If you are moving in the state of Florida, beware of FL Movers & Storage of Dania, FL.
My wife and I paid $150 online on 3/12 towards a $415 contract to move 16 blocks in Oakland Park, FL, downsizing from a two bedroom apartment into a one bedroom apartment after selling and giving away much the things that would no longer fit. A list of items was given to the mover and the salesman said it would require the minimum $415 payment though the amount of our goods and the distance of our move were well under the parameters required for a minimum charge which was 3 hours labor plus minimum travel time. They were moving us out on 3/31/09 and moving us back in on 4/1/09, leaving the goods in the truck overnight.
They were to arrive to pickup our belongings at 9am on the 31st of March but got lost and after a number of phone calls were able to get to us about 11am. When they arrived, they began to query us on what further services we would like to purchase: special wrappers for the bed, special bubble wrap for fragile items, etc. We had already packed all of our fragile items with protection in boxes and refused further charges. They then refused to move any of our pictures without bubble wrap at $1 a foot. We agreed to move them ourselves as they are not that heavy and they would have added a considerable amount of money to our bill.
At this point they told us the labor estimates were too low and we would be charged another 2 hours labor and they would have to charge us for overnight storage also. After we called their dispatcher, they finally agreed to the original terms of the contract as far as the storage was concerned but would not agree to the labor charges as contracted and further asked us the amount of the "tip" we would be giving them at delivery. I told them that we could talk about the charges after the furniture was delivered and the tip at that time also.
They then filled the truck with our belongings, taking their time with several rest breaks and a rather long bathroom break. Despite calculated slowness, it took them a little less than 2 hours to move all of our packed and prepared belonging from our 2nd floor apartment.
They then left and promised to return the next morning at our new location, 16 blocks away. The next day they called us, late, from West Broward, on the other side of University Drive, about 10 miles away, saying they were lost. After a number of phone calls, they finally found their way to our new apartment.
When they arrived, they said the location of our apartment was too far from the truck and they would have to charge us extra labor.
At this point, I need to point out that the distance from their truck to our apartment was aprox. 100 feet on absolutely wide and smooth surfaces (outside, from the truck to our door with one easy turn). We told them to deliver the furniture first and we would see how long it took. It seemed obvious to us that moving the furniture about the same distance as they had the day earlier but on flat surfaces instead of up and down stairs without elevators - time should be shorter not longer. They first refused, cajoling and arguing and finally threatening us with putting our goods into storage if we did not pay the entire amount owed plus an extra $150 ($565). This went on for a least 45 minutes and it was wearing us down as they are in their 20s and my wife and I are both in our 60s with a number of physical impairments that do not let us stand and argue for prolonged periods of time.
We called and asked for the representative that sold us our contract and were told he had been fired and gave us to the dispatcher that said we would have to pay before they would deliver our furniture. At this point we would have liked to give in but there were factors at play: we did not have the extra cash to give them and they would not take a check or credit card for any amount, even the credit card they had taken for the original $150 down payment was not acceptable.
We finally told them that removing our goods and putting them into storage would cause us to call the police which have an office on the same block. They then became very surly and said they would send us a bill for the $150 but the $265 would have to be in cash and I would have to sign a receipt with indecipherable handwriting on it. I was worn out and did it.
They both then left and one returned with our goods in a number of trips. We did not see the other one again who had stomped out in a seeming rage. It took the single young man exactly one hour to bring everything into the house which meant the entire process of actual moving, excluding browbeating, cajoling and threatening took the originally estimated three hours and no more.
Because of our various conditions, it took us as long to unpack as it did to pack and after several days we began to realize that things had been damaged and destroyed and that our most important items were missing despite the fact they had been hidden. We called the company and told them that a old wooden wall clock had been damaged, that an antique piano bench and an antique copper/wood end table had been damaged beyond repair, that safely packed china had been destroyed but worst of all, that my deceased mother's jewelry, which had been inherited by my wife, including a 36" strand of vintage pearls had disappeared along with some other important family heirlooms. Their response, literally, was to laugh at me over the phone. I first, suggested to them it was merely missing but since have revised that statement to "stolen, " as the truck was supposedly never unloaded before it arrived here. We also mentioned that we had ended up with some one's small carpet but they just, literally, laughed that off also.
I then filed a complaint with the BBB of Palm Beach, FL (case #55082059) which after a considerable amount of time was answered with the company claiming that they gave me $150 free labor. I filed the complaint to give them the option of making right on their behavior before I took it a step further. They have ignored me and my complaint and offered no method of negotiation or process at all. I have since filed complaints with the Florida State Attorney's Office and the Florida Department of Agriculture which oversees intrastate moving. The Florida AG took my complaint and also gave me the links to several Federal agencies that also handle this type of problem and I shall follow up on these also.
My omtermet research into FL Movers & Storage and the local moving industry has taught me a few things that may be helpful to anyone making budgeted local moves during this downturn in the economy. For starters, don't use FL Movers & Storage and don't hire anyone that makes an estimate based on volume, does not send an estimater to look over your belongs, does not disclose rates for undisclosed extra charges, that does not have a theft or damage policy & process, Does not have a single person on the truck that knows the area, does not have a GPS in their truck and feels free to lie at the drop of a hat (salesman told me he had worked for the company for 8 years but we later found out that the current company and owners had only been in business for 8 months at the time of our contract).
All of the above are part of the problems with FL Movers & Storage.in addition, you might want to make sure they do not threaten or actually break the law as they did in our case. They threatened to leave and put our belongings into storage if we did not pay the extra amount - this is against the law in Florida. They also refused to take anything but cash and would not deliver our items until we paid cash and signed their papers. Both these requirements are not legal - they must offer two ways to pay and they were obligated, once again by law, to accept the credit card we had originally used for the deposit or a check. They cannot make you sign papers before the job is completed - they bullied us into signing because we are older and quite worn out by their threats and behavior.
We have since found out that the State of Florida is especially interested in predators that victimize senior citizens such as ourselves. We are hopeful that these folks will change or go out of business.in the meantime, please take our experience with them to heart and avoid any contact with them at all costs!
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