Arsenal Van Lines Inc scammed me, inflated charges, put my family in danger, even infected my goods with fire ants!!! Norcross Georgia

My first clue should have been the guy from the moving company with huge marijuana leaves on his shirt. This company promises:

Why choose another mover, when all theyre going to do is move you in the wrong direction leaving you distraught and perturbed. Arsenal Van Lines will take you where you want to go with ease as well as stress-free. Choose Arsenal Van Lines, you dont want to go into a move with anything less.

I am very distraught and perturbed and my move has been anything but stress-free


Company started adding undisclosed charges when they arrived. They were unable to pack all of my belongings. I was over in weight and told the company I thought their weight estimate was a bit low. When they arrived I informed them the truck looked to small for all my belongings. I ended up leaving several thousand dollars of items they were unable to pack on the truck. Many of these items were on the original articles list. Several small items were left that were needed to reassemble items they took apart (I managed to find them and bring them on my drive out). They attempted to charge me $99.00 an hour for "labor". My binding estimate was $4606.00; I now have a bill for a total of $7752.00. There is an overweight charge of 902.00 that I do not mind paying, but feel my estimate would have been more accurate if they had come on site. I have the impression they tried to make our estimate as low as possible instead of as accurate as possible and then increased charges at the time of loading. They are also now insisting on cash or money order at delivery, the contract specifies that we can use a credit card. We used a credit card at time of pick up because we felt safer (they did charge an $83.00 fee that was not disclosed until I used the card). I just feel like this is a rogue company that showed up in a rental truck, gave a sight unseen estimate and did not supply the booklet of "your rights and responsibilities". They do attach a link on their email that is supposed to take you to the online version, but it is a dead link. So is their web site.

The horror continues when they arrived to deliver my items. They demanded payment in full, much more than 115%. I explained the 115% regulation but was told payment had to be in full. I had to also pay prior to the items being moved off of the truck. This was in the contract I signed that they would be paid prior to moving items off the truck. I asked to see the weight ticket and it had the following issues.

375.519 The weight was done on two different trucks. The first on an empty truck #506541 weighed on 5/28/08 the second on a supposedly full truck #966363 weighed on 5/30/08. Then my belongings were delivered in a third truck! When I brought this up, nobody offered a reweigh. Not even the company owner when I managed to reach him.
(a)(3) no identification on either tick of it being tare, gross of net weight.
(a)(6) No registration or bill of lading number on tickets.

We attempted to inventory our belongings at the off load but were told we were wasting our time. The movers would unpack too fast for us to verify our belongings. This was true they off loaded very fast and would block boxes with other items so we could not do an inventory. We did not have the opportunity to note in writing what was missing. In fact the driver left before completing the job, telling us he would be right back. He went to his truck and left. We have no signed receipt of our belongings. We never got to sign for our belongings. The driver left two of his workers stranded in my home with my wife and small children. He hired them that am on the side of the road. The company hired workers off of the street in Phoenix, brought them in to my home with my wife, 3 yr old son and 5 yr old daughter. They could have been Child molesters, felons, or gang members. I can not stress how unsettling it was that these men were abandoned in my home. What if someone would of gotten injured? The company had no insurance on these strangers.One of my boxes was infested with fire ants (it was a clothing box). I contacted the AZ Department of agriculture, they sent out an inspector who took samples. He told the driver to bag up the ants. The driver said no problem (words this company loves to use). After the inspector left the box sat in my driveway. When I asked about it, the driver said he had no bag but could remove the box. I said ok. The driver went back into the cab of his truck (where he stayed during the unloading process). When I went back out side there was a trail of fire ants from the box to my home. Both my wife and son were bitten. I asked the driver again to remove the box, he said ok, he took a worked and went to the truck. I assumed he was getting a dolly. That is when he left, my beds were not put back together, and nothing they took apart was reassembled. Most things they took apart were missing hardware. They left two strangers in my home.I feel a dangerous situation. They were very upset that they were left. Many of my items were damaged and broken. I understand I packed my boxes and am responsible for how they were packed. Many boxes were crushed, torn or gouged. I have several photos of this at the off loading. I was never able to sign for my belongings because the DRIVER LEFT. The company provided no tools for the workers. I had to scrounge up knives to cut tape. Provided no water, I went through 30 bottles of water for the poor guys they hired. I have called the company several times and always get a run around. There is no formal complaint section.

This has been a complete nightmare. I am missing several items; many of my antiques are scratched or broken. This is a rogue moving company that I believe has scammed me and continues to scam others. This company seems to have the practice of marking every item as "scratched". When I checked my loading invoice at the on-load EVERY Item packed was marked scratched every piece of furniture. I made the mover change the Bow Flex because it had none; it was only a month old. This is just one more example of how Arsenal Van Lines tried to rip off its customers and deny any responsibility for anything. So now my home gym is missing parts I will have to order, it is scratched and bent in many places, significantly decreasing the value for any resale I may want in the future. Everything your this company took apart had missing parts, everything. Bed frames, tables and more. Nothing was reassembled at the off load because Arsenal Van Lines lost all the nuts, bolts and items needed to reassemble my stuff. They claim not to be responsible for boxed that are packed by the owner. That I can understand but many of my boxes arrived crushed, gouged and obviously mishandled. It was like they had been in a tornado. The tape they used on my belongings ripped paint off of my items. They charged for 60 rolls of tape. 60... many were only half used. I am willing to bet many were half used when they started.

They say they are a family business but the owner says (after all is said and done) that he subcontracts everything out. So he is not responsible, the truck driver blames everything on the company and he is not responsible, but they are all family. Nobody claims responsibility for anything.

I was never provided my book, required by Federal law explaining my rights and responsibilities. After much badgering, they did provide me a number for claims. I keep getting the run around from this company. They keep telling me things will be fine and they have not been.

Please be careful, do not get in the situation I did. They had $3,000.00 as a down payment before they even saw my belongings, my house was being sold in two days. They had me long before they started and they knew it.This has been my experience with Arsenal Van Lines...

Hje
phoenix, Arizona
U.S.A.

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