worst moving experience ever - Moving Review

I had made a reservation through worldwide vanlines for a move from Reno, NV to St. Paul, MN for February 28, 2012.  I was assured during the sales call that Imy move would not be brokered out to another company since it was winter and business was slow so there were plenty of their own trucks available.  I was also told that the surcharge for moving upstairs would be waived.  I was lied to.  This move was brokered to National Movers.  I had done my research and was amazed at the great deal worldwide vanlines was able to get me.  Less than $3000 to move 10,500lbs of cargo over 1800 miles.  Every other place I tried quoted me $6-7k. That should have been my first clue I was going to get ripped off.  Even doing it myself would have been more expensive.  I estimated my weight to be about 10-11,000lbs based on their itemized listing tool as well as 2 reputable movers who actually came out to my storage unit to evaluate my items and understanding the moving industry standards to estimation.  I did my research.  Every way I calculated it came to approximately 10,000lbs.   When the mover from National Moving showed up he showed up in a Budget rental truck immediately told my sister in law that she needed to sign their agreement which quoted a $75 for flights of stairs so she called me (I was already in MN at the time).  While I was on the phone with Worldwide to see why they would be charging me since that should have been covered in my quote the mover told my sister in law that he knew we were going to be over our quote by about 25,000lbs but that he was willing to move it for $5000. I could not believe that we had that much more stuff than we had been quoted and had read an article on how to avoid scams earlier that week and heard this was a common practice in the moving industry.  To offer a low quote knowing that when moving day arrived customers were usually in a strict time crunch and desperate and that most consumers would not really know how much their stuff really weighs.  I asked the driver to weigh the truck before they loaded which they refused.   I knew did not have that much and spent the next half an hour trying to figure out what to do.  I didn't want to leave my things behind and was confident we were below the quoted weight but read enough about the moving industry to know that once they had my stuff on board they could charge me whatever they wanted and if I couldn't pay it then there was nothing I could do. They could keep my stuff, store it and charge me $300 a day until I could pay, and eventually sell it. I was still speaking with Worldwide at this time with an agent who said there was nothing in my quote about free stairs but that she would track down the supervisor I made the reservation with and call me back.  That was the last time I was able to speak to this company even after several calls over the next week.  During this time, the "professional movers" began loading my belongings.  The driver and his assistant had hired 2 local guys off the street to help with loading.  Two guys that I can guarantee were not licensed or bonded however now knew where my storage unit was located as well as the contents and that I was no longer in the area.  Hardly professional.  I had paid for full service including wrapping my furniture and packing items.  Most of my stuff was already packed and ready to go because it was in storage but not all of it.  They did not wrap anything, rolled my oak table top across the pavement scratching it severely, and broke a mirror.  By this time I had decided there was no way they were going to be allowed to move my stuff.  The "owner" I spoke to was completely unprofessional and even yelled at me for taking time to decide what to do.  I didn't trust him at all.  I called Worldwide Vanlines as well during this time and while they were prompt and professional all the way up to the move date, no one would return any of my calls once there was a problem.  I ended up cancelling my reservation by leaving a voicemail.  After I cancelled my move and asked them to put the few items they had moved back they began throwing my furniture into the storage unit.  Later that day I went back to the Budget rental truck website to look up information on their trucks.  We had considered renting one ourselves when we wanted to do a self move but remembered the max cargo weight was not very much.  Sure enough the largest truck could only accommodate 12,000lbs.  But an empty truck weighed 25,000lbs.  National Moving tried to charge me the weight of my cargo PLUS the weight of an empty truck!!  Really??!! After waiting 3 weeks, I ended up doing the move myself today. I had not seen the storage unit since their attempt to move me and had no idea exactly how much damage had been done to my stuff.  See photos below.  After seeing this I called the company to file a claim for damaged goods and immediately got the same guy I dealt with the first time.  I expressed my complaint and asked to file a claim and he began yelling at me again.  I asked to speak to a supervisor and he told me he was the owner and he was the only person I could talk to.  I asked what insurance company he filed his claims through and he refused to tell me, said I need to e-mail him photos of the damaged goods, then he would file the claim.  I already know this man is a crook and told him there was no way I was sending any photos until I had a form to fill out my claim.  My best guess is was that he would try to use my photos and say he took them BEFORE loading on moving day to "prove" they were damaged before the move.  After screaming at me on the phone again and refusing to listen I hung up.  It was by far the worst moving experience I have ever had in my life and I am SOOOO grateful that I did not allow this company to move my stuff.  However I do not know if I will ever get to file a claim and have things resolved for my damaged goods.  

Photos posted by Alissa Buethe