods. It also accounted for the further discounted rate that Thomas gave us that day. The new quote came to $1188, again sent to us via email, for an estimated shipment weight of 4949 lbs. Thomas promised to still honor the $150 off from this amount, which would bring our total to $1038.

7. On the day of the move, empty weight of the truck was claimed to be 9920 lbs. The truck driver, Manny, had weighed the truck prior to arriving at our residence, and therefore, I was not physically present when the empty weight of the truck was taken. He showed me a receipt from the weigh station and I accepted it on face value. This was probably my biggest mistake. I should have noticed that nowhere in that receipt did it mention anything that would accurately identify the truck that was actually weighed. In essence, there was nothing that tied the receipt to the truck that arrived at my residence.

8. Manny threw a fit about my apartment being on the 3rd floor and insisted on being paid an extra $225 as the flight charges ($75/flight of stairs), although the quote we were sent clearly states that the cost estimate was for a door-to-door delivery, and there was no mention of additional flight charges in there at all. In addition, the estimator who had surveyed our apartment, as well as the sales representative who drew up our contract, very well knew which floor we lived on, and had provided us with the quote knowing this!

9. Once the truck was loaded with our shipment, the truck was weighed again in my presence. The total / gross weight was 20,120 lbs. So, the net weight of my shipment turned out to be 20120 9920 = 10,200 lbs, which was more than 100% more than the original estimate of 4949 lbs!!

10. Based on the contract, every pound above my original estimate was to be charged at $0.60/lb. The additional 5251 lbs would cost me $3150.60 in addition to the $1188.

11. After haggling, the company changed the rate for the additional weight to $0.30/lb. This additional cost was now $1575

12. Total cost of the move = $1188 (original quote) + $225 (for the flight of stairs) + $1575 (additional weight) = $3018

13. The company did not honor the $150 discount and to top it off, the sales representative, Thomas, would not talk to us at all when we sought clarification from him about the estimates being so off.

14. The company did not allow us to have the truck reweighed once our shipment was unloaded.

15. I am amazed that the actual weight of our shipment was more than 100% the estimated weight. I cannot believe that the estimator could make an error in estimation of 100%!!
16. The VIN number of the truck that was used for moving our goods is 1HTSCAAM2YH315471. It is a Ryder truck, with a 26 feet body size. I have other details on the truck as well. I have researched online to get a rough estimate on the empty weight for a truck with these specs. I also called up Ryder and spoke to a representative (Andrew). My research leads me to believe that the empty or tare weight of the truck that was used to move my shipment could NOT have been a mere 9920 lbs! It is more likely that it was between 14,500-17,500 lbs or more. I, therefore, believe that the actual weight of my goods could not have been more than 1000 or 2000 over the estimated weight. I was falsely made to pay extra for an additional weight of over 5000 lbs!

17. Bottom-line - I believe I have been ripped off by Cross America Van Lines and I want to warn other consumers about this company. I also want to take steps to get back the money I paid this company for the false additional weight of my shipment.

DETAILS:
We were moving from 11111 Grant Rd #1437, Cypress, TX 77429 to 7070 Windhaven Pkwy #201, The Colony, TX 75056. The move was from a 3rd floor to the 2nd floor. We researched moving companies online, especially noting those that were registered with Best Business Bureau. From the bids we got from the various moving companies that responded to our query, we narrowed down to two companies - Pro Moving and Cross America Van Lines. Both quoted estimates where the final charges would be based upon the actual weight of our shipment. We insisted that we wanted a representative from each company to come to our apartment and physically survey our location and our stuff, and then provide us with a better estimate which would be reasonably close to the actual weight of our shipment, so that we don't have disagreements at the end.

Cross America Van Lines sent an estimator named Jacob, who came to our place on 07/21/08 for the physical survey and made an inventory of the items in our apartment. He reported his findings back to the sales representative we were dealing with. Similarly, the estimator from Pro Moving also came to our apartment for a physical survey. Incidentally, both of the representatives came up with an estimate of around 4500 lbs. for our shipment.

Later, that day, we got an estimate thru email from Cross America Van Lines' sales representative, Thomas. The quote was $1225.00 based on the estimated weight of 4599 lbs. See the copy of the quote under the appendix 1.10 at the back.

