Complaint Review: Goldstar Van Lines - Fremont California

I agreed to pay $1812.08 for my house move after giving the company every detail about my house & belongings including the ladders/stairs up to my apartment, glass-top table, heavy/bulky TV, etc; I did not exclude anything. I asked for a not-to-exceed quote but they said "it would be to your disadvantage if your weight comes to less than the quoted weight limit because in that case you are required to pay less which will not be possible with a 'not-to-exceed quote'''; that's why I did not insist on a 'not-to-exceed' quote. They later changed their words saying "2500lbs is the lowest minimum limit for a 1-bedroom apartment; you will pay the same even if your weight comes less than the limit". I call this intentional misguiding, misinforming & cheating. They always assured me at each telephone conversation that the only way I can end up paying more would be in case of exceeding the weight limit; my weight (being 1140lbs) was not even half the minimum weight limit (2500lbs) but LeeDavid called me last week on the phone asking for $3190, ridiculously higher than what was agreed upon. I was breathless on the phone; I did not know what to say but I expressed my anger/frustration to Lee that this was a rip-off; he promised to double-check everything and call me back. When I called back the same day Lee pretended to be a warehouse responsible and said he was unable to answer my questions. The next day Lee, pretending to be the manager, called asking for $2500, still 38% more than the agreed price. When I wanted to talk with Adriena, Lee said "this is not possible; she does not handle such cases". Lee said the price went up due to the more-than-estimated packing. Referring to Goldstar by 'you' going forward: I am asking you: With less than half of the weight limit, what extra packing are you talking about? Were you expecting to pack up only 2-3 boxes? If my modest 1140 lbs 1-bedroom apartment required a lot of packing, which house would require less packing that is acceptable to you; I cannot even imagine any house more modest than mine. Is this a joke? What kind of house were you expecting, a tent? Which house you picked up matched your packing expectations so far if my modest apartment did not? Why did you misinform/misguide/cheat me, why did you not give me the correct information upfront so that I could choose another company? Why did you keep telling me that only weight mattered? What did I do to deserve this? I expect Goldstar to realize its mistakes & wrong-doings and take the necessary steps to correct them.

Consumer's Desired Resolution: I expect Goldstar to keep its promise and deliver my belongings unharmed to my new residence at a total cost of $1812.08.

BBB Processing 03/19/2010 web BBB Complaint Received by BBB 03/22/2010 DJG BBB Complaint Validated by BBB Operator 03/22/2010 Otto EMAIL Send acknowledgement to Consumer 03/22/2010 Otto EMAIL Inform Business of the Complaint 03/23/2010 WEB BBB RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE : the customer need to read to contract, he receive a non- binding estimate his estimated weight was correct however the customer didn't follow the necessary steps to pack his items and many of his goods were unpacked and the movers cannot move them without protecting them, the movers inform the customer on the packing charges and at time of pick up the customer agree to that and signed the packing charges contract!!! even that the customer agree to those charges he was called and compliant after we inform him on the change on his moving charges because the additional packing the movers did for him, this is the only different in his charges and he agree the those charges (proof of signed packing charges contract will be provide if needed.) he agree to those charges since he know in advance that the movers will need to protect his items therefore he is responsible to pay for those charges, in addition In order to make the customer happy a discount was offer but the customer refuse to except this and want the packing charges will be off, we are not working for free and those are correct and legally charges that the customer will need to pay for the protection of his goods! 03/23/2010 DJG EMAIL Forward Business Response to Consumer 03/24/2010 WEB BBB RECEIVED CONSUMER REBUTTAL - SEND TO BUSINESS : (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) They are still lying to you; the story they told you is a complete lie. The initial price they quoted was $1400 and I called them on the phone and gave them more details such as the flight of stairs up to my apartment, big/bulky TV, glass-top table, etc, including the packing; if you look at the contract you will see that their quote of $1812 included a $350 of packing. By the time 2 loaders came I had already packed up 25% of my household items, they were already in boxes and I continued to help the loaders until they left. They never mentioned that my cost may go up due the packing and always assured me on the phone that the price will not go up unless my weight exceeds the quoted weight limit of 2500 lbs. I am asking again; with only 1140 lbs of weight of my household items, what extra packing are they talking about? Why did they NOT inform me that my cost may go up due to the packing? Why did they ask me for $3190 after picking up my apartment? They later dropped the cost down to $2500, still 38% more than the agreed price: $2500-$1812=$688: They were asking me to pay them $350(packing cost initially included in the quote) + $688 = $1038 for the packing alone; just for a modest 1140 lbs 1 bedroom apartment; is this NOT a SCAM? After going mad on the phone multiple times they offered another $100 discount taking the price down to $2400 but they did not respond to my emails, they avoided any written response and always pressurized me on the phone: I lost my nerves and could not concentrate on my job; as a contractor engineer who just switched his job I am expected to show high performance but they impacted my performance to a great extent stealing my time with telephone conversations and written complaints & correspondence. Why do American government NOT do anything to put these cheaters out of business? They steal the business from other decent companies by offering lower rates; they hurt people by asking almost the double after picking their items. Their contract says they cannot charge more than the 110% of the agreed amount in the quote but they tried to charge me first $3190(77% more) and then $2500(38% more), then $2400(still 32.45% more). Do you NOT understand that if these people continue to do business they will keep stealing the business from the decent companies and hurting the people, especially the people like me who are alien to the country (I have been in US for 5 years and still learning day by day). I signed on the bill of lading but I do not even know that by doing so I agreed to pay the extra for the packing in addition the packing of $350 included in the quote; nobody brought this to my attention. A decent company would not have done this. My conclusion: Goldstar Van Lines should be put out of bussiness immediately; they are cold-blooded cheaters/liears, they lie with comfort and great calm causing you to loose your nerves. Please also note that my free storage ends on April the 3rd which will be bad for me. I will not pay them more than $1812. 03/24/2010 BBB MORE INFO RECEIVED FROM THE CONSUMER : They are such professional liers: I had asked for a binding agreement after some friends warned me but Adriena told me that this would be disadvantageous if my weight comes less than the weight limited quoted ($2500) which would require me to pay less that the quoted price; so I did not go for a binding agreement, but they changed their words later saying "2500 lbs is our minimum for a 1bedroom apartment; so even if your weight comes less than the limit, you will still pay the agreed amount ($1812)". They misinformed me every step of the way. They are professional liers/cheaters which should be put out of bussines immediately. I would like to send you the contract but I do not how to do that; can you call me pls? thanks.

