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Thursday, January 24, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
Moving Sales Professional's...with Shakira?!
Important Update! Apparently... Shakira has taken to tweeting about Moving Sales Professional's?? Whats next? Madonna? See below.
check this outfacebook.com/MovingSalesPro…
— Shakira Fan Club (@ShakiraRockx) November 27, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Moving Company Denied National Expansion
RI moving company looks to expand in Mass.
December 11, 2012 9:17 am By News staff
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) -- A Rhode Island moving company owner who lost a bid to operate in Connecticut says he will expand into Massachusetts rather than in North Stonington.
The Day of New London reports that Bob Romano, owner of Warwick, R.I.-based Coutu Bros. Movers, said bureaucratic snafus, paperwork and what he called a poor attitude at the Connecticut Department of Transportation were reasons why he decided against re-applying.
A transportation agency hearing officer denied Romano's application last spring. The official cited a possible negative impact on other area moving businesses and that Romano had not proven another moving business is needed.
Pro-business advocates said the agency's decision was at odds with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's efforts to create jobs.
Judd Everhart, a spokesman for the Transportation Department, said the denial was based solely on the merits.
Judd Everhart,connicut, transportation
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Consolidated Moves and why You Should NOT
Keeping a cross-country move smooth: Plain Dealing Sheryl Harris, The Plain Dealer 12/08/2012 12:00 PM
We contracted with Oasis Moving and Storage of Las Vegas for our move from Arizona to Ohio. A sales representative said our goods would be delivered no later than 14 days from pick-up.
It's been almost three weeks, and we can't get any answers about where our possessions are. We finally got through to a manager who told us the company has 30 days, not 14, to deliver. But she would only tell us the load was "in transit." We have no idea if they're still waiting to add another load to a truck in Las Vegas or whether the truck fell over a cliff on the highway in New Mexico.
Any chance you could help us track down our furniture, with the reassurance that we're going to receive it by the "estimated" delivery date?
Janet D'Agostino, Reminderville
I didn't fare any better than you did.
Customer service manager Morgan Brooks said that the company has 30 days to deliver and that you had been kept apprised of the move's progress. She said the company would deal only with you directly, but she added that you were due for an update.
When she called you the following Monday, you said, you still didn't get a firm date or answers about where your possessions were. Instead, you said, you were advised again that you would get a call 24 to 48 hours before the truck arrived at your home.
In the end, you got your furniture the Sunday before Thanksgiving, almost five weeks after the company picked up your possessions in Arizona.
Your real gripe with the company boils down to a lack of clear communication.
For starters, you were baffled about the delivery date -- and no wonder, because it's a bit of a moving target.
There are two contracts you sign when you move: an order for service and a bill of lading.
Oasis's initial contract gave you a binding estimate of the cost and reserved the date of your move. This contract says deliveries to the Midwest usually take one to 14 days, but that's just an estimate. And if you read the fine print, the clock doesn't run from the date your movers pick up your stuff. It runs from your "ready date," the first date you indicate you'll be available to accept shipment at your new home.
The second contract, which you and the mover sign when the mover picks up your possessions, is called the bill of lading.
The fine print in this Oasis contract estimates delivery about 21 business days from your ready date. Business days, according to the contract, don't include Saturdays and Sundays, even though, as you point out, the company clearly does business on those days. After all, you got your furniture on a Sunday.
Although the contract dangles 21 days as a possibility, it says the company may take up to 30 business days to get your stuff to you.
My understanding from regulators is that this is pretty standard across the industry, but no wonder you felt you couldn't get a clear handle on when your stuff would arrive.
It should have been obvious to Oasis that you were worried about your possessions. If the mover had done a better job of answering your questions, I doubt you would have been as dissatisfied with the experience as you were.
As you summed up when the move was all over: "If they had just been honest with us, said your stuff is sitting in a warehouse, we need to get enough stuff to move it across country -- but for three weeks all we heard was this lingo, your stuff is 'in transit' or in 'delivery process,' which means it's just sitting."
Consumer Wise The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is charged with regulating cross-country household moves, but the agency isn't known for its consumer-protection muscle.
That means the burden of protecting yourself falls on you:
• Check out movers' reputations before you sign anything. Ask friends and neighbors for recommendations. Additionally, search for reputable movers and check companies' complaint histories at the Better Business Bureau (bbb.org/us). The BBB gives letter grade ratings to companies, and the reports will let you see whether a mover has trouble with a particular issue, like contracts or services.
