Complaint Review: Best Price Movers - Los Angeles California

I decided to post this, after reading a few other reports on Best Price Movers.

Having decided to move from California to Florida in April, I had formed a verbal agreement with All-Star Moving (800-411-5155; Mandy) to coordinate my move. In the past, I had had always had Mayflower move my belongings, but I wanted to save money this time around.

Best Price Movers contacted me by e-mail and telephone asking me to do business with them. They claimed that because they charged by the square foot instead of by the pound, they would be cheaper. Some girl had called me (Vicki?) in the morning and I had spoken with Ethan (800-730-5154) in the afternoon. Ethan claimed that he was an honest businessperson who did not practice many of the tricks that the other movers were known for (e.g. weighing down the articles; gassing up before weighing in; adding blankets to increase the cost of the move, etc). He estimated that my move would cost $1210, so I agreed to have Best Price Movers facilitate my move from Pacifica, CA to the Tampa Bay area in FL.

Ethan knew that I wanted to move at the end of the month, as my rent ($1225 per month) was paid, until the end of April. However, he had one of the drivers contact me around mid-month to move me because it was to Best Price's advantage to move me then. I told him that I would not move, until the end of the month! The driver called me on Sunday, April 25, 2004 to inform me that he would be coming on Wednesday, April 28, 2004 to pick up my belongings.

I waited all day and finally got a call from the driver around 5:00PM informing me that he was running late and would be at my apartment in a few hours. The driver and his assistant arrived around 8:30 PM to move me. I was told that I was the last (4th) move of the day. In addition, the driver and his assistant were cursing (in Hebrew) when they saw my belongings, as they did not believe they would have enough room in their truck. FYI: the truck appeared to be quite full when they arrived.

The two movers went to work. I gave them sodas and offered to buy them a pizza, but it was too late (after 11PM). All of us were exhausted, as they had already been to three other locations and I had been boxing my belongings since Sunday! One of the movers apologized for cursing and told me that they were not mad at me personally- they were mad at the dispatcher.

In addition, they were not sure they would have enough room to load my belongings. FYI: I had to be out of the apartment that day and had my car loaded. Their truck was on its way to Los Angeles when they finished and I would not be able to include any items that they left behind in the move. Now, I was getting nervous, as there were still many items that had not been packed. One of the movers had insinuated that I might have lied on my estimate. However, I was quite thorough when I formed a verbal agreement with Ethan. In fact, we went over the definitions a few times.

At or around 12:45PM (April 29, 2004), the movers had gotten a call and were told to get back to LA! One mover had told the other one that they didn't have enough room to pack all of my stuff and they were ordered to get back now! (I was nervous because they had not completed packing my stuff.) The driver started getting the paperwork together. When he presented me with the financial figures, I was livid. More specifically, he had more than doubled the estimate ($2700+)! This was more that the amount that I was charged for twice the amount of stuff that I came out with.

FYI: Mayflower had charged $2500 for much more stuff (e.g. PA System; home entertainment system with 46 screen; giant 2-piece leather sectional with bed; and a number of other items which I no longer owned). Best Price Movers were trying to charge more AND they didn't even include all of my belongings! Best Price Movers added $398 in packing costs to the bill. FYI: this was explicitly what Ethan had claimed Best Price Movers did NOT do. Please note that I would not sign off on the charge ($225; $75 each) to wrap my TV and two 19 monitors, as none of the other movers had to do this in the past.

I refused to sign the bill as the driver kept telling me to sign it. He was saying, David, sign the bill, over and over again. He probably said it about 50-70 times! (It was late and we were all exhausted.) Then, he said that he would stick to the original estimate ($1210) and just charge me for the $398 in extra charges plus the $200 for long delivery (i.e. more than 200 steps) and not 500-600 square feet that he believed was loaded (note: I was never shown how any measurements were attained; was told afterward that it was 400 square feetstill have not validated this).

Although one mover claimed there was no more room in the truck, he assured me that he would personally see to it that he would find a way to get my stuff loaded on the truck, if I'd just sign the papers. I agreed to pay the exorbitant packing fees (would not initial the one for the monitors; $225), if he would stick to the original estimate and get the rest of my stuff on the truck.

So, I paid the driver $704 plus $200 (for long delivery charges). I could not get any more money out of the bank, as I had reached the max for ATM withdrawals for that day because, the estimates had been exceeded. I signed the paper work so that I would have some record that the articles that were loaded on the truck belonged to me. (They had many of my musical instruments loaded on the truck and were headed for LA with no written proof that these things belonged to me.)

