Complaint Review: Diamond Van Line

After our initial contact by phone with Diamond Van Line, the owner Adam (Afik) Dahan, came to our place to do an on-site estimate.  The estimate came to $3300, based on volume, and included a lot of furniture which we did not eventually ship.  As the day for the actual move drew near, we ended up selling or disposing of a large bulk of the furniture that was included on the initial estimate.

Moving day arrived and the movers who moved all of our remaining furniture and belongings were, for the most part, professional.  The moving van they used was not a company truck, but rather a rented Budget Rental truck, but no matter, it did the job.  Our first indication that we had made a mistake on choosing Diamond Van Line was when the loading of our belongings had concluded and everything was on the truck.  I was told that the furniture and belongings was bulkier than the original estimate and that the total charge would be $4500 ($1200 more than the initial estimate).  After some complaining, the price was lowered to $4100 (still $800 more than the initial estimate), and I agreed to that price, as long as they had no problem delivering our belongings to the San Antonio address, which was on the third floor.  I was assured that it would be, as two flights of stairs were included in the price.

It took over two weeks for the delivery to be made, which is okay, considering that it was being transported halfway across the country.  It was not delivered by Diamond Van Line, but by another company (Grand Moving of Encino, California), which was owned by a friend of Adam Dahan.  They arrived, walked upstairs with me to sign off on the delivery paperwork and receive final payment, which was paid in cash.  After receiving payment, we walked back downstairs and upon arriving in the parking lot, the driver told me that it would be an additional $300 to deliver to the third floor.  I told him that I was informed that there would be no further charges for delivery, and two flights of stairs were included in the final price.  He said that a "flight of stairs" was 8 steps, and our place exceeded that.  After doing a quick calculation, I pointed out that if this was the case, the additional fee would be $225, not $300, but he stuck firm on his $300 price. 

I ended up having to call the San Antonio Police regarding this, and after they arrived, we were able to get Adam on the phone, who agreed to waive the fees and deliver the furniture to the third floor.  I considered that to be acceptable, and the police officers left.  The driver then informed me that they were hiring two additional movers to assist with the move, and were waiting for them to arrive.

The "movers" arrived, but they were not professional movers.  They were temp workers hired through Labor Ready, and were ill-prepared for the job ahead.  The temp workers arrived after a few hours.  During this time, Diamond Van Line's delivery workers unloaded the truck in the parking lot and then waited.  I took the two temp workers upstairs to show them what would be needed, and when we returned to the parking lot, the driver and his helpers had left, leaving our furniture and belongings in the parking lot.  I called their cell phone, but they would not answer.

The temp workers, realizing they were not going to be paid, said they were going to be leaving as well.  With night upon us, and all of our belongings sitting in the parking lot, I persuaded them to stay, by paying them twice the amount that they normally would have received through Labor Ready.  In about four hours, the furniture and belongings were moved inside, just in time to avoid the rain that started soon afterwards.  I ended up having to assemble the furniture myself, which was supposed to be done by Diamond Van Line.

I contacted Adam Dahan and told him how displeased I was about the unprofessionalism of the people he contracted to deliver our belongings.  In addition to our experience with his delivery team, I mentioned that several items had been damaged, a couple of items were missing, and a large piece of my desk was also missing, making it impossible to assemble. (It had to be disposed of.)  After some negotiation, he agreed to pay me $300 for my troubles, provided that I sign a release stating that I would "not file any complaint or publish any negative information... to the Better Business Bureau, U.S. Department of Transportation, The American Moving and Storage Association or any website..."

I agreed to those conditions, but I wanted payment in advance.  He insisted that the form be signed first, something that I could not do, considering the list of broken promises from his company, and I did not want to disappointed again.