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The Hilarious But Terrible Story of Why You Should Always Get Yelp Reviews On Your Movers
neville
The Worst Gay(Seriously. The Worst!)Registered User regular
The Worst Gay(Seriously. The Worst!)Registered User regular
LONG MOVING WOES POST:
So I got my apt in San Francisco(which is super nice) last Monday (in June), leaving me only a few days to prepare for the move. YES it stupid to accept a good offer without doing any research, but it is what happened. At some point jokes about this will be funny: for the near future, they will not, so don't make them please.
Anyhow, USA Relocation said they'd deliver yesterday from 4-5 pm. They didn't show and called at 9:45 (after I called the driver who picked up my things Friday 3x and he hung up on me twice) saying they'd deliver at 6-7 am tomorrow "Or else maybe in 1-3 days we'll give you a shot"
Anyhow, they ended up showing up at 9:30 (shockingly late, who would have guessed) and I called the policy for a civil standby to make sure nothing happened. The driver guy came up and was clearly angry I had a cop there and then yelled we couldn't take pictures of him and his guys (we can and continued to, obviously). The guys refused to move my couch into my apartment, claiming it was impossible (later I got the highest yelp-rated movers to do me a favor and move it and just 2 of them did it in 10 minutes... derp!) and anytime I pointed out huge damaged things the driver said "Oh well, that's what insurance is for right?"
At the end, he wanted me to sign the list of items and their status. Looking at all the items and how damaged it was, I got madder and madder and then told him no. He kept arguing I had to sign it and I refused. Eventually he said to just write I refused to sign it due to whatever reasons I had. I did that, then he refused to give me my copy. I've been told to get ALL documentation possible, so obviously that would be a huge thing to not have. So I kept saying he had to give me a copy and he kept refusing. I threatened to call the police, so he jerked the papers away and said to his guys they were leaving.
So we went downstairs and I had @Dubh and her gf video everything. The guy kept saying they'd be gone before the police arrived... so I got in front of their truck. He said they'd hit me and I pointed out we had pictures of the truck, license plates, all sides of their van, and were taking video so I said "Go ahead and hit me. I fucking dare you. Meanwhile, I'm taking more pictures of you and your guys." So he got out of the truck and started getting in my face. I said if he touched me that'd be it, which he did by pushing me out of the way, so I called the cops.
The dispatcher asked if it was the same problem with the same people as the civil standby, when I said yes she said she'd send a response team... 4 cars, 8 officers and a Sergeant. Yeah, that's a good team.
They listened to my story and went over to him for about 30 seconds then got the papers I wanted. :-) As the police were leaving, the guy got BACK out of the cab and said "We aren't done yet" and I flagged down an officer who told the guy if he didn't get the hell out of there right then, he'd arrest him on the spot. So the guy left.
Then I spent the next 3 hours calling the lawyer @fightinfilipino recommended and calling my credit/bank companies. I still don't know the total extent of the damage. Both of my bookshelves are damaged, one severely. My entertainment center is missing pieces. My DVD shelved are ruined. And judging by the wreck of boxes, I'm willing to bet a LOT of my things are destroyed. But on the plus side, not everything is and if I can do anything to get a bunch of low-life scumbags to stop scamming people, I am going to do it.
____________________________________________
I have spoken with a lawyer a bit as I said, but overall if anyone has any experience with this sort of thing (especially how to deal with it), advice would be appreciated.
I've unpacked almost all of my boxes and fortunately thanks to @sarukun 's packing help, not much of my smaller things have been too terribly damaged, it's mostly the furniture.
I've heard these people (USA Relocation is the company's name) will refuse all certified mail, etc so it seems like a number of the traditional methods of filing complaints will fail, since they won't respond.
It's also hard to send a bill and/or take a company to small claims that won't do anything; even if I win a default judgement, they'll likely just ignore demands of payment.
If I don't have over $7500 in damages, I don't think it will be worth actually suing.
And regarding the pushing incident, is that something I file with the police? Is it part of the civil suit?
Any H/A would be appreciated.
And since I have all my things, I'm also ok with any "Next time don't be so damn stupid and do some research" posts, because I sorta deserve it.
At this point I obsessively yelp anything though, so it's unlikely that sort of thing will be -as- useful.
So I got my apt in San Francisco(which is super nice) last Monday (in June), leaving me only a few days to prepare for the move. YES it stupid to accept a good offer without doing any research, but it is what happened. At some point jokes about this will be funny: for the near future, they will not, so don't make them please.
Anyhow, USA Relocation said they'd deliver yesterday from 4-5 pm. They didn't show and called at 9:45 (after I called the driver who picked up my things Friday 3x and he hung up on me twice) saying they'd deliver at 6-7 am tomorrow "Or else maybe in 1-3 days we'll give you a shot"
Anyhow, they ended up showing up at 9:30 (shockingly late, who would have guessed) and I called the policy for a civil standby to make sure nothing happened. The driver guy came up and was clearly angry I had a cop there and then yelled we couldn't take pictures of him and his guys (we can and continued to, obviously). The guys refused to move my couch into my apartment, claiming it was impossible (later I got the highest yelp-rated movers to do me a favor and move it and just 2 of them did it in 10 minutes... derp!) and anytime I pointed out huge damaged things the driver said "Oh well, that's what insurance is for right?"
