Complaint Review: Tony's Sons Moving & Storage - Sacramento California

The Worst Movers in Sacramento
A letter addressing Tony's Sons claims against us (underlined) and their horrible and possible criminal behavior during our move. 

Attention:Tonys Sons Movers and Storage2419 Mercantile DR #D Rancho Cordova, CA 95742(916) 638-1888
CC:Public Utilities Commission505 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-703-2782  

Dear Mr. Fasolo,

This letter is in response to your claims made in a letter dated July 31, 2012 in regards to our disputed moving bill. We would like to do three things: Address our charges, present our own charges and accounts and finally offer you this payment for resolution.      Before I get to the itemized disputes, I would also like to point out some other items that you neglect to mention on your letter. You had three workers show up at our house at 8 AM. Gene was the leader and two brothers, Mike and I forget the name of the younger brother with blonde hair. From the beginning, Gene and Mike expressed very poor attitudes and these quickly devolved into completely unacceptable behavior.     

Mike consistently used loud profanity to trumpet his displeasure when something was not an easy move. Gene did nothing to curb this. Over the course of the day, Mike became more and more loud, outspoken and animated and threatening, often resorting to the phrases, This aint F*cking getting moved or Its not going to f*ckin happen. With each refusal came a longer string of profanity as the day wore on. Mikes younger brother made a comment that my wife overheard as early as 9:30 AM (just 90 minutes in), he said I cant be the only one in a good mood!

Later on, the youngest apologized twice to us for Gene and Mikes behavior. Their actions and constant swearing and complaining became so prevalent that my wife felt uncomfortable being in the house with them alone so she went to her parents house which is where our children were being watched during the move. It is also directly across the street from the home we moved to at 1508 7th Ave.      The behavior of two thirds of your crew was so appalling and increasingly worrisome. The loud, bombastic and rude language combined with a complete lack of judgment of how to act professionally in front of a customer, led me to call you (Bruce Fasola) to make you aware of the situation.

It was in this call that I actually addressed a few of the items you discuss later in this account. Most concerning to me was that if you contacted the crew with my concerns while they were still working, they may do something irrational since they already were displaying irrational and unprofessional behavior. Thats how badly they were behaving with no obvious understanding of decency, common sense or professionalism. The lack was so blatant that we worried any comment on our part may set them off . . . . as I will address later, we were right to be concerned. 

The one named Mike was so far gone by the later part of the day that we constantly heard him screaming in the truck (about what, we dont know).      Upon being presented with the bill which started at $1120.00 I had some questions about the breakdown of charges. Gene responded to my questions with loud sighing. The $1120.00 was $61.60 more than your original quote. So I asked for a breakdown. Gene claimed a total work time of nine and one quarter hours. They arrived at 8 Am and finished at 4:45. By my calculations that is eight and three quarter hours so I asked about that. Then, Gene claimed a travel time of one hour, explaining that he took 30 minutes to get to our destination from our origin house.

I followed them and arrived at the same time, while the truck is slower and may have had five minutes more of drive time it only took me from ten to 15 minutes. I am being charged double time on this for some reason and I also have to pay an 8% surcharge for fuel but again, these were just questions about my bill and I was being met with exasperation, hostility and increased agitation from Gene. Upon expressing concern or curiosity, Gene said to me Just pay your eight and a half not to exceed!  

I said hold on I want to get our contract and went to find my wife who had it.      As I left the house to go across the street (where I thought my wife was), Mike came right up to me, getting in my face and said Just pay your f**king bill! At this point I said to Mike, I am going to but maybe you should have done your job, you left items at the old house, you did not move items to the rooms they were supposed to go, you did not reassemble furniture you took out and disassembled, you lost hardware for these items and you have been pissing and moaning all day while swearing like a sailor.     

After meeting his inappropriate confrontation head-on, Mike lost his cool and followed me to the sidewalk yelling and screaming, (which I admit to responding to loudly but not in the threatening and profane nature he was in). Eventually Mike got in my face and started spewing threats that he was not a 20 something punk, he was a 30 yr. old man and he would kick my a*s. He got louder and more threatening and got so close to me that my wife (who appeared from the house at this point - she was in the new house but I thought she was back across the street) thought he chest bumped me (but he did not, he was just very, very close).

