Advanced Moving, AKA Transworld Moving, is currently holding half of my household hostage at an undisclosed storage facility.
I initially contacted Ashley Judd at Transworld Moving on November 8 after receiving competitive bids from several major carriers to move my household effects from Nahant, MA to Melbourne Beach, FLA. A
T that time, Ashley offered to give us a guaranteed not-to-excced estimate based on bids I had received from the other carriers. Per her request, I faxed her the competitive bids, which averaged about $ 8000., and she faxed and emailed me back her not-to-exceed Order For Service, which was $ 4226.65. She told us that the bid could be based on either weight (13,000 pounds) or volume (1825 cubic feet), our choice. We told her that we preferred weight, and she agreed. We asked her to have the truck weighed before the movers arrived.
The movers arrived on November 29 with a shuttle truck, as our street was too small for a full-sized van. This is not unusual, but we were surprised to find that they did not have a full-sized truck nearby. Rather, they said they would have to move our household one truckload at a time to their Connecticut warehouse. We were also concerned to find that they had not weighed the truck as requested.
After loading the first truckload, I escorted the movers to a nearby weigh station. A few hours later, they returned and began loading the truck again. While loading, they asked me to sign a Bill of Lading with terms different from their signed Order For Service.in particular, the movers said that the price would be based on volume, and that the cost per cubic foot for any volume over 1825 cubic feed would be almost double the amount quoted in the Order For Service.in addition, the movers asked me to pay them half up front, and estimated that the move would cost in the neighborhood of $ 12,000.
After refusing to accept these new terms, I edited the Bill Of Lading to reflect our original agreement and signed it. I then asked them to sign it, which they refused to do.instead, they suggested that we cancel the whole deal and pay them $ 1000 kill fee to return our effects. When we refused, they told us that Transworld Moving was a disreputable company, that their was no such person as Ashley Judd, that the contract was meaningless, and that we would never see our furniture again. They then unloaded the truck and left, refusing to complete the move unless we paid them half up front.
Two days later, I rented a 25 foot truck and moved the rest of the household to FLA myself. After two weeks, I finally got a response from Ashley Judd, who referred me to Ash Cohen. Two weeks later, I finally got a response from Ash Batisto, who told me he would not return my furniture and disclose its location. A week later, I spoke to Ralph Rig, who told that he might release it if I first signed a waiver and sent him a cashier's check for $ 1000.
I have since file a criminal complaint for grand larceny, fraud and conspiracy with the Essex County Court in Lynn, MA. A hearing is scheduled for Januay 28, at which time the D.A. Will decide whether to file criminal charges. I plan to so the same next week in Fort Lauderdale, as well as contact the Attorney general, local Congressman, and the local/national press.
I also plan to file a civil lawsuit, but with the understanding that even if I win, I will probably never receive a dime. My hope is that the authorities will treat this as the criminal activity that it is and put them and their ilk behind bars, where they belong.
Kenneth
Melbourne Beach, Florida
U.S.A.
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