Since Cross America Van Lines was going to provide some accessorial services to us for free (free 20 boxes and free packing) and given that their rate quote was the best among the companies we had researched ($.27/lb for the estimated weight of 4599 lbs), we decided to go with Cross America van Lines. To make the deal sweeter, Thomas promised to bring the price down further by a $150 if we agreed to sign up the contract the very same day.

So, we signed the contract with Cross America Van Lines the very same day. I made a deposit of 15% of the quote (after discount) thru Paypal. The deposit was for $161.25. See the copy under the appendix1.11.
Later that evening, while reading Thomas' email in detail, I realized that the original quote did not include my washer and dryer in the inventory of shipment. I informed Thomas of this oversight. He generated a new quote estimate for us, with a slightly lower rate per lb ($.24 / lb) and for an estimated weight of 4949 lbs (to account for the washer and dryer added to the list). The estimate now came to a total of $1188. The $150 discount was still going to honored per Thomas. See the copy 1.12 under the appendix. He assured us that the company would send three men on the day of the move, to dissemble any furniture, if required, pack our stuff, load our stuff into their truck, transport to Dallas the same day, unload it there into our new apartment, and assemble back any furniture, if required.
On the day of the move, 16th August 2008, Cross America Van Lines sent a Ryder truck (26 feet body size) with three men. The truck driver, Manny [Cell phone # 847-376-1903] showed up around 10 am. He showed us a paper receipt / certificate that showed that the truck had been weighed to note the empty / tare weight. He claimed that he weighed the truck in the morning at Sunmart Gas Station (at the intersection of Beltway 8 and Gessner rd) before arriving at our apartment. The paper he showed us was a certificate from CAT scale which was done at 9:15 am that morning. It did not have the truck number or any identification to prove that the certificate was for the very same truck that he brought to us. The weight listed on the certificate was 9920 lbs. Note: Our shipment was to be the single and only shipment that was going to be on the truck for the move to Dallas that day.

The weighing of the moving truck was done before the movers came to our residence, and I was not present at the time of this weighing. But I trusted this company as it was listed in BBB as well as it was part of AMSA. On hind sight, I should have probably questioned the weight receipt or certificate that Manny showed me. I should have probably insisted on going back to a Weigh scale so I could be there physically when they weighed the truck. In addition, Manny did not give me this certificate that showed the weight of the empty truck. He did not realize that we could calculate back the weight of the empty truck from the simple calculation based on the extra weight charge.

Manny also made a big deal that his company never told him that the shipment had to be moved from an apartment on the 3rd floor. He refused to move our stuff!! This turn of events was alarming to me since I HAD to move that day. I tried to explain to him that it wasn't my fault if his company had not informed him about which floor I lived in. When we signed the contract, the sales representative, Thomas, was well aware of it, since we had specifically stated it during our requests for quote. In any case, the estimator that the company had sent, also knew exactly where we lived (after all, he had come to our place and had physically surveyed everything!).

But Manny refused to listen to our explanations and insisted that we pay him the flight charges at $75/flight of stairs. Note that the quote that was sent to us via email by Thomas had stated that the total charge applied for the door to door move! But, by this time, I was getting a bit desperate as I had to move on this day. I did not have a backup plan! I felt that I really did not have any wiggle room to negotiate. I agreed to pay additional amount. This additional cost was going to be $225.

Manny also appeared to be very surprised and disgruntled that he and his two assistants had to pack our stuff as well. We were surprised ourselves at the gross lack of communication between the sales dept. and the dispatching dept within Cross America Van Lines. We were promised free packing (it is also stated in the quote that we got via email). Since we had been relying on the movers to do our packing, our stuff was still unpacked! We got on the phone with the dispatcher who had sent Manny, and explained the situation to him. He apparently talked to Manny and convinced him to go ahead with the packing. We promised him that we would help them out with the packing ourselves.

