I repeat, do not, DO Not do business with either company. A reputable moving company will not charge you a deposit for services yet to be rendered. Please read on how to find a reputable mover and for more info on how these more often than not foreign shysters scam you.
Here's my story -
Cross Country Van Lines, a New Jersey based company contracted by the just-as-disreputable Nationwide Relocation Services, was due to arrive at noon in order to pack my boxes before the freight elevator became available at two P.M. They had exactly three hours to empty the apartment before we had to relinquish control of the garage to the next truck in line. There was no way around it.
I stressed to both the broker and the mover that it was imperative the truck arrive promptly because my lease ended that very day at six P.M. I also arranged for the electric and cable to be terminated sometime over the weekend and booked accommodations at a swanky hotel in my metro accessible neighborhood because it was pet friendly and I would be sans wheels (my car was getting shipped through an environmentally friendly freight carrier). I prepaid through Expedia in order to take advantage of the low room rates.
When the clock hit one and they failed to show I began to panic. My boyfriend and I made several dogged attempts to track down the dispatcher for an update but instead of reaching a human we were sent straight to a voicemail. Some guy named Simon who spoke in a heavy accent (Eastern European? Israeli?) finally returned our call with the reassurance that they were on their way.
Well, they never arrived. When Simon tried to reschedule with the promise of being there on Monday, I more or less told them to where to go and fired off a letter to Pamela Ling, the deceitful broker at Nationwide Relocation Services (company also known as movingcost.com), who all but vanished into thin air once she received our $779.85 deposit. Funny how she couldn't be reached until I told her via email we were terminating our contract.
I immediately called my boyfriend and urged him to cancel his credit card in case they tried to charge him for the full fee. And then I did what any reasonably intelligent person should have done in the first place an internet search.
I. Could. Not. Believe. What. I. Was. Reading.
Both companies have been slapped with numerous violations and complaints on a myriad of consumer websites. What's the m.O.? Frustrating the hell out of you so that you cancel your contract and forfeit the deposit. If you are unfortunate enough to have one of their contracted crooks handle your move, prepare to be extorted. They will eventually hold your goods hostage in some undisclosed storage room and double the fees owed because your items weighed more than originally determined. If they can't shake you down they will threaten to sell all your items and to add insult to injury, that is, if they haven't literally roughed you up (some have threatened and/or actually inflicted bodily harm), they slap you with a storage fee!
We got taken but it could have been worse.
I scrambled to find a more reputable van line and arranged for Mayflower to arrive Thursday because it was the only day they and the elevator was available. Because of the negligence of the aforementioned companies, my boyfriend and I incurred a good deal of emotional trauma (my boyfriend later revealed he thought he was going to have a heart attack) and a horrible loss of time and money. Monday night (my birthday night) will be spent hauling boxes into the apartment. I was forced to cancel my flight and extend my lease through next Friday at $81 a day. I am working with Expedia to see if the Westin will extend us a courtesy and refund all or part of the $300 we prepaid for the room or at least give us credit. I also lost money on the one night's stay in Scottsdale booked for the evening of the 30th. As expected, Pamela Ling refuses to return our deposit for services not rendered until she talks to someone higher up. This has been an absolute f*cking nightmare and I implore all of you to do your research and steer clear of brokering companies and dodgy movers. These people are not only unethical they are potentially dangerous. Some allegedly have mob connections.
I'm working on a viral internet campaign to stop these people and their like-minded cohorts from swindling others and will be contacting to see about getting our money back - in addition to notifying respective attorney generals.
Stiletto
Arlington, Virginia
U.S.A.
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