My girlfriend and I had to suddenly relocate from Buffalo to Philadelphia because she was taken off a long waitlist for acceptance to pursue her doctorate at Temple University. The school only gave us about a week and a half to move, so we had to find a moving company quick. I had requested quotes from several moving companies, which were all within a few dollars of each other. For some reason, though, Worldwide Moving Systems was about $300 less than everyone else, and they promised the same courteous door-to-door service as everyone else. Also, the girl who was our sales associate couldn't have been nicer. She even called us the morning we drove down to Philadelphia the week before when we had to find a new home, wishing us a safe trip and the best of luck. I was impressed. That level of customer service really suprised me, which led to me agreeing to use Worldwide for our move.
What I was not ready for, was the turn-on-a-dime service I was about to receive.
When we got back from Philadelphia and secured the move, I decided to pay for the move all upfront. They could not accept credit cards by phone, which was weird, but I ignored it and paid with a check by phone. When trying to get an estimate of how long it would take for delivery, the girl told me that it could take up to 21 days for delivery, but most people usually receive their things within 4-5 days after the first available pick up date. She told me "don't quote" her on it, but it was ususally the average turnaround time. On an added note, these people were calling me practically every day to follow up with me before I made my decision. After I gave them my money, the only contact I had with them was when I HAD TO CALL THEM.
They had first told me that the pickup van was to arrive on Tuesday, August 19th, no later than 6pm. They told me that either the dispatcher or the driver himself was going to call me 24 hours in advance to confirm. No one ever called. I called them back on the 19th just before they closed, and they told me that the van was held up with another pickup, so the van would be arriving on Wednesday Aug. 20th, no later than 6pm. I was also informed that I would receive a call from the dispatcher/driver before they came.
So the next day comes... Again, no phone calls from anyone, and a no-show from the driver by 6pm, after I waited in my packed apartment for 6 hours. Not to mention the 8 hours I waited the day before.
The van drivers finally show up at 7:45pm. Out comes this slick-talking Arab guy from Queens, who consistently referred to my girlfriend as "sweetheart" and "honey" while they were there. It is also fair to mention that the two moving men that arrived were wearing NO company apparel. They looked like two bums off the street.
This is the important part you need to read concerning the pickup
We lived in an apartment building on the second floor, which is accessed by elevators. No climbing of stairs was needed. Now, the Arab guy told me that he would have to charge us $150 for each mover (there were 2 of them) for the truck being more than 75 feet from were our stuff was. I went out and measured it... It was only 63 feet. But he told me that he still needs to charge that because it's not 63 feet directly, and that extra distance was added because of the elevators. He then also told me that an extra $150 charge was needed due to "stairs", when there were NO STAIRS NEEDED TO CLIMB. He told me that the elevators count as stairs, and they need to be charged as such.By this point I was livid. The guy then told me that "as long as I can keep a secret", he'll knock off the charges if I give him and his partner a $300 tip. At this point I was exhausted and just wanted our things packed, so I agreed to the $300 tip just to have them shut up and start getting to work.
Along the way, they kept adding extra charges for packing materials and extra boxes, because we had certain items in bags such as clothes. They said they couldn't pack anything that was bagged, so they had to charge us extra.
Long story short, they got done packing at 1:30am.
A couple days after, we were finally settled in Philly with no solid time frame given for the delivery. After a week had passed, I called Worldwide to check the status. They told me they had no further information, but they would check and call me back within 24-48 hours. So 2 days pass with no call, and I call them. They tell me that they are extremely busy, and will call me within 24-48 hours once they know a delivery date. Another week later, I call again to check the delivery status. Some guy gave me the same response..."we don't know anything, but we'll check and call you back within 24-48 hours". Again, after 2 days, I received no phone call. I call the guy back and he tells me that we should have our things within the next 7 days.
So 5 days pass, and I call them again. I get a hold of a lady named Mary, who tells me that she "has good news", and that our items will be delivered within the next 4-7 days. I respond with "so I guess that doesn't leave us any different than what the other guy told me last week, right?". She said she wasn't sure of what the other guy said, but they assured me that it would only take another 4-7 days, and someone would call me within 24 hours of delivery to confirm.
So on day 7, with no calls received from anyone...
I call Mary back to say "Hi Mary! It's day seven! Where's our stuff!". She tells me that the driver will be at my place tomorrow, and will call me to confirm.
Of course, the next day comes, and no call... And no driver.
I try to call them after 5pm, but they leave right at 5 on the dot there. And their answering machine DOESN'T EVEN TELL YOU WHERE YOU ARE CALLING. IT JUST SAYS "Please leave your message... After the tone" IN A COMPUTER VOICE.
So here we are, TWO DAYS AFTER they told me that our stuff would finally be delivered, and I am here writing this note to usacomplaints.com at 10:00pm, when WHO OF ALL PEOPLE CALLS ME? THE DRIVER! Who proceeds to tell me that our stuff will finally be delivered TOMORROW... Which would make it THREE DAYS AFTER the final promise of delivery, which followed the OTHER THREE ESTIMATED DELIVERY DATES already given!
I can't wait to see what kind of fiasco unravels during the delivery process in the morning! WHO KNOWS what else I'll be charged for!
I have also sent an e-mail to the Better Business Bureau regarding this issue.
Now, please note, that I haver NEVER complained about any business before. I have never contacted the BBB about anyone, nor have I issued a web posting on a site like this for any company ever before. I can only hope that other people will read this and take my advice... You always get what you pay for. IF YOU CHOOSE TO SPEND YOUR MONEY WITH A CUT-RATE COMPANY, YOU WILL ALWAYS GET CUT-RATE SERVICE.
Pease do yourself a favor, spend the extra money, and hire/use a more trusted company for the services you need. Please don't let what happened to me happen to you.
Ry
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.
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