20 Jun 2015 · MoveAdvisor
1.0 out of 51.0
Here are the facts:
We had a quote from North American Van Lines (NAVL) for $8,400 based on an in-home survey, guaranteed not to go up. Across USA (AUSA from here on) told us that they knew exactly how they priced things and would guaranteed to beat the price. AUSA knew what the quote was as far as scope (packing, loading, transport, and unloading) and how much money was involved. The local rep quoted us $6400 based on the knowledge of the NAVL quote. They also insisted on a 25% deposit to guarantee the service.
The day of packing arrived and the AUSA representative told my wife that the original estimate was too low and the cost was now going to be over $10,000. When she said that wasn't the original quote, the representative in our house said, "We will work something out." Unfortunately, she signed the revised estimate based on the verbal acknowledgement. Also buried in the fine print was a clause that said same day cancellation is subject to a 50% penalty. Read on for how this impacts things.
When the packing was finally done, the cost of the move had risen to $13,000 and change. My first response was to simply unload the truck, we would go back to NAVL. When we protested, the representative called Josh in the Dallas office and spirited conversation took place. When asked if they were going to honor the original quote or the statement about working things out, Josh basically said the signature on the new estimate voided all previous estimates and that the original numbers were not correct, even though we had a guaranteed maximum price from NAVL, and from previous, we would still owe them $6,500 to simply unload the truck. At the end of the discussion, Josh and the local representative agreed to a reduction in price to a little over $10,000.
So, we are off to our new home, hoping that our belongings would be there sometime, even with a promise of a delivery within 2 to 7 days of packing (which would have been 6/10 to 6/15). On 6/15, the truck had not even left TX. We finally had the truck pull up at our new home on 6/19.
With the unloading, it looked like a lot of our boxes had been stepped on by a large creature. Seams were busted, tape broken, and packing blankets torn and ripped. Several of the tags were missing and we ended up with at least 3 or 4 items that simply could not be accounted for. We still haven't figured out what may be missing.
And, finally, lets talk about the damages to our goods.
- Leveling foot on washer broken in half.- 50 inch TV with a shattered screen. It was simply packed in sheet cardboard, not bubble wrap, no foam, no nothing. You can see exactly where something hit it and broke the glass.- a Bohemian leaded crystal vase purchased in Europe in 1988 shattered. Irreplaceable.- the mirror for a 75 year old bedroom suite destroyed. Irreplaceable.- A broken book case.- Major scratches and chips of wood missing from out formal dining table.- A dining room chair with all of the tenon joints for the back broken.- Several other pieces of glassware broken/shattered.- Damage to a brass rack due to bending of some of the trim.- Clothes thrown into a wardrobe box without the hanger bar.- Books thrown into medium and large size boxes by simply sweeping them off of the shelf they were on.- Boxes that were mislabeled as to which room they came out of.- Missing parts and pieces to put furniture back together (pegs and a screw for the master bed frame).- And that is what we have found so far with about half of the boxes unopened (we are moving into a smaller house, so some of the boxes will not be opened for a year or so when we buy a house).
Overall, on a scale of one to 10, I would give this move a minus 5. If you want to see what I learned after the fact, search for "How to avoid scams and fraud when moving." This company would fit at least half of the items. Finally, I am not going to hold my breath for a $25 refund on a fully paid for move as their email notice about providing feedback promises. Maybe I will be surprised.
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