I helped the driver load a bookcase on the elevator. He proceeded to get off the lift; get in the truck, and take offleaving the bookcase in the elevator. My apartment was a mess- unused packing materials and remnants all over the place! Even the parking lot included discarded materials and the empty soda cans that I provided. I spent the next 90 minutes throwing my unpacked belongings (*see list) in the rubbish bin, as I had no room to store them in my vehicle.

In addition, I had to clean up after the movers who had ran out the door as soon as the got paid. The landlord the Apartments I resided in Pacifica, CA charged me a (dump) fee for the stuff that I left behind!

I notified Best Price Movers (Haim) of what had transpired in Pacifica, CA, when I arrived in FL four days later. He claimed that he'd check out my claim. The next time that I spoke with him, he would only highlight that they were doing me a favor for only charging me the minimum of 285 square feet, even though he thought my stuff was really 400 square feet. Every time I mentioned that I had to throw $1500 of my personal belongings (computer; cassettes, computer parts, UPS, bookcase, kitchen table) away, he ignored my remark and told me that they were doing me a favor for only charging the minimum! In addition, he made no other remarks pertaining to the driver's deplorable behavior, the mess that they left, and broken promises to load my belongings (i.e. to get me to sign the agreement).

I was allowed 1 free month of storage per the original agreement. Haim informed me that I must allow them a two-week buffer to move my belongings from this location or I would have to pay extra for storage. Ergo, I notified him in mid-May that I would have a storage location in Florida ready for the month of June. In fact, he stated that my things should arrive after June 1stprobably June 2nd. I had a verbal agreement to acquire storage containers for June 1st with the owner in Florida. However, he would not have these ready before that time.

Vicki (786-301-3003) from Best Price Movers contacted me on May 27, 2004 and notified me that she wanted to deliver my belongings within a few hours of the call! FYI: there was no prior notice. I informed her that I would not be ready, until June 1st, as Haim had told me that my things would not be delivered before then (i.e. probably after June 2nd). I paid the owner of the storage containers at for the month of June.

On Monday, June 7th, 2004, (after 7PM) Vicki from Best Price Movers contacted me and stated that she wanted to deliver my belongings on Tuesday morning. I had an un-moveable business appointment with a lawyer in Orlando, FL that very same morning for an impeding business matter. She mentioned that if I did not accept delivery in the morning, she would not be able to deliver my belongings for another week and that I would have to pay for 1 month of storage. (She was unwilling to deliver my things in the afternoon, as she claimed that she did not want to come down from Gainsville, FL.) As I was not in a position to change the time constraints on the business matter at hand, I told her that I could not be present to accept delivery. She said she would place my belongings in storage and probably deliver them the next week.

On Monday, June, 21, 2004, (around 1Pm EST), I called Vicki. She informed me that she no longer works for Best Price Movers and gave me a number to call (954-455-5790) to arrange delivery. The person who answered the phone took down my personal info and told me he'd call back in a few hours. Having left a voice mail for me a few hours later, I returned the call an inquired about my delivery date. I was told that I have two options: send a check for $80 and pick up my personal belongings OR incur a ($340) redelivery charge along with the additional storage fee that Vicki had mentioned.

I could not believe that I was being charged a redelivery charge as this had not been mentioned by Vicki. In fact, I was assured that I'd simply be paying the storage charge that she estimated at $110. The person whom I spoke to did not listen to a word I said and kept repeating that I have two optionsjust like the driver who picked up my stuff in Pacifica. The conversation ended with lots of yelling, etc.

Ultimately, a truck showed up with two Russian guys who claimed not to understand any English. My Dad and brother were helping them unload (i.e. doing their work for them). Every time I pointed at a broken item, they claimed not to understand anything. (How convenient!) This was, in fact, one of the worst business transactions that I have every made.

Having moved cross-country (New England to California) quite a few times, I have never been so cheated, insulted (literally), and humiliated. They lied to me in my home; cursed about me in foreign language; cheated me; and destroyed many of my belongings.

Sorry, for not posting this sooner, but it's time for me to move, again. I just happen to see that quite a few other people have had some harrowing experiences with the same lot. They are not honest people. Caveat emptor!!

Anonymous

San Jose, California

U.S.A.

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