My boyfriend and I, as well as four other members of his office were being moved to AZ from NC. Their company was paying for the move but left it up to us to find a moving company to do so. Due to the shortness of time and the budget they were given we chose to go with Nation Van Lines. My boyfriend and one other member of the office were going to be moved on the 31st of May. The other two members of the office were to move on June 14th. The manager at Nation Van Lines, Ben, told us that they would pick our things up a week before our flight, which would be May 24th. They did not show up, but called the next day to tell us they would give us a 24-hour notice before they came.
They never came by before hand to view how much we were moving. Tom, one of the movers, called at 8:30am on Sunday, May 26th to tell us they would be at the apartment in 15 minutes. No 24-hour notice there. After they picked up the belongings of my boyfriend's co-worker, they came by our apartment in a Ryder truck. Everything seemed to be going smoothly while they were loading our things. When they filled up the truck they said they needed to go to Raleigh to get another truck and that they would be back the next day at 9:15am. We said that was fine and they left.
The next day, they called at 9:30am to tell us they would be there in 30 minutes. Those 30 minutes turned to 3 hours. Finally, we called them to ask where they were and they said that there was a wreck on the highway and that they would be there in 15 minutes. They showed up at 4:00pm! After they loaded the rest of our things onto the same truck, which I thought was strange since they told us they had to get another truck, they presented a contract for my boyfriend to sign. Knowing that his company was paying for this move, he signed it without reading over the details. When they presented the bill it was a little over $5,000. They charged us $1,200 just for supplies like boxes, bubble wrap, and tape. They charged us $4.00 a roll of tape, which I thought was pretty steep. Before they left, they asked for a tip of $20.00 a person. We have never moved like this before so we did not know if this was normal or not, but he paid them anyway. The last thing that "Tom" said was that our things would be in AZ on Monday, June 2nd.
When they did not show up that day we called them. They said that they thought we had told them to ship our things when the other two members of the company moved, which was on June 14th. We had it in the contract that our things would be shipped the week before we left and that their things would be shipped a week before they left. They did not apologize for the "mix up" either. They just told us that as soon as they can get a truck that they would send our things to us and that we should have our belongings by June 13th.
They did not show up on the 13th.in fact, when we called the number to the office, it was disconnected. We called back an hour later and it was a new number. Susan, the secretary, told us that our things would be there the next day on June the 14th. The other two members flew to AZ on the 14th and there was still now sign of them. I was still in NC and decided to find what I could on this company since they did not have access to a computer. What I found horrified me. The company, Nation Van Lines just recently changed their name from Elite Van Lines in April. They also changed phone numbers several different times and had two different addresses. I also found out that the president of Elite Van Lines, Eyal Malul/Malol, is the brother of Yair (aka Yanni) Malul/Malol. They have two different spellings of their last name. Yair Malul is the owner of Majesty Moving & Storage, America's Best Movers, Yanni Malol Transportation Company, Apollo Van Lines and My Best Movers, which are all scam companies, also.
I read several different testimonials from other victims of both Eyal and Yair Malul's companies and they all seem to have the same pattern. They would quote the customer a low price either based on cubic feet or the weight of the load. They would ask for a deposit up front before they began to load their things. Then when they are finished they would tell them that their things took up more space than they had originally thought or it weighed more than they thought and they would up the price. The final cost would usually be double the amount that they first quoted them. The customer would be outraged, but by this time they would have no choice due to time limit or they would tell them they would call the manager and see if they could knock down the cost. The customer would agree and they would drive off with their things.
Once the customer was at their final destination and waiting for their belongings the company would not call them. They would avoid the customer's calls and make excuses as to why they do not have their things yet and basically beat around the bush. I believe that after reading these articles and stories of these victims that their things were in a storage unit in the area in which they formally lived. I believe that they take their things in the Ryder truck, put them in storage and then tack on the storage cost with their final estimate. That is where I think our stuff is right now.
The only difference with us and previous victims of this company is that there are four of us that moved and there is a corporation that is paying for this move and not just a single family home. Also, the company has already paid them the total amount in which they charged us ($20,000) to move all four households. So, they already have the money, we just don't have our things. I contacted my boyfriend's boss and told him of the information I had found. He contacted the lawyers of the company, which there are 8 of them, I might add. The movers did not call June 14th or the 15th. They called June 16th and said that our things would be there the next morning (17th). After reading the rip off reports and based on all of the other information I gathered from researching Nation Van Lines/Elite Van Lines, I doubt we will see our things today (17th).
Our company lawyers are aware that our things should be here today and they know that they have been paid the full amount. They are ready and waiting for them not to show up, all 8 of them. I don't think Nation Van Lines knew what they were getting into when they started to deal with a corporate office that own 8 lawyers. I think that they have only dealt with single-family households and no larger. Even if we get our things back I do not want to just stop there and give up. I want these people put out of business for good, serve jail time or be deported. It is outrageous that this has been going on for almost a year now, and that is just one brother's work. Yair has been doing this since the beginning of 2001 and has several more victims under his belt. We do not need to just give up the fight once we get our own things back. We need to stop these scam artists for good! They will just keep adding on to their list of victims if someone does not take the initiative to put an end to this once and for all and I am willing to do that. I have spoken to several officers in different states for their advice. I have told them that other victims of these scam artist-moving companies have gone to the police before and that they have told them it is a "civil matter" and they could not help. All of the officers that I have spoken to have all told me that that is not true. That whom ever said that is a "lazy cop" and if you hear that from an officer than you take it to higher authority and go to the Chief of Police. If you can't get anything there, then you take it to the DA's office. I want these people stopped and serving time in jail and everyone that was a victim to get compensated one way or the other.
Emily
Greensboro, North Carolina
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