Across USA Moving FRAUD & EXPLOITATION - SPARE YOURSELF THE NIGHTMARE Dallas Texas

My friend in Austin, TX assisted me in meeting the movers I found online to move my belongings from my Storage Unit in Austin, Texas to my new apartment in Boynton Beach, FL.  I only wanted to move my most important personal items and had provided a very detailed inventory list to the moving company (Queen Mattress, Media Stand, 20 Boxes, Dresser, and Bicycle).  They provided me with a quote based upon that and assured me that they charge by item and not by cubic feet.  They further acknowledged that I had indeed provided them with a very thorough list and that the charges would not exceed the quote they provided me of $1,295.  

The agreement was as follows:

On July 1st, 2014, the moving company quoted me $1,265 complete to move my itemized lists of goods.  They requested a $100 deposit that day to book the service, which I paid in good faith that this company would carry out the service they committed to.  

On the day of the move, July 5th, I unfortunately learned that this company's business ethics were based on bait and switch, fraud, and extortion.  Upon arrival to the storage unit, they loaded all my items on to their truck and stated to my friend at the storage unit, "Ok here is the paperwork, we need to call Ms. Hasni and get the balance of payment for load up of $598. (I had paid a $100 deposit, $598 on load up, and the remaining balance of $548 was to be paid upon arrival according to the terms). 

I spoke with them over the phone and thought I was done...not so.

Next, they move the items out of the unit, once he collects the initial CC payment... they start loading and said they needed to find a box to put some lose paperwork in. He further stated they needed to tape a few things up. A small box and some tape would cost me around $450 DOLLARS????? I was outraged, he called me, she was outraged, I knew the sales rep billed and sold this as $1,295 complete. (I had given them an itemized list of goods and they said I was well within the estimate when I booked it.)

Since they HAD me between a rock and a hard place , I almost agreed to pay the extra $450 for a small box and some tape thinking ok, this will be it...I just want to get this nightmare of a move over with...NOT SO FAST...

They begin demanding that because the mattress and my belongings exceeded their truck height maximum (this was never explained to me, I would be paying a total additional amount of $2,100 after the $100 deposit and the $548 I paid them on the 5th of July when they loaded my belongings on their truck.

I was enraged at the exploitation which was clearly happening at a very vulnerable place, in between a nationwide move. My friend in Austin, TX demanded that the foreman write NO MORE CHARGES on the myriad of paperwork, and he became very upset when he was called out on this.  My friend in Austin, TX wrote down in the paperwork NO ADDITIONAL CHARGES PER BRANDON... this is documented in their paperwork if they ever chose to reveal it, which I highly doubt.

My friend in Austin demanded to know what OTHER charges may be waiting once they started loading (Note they would not load until I incrementally agreed to each upsell).  My friend threatened to call the police at that point if Brandon didn't provide an accurate estimate.

He then quoted me $2,700...

To say the least I was very upset and sickened as I clearly didn't have this in my budget and was completely exploited in an hour of vulnerability.  In this moment of distress, I made an executive decision to cancel the job (despite them having $100 and $598 of my money into it).  My gut feeling told me that the charges could be insidious if I continued.  My friend and his son personally had to reload everything into my storage unit and it took them over an hour.

Between a plane ticket to Austin and accommodations my friend spent over $800 to help organize this move. During the escalated scenario... the Foreman threw down his clip board, and threatened to harm my friend’s son who was also helping reload my storage unit.  He also called his girlfriend a "b***h" when she was visibly upset over the incident.

I would have been fair and reasonable if there were additional expenses but they were clearly exploiting me. Also in the process the driver ran into the exterior light of my storage unit and did not assume any responsibility.

After this situation, we decided to look at the BB report and Yelp which displayed over 50 BBB complaints...

The Yelp reviews were horrible with a history of scamming...If you review Brooke B's comments on the Yelp link which I have provided, almost experience that I had.

com/biz/across-usa-moving-and-storage-dallas-3  Across USA Moving Company is fraudulent. Someone must protect consumers.