5 Aug 2018 · MoveAdvisor
1.0 out of 51.0
On 6/20/18, I used North America Moving Systems to move from Laurinburg, NC to Corpus Christi, Texas. My original estimate, sent by Grant on May 31st, was for 1,692 cubic feet. I was told this was enough space to pack my four-bedroom home. I discussed with him the number of beds and couches I would be moving as well as other household goods. I was assured this space would be more than adequate when I questioned if this would be enough space. I was also told the $300 packing charge would cover the packing of a handful of large pictures as well as 2 larger TVs. It was implied by Grant that my household items would be picked up in an 18-wheeler and moved directly to Texas. He never mentioned using a smaller truck and placing my items in storage. I would not have used this service if I had known beforehand that my items would be moved twice.
On June 20th, the movers in NC arrived with a mid-sized rental truck that already had other items loaded in the front of the truck. I could easily see a large mattress with other items behind it. My items were added to the back of the truck. I was told my items would be taken to an air-conditioned storage facility until a larger truck could take them to Texas. When the movers arrived, I was immediately told that I would be charged extra for the TVs to be packed. I had them call Grant – the salesman that said this was included in the $300 packing charge. He agreed that he did tell me this.
Next one of the movers took pictures of my house to send to the company. Within an hour, I was called to the phone to speak with Yair Knafo in dispatch and told I had more than the estimated 1692 cubic feet and that I would have to pay an additional amount or leave items behind. I was told an additional $2696 was required before loading to cover an extra 1,100 cubic feet of space. (Bringing the total cubic feet paid for to 2,792) An additional fee of $2,195.97 was added to delivery costs in Texas as well. I was charged a total of $10,882.32 for my move, that is $4,891.97 more than the original estimate. I was also told if I did not require all the estimated space that I would be given a refund for space not used. When I could access the new estimate online the next day, I found out I was charged an additional $1150 for packing materials and another $130 for my TVs (the ones I had already been told were covered by the first $300 charge).
The driver of the moving van was Jamal Hall. He signed the Household Goods Descriptive Inventory paperwork from North America and was introduced to me earlier in the day as their driver and employee. The other movers did not dispute this claim. He was tagging and inventorying my items. At 10:00 PM that night, I was told by Jamal Hall that I had exceeded the 2,792 cubic feet of space and would have to pay an additional $1350 to finish loading. Cash was demanded for the loading to continue. At this point in time I had no choice but to pay. I had a closing scheduled on my home in less than 48 hours and needed to clean out the house. He took my copy of the Interstate Revised Written Estimate and made changes to it and signed it.
At 11:00 PM the movers asked if they could stop for the night and come back to finish in the morning. I was assured they would return at 8:00AM. The moving crew returned after 12:00 noon on June 21st. I spoke to one of the movers and asked why I was charged for additional cubic footage at the rate of $4.50 instead of the original $3.50. At that point, I was informed by one of the other movers that Jamal Hall was stealing money from me. I did call the police and had him arrested for theft. When taken to the police department, Jamal Hall – North America’s driver - did not present a valid driver’s license. All he had was a Florida ID card. The driver returned $900 of my money – leaving me $450 short. Yair Knafo the North America dispatcher (I think he is also the owner) informed me he was not responsible for his employee’s behavior or the return of my money.
The two remaining movers finished loading my household belongings that day. When asked where my belongings were being stored, I was given the name of a facility in Rockingham, NC thirty miles away.
On June 25th, Yair Knafo called me to ask questions about Jamal Hall’s arrest. He wanted to know the name of the police department and the case number. I told him to call the Laurinburg Police Department. Yair told me that Jamal Hall had been arrested on a previous occasion for stealing money. Yair also told my son during a different phone conversation, that he did not do a background check on his employees and had no trouble employing those with criminal records. Since my move I have found several arrest records for Mr. Hall just by doing a Goggle search.
I was originally told by Grant, the salesman, my furniture would arrive the week of June 25th. Yair Knafo informed me the furniture would be picked up no earlier than June 30th and probably would be delivered by July 6th. When I called on July 5th , I was told the furniture would not come until the following week.
A North America driver, Daniel Galla, delivered my household goods on July 12th. Before anything was unloaded I took a picture of the inside of the moving van. It is marked off in cubic feet. My belongings were the only items on the half empty van. On the attached photo you can clearly see that my household goods took up less than 2000 cubic feet. My son Lee and I tried to call Yair Knafo repeatedly to have the final cost adjusted. The driver Daniel threatened to drive off with my furniture if he was not paid the entire $4,353 before unloading a single piece of furniture. When we finally reached Yair Knafo by phone we were told to pay Daniel and the money would be refunded later.
Daniel Galla threatened a second time to leave if I did not sign the incomplete inventory list BEFORE unloading had even started. This I refused to do until all items were unloaded and accounted for. At this time, I have several items that were damaged, broken or lost by the movers. I noted as many as I could on the Household Goods Descriptive Inventory List. One wheel on a sewing studio cabinet was torn off completely, an antique sewing box table has a cracked leg, a sewing cutting table arrived with the frame bent out of shape and a gouge in the top of the table making it unusable, a small home freezer was dented and pushed in over the motor unit, a wheel on my gas grill was torn off the axel, a queen mattress was no longer wrapped and was covered with black dirt. All these damaged items were packed and wrapped in blankets and boxes by the movers. Several of my boxes were missing on arrival. I was told by Daniel that he had repacked some of the boxes. Many boxes arrived with no numbers whatsoever.
I have asked for a refund of $3,222. This will cover the overcharge on cubic footage not used of $2,772 (792 cubic feet times $3.50) plus an additional $450 to cover the money stolen from me by the North America employee. A known thief was sent to my home as a driver without a valid driver’s license to move my household items.
I sent an email to North America Moving Systems on July 24th asking for a refund for the overcharges and an additional $450 to cover the theft by their employee. I received a reply on July 25th stating “I’m sorry for that experience. I understand that it should be a refund back to you. I will be in contact with you this week to give you the amount that our company needs to pay you back.” No name was signed, and no one has called or emailed me to date. When I call to find out the status of my claim, no one answers in Dispatch, Accounting or Sales. I have left several voice messages, and no one returns my call. I have called the “emergency” number, and no one answers, and the message box is full preventing one from leaving a message.
Dealing with North America Moving Systems has been the worst possible experience. This company sent a driver to my home that could not even present a valid driver’s license to the police to drive a car let alone a truck. Their driver admitted to the police that he took money from me by false pretense. My original estimate of $5990 grew to $10, 882. That is a $4,891 increase that I had to pay or find another mover overnight and lose all deposits. Phone calls made to this company go unanswered, messages are ignored. Refunds are promised but none received. I would never recommend this mover to anyone. Zero stars.
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