Cousin's Moving and Storagechoreographs a nice scam that is too good to be kept a secret. Let melay it out for you in 3 easy steps.
Step 1, the setup: An elderly man nameHarry came over and gave us an estimate. He assured us that there wasno way the total cost would exceed the estimate he provided. Weunderstood from him that the final weight would certainly be muchless than what was quoted. He said that the moving truck would haveplenty of access room. The company is an agent for a very reputablemoving company, so everything sounded good. We even refused loweroffers from competing firms after our contact at Cousin's (Henry) told us that these other companies were fraudulent firms (the irony). We put down a $500 deposit and felt confident about the agreement topay a total of $3,000 upon delivery.
Step 2, the arm-twist: The moving truckarrived, but the driver said that there was no room to get the truckto the apartment. They had to rent a U-haul to shuttle the furniture. We received a call from cousin's stating that we would be charged anadditional $250 for this service. I argued with them stating thatHarry said nothing about a shuttle and the charge should be onCousin's since it was their miscalculation. They wouldn't budge, so Isaid we would make other arrangements. At this point, our 3rdcontact at Cousin's, Aaron, buckled and said they would pick up thecharge for the shuttle, but we would have to pay if a shuttle wasrequired at the destination. I agreed and the move proceeded.
Step 3, the closer: They gave us a 10day time-span of when the truck may arrive at the destination. Sincethey were moving the car as well, they told us it would be soonerrather than later. Well, the 10th day rolls around and themoving van finally arrives. The driver tells me the final bill is$3,000. I figured he just wasn't aware that I had already put down a$500 deposit, so I called Cousin's. I gave them my name and wasdirected to Dakota, someone I had never spoken with before. Heconfirmed the charge was to be $3,000. I asked him about getting backthe deposit and then he dropped the bombshell. We were being chargedexactly $500 extra for the shuttle they used at the load and for theextra 400lbs over-weight. We would be paying a total of $3,500. I wasstunned, angry, confused and incredulous all at the same time. Iasked to speak with the manager or one of the other people we hadbeen working with previously, but no-matter how many times I asked, Dakota insisted that he was the only person I was able to speak with. He kept repeating the same information and would not listen to what Iwas saying, almost like he had done this many times before. It wasthen that I finally got the scam. Dakota is the closer, and Cousin'swaits until the moving truck is right outside your apartment beforeinforming you of any additional charges. My additional charges justso happened to add up to the exact amount of my deposit.
What could we do? My family had beensleeping on air mattresses for 10 days waiting for the truck to gethere with the beds. We needed the car to get around. Like any goodscam, the perpetrators make it all legal. The initial estimate yousign is not binding, so the price could really be anything they wantit to be, and they have your belongings to ransom. My advice is pay afriend or confidant the extra money and have them move your stuff. Hopefully, this will help someone else before they get taken.
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