One Disaster After Another
Thanks to Proud American Van Lines, my moving experience was a series of disasters. I contacted them to arrange an interstate move of furniture only, from AZ to FL. My son and I packed a U-Haul and moved all of the boxes and smaller items.
Proud American Van Lines are brokers, so the first thing they require is a deposit to "secure" their cost estimate, which is a hook that leads to increased costs with the actual moving company.
I told their representative, Ross, that I needed to transfer funds and he assured me they wouldn't process my check for a few days. They ran it through immediately and threw my account into overdraft. I should have backed out then, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt, which was a huge mistake on my part.
I had sold my home and provided Ross a 4-day window (Aug 27-30) for the moving company to pick up my furniture. I made it clear that I had to be out no later than Aug 30, 2021, as the new owners were moving in on Aug 31, 2021. I knew I chose the wrong broker when I didn't hear from them by Aug 23, 2021, just four days prior to the start of my window. I called and Ross said I was scheduled for Aug 30, 2021, the last day. That day came and nobody showed up or called.
I contacted Ross in a panic and the first thing I noticed was that he was no longer the nice guy that he was before he got my deposit. In fact, he made no effort to hide his aggravation and impatiently told me he couldn't help me -- I had to call Oasis Movers, the company they arranged for my move.
I called and Oasis told me they didn't have me scheduled for Aug 30th and I needed to call Proud American to fix the problem. It quickly became a game of back and forth -- one blaming the other and neither taking responsibility. The stress was enormous.
Finally, Oasis agreed to send a moving crew the following day -- the day the new homeowners were scheduled to move in. The crew drove from Nevada to Tucson, AZ and didn't arrive until noon. By that time, the stress was off the charts. They picked up our furniture and headed back to Nevada to put it all in storage until we arrived in Florida.
Thirty days later, I received my furniture, all of which came off the truck dirty, dented, scratched and ruined by packing tape that melted to fabrics and finishes. Some items were completely destroyed. The pedestal leg and feet were completely severed from the the top of my dining room table. The shock of witnessing the horrendous abuse done to my furniture was mentally and emotionally overwhelming.
I submitted a claim to their insurance carrier and was offered a $500 settlement, which only added insult to injury. Ross repeatedly stated that he'd only had one complaint in 15 years because Proud American Van Lines was the best and only contracted the best movers in the industry. What a joke.
A lawyer told me he gets 5 calls a week from victims of brokers and movers who scam people. I've also learned that it's difficult to recover your losses. Be that as it may, what goes 'round comes 'round, so it's comforting to know there's consequences for those who harm others and perhaps, some justice for those who've been harmed at the hands of people in the moving industry.
If you need to move, don't call Proud American Van Lines or any other broker. Brokers take thousands in fees and offer nothing of any value -- nothing that you can't easily do on your own. And that includes contracting a terrible moving company. Best thing is to move yourself with U-Haul. It's safer, less stressful and way more affordable.
27 marzo 2022
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