PLEASE DO NOT USE PUBLIC VAN LINES
Danisha Brown
Submitted this review about
PUBLIC VAN LINES
Review made Live: 5/7/2012 12:48:00 AM
Words cannot describe how I am feeling right now as I write this review. I am literally in tears as I write, however, everything that I am writing is the full and honest to truth. No extra added out of anger. That’s my disclaimer…With that said, if you and your family are preparing to move out of state or even across town, please DO NOT HIRE PUBLIC VAN LINES/NEW YORK MOVERS!!!!!
This has by far been the WORST experience of my life!!! I recently moved from Long Beach, CA to New Orleans, LA and decided to hire them based on a friend who has a pretty ok move. I had mixed feelings about going with them because of some other reviews, but decided to go off of her experience. Here is the outline of events, beginning with April 11 (btw I am writing this on May 6th and I still do not have my furniture!)…Please bare with me because this is long…But if you are even THINKING about hiring this company, please read my review as well as the reviews of others!!.
April 11th: I contacted Public Van Lines and apparently got connected to the New York branch. I spoke with David Ayodele at length regarding my move, the details of the move and my inventory. I explained that I had 16 boxes, small, medium and large, a huge light colored sectional couch, a 43inch tv and 2 tubs. My move was a small one but I STRESSED the fact that I didn’t want to be told a price one day, then on moving date my quote to go up $400 or $500 likes other people. He ASSURED me that that wouldn’t happen, that I had nothing to worry about, that they would wrap my couch for free because I was very concerned about the light color getting damaged and he even gave me his personal cell phone number in case I had any questions or concerns. After all that reassurance, I decided to book with them. Keep in mind, we also emailed each other SEVERAL times over the course of a week because I wanted to be sure that all of my questions were answered and that I covered all of my bases. I even added a few things (a vacuum and a collapsible book shelf and was told there was not additional fee).
April 17th: The movers arrive to pick up my furniture. Everything is fine until they inform me that I would be charged for the different sized boxes and the other piece of my couch. Now I specifically told him that I had a sectional and the amount of boxes and their sizes. While my contract said 16 medium boxes and 1 couch, I was led to believe that that was accurate because why would he not put what I said, unless that is the way they did their inventory. I didn’t get to see the options, I just told him what I had and he filled it in. Anyhow, my furniture was already loaded on the truck when I was told that my total cost went from $982 to about $1350. I was also told by the mover that I was overcharged for my move. It should have been cheaper for the the cubic square feet that my furniture took up. I’m already on the verge of crying because they have my furniture and were not about to take it off the truck. I contact David on his cell because the NY office was closed and left him a message. When he called back, I was told not to worry and he would take care of it and call me the next day.
April 18th: Didn’t hear from David all day. Called the NY office and got the after hour operator. She was VERY rude, would not give me the name of a supervisor or her name and hung up on me twice. I contacted the LA office and spoke with a Shannon. Explained the situation to her and was told that she would contact the NY office the next day and get back to me.
April 19th: Called David again and was told he was waiting to hear back from the LA office regarding the pricing. Needless to say, no one got back to me so I had to call the LA office. I was told that the pricing was standard and that I shouldn’t have signed the contract if there were discrepancies. At that point, no one was attempting to be helpful at all, so I just figured I would get on with the move. Lesson learned…
April 22nd: I get a vm from Elizabeth to call and confirm that I was ready for my furniture to leave the warehouse and head to LA (My apartment was until May 27th so my furniture was to be stored until a few days before then and then it would be shipped…I was flying in on the following Tuesday and wanted it to be there waiting for me). I still have the message and it clearly says call to confirm your furniture shipment for Monday April 23 and it will arrive Friday April 27th.
April 23rd: Around 8am I called and spoke with Shannon about being unhappy with the customer service and David’s reluctance to call me back. She informed me that David denied giving me his cell and that I must have gotten it from the operator ((ummm…The one that hung up in my face twice?? Ok David!))…I confirmed my furniture shipment with her.
April 27th: I hadn’t heard anything about the status of my furniture so I decided to call PVL. I was informed that my furniture was STILL IN LA!! At this point, I am furious and asked to speak with a mgr. I was in the car with a friend on speakerphone so that she could hear the entire conversation. I asked to speak with a mgr and was told by Elizabeth that he would be in an hour or so and would receive a call back. 3 hrs. later no call so I call them. Shannon tells me that I did not request to speak with a mgr, according to Elizabeth. I ask to speak with Elizabeth and she tells me that I didn’t request a call back from a mgr. I ask her how did the topic of a mgr pop up if I didn’t ask. We go back and forth for a few minutes then I finally say I want to come get my furniture. She tells me about all these ridiculous fees, that I need to bring my own crew, I have to have an appt for their crew to bring my furniture out and that I will be charged for their time. I tell her that I will be there in 45mins. She tells me that I need an appt to come down and that I will not be able to speak to anyone today. I tell her again that I will be there in 45 mins. Then she says she is going to get a mgr. Then on the phone comes Shannon, TRYING TO DISGUISE HER VOICE!! If I wasn’t sooo pissed, I would have cracked up at those idiots. I tell her the same thing, that I’m on my way. They try their hardest to convince me that I can’t, but I do. My sister left work to meet me there and I had my friend with me as well. At the same time, my friend who initially recommended them is on the phone trying to get the issue resolved. They did a 360 and were totally nice to her.