At this point, knowing he had lost it and was now in a dangerous place, I backed away from him, Gene stood at the front door and did nothing as Mike continued to try and provoke me into a physical confrontation. He was so loud that my Father In-Law heard and started to make his way from his house to investigate. Before my Father In-Law arrived, the younger brother finally came out and restrained Mike. It was at this point that Mike elevated his threats and volume and then threated my life. Mike shouted, I know where you live, Im going to come back and clip you!

He said this twice in the presence of my wife, in ear shot of my four children who were across the street playing in the backyard, Gene heard it and so did his brother. Gene even confirmed hearing the threat when my wife tried to calm Mike down by saying, really, do we need to threaten my familys life? At this time we finally heard from Gene, who had been silent until now when he started helping the younger brother restrain Mike and then offered the clarification that Mike had not threatened my wifes family, just him (pointing to me) and I am part of her family.

My father in-law now made it around the truck told them to calm down or the authorities would have to be called his statement was met with more threats and more shouting. I tried to call Bruce several times during this altercation but never had the opportunity to place the phone to my ear and listen if the call connected, I could not take my attention off of Mike and to do so as he made threats of physical violence against me would be unwise.  At this point Gene finally got Mike into the truck, Gene then shouted, You can settle this with Bruce!

I was finally in a position to call 911 with no threat to my person. When 911 answered, the truck was pulling away from our home, 911 advised me to fill out a police report since they seemed to be leaving instead of sending a car and so I did. The report # is 2012-1810437.      I am not sure what threatening a customers life is worth in terms of a discount, those that hear this appalling story have suggested that they would have compensated the whole move and fired the employee(s) involved in this behavior.    

While agreeing with that assessment, my wife and I will be offering compensation but first lets look at the items you sited. In your letter you claim first:Our three workers showed up on move day and performed the signed contracted service. 1We moved ALL items listed on your estimate. 2At the end of your move ourWorkers asked you if that was it and you replied, "you had 4 boxes and a rug upstairs andthat should do it". We moved those items. 3You also had a treadmill upstairs that youwanted moved.

You stated that you got it up there but were not able to show theWorkers how you achieved that. You had added a different door casing after theTreadmill was in which did not allow enough room to get the treadmill out. After thedoor casing was taken off the treadmill was able to be brought down successfully. I will address these item by item: 

1.       We moved ALL items listed on your estimate -          Not true, here is a list of items left behind and I never told them they were done, I did tell them there was more to get and they told me too bad, it wont fit. Some of these are not on our original list but Bruce and I went through each room and I only pointed out what would not go, if he neglected to list something that would go, it was not explained that it would stay. SO, for example, I told him our Kitchen fridge may or may not go, if I decided it would, how would that have been indicated. Or if he did not mark our bed, does that mean they would have left that too?o    One out door Planter Told Bruce it may or may not go but he said fine, let us know.o    Outdoor Pot and multiple smaller pots (listed on Tonys Sons Table of Measurements)o    Legs to outdoor tables(listed on Tonys Sons Table of Measurements)o    Kids Wagono    Two standing lamps (listed on Tonys Sons Table of Measurements)o    Rug(office)o    Bath Mat (Master Bath)o    Kitchen rubber mats (2)o    Tread Mill mato    Vacuum (Dyson) (listed on Tonys Sons Table of Measurements)o    Shop Vacuumo    Hoses (listed on Tonys Sons Table of Measurements) 

2.       At the end of your move our Workers asked you if that was it and you replied,"you had 4 boxes and a rug upstairs and that should do it". We moved those items. The only conversation I had at the end of the move from the first house or origin house was me knocking on their truck door before they left, telling them they left stuff behind. I was met with rudeness and some attitude and told theres no more room. I pointed out that they should have disassembled the kids playground instead of jamming it in the last available space but they ignored me both when I told them to take it apart and when I pointed out this mistake. This action is probably what smashed the ignition button on my BBQ grill. 

