- Report: #630037
Complaint Review: RELOCATION MOVING AND STORAGE False Accusations - Bronx New York
Reported By:
Rob -
sandy springs, Georgia, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
RELOCATION MOVING AND STORAGE False Accusations
1 Riverdale Avenue Bronx, 10463 New York, United States of America
Phone:
718 884 7777
Web:
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RELOCATION MOVING AND STORAGE False Accusations Relocation Moving and Storage $1100 estimate became $2500 Bronx, New York
My move was a comedy of errors that I primarily attribute to one incompetent/crooked sales person but since the company has been willing to do nothing to make things right I have to assume that they think what he did was acceptable.
I initially received a verbal estimate of $1100 (over the phone) from this company for a move on August 9. They followed up with a written estimate for the same amount via email. As I had discussed changing the date to the previous week with the sales rep I immediately contacted him and he confirmed that he could change my move to August 4th and that the truck would be there at 9 am.
At shortly after 900 on the 4th I called the company and was surprised to find that they not only had the date incorrect (they still had the 9th) but they did not have the correct address at the destination -- I was moving from CT to GA so this was not a minor detail. Judy (from the moving company) worked with me to get a truck for the next morning so while I was not very happy I was at least going to get moved. I had to cancel a flight and rebook for the next day at a cost of $420 so my move was now up to to $1520 out of pocket. More than I was expecting but still not horrible.
The next morning at 7 AM my phone rang and the movers were on their way with an indication that they would be there between 8 and 830. I was very pleased. Unfortunately at 8:15 they called and said they had been mistaken and it would be 1100 ... I was less pleased. Eventually they arrived (about 930 ... GPS issues apparently) and the supervisor and I went over what had to be moved and the paperwork. The first thing was that there was an additional "fuel charge" of $100 that had not been on the original estimate. I was not happy about this but bit my tongue because I was just happy that the move was going to happen and since I had a set of job interviews the next day it was one less thing to worry about.
As they loaded things on the truck there kept being added costs ... $25 for this .. $30 for that .. all of which would have been predictable by any competent estimator. An example .. an extra charge for wrapping each of the box springs and mattresses for a king size and queen size bed. Both of these items had been identified in the original estimate and there was no mention of extra charges.
In the end the total charge from the company came to $2500 from a start of $1100. I was told that it was more cubic feet, that there were more items, a number of excuses. None of them were at all sensible because with only a couple of minor exceptions all of the extra items were as a result of them dismantling such things as my electronic piano into multiple pieces. Yes, the piano was on the original list.
Just to add insult to injury, I missed my second flight and had to fly standby at an additional charge of $75. So my $1100 move ended up costing me $3000 (remember that I had to cancel a flight and eat that cost).
I spoke with Judy about my displeasure at this and she was singularly unsympathethic. "We all make mistakes" was a line she used in reference to the complete botch her salesman had made of the move and she tried to blame it on the fact that it was done over the phone. The fact of the matter was that what I had said would be there, was there. The extra charges were for the most part foreseeable if her salesperson was competent and he had even managed to bugger up the address and move date.
I have tried to negotiate with this company but they are unwilling to do so and are still holding my belongings hostage at this time. I made them a good faith offer of splitting the difference with them that would have had me pay them $1600 but Judy has indicated that she has no interest in doing so. Having read the reports on here and Judy's reaction to at least one of them I have to wonder if I was being too generous. It is my feeling that the company figures that if they have my belongings then they hold all the cards. In this case they are mistaken because I am sitting in an apartment that is partially furnished and while it would be nice to have my beds, clothes, computers and piano it is not a huge trauma to go without for a period of time.
I was hopeful to come to some sort of civilized conclusion to this but it seems that it is impossible. I would love to be proved wrong and will write a rebuttal to my own report if Judy emails me tomorrow accepting the offer I made to her on Friday to pay the updated estimate of $1200. This is less than I offered her today but that was before I realized that they were content to wait me out and hoped I caved. I can think of no other reason why they have taken the stance that they have.
