Complaint Review: Relocation Vanlines

This moving company is very dishonest and uses illegal practices to gain extra money and cheat customers. I decided to go with this company because the initial moving company that I hired did not show up. After loading the truck they told me that I owed $377 for additional packing supplies (56 rolls of tape, 5 boxes, and 2 mattress covers). I told them that that was false because I had supplied my own mattress covers and that all of my belongings were already packed in boxes and taped up. I had bought extra supplies prior to the move (boxes, bubble wrap, shrink-wrap, mattress covers, etc.). They stated that they would use my supplies for no additional charge. I did agree to using 2 boxes to cover my china cabinet, but not 5! They did not use 5 boxes. I watched them the whole time. At the conclusion of the move they stated that they used these large amounts of their supplies. When I asked them to show me the empty 56 rolls of tape, they refused and said that I had thrown the tape rolls away and that I was obligated to pay. I counted 22 rolls of tape used. Even this was an exorbitant amount used for items already in boxes. I was appalled because the sales person and my contract stated that blanket wrapping of all furniture was included. I was also upset because they lied about quantity of the supplies used. If they wanted a large tip, they should have just worked hard and be honest workers.

When I complained, the movers called their bosses, Valter and Jill, who then threatened to hold my furniture hostage and stated that if I did not pay, they would sell my furniture at auction. Feeling pressured and like I had no choice, I agreed to move. However after the movers left, I looked at the requisition and noticed that the movers changed the cost of the moving supplies to help them get to that $377 total. For example, the price list stated that I used 5 boxes at $15 each, well instead of charging me $75, they wrote the final charge of $125. They also changed the price of the tape, by adding an extra $20 to make the total $196. Not only did they exaggerate the amount of packing supplies, but they also falsified and changed the costs of the supplies. This is totally illegal! When I called to talk about the changed prices, I was told that they had given me a break and that they could have charged me labor of $7 per item, which would have cost me more. They refused to correct the amount charged for the packing supplies.

My items were finally delivered to Georgia, but with problems. The moving company lost the large wooden side rails to my cherry wood sleigh bed. So I cannot use my bed and my mattress is now on the floor. In addition, they broke the glass tabletop to my coffee table. I have called several times a day for the past week and sent emails to locate my side rails and inquire about using the insurance to replace my counter top and side rails. But they do not answer my calls or emails. Relocation Van Lines, Inc.s service is deplorable. They do not care about the customer and will not call back after they got your money. They are very dishonest and should not be in business.

Anonymous
chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.