• Be aware that rogue movers are a problem in this industry. These are fly-by-night companies that offer low rates for moves but then hold people's possessions hostage to extort more money from them. Avoid companies that don't have a U.S. Department of Transportation license (they should display one on their websites, sales materials and contracts) or who answer the phone with a generic "movers" rather than the company name. Don't let movers who show up in rental trucks or unmarked vans take your stuff.• Spend some time at www.protectyourmove.gov– preferably when you first suspect you'll be moving. The carrier safety administration's site contains helpful materials on hiring movers, understanding moving contracts, insuring and protecting your possessions and heading off trouble.
Additionally, the site lets you verify an interstate mover is licensed and insured. (Movers who operate only inside Ohio are licensed through the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.) Always check – some movers are unlicensed. You'll also be able to see whether customers have complained to the agency. Even small numbers of complaints can be telling. The agency gets only a fraction of the complaints the BBB gets.
You'll also find a "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move" on the site. Cross-country movers are required to provide you with a copy of this pamphlet (in online contracts, they only need to provide a link). It's not the most reader-friendly publication, but it does contain important information. If you don't have Internet access, call the agency at 1-888-368-7238.
• Get bids from three reputable movers. A binding estimate means the price is locked in. A nonbinding estimate allows the company to charge you 10 percent more than the price quoted. When you're comparing costs, don't forget to factor in insurance. The standard coverage movers provide for broken or damaged goods is 60 cents a pound, which isn't going to do you much good if your prize possessions are damaged in a move. It's free, but your mover also has to offer you full-value protection insurance that will cover replacement costs for damaged goods. That costs extra. (See the insurance information at www.protectyourmove.gov to weigh your insurance options).
Many movers' contracts offer a nominal per-day payment to make up for inconvenience if they deliver late, but there's no federal rule that requires this. If you want a guaranteed date of delivery, you may be able to pay a fee to get a firm date.
• Don't rely on verbal promises. Ask the movers you're considering hiring to provide you with copies of their contracts (especially the bill of lading) so you can read the terms and conditions well before moving day.
• If you have questions about moving across state lines or want to file a complaint about a cross-country mover, visit www.protectyourmove.gov or call 1-888-368-7238.
Follow Sheryl on Twitter: @consumerwriter
On Facebook: PDConsumerAffairs
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Friday, December 7, 2012
MSP ALERT - Denver, CO Customers BEWARE. Even the Ones that Look like the Good Guys are Failing...
Denver movers caught on hidden camera adding charges, fake tax after giving moving estimate
CALL7 Investigators test company fined by state
The company, named 67th Ave. Moving & Storage, agreed to move us for $267 but then tried to tack on what they called an 18 percent moving tax, which state officials told us doesn't exist. A representative also promised that wrapping was free but the mover, when he arrived, said it would cost $25 per item.
Watch The Undercover Investigation Tonight At 10 p.m.
When we asked him about charges on hidden camera, he told CALL7 Investigator Keli Rabon that this was a common situation with clients of the moving company.
“He's just saying whatever he needs to say to get the sales,” the mover said of the person giving the estimates for the company. “When I get here that's the typical response for the last week because they're not telling people the truth.”
The company representative promised to provide free wrapping and said they would not charge us more than the estimate, but during the move the charges changed.
“Well, the only thing that they don't disclose is the 18 percent,” said a second mover. “This goes to the State of Colorado. Basically that's a tax.”
“This is how they get you," he said. "Bill Ritter, when he was on it, that's what he signed.”
“Oh, so Bill Ritter put it into effect?” Rabon asked.
“Yep,” he said.
But both the Colorado Department of Revenue and the Public Utilities Commission, which regulates moving companies, told the CALL7 Investigators that there is no 18 percent moving tax in Colorado.
Our cameras also captured that we were deceived about the free wrapping.
“Wow, ok, ma'am, they lied to you,” he said. “I can shrink-wrap everything for you, but that costs $25 per item.”
CALL7 Investigators rented a storage unit and hired 67th Ave. Moving and Storage to move us from the storage unit to a townhouse that we also rented.
When the movers arrived at the townhouse, they refused to unload our property unless we paid the additional alleged moving tax.
“I'm not going to pay for a tax that doesn't exist,” Rabon told the movers.
“Here's the thing, if you don't pay for the tax, I can't unload you,” the mover said.
