Worst Move Ever!
George B
Submitted this review about
All United Van Lines
Review made Live: 7/31/2011 3:10:00 AM
This is the worst moving experience ever, and we have moved a lot of times.
My initial experience with Adam the sales person was terrific. I told him we were moving into a gated community and he told me it would be no extra charge. I told them I would need 5-7 things crated, and he gave me very reasonable rates. They offered us up to 30 days of free storage upon arrival which was welcome news because we were not sure our house in CA would be ready. He also assured me that all of the help were All United Van employees and would show up with uniforms stating such. He also was nice enough to allow us to back up the pickup date twice since we were packing ourselves and had fallen behind. But that is where the good news ends.
I called Adam two days before the truck was due to arrive to tell him we would take him up on the free storage offer when our things arrived in CA. He said that it was "too late" for that since dispatcher had already made arrangements with a driver. I said that meant nothing to me. After getting nowhere I asked for his supervisor who two calls later said that they would provide the storage, but only if we reduced our insurance to offset their cost. i felt like I did not have any choice since the driver was on the way from the east coast and agreed reluctantly. I also told the manager that I was going to have to write a negative review since I had been told we could get up to 30 days free.
We got a call from the dispatcher that the driver would arrive between 3 and 4 in the afternoon. He got there are 7:45 p.m. We asked him to come back the next morning when he said he would have the help arrive as well. He got there pretty close to 9:00 p.m. which was OK, but the help never arrived until 4 p.m. and they were all locals who had never loaded vans before. There uniforms were jeans and no shirts! And the pretty truck they have on their website XXXforget it. The van we got had been painted over and you could see the name of the previous van line through the lousy paint job.
When we got the bill I could not believe it. I knew we had more weight than I had thought and I was OK with that, but there was a $2900 charge for extra packing, boxes and tape! The per box and packing charges are outrageousXXXhigher for the boxes than one would pay at any moving and storage company. And we had packed nearly all of the stuff ourselves. I called twice about the charge. The first time I was told that the charges looked high to them as well, but eventually I was told they were making no adjustments. I then reminded him that I was moving into a gated community. I was told there WOULD be an extra charge. I protested that Adam said there would not be an extra charge. When he called the next day I was told that the charge for offloading would be $3100! I was furious and finally was told (and sent an email) that said if I could find someone cheaper to do it, to go ahead and get them. This was on the Friday before the 4th of July which was on a Monday. I found someone on Tuesday after the 4th (the first business day after the long weekend) who told me it would be no more than $1500. So I called All United to tell them I had someone. He said: "too late" we already have the trucks lined up. I protested again but was told there was no alternative at this point. Furthermore, before any unloading would occur, I would need the full payment either in cash or postal money orders. I said that I would go to Chase, my bank, and get a money order. No way, I was told. No cash or postal money orders and no goods. I went to the post office and the largest denomination they have is $1000. I ended up having to fill out and pay for a fistful of money orders. I had to use a debit card and because it was over $10,000 my debit card was turned down. It took an hour on the phone with the bank who was trying to protect my interests, of course. I finally got approval. The entire episode at the post office took over two hours. There can be only one reason for requiring cash or postal money orders and that is because they cannot be traced by the IRS. One cannot help but wonder if they are REAL crooks!
We had two bids from major companies before going with United whose bid was half as much XXXUnited and North American. In the end our total charge with All United matched the higher of their two bids. No money was saved and we had nothing but grief. Do not use this company if you value your sanity and your pocketbook!