After the packing was done, I drove along with them to same weight scale where they had weighed the truck before loading our shipment. The total weight of the truck was now 20120 lbs. See the copy under the appendix 1.13. I was shocked to realize that my shipment's actual weight turned out to be 10,200 lbs (20,120-9920)!!! At the Gas station, Manny started to calculate the actual charges for the move. As per the contract we had signed, the rate of $.24/lb was for the estimated weight. Any additional weight was going to be charged at $.60/lb. I expected the actual weight of my shipment to be maybe 10% or 20% more than the estimated weight of 4949 lbs. But now the actual weight of my shipment was turning out to be more than 100% more than the estimated weight!! I was 5251 lbs over the contracted weight of 4949 lbs. Per the contract, I would have to pay additional $3150.60 over the original estimate, which would bring my new total to $4338.60.

I was shaken by this number. I could not believe how an estimator sent by Cross America Van Lines could have been so completely off in his estimation of our shipment weight! At this time, I was not aware of the 110% rule, so I did not know that I was needed to pay, by law, only up to $1306.80 at the time of delivery of the shipment, and that a period of 30 days was allowed for me to pay the remaining amount, during which, I could dispute the additional cost. At this point, I thought there was nothing I could do. After all, my shipment was still in his truck and he would have refused to deliver my goods! After haggling a bit with Manny, to try to get the total cost down a bit, Manny agreed to drop the rate for the additional weight to $.30/lb (as opposed to the original $.60/lb), after consulting his dispatcher on the new rate. Now, my additional cost was $1575 instead of $3150.60. In short, my total cost of the move was: $1188 (original quote) + $225 (flight charge for the two flights of stairs) + $1575 (additional weight) = $3018. See the copied of the different receipts in the appendix 1.14.

At this point, I tried contacting the sales representative Thomas to clarify on two statements made
1) how can the weight estimate be more than 20% off, and, 2) Will he still honor the $150 discount. He hung up on me as soon as I gave my case number. More attempts were made to reach him, but all were futile.
What was also very interesting was that this company did not deal in anything other than cash or postal money orders. It is strange for a company that is part of the BBB and AMSA to deal in cash or postal money order. I guess they are trying to avoid taxes. Also all the documents that had originally given to me did not even state the company's name. I had to demand that I be given a copy of their documents which at least had their company name stamped. The more I think of it, the more fishy their business model appears to be.

I paid up all of the $3018 to Manny. But since I was already suspicious that I was being taken for a ride and I no longer trusted this company, I made copies of the money orders that I got done at Wal-Mart. I have the copies of the money order under the appendix 1.15.

After unloading my belongings in my new place, I requested that the truck be weighed again for my own satisfaction. The truck driver, Manny refused to do so. He suggested two things - either I go to Houston and weigh the truck at the exact place that it was weighed with the shipment, or send a friend the next day to the same weighing station and do it on my behalf. I tried to reason with many that I had located a CAT scale along his way to Houston. It was only 20 miles down the road. He claimed he was getting late for another job. Keep in mind, this was around 2pm in the afternoon. This makes me even more suspicious of this company.

As I was unable to convince Manny to re-weigh the empty truck, I got the VIN number for the truck. It is 1HTSCAAM2YH315471. I also took pictures of the truck, with details on the model, make, when it was sold to Cross America van Lines and to whom. Note that there was no license plate number on the truck. It was an untitled vehicle. I also have the picture of the driver. See pictures under the appendix 1.16.

Armed with the details on the particular truck that was used for my move, I researched online for any information I could gather on the empty weight for a truck with these specs. I also called up Ryder and spoke to a representative on this. From the information I have gathered, I believe that I have been cheated by Cross America Van Lines. My research indicates that the empty weight of the truck that was used to move my shipment is more likely to be between 14,500-17,500 lbs or more, but definitely not 9920 lbs that Manny claimed it to be. I suspect that the weigh certificate he showed me when he arrived with the empty truck before the move, was not a valid one (or at least, was not valid for the actual truck that did arrive at my place). I believe that Cross America Van Lines has charged me for additional shipment weight that is incorrect!

Bottom-line, I want to make you aware of this incident. Also I believe I have been cheated of about $ 1800

Pictures:- http://picasaweb.google.com/bugpals/CrossAmericaVanLinesClaim?authkey=4VgFbgin1Ys

Shahsand
THE COLONY, Texas
U.S.A.