In June my family and I moved from Rockford, IL to Mountain View, CA. After doing extensive price comparisons I selected National Moving Network to move us. After giving the representative at NMN an inventory of our household belongings, he estimated that we had 14,000 lbs and quoted us a figure of $6,225 for the move. He told me that any additional weight would be charged an extra 40 cents per pound so I asked him to put it in writing, which he did.
NMN brokered our move through AY Transport. When the driver from AY showed up at our house on the day of the move, I read the Bill of Lading to make sure that the rate guaranteed for any additional weight would be the 40 cents per pound that I had agreed to with NMN. The contract clearly stated what we had agreed to so I signed it.
After the truck was weighed, we were notified by AY's dispatcher that the actual weight came up to 16,840 lbs. Or 2,840 more than we had estimated.
When the driver showed up at our new home in California to unload, he required that we pay him before he unloaded. He verbally told me the total amount due. Because of my own naivity I didn't ask to see the Bill of Lading to look closely at the detailed charges before paying him. I assumed that the additional charges just reflected the additional weight charged at the 40 cents per pound so I paid him the balance he required in cash.
By the time the movers finished unloading our stuff it was almost 10 P.M. Just before they left, the driver handed me the original Bill of Lading for me to sign acknowledging receipt of delivery. Just before I signed it, however, I noticed that someone had altered the contract. As I reviewed the detailed list of charges (which I should have done before they began to unload) I noticed that the rate of 40 cents per pound was crossed out and a new figure of 57.2 cents per pound was written in its place. As a result, we were charged much more than we had agreed to pay.
I informed the driver that I would not sign the delivery acknowledgment and that I demanded a refund for the overcharge amount. He said that because it was so late all I could do was to sign the Bill of Lading and call AY's office in the morning. When I refused, he demanded that I give him back the Bill of Lading unsigned because he had to leave. Again, I refused because I had verifiable proof that someone from the company had altered the contract (Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that this is illegal in all 50 states).
The driver then called his dispatcher so I could speak with him. The dispatcher demanded that I give his driver the Bill of Lading so he could leave. He threatened that if I didn't, he would call the police because I was holding their property. I said, "Go ahead. I'm sure they will be very interested to know that someone in your company altered a signed contract without my knowledge or consent." I further informed him that unless I received a full refund for the amount we were overcharged due to their changes, I would take legal action against the company. After quite a bit of arguing between me and the dispatcher on the phone, the driver left without the Bill of Lading.
Because Mountain View is only about 10 miles away from AY's offices in San Jose, the next morning I drove to their office with the Bill of Lading in hand. When I arrived, I demanded to see the dispatcher that I had spoken to the night before. It turns out that he is one of the principles in the business. I showed him the original Bill of Lading that had been altered and told him that I was not leaving his office until I received a full refund. After about 20 minutes of arguing with me, I received my refund, and gave him the original copy of the Bill of Lading. I still have the "yellow" copy, however, which shows the alteration.
I know its been a year since this has happened, however, today as I was going through my files cleaning out some old paperwork, I came across my AY moving file. It bothered me so much that I decided to search the web to see if anyone else had ever encountered problems with NMN or with AY Transport. That's when I came across this website. It's evident that this company is less than ethical and most likely acting illegaly.
That I had been overcharged and that someone had altered the signed contract without my knowledge or consent. I until I was refunded the amount that I had been overcharged. IHe said there was nothing he could do, and called his dispatcher. The dispatcher
John
Mountain View, California
U.S.A.
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