BEWARE - DO NOT USE A-TOPP'S - HORRIBLE COMPANY, HORRIBLE PEOPLE, HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE
OUTRAGEOUS
Submitted this review about
A - TOPPS MOVING & STORAGE L.L.C
Review made Live: 9/26/2009 11:40:00 AM
Be warned, if you are moving and require hired movers, do not use Budget Van Lines or A-Topp's Moving, aka Magic Moving, etc. (this company uses various aliases) because once these companies charge your credit card for various fees and deposits and pick up your stuff, YOU MAY NEVER SEE YOUR PROPERTY AGAIN.
I hired Budget Van Lines, a broker that schedules moves with A-Topp's, to move me from NY to LA during the first week of August. Budget Van Lines, A-Topp's and I scheduled a pick-up date and time. A-Topp's showed up two hours early, threw the stuff I had not finished packing into boxes and charged me extra for doing so, though I did not request this service, nor did I need it (had A-Topp's showed up during our predetermined, agreed upon pick-up time). Our written contract indicated that A-Topp's must make the delivery within 2-14 business days from the date of pick-up, which at the very latest, would mean I would receive my delivery by September 1.
At the time of pick-up, A-Topp's said I'd receive a call with an expected date for delivery (EDD) within a few days and that I should likely receive my delivery between Aug. 17th and 21st.
No one called.
I called A-Topp's four days later to ask for the EDD, A-Topp's assured me I’d receive a call by Aug. 19.
No one called.
I called A-Topp's on the evening of Aug. 19 to ask for the EDD.
A-Topp's provided me with the EDD of Aug. 24-27; A-Topp's said I'd receive my delivery "no later than Aug. 27, 2009” and a call by Aug. 22 with a specific date.
No one called.
I called A-Topp's on Aug. 23 for the EDD. A-Topp's said delivery would be 9-12:00pm on Aug. 26.
By 12pm Aug. 26, A-Topp's had not made the delivery and had not called.
I called A-Topp's at noon and was told "you will not be receiving your delivery today." A-Topp's provided no further information. A-Topp's promised to call later on Aug. 26 with more information.
No one called.
I called A-Topp's at 6pm Aug. 26 and was transferred to dispatch, neither customer reception nor dispatch provided any information.
I reminded A-Topp's of the verbal guarantee of delivery (Aug. 27) and the deadline according to our written contract (Sept. 1).
During this conversation with the alleged owner/manager of A-Topp's, I was mocked, yelled at, yelled over, spoken to abusively and inappropriately, hung up on, and when I attempted to call back to resolve the EDD issue and find out any information regarding the security of my property, my call was intercepted, and I was hung up on again.
I called Budget Van Lines to report the delivery problem with A-Topp's on Aug. 27. I was told that the delivery truck was "broken down in GA" and that it would either be fixed and on its way or that A-Topp's would send another truck to retrieve the delivery and bring it to my home by Sept. 4. I sent a follow-up email on Sept. 2 when I still had not received a call from A-Topp's or Budget Van Lines confirming delivery.
When someone finally answered at A-Topp's on Sept. 4, A-Topp's said my delivery was towed back to NJ, no further information was provided.
Each and every contact I have made with either A-Topp's or Budget Van Lines since A-Topp's picked up my move has occurred because I called. No one at A-Topp's or Budget Van Lines initiated contact with me.
I called Budget Van Lines and A-Topp's daily from Sept. 4 and finally, on Sept. 10, I was told that my delivery should arrive on Sept. 13 - one month and one day after the original pick-up date.
I called A-Topp's early on the morning of Sept. 13 to find out when the truck would be arriving. A-Topp's told me it needed to make contact with the driver and would call me back in a few minutes. One hour later, I called A-Topp's back and was told "the driver must be sleeping, he is not answering his phone. I will call you once I have heard from the driver." A-Topp's did not call me back. I called every hour on the hour until 10pm and no one at A-Topp's answered the phone.
