the worst, most dishonest company
Cassie
Submitted this review about
Platinum Van Lines
Review made Live: 8/8/2014 2:54:00 PM
Below is the email I sent to the representative at AllWays Moving that contracted our move through Platinum (apparently) as I don't wish to waste any more time or breath on this issue. Please fix this problem as soon as possible.
Good Morning Mike,
I am sorry to be emailing you, but I have been unable to speak with someone in customer service even though I have called almost every day and left my name with several different people to call me back. I appreciated how helpful and easy the initial stages of our move from New Berlin, WI to Fort Lauderdale, FL were; unfortunately, our move has turned into a nightmare and we are trapped in Florida without our furniture, bedding, clothes, or any family or friends to help us while we continue to wait for everything to be delivered.
We scheduled our pick up for Sunday July 27, 2014 in which I was told that the movers would call on Saturday to give us an exact time that they would arrive Sunday. Instead, I received a phone call Sunday afternoon an hour before they showed up. Our original quote was for roughly $1400 including packaging, drivers, insurance, 20 boxes, all the furniture I specified, etc. Then, a few days later I called you back to add 2 pieces of furniture (a kitchen table and coffee table) and 5 more boxes, but also to remove a few pieces. The new quote was just under $1600. When the movers showed up, the driver went through everything we had packed, and itemized it all at over $2100. As a stay at home mom and my husband being the reason for our cross-country move to Florida so that he can attend medical school, we are needless to say, strapped for cash as it is. The extra $500+ was a huge surprise and pretty much cleaned us out. After panicking at that number and feeling completely trapped into this situation/new quote, the only thing I could think to do was ask him to leave behind one of the larger items that he wanted to charge me over $150 in packaging alone. He said ok, left behind the item, but never removed the charge. When all was said and done, we were as friendly and helpful to the movers as possible, gave them dinner and offered dessert while they relaxed in our front yard after moving everything. Only later did I realize that we were charged for 25 boxes, they only took 19, so we had to leave some very personal items I wished could have come and shove the rest in my husbands car before he drove down to Florida.
After making small talk with the driver and looking at the contract, it turns out he is not contracted through AllWays Moving, but subcontracted by a company called Platinum Van Lines. When you and I spoke originally, I wasn't aware that we would have to deal with 2 separate companies and a driver who is sub-contracted by the latter and impossible to locate or get a hold of. Platinum Van Lines has been even more difficult to deal with, which would not be your company's problem except for the fact that we never agreed to work with them and they were put in charge of almost all of our belongings anyway. NONE of this would be an issue at all if our things had arrived in the time that you and I had talked about. I was originally quoted a time frame of 2-12 days to drive and deliver from the date of pickup. Being over 7 months pregnant and unable to "rough it" for a few days, I timed my flight so that I would arrive in Florida after my husband, but around the latest time the movers were expected to arrive so I would have a bed to sleep in, a stroller to push my son in, dishes to cook for my family with, and every other item I would use on a daily basis that is STILL trapped in a van somewhere between WI and FL.
On Wednesday 7/31/14, I called AllWays Moving to try and get an ETA on the arrival of our things because my husband was arriving that night and wanted to make sure he had a lease signed and the keys to our apartment before they showed up. The representative at AllWays told me that he had no idea where the driver was, they don't keep track of that kind of thing (another thing you and I had talked about was that if we needed to change our address or locate our driver, your company would be able to contact them and get back to me), and after an exhausting cycle of him repeating himself and I repeating myself, he said he would put a request in to find out the driver's phone number and get that to me. Needless to say, I never heard back from your company, so I called the other number on our contract- Platinum Vans- and they said that the driver "hadn't checked in yet" so they had no idea where our things were, but they would also put in a request to locate him and let me know. At that point I didn't expect a call back. When I called them again on Monday 8/4/14, the incredibly rude customer service representative told me that they have no way of knowing where our things are, but that because my husband gave a preferred date of arrival of 8/1/14 (since that would be the date we'd sign a lease), that Platinum has between 1 and 15 days to deliver our things. After becoming hysterical because my flight was already booked for the following day (8/5), she transferred me to someone who then let me know that our things were sitting in Chicago waiting to be loaded!! In over a week, our driver barely made it 100 miles of the 1400 he needs to travel. Of course I called again this Wednesday 8/6/14 and all of our belongings were STILL in Chicago, had not been loaded onto a truck and again, the only way I could get any answers was to practically cry and scream about how horrible this process/both companies/the driver have been and the ridiculously combative rep on the other line finally put me on hold for several minutes on!
ly to tell me that the drivers would load the truck and start driving on Friday (today). Our driver told me that everything would be delivered on the same truck, with the same driver- him. Not only has it been well beyond the 12 days since they picked everything up- the maximum amount of time you quoted me, but we have had to buy several items just to get by this week, and Platinum told me that it was never their policy to have the same driver deliver and they always unload at their hub in Chicago and give themselves 15 days to deliver. I have been lied to from the start as well as all along the way, all 3 parties involved are impossible to get a hold of and, at this point, I don't know why I bothered trying to get answers from anyone.
Here is a list of just a few of the things we have had to buy since being in Florida since we have no idea when/if our movers will show up:
A queen blow up mattress- $69.99 (remember I am very pregnant and sleeping is already an impossible task); my poor son has had to sleep on the blankets we purchased on the floor
Blankets- $24.99 & $19
Tie- $10
Dress Shoes- $55
Tennis Shoes- $34.99 (my husband has a dress code at school that started on the day the movers were supposed to arrive)
Cheap Frying Pan- $10
Hair Dryer- $22
Since all of our kitchen items are in the missing truck, we have had to eat out practically every meal, so that tab has added up quickly as well.
I have been manipulated and walked all over for 2 weeks and I now expect to pay only the remainder of our balance based on the final quote you gave me of $1594 and not a penny more. This has been a horrible experience that has more than inconvenienced my family. My mom flew out with my son and I this past Tuesday (8/5) so that she could help me move boxes and unpack while my husband was in class all day, every day. Did I mention I am 7 MONTHS PREGNANT and have an irritable uterus so I cannot move even light- medium objects. Her return flight is scheduled for Platinum's "day 15" they've allowed themselves. So her flight of $289 is also a useless expense we've had to pay for just because of the extreme lack of integrity, communication, and follow through by the 3 parties we have had to deal with.
Have a good weekend,
Cassie Myers
414.793.4231
cath1285@yahoo.com
