Signature is a local company and a woman owned business. They were the only company to come out and survey my townhouse before making an estimate. They were very responsive and accommodating. "Shaq" was very personable and had a difficult time with what I thought were new employees, teaching them the moving biz. That is until my furniture was on the truck.
Then I discovered that my goods would not arrive within 4 days of the move, as verbally promised. That the "additional monies due upon arrival" would not be the "normally only few hundred dollars, as Shaq had told me. That I would not be notified within 24 hours of delivery, that I would be told that the driver and his assistant registered a report to the main office that they felt threatened for their lives, and that I would have to hire a local mover to complete the move.
I was told that within 3 days, Signature would know any extra monies due. I called every day and left messages on all voice mailboxes and Shaq's cell phone number. I received a call from Signature telling me that I needed a certified check for almost double the initial estimate for delivery within 3 days. I then received a call that $350 was to be in cash. At this point, there was no way I was going to fall for that one!
Well, the "3 days" turned into aproximately 1 1/2 weeks. My goods were delivered in a "U Haul" truck. The 2 movers had only the hand truck that came with the rental truck. They also arrived around 5:30 PM and started to unload after dark (7 PM). At midnight, after the lead mover kepted complaining that he had driven straight through from PA and had driven through a snow storm, my neighors, who I had called over to help me, the movers, and myself deciced that it was time to quit and start up again in the morning. The movers needed to get to a Western Union office to get money... They had none. My neighbors offered them their spare bedroom for the night.
I offered to put them up at a nearby budget motel. The movers declined and said that they had to unload the rest of the truck because the goods would shift. Half the truck was off loaded into the garage. The lead mover said they would return by 8 AM the next morning. They never returned. At the end of some other incidents, I had to hire a local mover to get the rest of my goods into the house.
Signature hires day laborers to do the moves. They are not closely supervised because there is only 1 Signature in the crew. I have furniture wrapped in packing tape. No moving blankets were used, only thinly padded paper wrap. Table legs were ripped from the tables, furniture pull knobs are missing. The only explaination for the ost doubling was the words " overtime, extra weight, extra packing material."
Overtime? They never started before 10:30 AM and worked until 6 PM without asking my permission to work overtime. After 4, I kept asking when they were going to stop for the day. The response from Shaq was that they were almost done.
Extra weight and packing materials? After the estimate was made, friends helped me throw out a roomful of stuff and they packed 35 boxes (that I had bought) before Signature even arrived.
According to Signature, all these complaints were due to my actions or caused by my actions. Caroline says that she has a record of all my interactions with the company to "prove" it was my fault or that I had given permission. That my neighbors were eyewitnesses did not phase her; she had her records. That my neighbors did not see me threaten any movers and that the local supplier of day labor had not received any complaint (Signature's original lie) was scoffed at.
THIS COMPANY IS A VERY GOOD SCAM ARTIST. They get your confidence and then take you to the cleaners!
Margaret
Tulsa Area, Oklahoma
U.S.A.
0 comments