On the morning of Sept. 14, I called A-Topp's to find out what had happened to the MIA driver and truck and was told that the truck would arrive at my home by 1pm, A-Topp's tracked the truck with GPS and found it to be 2 hours from my home, it was 11am.
At 1:45pm, when no one had called and no truck had shown up, I called A-Topp's. I was told by an operator the owner/manager was unavailable to speak with me and that the truck would not be delivering to my house. No reason was given, but A-Topp's promised me, yet again, that first thing tomorrow morning, I should receive my delivery.
At this point, one month and two days after Budget Van Lines scheduled A-Topp's to pick up my move, I have no reason to believe my property is secure or that I will ever receive it.
BOTTOM LINE: IF YOU BOOK A MOVE WITH BUDGET VAN LINES OR A-TOPP'S, YOU MAY NEVER SEE YOUR PROPERTY AGAIN.
OR, the following might happen. THIS HAPPENED TO ME. THIS IS REAL.
According to our written contract, A-Topp's was to deliver between 2-14 business days given the distance from NY to LA, 1447 miles. Pick-up occurred on Aug. 12, the latest possible date for delivery would be Sept. 1.
I was first promised delivery between Aug. 17-21st, no one called to confirm a time.
I initiated every contact with A-Topp's; no person ever called me, not when I was supposed to receive calls back, not when I was promised calls. Often, no one would answer the phone.
Eric and Jeff Bell were both extremely rude, abusive, hostile and inappropriate with me each time we spoke.
I was told specifically the delivery would occur on Aug. 26 between 9am-12pm. No one called and no one showed up.
I called and I spoke with Sandy, the receptionist, who can confirm that she told me delivery was scheduled to occur that morning, as had Eric Bell. It was at that time I was told no significant details, but that I would not be receiving my delivery that day.
I had to call back every day until finally, it was explained to me the truck had a mechanical problem. The truck was in GA, the mechanics were waiting for a part to fix the truck, or A-Topp's was going to send another truck, which at the time was in Minnesota, to retrieve the delivery from the broken truck and continue on to my home in New Orleans, LA.
At that time, I was told delivery would occur "absolutely no later than Sept. 4." As Sept. 4 approached, and no one from A-Topp's called to confirm a time, I, again, had to call A-Topp's daily.
I finally received an answer, on Sept. 4, at which time I was told the truck carrying my delivery was towed back to NJ.
No person at A-Topp's could provide me with even an estimation of when the delivery would be scheduled to occur.
A-Topp's had not "informed" me of any information regarding the whereabouts of the truck or what was occurring as far as attempting to fix or replace it, or that it had been towed back to NJ. I was never told that I should not be expecting my delivery because the truck carrying my property had been towed back to where it started. This information should have been relayed to me and was not.
I was told only what I had to call several times a day for several days to discover, from Sandy, a receptionist, not even from Jeff or Eric Bell (who I have been told are allegedly the owners/managers of the shady A-Topp's operation).
I called Budget Van Lines and A-Topp's daily from Sept. 4 and finally, on Sept. 10, I was told that my delivery would arrive on Sept. 13 - one month and one day after the original pick-up date, 13 days after the deadline according to our written contract.
I called A-Topp's early on the morning of Sept. 13 to find out when the truck would be arriving. A-Topp's told me it needed to make contact with the driver and would call me back in a few minutes.
One hour later, I called A-Topp's and was told "the driver must be sleeping, he is not answering his phone. I will call you once I have heard from the driver." A-Topp's did not call me back. I called every hour on the hour until 10pm and no one at A-Topp's answered the phone.
On the morning of Sept. 14, I called A-Topp's to find out what had happened to the MIA driver and truck and was told that the truck would arrive at my home by 1pm, A-Topp's tracked the truck with GPS and found it to be 2 hours from my home, it was 11am.
At 1:45pm, when no one had called and no truck had shown up, I called A-Topp's. I was told by an operator the owner/manager was unavailable to speak with me and that the truck would not be delivering to my house. No reason was given, but A-Topp's promised me, yet again, that first thing on the morning of Sept. 15, I would receive my delivery.
