Transunion Van Lines or Alisher Akhmedov Warning do not use them, rip off, scamers, thiefs. los angeles California

Dear Alicia Cantu, you are continuing damaging reputation of our company with no rationale. You forgot to mention that you did not pay the entire amount and tricked the company by illegally cancelling your check for provided service. Additionally, you forgot to mention that Moving company provided you with many different discounts for packing, long carry and using storage for almost 2 months for free. When we tried to deliver it, you said that you don't have an address where to deliver it and we gave you time to provide one.

We waited in order to make you a satisfied customer. We can attach all evidence which shows that you cancelled your payment for the move and we have proof of your messages in which you confirmed that you knowingly cancelled the payment. Additionally, you stated that we asked you to pay cash on a pick up day, but it was simply your choice of payment type in order to avoid a 5% convenience fee for credit card transactions and you didn't have check with you. And as some people might think that we will just shut down and open a new company with new license, I would like to say that to get a new license it took us 9 month to get it + will you open a new license on a person that you dont know and will operatethe business.

You are saying that we charged you extra but you forgot to mention that your original estimate was based on 100 items and we showed to you that there were 300 items which is 3 times more and it is documented and signed by you. Also you hid from the broker that furniture needs to be picked up from 2 fully packed storages on 2 different levels. Your original estimate was based on 400cf and that is why only 2 movers came to this job and we couldn't even finish the load this day because storage was closing and we needed to return back all the way from Los Angeles to San Diego to pick up the rest of your belongings.

The company can not really understand why are you keep saying that we were hostaging your furniture. You said that you needed 30 days free storage which we provided to you and when we called to let you know that we are planning to load the trailer tomorrow to deliver it to you, it was said by you that you dont have a place to store it and you are not ready and we in order to keep you a satisfied customer offered to you that we will kept your shipment before you will be ready and moreover we did not charge you a penny for keeing it in the storage. Basically we paid to do your move.

Please, stop desecrating our business. Additionally we explained to you that everything needs to be packed, especially we told you about your heavy sewing machines but you said it is not worth it to pack them for such price and you don't care if something will happen. If you don't want to pack it well then get a full coverage insurance, but of course you didn't want to pay for anything. Plus you saw with your eyes that 1 day wasn't enough to pick all your belongings and it was full truck when it supposed to be 4-5 hours job maximum.

You were saying something about weight, when the driver was on the way to you he called to schedule time with you for a delivery and you asked for a re-weight and we agreed and told you to come to scales and see everything with your eyes, but it didn't happen and you just told the driver to meet you at the storage. Please stop playing a victim especially if you paid only half of whatyou supposed by the contract, the only victim here is the Company!

Thank you sire for taking your time and trying to be somehow helpful. I will not stop on this and will continue until I will see someking of resolution.

I guess that would make me a good samaritan??  It's just that I see posts like yours and I know it doesn't have to be this way.  The average consumer is pretty much guaranteed to get ripped off unless they know the industry and how bad things are.  No one will step in to offer consumer protections, so what happened to you is unfortunately....common.  The other problem is it really is expensive to move, but scam companies make it out not to be.  Let me give you an example.

A scam mover will provide you a price of maybe $2,000 to move a 1-bedroom from LA-NY based on a cubic foot price.  You jump up and down in happiness thinking you dodged a bullet because the legit mover from United (for example) quoted you a price of maybe $6,000 for everything door-to-door, including long carries, etc... and they'll bind the quote so you won't pay more than 10% (you can pay less, but not more than 10%).  The problem with the scammer quote is that the fuel cost alone to go from LA-NY in a truck will run about $2,000 and the consumer has no idea this is the case.  On move day, the scammer claims you took 2 times more cubic feet than the inventory sheet provided, and runs the price to $4,000, plus upcharges you about 500% on supplies.  Pay now, or we won't move you, or what we call a hostage load.  So you pay because you don't know a hostage load is illegal. 

At destination (if the mover shows up anywhere near the time they're supposed to show), the mover says it's now going to cost you another $2,500 to unload, which you pay.  Meanwhile, the scammer picks up 2 guys off the street to help unload, damaging stuff in the process, which he/she will also scam.  Now you're out about $7,500 with supplies, and your stuff is damaged beyond repair.  The scammer says he has insurance, but the insurance only applies to him, not to you.  You're stuck with what's called valuation which pays you a whole $0.60/pound for damaged items.  So your 100lb oak table you paid a lot of money for...the mover is entitled to pay you $60 for the damage and the contract allows the mover to walk away after paying the $60, and you have no recourse.  Suddenly the quote from the United guy, whom you could not believe quoted you a price 3x that of the scam mover....had the better quote.  But how would you have known?  You wouldn't - and that's the problem.  There are so many scam movers out there that the consumer thinks the pricing from the scam mover is a normal price and the legit mover is the ripoff.  It's an alternate reality.

The legit movers have challenges as well; not enough laborers, not enough drivers, competition from frieght companies who have entered the market offering a hybrid service between a DIY move and a full service move, and they sometimes damage items too.  Compared to the entire industry though...they're a lot better than what you went through.