When we arrive, Elizabeth greets us at the door and tells us that I am the only one that can come in because they have other people’s furniture on the property. We made a fuss, so she asked a mgr if we could all come in. He agrees and 7mins later, appears at the entrance. He tells us that we cant come in if we are going to be shouting and interrupting. Ummm, we don’t need to be told that! Duh! Anyhow, there office is a crappy little place with 4 or 5 people working in there ((Did I mention that “Amanda” didn’t actually exist after all?? They tried to lie again and say that she was in the NY ofc.)). I tell him the whole story and he says that my delivery date was never guaranteed. Then I play him the vm, WITH THE GUARANTEED DELIVERY DATE!! He kind of covers his face, then changes his tune a little. He guarantees that my furniture will go out the weekend and that it will arrive Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. I complained to him about the crappy customer service and asked who was Shannon. This dummy says, there is not Shannon, while at the same time Shannon raises her hand. That was the point when I really knew that none of these people were to be trusted. He walks us to the door and whispers to not talk to any of them, call him personally and to give him names of everyone. But again, he had already lost my trust. He also ASSURED me that he would personally call me on Monday with the name of the trucking company that he would hire to expedite my move.
April 30th: I get a call from Elizabeth, not the mgr (Zion) saying that my furniture would be arriving between Wednesday and Friday. I did not even have anymore fight in me, so I just said ok and hung up.
May 2nd: Still no furniture and no call from anyone. I called PVL and asked Shannon had my furniture left and was told yes. Asked if it was an outside shipping company, her response was “Good Question”…3 hours went by again without a call back with that info and after finally losing it and getting into a screaming match with Elizabeth, I had to pass the phone to my sister. I just couldn’t talk to them anymore. She gave my sister the runaround about how busy the mgr. was and she doesn’t know who I had spoken with earlier and making all types of excuses (again, extremely rude, cutting my sister off). Finally, an hour goes by and Zion calls me with the shipping companies name and informs that that because I am a teacher, that I should be smart enough to read my contract and know that he has 21 days to deliver my items. Again, I was at a lost for words and couldn’t argue, so I passed the phone to my sister. He claimed that he couldn’t give out the drivers name and number without permission and would have to call and get it…….
May 3rd: Elizabeth calls on Zion’s behalf (again!) with the driver’s name and cell. I call the drive and he tells me that he should be here Friday or Saturday. He claimed that he was outside of Texas. I start to feel a little better, but at that point, I had had at least 4 MAJOR break downs!!
May 4th: The driver calls me and tells me that he is broken down in Texas and doesn’t know where he is at. I ask him what city was he in because I would just rent a truck and come and get my items. He didn’t know. I ask him what freeway he was on. He says he didn’t know. I asked him what he was waiting for and who had he contacted. He told me, in his broken English, that he didn’t want to get involved and that I needed to call PVL. When we call them, they miraculously already have the name of a contact person and another run around story. If they already had this info, then why did they not call me??? Why did I have to contact them?? We call a Tal, and she informs us that we were given her cell number and that she wasn’t sure why. Yes, the truck had broken down and that Max from dispatch would call us with more information. My sister STRESSED to her the agony that I had been going through, let her know that she wasn’t mad at her, but she just wanted some straight answers. Tal again let us know that Max would be calling us and gave us the number to dispatch.
May 5th: No word from Max. Jose won’t answer his phone…Still no furniture
May 6th: No word from Max. Jose won’t answer his phone…Still no furniture…
I am sure that I left some things out, but I cannot stress enough how many sleepless nights I’ve had, how many tears that I have cried and how stressed out I’ve been. My sister flew with me here to get me settled, and we can’t even enjoy our time together because I’ve been dealing with this on a daily basis. I’ve had to spend a ridiculous amount of money eating out because I have no kitchen items, I have no linens and worst of all, I have priceless family items on that truck. I am feeling so helpless right now because they basically have my whole life in their possession, I have no idea where my things are and they have been VERY heartless and have shown no compassion. I never said I wanted a refund or anything of the type. I just want my things in my possession. I’ve already filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and I will be filing with the BBB, the state attorney, California Public Utilities Commission and I am seeking legal counsel. I just HOPE AND PRAY that no one EVER has to experience anything like this again!!! I am sooo serious about this review that if you want to contact me, I will give you my email address. It’s oneacademictutor@gmail.com. Please email me with any questions and I will be more than happy to answer them. Something must stop this company from operating like this.
