Let me try to summarize what happened with these scumbags.
I went to a website (I think it was http://www.movingscam.com/cgi-bin/link. Cgi? Url=http://www.movingcost.com or http://www.movingscam.com/cgi-bin/link. Cgi? Url=http://www.movinginfo.com) to get a quote. I entered in my information on where the move was to occur; from FL to VA.
I got a call from a "Robert" with US Moving Services Inc. He gave me a quote of $1238.33 over the telephone based on what we had in our 1 bedroom apt. I listed our big furniture as well as 10 big boxes, 5 med, and 5 small. One thing that should have keyed me in to them being shady was that they charged per cubic feet and not by weight. At the time, I didn't know that being charged by weight was more legitimate and easier to actually measure.
I specifically asked him if they could pick up our stuff on Dec 20 and deliver by Dec 23-23. He told me no problem. I asked him to send me an estimate over email and that I would be in touch.
After looking around and receiving more quotes, US Moving Services had the best price, so I decided to go with them. I called and asked Robert to send me the agreement over email and he did. I asked him if it was the same price and he said yes. So once I received the email, I sent him an electronic signature. This was a "BINDING" estimate according to the email. He requested that I leave a check for 50% of the total at the time of pickup for the movers. I therefore left a check of $619.17.
On the day of pickup, I was not available because I had left FL early for my new job in VA. My plan was to arrive in VA, look around and lease an apt before the delivery on Dec 22-23. My mother was at my apt when the movers arrived to oversee the pickup. So Dec 20, Robert and his guys arrive at my apt in FL. Robert calls me and asks me why I only left $619.17. I told him that was half of what we agreed upon. He said no, the agreed upon price was $1640.28. I told him NO, the price was $1238.33. We went back and forth for about an hour over the telephone. He then said, the original price doesn't matter because we had more stuff than our estimate and that they would have to charge us $500 more, plus packing materials would be $300 more. I said that I would not agree to this and told my mother not to sign anything.By this time, they had already loaded the truck.
At this point, my battery on my cell phone died and I was unable to call and talk to neither my mother nor the movers. The movers, according to my mother, basically threatened and yelled at her at her till she was forced to sign something saying we would pay $2447.25. Basically double our original binding estimate price.
I called Robert later that day and he stated that we had to pay the full $2447.25 minus the $619.17 that we had paid by check to receive our goods. I was outraged and demanded to speak to his supervisor. He asked me to call his supervisor the next day at the office.
The next day, I called his supervisor, "Deron" and discussed the issues with him; the issue of why the original estimate was $1238.33 then changed to $1640.28. He first said the $1640.28 price was correct, then retracted his statement and gave me a "discount" of $200. The total price would still be $2447.25.
At this point, I just wanted our stuff to be delivered by Dec 22nd and we had agreed upon, so I said I would pay that amount and faxed him over a movers sheet agreeing to this.
The delivery never came on the 22nd, 23rd, 24th. I called and spoke with Robert several times and he kept promising it would be delivered that week. At this point, I was feeling uneasy about our stuff being taken by these guys, so I put a stop payment on the check I had left. On arrival, my plan was to pay the full amount in cash. Christmas passes and we still did not receive our goods. I called Robert and he asks me why I put a stop payment on the check. I told him because he kept lying about the delivery. He told me to deposit $1500 into their Bank of America account and he promised delivery would be on the 29th. So I made the deposit. The 29th came and went with no delivery. I had even called him on the 29th and Robert informed me the driver was on his way and our place was the next stop for the driver. No delivery was made.
I called Robert on the 30th and all day, they did not answer my calls or voicemails. I called over 10 times.
I filed a police report and reported them to the DOT. The police stated that this was a civil issue and would/could not get involved. I think they responded to the DOT using the agreement they forced my mother to sign and ommitted our original electronically signed agreement all together.
They finally delivered on Jan 14th. They basically left our goods at the elevator (didn't even load) and we had to carry the items the rest of the way to our actual apt unit. Joe, the driver, said only the first 75 feet was free and the rest would be $300. Nonetheless, I told them to get the hell out of here after they had unloaded everything into the loading dock hallway.
This whole incident has left a bad taste in my mouth and I want to do my best to ensure no else gets screwed by these bastards. If you are considering these guys, please contact me first and I will tell you firsthand our experience with these con artists.
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