(See bottom for my recommendations when using CAMEL)
I moved from the SF Bay Area to Pennsylvania in July. I was quoted one price $1750; however, I wasn't sure how many items I would have on the actual day of the move. My rep at Camel, Larry, told me that was no problem. He said they would lower the price based on what I actually brought. When the movers came and packed everything up, I indicated that I was not having them move many of the larger items, e.G. Stereo, tv, vcr, etc., around a 1/5 of my stuff. I told them Larry had said the price would be a lower without all these items. The movers said they had nothing to do with pricing and that I should sign the form and talk to Larry later. BAD MISTAKE ON MY PART.
After I left CA, Camel's service was a joke. First of all, they kept changing the delivery date, moving it back day after day. When they finally came, they said they couldn't park the truck near my building and they would have rent a Uhaul, thereby charging me another $400!! Of course, after half a day of arguing with them about it, they finally figured out I lived on a one-way street and they could park on the left side of the road, RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY BUILDING. Next they told me it was too far to walk to the elevators so they were going to have to charge me an extra $300. I had told CAmel when I was in california the distance to the elevator and they said that was fine — NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. But the movers refused to move my stuff out of their truck without $300 CASH. I refused and we settled on $270. BIG MISTAKE.
After my stuff was unloaded, I found nearly every every wood object I had was damaged. Shelves, desks, coffee table. Even the glass for the coffee table, WHICH THEY HAD PACKED THEMSELVES TO SECURE IT, was broken. Fortunately I had purchased full-insurance, which did come through on everything, but it just goes to show CAmel's complete lack of care for its customers.
Since July, I have spoken on and off with Larry about getting that refund he had originally promised. Nothing has changed. I talk to him, he promises to look into it, and never calls me back.
My RECOMMENDATIONS for anybody who uses CAMEL (which I would not recommend in the first place):
UNDERESTIMATE HOW MUCH YOU HAVE (They will say it is better to overestimate so they don't increase your fee on the spot, but they will NEVER decrease your fee on the spot; besidees, nobody is really checking how much they are packing);
DO NOT PAY CASH (If the movers at the end make you pay for moving your goods out of the truck to your house, DO NOT PAY CASH, which they will demand. If you pay with check, you can cancel it. If you pay with credit card, you can fight it. They know they are ripping you off which is why they demand cash. I'm sure they would accept check if you just said "fine, keep my stuff on your truck" because they need to drop your stuff off in order to go home.)
BUY NO DEDUCTIBLE INSURANCE (I can almost guarantee anything slightly fragile will be broken.insurance cost me $250 but I was able to get almost $400 in damages from the company. This was my only good move.)
In the end, I should have used a large mover with a reputation because I've used larger ones before with no problems, and the price ends up being about the same after all CAmel's hidden fees.
Josh
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