All My Sons Moving & Storage MA All My Sons Moving & Storage (nationwide) NOT LICENSED MOVERS IN MA. STATE REQUIREMENT. Attleboro, Cranston MA, RI

Again, this is where your overall ignorance regarding life in general isn't helping you.  When you posted a complaint on a public website, you invited the public in not only for a look-see into whether the mover did a bad thing, or whether you are an idiot.  The latter applies in your case. 

You invited someone like ME to come in and tell you exactly what is going to happen.  I am not giving you my opinion.  I am telling you exactly how it is and how this works because I am not only familiar with the industry, I even worked in this industry.  I am telling you what you need to hear.  I'm not someone who is going to tell you what you want to hear or will sugar coat your situation for you  If you wanted that, then you came here for the wrong reason.

First, you came here wanting the BBB to put the company out of business.  Well, that isn't going to happen because the BBB has no authority to put any company out of business.  Then you stake your claim to a local gov't agency and flimsy law, and file a claim and try to tell me they will take your claim seriously. 

They won't.  Why?  Because I already know how this is going to turn out.  They will investigate, the mover will pull their contract with you, show them everything including your signature authorizing them to perform the work, document what work they did and why they charged you for what they did, and that's the end of your complaint.  How do I know?  Because I've been there and I've seen it. 

Your complaint will be dismissed because as long as the government agency is reasonably satisfied with the response from the mover (and it doesn't take much), then nothing will happen.  I'm not telling you to not file your complaint - I'n sure someone incompetent in your local government needs to sit at a desk and take your complaint.  I'm telling you how this will work out for you.  It won't.

Now, you want to put a mover out of business.  So how do you put a mover out of business?  The only way to put a mover out of business is to catch them doing something illegal on an interstate move, such as performing a hostage load.  The DOT comes down on movers hard when they pull a hostage load and occasionally, you'll find a Florida mover (because that's where almost all scam movers are located) who pulls a stunt like that, thinking the consumer has no clue.  Until of course they find a customer who does know.  And then, they're arrested, fined, and put out of business.

However, there is no way to put a mover out of business for doing a local move because there is no way to do anything illegal on one.  It's why you can find a lot of local movers on Craig's List.  They're cheap to run, you often don't need a warehouse, licensing is easy, and whether you get 3 guys at $130/hour, or 2 guys at about $100/hour, it's a good way for hard working people to make some money. 

As long as they quote you a rate, you accept the rate, and they stick by it, there's nothing they can do wrong.  Even if they're occasionally clumsy and break things, moving contracts allow for reimbursement at $0.60 per pound once you file a claim.  However, the law states that once the mover determines the total reimbursement - that's it, and you can't sue for more than that.  This law is referred to as the Carmack Amendment and is Federal Law.

But by all means file the complaint.  Just don't be surprised when nothing happens.

Thanks Jim but I didn't ask for your opinion nor does your opinion matter, unless you are a lawyer who wishes to represent me in small claims court. In any event, the Consumer Advocacy and Response Division (CARD), who works in conjunction with the Attorney General's office, is reaching out to the business on my behalf.

So if nothing I said fell under the Mass Consumer Protection law, then maybe you should reach out to CARD and/or the Mass Attorney General's office and let them know they don't understand the law either. All you are doing is ensuring that consumers second guess posting a review to avoid people like you with way too much time on their hands who feel they need to undermine complete strangers in an already frustrating series of events.

I've moved 3 times in the past 2.5 years. That does not include this move. This is the only time I hired movers. Ever. Additionally, I didn't sign a contract with them. So your "ironclad contract" rebuttal is a mute point. Additionally, I provided EXAMPLES of the Mass Consumer Protection law, I was not aware I needed to include the language "may include, but is not limited to, the following". Which is pretty much standard in any contract language involving services.

Again, I did not ask for your opinion and you certainly do not seem like a lawyer. CARD also informed me that if they received enough complaints and sensed a pattern, they could shut them down and encouraged me to have people file complaints with their office. She said they can't do anything if people don't file a complaint. She also let me know that the DPU takes these complaints seriously and they are more likely to resolve the issue. I will listen to CARD. As their opinion and understanding of the matter far surpasses yours.

Nothing you indicated would come under the deceptive trade practice law under any state law in any state, and your link to the MA code regarding a deceptive trade practice certainly would not apply.  They quoted you an hourly rate; that's the end of it. 

