Back in April I received a quote from North South Vanlines along with other companies for my upcoming move in June. North South gave me a reasonable estimate based on my inventory list that I had originally planned on moving from my one bedroom apartment. They quoted me for 362 cf. Of space, 30 boxes and 50 total pieces, with a total cost being $1148.93. I put down a deposit on my credit card at the time.
When the move date of June 29th came I ended up moving far less than I had originally planned. I only moved 20 boxes, I didn't move the two barstools, two end tables, computer, coffee table, of 6x3 bookcase I had originally planned. However the forman of the job said that I not only used the 362 cf. Of space I had used and additional 150 cf. Of space after everything was packed in the truck which they wanted to charge me an additional 517 for.
Feeling somewhat stuck at the time considering I had to be out of the apartment soon and didn't have time to make alternative arrangements I ended up okaying the move, giving the forman what money I had, and saying I would figure things out with North South. I immediately called North South to argue the price. They told me they would have to talk to the driver before they could do anything. They called the driver and he didn't answer so they said they would get back to me.
I called again on July 2nd after I had finished moving myself. They told me the truck still wasn't in and it would be in tomorrow, Friday, to which I said ok I'll call back tomorrow, but after going through the charge list I noticed I was also charged an additional 50 dollars for a stair fee although I lived on the first floor with no stairs and a sidewalk going straight to my front door.
I received a call on Friday while I was at work saying they took the 50 dollars off. I called back when I got out and said it wasn't the 50 dollars I was ultimately concerned about it was the 517 for the extra space I was using. The representative said she understood my frustration and that I would have to speak to the owner. So i said put the owner on, but the owner was on vacation until that Tuesday so I said I would call back then. The representative advised me to call back Wednesday instead because the owner would be very busy Tuesday.
I called Wednesday and asked to speak with the owner to be told he stepped out. I asked when he would be back in and was told 4:30 so I said I would call back at 4:30. When I called back it was the same representative I had been talking to who answered and said the owner already took the 50 dollars off my charge. I said that isn't why I was calling and explained my situation all over again about the 517 dollars and was told I would be called right back.
After not receiving a call back on Wednesday I called Thursday morning and spoke with someone different this time. He informed me that the 50 dollars was already taken off my bill and there was nothing else he could do so I told him to put me on the phone with someone that can do something. He said I would need to talk to a supervisor and that there aren't any supervisors in until Monday. I told him to put me on the phone with someone else at which point he said there was no one that could help me until Monday. I said fine hung up and filed a report with the BBB.
It is now Friday, the day the moving truck was suppose to show up and I received a call from the driver saying he'll be here tomorrow. I said he was suppose to be here today and that I took off from work so that I could be here to meet him. The truck driver said I still owed the company 796 dollars and I said I'm not paying one more dime till my complaint is settled. The driver said I had to take it up with the company and that he is only to deliver once receiving my cash payment.
I called North South for the seventh time and spoke to the gentleman I had talked to the day previously and told him that not only is the truck a day late but I'm not paying one cent until everything gets settled. He goes on to tell me they already took the 50 dollars off and I said that's not my complaint. He goes on to say it was only an estimate I received online and say it wasn't an estimate cause it was no where close to the actual cost and that being off by 50% is not a valid estimate at which point he hung up the phone on me.
I called back the truck driver and told him he can either put my stuff in storage until this is figured out or he can deliver it and save a trip and we'll settle this later but either way I'm not paying anything else until everything is settled. The driver called the company and spoke with the owner who said I still needed to pay the full amount to the driver of they are going to have him put my stuff in storage and charge me more when I am ready to pay to have another truck come out. I told the truck driver to have the owner call me. I'm still waiting for a call.
I have already paid more than my original estimate of 1148, I even have measurements of all my furniture and boxes. After doing the math and being quite generous in the moving companies favor by over estimating sizes I came up with a total of 351 cf. Of space needed to move my belongings, furniture and boxes. I have the measurements of the furniture because I wanted to see how well they'll fit in my new apartment before I moved and I over estimated them for extra space needed for moving blankets.
As for the size of the boxes, well I have one of the largest boxes I had moved in my new apartment that I brought it with me in my car. So again using the measurements from that box and multiplying it by 20, again being quite generous because not all the boxes I moved were anywhere near that size, I calculated the cf of those.
The company still says I owe nearly 800 dollars, I want the 517 taken off for the cubic footage I'm not using and I think we have a deal there. I would have been more willing to negotiate the price had it not taken nearly two weeks and a call to the bbb. Yet still nothing has come of this.
Anonymous
louisville, Kentucky
U.S.A.
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