Loungecraft Moving and Storage, an agent of American Red Ball scammed us royally in $3,000 of cash and missing goods, accused us of extortion and threatened to take our house away. They have been protected to date and need to be exposed to the public. The scam is that people without insurance will find their goods missing by the company. The driver warned, "If you don't buy the insurance you may find you are missing goods as other customers have reported missing goods. You need to protect yourself by buying the insurance." We asked, "Why would our goods be missing if you are a good driver? The truck won't fall off the road." He couldn't answer, but said, "Yes, I am a good driver."
The Better Business Bureau said that that they find that people who report missing goods by trucking companies are those that are without insurance because the movers know that missing goods is liable for only. 60 per lb. Not more to pay with the purchased insurance.
When we couldn't afford to purchase the extra insurance, for which the company would not substantiate with a written brochure, the driver wouldn't tear off the invoice and made a cell phone call. Then, coincidentally, his partner yelled from the bedroom for us to come in to see this box. Then, they all ran out with our goods on the truck without an invoice. We worried about receiving our goods at the destination. When the truck arrived, we had no proof and they wouldn't unload without the payment up front.
Loungecraft movers lost our cherished possessions in a flash that had survived over 65 years untouched by the Nazis, Mussolini's soldiers and Communist Guerillas. We were upset in our household for our missing family heirlooms. Other goods found missing were boxed and new, handcrafted imports, tools, art supplies and items that the workers said they could use in their apartment or of market value. There was talk of driving to a warehouse and that my painting could be sold up front in a store (artwork was later found missing from my portfolio cases).
The first incident was missing cash. The driver said not to call the police but he would call the President, who didn't call for 28 days and claimed the driver did not tell him. After much back and forth, the company sent a check for the missing cash that they believed that a worker could have been placed in a pocket.
The workers had no scruples even though we had treated them in an excellent manner with two tips, breakfasts, lunches, dinners and coffee breaks. They smiled and took from us at the same time with no scruples. The only honest worker was let go by the company - he took goods away from workers and told us that we would find items, which he hid away. He brought in the televisions, which the driver and workers told him to leave in the garage. Many goods were found missing from the attached garage entrance.
The owners at first did not call back for 28 days, so we went to the police for the report to be under the 30 requirement. The owners justify their workers and told us it was our fault if anything was lying around for the workers to take. They told us that we were a lying family, that we were extorting money and blackmailing them by marring their reputation by going to the Better Business Bureau. They told us that they never had a problem until we came along. He claimed that his men would never do anything - they weren't even permanent.
One of the day workers claimed that a UFO in Times Square put a stake through his neck and kidnapped him. We were accused but we are an honest family involved with the American Legion. The FBI cleared us for public service employment.
The President said he wasn't responsible for his workers and theft. He said that he lost money when we didn't buy his insurance for $770 and to use this money to buy back missing goods. I told him there was the principal of matter. He said "What principal?" The General Manager said that since we didn't buy the extra insurance as other people, it was our fault, not his that "goods were stolen from the truck." We found out that Loungecraft booked independently of American Red Ball so we couldn't be covered for our loss by the parent company. We took them because they claimed they were under American Red Ball Company. They even falsely advertised that they take credit card, but once the goods were on the truck, they raised the price $1,200 or they wouldn't do the job; we had to drive to the bank for a money order "No credit card - not on this job". The workers complained that the bosses kept the thousands and were rich and paid them little.
The company tried to blame another member moving company that had assisted with a previous move from seven months earlier. The goods that the previous company moved were not lost. We saw our goods that were later found missing from Loungecraft - these items were mostly commented on by this company when they kept opening packed boxes, closets and drawers. There is probably more missing that we haven't realized yet.
There was also the question about the authenticity of the weigh tickets for interstate travel. The President, General Manager and driver promised to weigh the truck interstate to be official, but it was never done. The USDOT won't regulate this. The driver and worker both lied when they said they weighed the truck at the interstate weigh station up the road. The driver said he lost the ticket on the truck. We later drove to the weigh station and the police said that the company was not on the computer.
If we had known to call the State Police, the truck would have been seized; the workers thrown in jail and the owners would have to collect them out of state. As far as the local weigh tickets, the driver said he lost them too and never showed us any original weigh tickets. Then the owners claimed to have lost them in the office, but upon writing, they mailed copies of partially handwritten weigh tickets from their own warehouse and a private warehouse.
There were many irregularities, from a visiting car to one of the workers, tools relocated from the basement to the attached shed, a second truck, our truck detoured to an independent out - of-state warehouse, a worker dislodged manually an electric garage door to have access at the end, goods missing from doorways, goods taken out of originally packed boxes, repacked together and then found missing, boxes skimmed and discovered that they had been opened and re-taped. We questioned why the worker was upstairs in the bedroom and the driver said he was allowed to roam. The worker ran down the stairs and picked up a box and ran to the truck - the driver yelled not to follow him as he always goes to the truck at the end of all jobs. The driver and worker refused to open a weighted box on the truck. The worker kept commenting what we didn't need.
The owners justified the invasion of privacy saying the workers have the right to open packed boxes to look for warfare. We checked with the government that this was not true.
We called the driver hoping he could assist us to speak to his workers to find the missing goods with no questions asked. He called the following night taking things to another level, threatening to take our house away. He said that if we sued him, he would counter sue us. I told him that if we went to court, it would be the company who is responsible. He said he had been here and had knew what we had and it was going to be all his. He said we didn't know his wife and that she would come after us. The American Moving & Storage Association told us to report the threat to the police. We told Loungecraft about being threatened by the diver and the company said "Never mind. Let's not talk about it."
The USDOT has been receiving complaints, but routinely takes them off the computer and files them manually. They said they can't investigate one single complaint, but now has more. The LIMSA (Long Island Moving & Storage Association) said it can't do anything; the BBB had to be complained about to headquarters to assign another mediator - the previous one said he couldn't do anything and that I was making allegations;
The police promised a detective, then wouldn't assign a detective for theft and said to go to civil court, the Nassau County District Attorney wouldn't investigate because the police said it was a civil not a criminal matter (even though we witnessed the worker taking out missing goods and running out with a box), the congressmen said it wasn't their jurisdiction, the Consumer Affairs passed it to the NYSDOT who passed it to the USDOT, who won't regulate federal law and said for us to go to civil court. Only the AMSA (American Moving and Storage Association was honest and helpful, but they are bound to the. 60 per lb. But would proceed to arbitration on our behalf.
The fault is in the Better Business Bureau, which falsely reports Loungecraft as a good standing member. The BBB is a non-profit organization, which doesn't record complaints of member companies which offer a settlement before a "formal" complaint is placed in mediation.
Our complaint is in mediation and I have been writing for months to have it placed in the computer report ratings. This is how we got stuck by believing false Better Business Bureau ratings that Loungecraft had zero complaints for three years.
In the end, it is a matter of finding a good lawyer to take them to civil service court because the government and agencies won't investigate a scam, rip-off operation.
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