Our family decided to move to Florida in order to help our disabled child, who is about to turn 6, and his brother recover from a year of chemotherapy and surgery for a brain tumor. This move was to bring happiness, fun and recovery to the children. We searched the internet and had several quotes offered to us.
We chose Avalon Van Lines thanks to their guerantee and quote which was to be $0.55 per pound and totalled to an estimated 2,695.00 with a "not to exceed" option that stated that the total cost will not exceed the estimated ammount provided with the exception of additional services.
As we prepared for our move we decided to bring less furnature since this was a new and positive start for our boys. New furnature for a new home seemed much better for us. So we removed the dining room table, entertainment unit, shelves and so on from our move items and anticipated a lower cost move. We paid $400 to book the movers on the morning of May 11th and planned a family vacation while we waited for our things to arrive in Florida.
On the day of our move we expected the drivers to show up by 8 am. They did not, however, arrive until 6 am on the evening of May 11. Immediately upon entering our home the movers were extreemly rude to us and demanded to know why all of the household was not packed. When we explained that many of the items in the house were to be left behind (my roomate was to come back to Seattle in order to prepare the house for renters) they were threatening to us. After backing me against the wall I demanded that they leave my home.
A call was made to Susan, operator at the main office, and she assured me that the male who was threatening toward me would be dismissed immediately. New people were to arrive to move my home. This, however was not the case. New people did arrive and start loading our things but soon left. We were abandoned with the origional abusive drivers who threatened and bullied my family. At one point my 5 year old son was knocked into a window sill and sustained a huge lump on his head due to the careless behavior of the movers.
The carriers left our house with an additional $2,000 deposit after they stated that our total had now jumped to over $3,000.
We came to Florida and enjoyed a vacation sure that our things were safely on their way. When we finally arrived in our new town we called the Van Lines for an actual weight total.instead of receiving the actual weight total, however, we were told that our load far exceeded the estimate and that we now owed them an additional $4,465.00.
We demanded that our things be immediately re-weighed upon arrival since their new price would put our things at an average of 76 lbs per box! Susan was appalled at our numbers and couldn't fathom why we were arguing with her. She stated that they were "by the book".
When our driver contacted us two days late we insisted that they re-weigh the truck and brought a police escort. The truck driver had mentioned that he'd been told he had to re-fuel first but was not allowed since the officer informed him that it was against the law. Our first CAT scale receipt was handed to us and showed that the truck weighed 41,820 lbs.
We went to our storage unit and had the truck unload the entire contents of our house after paying the $4,465.00 in cash and money order (they would take nothing else).
We then had the truck re-weighed only to find that it now came to 35,980 lbs. Meaning that our shipment was only 5,840 lbs. Our total price, had Avalon been honest, would have only come to $3,212.00 not including the $200 coupon e-mailed to us by the company.
Just 15 minutes after the second re-weigh Susan called us stating that she "had no idea what was going on and the drivers will be fired immediately for this." She also said that she would "have our refund overnighted on Tuesday."
Not only did the refund not arrive on Tuesday but it has been weeks and we have called the company several times regarding our refund. From overnighted, it was suddenly sent to accounting, and then was supposedly mailed via regular mail to Florida. Now they are not communicating with us at all in spite of repeated requests to have their statements sent to us in writitng.
Due to their dishonesty, we used our housing money and ended up having to live in hotels for several weeks. My little boy has been without his things as we struggle to make ends meet now that our moeny is gone and hasn't been returned and he has been unable to resume treatment for his cancer. These children didn't deserve to have to go through trauma after all they have been through! No one does!
This company is completely dishonest. They do not hold to their gureantee and even try to have their drivers deceive customers! They do not use their own trucks but hire others and move your things from one truck to another while they try to milk every penny nickle and dime they can from innocent families. They threaten, abuse, and mock your pain while they steal from young children for their own greed!
Never use these movers or anyone who is associated with them!
If a mover does this to you make sure you have the CAT scale receipts wth you and be sure to contact the Department of Transportation! Fortunately, we live in Florida where we can take this company to court but what about all the people who can't? Why should I have to go through a long battle to get money back, deal with financial crisis, and try to bring my disabled child through yet another trauma? How sub-human are these people that they put their own greed before children, families, and innocent consumers?
Victoria
Kissimmee, Florida
U.S.A.
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