At the end, he wanted me to sign the list of items and their status. Looking at all the items and how damaged it was, I got madder and madder and then told him no. He kept arguing I had to sign it and I refused. Eventually he said to just write I refused to sign it due to whatever reasons I had. I did that, then he refused to give me my copy. I've been told to get ALL documentation possible, so obviously that would be a huge thing to not have. So I kept saying he had to give me a copy and he kept refusing. I threatened to call the police, so he jerked the papers away and said to his guys they were leaving.
So we went downstairs and I had @Dubh and her gf video everything. The guy kept saying they'd be gone before the police arrived... so I got in front of their truck. He said they'd hit me and I pointed out we had pictures of the truck, license plates, all sides of their van, and were taking video so I said "Go ahead and hit me. I fucking dare you. Meanwhile, I'm taking more pictures of you and your guys." So he got out of the truck and started getting in my face. I said if he touched me that'd be it, which he did by pushing me out of the way, so I called the cops.
The dispatcher asked if it was the same problem with the same people as the civil standby, when I said yes she said she'd send a response team... 4 cars, 8 officers and a Sergeant. Yeah, that's a good team.
They listened to my story and went over to him for about 30 seconds then got the papers I wanted. :-) As the police were leaving, the guy got BACK out of the cab and said "We aren't done yet" and I flagged down an officer who told the guy if he didn't get the hell out of there right then, he'd arrest him on the spot. So the guy left.
Then I spent the next 3 hours calling the lawyer @fightinfilipino recommended and calling my credit/bank companies. I still don't know the total extent of the damage. Both of my bookshelves are damaged, one severely. My entertainment center is missing pieces. My DVD shelved are ruined. And judging by the wreck of boxes, I'm willing to bet a LOT of my things are destroyed. But on the plus side, not everything is and if I can do anything to get a bunch of low-life scumbags to stop scamming people, I am going to do it.
____________________________________________
I have spoken with a lawyer a bit as I said, but overall if anyone has any experience with this sort of thing (especially how to deal with it), advice would be appreciated.
I've unpacked almost all of my boxes and fortunately thanks to @sarukun 's packing help, not much of my smaller things have been too terribly damaged, it's mostly the furniture.
I've heard these people (USA Relocation is the company's name) will refuse all certified mail, etc so it seems like a number of the traditional methods of filing complaints will fail, since they won't respond.
It's also hard to send a bill and/or take a company to small claims that won't do anything; even if I win a default judgement, they'll likely just ignore demands of payment.
If I don't have over $7500 in damages, I don't think it will be worth actually suing.
And regarding the pushing incident, is that something I file with the police? Is it part of the civil suit?
Any H/A would be appreciated.
And since I have all my things, I'm also ok with any "Next time don't be so damn stupid and do some research" posts, because I sorta deserve it.
At this point I obsessively yelp anything though, so it's unlikely that sort of thing will be -as- useful.
neville on
+1
Posts
If this company is like, incredibly skeezy they might still just skate on paying you, but for 5+ grand I would at least make the attempt.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
Did the moving company offer any kind of insurance on your items when you were scheduling?
Edit: Jesus, here's the BBB reviews for the one in Van Nuys, Ca.
http://www.la.bbb.org/business-reviews/Moving-and-Storage-Companies/USA-Relocation-Inc-in-Van-Nuys-CA-100068562
That could be the single worst BBB rating I've ever seen.
Was there any kind of insurance or liability papers signed before the move? You should be able to recoup your losses from the damaged furniture through insurance. For each one of our moves there was always extensive insurance paperwork to fill out.
Give the Better Business Bureau a ring and see what they have to say, and it might be worth checking up with your local police fraud squad. They might be very interested in taking a look at the photos and video.
I did some research and the type is "simple battery" (and any battery is a successful assault).
I'm just not sure if I file a lawsuit or what. Also I don't have the guy's name, but I do have his number.
I would have filed charges at the time, but it was so ridiculous I didn't think of it and just wanted them gone.
Unfortunately I've seen some people who successfully won small claims against them (the company didn't show), but they refuse certified mail.
So sending them something saying "YOU OWE" will be rejected, so I dunno. Could I hire a debt collection agency maybe?
Yeah, that's the company; there seem to be 2-3 locations listed for them, but it's all the same scumbags.
They refused to give me any insurance except the basic. That's fraud/against the law, since they're required to give at least 2 types, but again, is it worth a full lawsuit over $2000ish of damage?
I'm already working with my banks to dispute ALL their charges since they forced me to pay 3x the estimate (also against the law).
They do have physical locations, right? If there's one nearby you can go serve them in person rather than sending mail, and if they flatly refuse to pay you can get the police to enforce a lien against their property (after 30 or 60 days of nonpayment, depends on the state.)
