This is my follow-up to my previous post. You CAN do something. Please write to the Attorney General (name & address provided below), take pictures, and file a complaint with this office. Currently there are NO OPEN cases with the NY AG. BBB does nothing except pass paper back and forth between the two parties. And, this company goes by so many names ... Precision Mini-Warehouse & Storage, Precision Moving & Storage, Bronx, NY, Precision Movers; Boston, MA, Somerville, MA, and Hunts Point, NY ... THEY ARE ALL THE SAME and they all deserve a NEGATIVE RATING. The phone numbers all get funneled to one call/sales center. If you saw the "storage" warehouse, it would make you sick.
I called Precision movers in Boston, MA and Jeff Schmid contacted me via email. It was to be a simple, easy move. All they had to do was to pick up 50 boxes/items from a furnished home I was leasing, and 5 vaults of household items stored 38 miles away at a local moving company's warehouse. Schmid requested a credit card for $800 in order to "schedule" the move.
The movers arrived 8 hours late, spoke broken Russian/English, demanded the credit card for $800 deposit and a tip, and then left for the other warehouse ... or so I thought. Instead, they spent the night, ate dinner and breakfast, for which I was billed to me and then picked up the items at the local mover's warehouse the next day. I was promised 30 days free storage until I had the exact address to which I was moving. Note: I had to pay for my belongings to be put on the (other) warehouse floor two times (two consecutive days) at the 2nd pick-up.
I was on an interstate when Susan Leaflan, the strong armed, henchperson from Precision called me and demanded to be paid IN FULL, $6500, with either cash or wire transfer immediately (more than DOUBLE the price quoted) to move from NH to NY? . I said no. She harassed me called from the toll-free and the 718 area code non-stop telling me that I would not get my belongings back unless I paid them right then. I told her to immediately turn the truck around and unload my items. She refused. Then, I found out that my stuff went to the Bronx, not to Somerville, MA! Then, Susan wanted me to state, ON THE SPOT, if I wanted to go by cubic feet or weight ... before it went into the warehouse because she said I had lied about how much stuff I had. Not true! I had exactly what I said I had which has been confirmed by the Mayflower agent. In actuality, I had over-"guestimated," so there would be no surprises. Susan continued to call every half hour for days, non-stop demanding payment and threatening not to return my belongings to me. I stopped answering the phone when her numbers appeared.
They continued to harass me, so another person intervened on my behalf. Susan Leaflan continued to be rude, would put him on hold, or hang up on him. We had contracted another mover, Colonial Mayflower Moving and Storage, an agent for Mayflower, to go and pick up my belongings. Not only did they get the proverbial "runaround," but they went twice to the Bronx with trucks and crews, but Precison would NOT release my stuff, even though Mayflower had cash in hand. Precision said the elevator was broken, or the men left early, and when Mayflower arrived early, they were told the men arrived late. I can only conclude that they would try to extort more money from me if I crossed the "free storage for 30-day threshold." Perhaps they would have held me up for an additional $1500-$5000 additional expense. Finally, we contacted the Detectives in the Hunts Point Police Department, NY (Tel: 718-293-2221 (corrected no.)) for assistance. We were told that if Precision did not release my belongings that day, that the Mayflower agent should call 9-1-1 and the police would assist.
Mayflower was successful on the 3rd attempt only to discover that the boxes were ripped open (resealed with duct tape!) or missing all together, liquor bottles emptied, bookcases broken, vintage pinball machine standing on its side, metal gouging the wooden items, and mattresses and upholstered furniture sitting on end, dragged over oily asphalt, and out, uncovered, in the inclement weather. Mayflower documented the mini-craphouse/warehouse where my stuff was taken and stored, the trucks, and the condition of my belongings in 50+ photos. Items are missing and all contents were checked against prior inventories, damage was documented, items were re-packed, and a new inventory was created, with discrepancies noted. Precision REFUSED to sign a release of my belongings or sign acknowledging the discrepancies.
On the other hand, John Reynolds from Colonial Mayflower Moving & Storage is my hero. If you need a mover, I trust him with my life (201.343.5880). If it were not for his crew who documented every bit of the destruction, it would be a war of words.
Everything stated above is documented and verified by third- and fourth-party witnesses. Now, Precision (by all names) will not return phone calls. I am out many thousands of dollars of dollars for the move itself and for the lost and damaged items. Please contact and file a claim:
Attorney General - Eric T. Schneiderman
State of NY - Bureau of Consumer Frauds & Protection
163 W. 125th St., Suite 1324
New York, NY 10027-8201
Tel: 212-961-4475
