Totally unprofessional and barely a business.
Brad
Submitted this review about
worldwide van lines
Review made Live: 6/1/2009 5:23:00 PM
Don't be fooled by the fact that they have a website or a phone system, there's nothing behind it. I was scheduled to get a pick-up on a Friday/Saturday. They give you a 48 window to account for the unknowns in transit.
I had no problem with that, and even planned for some extra contingency. I called them on the Thursday before to find out exactly when they were going to show up. A woman gave me the name of the driver and his number. Upon calling him, he had no idea about a pick up in MA and was actually in Florida with what sounded like no knowledge or intentions of coming to Boston.
Hearing this, i did what any normal patron would do. I tried to contact their dispatch. No one picked up or returned my calls. Customer service was the same deal. I called Darryl Lawson who'd originally helped me set up the deal. He reassured me that everything was fine and they'd actually be able to pick up my things at the latest Sunday morning. Sunday comes around and no-one. I called and they'd told me the truck broke down. A very convienient accident. So they then told me Monday morning. Monday morning rolls around and the new tenants for my old place had already started moving in. They then told me they could get someone there between 4-7 pm that night and they had someone already in CT. Nope because just hours later they said that driver ran into trouble too and wouldn't be able to make it until late Tuesday evening. My old landlord had to get my belongings moved on short notice because of the new tenants. Guess who gets to eat the bill. At that point, i'd had enough and was fortunate to find an alternative through a family friend on such short notice.
I can understand uncontrollable circumstances that govern the 48 hour pick-up range, but this who thing has been ridiculous. I'm not sure that i've ever really been compelled to file complaints, but this definitely made me feel that i needed to make others aware. The entire time, i had to constantly make the effort in contacting these people, with the exception of one time that they called me. Even then, a majority of the time you can't get anyone on the phone through their main number, direct numbers, or leaving voicemails. I'm very well aware of how businesses operate and many circumstances that can make their jobs more difficult, but this was just a lack of professionalism, coordination, and being honest with the customer. The only thing they did right was apologize profusely any time i got them on the line, but even then it just felt like they were trying to stall me through lies. This is a very defenseless situation for many people when they have only a week off of work to get all of this done and no last minute options.
The one smart thing i did was paid my deposit by credit card, so i'm able to dispute that charge. Switching to another moving company may have been a bit more expensive, but it was well worth my piece of mind. Do yourself a favor and avoid doing business with Worldwide Van Lines.
