I recently hired Absolute Van Lines to move my property in Chicago, Illinois to Chicago, Illinois.
Absolute Van Lines is based out of the Bolingbrook office, 362B Whitewater Dr. Ste. #108, Bolingbrook, IL 60440 (866) 511-5222.
Owner Alon Anara. Part of National Van Lines, AAA Van Lines, Eilid Van Lies, Access Van Lines, Alliance Van Lines, The Nice Movers SCAM. 100's of ALIASES in NY and Florida. Beware!!!
I had scheduled a 9am-12pm move on Sunday, September 29. The movers showed up after 12 noon, smelly and possibly on drugs. They arrived in an Enterprise rental truck. The four movers, then left for a 45 minute lunch, and came back complaining about having to work. They then, haphazardly loaded items in the truck (unwrapped!!!) a $10,000 antique dining room table recently refinished has been damaged badly and an oak futon couch is also has many deep scratches and the mattress cover has a hole in it.
The rest of my things were stolen. At the time the movers realized they had damaged all of the furniture, they demanded cash payment before they would unload the truck (to insure payment obviously). I explained that it was Sunday (banks are closed); the receipt says they accept check, money order, or credit card, which I offered either. They asked for payment of $130.00 in excess to the estimate in cash only, it was told that it was because they had to wait for the apartment elevator (which was originally scheduled with the building from 9-12am), now which had to be shared with other moving tenants because it was 2pm and they still had an hour before the 3 hour estimated time was used.
We were still on schedule according to the estimate, even though they were 3 1/2 hours late. I told them my dad can bring them the cash in 10 minutes and then the driver, Tim Miller, said that if my dad was coming to pay it was going to be an additional $300 making the total $588 in cash only. I said, for what? And the movers closed the truck and drove off with all of my stuff. I had only the clothes on my back and the two pieces of furniture they had left. I had to go to the store and buy soap, shampoo, make-up and other various things so that I could take a shower before work the next day and wear the clothes I had on my back for 4 days straight.
Supposed managers at Absolute Van lines have done nothing. They have harassed me, told lies and screamed at me. Alon also stated that he left 2 messages on Thursday and Friday, stating the moving time has changed, however documentation from the phone company will prove that no calls were ever made. Several calls (12 to be exact) were made on Sunday regarding this matter and trying to get my things back. Phone calls, due to caller id, were avoided and not one message was ever returned.
When I called from an unfamiliar phone number, the call was immediately picked up.
Monday, September 30... I made several attempts for them to deliver my stuff. They wouldnt return calls and yelled at me when I got though to them (Alon Anara, Ron Carter and Sean Harper are the people I have spoken with.)
Tuesday, October 1... Two times the driver, Tim Miller, said they were going to deliver my stuff and he never showed. The "manager", Alon, now stated it was going to cost $400.00 more to have my belongings returned. He said when the movers were there on Sunday they waited almost two hours for me to try to get cash from an ATM machine. I didnt try to get cash from anywhere because I didnt have an ATM card. The mover told me I have to get cash off of my credit card and I told him I couldnt do that because I do not have a pin number to get cash from my credit card.
It was blackmail and extortion, as the Chicago Police Officers put it.
Wednesday, October 2... 3:45pm they delivered my stuff without notice from a Penske Rental truck with Oklahoma license plate 1SD 409.
The things they delivered are broken to pieces and damaged. I found photo albums that belong to other people, other peoples clothes, dishes ECT... Expensive items are missing a brand new Sony DVD player and a new Sony surround stereo system. The movers harassed me and broke my things right in front of me and basically admitted to stealing my DVD player by handing me the empty box and saying I gave the box to them empty to put on the truck. They pointed out broken items and smashed glass things in the parking lot.
The building security manager called the Chicago Police. The building security manager and two police officers witnessed the remainder of the incident. I have the names and contact numbers of the security manager and the police officers. A police report has been filed with the Chicago Police Department for fraud and theft; Bolingbrook Police have a record of the incident and attempted to contact the office in person in Bolingbrook (apartment).
Complaints have been filed with numerous associations: Better Business Bureau, Attorney General, ICC and more. My brand new Sony television doesnt work and the plastic outside is broken. It is unrepairable. My vacuum cleaner has cigarette burns in the bag and all dishes and glass items are broken in little pieces! All of my furniture has countless scratches, gauges and dents. My coffee table, bought in July is unrepairable and cracked along with many scratches, chips and dents. It looks like it was beaten with a hammer.
My king mattress is filthy black on the edges. Four out of six knobs were broken off of my antique cherry dresser. Everything has black gooey tar or gum stuck to it including my furniture. I have plenty of pictures of the returned and badly damaged items and the condition everything was returned in. Please let me know if you need anything else from me. So far there has not been a resolution. The phone numbers are disconnected and he won't return calls to cell phone. Website has been changed, no reference to NY anymore.
Lori
Chicago, Illinois
0 comments