Complaint Review: Prodigy Moving And Storage

On or about 12/12/2002, planning to move from San Francisco to Kansas City, I (Jeffrey T. Gates) searched the internet for a moving company to transport all of my belongings from a storage unit in Millbrae, CA to Kansas City, KS. I had been traveling by car across the US and did not yet have an apartment but was planning to arrive before the driver and hoped to find an apartment within a day or two and then call to advise the movers of the delivery address which would be either my new apartment or a local storage unit in Kansas City.

I received a quote from Prodigy Moving and Storage on 12/12/2002 by email for $925 which was for the lowest amount at the time. I called to make arrangements for the move and spoke with a man named David. He confirmed the quote amount of $925 and faxed me a contract to sign. He also stated on the phone that this quote was based on a maximum (and also minimum) weight of 1200 lbs. Not being familiar with the actual weight of my things, I asked him if that was the average weight of a studio apartment and he replied that it was. I did not question him further on that as it made sense that a quote (i.e. an estimate of total cost) should be based on the average job. Since I am somewhat a minimalist and do not typically save lots of junk I knew that the things I owned, living in studio apartment, were less than the average person living in a studio apartment and so expected my quote to be fairly accurate.

I also informed David that I did not yet have a destination address and he said that was no problem. He stated that the quote of $925 included 30 days of storage so I could take my time and when I found an apartment, just call and give them the address and they would deliver with no additional charges.

I signed the contract and faxed it back to David. Unfortunately, since our telephone conversation was friendly and the information seemed to make sense I did not thoroughly read the contract and expected that David had been honest with me. After signing and returning the document I spoke with him on the phone and he told me I could just pay $500 at the time of pickup and the balance upon delivery. I mentioned that I would use a credit card and at that time he told me they did not accept credit cards because they have had problems in the past. Now I began to become suspicious that I might be about to run into some kind of problems with a company that prefers to deal only in cash. He also said they required the pickup payment to be only cash, money order or cashiers check. I then told him I could get $500 in cash for the pickup but would like to pay the balance at delivery with a personal check. He said that was fine. I did not realize until later that the contract states they accept only cash, money order or cashiers checks.

On 12/14/2002 I went to my familys storage unit at Annies Attic in Millbrae, CA to meet the movers at 8A as agreed. I had to wait around most of the day as they did not show up until around 2P. With the driver, Ben, were 2 other men as well as 2 women and a couple of children. We went to the storage unit and they began loading my things in the truck, a single box-van style truck (not a large tractor-trailer), while I identified and separated my things from items belonging to other family members and pulled them out of the unit. They also placed items which were already packed in small boxes together into large boxes to make them easier to move. I assumed that since this action was solely for their own benefit and the items were already packed in boxes that it would be at their own expense. Afterward, I found that I was being charged an additional $220 for packing materials which consisted of 10 cardboard boxes. At this point all of my possessions in the world were packed and loaded on their truck so there wasnt much I could do. I also had to request that my bed be wrapped in blankets to avoid scratching it as it is relatively new and one of the nicest pieces I own yet they had carried it to the truck and stood it up against the tailgate without any protective cover. They also marked on the difficult to read inventory that 3 of the 4 pieces of the bed frame were already scratched, which I definitely know not to be true.

I paid the driver, Ben, $500 in cash. He then stated that the load looks like around 1700 lbs to him and seemed to be about to offer me some kind of deal involving paying fully in cash to avoid additional charges for the extra weight. I stated there was no way I could have more stuff than the average person and so would like for them to officially weight the load as indicated in the contract. They were to do this at their facility when they unloaded my things into their own storage location to await my delivery address. The driver then, with the job done at this point, asked me for a tip. Since they had possession of everything I own in the world, I felt uncomfortable denying their request and gave him an additional $20 in spite of their unprofessional and inexperienced appearance.

So they left with all my things loaded on the truck and me feeling a bit uncomfortable about the whole thing. But there wasnt really anything more I could do so I just went to visit my cousin once more and pick up a few small things from her house before setting out to drive to Kansas City. I arrived in Kansas City on or about 12/16/2002 and stayed in a hotel for several days while I searched for an apartment. I found and took possession of my new place on 12/24/2002 at 3838 Rainbow Blvd in Kansas City, KS. I believe I called David to advise him of my new address where he was to have my things delivered on the next business day, 12/26/2002, and he told me they would be able to deliver my belongings on 1/3/2003. Im not sure about the exact dates but it was roughly a week or so from the time I called. At this point he also claimed that my load had weighed in at 1700 lbs. (suspiciously exactly what the driver had guessed from eyeballing it) resulting in additional charges for the extra weight and that I was going to have to pay $1081 in addition to the $500 I had already paid. This made my total charges $1581 when they quoted me $925.

While waiting for them to show up I went and bought a mattress for my bed since that was about the only thing I didnt already own to furnish my new apartment. I have thus been living in an empty apartment on my mattress with just one duffel bag of clothing and my computer which Id had with me in the car for over a month now.

