Complaint Review: Federal Movers Inc.

Beware of Federal Movers, Inc. in California. I tried to do everything right, but that was not enough. Here is a summary of the events.

My family was relocating to Arizona from Washington State. We got a couple estimates and while Federal Movers was not the lowest, I was impressed with the move manager I initially contacted. I agreed to a binding estimate of $7400. I expected a crew of 3-4 men to arrive on August 14th to move my 5 bedroom home. We had several heavy and/or large items, which were clearly outlined in the estimate.

On August 14th, 2 (two) movers showed up late. They ran out of packing materials for our fragile items and had to "improvise" with saran wrap. They were clearly over-tired and took many breaks throughout the day. At some point HOLES were gouged in my walls in two different areas of the house. They also failed to properly protect my wood floor - even though I expressed concern - and large scratches and gouges resulted in my entryway and down my front steps.

They were going to be done by 9pm, then 10pm, then finally after midnight I had returned from dropping my exhausted children off at my parents - and they still weren't done! The truck was over half loaded and then the shocker - I was presented with a new bill for $12,000!! I was not shown an itemized inventory of my goods. This new price was based the fact that they anticipated filling the whole truck. They showed me how little space was left in the truck as proof that I was over the estimate. Later they claimed that I signed this bill prior to loading - as is required by law. Clearly, that is a lie. I was told by the foreman that he needed my signature to consent for them to transport my goods. What choice did I have, but to sign? They already had my stuff packed and almost totally loaded, plus, we were on a tight schedule and had to get moving.

Skip ahead one week: I had been reassured the damage to my home would be covered. I was able to have the walls fixed. I took pictures and documented the cost of repairs. Oh and here's another surprise: After dealing initially with that nice move manager with terrific people skills and perfect english, suddenly everyone was foreign. The two movers were Israelis and any dispute I had went to someone with an accent. Hmmm....

So now I'm in Arizona and in order to get Federal Movers to even agree to drop off our load, we had to ensure them we would pay in full. I had complained about the inadequate work crew in Washington. Apparently that had fallen on deaf ears. Again, they sent only two men. Little did they know, I had contacted the police because I suspected an extortion scam. I was then put in touch with the ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF WEIGHTS AND MEASUREMENTS. Two department officials came out before the movers were scheduled to arrive. Again - the movers were late.

The Officials greeted the movers and informed them that they would be standing by to watch them unload. The amount of space that my load occupied would be all they could charge me for. When they opened the truck, something amazing had happened. My load, which had previously occupied the entire space of the truck, HAD SHRUNK! Every item was accounted for at the end of the day and to all of our surprise, the load was UNDER the original estimate. We escaped that scam, but now for the damage...

So many of our belongings were dented, scraped, bent, broken or ruined. This went beyond incidental damage. They had obviously mishandled our goods. I carefully documented what I could with pictures and my best weight estimates. I submitted my claim less than 30 days after the drop-off. Between the damage to my home and 60 cents per pound on the damaged belongings, I was expecting a settlement offer of at least $2000. I started laughing when I received an offer of $330. That didn't even cover the damage to our walls! I immediately filed a complaint with the DOT and shortly thereafter received a new offer of $450. (Again, I had to laugh)

I wrote them a forceful letter explaining that we would accept $1500 and if they did not want to pay, they should send us paperwork to begin arbitration proceedings. We were soon contacted by a third party whose job is to assess the claim and give the moving company a neutral recommendation based on industry standards. They e-mailed me a copy of their recommendation of almost $1300. We were willing to accept it, but then FEDERAL MOVERS sent us a recommendation from that same company, but showing only about $900 as the recommendation. Uh, what about the damage to my house? That was suspiciously left out. It appeared they had cut and pasted the portion they were willing to pay - like we would just fall for that.

They are now refusing to offer any more than $980, regardless of the fact that they tried to dupe us. My husband and I are looking into civil options. At this point, we just want the world to know what crooks these people are. Some things are more important than money.

Darcie
Gilbert, Arizona
U.S.A.