IntlMOVE International Movers, IntlMOVE LCC Extortion, Intimidation, Fraudulent Business Practices North Miami Beach, Florida

Intlmove was contracted to move internationally my household effects in June of 2011 from Michigan to the Netherlands.

My general grievance against IntlMove is that, if its business practices are not fraudulent, and therefore illegal, they are at the very least deceptive, and therefore very poor business practice, which should be covered by some sort of law or regulation. The specifics of my grievances are as follows:

By way of background: After an initial payment of $8282.05 (which includes a move based on square footage of 300 cft + insurance), I was obliged to send to IntlMove, after my goods had arrived in the IntlMove warehouse in FL, an additional payment of $7401.78, which was based on an ADDITIONAL and non-contractual calculation of weight, and which did not include an additional hold of $740.14 for storage while waiting for the weight payment.

1). My first complaint, then, is that IntlMove changed the contracted criteria, from CFT to CFT + WEIGHT, once my household effects were in their possession. IntlMove sets up the client by failing to evaluate professionally, prior to the initial quote, using their own personnel, the size AND WEIGHT of the move. IntlMove asks only for the CFT. This lack of professional evaluation allows IntlMove to provide an initial quote (based uniquely upon Cft) that will underbid any other company on the market (effectively winning me as client and taking me off the market). Appropriate business practice would be for IntlMove to evaluate professionally their clients effects with their own assessors, prior to any moving, in order to provide a quote that more nearly corresponds to the quantity and weight, and thus to the true costs, of the move. I note that the Bill of Laden from the UK shipping company that received our shipment from the US and delivered it to the Netherlands also did not involve weight, but only that my shipment in fact had no overage and was within the original size estimate of 300 CFT. So IntlMoves failure to disclose that, beyond the CFT, once my possessions are in their custody they will also assess my load for WEIGHT, constitutes an inevitable extortionary situation once the effects are transported and in IntlMoves possession.

2) My second complaint is that when a professional evaluation process is omitted by IntlMove, and left to the client, after the household effects are safely in an IntlMove warehouse, IntlMove is then in the position to assess the client overage charges, and additional money is extorted while holding hostage the household effects, all without any precise data from IntlMove as to the truthfulness or accuracy of the apparent assessed overage. In the Job Sheet I received from the UK shipping company, there is no indication of overage in terms of the original job estimate of 300 CFT.

3) My third complaint is that, at the point where the clients personal effects are in IntlMoves possession, and additional money and charges have been assessed, when the client returns with reasonable questions pertaining to the accuracy or truthfulness of the overage assertion, IntlMove then places an intimidating HOLD on the clients effects, with resulting fees, even though the client is informed prior to moving that the shipment will not be sent immediately, but must be stored by IntlMove for a certain period of time prior to shipment overseas in order to gather together a full container.

To conclude, the difference between the original contractual quote of $8282.05 (based on 300 CFT + maritime insurance), and the final amount that was coerced from me comes to a grand total of $16,649.14 (or $15,909 + $740.14 holding penalty.)