If the person told you it would take X number of hours, and took X+4 hours, then too bad because contractually speaking, they didn't tell you anything about how long the move would take.  If they told you over a phone, it means nothing. 

Even if the guy stood infront of you and said it would take X number of hours, it means nothing.  Everything in the industry is in writing.  If you thought you were deceived, then that deception doesn't happen because the mover deceived you.  Normally, it's because the consumer was generally unaware.

However, there was something you obviously misread in my response and that alone tells me you probably thought you were deceived by the mover, but weren't:

I was not aware that I needed legal grounds to post a complaint here and apparently it is not a prerequisite or requirement.  You don't need legal grounds to post a complaint here.  What would help consumers however, would be a legitimate complaint.  Telling people not to use X mover, and then X mover changes names (which they often do) helps no one.  Basing your complaint on a local move in which you received an hourly rate quote that took longer than you thought doesn't constitute a deception.  It then follows, based on your writing, that your own feelings of deception are misplaced.  Now, your complaints to the state are going to fall on deaf ears - my years of experience in the moving industry has shown that virtually no state will take action in for the complaint in which you are filing.

If I failed to adequately indicate earler - let me be really clear.  Consumers need to exercise due diligence prior to any move about the moving industry, be it a local move like you did, or an interstate move.  Moving isn't like any other service a consumer will ever have to deal with - consumers in their lifetime may only move 1-2 times - ever. 

Movers do this everyday - they have ironclad contracts to protect themselves every step of the way, and are legally protected if a consumer wanted to go after a mover.  It is virtually impossible for a mover to commit an illegal or deceptive act in a local move - simply because they quote you an hourly rate with a minimum number of hours. 

There is a far greater likelihood of deception of a consumer on an interstate move when the mover quotes the consumer in cubic feet, tells the consumer your stuff should constitutue X number of cubic feet for Y price, and then the mover doesn't pack the truck correctly, and then raises the price of the move to 3Y.  In this industry, that does happen, and that is also currently legal and would not apply under the MA law you linked because of course the pricing is based on cubic feet used.

Moving is also not cheap - moving was not designed for people who wish to move on a budget because the process of moving is very labor intensive and there are no process shortcuts to get a move done effectively.  The people who perform your move are the lowest paid in the company, they work the hardest, and are pretty much spent physically after about 5-7 years.  Before a consumer moves from point A to B, the consumer needs to be fully aware of what is about to take place - most consumers don't figure it out until after the move that they messed up.

One site I can recommend to consumers to look into prior to doing any move is www.movingscam.com.  It is often moderated by moving professionals who give back and offer advice, as well as pissed off consumers who, like you, had no idea until after they moved what they had gotten themselves into.

Best of luck to you...

Thanks Jim. For taking the time to TELL ME what I want and/or wanted, TELL ME what I 'invited', call me names, TELL ME how 'the world is', TELL ME what I expect and/or expected and TELL ME about.....ME. Someone you have never met before ::Applause::

Great job. I applaud your effort and now dismiss your existence and this pointless conversation.

Enjoy your life, which is obviously enriched and fulfilled, attempting to tell complete strangers, on the internet, what to think and/or feel and how they should see the world. According to you. Jim. 

I reject your reality and substitute it with my own! :D

Under Mass Consumer Protection Law, any "unfair or deceptive business practices" are illegal. 

I believe many of my 'complaints' fall under 'unfair or deceptive business practices'. Again, I did not post my entire story, however, as a Mass resident, I am clearly protected by the Mass Consumer Protection Law. 

Additionally, I did not claim to be hoping, with my fingers and toes crossed, that the BBB would resolve any issue with this company. In fact, I am 99.99% sure that nothing will come of it except my complaint and business response(s) will be available for other consumers to read and that, hopefully, their rating will drop and that this will also afford consumers the ability to make an educated decision on whether to use them or not. 

I have also filed a formal complaint with the Mass Attorney General's office and with the Mass Transportation Oversight Division who keeps a list of DPU licensed movers in MA. Again, it is a state REQUIREMENT that a moving company have their DPU license in MA. THEY DO NOT. I have also reached out to the local newspaper where their office is located to run a story and two other local news stations. 

