Bait & Switch
Tim K
Submitted this review about
All My Sons
Review made Live: 7/16/2011 3:46:00 PM
First off, do not be confused by the fact that there are many All My Sons movers. When we looked at the reviews, there were many for Dominic that were positive and very few that were negative. But let me tell you this, the negatives reviews hit the nail on the head.
Initially we had contacted them about our move and were given a quote for 6000 lbs. That quote was around $1700. We were on a short timeline and were waiting for other companies to get a hold of us so that we could weigh our options. I called the company back and told them that we would go with them, but I wanted to raise the estimate up to 7000 lbs. We talked about what we had, how many rooms, and where we wanted to go. I very specifically remember telling Dominic that there was a washer, a dryer, and a refrigerator that had to be moved. I finally received a quote from them as follows:
Estimated Weight: 7000lbs
Transportation Charges: $2747.50
Fuel Surcharge: $549.50
Extra Stop: $0.00
Appliance Surcharge: $0.00
Additional Charges: Description________________ $
Discount: -$824.25
Packing Services: $
Estimated Total Charges: $2472.75
The movers came on the morning of July 2nd and packed up everything in the truck. The movers were very professional, and appeared to have been very careful with out things while loading the truck. After the truck was packed, we all left to go to our new residence. It was about a two hour drive, and I knew that the truck had to stop and get weighed to get the actual weight. With about 20 minutes left in my drive, I called Dominic to find out what the weight was for the truck and what the cost would be. He did not have an answer for me and told me he would call me back. I never did receive that call. Eventually the truck showed up, and they started unpacking the truck.
I started to go over the bill with the lead mover, Orlando, and I noticed some discrepancies between the quote and the bill. I asked about the differences, and was explained that the difference in weight caused the higher fuel surcharge, and transportation charge. That I understood, but I did not understand the difference in the rate per pound. I was also charged for an appliance surcharge for the washer, dryer, and refrigerator. This was not on the estimate, even though it was definitely told to Dominic.
I told them that I was refusing to pay the appliance surcharge because it was not covered in the estimate when they had prior knowledge of the appliances. Dominic tried to tell me that he takes very meticulous notes of all his clients, and did not have the appliances written down. I let him know that we all make mistakes sometimes, but I was not paying for his mistake this time. Dominic then directed his movers to lock up the truck and take our things to storage. I stood in front of the truck and then had our car pulled in front of the truck to prevent the truck from leaving. The police came and everything was explained to them. The police basically said there was nothing he could do. He recommended paying them now, and taking it up as a civil matter and the BBB. This is the route we took.
Now, let's talk about how shady Dominic is. The original quote was at about $0.39 per pound for the 7000 pound estimate. The actual cost was about $0.4533 per pound. Dominic tried to explain to me that since my actual weight was 780 pounds over the estimate, I went over a breakpoint in the tariff rates, and he was required by Virginia state law to charge me the higher tariff rate. He also explained this to the police officer, that he strictly follows the Virginia law at all times. I asked Dominic to tell me where the breakpoint was to go from the $0.39 to the $0.4533 and he told me that it was 6925 pounds or something in that ballpark. I then proceeded to ask him, if my estimate was requested to be 7000 pounds which is above the breakpoint, while did he give me an estimate using the lower rate? He proceeded to tell me that he was trying to give me a better deal. For someone who follows Virginia State Law so closely, this is very hard to believe.
Once again, this was the Fourth of July weeked. I know that the movers wanted to get home. One of the movers actually suggested that he would pay the difference in cost just to get this show on the road, and he told my wife that he sees this all of the time. Some of the things brought into the new home were damaged due to the movers not being careful where they set things. None of the beds that they took apart at the old residence were put together at the new residence. Overall, I had no problem with the movers. Sometimes things happen, and they worked through all of the issues and still got their well deserved tips.
Whatever you do, do not use this company. Go on to the BBB website, and look for a company who is actually accredited by the BBB and has an A rating.
