To Whom It May Concern:
As concerned and dissatisfied consumers, we are writing this letter, in hopes you will assist with a recent problem we encountered with a moving company. The Company's name is Alayon Moving and Storage (3655 West 16th Avenue, Hialeah, Florida 33012), and the experience we had with them, was undoubtedly the worst few days of our lives to date. There was never a moment of satisfaction. From beginning to end, it was a complete disaster.
Since we are on a time restriction to move into our new place, we only dealt with companies offering 3 or more movers to assist. After contacting over 15 movers in the area, we agreed to work with Alayon. We contacted Alayon through an ad we found in the Yellow Pages, and decided to give them a call. The person who responded at all times was Vidal, the owner of the company.
We initially contacted Alayon on a Wednesday and informed them of our situation. It was of extreme importance that we be moved out on Friday May 28th from the Downtown Miami (Towers of Park West) in the late morning or early afternoon hours, as well as moved in before 5 P.M. That same day into Miami Shores (Towers of Quayside), as this was their move in time limit. Alayon agreed without hesitation and provided us with an estimate of sixty-five dollars and hour, with three men to move. He provided us a contract and we agreed.
May 28th was our closing date. We had planned for the movers to start the move, as the closing took place. Alayon agreed to be ready and present at the Towers at Park West, between the hours of 1:00 P.M. And 2:00 P.M. We returned to our apartment in anticipation for the movers to arrive. It was now 3:15 P.M. And the movers were just arriving. Not only had they arrived extremely late, but one moving man short, as they had stated three, and had only two men show up. The moving began, and the Tower of Quayside was nice enough to extend our move in time to 6:00 P.M. We soon realized we would never make even that time, the way the movers were working.
Throughout the entire ordeal, the two movers they had sent did nothing but argue and complain to each other about the ways in which to move and package items. It seemed one was more experienced, and the other had never done this. Everything he did was actually wrong, and arguments would constantly pursue between the two. It was horrible to stand there and watch the minutes fly by, as these two individuals wasted our money and time.
As the afternoon progressed, it seemed as if nothing was getting done and just as we had suspected, the 6:00 P.M. Move in limit had come and gone, and still the movers were nowhere near done. It wasn't until nearly 8:00 P.M. That the two men were finally finished and ready to depart with basically all our belongings. Now the problem was deciding what to do until Tuesday, as the New Condo we were to move into allowed neither weekend moves, nor Holiday Moves. Unlucky for us, Monday was Labor Day.
As you can imagine, this was not an easy thing to digest. We had to basically sleep on the floor with only a blanket and a pillow. We had nothing in our refrigerator but water, and only the clothes on our back. We were forced to purchase a towel at Walgreens, with which to bathe ourselves, and not to mention the amount of money we wasted eating out, as a result of not having anything to cook with. Everything had been packed.
The frustration and feeling of helplessness was alone to make anyone crazy. Monday evening was the last evening we could spend at The Tower at Park West. Staying until Tuesday would have meant paying an entire month's rent. This too was something Alayon Moving and Storage was aware of, but apparently didn't care about. Worst of all was having to pay storage fees for something which was their mistake.
Monday the thirty first as well Tuesday the first, we had no choice but to stay with a relative. We were forced to inconvenience a loved one, as oppose to spending the evening in our apartment as we should have. Alayon wasn't available to move us in until Wednesday morning, and so that morning as they had agreed to be there, we headed to our new place and arrived at around 9:00 am. Alayon had stated they would be there bright and early, as they were aware of our move in time limits at the building. To our disappointment and shock there was no sign of the moving company.
As the morning progressed into the early afternoon, it was evident they had no intentions of showing up. Our wait continued until about 4:00 P.M. We made repeated attempts to contact them at both their published numbers and received nothing but a voicemail. After some time of trying, not only did we not receive a response, but even their voicemail had stopped responding, stating it was already full and to call again later.
At around 6:00 P.M. We decided it would be best to contact the authorities. We had no choice but to believe these people to be illegitimate con artists who had stolen our belongings. The police department advised us we would have to come down and file a report in order to have an investigation started. We decided to wait until Thursday morning to file our report. Even after all this, we were willing to give Alayon the benefit of the doubt.in the even something could have occurred to them during the day.
