About a month before moving across the country (east to west), I started shopping for moving options. I had originally planned to rent a truck, load my belongings and have my soon-to-be-ex husband drive it for me while I drove my car with my 2 cats and whatever else I could fit in there. Since I have been disabled by back injuries and actually unable to work for nearly four years, this did not seem to be the best way to go, especially since I didn't know of anyone else who might be able to load and unload the truck.
The cost of a truck rental, gas, parking issues and having to by a return plane ticket for my husband helped me to rule out this option fairly quickly. I also explored the possibility of using a company that transports your household goods, but does not load or unload the truck. While that seemed to be a more practical and cost effective solution, it still wouldn't really work for me. I decided to look into full service movers, which were difficult to locate. I now know that I used some unreliable sources to find these vendors. Unfortunately, I didn't realize it until it was too late.
I telephoned and e-mailed about 10 different companies. Only 5 of them got back to me in a timely manner. Of those, 2 charged by total weight and the other 3 charged by square foot. One of the most persistent and annoying company representatives (a Florida company—big surprise) explained to me that it didn't make sense to charge by weight, as I could be moving two boxes of the same size, except one could be full of feathers and the other, rocks, yet each would occupy the same amount of space.
When I tried pointing out some of the reasons that this example didn't make sense to me (i.E., things could be stacked on top of a box of rocks, but a box of feathers would collapse, releasing the feathers all over the truck), she transferred me to her supervisor for an even more ridiculous analogy. Needless to say, they were immediately crossed off my list.
I eventually narrowed my choices down to 2 companies, based on estimated cost, arrival time and the seeming plausibility of their methods. I also performed extensive checks on the Internet and contacted the Better Business Bureau to see if there were any negative reports for either company. I found none.
The problems started on the day assigned for my pick-up, Monday, June 10. I had actually wanted my shipment picked up on Thursday or Friday, as I was planning to leave town on Saturday, but I was informed that Monday would be the only day that a truck would be in the area. I waited until about 6 P.M. On Monday, with no sign of the driver and no telephone calls of apology or explanation. When I phoned the company, I was given the driver's name and cell phone number and told he had been delayed, but would be there some time that night.
I was unable to contact the driver—turns out they have Nextel service, but that's another story—and finally gave up on them by 11 P.M. I was worried and upset and tried phoning around 8:00 the next morning. I left a messge with someone who I believe belonged to their answering service and finally got a call back at 9:20 A.M. I was told that a "different" person would come with another truck around noon. The guy I had been expecting the day before showed up approximately 20 minutes later (9:50 A.M.) in a truck that was almost full.
I had no problems with the driver or his assistant, who were very polite and apologetic and explained to me why they never came the previous day and were unable to call. The driver seemed very surprised that no one else from Elite Relocations had bothered to contact me after he notified him of the problems he was having. He came into the house to see what would be moved, consulted with me about a few items that needed to be wrapped or packed specially, then went back out to the truck where his assistant was removing things from the truck, trying to make space for my load.
The driver seemed rather nervous and it was quite clear to me why, once I saw the small amount of space available. Although I did not expect my goods to be very heavy, there were a few items that were quite large, including an antique dresser and the one heavy item, a Nordic Track. Aside from those things, the only other furniture I was shipping was a small hutch (minus the shelves), a very, very light bench table (I can lift it with one finger) and a 32 inch TV, brand new and still in its original box. The rest of the load contained clothes, a few small kitchen appliances, a few pots and dishes, computer equipment and paintings. There were 82 items in all.
The original estimate was for 1400 pounds, at 70 cents per lb. I had been informed that there was a minimum charge of $700, which was fine with me.
HOWEVER, there was no way my belongings would have fit on that truck. At my request, the driver contacted his boss, Nathan, in New York and was told to try getting the stuff on the truck anyhow. My husband and I agreed that was absurd, so the driver phoned Nathan again so I could speak to him.
At first Nathan insisted that I must have more than 1400 lbs. If my things would not fit on the truck. I told him he was being ridiculous, as the size of the items had absolutely nothing to do with their weight. I asked him if the salesman, Mike Holden, had perhaps been mistaken when he told me I would be charged by the weight of my goods, rather than the amount of space they occupied. Nathan confirmed that the company charges by weight. I was very upset, but politely informed him that I was tired of the unprofessional manner they seemed to conduct business in and that I would use another company instead.
He quickly changed his manner with me and informed me that he would contact a local company that Elite Relocations is associated with, rent a truck from them and have SOMEONE ELSE come back for my load within an hour. I agreed to that arrangement and hung up. The driver and his assistant went back outside and put the items they had unloaded back into the truck. They parked the truck in front of the house and sat in it. I went out to see why and was informed that they were awaiting further instructions. I asked if *he* would be coming back with the new truck and was told, "yes."