As an aside, "www.ripoffreport.com, at its basic level, is a website that provides an open and public forum for free speech. More specifically, it is designed to be a forum for individuals (honestly and accurately) post about their experiences with goods and services provided by individuals and/or companies. We call these postings “Reports.'". I was not aware that I needed legal grounds to post a complaint here and apparently it is not a prerequisite or requirement. 

https://www.ripoffreport.com/faq#howthereportsfiledonrepoffreportareused

However, I agree, I do not know the moving industry. What I do know, is that as a consumer, I have every right to voice my dissatisfaction with any services rendered. Hence the entire basis of this site. 

The link to Mass Consumer Protection Law is below along with an excerpt from their site. 

https://www.mass.gov/service-details/the-massachusetts-consumer-protection-law

"The law does not define any specific business actions that violate the law; rather it states that “unfair or deceptive practices” are illegal. Although each case is judged on its own merits, some examples of unfair or deceptive practices that might fall under Chapter 93A would be when:

• A business charges a consumer higher rates than the marked, published or advertised price.
• The refund/return policy is not clearly posted where it can be readily noticed and understood.
• A business fails to tell you relevant information regarding your product or service or misleads you in any way.
• A business does not meet its warranty agreement.
• A business uses "Bait and Switch" advertising - a technique by which the seller advertises an item for sale at a particularly good price or terms but does not really want to sell that item. The seller discourages the purchase of the advertised item and instead tries to convince the buyer to purchase a different item for a higher price or on less favorable terms.

Please don't pin your hopes on the BBB for anything because, very simply, the BBB has no authority whatsoever to do anything.  The organization makes its money off of businesses in the community who pay its dues.  All they do is post a consumer's complaint - they cannot force a business to even respond to complaints if the business chooses not to. 

Here is an example of how ineffective the BBB is:  One BBB member in Florida - a mover - had over 300 complaints in a 36 month period.  Did the BBB do anything?  Other than saying thank you for paying dues - No.  What grade did the BBB give this mover with over 300 complaints? 

A-.  If you don't believe me about the ineffective nature of the BBB, then all you have to do is search on this site for the BBB; you'll get a clearer idea as to what I'm talking about.

Now to you complaint:

It is obvious you're talking about a local move - it's the only type of move in which the mover quotes you by the hour; interstate moves are quoted either in cubic feet (scam mover) or in weight (legit mover).  Now, from reviewing your complaint, they didn't do anything illegal that I can identify.  It is perfectly legal in the industry to quote you one price over the phone and another once they come on site because oral quotations mean absolutely nothing; only quotes in writing are binding, and all funds are due when the delivery is made - otherwise the mover has no obligation to release your goods.  Even if you were to call the police and claim theft, the police will talk to the mover, and tell you that you have to pay the mover.  If you called a lawyer and said I want to sue a mover...the lawyer will simply say....I'd rather not.

Now, if the move takes longer than what was quoted, that's also irrelevant because you aren't quoted how long the move will take (the mover will estimate, but that isn't in any contract).  You're only quoted what the hourly rate is - generally with a minimum number of hours - usually 4 or 5.  If the move takes longer, then the move takes longer and you really are at the mercy of the mover in that instance.  Unless the mover thinks you're blind, there isn't a way they can hide any damage.  In fact, you don't have to immediately identify damage because the mover can't do anything about the damage that day anyway.  You can always file claims for damaged items - there is nothing preventing you from that, provided you don't take forever to file the claim.  Unfortunately, your quote probably provides reimbursement for damages at $0.60 per pound, and you may get some money back, but it is very little.

BTW, the story you provided as a link - again - does not indicate anything illegal the mover did.  It only indicates the outrage of the consumer, for which she believed she was charged double (again, if the move took twice as long, then it takes twice as long) and she received back what amounts to a bribe of $250 to go away.  If I'm the mover in that story, I simply provide the quote which will simply show the rate, the number of people who worked, and the number of hours they worked.  I mean the reporter doesn't care because it isn't a story after that and they want a story.  Pretty much every mover operates like this.

That is the real lesson people should take from this complaint:  Moving is not inexpensive.  It is a process and an industry unlike any you as a consumer have ever dealt with.  Nothing you discuss over a phone with a mover means anything - and that's every mover in the industry.  Fines levied by governments for supposed bad acts in reality are nothing more than kickbacks to keep government bureaucrats happy and fool you into believing they are on your side.  Let's be clear - the government is on the side of the mover, always has been, and the moving industry has special carve-outs under the law that prevent consumers from individually suing a mover.  Government at every level have had the opportunity to change the rules since the late 1970's when the industry was deregulated - and they haven't.

And no, I have never worked for this mover.