In July I contracted with All Victory Moving and Storage of Chatsworth, CA to move my belongings from San Diego, CA to Tampa, FL. I asked for an estimator to come to my home to estimate the cost of my move. Ms. Marina Lugasi, owner of All Victory said no estimator was available until after my move date and that she would accept estimates provided to me by two other moving companies that had estimated my move. Ms. Lugasi said All Victory would do the job for $3144.05
All Victory picked up my belongings in San Diego, CA on July 21 and delivered them to Tampa, FL on August 19. I was charged $2000.00 over the estimate. The moving crew arrived five hours late on pick up day in an Enterprise Rental truck, not an All Victory moving van. Steve, the foreman supervising the moving crew demanded cash payment of the difference between All Victory's quoted price and his determined cost. He also insisted that his crew be tipped 10% of the total cost of the job. He said a tip would be due when I received my belongings in Florida. Neither Ms. Lugasi nor her sales representative informed me that a tip was expected. There was no information about tipping in the booklet Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move, given to me by the moving foreman.
On August 4 I called Ms. Lugasi and her sales representative Steve to find out when to expect delivery. Each denied knowing the status of my move and would not give me the name of anyone who could help. Ms. Lugasi said only the dispatcher knew that information and he was not available. When I asked Ms. Lugasi who owns All Victory as I wanted to lodge a complaint, she said did not know the name of the owner or how to get in touch with him. Ms. Marina Lugasi is one of three people who own All Victory Moving and Storage; the other two are Avraham Lugasi and Victor Sabach. Ms. Lugasi said she did not know the name of the dispatcher, the person who knew when my belongings would leave California. The dispatcher is Avraham Lugasi, an owner of the company and Ms. Lugasi's husband.
I had been told by Steve, All Victory's sales representative that my belongings would be delivered on August 6. They were not. My belongings were delivered to Florida two weeks late.
All Victory Moving and Storage lost some of my belongings somewhere between their warehouse in Chatsworth, CA and my apartment in Tampa, Florida. Prior to entering into a contract with All Victory, I asked their sales representative Steve, via e-mail about the possibility of things getting lost. His response was loss is not even a considerationevery single item removed from your house is tagged with a lot #, and color coded and there is a corresponding sticker placed onto an inventory sheet that both you and the job foreman sign. I was told by the driver who delivered my belongings, an Israeli man name Meyer (or Maier, or Mayer), and his partner Levi, that they made deliveries in Arizona, Texas, Louisiana and parts of northern Florida including Jacksonville.
When the movers delivered my belongings they were not in an All Victory moving van, but an Atlas Moving van. Meyer said he had deliveries for many different moving companies on his truck. I had been told by Ms. Lugasi and Steve that only All Victory customers' items would be on the truck, that they do not contract their work out, nor do they have other moving company clients' belongings on their trucks. The movers arrived five hours late on delivery day (08/19/05). They hired two local men to assist them. Meyer stayed in the apartment with me while Levi stayed in the truck and the two hired men brought my belongings into my apartment.
I was told by Ms. Lugasi to pay the driver who delivers my belongings with a postal money order. Meyer immediately told me to pay him in cash and sign the Uniform Household Goods Bill of Lading and Freight Bill or he would not bring my belongings into my apartment. I signed the document under duress as I wanted my belongings. I was a single woman in a new city where I knew no one, alone with four strange men. I did as they asked so as to avoid trouble.
Meyer refused to allow me to check my boxes against the household goods descriptive inventory form as they were brought into my apartment. Meyer said that they did not have time for this as he and Levi were Jews that it was getting dark and they had to leave immediately as the Sabbath begins at sundown. I was told by Meyer that if anything was missing to file a claim within 30 days. When I discovered missing boxes I immediately filed a claim with Anthem Claim Management LLC of Anthem, Arizona.
All Victory Moving and Storage has not made any effort to recover my missing items even though I have e-mailed them and spoken with Ms Lugasi, Steve, her sales representative, and Avraham Lugasi numerous times by phone. I left a message for Meyer, the driver, on his cell phone, but never received a call back. Ms. Lugasi told me that boxes can become separated from each other, that the moving label assigned to belongings can fall off the boxes, and that items do get delivered to the wrong owners. Ms. Lugasi said she would check the warehouse for my missing boxes as well as call all of the customers whose belongings were on the same truck to inquire if they received my boxes by mistake. I offered to come to All Victory's warehouse in California and look for my missing boxes. I was refused access.
Ms. Lugasi never got back to me as to whether or not she searched for my missing boxes. Ms. Lugasi does not return my calls or respond to my e-mail messages. All Victory's third party loss and damage claim company, Anthem Claim Management LLC of Arizona initially denied my claim for loss. When I appealed their decision they offered me compensation of $63. I declined their offer and told them I would pursue this legally in order to either have my belongings returned to me or to be rightfully compensated. I spoke with Avi Lugasi in November asking about the status of their search for my missing belongings. He said he would check on this and asked that I call him back in a couple of days. When I called back as Mr. Lugasi asked he refused to take my calls. I have not heard anything further from All Victory Moving and Storage or from Anthem Claim Management as to the status of my claim.
I have filed complaints with the following organizations: the Better Business Bureau of California, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Federal Trade Commission, American Moving and Storage Association, MovingScam.com, usacomplaints.com, and TheSqueakyWheel.com. I also posted messages on Craigslist.com to see if anyone has my belongings and is willing to return them to me. I received no response. The Better Business bureau closed my file because All Victory Moving and Storage refused to reply to their request for information.
I want All Victory Moving and Storage to contact all of the customers who had items on the same truck as mine and determine who mistakenly received my missing items. I want my missing items returned to me immediately, or to be fairly compensated for my loss.
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