On Sept. 15, I received a call from the driver, who told me he would be at my house no later than 1pm. At 1pm, I called the driver, who told me that he would arrive no later than 2pm. At 2pm, I called the driver and was told he would arrive at 2:30pm.
At 2:30pm, which is not first thing in the morning (I had to miss yet another day of work), the driver pulled up with the truck in front of my home. He was accompanied by a woman who did not step out of the truck. According to our written contract, I paid for two movers to arrive at my home and unload the delivery.
I asked the driver to unload the truck and he refused. He said I would have to pay more money first before he would unload. I explained that I was in negotiations with Budget Van Lines and with A-Topp's and that I would not be making another payment until I safely received my property in my home and had come to a resolution with the companies.
The driver got back into his truck, and turned on the truck, threatening to leave.
At this time, I was calling A-Topp's and Budget Van Lines to confirm with the driver that I am in negotiations with the companies and that he should still unload the truck.
I asked the driver to turn the truck off, so I could hear his boss speaking to me, he refused. I asked the driver to step out of the truck, he refused.
While I was standing in front of the truck, on the phone with Budget Van Lines, the driver floored the accelerator and nearly ran me over. I had to jump out of the way, or I would have been killed. Three of my neighbors were witness.
I called the New Orleans Police Department. Two police officers came to my home and agreed that I was unsafe and stayed with me while I attempted to speak with A-Topp's and Budget Van Lines and find out where the driver had gone. The police officers also spoke on the phone with Melissa Lilly, a supervisor at Budget Van Lines and explained the driver had nearly killed me and that they were going to put a warrant out for his arrest if he did not return to my home immediately.
Eventually, the driver returned to my home. After two hours of conversation and A-Topp's refusing to unload my delivery until I paid more money, I agreed only because I wanted my property off the truck and in my home. But, I dispute the charges.
The woman finally stepped out of the truck when it was time to unload. I asked her whether she worked for A-Topp's, she refused to answer, got back in the truck and sat in the cab for the remainder of the time the driver unloaded my delivery.
Again, according to our contract, there were supposed to have been two movers. Whether the woman was an employee, I do not know. In any event, only the driver unloaded my delivery, carelessly.
The driver was supposed to have presented me, upon delivery, with a copy of the contract, a weight ticket proving the weight of my delivery, an inventory list and a complete breakdown of all charges. The driver did not have the weight ticket or the breakdown of all charges.
I still have no proof that my delivery weighed what A-Topp's claims it weighed. I still have no breakdown of the charges. I dispute all charges.
Rhonda Joy and Melissa Lilly of Budget Van Lines received emails from me requesting this information be retrieved from A-Topp's and sent to me. Though I was promised an email with the weight ticket and the breakdown of all charges, I have yet to receive either. I dispute all charges.
I paid a $199 broker fee and a $316.45 deposit (which was supposed to have been counted toward the total balance) to Budget Van Lines to receive a safe, reliable and efficient move. I dispute these charges of $515.45, Budget Van Lines breached our contract.
I paid $474 to A-Topp's upon pick-up and $606 upon delivery for a total $1,080 to A-Topp's. I dispute these charges.
A-Topp's did not comply with our contract. A-Topp's breached our contract:
it missed the deadline to deliver my property to me by Sept. 1,
it charged me for 441 pounds over the estimated weight and did not provide me with proof in the form of the weight ticket,
it did not provide me with a breakdown of all charges and extraneous charges were made and I still do not know for what or why,
only one mover unloaded the truck, there should have been two,
the driver of the truck nearly ran me over with the truck,
it promised dates and times of delivery and never called and never showed,
its representatives, particularly Eric and Jeff Bell, were volatile every time we spoke, refused to provide me with critical information regarding my property, were inappropriate, and abusive.
I was on the phone with Budget Van Lines during much of the move.
The move was filmed and pictures were taken of the driver and the truck, the mover who sat in the cab of the truck and did nothing, of the driver yelling at me and raising his hands at me.
I paid a total of $1595.45. I am requesting a full refund due to the breach of contract.