Thursday the third of June, as soon as I woke up, I decided to try Alayon's number one more time. To my surprise they responded. I was so upset at this point, I didn't even know what to say, except to ask what had happened Wednesday. What could have possibly happened, that inhibited a company from even calling a client to maintain them informed. Their response as suspected as not a good one. They claimed that most their driver's had not showed up to work and the one who was available had already left on another moving job.in addition the owner, Vidal, exclaimed his daughter had been sick.
I still couldn't fully comprehend how a company could excuse themselves as such, without even a simple call. Just a call would have been enough to at least calm us down and assure the safety of our belongings. At this point it was 7:00 A.M. And Alayon asked if moving in today would be convenient. We asked him to be at our place as early as possible, and the owner agreed to have our move done immediately. He stated the movers would load their truck with our things as soon as they arrived at their warehouse, and be at our condo no later then 10:00 A.M.
Much to our disgust, but not to our surprise, it was already 12:00 P.M. And of course no sign of a mover in sight. We contacted the owner who assured us his movers were simply getting gas, (for the last hour). Noon had tuned nearly into 2:00 P.M. As my partner stood on our balcony, he finally caught a glimpse of the big orange truck with the words Alayon. The only problem was, they had now parked at Kmart. I suppose for an afternoon snack.
As we contacted the owner multiple times to complain without any results, the truck continued to stay parked at Kmart for a full thirty minutes. It was now 2:30 pm., and may I remind you of out 5:00 P.M. Move in time limit. Bearing witness to this total and complete lack of respect, and not being able to take it any longer, my partner decided himself to drive to Kmart and confront the movers. As he approached the entrance, the movers were on their way out, with hands full of sodas, chips, and other snacks. My partner proceeded to question their actions with much deserved anger. Their answer was simply, Hey man, we need to eat.
Finally getting them into our condo, after what seemed an eternity, the speed in which they were performing was obviously a slow paced one. So slow in fact, that after having paid for a moving service, my partner himself was forced to put up his sleeves and assist moving in our own stuff. All again for fear that we wouldn't make our move in time limit. Finally the movers had gone, and out things were with us. We finally thought this was the end of an odyssey. We were wrong!
Upon the unpacking of our things, we found to name a few: broken plates and dishes. Twisted and dirty lamp shapes, paint on our television table, as well as multiple parts belonging to furniture, which had been torn off. All the items they themselves had packed, were either broken or in terrible conditions. Their response was one you'd expect from a company like this. They said they couldn't do anything about anything.
To make matters worst, they had somehow misplaced our computer monitor. We attempted to contact the owner, who said he would hold the monitor in his warehouse until we could pass by to pick it up. Something they should deliver in the first place, as it was packed by them, and their responsibility.
A few days later I agreed to pick up the monitor. The commute for me was long, having to drive almost an hour in morning traffic from Miami Shores to Hialeah. Imagine my feeling of complete anger when I arrived and found nobody in sight. I immediately contacted the owner, Vidal, and asked where he was. He responded, You are late. I had arrived at the agreed upon time and he had decided he was going to leave because to him I was 5 minutes behind schedule. I proceeded to become enraged, and can you blame me after our ordeal? I explained to Vidal that enough was enough, and that it would now be his responsibility to deliver the monitor to my home. It wasn't until the next afternoon that I saw my monitor.
By now we have all our furniture, and are finally settling into our new apartment, thankfully. But who pays for the damage, both to the furniture and emotionally? Who reimburses us for the lost time, worrying, and aggravation? Who repays us the money spend on towels, eating out and the storage we had to pay Alayon for a mistake they made. Who makes us feel better for the time we spend sleeping on the floor, or wondering if our entire lifetime of personal belongings were stolen, never to be seen again. Who takes responsibility for their actions, apparently not Alayon Moving and Storage?
I look to you as the Better Business Bureau, to help us ensure that this company does not get away with this unprofessional and improper behavior. We look to you to ensure that this catastrophe of a move never occurs to another innocent person or family again and that something be done to properly penalize this company.
Roger
Miami, Florida
U.S.A.
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