It comes as no surprise to me that this company has changed its name several times in the past. When the companys true reputation starts to spread and their ratings drop, they simply change names to cover their tracks. It was also confirmed by an employee who informed me that they are gearing up for another change. This makes sense as their BBB rating is an F, they were removed from the AMSA due to numerous complaints, and a simple internet search of the company shows how Capital Van Lines does business.
Michael Cappiello provided me with an in-home estimate. He was punctual, but that is all he got right. On the contract, my name, address, and move date were all incorrect. He estimated my two-bedroom apartment move at $1,500, however this number skyrocketed to $3,450 after they had taken my possessions and an $800 deposit. I was not able to verify the initial truck weight because they did not inform me of the weigh time or location. Also, the movers used GENEROUS amounts of tape, plastic furniture wrap, and cardboard boxes without notifying me of the price or even the fact that I would be charged for it. I offered my own padded bags during packing but the movers denied me in lieu of using their own supplies.in the end, this cost us an extra $278.
When I called the main office to ask about the discrepancy, Greg outlandishly accused me of hiding belongings during the estimate. I proceeded to ask Greg about the Federal law as stated on page 17 of the booklet entitled "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move", given to me by Capital Van Lines themselves, that "If the total bill exceeds 110 percent of the non-binding estimate, your mover must relinquish possession of the shipment at the time of delivery upon payment of 110 percent of the estimated amount, and defer billing for the remaining charges for at least 30 days".
Greg then accused me of not paying and told me "if you want your stuff you rent a f*cking truck and come get it yourself". I could not get a word in as he continued to talk over me with foul and abusive language. Then he hung up on me. I called back and Greg said "sorry we are not accepting calls at this time", and hung up on me again. My fiance called and he also hung up on her. This was not the "open line of communication" I was hoping for as required under Federal Law.
To my surprise Greg called me the next day, however it was only to inform me he was essentially holding my belongings for ransom, demanding I wire him $1,000 before he would send the truck for delivery.
On the day of delivery I expected the "same truck, same men" as stated in the contract. To my surprise they were different men in a different truck. The movers left cigarette butts all over the property. They also used racially charged derogatory comments about African Americans and Indians. One mover even admitted to stealing a child's Leap Pad toy from the truck only because the clients were Indian and he did not like Indians. They also freely told us of their co-workers who perpetually steal alcohol from shipments.
After all of this we inspected the shipment and found damage to an antique desk. We also discovered that they had packed perishable food items in boxes without our knowledge. We were not able to catch this on the day of packing because the movers did not perform an itemized inventory as required.
Finally, after researching the company further following my gut-wrenching experience I have found only one positive review. But it quickly came to my attention that this review was left by an employee of the company, Brenda Mesari. This act, too, is fraudulent and illegal.
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