When I moved to Florida from Spokane, Washington about two and a half years ago, I reserved a freight truck from U-Pack.com. I loaded and unloaded the truck myself and the move went smoothly aside from the rigors of packing/unpacking. For this new move, I was under a time crunch and decided to hire a moving company to take care of all aspects of the transfer (packing, moving, unpacking). I knew this would be a little bit more expensive then doing it myself, and was prepared to pay a little extra.

This would be the first time I used a moving company on my own. I did initially look in to U-Pack.com, but decided to shop around a bit this time. I contacted several companies for quotes to handle my move, and the range of estimates went from low to high. I filled out several on-line forms that inventoried all of my belongings. I tried to be as accurate as I could be given the constraints of the forms. Then, after talking with several companies, I decided to go with American Van Lines (Pompano Beach, FL).

They required that I place a deposit of $800, or approximately 1/3 of the total cost to secure the movers. The entire cost of the move was quoted to me at $2268. So I was made to believe that only $1468 would be all that was due upon delivery. The moving specialist did mention that the price was just an estimate, and that the total cost would only be known after the truck had been weighed. Once again, I believed that the estimate was close to accurate so I agreed.

On the day of the move (August 5th) I was expecting an American Van Line truck to show up to my residence; what did show up was a U-Haul type truck from M-S Moving, a company out of Arizona. This was when I first realized that American Van Lines was just a broker and sub-contracted out to other movers. When the two gentlemen from M-S began to look at my belongings they started complaining about how much stuff I had. Apparently, they had already picked up one load, were going to pick up my goods, and then pick up a third load before traveling to the destinations.

The lead mover told me that they would not have enough room on the truck for my things and that I should schedule someone else. Since I was in a time crunch, I called American Van lines to find out what to do. They suggested that the current mover pick up as much as they could, then they (American) would schedule a 2nd pick up for the remainder, at an additional cost. So M-S Moving loaded their truck and told me that they would only accept cash or money order upon delivery, AND I had to be there when they delivered in a few days.

The movers were very animate about having someone there at delivery with cash in hand (another surprise as I was able to make the deposit with a credit card). This demand made me feel that I needed to speed up my relocation so that I could appease their demands. I told them I would do what I could, and they left. I then called American Van Lines to discuss what to do about the rest of my things.

When I talked to American about the 2nd pick-up, I was quoted a price that was higher than the cost of the original move ($2600), which also required another deposit. I was very upset, but didn't think I had a choice. I couldn't just leave half of my things behind. American guaranteed that they would have someone at my residence within three days. However, they could not secure a mover and asked if I could delay longer. By this time, I was too upset with American and so I called around to find another carrier.

A company called Budget Van lines (New York, NY) told me they could have someone to my house within a few days and quoted me a price lower than American ($1768). I put a $518 deposit down to secure the mover, but by this time..I had to leave for Las Vegas to get to my new job (and be there for M-S moving). A friend of mine stayed at my house to meet the movers. The second move took place on August 11, and a company called Source One Inc. showed up to pack the rest of my things.

They were paid $600 more upon pick-up, and I was to pay them $658 when they delivered my goods. When Source Once began to load my goods, they began to make the same comments that M-S Movers had made. They commented that I had way more stuff than was inventoried. I didn't see how that was possible as I was careful to mention every single thing that was left behind by the first movers (M-S Moving). I was also informed by Source One that because of the size of the load, they would have to store the goods and get a larger truck before driving to Nevada at no extra cost to me (this would wind up delaying the delivery by some time).

While I was driving my son, our dogs and myself to Las Vegas, I was called by M-S Moving to let me know that the weight was underestimated and that a total of $2390 would be due upon delivery and not the agreed $1468. This was almost $1000 more than I was quoted. I told them that I was unprepared to pay that amount, and they began to tell me that I had to because I signed a contract agreeing to pay whatever overages may occur.

Once I finally convinced them that I could not pay that amount, they informed me that my things would be placed in storage until I could get the money. By putting my items in storage they would also be charging me a storage fee along with labor for loading/unloading at the storage location. Since I didn't know there were any other alternativesI agreed.

I also arrived before M-S Movers got to Las Vegas, contrary to what they said in Florida. So I was now living in an empty house with no household goods to speak of.

Around the 20th of September I began to call Budget Van Lines to find out where my 2nd load of goods was. I was informed that Source One was having truck issues and that my things would be late, and should arrive the following week. I was also told that I would be hearing from the mover (Source One) within a day or two. I waited about a week before I called Budget again, because I still hadn't heard from Source One. They attempted to reach the mover, and I was told once again that the movers would be getting a hold of me.

Almost a week later, Source One finally called me to let me know that they would be in Las Vegas in two days (from the call), BUT..my weight was grossly underestimated and the total cost at delivery would be $1900. Not the $658 that was agreed upon with Budget. This was now the second time a moving company gave me a grand total of $1000+ dollars more than the original estimate. I told them I was prepared to pay the $658, but could not afford the total he was asking for. So once again, it was suggested that my things go in to storage until I could pay for delivery.

I told Source One that I was unsure what I wanted to do, but couldn't pay that entire amount at this time. They told me they would call me again once they were close to Las Vegas. I finally did some research and came across your website and also found that I only had to pay what was the originally agreed upon amount and they could bill me for the overage. When Source One called, I told them what I had found out, and the mover became very defensive and uncooperative.

I was informed that they unloaded my things in New Mexico (where they were when they called earlier) and put it in storage, and if I wanted it deliveredthen it was going to cost an additional $363 for labor and storage fee on top of the $658. I once again told them that I was prepared to pay the $658 and nothing else. Source One then told me that they would keep my things, send me a new contract and only deliver if I paid the $658 and $363. As of today this is still unresolved.

Also, approximately two days before Source One called me to inform me of the cost change, American Van Lines got a hold of me to let me know that the cost of storing my things for an estimated 115 days (till the end of November) was going to be around $2200. That is nearly $700 a month for storage. This was going to be in addition to the $2390 for delivery. M-S movers are now expecting nearly $4600 or I will not receive my things.

So what was initially going to be a move of ALL of my things back in August at a cost of $2268, has now grown in to a total cost of around $9500 (including the $1918 that I have already paid in deposits and one pick-up). I have learned that there is no limit to what these moving companies can charge. The contract that is signed through these brokers (American and Budget) leaves the customer wide open for whatever the actual mover wants charge and ultimately do with the victim's goods.

This whole experience has drained me both financially, and mentally. I have been stressed to the point that I have been sinking in to depression as I don't see any way that I can recover my things. I still do not have ANY of my goods as they are being held hostage by unscrupulous movers that were preying on my inexperience and naivety.

I am seeking whatever help I can get so that I can recover my things and try to start regaining a hold on my finances.