I was scheduled to move from California to Hawaii on 2/24/07 I spent a lot of time doing research on the internet to figure out how much it was going to cost me to take a enough stuff that would fill a studio apt. I understand that this is long but, please bear with me.
So after seeing that the prices from other companies were roughly the same, I decided to go with Nationwide based on their customer service and how informative they were. They weren't even the cheapest but I appreciated that they took the time to reply to all my emails and answering my quesitons in a timely manner. I just figured this was the service I could expect the whole way through. I was not even close.
Based on the list of items I provided the Customer Service agent, Alec, I was quoted $4618.50 based on the estimated weight. The original estimate included a deposit of $795.
Again my deposit was $795 that was paid to Nationwide. They said my items would be weighed and that would determine the final cost. We were not given a certain amount per pound.
The movers showed up within the time frame that was told to me. They showed up on 2/23/07, in a Ryder rental truck saying they were from Cross Country Movers (based in New Jersey). One barely spoke English and tried to get me to sign the papers without actually reading them.
They loaded some of my belongings, telling me along the way that they needed to repack some of my boxes because it was an overseas move and it had to be done a certain way. As they packed these boxes I was told that I owed about $600 in for packing materials. I talked them down to $400 because they said it had to be cash.
The mover that seemed to be in charge took the cash and they s finished loading my belongings. When I had questions regarding his chicken-scratch for writting he kept saying this was just papers required to pack and move me. After signing the contract and the movers leaving I noticed that the $400 for packing supplies was not on the contract. Therefore I have no evidence that they took the money from me.
The movers left with my belongings and I was under the impression that things should go pretty well from there on out. I was mistaken because after about two weeks I heard from CountryWide.
I was informed that I owed $4000, I would not receive my property until it was paid. They kept telling me that I exceeded the space allocated for my things. When I told them that I knew it was based on weight not cubic feet they continued to argue with me.
I knew for a fact that I did not have enough stuff for it to cost over $8000. I also knew that all they could legally charge was the initial estimate plus 10%.
I called Alec at Nationwide and I think he made a call to Countrywide, because I received a call from Countrywide apologizing for the wrong quote. The amount that I was given was within legal limits. I ended up paying just over $4200.
I played their game smart though, becuase when they told me that I had to pay or I would not get my belongings back I cancelled the check they had. When they got the correct amount to me I had another check sent to them.
I was never told that Nationwide Relocation keeps the deposit as a finders fee.
I do know that even after Countrywide received their money my things stayed on the mainland until I called and treatened them with filing complaints with numerous agencies. I told them that I was a federal employee and there is no way that they would ever get a good recommendation from me.
As soon I relayed that message to Alec I had a voicemail from Countrywide with specifics on my shipment. I was told what container it would be in and that it should arrive in Honolulu on 4/16/07, which is seven days later that the date on the contract.
As far as I know my things did arrive in Honolulu on the day they said it would (4/16). I know from having other things shipped over that it may take up to a week for everything to get to the island you are on.
I asked when it would be arriving in Maui. No one would give me an answer. I made call after call I found out that at some point the responsibilty of my move was tranfered to All American.
During one of my calls I was told that there was an issue with the belongings of another customer in the same container as mine. They could not release the other customers things so my stuff could not leave Honolulu until the issue was resolved.
After making even more calls to Nationwide and All American I found out the my shipment would be delivered tpo me in Maui on 5/17/07 almost three months after they picked the shipment up.
On top of it all a fourth company was placed on charge of delivering my household goods to my home. They were very proffesional and helpful when they got here. They did not leave until we had noted the damaged items as well as making sure some of our major appliances worked.
Royal Hawaiian was the company that I dealt with today and they were the only positive factor in this whole mess.
Because my household goods were handled by so many different companies, I had a few damaged goods and at least one missing item. There is no real way to tell because we have three different numbers on different forms.
They delivered 69 items today. The movers listed that thay used sticker numbers 001 - 074. Then on another form it was listed that there were 79 items. We are really not sure if we are missing more than the one box. It does appear that everything else showed up.
Had I known about this website before I moved I would have never used any of the companies listed.
The only thing I can say is that if you do find yourself in a similar situation DO NOT pay the extra money. Use every available resource you have to fight these corrupt moving companies.
Robert
Kihei, Hawaii
U.S.A.
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