“So you're just going to take my stuff?” Rabon asked.
“Exactly,” he said. “That's the way it is.”
“You're just going to drive off with a van full my furniture and my belongings?” Rabon asked.
“That's the way it is, ma'am,” he said.
We were not alone in getting an estimate and then being asked for additional fees and charges. The Better Business Bureau has received nearly 200 complaints about the moving company in the past three years, and the PUC fined the company $4,300 last December and $1,400 in August for not providing customers with accurate estimates.
Brithgee Doyel used the same moving company and was charged triple the estimate.
“We were stoked,” she said of the initial estimate. “We were like, 'We found an awesome price.'”
Jamie Pilcher is another customer upset at the tactics of the moving company.
“They gave me the best rate,” she said.
But the low price quote increased significantly once the move started.
“There wasn't much I could do, I got really upset, I was crying,” Pilcher said.
The movers drove away with Doyel’s stuff after she refused to pay the inflated charge. She eventually obtained her possessions, but said she had to pay triple the quoted price.
“I was so devastated,” she said.
Pilcher said the company charged her credit card during the move so she had no choice but to pay double the estimate.
Rabon went to the company's office to ask them about the added charges.
"If a driver came and quoted you a tax, he quoted that wrong," the warehouse manager said. "It is not a tax."
The manager said the 18 percent was a fuel surcharge and pointed to a copy of the contract that notes a fuel charge, but the contract we signed had the fuel surcharge blank and 18 percent charge was marked in another area of the document.
The employee who quoted us the tax, said he was directed to do so by his supervisors.
"You said over and over that there's an 18 percent state moving tax, and that's not true," Rabon said.
"That's how the old owner put it to me, ok?" the mover said.
"But you weren't under the old owner?" Rabon said.
"Oh now this is a new owner now, he just took over in August," the mover said.
Office workers told us the company's problems will be fixed because the company is under new management and owned by Leo Shifrin.
We caught up to Shifrin on his way to federal court to be sentenced for filing a false tax return, but he declined comment.
PUC spokesman Terry Bote said it is against the rules to charge significantly more than the estimate.
“That contract, per our rules that became effective August 1, cannot be more than 110 percent of what the estimate was,” he said.
Bote said after the interview that the PUC cannot do anything other than continue to fine the company. He said that the PUC can only revoke a company’s license if it fails to pay fines or annual fees, or if a company does not maintain proper insurance.
Former customers question whether regulators are doing enough to protect consumers from companies like 67th Ave. Moving and Storage.
“They shouldn't be in service,” Pilcher said. “They shouldn't be allowed to move people.”
------------
Statement from 67th Ave. Moving and Storage:
We acknowledge the exposed problems at the moving company. These problems were due to the mismanagement of the prior management team, which has been completely replaced as of August 2012.
We do not condone and never instructed employees to call a fuel surcharge a tax. Employees that have been caught misleading consumers were let go on the spot, while existing employees were provided additional training. This situation is inexcusable and we will be swift to react to any future problems of this nature.
In addition, we have retooled the way sales and marketing staff estimates moves. If a revision in the estimate is required the revised estimates are always given to consumers BEFORE the start of any move.
Any consumer who was misled as to the fuel charge being called a tax will be issued a full refund of the charge. Anyone consumer who’s goods were retained due to the fuel charge will be refunded the entire move and their goods delivered out of our warehouse free of charge.
The new management team has implemented strict quality controls and these issues should not occur in the future.
67th Moving and Storage management
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
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Tuesday, December 4th 2012: Rouge Movers Exposed!
News Alert! This did not happen a year ago. This did not happen in an unregulated state. A stressful situation turned out to be an absolute bust.
CBS13 News does a hidden camera investigation. We set the stage and sting an unscrupulous moving company. See how we do it, and what these movers do to squeeze more money out of our "consumer." It's a warning you can take to the bank.
Wednesday, December 5th 2012: Two Men, a Truck..and a Bridge.
Here goes one of Americas most trusted companies. Shows that there is no BRAND name that can keep bad people off their staff.
Look, I go to Walmart all the time. If Walmart had the same customer service that my girflfreind gets when we are looking at cute cars for chicks....THEN you could say for sure - these guys are the only ones to use. Bigger does not mean Better.
Press play and check these guys out.
#MSP
More to come tomorrow........
Sunday, December 2, 2012
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