Across USA Moving and Storage has their scam down to a science and deserves exposure! Since my disasterous experience with this company, I have researched complaints made against them and found that many other people experienced the same artfully deceitful ruse. I throw my hat in the ring with these fellow victims. We are poorer but wiser. Here is my story...
Two years ago (why, you ask, am I just now writing this complaint? Read to the end and you will see!), a very nice saleswoman negotiated with me a fair price for moving a 10x10 storage unit full of furniture to Michigan from Texas. The contract stated I was to pay 1/2 now and 1/2 upon delivery. I paid the first 1/2 using my credit card. My first mistake...
I was out of town when the movers picked up the items from the 10x10 storage, and loaded it into their truck. After everything was loaded, the movers presented my daughter, who was present to unlock the unit, with a form to sign which dramatically inflated the price for the move. With no way to contact me, she felt she had no choice but to sign. When I contacted the company refusing to pay more than the original contracted price, they claimed there was more volume than I had described to the saleswoman. How could that be when all the items loaded into the truck were extracted from a 10x10 storage unit? They also claimed over $300 in packing material expense which consisted of 2 pieces of used cardboard haphazardly taped to the front of 2 televisions. A prolonged email negotiation ensued in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
All the while, my possessions were being held hostage in some storage facility until I paid their inflated quote. Even though the contract explicitly stated that the balance was not due until delivery, repeated demands were made for a cashiers check or cash before they would deliver the goods. This went on for almost a month until my credit card bill came in the mail. I was furious to discover that they had already, back on the day of pick up, fraudulently charged my Visa account, without my approval, for an amount that was almost double the contracted price. (VISA found for me and declared the charge fraudulent.)
In the meantime, my possessions were delivered to Michigan. The burly, intimidating movers demanded a cash payment (although the company had already collected the balance with a fraudulent charge to my VISA). I called the owner of Across USA who was verbally abusive but who called off his henchmen after I threatened to get the police involved. If that weren't enough drama, many items were damaged, the bed completely broken. And to add insult to injury, I was told that I had to submit their claim form for damages which they refused, even after multiple phone and written requests, to send me!
After many abusive calls from the owner, I requested all further communication be done in writing, which he refused. It appears the company has a preference for harassing phone calls.
Before entertaining a quote from Across USA, google Across USA Moving Complaints. You will discover, on many complaint websites, stories similar to mine being told over and over.
This company's tactic is to woo clients by quoting a fair price then inflate that price when the client is most vulnerable. I assume they are aware that moves often involve work related or housing deadlines, so after they have your possessions in their truck and your move seems to be on track, only then do they demand your signature on an inflated quote. If you have a tight deadline, you have no choice but to sign and try to reason with the company later, in which case they threaten to hold your possessions hostage at an undisclosed location. And the icing on the cake is that after all this, should they damage your possessions, they implement a Catch-22— demanding all complaints arrive on forms which they are unwilling to supply.
The end of my story: We are STILL dealing with this company 2 YEARS LATER! The owner of Across USA filed suit against my daughter in small claims court. She never received a notification of the court date. Unfortunately, as is habit when there is a no show in small claims court, the judge automatically found for the owner of Across USA, a man who committed fraud against me. We are in the process of an appeal to the judge for reversal, which, as I understand it, is rarely successful. Regrettably, we did not have our day in court to present the copious written evidence we saved should such an unfortunate event occur and now my daughter's credit is damaged. Dealing with Across USA has been exceedingly costly.
This company deserves to have its deceitful business practices exposed.
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