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  • Report:  #728212

Complaint Review: Guardian Moving & Storage

Guardian Moving & Storage Delayed and unresponsive during delivery, many broken/damaged items, unprofessional Nationwide,

  • Reported By:
    Yve — Honolulu Hawaii United States of America
  • Submitted:
    Thu, May 12, 2011
  • Updated:
    Tue, September 27, 2011

Do not EVER use Guardian Moving. We just used them to move our household items from NY to Honolulu.

We got a call from a delivery guy in Honolulu to tell us that our goods have arrived on a Saturday, he wants to deliver the goods rightaway on that Saturday. We told him that it's not possible, as we will have to reserve our service elevator beforehand. He said he'll call back next week to schedule a move, we said ok. He never called back the whole week. We called on Thurs to check the situation but no one answered, we left a message. We called again on Fri and this time we called the main Guardian line, the lady who picked up told us that we were did not receive the goods rightaway and because of that the goods need to go into storage and they will have to charge us redelivery and storage fee! We argued with her, she said she will check with her supervisor and call us back, but she never did. We had to call again the next day to check the status. After much argument, Guardian waived the redelivery fee but still charged us storage fee.

On the day of the scheduled delivery, the dispatch told us that they will come between 8-10am. I waited until 9.30am and did not hear any news, I called them but no one picked up. By 9.55am, no one called, so I called the main office again. This time they said that they will arrive "shortly". At 10.30am, there was still no news heard. I had to go to work to attend a meeting so I left for work. It was not until 11am that arrived. I had to skip my meeting and come home, because they were 1 hour late!!

I have NOT even told you the WORST part yet. At the loading zone of my apartment, they refused to offload the boxes and insisted that I pay them the rest of the money before they offload. I insisted that I want to count the number of boxes as per the inventory list, they said there's no way we can count UNTIL I pay them in full. I had no choice but to pay them the money.

As they were unloading, I see that a few of my boxes were damaged/broken, they said "it was too heavy, you shouldn't have packed it like this". My vanity mirror was BROKEN, they outrightly told me. They again told me that "we're not responsible as you packed the stuff yourself". I almost screamed at them - the mirror was packed by Guardian staff in NY! The delivery man very calmly told me, "oh, we'll go through and note down to see which items are broken, then you can call the office directly". Another delivery man stacked many of my Fragile boxes together in a stack and did not even take caution in putting them down gently (right in front of my eyes!). I told the main delivery man that I have to inspect my items, as some seem to have been mishandled. He said "yes, sure, but I don't have 5, 6 hours for you". Back at the apartment, I quickly opened my fragile item boxes. In one box, around 6 of my mugs and dishes are BROKEN (they were bubble wrapped by Guardian staff)! One of my low steel shelf had parts broken. The shade of my standing lamp was dented. Another one of my small mirror was broken.

I called the Guardian main office line. I told the lady about the broken goods. The CS lady told me "oh just call CSI Pros, a third party claims service company, this is the number." I asked her what I can get for all the damages, she said "max of 50 cents per article". My broken items are WORTH MUCH MORE THAN THAT! I tried to call CSI Pros but they are closed. I will call them again tomorrow, and I feel that whatever they can give me (max of 50cents) is NEVER going to be enough for the experience that I was put through.

I will post my review of this company in as many forums as possible because this company is RIDICULOUS. We have moved many times across different states within the US, and this is the [U]WORST MOVING COMPANY BY FAR[/U]! I'm going to see if I can lodge complaints at small business bureau, I refuse to let more customers be CHEATED by this company!

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#2Consumer Suggestion

Tue, September 27, 2011

Boosting charges over estimates on delivery is a common scam.

I am currently dealing with Guardian Moving and Storage (aka Guardian Moving & Storage; aka Guardian Cargo Logistics). After a lot of research, I discovered that they are based out of Los Angeles, although they claim to have offices throughout Hawaii.

After consulting attorneys, I was told that without a signed contract and only an email/oral contract, it is better to pay the amount demanded and then file a claim in court for extra charges. Don't forget to obtain a detailed bill to produce as evidence. However, small claims court can be expensive when they are not based in your hometown (I reside in Hawaii).

According to an attorney, outside of court, there are many avenues to deal with unscrupulous, dishonest or negligent moving companies:

The first government contact you need to file a complaint with is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). They have recently streamlined their process, and even if you have filed previously with them using their old system prior to (1/1/2003), you should file with them again. It's easy to file a complaint online using their web site at Commercial Complaint Form Information (http://www.1-888-dot-saft.com/CC_Info.htm), or toll-free by phone at 1-888-368-7238.

You should also file a complaint with the Department of Transportation's Office of the Inspector General. Although they don't have a system in place that is as easy to use as the FMCSA's, you can email them at hotline@oig.dot.gov.

Next, you should find out if your mover is a member of the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA). You can find out by calling the AMSA at 703-683-7410, or by sending them an email to info@moving.org. If your moving company is an AMSA member, then they have agreed to participate in the AMSA Arbitration Program. You should file for arbitration with the AMSA by following their guidelines on www.moving.org (http://www.movingscam.com/cgi-bin/link.cgi?url=http://www.moving.org).

You should file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau even if the company is not a member. You can file a complaint with the BBB online using their web site at United States and Canada BBB Consumer and Business Reviews, Reports, Ratings, Complaints and Accredited Business Listings (www.bbb.com) (http://www.bbb.com).

You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

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