Hi. I am in a very heated dispute with Reliance Moving company based in Brooklyn, NY. On December 15th I received a phone call from Ed Ludwig, a sales rep for Reliance. He had been forwarded my phone number from a Moving Service website that sends out your information so you can compare prices of moving companies.
Originally he said he could move my things from New York to Los Angeles for $1500. I told him I had an offer from High Touch Moving services which gave me a written estimate of $1200 all-inclusive. He said he could do that, he went over what I had to move: a queen-size bed, a 32 inch TV, a cocktail table, a dining room table with four chairs and approximately 30 boxes. I asked him if that included everything, no surprises because I cannot afford them. I was able to scrape together just barely enough for my move. He said that was it, If anything needed to be wrapped in blankets, there would be no charge. He said I would only be charged for packaging if they actually had to pack my boxes.
I told him I need it to be delivered Feb 2nd because I was signing my lease on feb 1st and wouldn't be in LA until then. He suggested I have my things picked up 2 or 3 weeks in advance because they will be packing other families things on the same truck, and it would take about that long to get there. I know I specified Feb 2nd. He told me he would send out an invoice.
Well, unfortunately, what I later found out was the invoice that I coincidently received was another invoice estimate from Right Touch, and because it was the same amount, I didn't happen to notice it was the wrong moving company. So I never received the original invoice, which yes, I know is a problem. However, here is what has gone on since.
First of all, they told me they would need to charge me for a TV box. That was understandable. For $35, that was about what I would probably have to pay for a tv box with packing peanuts from UPS. I figured it was worth it, I will probably be moving again in a year or two, and it would be nice to have that size box and packing materials to keep. So I signed the ok slip for that. What I got instead was 2 pieces of cardboard and dirty moving blankets taped around my TV. Then I noticed at one point (I was trying to stay out of their way, I was not aware I needed to baby-sit them to make sure they were'n't trying to pull any scams) they were retaping boxes I had already taped well with obscene amounts of packing tape. They said that they had to make sure my stuff wouldn't fall out. The way I had them taped (one piece of packing tape in either direction), they were fine.
I've averaged one move every year-and-a-half over the past 20 years. I have always moved myself except for this time. I know how to tape a box. I did not expect anyone to be juggling my boxes, as they seemed to be taping them for a juggling contest of some sort.
Well, lo and behold, I get a phone call from Kelly the next day telling me I am being charged for $90 in packaging supplies, a good portion of tape charges. I told her she needed to take them off, except for the box used for my glass table top, because that was actually a box. Everything else is blankets that I can't keep, or boxes that arent' boxes that I can reuse, and tape I don't need, and will probably be a nightmare to cut through. I spoke with Asi. He said those are my packaging charges and he's not going to take them off.
I have argued with him over this many times over the past two weeks. He said it's a trivial amount, and I should be happy they want to take such good care of my stuff.
Well, 5 days after they leave with my things, They call me telling me they are in LA and where do I want it. I told them it is supposed to be delivered on the 2nd of Feb. I told Asi several times, and even mentioned I didn't know my exact address yet on the day (Jan 7th) they picked up my things. He said not to worry, I had plenty of time, and when it was close to my delivery date to let him know. So now I am told by Mike Berry, of Royalty Moving company, which is also owned by Asi, that they will have to put it in their storage unit and charge me $180 a month for storage plus a $600 re-delivery fee to deliver it on my original and only delievery date I ever told them.
A day or two later I get a phone call from either Asi or Kelly telling me that my weight ended up being more than estimated, and I am now being charged (including their $90 packaging charge) a grand total of $1,724.40. I do have an invoice from them they finally faxed after 5 hours of begging for one. It says $90 for packaging fees (not itemized at all), and then the charges for weight. They waited until my stuff was in Los Angeles before telling me this.
Had I known it was going to go up that high, I would have just refused this service. I did not authorize this extra charge. I didn't sign anything saying to deliver ASAP as Mike Berry is claiming. They all refuse to give me an itemized listing of packaging fees. No one seems to have this Bill of Delivery paper that supposedly says "ASAP" in my handwriting. I have requested it several times. Asi just keeps arguing and telling me that I need to think about my behavior and how much time I have spent arguing over the phone with him about packaging that I "needed" and how I should appreciate how fast they were.
I now have to pay for a U-haul to get my stuff out. I should at least be refunded some money because I am not getting it delivered as was the original agreement without being charged an additional $600 on top of the $1724.40. Since they want to charge $600 for re-delivery, I should think that offering $1300 total (subtract the $240 I paid from the $1300) should be a fair amount to pay, since hiring a person to help me lift my heavier items, and the cost of a u-haul will amount to around $100.
It's not my fault they failed to confirm the delivery date. I have absolutely nothing to gain by telling them I want my stuff delivered asap when I am still 3,000 miles away. They, however stand to get $180 for storage fee (BTW, Ed originally told me I could get 1 month free storage if I needed it if anything fell through with this particular apartment. Did not specify if storage would be in NY or LA.) plus a $600 re-delivery charge. Ed no longer works for the company.
However, I have two possible phone numbers for Ed that I looked up on Whitepages.com: It is too late for me to call these numbers but I will see tomorrow if they are for the right person. Maybe he can be of help.
I have to pick up my stuff by Feb 1st or they will charge me $180 for storage. Asi refuses to give me any paperwork until I pay him all the ransom he is asking. I already paid them a deposit of $240, so I still have to pay him $1484 before I can get my things out.
I want to weigh my things to make sure I am not being charged for more than my items are. If my weight comes out to less than they are saying it is (2,043 lbs at 80 cents a pound), I want that difference to be refunded as well.
I dont' know what to do. Should I discuss this with the sherriff's department around the area? Should I get a lawyer? The biggest issue is that I currently do not have enough money to pay them this ransom because I was not prepared for it in the first place. Their DOT # is 1505274. The address I have for them is 295-299 Newark Ave. 2nd Floor Jersey City, NJ 07302. Their storage unit where my things are being held hostage is located at: 8943 Oso Ave.in Chatsworth, CA 91311.
Kim
Brooklyn, New York
U.S.A.
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