Complaint Review: Mashav Relocation

Copy of letter I sent to Mashov Moving company


Your company made several misrepresentations prior to my move and it is my hope that you will correct such in a timely manner without the need for litigation. These misrepresentations include, but are not limited to:  


I was informed that my property would be shipped  separate from your other customers; however, it appears that my property was shipped and comingled with the property of at least three other customers. This distinction is important for numerous reasons, including the fact that I would have taken or should been given advice on how to properly box items to avoid breakage when being staked 10 boxes or more on top of each other. 


The boxes were clearly labeled as Glass, Fragile, Heavy and this side up with arrows.  I repeatedly reminded the movers to follow the labels; however, most did not speak English and ignored by instructions.  Moreover, I saw one of the movers drop my desktop computer box. I asked the supervisor, Roger, if these movers could read English and he assured me they could.   Many of my boxes were turned upside down and  no apparent attention was paid to the instructions/comments on the boxes.  I noticed this as I made a few trips to check on things. I mentioned this to Roger but he didnt do anything. Now, this is just the initial pick up from my home in Virginia.


Roger also wanted to charge me $75 to pack up the three pieces of glass that go with my TV stand, which as you are aware are missing.  As this was supposed to be included in the price, I told him I was not going to pay for the additional cost and he packed up the glass. This is the strongest glass they make as it is designed to hold heavy TV's. He also made me sign off on the packing of those three pieces of glass. Without the three pieces of glass, my TV stand is essentially worthless and will need to be replaced.  Not only did I have to pay $75 extra but the pieces are missing. I must also mention that other boxes must be lost as I only have 4 coffee mugs that showed up and I packed at lease 12 or more. There are other items that I cant find and some Im sure I wont discover for some time. 


As it turned out the movers used a regular size moving van to pick up my property, which was subsequently loaded on an 18
wheeler.  Then when it arrived in San Diego I was charged extra for the U-Haul rental and the two laborers used to move my property from  the 18 wheeler.   I was forced by Eli, the driver of the 18 wheeler , to pay an additional $200 just to finish the job. This is in addition to the extra $75 I was charged for the the U-Haul and the $130 for the two laborers.  I hired your company to do the moving from VA. to CA, and was maliciously forced to pay an additional $405, which was negotiated down from the $700 Eli attempted to elicit from me. 


Moreover, I was barely able to communicate with the movers assisting Eli as my property was unloaded and he repeatedly insisted on leaving the movers, instead of staying onsite to supervise the unloading of my property. 


I also insisted on Eli remaining onsite because the other movers were rather small and I was concerned that they would not be able to move my sofa, which was broken as they negligently moved it into my apartment.  This is an expensive electric sofa and one side was damaged wherein one side will not open and the frame is loose and may not be sturdy enough for another move.  This is a high end sofa with little use and a retail value of over $2,000. Consequently Eli and his partner along with the
two other movers could barely carry the sofa up the stairs. If Elie has his way and left me with these two guys the sofa would still be out in the parking lot.

Eli assured me with the words trust me, these guys are qualified movers. 


Your company also represented that all property disassembled would be reassembled.   No assembly was done except for the bed. Eli helped me assemble it shortly after he cleaned off footprints on the white bed frame. The bed was bent and extremely dirty; this was because Eli wanted to leave after he got in my neighborhood and have me make the arraignments to get the stuff off his 18 wheeler. In anticipating his departure, Eli removed the blankets that were covering  and protecting my sofa and  white bed. This is totally disrespectful of my property and was extremely unprofessional.  Eli  wanted to leave and was  going to leave me with the two movers, that spoke very little English, to fend for myself.   As mentioned when contracting with your
company, I had major back surgery with spinal fusion seven months ago. Yet, I felt compelled to assist with the unloading and loading when the truck came to CA.  


With regard to your request for pictures, due to the extent of the damage, I will have to send you several emails, which will be labeled accordingly. 


The list of damaged items is include below: 


  An antique standing lamp was smashed and completed broken.  Estimated value of  at least $1,000.



   My sofa will need to be repaired and completely cleaned. The electrical problem will need to be solved and the framework reconstructed. Will have to get an estimate.


   My bed will have to be cleaned and  inspected for an estimate to repair the damage. Original cost  over $4,000.


  Book cases were broke and the backing damaged. I had five book cases and most were taken apart and nothing was put back together.

  Two coffee tables were damaged; one coffee table is split and another coffee table is not safely able to stay together. One of the coffee tables is an antique and had an estimated value of $500, the other had an estimated value of $250.


  Voluminous glass items were damaged  and will be documented via photographs.