Whether that's worth your time depends on how big the judgment winds up being, how much you want their office computers or something and how vengeful you are interested in being.
I'm not sure if there are collections agencies that will buy debt like this from consumers or not, but if there are that would work pretty well, since pursuing debt from an actual small claims judgment against a functional company should be really easy if they are willing to do the legwork.
ed: obviously it's really easy for this kind of thing to wind up not being a good deal in terms of your time/money. But it's also kind of a fun/empowering process in a 'take the law into your own hands' kind of way.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
You could always file the suit, win, and then if they don't pay, have the sheriff help seize the company's assets. (link has video and audio if you're at work)
Edit: Eat it beat me to this. That'll teach me to open a window, walk away, and come back later...
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
For about $100, you can hire a process server.
Cash, check, credit card?
Also, this is me being paranoid, but since the guy had the balls to give you the villain's threat "I'll be back, this isn't over!" in front of an actual cop, I'd consider at least the possibility of a restraining order if he tries to contact you again (aggressively)
You'd be very hard pressed to find an attorney interested enough in such a small amount to accept a contingency fee.
That sucks.
Don't let this go - if you have thousands in damages, they should be paying every last cent.
Yeahhhh.. I have the best luck.
I'm following up with my lawyer, to see what's what. My guess is he'll say it isn't worth their time RE: the money.
I'm still not sure about the battery charge, though; it may be hard to make stick if they won't release the driver's name.
I will likely sue them in small claims and do the lien thing, but I'll ask him about all that to see.
My biggest hope is that my banks side with me so I'm not charged; if they don't, I'll be out some bogus costs AND the repair/replacement costs.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
collecting is a huge pain in the ass (lots of stupid paperwork and stuff to file), but not impossible, especially on a business.
That said, don't forget to file a complaint with the BBB on them... It doesn't sound like their rating could be any worse, but it might help someone else go a different route next time.
Keep at it and we're all behind you.
It sounded like they wanted to get extremely violent with you - and they know where you live.
Then I had an outstanding experience with Bekins. They are more expensive, but also worked with us on packing up the house, meeting us as the exact scheduled time and moving the possessions into the new house and taking away the packing materials.
Hope you manage to get something worked out on this one Neville.
Report them to the BBB, FTC, and anyone else you can get ahold of. I filed reports with every government agency I could find that seemed to apply. That's how the FBI eventually found me. My wife had to identify them via photos and all sorts of stuff. Vindication!
So an update:
Heard back from my lawyer. They bill $250/hr or $150/hr for the paralegals who will be doing research. They want $1000 up front for a retainer.
I have a bunch of options from him, although I still haven't decided if I want to do that or just go the route with small claims.
I will be emailing him back and we'll see what he says.
I really appreciate all the help/suggestions from everyone so far. :-)
I have contacted (and have filed or will finish filing soon) complaints so far with:
Both of my banks, MoveRescue, BBB, California's Public Utility Commission, and I think 1-2 other places I forgot.
I'm also planning to send information to the state attorney general and my senator/reps.
There's also an option called certificate of mailing (many collections places use this, as it's cheaper than a certified letter) - this is proof from the USPS that you mailed the letter in good faith, but without the element of it being delivered by hand and signed for. It may be enough for some legal processes, but in california I doubt it.
If you really want to raise hell, you could try to contact others burned by this mover and form a class. That would get lawyers more interested.
Another option would be finding some of those news reporters who do 60 minutes type ambush interviews with shady businesses.
I host a podcast about movies.
I host a podcast about movies.
I would do that anyway since cross country moves suck regardless
1. My renter's doesn't cover it, so that's a non-starter.
2. The movers aren't going to do -anything- and have failed to return my phone calls plenty of times, but I'll send a fax on Monday and we'll see how that goes.
In the meantime I'll be sending them a MOUNTAIN of documentation (over 100 photos of my boxes in various stages of
I'll continue to update, especially if I take them to small claims court.
If I do it with a lawyer, I'll see what he says.
And yes, -every- single one has terrible ratings saying the same thing these assholes do.
I feel like I NEED to sue them in real court, because how else is someone going to keep these wastes of humanity from continuing to do this?
This may be much harder if they actually re-incorporated every time they decided to do a blow-off, but ianal.
0431-6094-6446-7088
1 - There's not enough guarantee for payoff
2 - #1 is the reason they won't do it on contingency
3 - The company could easily declare bankruptcy and just use one of their other companies
He said it's far less likely they'd declare bankruptcy over a small claims; I'll likely get a default judgement.
And then I can call for a lien on their stuff, so I get money. And unlike a lot of the stories I read, I'll make sure they realize "If you don't pay me by X, I will collect the lien just because I'm legally allowed to."
I still think posting it on reddit and having them wreak havoc wouldn't be a bad thing, but we'll see how small claims goes first.
I coulda told you that
*scrolls up*
kidding aside. Good luck in small claims/collecting from these chucklefucks.
Only so we can see the results posted to YouTube. ;-)
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
Nah your doing it wrong, you need to repo one of their moving vans so you can move all the stuff your repo'ing more easily!