03/25/2010 OttO EMAIL Forward Consumer Rebuttal to Business 03/25/2010 WEB BBB RECEIVE FINAL RESPONSE FROM BUSINESS : There is not any lies in our respond, we simply explained the other side of the story and even in the first compliant the customer include the breakdown of his charges and all discount that we offer included there, (the customer submit it - not us) so how is its show that we lie??? we offer to the customer discount but he refuse, as responded before the customer cannot signed on service and receive the service and after that to claim that he never request it, and even that we consider his compliant and offer discounts but we cannot work for free,,, 03/26/2010 DJG EMAIL Forward Final Response to Consumer 04/03/2010 WEB BBB CONSUMER REJECTS BUSINESS' FINAL OFFER : (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) You are not only liers but professional cheaters; all of you are acting like a very organized gang, playing the game professionally but we consumers are no stupids; we see through your game and tricks. The more you speak the better we see how bad people you are. You steal the business from the other decent companies who tell the truth. One of the companies had taken the price down to $2100 all inclusive; when I asked further discount they had said they could not go any lower; they deserved my business, not you cheaters. Let me give you some advice: First of all, speak in clear terms, like I do, avoid vague/obscure words. Guilty people use unclear words, just like yours; the tone you speak in is one of the very proofs of what kind of people you are. "The other side of the story" you provided is full of lies. I am just another customer you cheated professionaly at every step. I wish I had the time to go online and do a little search on you before entering into a contract with you; then I would be able to see all the customers you cheated/hurt. What did I submit, what are you talking about; be clear. Who refused your discounts; are you a day dreamer? I said the discounts are just another trick to get me into accepting your unacceptably high price. Otherwise I did not refuse, I just found them insufficient. Your team cheated me also during the signing of the bill of lading. Instead of revealing everything, they hurried me into signing of the bill of lading when I was with them observing the weighing process. It was much later that I found out that they had inserted many axtra packing charges for my modest of modest 1 bedroom apartment despite the fact that I had not added anything new to the packing list and actually dropped off the 2 giant speakers. I had given you all the details about my belongings and you included a packing charge of $350 in the contract but you are trying to rip me off by asking for 2627-1812 = $815 more than agreed amount. You are a robber; do not make me laugh by saying "we offered the customer discounts". If you have good intention why did not you contact me after getting my check of $350 on Thursday? Because I know that you got the check on Thursday but you did not call me neither on Thursday, nor afterwards. Again you are playing dirty. Today is Saturday and when I called your office before noon the lady said "LeeDavid is gone for the day". You promised to call me once you got the check but you did not. You are the worst people I had to deal with. Are you trying to make me pay extra storage fees by delaying the process? If you have good intention why did not you work with the agents from DOT or attorney general's office who were trying to mediate between us? Why did you avoid replying to my emails and kept calling me although I asked you not to call me on the phone? You lied to me saying that you answered my email but actually you did not. I guess your smart lawyer gives you a lot of confidence, right? Because you are playing the game according to fine rules, right? I could not think any less of you...