We were recently scammed out of a $577.66 deposit for a move "arranged" through American Van Lines of Ft. Lauderdale FL - and subcontracted to a mysterious Cross Country Van Lines of West Brunswick, NJ. Cross Country Van Lines completely botched the move - finally showing up to my residence on Sunday, June 1 at 9:30 at night, six hours late. Their dirty, unprofessional driver informed us they would return the following morning at 7am because they were too tired (or lazy.) While we spent time giving them the benefit of the doubt like the "foolish" honest people that we are, they skipped town without notice, never to return. The following afternoon, a discourteous unintelligible dispatcher in northeast New Jersey informed us that his movers were turned away on the morning of June 2 by the apartment building management — an absurd and poorly spun lie. Our apartment management requires no prior notice of a move-out involving the services of a professional moving company, and does not require a special appointment for this activity. Our management company confronted Cross Country's web of lies, but the scam artists still insist they were turned away at the door by non-existant building personel. Shady.
Initially, American Van Lines seemed to be understanding and more than willing to cancel the move and refund my deposit of $577.66 but told me that I would have to call their cancellation department back on June 3, which I did. On June 3, the very same customer service representatives arbitrarily changed their minds, claiming that since the contracted moving company actually did make a very brief pitstop in the apartment on June 1 before taking to I-90, we have no alternative but to forfeit the deposit entirely if we canceled. Forget the fact that none of the packing/pickup services was ever performed as ordered, right? Instead, for a deposit of $577.66, inconsistent policy and customer disservice sets their standard. Both AVL and CCVL perpetuated the classic customer service ring-around-the-rosy to the tune of Vivaldi's Four Seasons as ambient "on-hold" music, and concominantly pressured us to maintain our contract and reschedule the move with them. Thank you, no.
We have since had to contract the professional moving services of another, no doubt more reliable local company, who informed me that online and telephone booking agents like American Van Lines are notorious for deposit scams and poor customer service, and that such agencies are even illegal or unavailable in many states unless one enters into agreement via telephone or the internet. All we want is our deposit back. Our recommendation for the discerning mover is to look past the fancy websites and "testimonials" and avoid these slimeballs like the plague. Highway robbery, literally.
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