I am writing in that I am a victim of what is potentially a crime here. I contracted with United Express Van Lines to move property from Linden, NJ to Racine, WI. They appeared 1/13/03 to pack and load the truck. The initial estimate given to me by Este (sp) stated 1102.00.
I advised the quoted cubic feet (294) seemed small for what I told her I had. She advised no problem, the drivers would complete the estimate when they got to the location and loaded the truck.
Well, when they did, then the rate jacked up to 7.20/cu ft from the 3.75/cu ft initially quoted. Additionally, packing materials, which initially I was told by Este was included in the cost, came to 1078.00. At this point they are demanding 6445.00 for a move which was estimated at 1102.00 and are holding my property, which consists of antiques, prescription medicine and financial documents, as well as all of my clothes and dishes.
Joe, at the dispatch office stated the delivery would be made within 5-7 days. Well, it's now well beyond that time frame as the pickup was January 13. Joe said he was going to call me last Friday. He never did. I phoned him and left a message in the afternoon. This was never returned. I phoned again later in the day and was told by Sam, that Joe had left for the day and I should try back on Monday. I phoned today and Sam said Joe was not in. Each time I spoke with Sam I asked where my items were. He stated he did not know. He would ask me all kinds of questions regarding the details of the move, but yet couldn't answer any of mine. To date, Joe has not returned any of my calls and is never available when I do call. Sharon Jansen, Department of Consumer Affairs in Wisconsin did reach him and he told her I was to FedEx a Postal Money Order in the amount of $3,000.00 to their office, with no date or guarantee of delivery.
At this point, I feel I am a victim of theft. I phoned the Broward County Sherriff's office and was referred to the local police in Sunrise, FL. The policewoman stated she would head over to the location and see if she could get them to move quicker on the contract. However, she stated they had 30 days on a contract (which is not listed in the contract anywhere) so according to their jurisdiction, no crime has yet been committed.
The FBI, DOT, Departments of Consumer Affairs for New Jersey, Wisconsin and Florida, The Better Business Bureau in Florida have all been notified of this situation. Unfortunately, DOT is the only organization which has governing power, but I was told by Lawrence Hawthorne that he is one of three investigators and they just dont have the time to look at each individual case. I have faxed all documents related to this situation to the attention of Mr. Hawthorne.
The order number for the move is 3272696
United Express Van Lines (new name is Exceptional Van Lines)
MC# 415856
DOT# 976717
6835 Sunset Strip
Sunrise, FL 33313
1-800-405-1515
Nir Cohen, President
I have paid 220.50 on deposit for this organization.
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