#20
Wed, February 20, 2002
Well, here's the update. I received most of my belongings today (7 days past the promised date). What happened is that the first company (I incorrectly named them as A City Wide Mover, when in fact their name is A City Mover, Inc.) has subcontracted to a second company (The Right Movers) without notifying me of the changes in rates, etc. So I assumed that the terms were the same, because the contract that I signed had no details about per pound charge, delivery date, etc. the third company (who actually delivered) was named Golan Movers, based out of Chicago. After a number of phone calls to representatives of each of the companies, I finally reached someone from The Right Movers, who said that I still owed them $995 after the $420 down payment or they would take my things back to Chicago. I asked for proof of the 1400 lb. weight they claimed I had. He stated that he did not have the certificates. Hmmm. So I told him that my stuff wasn't even worth $1000. I think that scared him, because they wouldn't get anything for it at an auction if I abandoned my belongings. We finally agreed that I would pay $580 for a total of $1000 for a move that had been estimated at $750. I am glad that I put up a fight, because I am sure that these guys are used to showing up at people's houses and demanding all of this extra money, and people feeling like they have no choice. I still feel ripped off, but I did the best I could. There were so many people involved that I don't know who to blame. Obviously there is some scam going on with all of the sketchy subcontracting. If any of these companies want to keep their good name, they'd better be more careful about who they do business with because it reflects on them, too. I am only 23, so I will probably be moving a lot more in my lifetime, and you can bet that I won't hire anyone like this again.