Dealing with Duntara Moving & Storage was the worst experience I have ever had, including a year doing combat missions in Baghdad (not saying that to brag, just saying I would rather do that again than deal with Duntara for anything).
I contacted Duntara Moving & Storage to move my household goods from Brandon, FL to Shreveport, LA between 6 Jan 12 to 9 Jan 12. I was on a specific time schedule for my move as I was planning on leaving Florida on 6 Jan 12 and arriving on 8 Jan 12, with a scheduled appointment to move into my house on 9 Jan 12. I explained I was flexible about the pickup but very adament about the household goods being delivered on 9 Jan 12. I was assured by Gilbert, who wrote the contract that my request for delivery on 9 Jan 12 would not be a problem.
Prior to contacting Duntara I had received quotes from other moving companies for shipping my furniture and was using 10,000 lbs as my weight estimate for cost comparisons. After conducting an inventory of my furniture over the phone, Gilbert stated he estimated the total weight of my furniture at approximately 6,500 lbs, despite my objections that I wanted to use 10,000 lbs for cost comparison purposes. Gilbert wrote the Service for Order #294568 which stated the calculated weight estimate was 6,673 lbs and would cost $4,020.25 with pickup scheduled for 3-4 Jan 12 and delivery on 10 Jan 12. I was fine with delivery being on 10 Jan 12.
On 4 Jan 12, the movers arrived approximately 45 minutes late for the pickup. I did not experience any significant issues with the packaging and pickup of my furniture; but I was present for the entire time.
On 6 Jan 12, I called Duntara and was informed there was an issue with the truck but they expected to have the delivery made on time; I requested a contact number for the driver or an after hours number for the dispatcher. I was told they would not give out the driver's number but that the driver would call me that day. Over the weekend of 7-8 Jan 12, I attempted to call Duntara with no response and no calls from the driver.
On 9 Jan 12, I called Duntara and was told the truck had not left Florida yet, due to a mechanical issue from a "routine inspection" and not from any problems experienced while operating the truck. Duntara's operator/secretary, Nicole was unable and/or unwilling to provide any information about the truck getting on the road and informed me she would call me as soon as she got any information. Over the next week, the only time I was called was when they wanted to get more money from me so that the "truck could get on the road". That was when Nicole informed me the cost had gone up by $1,297.08 due to the increased weight which I believe they had purposefully underestimated to increase the cost.
The truck they used to pick up my household goods was not the same truck they used to deliver my goods and was combined with another customers furniture so there was no way to confirm if the increased weight was mine or a combination of multiple shipments. The shipping invoice #W294568 reflected the weight increased to 8320 lbs thereby increasing the total cost to $5317.33. I paid a deposit of $1005.06 prior to pickup, paid another $4000.00 via credit card in order to get the truck on the road since they stated they would not send it without payment and the final $162.00 when the truck arrived at my house for delivery.
After the initial failure to deliver my furniture on 9/10 Jan 12 I was assured the truck would arrive on Friday, 13 Jan 12; I was then told on 13 Jan it would show up on 14 Jan, then later, but was unable to contact anybody over 14/15 Jan 12; I FINALLY got a call from the driver on 15 Jan 12 stating they would arrive in town on 16 Jan 12, a full week after the contractually agreed date. I was told the reason for the delay was another shipment coming out of Florida they wanted to add to the truck to maximize the loads they transported at one time, thereby maximizing their profits. Meanwhile, my pregnant wife, 1 year old daughter and I were forced to live in a hotel for over a week under exceedingly stressful conditions since we had no furniture for our house.
Throughout the entire week of 9 - 12 Jan 12, I repeatedly called with questions and concerns about the delayed delivery and repeatedly requested to speak with a manager or senior person. Nicole would tell me that Mike (owner/manager) was in the yard, or out of the office and that she left him messages to call me back, which never happened. Again, they only called when they wanted money.
I have moved numerous times in my 14 years in the military and my experience with Duntara was the most frustrating and stressfull, with absolutely no actions on their part to ease the stress or frustration by allowing me to discuss my concerns with a manager. Nicole did actually remove a $75.00 bulky item charge, however I dont know why a small loveseat was a "bulky" item.
My main issue with Duntara was their horrible customer service both on the part of the office people, Gilbert and Nicole and also the driver who delivered the furniture; in addition to their failure to deliver on time according to the contract. I would like to add, several items were found broken upon unpacking to include unique hand carved stone pieces which the movers had packed themselves. My suggestion, if you want to avoid stress during your move, you should avoid moving with Duntara.
0 comments