Complaint Review: National Moving Network Access Van Lines Inc. and Shurgard Storage

Wednesday, December 19, 2001
Although these are the addresses given to me, I have discovered many more, to numerous to mention.

These companies are listed with this web site Bad Business Bureau BUT NOT the Better Business Bureau. Why is that?

NATIONAL MOVING NETWORK (NMN)
PO Box 630850
Miami, FL 33163-0850
800-722-9775 fax 305-949-1457
Contact: Greg Richards

ACCESS VAN LINES (AVL)
110-48 72nd Ave. Ste.2B
Forest Hills, NY 11375
800-298-9947 fax 718-575-3848
Contact: Daniel Biran

Shurgard Storage (SS)
3010 S. Crater Rd.
Petersburg, VA 23805
804-861-5435

I have been going through the worst divorce in the history of mankind for the last 3 years.
Between my estranged & deranged husband & his cronies, my shop & house have been ripped-off a total of 6 times. Homeowners insurance paid over $11,500 this year from the latest theft.

Being totally fed-up with the ongoing malice & all of the thievery, I closed & packed up my 8-year business on Sunday, June 10 & packed up my 4 acres, lock, stock, & barrel, & decided to move from VA, back home to OKC. I elicited some help from the folks back home to help with the move. They arrived Wednesday, June 13.

June 11, 2001, relatives in OKC went online & not knowing their reputation, commissioned NMN for a deposit of $750 on their credit card. In turn, NMN subcontracted AVL to do the packing & moving. ..What a costly mistake!

The original agreement stated my estimated possessions of 9800 lbs. would be delivered in OKC in 5-7 days, (week of June 24), with a COD of $4400. I went to my storage facility to rent 2 extra 10'x20' units to accommodate the move. All 3 units cost me $192 a month. ($64 for each unit)

The movers took 3 days (June 14-16) to pack what they claim was 25,000 lbs. I do not have copies of their weigh tickets. I lived on the East Coast for 10 years, so there was everything from large appliances to the most fragile. Including irreplaceable objects like baby pictures & mementos, autographed high school yearbooks, heirlooms from deceased Grandparents, & so on.

They packed my house first, then went 20 minutes away to my business to pack it up. When they were loading the last of it onto the truck at about 2 AM, Alon, (one of the movers), asked me for a $2000 check. I didn't know anything about this, so I called OKC to inquire. We both concurred over the phone, that no other monies had ever been mentioned to either one of us, except for the $750 deposit & $4400 COD. After 15-20 minutes of dialog with the Alon, I reluctantly wrote the check for $2000 so they would finish up & be gone. By 4:30 AM, Saturday, June 16, I was on the road for OKC & arrived there noon, Sunday, June 17.

I hadn't had much sleep all week from packing, so I slept most of Monday & Tuesday, resting up for the arrival of my possessions around June 21-23. Wednesday, June 20, we went to the bank & withdrew $4400 for the expected COD. The kinfolk & I had a nice visitation & I commandeered the helped needed to assist in the transition of the move. All we really needed to do was relax until the movers arrived, bust our asses again & get it all organized at the storage units. You know, separating what things were needed now, in contrast as to what could really be stored for later use.

I hadn't heard anything from the movers over that weekend, so Monday, June 25, I started making some calls to NY. I was told that Daniel Biran was not there, but that he would return my call the next day on Tuesday. I waited until after 5 PM EST, but no return call.

Tuesday, June 26, (10 days after the move), I closed out my VA bank accounts to open an account in OKC & pay the mortgage (on my now empty house in VA) & make a truck payment by the first of July. Again, I called & left a message for Daniel to call me. He didn't return my calls until Thursday, June 28. It was then that he told me that the new invoice would be in excess of $17,000. Of course we had a disagreement with this new bill. After heated debate, I told him to send me a copy of the new charges in writing & that I would look them over. He never would commit to anything like that, then cussed me & hung up the phone. What a shock! My things were being held hostage by these people at four times the original estimate!

After several more calls, I once again spoke with Daniel on Friday, June 29. He changed the price several times & he still wouldn't commit to anything in writing & informed me that he went to cash the $2000 check & that my bank accounts were closed out. He also said he needed that money to feed his family. Well, logic tells me, that IF someone is moving out of state with everything they own, why wouldn't they take their money, medical records, etc.? Besides that, IF he needed to feed his family, why didn't he cash the check within the past 2 weeks? He won't return my calls, he hasn't charged me with a hot check & they still have my stuff!

In July of this year, I called Shurgard in Petersburg, VA to see if I could work this from a different angle. I spoke with a lady who wouldn't give me her name or the lawyer's name that represents their company. She told me she wasn't allowed to tell me anything & couldn't tell me if my stuff was still stored there or gone? She wouldn't say which unit it was in, or who is making the monthly payments? With no hope in sight, I canceled the 2 storage units I had reserved here in OKC & lost the money spent ($400) on those empty units for 2 months.

I phoned my lawyer after trying everything I know to do & after repeated attempts to make contact with AVL, [he] cannot get a response from them either. I finally called the FBI earlier this month, but they haven't returned a call with any news yet.

I'm still sleeping on my relatives' couch, I cannot apply my trade with all of my equipment gone, & I spend money I don't have to replace things I already own in storage. The money I've lost, the value of all my possessions ($100,000s), the stress & anguish of the last 6 months? None of it is worth the aggravation to do business with any of these companies! I've lost everything I own to these people & I don't see how I might get any of it returned? Had I previously known all of this or had been warned, I would never have chosen any of these companies to do business with. I am so sick of thieves.
Take my word for it! These people are thieves!

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Shurgard Storage

Click here to read other Rip-off Reports on National Moving Network and other various transport companies

STOP! ..before you think about using the BBB click here to see how other consumers were victimized by the BBB Better Business Bureau's false or misleading information. Don't be fooled! When there are thousands of complaints and other investigations are underway by authorities, the BBB has no choice but to finally give an UNsatisfactory rating to a BBB member business that is paying the BBB big membership fees every year. When a business is reported that is NOT a BBB member, BBB files WILL more likely show an UNunsatisfactory rating. One positive thing about the BBB is, either way, if a business has an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB, you can be sure, the business is bad. Click here to understand more of what consumers and business alike are saying about the BBB. You decide.