Ben, the same driver, showed up on or about 1/3/2003 but this time in a big tractor-trailer style truck and not the smaller box-van they used to pickup my things. He was unable to maneuver this truck into the parking lot of my apartment building in order to park and unload directly next to the entrance door and left the truck parked in the street, about 3 or 4 hundred feet from the door. I was already planning to tell him to only unload my things to the main floor elevator as my apartment is on the 11th floor and I did not want to incur additional charges for having them go up past the first floor, especially since they were hiking up the fee from the original quote. My friend, Eric Hudson, was there with me and would help me bring everything up the elevator to my apartment. He then informed me that he was alone and did not have anyone to help him and wanted Eric and me to help him with unloading my things from his truck as well. I said that would be finebut we would charge him $600 for our work. This seemed quite fair to me as well as to Eric but Ben wasnt keen on the idea, partly because he couldnt (due to his own ineptness) get the truck closer to the entrance. Frustrated, I finally told him to just unload my things and even leave them at the sidewalk if he wanted and we would take care of it from there.

Oddly, at this point Ben asked to see my check. When I showed it to him he attempted to look dismayed and said oh, its a personal check. I said of course it was a personal check, as I had discussed with David in the beginning. He then said he couldnt take a personal check and called David on the phone. I argued with Ben and David (on the phone) and yelled and screamed about how they were ripping me off and knew I intended to pay by check for nearly an hour before Ben finally just left (without delivering my furniture and personal belongings). It was interesting to note that David had initially confirmed that it would be ok to pay by check after paying the initial amount in cash and then when the driver was unable to perform his job in a professional manner he asks to see my payment and uses that as an excuse to refuse delivery.

Angry and feeling helpless, I went to an attorney for advice. I was referred to Tracey Chappell by a friend and discussed the problem with her. She called David for me to see if she could settle the problem but he would only agree to delivering the load at an additional $250 redelivery fee. She said he also told her he was dropping storage fees. Also interesting, since the original fee was supposed to include 30 days of storage for free. Tracey advised me there wasnt much I could do other than pay what they wanted and sue them later.

So now we arranged for delivery on 1/12/2003 and I had, per our contract (with regard to form of payment), a money order for $1000 and $331 in cash to cover the amount, not per our contract (with regard to amount of payment), of $1331 they were demanding. My friend Eric was with me again to help me move my things upstairs but the driver called and said he would be late and might just come in the morning. I said I was paying for this delivery and had someone here to help me so I would rather he come that night regardless of how late it was. He said he would be there around midnight or 1A. He called again to say that he had a flat tire and would not be there until the morning. My friend had to work so I was left to deal with the matter by myself.

When the driver (someone else other than Ben) finally showed up around 7A on Monday morning, 1/13/2003, the first thing he wanted was to see my cash or he was leaving. He began arguing almost immediately and he attempted to leave almost right away. I had to get in my car and drive around and in front of his truck to stop him from leaving and then gave him my money order and cash. Another point to note here is that I have never yet, in either of these delivery attempts seen any part of my belongings on or off their trucks. Im not even sure they ever had my things or intended to deliver them while they continue to demand more and more cash in advance from me every time we interact.

So at this point the driver tosses the money order back to me and states that he cannot take a check. Exasperated, I yelled at him that this was a money order from a back and tossed it right back at him again. He stared at it for several minutes as though he couldnt read and again said he couldnt accept it and that I would have to go and cash it. I said no, the contract at least states that you will accept cash, MONEY ORDER, or cashiers checks and this is a money order and I dont have to run around these additional hoops and that he was only trying to upset me by being difficult. Besides, I dont know where he expected me to be able to cash a $1000 money order at 7:00 in the morning. After another stressful hour of arguing and screaming and yelling the man still refused to accept the money order, as per their own contract, and therefore also refused to deliver my home furnishings and personal belongings. Again, the driver left with my things still (supposedly) on the truck.

I had Tracey Chappell call David again and he refused to compromise and settle this problem in any way. She even said that he was rude and unprofessional on the phone. He would only agree to delivering my things now for an additional $1500 by cashiers check and in advance by mail!! I couldnt believe ithis driver just refused to accept a money order for $1000 plus cashwhy in the world would I send them any more money, especially even before the truck is here with my things?!

At this point Tracey advised me that all I can do sue him. I have therefore gone to the Wyandotte county courthouse on Friday, 1/17/2003, and spoke to the District Attorney regarding filing a consumer complaint. This report of events is part of that complaint being filed on Tuesday, 1/21/2003 and I also intend to file a lawsuit in Small Claims court against David and Prodigy Moving and Storage as well as taking another legal action available to me to resolve this matter.

Also, after living with virtually no home furnishings for almost a month and feeling like a homeless squatter in my own home, I have finally had to start purchasing furnishings which I already owned. These so far include a TV, a cordless phone, sheets for my mattress on the floor, pillows, a set of floor/table lamps, a chair, a small cart to hold my computer and printer and a storage trunk. I have also purchased several other small items and have most of the receipts in the hopes that any judgment in my favor will include reimbursement for expenses I am incurring to replace basic necessary home furnishings which I already own but are in the possession of Prodigy Moving and Storage illegally and in breach of their own contract. I would also like to state that I am not spending money frivolously on these items but only on what I need to maintain a basic minimum standard of living which is still far, far below that which I am accustomed to. I am still using plastic flatware and paper plates, purchased a 13 TV to replace my 27, still have very little furniture and have not (yet) purchased a replacement microwave, which is my main method of cooking most meals.

On the afternoon of 1/22/2003 I received a voice mail message from David saying that he has been talking to my attorney or whatever and that if they didnt hear anything from me in 7 days they would send my stuff to auction. I called him back right away and told him not to send anything to any auction, that I had already filed a complaint with the consumer district attorney in Kansas City and was preparing to file a lawsuit against him.

Jeff
kansas city, Kansas
U.S.A.

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