White Glove Moving & Storage Jersey City New Jersey

This is a complaint against White Glove Moving & Storage, 930 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306 (201) 222-8300.

In May 2005 I spoke with a representative of White Glove (Ned) about using their company to move from Missouri to California. The agreement was that they will charge based on weight, and after describing in detail all of the items in my house, the estimate was for 6,000 lbs at 69 c/lb, or $4140. The crucial aspect of the move was the date of delivery, and I was told that they will prioritize the shipment to my desired date, but no way will it be longer than 2 weeks. This seemed reasonable, and I decided to hire them.

As I wasn't able to pack myself, I asked the company how much they would charge for full packing, and they said 22 c/lb, so I agreed to that as well.

When the movers came, they packed evrything, although most of the boxes they used were mine. Once everything was loaded-up on the truck, they said that if they weigh the shipment it will be at least 20,000 lbs, and I'll end-up paying upwards of $18,000 on top of which there will be all sorts of surcharges and fees that were never mentioned before. If I agreed to a "flat price" of $13,000, then there would not be any more charges. I felt my hands were tied, because he was going to be weighing the truck, and he could make it up as he wanted to. I felt I had no choice but to agree to this crazy new price. Subsequently, the guy demanded $400 cash tip, and when I stated that I did not have that kind of money laying around, he said he would follow me to the bank, so I could make a withdrawal. These men followed me (a single female) to the bank located 10 miles away in the huge moving truck, with all my earthly possesions in it. There is no way to describe the terror I felt. They may have as well had a gun pointed at me, as I felt I was being robbed. However, all I could withdraw from my account was $200, and when I told them this news, they informed me that they will wait at the local Wall-Mart parking lot, until I bring the remaining $200.

When I brought the cash 3 hours later, I had to crawl-up to their truck cabin. The driver (Sonam) at that point called his dispatcher (Alex), who asked me how I liked their service. Imagine how surreal this situation felt! All I could muster to say was that I felt it was much more expensive than I ever imagined, and he said that since I provided most of the packing materials, he will take-off $400, so my new total was 12,600. It struck me as very coincidental that the "discount" was the exact amount of the "tip".

The truck left Saint Louis on 6/16, and it was supposed to arrive in California anytime between 6/22 and 6/29. I was starting a new job on 7/1/05, and all the guys at the company I spoke with knew that I have to have my shipment before that time.

First I received a call saying that there is some sort of a problem and the shipment will arrive on 7/2, then 7/6, then definitely 7/9. They claimed that the truck broke down in Arkansas, and they needed to special order a part for it. Then they had a nerve to tell me that they are not late at all, because they only guarantee 14 business days, not 2 calendar weeks. This was completely outrageous, as I had numerous conversations with multiple people, and they never mentioned any business day technicality to me before.

Regardless, the new "manager" I was dealing with now was Gaby, and when I complained to him about the fact that his drivers practically robbed me of $400, he said that he would apply that towards my payment. I then re-iterated to him the point that I was being grossly overcharged for this move, and upon reviewing my list of belongings he agreed. He said that at most I had between 11,000 lbs and 12,000 lbs worth of goods, and my new bill was 10,465. Now there was no mention of taking $400 off for packing materials, but he was going to apply the "tip" towards the payment, so that at least I wouldn't lose that money.

In the meanwhile, under these circumstances I couldn't even start my new job, so meanwhile I am broke.

During all of this I contacted a movers rescue group that was willing to load my stuff onto their truck and bring it to me. Miraculously, as I had this new group to relieve them of my property, they stated that the mechanic is just finishing with the repairs, and the truck will start moving towards California within 2-3 hours, so that they will not be able to delay the shipment any longer. This was on Friday 7/8, and they stated my shipment would arrive no later than 7/12.

Today is Monday 7/11/05, and I finally got a hold of the driver (Sammi) on his cell phone. He tells me they are in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which is hard to believe, given the fact that they supposedly left Arkansas on Friday. Furthermore, there is no way that at this rate he'll make it to California by tomorrow.

I am scared to find out how much extra cash they will demand on this end, and how much stuff will be missig or damaged.

This company is shady at best. Do not do any business with them as their tactics are similar to that of the mob. This is the worst case of false advertising, misrepresentation, extortion and bad faith.

Natasha Yucaipa, California
U.S.A.

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