| Moving Services |
| Moving Services of America Allstate Relocation Systems Holding Items Hostage / Failing to Deliver Goods Woodland Hills, California |
| 20th of Jun, 2011 by User923783 |
We worked with Sherry Clark from Moving Services of America when moving across the country. We received an estimate of $2480. After paying a deposit of $1490, we were told that it would take 10 days for our belongings to get to their destination. We waited the 10 days and after hearing nothing from the movers, we called to check on the shipment. We then were told that we were overweight and would be required to pay an additional $2939. We swallowed hard, said ok and asked when we would be receiving our shipment. We were told that there were some delays and that our things would arrive in a week. A week passed, and we called again. We were told another week. Next week came and went and once again we were told that it would be one more week. Now at this point, we cannot get in touch with anyone and have left messages on their answering machine asking to return our phone calls. We only hope that we are able to get all of our personal belongings back. After doing some more research, we have found that this company has done this to many people. It seems like most are able to obtain their belongings after paying a great deal more than they bargained for. This is not legal, as movers are not allowed to charge more than %110 of the estimated charges of a non-binding contract (which this was). See https://www.protectyourmove.gov/consumer/awareness/faq/faq.htm#difference for more information on those details and go to http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/forms/public/com-com-form.htm if you need to file a complaint with the DOT. See this other experience listed on this site: http://www.ripoffreport.com/moving-companies/moving-services-of-a/moving-services-of-america-la-c7a39.htm At this point, we are filing a complaint with the DOT as this person above did (thank you for posting this) and have noted the various things that the Moving Services of America has violated.
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My husband and I had the same experience with this company. Sherry Clark at MSA gave us a quote of $2, 480 and a truck came to picked up our belongings on May 14th, 2011 at which time we paid $1, 200. A week after they picked up our stuff Sherry told us that it would need to pay an additional $2, 900 (stating that the weight of our belongings was 6, 660 pounds way over the estimated of 4, 000 pounds she originally told us). So the additional weight was the reason for the extra charges. We were supposed to get our stuff by June 1st, around June 10th we started to get really frustrated and thats when we read all the negative reviews (and we realized all the positive reviews written months earlier were all fake).
I contacted the Department of Transportation (DOT) hotline at 1-888-368-7238 we learned that Moving Services of America (MSA) is really a company called "Allstate Relocation Van Lines". They WERE a licensed company (DOT #1462677) however their license was revoked in April of 2011. Therefore Moving Services of America (aka Allstate Relocation Van Lines) is not currently licensed.
We finally received our stuff on June 29th. We told Sherry Clark on the phone that we wanted our belongings reweighed at the weigh station close to our home. Sherry agreed to this (legally moving companies have to reweigh your belongings if you request it). Also luckily the drivers that showed up actually did reweigh our stuff (weighed the truck with our stuff still on it, and again once the truck was unloaded) We were present for both weigh-ins. Turns out the weight of our belongings was only 3, 500 pounds (not the 6, 660 that Sherry Clark told us on the phone)!
Sherry Clark told us on the phone that they would not unload our stuff unless we paid the FULL balance upon arrival (the full balance meaning the $2, 900 that she told us we had to pay because of the extra weight). We had a cashiers check ready for roughly $1, 200 (which was the remaining balance of 110% of the original quote. As the gentlemen above noted, legally this is all you should have to pay to have your shipment unloaded). But Sherry told the truck drivers not come to our house until we agreed to pay the FULL balance, so we finally agreed to do so. Sherry said we could pay the remaining amount with a personal check. So we wrote our a personal check for around $1, 700.
After the first weigh-in at the weight station, the drivers came to our house and we gave them the cashiers check (for $1, 200), PLUS the personal check (for $1, 700). They then unpacked the truck (a few boxes were missing, we lost about $500 worth of stuff).
We then all went back to the weigh station (The drivers, my husband and I) and that is when we discovered the TRUE weight of our belongings was only 3, 500 pounds! At this point the driver GAVE US OUR PERSONAL CHECK BACK for $1, 700! Thank goodness that the driver was at least a reasonable person. The driver did demand that we pay $325 for "packing materials" which we just gave him in cash. But the point of the story is, having the truck reweighed saved us over $1, 400!!
If you are in this same situation, DEMAND TO HAVE THE TRUCK RE-WEIGHED! The way this company is scamming people is by lying about the weight of your items and telling you that you owe a few more thousand than you do.
This post is meant for people who have already had their belongings taken, if you have paid a deposit with this company, please DO NOT LET THEM TAKE YOUR STUFF. It may take months to get it back, some of your stuff maybe stolen, they will lie to you about the weight of your items, and try to trick you into paying more money. I suggest cancelling your credit card (if you used it for the deposit) and look for another company.
If you have been scammed by Moving Services of America, you are not alone! This has been a very stressful few months, I hope and pray there is some power out there that can shut this company down for good. Please spread the word about your story so we can prevent other people from having this experience. |
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