This is one company, or three as it is hard to figure out the relationship of the three companies, to avoid. Personal Touch, Metro and Best Time all seem to be the same organization. As has been mentioned on many posts, these characters provided a quote with a fairly competitive price. They were available on short notice. There were no negative reports on the local BBB site. I found no reason to believe the company was not reputable.
The quote was for 4 men for 7 hours for a total cost of $760 plus additional costs for supplies and a 15% charge for fuel. On the company website, they provided a link which indicated one should expect the cost of supplies to be 10% of the moving costs, in my case $75 to $100.
The quote received was from Personal Touch. The company which arrived was Metro. The driver indicated the two companies worked together. Shortly after the truck arrived I inquired about the cost of the supplies. The driver stated "it won't be much" and indicated he would give me an amount in a short while. He then proceeded to hurry his workers to load the truck.
I also had some items which I wanted to be disposed. I had previously called the company and talked to a "Lucy" who told me the cost would be $6 per item with a minimum of $100.
At the move site, I asked the driver to verify the $6 per item quote. He would not. He made a big deal out of calling back to his office to verify. He came back and said I had about 22 items for disposal. He said the cost would be $1,100, $50 per item. Luckily, I had not allowed him to place any of these items on the truck. Had I done so, I have no doubt he would have demanded an additional $1,100 before he would release my property. I eventually disposed of all the items at the local landfill for a total cost of $38.
At this point, I realized what was going on. I immediately stopped him from loading anything else onto his truck. Obviously, my move was not finished.
He finally disclosed the cost of the move. It totalled $2,200, including $1,200 for supplies.
The move took a total of 6 hours, he charged me for 8 hours. He also charged me for an additional hour to drive to my property, which was not in the quote. It took only a couple of hours to load the truck, I didn't have much and the company was not asked to box anything. I had a couple of chairs, two sofas, two TVs, three chests, a desk, a treadmill, and a few other items. I hired the company only to move heavy/bulky items. Mine was not a major move as I had moved much of my property myself.
The fuel charge was nearly $300. One hundred and eighty of this related to the bogus supply cost of $1200.
I attempted to call "Lucy" for clarificantion, who somehow no longer exited. That was not a surprise.
Left with nothing to do, as he would not release my property from the truck and he made it clear if I did not pay he would simply drive away, I reluctantly paid with a credit card. He did everything he could to get me to pay cash.
I am not through with the characters. I will contact the DOT, Maryland Attorney General as well as the FBI as these guys moved across state lines. I have contacted the BBB and I have an attorney. I am preparing letters to my Senators and Congress person for Rockville.
I closed my credit cards before Metro was able to process the charge. I have photo evidence and I have witnessess. I am researching this company to gather more information. I will do everything I can to expose these criminals.
Scott
Frederick, Maryland
U.S.A.
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