Complaint Review: Nationwide USA Movers - Pembroke Park Florida

 I filled out a request for estimates from Moving.com. First off, do not book movers on the interent, the overwhelming majority of them take part in the scams I am about to describe. After sorting through bids, I chose to go with Nationwide USA for my move.

The bid for a two bedroom apartment of 1300sq ft came in at $2167.01. As I was mvoing over 1100 miles, this seemed fair. In addition I was transporting a vehicle. Ali with Nationwide said they work with a company they highly recommend and connected me with a Ronnie G. Feeling confident I had wrapped up the details of my move, I continued with my new job.

Pick up was scheduled for June 27th. On the 26th I received a call that said they would be there between 1p and 3pm. The next day, at 2:40pm I received a call from the driver that said he was running late and would call be in 20 minutes to give me a new time frame. And hour and a half later I called back as I didn't here from him. He said he would call back in 20 minutes. after an hour he called back and said he couldn't pick up until 11pm. At this point I actually cancelled the move. I said you can't pick up that late in an apartment complex., as this was setting off many red flags, I cancelled the move and was just going to load everything in a uhaul. But then I found out Ronnie G that took my $150 deposit for car transport, was no longer available to talk to, never arranged for the car and walked with my cash.

After cancelling the move, Mike from the dispatch office called and said he would send his best crew the next morning to pick me up, he apologized and asked that I continue with the move. I agreed, but asked Mike to confirm a specific delivery of July 10th for my things, he agreed.

The next morning, they did arrive, 2 hours late, and packed me up. They then had the nerve to ask for a tip, as I was a little outnumbered, I agreed. Now this is important. Always make sure you watch them pack the truck. This was my error. As Nationwide charges for cubic feet. They shortpacked the truck to make it look like I filled it, then charge you your premium for cubic feet plus $2 per ft. They insisted my 1300 sq apartment took up 1100 cubic ft. Much like other people here, my things were now held hostage. I ahd no choice but to play nice as I was now scared of intentional damage to my belongings.

On July 10th, I called to get a schedule of delivery, spoke to Mike again. He inquired if I was ready for delivery. I said, yes I was, we spoke at pick up and you told me things would be here on the 10th. He said it could take up to 21 days to get it scheduled.

I had to leave on a business trip on the 14th, so I ahd to change the ready for delivery date to July 22nd. I had asked that we plan for delivery on that date. Mike was no longer returning calls, messages or emails. I called Ali who was my original coordinator who connected me with Dominique. Dominique said they will do their best.

On the 22nd, I called back, my things still hadn't left and I was again given it couls take 21 days. At this point I was pleading with their sense of good spirit and begged to speed up the time table, it had been more than a month since I slept in my bed and I was on an air mattress in an empty apartment and I really needed to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Finally I was given a date of August 7th.

This was the first honest thing they had said, however on Sunday evening the 4th, Mike called me and said he needed me to wire an additional $1000 before they would put my things in transit. Al he gave me was an account number to a Wells Fargo account.

There are no Wells Fargo banks in this area, to wire it was going to cost extra money. I called back and and spoke to supervisor David (apparently everyone there is a supervisor by the way) and inquired if I could put this on credit card (At least that way I'd have some protection) he said no, it had to be cash or he wouldn't send the truck, and upon delivery I also had to pay $1391 in Cash to get my things. I asked David to send me an email confirming this, ofcourse he did not.

At this point I had no choice, I incurred the fee and wired the money. Finally my things show up on August 7th. The packing was done so poorly with things jsut throuwn in a box, wardrobe boxes were literally falling apart, couch baseboards got scratched and a stereo stand is broken. The driver was asking for $2000 in cash, I went through the detail. Thankfully the company they had dropping off was a actually a reputable company. I showed him my paper work and he accepted the amount I felt was due (not owed, but due). I went out to their truck to watch the unload, and what do you know. The same size truck shows up for delivery (a 24' truck) and my things barely take up the front 1/3. I asked them about how many feet I took up and they said 600, maybe 650. So now I know without a shadow of a doubt I was scammed

So I called David the Supervisor back, and this is where I found out who Nationwide really is. They are not a moving company, they are simply a broker. They hire the cheapest local guys with a truck to pick you up, deliver it back to a regional warehouse, where they then ship with through a trucking company, and hire someone on the other end to deliver it. This was evident when I told David what the delivery guys told me that I ahd only taken up 600cubic ft. He was upset, not that I was getting ripped off, he was upset that they disclosed that information and he wanted to talk to them.

Well that wasn't going to happen. I told David, I jsut want some thing done. It took 6 weeks to deliver my things, I was overcharge nearly $2400 plus $150 for the car carrier never showing up, I asked perhaps to meet in the middle. He refused to refund any money, at which point I told him I would be filing suite for every penny paid above the estimate. His response was, whatever, see ypu in court.

Here is the funny thing, he will. You see I don't care about the money, it means nothing to me, what does mean something is make sure people are aware of this. At the end of the day, hire the reputable company. I have moved with Mayflower, Bekins, and Allied, and while they will cost a little bit more, they deliver on everything they say. Do not get quotes on line, have the person survey your residence and get a binding quote.

Stay away from Nationwide at any and all costs.