Atlas Van Lines stole from me!

Hello.

I am sorry to hear about your loss with Atlas Van lines. I too have had a terrible experience with them moving my belongings from Colorado Springs, Colorado to Midland, Texas.

They shattered my brand new 37 inch flat screen LCD tv, broke the legs on my new sofa, and "lost" two marble top night stands that match our bedroom furniture.

They have been impossible to deal with, they won't take my phone calls at all, and insultingly offered me $288.00 for my damages. That in itself shows that they admit their guilt.

Would you be willing to provide me with a sworn affidavit explaining your experience with Atlas? I am pursuing this claim legally. They have lost and damaged EVERY major item they relocated for me. On top of that, they charged me an extra $375.00 for "extra freight". How could I prove that it weighed more or less than what they said? How could they charge me that when two marble top stands (which are heavy in themselves) were not even on the truck????

I would greatly appreciate any help that you can provide me with and would be willing to document my experience for you to do the same.

You can reach me at (((ROR REDACTED E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR SECURITY PURPOSES)))

Thank you so much


CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

I have been in the moving industry for about fourteen years now, and unfortunately in this industry the bad apple can be found on both sides of the tree. Atlas Van Lines is one of the top carriers in the U.S. and for the most part have a very good reputation, but just like any other successful business that employees thousands of people there are going to be problems,and I personally hate to see a bunch of people all get grouped into the kind of catagory that this customer is putting them into.

I know that your next thought is that I must work for Atlas and no I do not I am a driver for united Van Lines and although I work for a different carrier I know how it feels to pay for other peoples lack of commitment or ethics when it comes to doing thier job.

Also people need to realize that Atlas like United is made up of several different agents,some good and some not so good just like any other business.

I know and work with people from alot of different carriers that like me take pride in what they do and by getting stereo typed by a customer such as this is really not fair to anyone.The other side of the coin is that on a daily basis this industry, it,s employees and the owner\operators get spanked with people filing claims and alot of drivers pay thier own claims now if as a business we were to group everyone togather, and just assumed that every claim filed was a customer trying to get something for nothing (which believe me happens all the time) then customer service would be non existent.

I just feel that this issue can be resolved without involving what I believe to be most of the people, that make their living doing a good job from start to finish in the relocation industry.

We have been responding to this customer since the filing of her "claim" (no official form was filed--a self produced list of damaged items was sent to us with no inventory numbers or other identifying characteristics, i.e.--"chair--scratched") this past summer. While not providing us with any supporting documentation, she has been complaining throughout the process about how long it has taken us, etc. You can imagine trying to sort through someone's possessions and inspecting damage without any customer reference to the item other than it's damage.

An independant claims adjustor was sent to her home to inspect and evaluate damage; this was the information we used to make an offer for settlement.

In most cases, the damages filed at destination were noted by the driver on her origin inventory--in other words, the damages were there before the move and the shipper is trying to collect from us anyway.

In others, the damage was declined under the category of "inherent vice"--this is where the nature of the item itself leads to damage: yes, a record will warp or a candle "melt" if it is in a high heat situation. As in cases involving "acts of God"--weather related situations or natural disasters--no van line is liable for claims in these situations. We cannot, unfortunately, control the weather or temperatures for someone choosing to move to the desert.

Would you ship refrigerated food in a moving van and be surprised that it had spoiled at destination--and then claim the damages? Would you put a pet in a box, and be surprised that it had died when it arrived? Of course not--you KNOW that those situations would lead to damage or injury. And the same principle applies to items that you want shipped but have inherent characteristics that could lead to damage...like candles.

To draw a parallel--imagine that your car is in an accident...the insurance company offers to repair the right front quarter panel, which was damaged. However, you say that they should also repair the scratches on the left rear--even though they were there before the accident and had nothing to do with the incident. You also left a box of candles in the car on the rear floor before the car was taken to be repaired--and now that the candles have melted, you claim that the carpet should be replaced as well. Is the person who collided with you responsible for those damages? Could he have prevented them?

We have been trying to deal with this situation professionally from the start; however, the nature of the claimant's handling of the situation, as well as her reluctance to accept the facts, has made that very difficult. It is unfortunate that a van line with the reputation for quality and service that Atlas has, can so easily be defamed by someone who is dissatisfied with the legitimate response to a claim that is unjustified.

I lost about $30,000 worth of stuff caused by Atlas' negligence and they have denied almost everything except around $1,000. In order to avoid this in the future....I would take pictures of everything...even when it is loaded on the truck. Have valuable items appraised and take pictures of them. Don't let them move your computers, or have them scheduled and covererd by your own insurance carrier.

Make sure you understand everything they are writing on your inventory sheets because I am most certain they are padding in problems with your furniture so they won't have to cover any damages they caused. Look at the bill of Lading and check the weight so you won't get overcharged.

Lastly, don't use Atlas Van Lines in the future, they are not a reputable company in my opinion. BTW: Did you know they are not responsible for damages caused by temperatures that are as hot enough to melt candles? (maybe even hotter than that)Your computers and any electronics may not work right because of that.

Your furniture may crack and finish could melt and stick to the moving blankets. They will say they are not responsible for 'climate' changes. You would be better off putting your more valuable things on the back of a pick up truck than move with Atlas.