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Direct Moving & Storage Moving company Van Nuys California
They are liars and con artists.
Here are the events EXACTLY as they occurred.
1) I called to get a quote. I listed the items that I had. Someone named Kelly (Direct Moving & Storage) quoted me a price of $1,386. *PART 1 OF THEIR SCAM* (Their trick is to give you a lower quote just to get the job.) That included furniture pads, assembly, disassembly, and door to door service. I told her at the time that I had a large, heavy desk as well as a bookcase from Ikea. A competitor had told me that they would not honor the quote once they got to my house but Kelly seemed nice. She told me they were bonded and insured, and I had checked them out with the BBB.
2) I called a few days later to tell her that I had a few extra boxes and I wanted a more accurate quote. Kelly said that the only way to be sure was to give the exact dimensions of each piece of furniture and box. I did this with a tape measure. I measured every single box, container, and piece of furniture. She said that I now had an extra 400 additional cubic square feet. *PART 2 OF THEIR SCAM* (I doubted it, but agreed to pay more) She then upped the price an additional $350. I said ok and asked for my pick up date.
3) Then on the first scheduled moving day a guy from Direct Moving & Storage comes to my house and insisted on an additional $400 plus supplies to wrap my glass. *PART 3 OF THEIR SCAM* I told him that I would wrap my own glass. They were not happy. I wrapped and marked my glass items very, very, well. We had to set a new moving day. Kelly could not give me an exact pickup day for several days.
Then out of the blue they (Kelly) calls me on July 30 to tell me if I can be ready to move by August 1st then my furniture would be delivered by August 5th. *PART 4 OF THEIR SCAM* I scrambled to be ready on that day and I was.
4) When the movers come on August 1st I was informed that they would not be responsible for the things that they did not pack/wrap (My glass items) I agreed. In fact the things that I wrapped were the ONLY items not damaged in the move. I DID NOT SIGN A DAMAGE WAIVER AGREEING THAT THEY COULD DESTROY MY FURNITURE AND NOT BE LIABLE. *PART 5 OF THEIR SCAM*
5) After the movers completely loaded my furniture on the truck, the next part of the scam comes into effect. The guy in charge says: We have a problem There is an additional 400 cubic square feet. *PART 6 OF THEIR SCAM* They wanted $400 more this time. I said no. I had a printout from them of every item they agreed to ship at the price agreed upon. I had not added a single item. I had carefully measured every item. Every box. Every piece of furniture. I gave her the dimensions I called Kelly and she told me that I would need to leave some major items behind or give her $400. I told her no. She said: I'm not going to pay for it out of my pocket. Then I called the Better Business Bureau immediately, as they were standing there.
6) My furniture sat there for over an hour. They were now holding it hostage. I considered calling the police. Then Kelly said If I gave them an additional $100 and paid by CASH!!!! *PART 7 OF THEIR SCAM* that they would take my furniture away.
7) I then book my flight to get there with my furniture. Again, they promised it would be there by the August 5th, So I called August 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. They NEVER EVEN BOTHERED TO RETURN MY CALL. I finally called again the evening of the 6th and I was told that my furniture was STILL IN CALIFORNIA. They never even bothered to tell me. Kelly then said that she had no idea when it would leave. I continued to call every day. Finally I was told on August 15th that my furniture would arrive on the 17th. (NOT 10 DAYS AS THEY STATED)
8) I tried to pay by credit card but they wanted CASH, CASHIERS CHECK, or MONEY ORDER only *PART 8 OF THEIR SCAM*
9) When the furniture finally arrived I saw them open the door to the truck IT WAS A MESS I knew IMMEDIATELY that my items would be damaged. Things were thrown in, and stuffed in without regard to care. Heave items were sitting on top of small boxes marked fragile etc. Boxes were ripped.
10) Instead of having 3 movers as a job of this size required, a man and a young boy were the only people moving my furniture. They were dragging, dropping, throwing, and breaking things. When I complained, they got a bit better but there was not enough manpower to move things.
11) As they brought each item inside the house I could see OBVIOUS DAMAGE on each piece. (My furniture was brand new. I have before and after pictured)
My $2,000 mattress was dragged and had black soot all over it.
My expensive & heavy desk was shattered as though it had been dropped from a high place.
My new bed was scuffed/chipped
My leather furniture had been dragged Legs were completely broken off.
I could go on & on
The mover tried is best to repair the legs on the furniture. He said the damage was not done by him but the people who moved it to a storage place in Los Angeles. He said I should take pictures & the company was responsible. I did this.
12) I called Kelly the day of the move to report the damage. Their phones were not working. I continued to call every day. August 17, 18, 19th, & 20th. I also emailed them but never got a response. I then sent an email pretending to be a new customer seeking a quote and they emailed back immediately. *PART 8 OF THEIR SCAM*
I finally reached someone on the 20th to report the damage and that said that they were in the process of moving and the phones had been down. She says that Kelly needed to handle it. I waited for Kelly to call me back but she never did. I kept calling back until I reached Kelly. When I told her about the damage she immediately YELLS at me and tells me that they are not responsible because I signed a damage waiver. THAT IS A LIE. I SIGNED NO SUCH THING UNLESS THEY SNUCK IT IN THE PAPERWORK THEY HAD ME SIGN. Why would anyone sign such a waiver? That makes no sense. *PART 9 OF THEIR SCAM*?
I was then put on hold and no one ever came back to the phone. I followed up with several emails but to this day no one from Direct Moving & storage has returned any of my phone calls or emails. I asked to speak with the Owner/supervisor. He has not called back either. I was told that I could file a claim at .60 per pound but she told me that Direct Moving & Storage was not responsible for the damage they did to my furniture. I just went to the Better Business Bureau's site yesterday to see that they'd made that offer. Their total offer for ruining $10,000 worth of furniture was $120
This company should be out of business. They misrepresent, lie, cheat & steal.
Anewtvshow
North Hollywood, California
U.S.A.
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