Transport Van Lines, AAA Storage Systems SCAM Miami Florida

Hunter - you contacted a company through the internet to do your move. That is one of the worst things you could have done, and is why you suffered the way you did. The vast majority of movers one finds on the internet are scam movers - they lure you in with a low quote, and then up the price once they have your stuff. Per the contract you signed, they have the right to do what happened to you. When you contact your attorney, he/she is going to tell you something about the Carmack amendment. This federal law protects movers from all sorts of prosecutions under the law, the scam movers know this, and as long as you have signed their document - they have you. More than that - you contacted a broker, who sold your move to someone else. This is legal in the moving industry, and another reason why you stay off the internet to find a mover.

Under the law, you are entitled to pay no more than 110% of the amount you were quoted - so in your move, you can go to small claims (albeit in Florida where your broker is located, or wherever AAA Storage systems is located), sue for an amount between the amount you paid ($3,780) and 110% of your quote ($2,750), and you should win. You won't be able to sue for the value of your labor. Check your contract to see if there's something in your contract regarding where you have to file paperwork in case you have to sue.

Know this:

1. A full-service move is NOT inexpensive and contacting a legitimate company (one of the larger moving companies) will give you an idea of how much a move should cost. I would hazard a guess and say that the cost of the move by a legit mover would be somewhere around the amount you paid altogether, or maybe slightly less.

2. A major mover generally makes 5 cents profit on every dollar, so anyone who quotes you a lot less than a major mover needs to be discarded because it's a scam quote. If you received a quote from a major carrier, and the $2,500 quote is maybe 70% of what the major mover quoted you, ask yourself, "how can they do a move at a loss?" The answer (as you've found out by now) is that the move will cost you a lot, one way or the other, when you use a scam mover who baits you with a low quote.

3. If a major mover is too expensive for your budget, consider doing the move yourself.

4. Never EVER choose the mover who has the lowest price. Choose a mover you feel comfortable with and confident in. What you're doing is shopping for value, not shopping for price, and as you found out - cheap does not equate to anything resembling value. Do your research on the internet (that's what you should do on the internet) and make the choice based on your research and the service they're offering to you. From a value perspective, a professional mover will actually be of greater value to you - even though the price you'll pay them is more. The difference is in (a) items arriving on time, (b) no additional labor on your part, (c) very few, if any items broken, and (d) no irate or stressful calls.

5. Always make sure someone comes over BEFORE the move to see what it is you have to move. That is a right you have under the law. If a mover asks you to complete an inventory list, you're going to be scammed - and the mover will blame you for it because YOU completed the list. A mover may ask for you to waive that right - DON'T DO IT.

Chalk this one up to lesson learned - next time don't make the same mistakes.