3.       You also had a treadmill upstairs that youWanted moved. You stated that you got it up there but were not able to show theWorkers how you achieved that. You had added a different door casing after theTreadmill was in which did not allow enough room to get the treadmill out. After thedoor casing was taken off the treadmill was able to be brought down successfully.               This is untrue and Bruce knows it. I explained to him on the phone as I did to the crew - I not only put a treadmill up there on my own by rolling it but the Sears people brought one up too. Furthermore, the charge that I said I added a different door casing . . . nice try, the owner added that before we moved in. He will attest to this as will the property managers (Leisa Wells and her husband) who I had to call to get permission to remove this door casing and the door itself before the crew would even try beyond a few stairs. I never added the door or the door frame needed to hold the door in place; I was able to get two treadmills up into this room and one I brought down. 

NOTE: The crew waited around for an hour for me to get permission to remove this so since they couldnt do it on their own, I am subtracting this time from the total time. Its not our job to . . . show the workers how you achieved that You (Bruce) told me they would take down and re-assemble anything that needed it. I even tried to help by taking apart my office desk and the boys bunk beds.       Your second paragraph of charges:                 1At the end of your move when the bill was presented for payment you started to arguewith our workers and give several excuses/ reasons why you were not going to pay foryour move. 2The time to complete your move was 9.25 hrs. It was ONLY 45 minutesover your estimate. You held our workers up unnecessarily and still you refused to payeven your estimate of 8.5 hrs. At this time since you have told the owner that you haveNo intention on paying for the service we provided you we have no choice but to takeLegal action against your non payment of a service rendered. 3We will also seekAll of our time spent on your move including the time you held up our workersarguing over the bill. We will also seek all legal expenses we incur due to your nonPayment of the service we provided you on July 27, 2012. 

1.       At the end of your move when the bill was presented for payment you started to argue with our workers and give several excuses/ reasons why you were not going to pay for your move. Again, this is untrue. I merely started asking questions, wanting clarification for the discrepancies between the bill and Bruces estimate. I did not see ANY of the same numbers and once I started asking questions I was met with loud sighs from Gene, rude behavior and told to just pay the bill. I said I am going to pay the bill but let me get my estimate so you can see what I am talking about. When first presented with the bill I did not say I was not going to pay it if someone is claiming that, they are a liar. As mentioned earlier, I was told the time for travel was an hour and the starting point of charges was $61.60 over what I was told, minor in the grand scheme but I wanted clarification and thats not unreasonable. I have a legitimate and contractual right to question discrepancies. 

2.       The time to complete your move was 9.25 hrs. It was ONLY 45 minutesover your estimate. You held our workers up unnecessarily and still you refused to payeven your estimate of 8.5 hrs. At this time since you have told the owner that you haveNo intention on paying for the service we provided you we have no choice but to takeLegal action against you for non payment of a service rendered The estimate submitted was for seven to eight hours with a not to exceed eight and a half hours. Gene started off by telling me he was charging for nine and a quarter hours . . . now maybe Gene just explained this poorly or should have just said we hit the not to exceed but the fact remains that they started at 8 AM and Finished at 4:45. Thats not nine and a quarter hours. Thats eight hours and forty five minutes. Of which, one hour was spent waiting around because the crew refused to move my treadmill until I broke down a doorway for them. I and Sears both moved treadmills (including this one) through this doorway without having to remove the door and door jam. You claim I didnt show them how, I did tell them but they refused to believe me or did not want to. I am deducting the one hour to come to a total of seven hours and forty five minutes or 7 and three quarters of an hour.  

3.       We will also seek all of our time spent on your move including the time you held up our workers arguing over the bill. We will also seek all legal expenses we incur due to your nonPayment of the service we provided you on July 27, 2012. Interesting choice of words, you say arguing over the bill. I reconstructed the events to the best of my and my wifes recollection and what we remember is asking to see clarification and then having to submit a police report after having my life threatened and being assaulted. If you wish to seek these damages, present them in court, we would be happy to participate. We have multiple witnesses that heard the threat to my life and saw the extreme and threatening nature of your workers.   