Best of luck to you....

Sir, thank you for your well-structured information! I don’t know if you are just a Good Samaritan or representative of the company (you sound like company's rep.). I still think I should be reimbursed for things they destroyed. Let’s say it is my fault for choosing the lowest price in the market (bait and switch tactic). They came, overcharged me without proper and legal explanation, and without providing revised estimate before loading my belongings, without providing weight tickets and refusing reweight when I requested. They could have at least be available when customers call, gave better information about my shipment's whereabouts, better and professional delivery, better packing to prevent damages and destruction of my items, make sure they have honest movers who does not steal. Maybe then I would agree with you and I would say that at least I've got great service for things they charged me.

You were treated in this way because there are no real protections in the law to prevent something like this happening to anyone, regardless of gender.  It's the reason why scam movers can hide on the internet; you contact them because the internet seems like the perfect place to find a service like this and there are so many to choose from.  After the scam is carried out, you file a complaint - with no repercussions or ability to retaliate against the mover.  Even if the police come by in the middle of the scam - there is nothing they can do because the police consider your move to be a civil matter and not a criminal one.  You could sue but the contract would be non-binding and quite vague as far as overall cost of the move (cubic feet/weight), but is quite explicit as to what their valuation liability is when all your stuff is damaged, and it's very little

Once Alex finds he can't do a move under the name Transunion because of too many complaints on the internet, he will simply shutter the business for maybe a month, and reopen under a new name and new license.  His new company will have no complaints for people to find on the internet, and even your filed complaint here on ROR will become obsolete to most anyone looking for information on movers.  At one time, there was the Interstate Commerce Commission that oversaw the moving industry; when the commission disbanded in the late 1970's, the Chairman testified before Congress.  When asked who HE would select as a mover if he were going to do a cross-country move, his response was....I would move myself.

I'm not sharing anything new here  - this is a very old scam using a tried and true formula of consumers legitimately shopping around for the best price where many illegitimate movers exist, to scam money out of people.  The consumer thinks they've done their home work by searching for (a) the best price, and (b) complaints on the mover.  The consumer THINKS they've done all their due diligence and then they select the scam mover because they think they're the best value.  The legit movers (United, Allied, Mayflower, North American, Bekins, Graebel, and a few others) can't compete with scam movers on the initial price they quote because the scam mover is low-balling you on price and pulling you as the mark...in.  Once your pulled in by shopping for the cheapest price, the scam starts, and pretty soon what the move cost you overall is far more than the legit mover.

This has nothing to do with you being a woman.  You probably did everything you were supposed to do if you were looking for the best value in any other industry out there, except moving.  The moving industry is an industry where the average consumer will think they're doing the right thing to find the right mover, and they aren't.

Still, it doesn't make the situation any better. They took advantage of me, and what if there are many others who scare to say anything. I'm a woman, and they took advantage of me. Im crying everyday for things they destroyed. Its my lifehood.

With all of the stuff you have and the value of the equipment, you should NEVER have selected a company like this.  You may have had to pay $7000 or more, but with the value of the items you described as needing to be moved, this would have never happened.  Here are some things you should have known:

1.  Scammers always use cubic feet to measure your load because it's easier to fudge the amounts and upcharge you once they load you.  With weight, you get a more accurate quote, but I doubt the driver took his truck to a weigh station to weigh his truck before your move, and then after.  Alex simply saw your stuff, what you had to move, and switched to weight because your stuff isn't plasterboard.  A professional mover would have sent a surveyor to your house, seen what needed to be moved, put the inventory together, and had you commit to a binding contract based on weight.  Which leads me to...

2.  If you have to complete an inventory sheet, you're going to get scammed.

3.  If you found a mover on the internet, you're going to get scammed.  You're going to find a company like Coastal who will broker your move out.

4.  Nobody really oversees the moving industry - certainly not the FDOT.  I seem to recall they have exactly 3 people who oversee the entire country (one of whom is generally on vacation) and the thousands of movers to oversee.  In other words, your complaint resulted in nothing happening.  Even if it did, Alex would shut down TransUnion, wait about one month, and then open up a new moving company in the same place with a clean record.  I suspect TransUnion isn't Alex's first company - just in case you were wondering, and it probably won't be his last.  And no, the FDOT really can't do much about guys like this.

5.  You will never ever receive enough from the minimal amount of valuation you signed up for to repay you for the damage they caused you.  The China Cabinet, bed, crystal,etc....sewing machines...you may get a few hundred dollars for the damage...

The worst part now is that your income stream is now compromised because you went for someone who quoted you a cheap price; not only are you out thousands in damage for your personal items, you're now out of business until you can figure out your sewing machine situation.  So now I will tell you what I tell anyone who I know is going to move:

Moving is not an inexpensive venture.  It is time consuming for you and is generally very stressful.  Choosing a mover based on price will generally cost you far MORE than if you had simply paid for a professional mover to come do your move.  Get off your computer and find the yellow pages - finding a professional mover is something you have to do the old fashioned way. 

If you really thought professional movers are expensive, count your losses right now and tell me how cheap that mover you selected really was??  Best of luck to you....