Complaint Review: East Coast Moving and Storage - Glendale Heights Illinois

In February 2015, I called East Coat Moving and Storage for a moving quote. I was moving from Texas to RI and needed my furniture, etc. moved in March. I spoke with a salesman Mark Reiver who was very accomodating. He asked for an inventory of the items I would need moved from every room. The cost would be calculated by weight. He sent me the Binding Moving Estimate shortly thereafter. The total moving estimate was $1650. I paid a deposit of $495 to secure the pickup and delivery.

The pickup date was scheduled for March 16th. I had the closing on the sale of my house the following day, March 17th. I was told by Mark that the driver would call the night before the pickup with the time of arrival. I did not hear from anyone that night, so I called the next morning. It took a while for someone to actually answer the phone, but finally I was given the cell # of the driver. I contacted him and was told that they were still in Florida and wouldn't be able to pick up my furniture until later that day. I had to push the closing back and the buyer was not happy. 

When the movers finally did arrive, they were in a hurry and didn't really handle my things very carefully. The man that I dealt with regarding the contract and payment seemed like a con artist to me, but I dismissed the thought at the time. However, I was not happy when I saw that the amount that I would be charged was now going to be $3011...almost twice the original quote. I was told that the charge was figured by cubic feet NOT weight as Mark had said. I was also charged $210 for stairs that were inside my house. Mark told me they would only charge if they were outside stairs such as in 2nd and 3rd floor apartments. I was duped, but I had no choice other than to pay them. The house was being sold and I had to vacate it.

My furniture was delivered in RI after several different dates and times were given. When the furniture arrived, I couldn't believe what I saw. My bedroom set was busted and scratched. Legs were broken off of my office desk. My TV entertainment center was completley unsalvageable. My glass lamps that were supposed to be wrapped were thrown into a huge box full of all of my clothing that had been dumped in. I asked Mark if I needed to take the clothes out of my draweres and he said no. Every single draw was dumped into one huge box. 90% of my furniture was either broken, scratched or just plain trash.

I called the company and spoke with the manager Derek Gum who was apologetic and promised to take care of it. I explained that nobody ever answered the phone when I called and he said he always answers his...even eats lunch at his desk daily, so he would answer when I called. That never hapened, so I sent an email. He finally responded and said he would send tha claim form for damages and that once I filled it out and met the requirements, I would receive a refund. I completed the form, took picutres of all the damage (they had to be actual developed pictures NOT attachements) and sent it in. That was on April 8th. In May, I still had not heard back from anyone. This started a series of back and forth emails to customer service which always ended up nowhere. Phone calls were futile. Customer service people were rude, indignant and acted like I was in the wrong. Finally after several more months, I received their "settlement agreement" which I was to approve, sign, have notarized and send back. The grand total for my damages was calculated by weight and was only $252. I was devastated. 

At any rate, I knew that I was fighting a lost cause so I followed their protocol and sent the settlement agreement back in September, 2015...5 months after the initial claim form was sent to them. Here it is, February 23, 2016...10 months later and I STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED MY REFUND CHECK. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and after several emails back and forth between them, the company and myself they closed my file! The company said my check was in the mailand I would receive it in 72 hours, which was a week ago. I called the company to speak with the person who handles the BBB correspondence and of course "he is not in the office." The customer service person Ciarra is always short and rehearsed. She makes you feel like you are an idiot. I finally get her to check to see when the check was supposedly sent. Come to find out it hasn't been sent at all. Now I'm "in the cue" for it to be cut on March 19th! I told her this was unacceptable, since she told me that in January and I was supposed to get the check on February 19th. She just dismissed me as she always did. I told her that I needed to speak with the person that person that deals with BBB emails and she said she would have him call me. Still haven't heard from him either. I've basically given up fighting with this company. I'm not even sure if this is a legitimate company at all. 

I don't understand why the Better Business Bureau still has an A+ rating for this company. This company is a freud. 

DO NOT EVER DO BUSINESS WITH EAST COAST MOVING AND STORAGE.