Proposal for closure and additional concerns: I have addressed the items claimed happened in an itemized fashion but there are some other concerns we had with the movers as well. For reference I would also point out that I called you multiple times before the move with questions about what we needed to do. You told me the day before the move that any item that needed to be broken down in order to be moved would be handled by your crew. I asked specifically about beds, furniture and even planters with soil in them. You said the crew was professional and that while breaking down items on our own may save time, they would have the means to move everything without my assistance. You said They have the tools to move bulky and heavy items. And you gave examples as planters with soil. You did mention they may want to dump the soil if possible, I told them to do so on the far side of the house they did not follow those instructions, the two planters they did take, had their dirt dumped in the middle of the lawn and in a bed other than where I indicated and one pot had its soil dumped over a bush in the front yard. These seemed to be the acts of spite not professionals.       Itemized Items not moved or left in pieces:

1.       They did not reassemble our bedroom set in the bedroom (or anywhere else). Parts of it are scattered throughout our house from the garage to our childrens room.

2.       They broke my grill when they jammed an entire jungle gym into the last space on the truck, jamming it against the BBQ grill and smashing the ignition switch. I watched Mike pushing and pushing the entire playground structure desperately trying to get it to fit. I had told them to break this down; it didnt even need tools to do so.

3.       They left my office desk (the one part they disassembled) in pieces and lost or kept the hardware.

4.       I may be charged for the damage inflicted on the home we left (5037 Brimley Way) due to the crews insistence to remove a door and door jam because they couldn't get a treadmill down a flight of stairs and out an opening that others had done on their own.

5.       After explicit instructions to two of the workers on not sliding a dresser in the new home (1508 7th Ave) so as not to scratch the newly re-done wood floors, they went ahead and pushed it and scratched the wood floors.

6.       Didn't reassemble the babys crib.

7.       I called Bruce ahead of time to request precautions be taken to not scratch the new floor at our destination house. He said they would lay down cardboard boxes. They did this but only from the door to the family room theres hard wood floors run throughout the entire house except in the kitchen and solarium. There are multiple scratches on the floors now.

8.       Jammed a child seat & pot rack (which we told them to leave, it was not ours and we had to run it back) into a lightly packed Christmas decorations box destroying some decorations. 

Return Trips:                    While I needed to make some trips back to the original house, the amount of time and mileage and gas was significantly increased by the amount of items left behind (rugs, matts, vacuums, baskets, planters, lamps and various other misc. items) that should have been taken. In addition, Bruce told me that planters could be dumped but it was not necessary, the crew just dumped them into flower beds, bushes and on the lawn instead of using a dolly to move (as I have seen many movers do in the past). I made five trips back and forth to the house at 22 miles round trip. Three of those were unnecessary since the movers should have taken most of these items.     

Instead of tallying all the little stuff up, I want to impress upon anyone one reading this that the real horror and cause for wanting an appropriate credit to our invoice, is the abusive nature of the workers who scared my wife and threatened my life. I received no offer for credit or even a heartfelt apology for the emotional distress caused to my wife and me. I have been met with disbelief, misstatements and excuses. First an attempt was made to excuse the appalling and criminal behavior and then various excuses were offered for the short comings of the move. The truth is my wife and I agree with many others who have said that we should be compensated for the entire move and the company should fire these extremely unprofessional and in the case of Mike, criminal employees.

However, because of the younger brother (who I actually tipped at one point for being the one point of professionalism and cheer), we feel some compensation is due ONLY to give him credit. I wish I could remember his name but so many things were hitting the fan I just did not get it committed to memory. The only reason we are offering anything is because of the youngest worker with the blonde hair.      For services rendered on invoice #24492, issued on July 27th, 2012 we submit $500.00 as payment in full. I had told Bruce $600 but he has now called me a liar instead of investigating my concerns and claims against his employees. It is clear he does not care what happened since his immediate response was to charge us the full and maximum amount of the contract. Enclosed in Tonys Sons Moving & Storage copy of this letter is a check for that amount.     

My wife and I hope this will conclude this upsetting and disconcerting incident. We have four children less than seven years of age and would like to believe the threat will not be carried out. We live every day now wondering if Mike will ever attempt to inflict harm on me, my family or property, making good on his words that he knows where we live and will come back and clip me.      For acceptance of payment due to Tonys Sons breach of contract, I will accept waiver of personal injury (assault), negligence and withdrawal of the criminal charges.