On August 16th I called salesperson Gladys regarding a cross country move of items from Los Angeles to New York City. I spoke w/ her at length & she gave me a final price quote of $1155. This quote was based on a detailed list I had compiled of labeled, various, standard size boxes (purchased @ UHAUL/Public Storage- 54 boxes, a medium sized bookshelf & an end table), so it was exact in terms of the number & size of items. She assured me that was the final price both verbally & via email (which I still have on file) as I made it clear to her that I did NOT want any monetary surprises. The LA pick-up was scheduled & I had a friend unlock the storage space for the movers to get in. These movers were NOT from Eagle. They were from Hercules Moving Systems. The 1st thing they told my friend was that it was going to be double the price that Gladys had guaranteed me. I called Gladys & spent no less than an hour on the phone w/ her trying to get information on what had occurred. After the hour of back & forth w/ Gladys & then her manager Dan & these movers from this mysterious new moving company, the movers agreed to the original price. I had NOT been told at ANY point by Gladys that her company actually outsourced to another moving company. The movers then packed all my stuff on the truck & told my friend that she had to sign a contract in my absence stating that if the truck couldn't get down my street, I'd have to pay 300 dollars for them to rent a smaller truck. I live on a large street, had items that fit in a small Uhaul truck & thought little of it as it was explained nonchalantly but I expressed to Gladys via email about this fee & she assured me there would be no additional fees again. The week that the stuff was slated to arrive I received a call from Hercules Moving Systems (the people who actually moved the stuff - not Eagle who I signed my contract through) who told me that I needed to call the city of NY to see about getting a 72 ft truck on my street to unload my stuff. I called Gladys again not understanding why I was being contacted by this other company, or why there was a need for such a large truck for so few items, or why I (not a moving co representative) was being asked to call the city for a service I had already paid for & this $300 issue. Gladys promptly told me she couldn't help me w/ this anymore & transfered me to Dan. I was not able to get in contact w/ him initially.On the day my stuff was set for arrival I felt as though it had been highjacked because the movers would NOT release it until I paid the $300. Again, I emailed Gladys & the new moving company & explained that I had already paid for the service & had been assured by Gladys that $1155 was the final price. No one responded. I called Gladys' manager Dan who berated me, screaming & yelling that it's custom for people to pay for a smaller truck to get on a residential street & that he couldn't help me. I said to him that Gladys & I had spoke at length about surprise fees & she assured me that $1155 was the final quote. He screamed that he didn't know what to tell me & that I had to pay the $300. I asked him why hadn't anyone told me there was this fee when I signed the contract w/ Eagle on 8/17 & he said everyone knows there is a fee to get smaller trucks on the street. I reiterated calmly that I specifically asked Gladys about any additional fees & she said there were none. I ended the conversation telling Dan that I would be contacting the BBB & asked if he could give me his last name & the address of his company. He wouldn't give me the information. In order to get my stuff I was forced to pay the additional $300 despite my contract w/ Eagle that did not express this fee, verbally or written. On top of it all, the delivery was re-scheduled twice, causing me to miss hours @ work & several frames & vases that were wrapped in bubble tape & cloth were broken.
