This moving company gave me a "binding estimate" to move a detailed list of items from my home and from a storage facility in Danbury, CT to Naples FLA. I was told repeatedly that there would be no "hidden fees", and that the "binding estimate" for $1,125.00 was accurate. I paid a 30% deposit, and the move was scheduled for 12/13/09. The driver, David, told me on arrival, that the price of the move would be based on the number of cubic feet my belongings took up in his truck, and that he thought it would end up being more than what was originally estimated. When I asked, "How much more?", I was told he couldn't say, because he hadn't seen what was in the storage facility. David said that it might be about "twice as much" as had been originally estimated, based on my detailed description of what was in the storage units. He encouraged me to continue with move, saying that it was a good deal, because I was getting all the packing and boxes for free, etc. I was in a bind, because I had to fly out of state the following day, so I agreed to let them start loading. David and his men then proceeded to pack my belongings into their truck in such a way as to take up as much unececessay space as possible. For example, they laid a marble basin on the bottom of the truck, and refused to strap it to side of the truck, or to put anything on top of it, because "it might break". Each dining room chair was wrapped in a heavy moving blanket which added tremendously to the cubic feet.in addition, David listed all the belongings put into the truck as broken down items, for example table tops, table legs, each shelf or stand marked as a separate item. When all was said and done, the $1,125.00 "binding estimate" became $5,040.00!!! And David demanded 60%. When I told him I didn't have it, and that I didn't agree to sign for it, he asked me how much I had, took $500.00 cash from me, and reassured me that the company would "work with me", and that I just had to "speak with Tisha" the following morning. He insisted that I sign the paperwork, telling me it would be my only "receipt". Tisha refused to discuss the huge discrepancy between the original and the final estimate, claiming I had "many more items" than originally listed. She refused to work with me at all, and told me that my belongings were being held in a storage facility in Brooklyn; that I could not remove some of the items from storage, that if I decided not to move with them, I owed them almost $3,000.00 for the packing and labor thus far!
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