My husband and I moved from Redlands, CA to Durham, NC so he could finish his medical residency at Duke Univ. Got a great low quote off of AAAmovers.com for AmeriVAnLines.
We found out too late why "Jose" was hiding behind boxes and hiding his face behind his hands whenever the camera came out.
AmeriVanLine "subcontracted" out to American Eagle VAnLines. Had us sign blank documents for $935, our original quote. They loaded our items then came back with the signed quotes all filled in totaling almost $3,000! They purposefully give you a low estimate on your cubic footage they think you'll use and then if you go over, they charge you double. (This was verified by the second mover who was quitting American Eagle VanLines because of the scamming).
When we tried to call the company to ask how they derived this figure, the driver became irate and started screaming and threatening. He also locked up the truck so that we could not remove our items ourselves. Then while we were on the phone with his company, he drove off the premises with our items. We called the police who stated they were able to do this since they possessed the signed "quote" documents.
That night there happened to be a broadcast on Dateline about the rampant victimization of moving companies. We contacted the show and immediately were put in touch with an FBI agent in Florida who was investigating American Eagle Van Lines. My experience was not unlike all of their company's other "customers". I was dumbfounded by the "common knowledge" and notorious familiarity the media had with this scamming company already.
Upon delivery, the moving company showed with a rented Penske truck instead of their moving company's. My items were scattered across the floor of the truck and I was unable to see how much cubic footage my items really took up. The significance of this was that we were promised by their president Sam Buch to receive a lower price and be satisified by their packing job.
With the Penske truck, there were no dileanated lines in the vehicle to demarcate how much cubic footage was actually used. When I told the driver that my items were supposed to be neatly packed, he threatened to charge me his labor to do so.
In the end, by the urging of the Better Business Bureau in FLA, American Eagle Van Lines only removed $300 off their price which was supposedly because we lived in an upstairs apartment. They weren't supposed to charge us for this anyway. When they try to rebut this, they will try to factor in weight and poundage issues which were never once brought up in the original agreement. It was all supposed to be cubic footage.in fact, we never received copies of weight tags or any such information.
Ameri Van Lines and American Eagle Van Lines are in cahoots with one another. They are scammers and simply pass the buck back and forth. There is a lack of funding in the government to go after these moving company scams though they are aware they are going on. Somehow, though, American Eagle Van LInes has gained enough notoriety that it has attracted the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and I in a heartbeat would back up any claims and additional information that I have put forth here.
Brandy
Durham, North Carolina
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