At around 2 P.M., the original driver and his assistant appeared in a 12 ft. Ryder truck. They came in and applied stickers labled "CLASSIC MVG & STGE" along with a lot number and item number to each piece. Then they loaded the truck, which had a considerable amount of space left over, in about an hour. The last item to go onto the truck was the custom antique mirror and base for my dresser, which was packed by the driver so that it would not break.
As the driver was filling in the paperwork, he asked me if I was aware of the minimum charge, as he was sure my load would weigh under 1000 lbs. I told him that I was and signed the "UNIFORM HOUSEHOLD GOODS BILL OF LADING AND FREIGHT BILL" which listed the "Total Contract" price as $980 and the Total Deposit Paid" as $490. He also signed, and had me sign, a 2 page "HOUSEHOLD GOODS DESCRIPTIVE INVENTORY, " with the "Contractor or Carrier" name blacked out and had me fill in a "LONG DISTANCE DEPARTMENT" sheet which listed contact telephone numbers, specifics regarding the location of the delivery and the earliest possible date that I could receive the load.
This form specifcally states, "from that date and on the delivery to your new address, will be in a process of planning and scheduling for shipment. It will take -3 weeks to arrive at your destination. Driver will notify customer 24-48 hours in advance of its arrival. It is the customers responsibility to be present to allow entry for unloading." The date I filled in was "6/20/02".
My shipment finally arrived very late on July 16. I was not contacted by anyone regarding the balance due or delivery time until that morning, when I received a voicemail message asking me to phone Nathan regarding the delivery. When I called him at about 10:30 A.M. Pt, I was informed that my shipment weight was 3500 lbs. And the balance due would be $1960. When I told him that there was no way I could get ahold of that amount of money that day, he asked me how much I had. I told him I had $400, which was what I had expected to pay.
I was livid, especially once I was informed that my load had never been weighed after it was picked up from my former home. I had been told repeatedly that it would be weighed immediately after pickup, at a government weigh station. I wanted absolute proof of weight. Nathan assured me that I would be supplied with that, but I would have to pay first, have the truck unloaded, then go with the driver to have the truck weighed once it had been unloaded and, if there was any discrepancy, I would be issued a refund.
I contacted the west coast driver, told him what Nathan had told me, and was informed that the driver did not know where to go to have the truck weighed before coming to my home. I told him that I would find a place, then spent at least 45 minutes phoning around to find some place with a government or public truck scale. I then contacted the driver again and gave him the 2 closest locations. He showed up at around 4:45 P.M. With an assistant, who turned out to be a local day laborer, recently released from prison.
It took about 4 hours to unload the truck and bring everything up to the second floor (using an elevator) with me doing at least 1/3 of the work to expedite matters. Several of the boxes were smashed in or open and one box was delivered that actually belongs to the person who owned the load delivered prior to mine. The driver contacted her and I gave her my name, address and telephone number so she could pick up the box from me. I am still waiting to hear from her.
I am missing between 7 and 9 boxes (I counted 9, but the driver counted 7—I believe he was counting boxes that were already here). Of course, he would have no way of knowing that, as he did not carry anything in besides the dresser and loveseat, the last 2 items. I have not been able to unpack everything yet, so I am only sure what 2 missing items are. However, I did contact the company to inform them that my antique mirror is broken, that I am missing 9 boxes and have one which does not belong to me and that, after being gone for approximately 5 1/2 hours while the driver tried to find someplace to weigh the truck (for some reason [fraud? ] he could not go to the government weigh station that we passed on the Interstate and which was open at the time), I still did not have any proof of weight.
Additionally, I had been promised free tear down and set up. Although the guys who picked up my load did indeed take apart and pack some things, nothing was reassembled on delivery.in fact, the driver did not even have a complete inventory list with him and what he did have was virtually unreadable. He was a very nice man and, I believe, did the best with the available resources, however, he has not supplied me with a promised fax of the truck weight he said he would get on the way to his next destination.
I have not been contacted by anyone else from Elite Reloactions regarding the discrepancies in my shipment, the broken item or the truck weight.in fact, when I telephoned regarding these things by Robert, who was quite argumentative until I actually got him to listen to my concerns, that he would address them with Nathan and at an upcoming Board of Directors meeting.
I have contacted my credit card company to dispute the charge, but was informed that they can do nothing until it is submitted, even though there is a hold on the funds by Elite Relocations.
Sue
Atlanta, Georgia
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