All My Sons AMS American Moving and Storage Association Mangled furniture, Cracked flat screen, improper set up El Paso Nationwide

To start with, I really wish I would have remembered ripoffreport.com prior to deciding who to help move our furniture that was little over a year old.  It would have saved me some mental anguish, and saved my furniture some very unsightly nicks and scratches.  And here's the story:

We needed this moving company because the physically useful people in our lives were just too busy, and it wasn't going to happen between me, my wife, and a UHAUL truck.  Which is sad, because that is by far the best route to go, if you want to ensure that the job is done right and for as little as possible.

My wife and I had recently been hired for a new job in CO.  that would start the beginning of February.  We were excited to be going back to a place we loved, but the only issue was how to get our belongings 600+ miles safely and quickly to our new townhome.  Fear not!  After stumbling around, we found a company that did private moves that didn't require we sleep on the floor for a week waiting for three or four other deliveries to be made.  Enter All My Sons.

We got a quote for what was the equivalent of a two bedroom apartment, no dishwasher or refrigerator, the price was a bit steep, at $4,060.  After tax, it was a few hundred more.  We were hesitant about that price, and other companies did offer the move for about $1,000 less, but it would be with other people's belongings and the wait time for delivery was 7-10 days. This was winter, and we actually had freak weather which prevented us from packing our own bed and patiently waiting for the remainder of our belongings.

All My Sons it was then!  After a brief introductory email, the manager at the El Paso location assured us that for the price, our belongings would be safe and be delivered quickly.  We set up a pick up time, and three workers showed up on time and ready to load our stuff.  Before doing any work, the paperwork was reviewed, and the main mover states that the basic insurance (.60/lb/item, so basically nothing) not only includes the weight of your belongings, but the weight of the truck too.  If anything went wrong it seemed like it could all be covered with no extra charge.  The full insurance was another $600.  Hindsight is always 20/20.  Anyhow, we paid the first half and the show commenced.

It seemed like they were doing a good job, everything was wrapped in plastic and moving blankets, and they seemed to be very careful with our belongings while loading them.  Cut forward to two days later (with the storm the estimated day was pushed back to be safe, the movers had to stay overnight in CO waiting, because they apparently barreled through black ice and hail)

Moving in to our new rental townhome, it seemed like they had gone from a crew of three, to a two man show.  I don't know if they were tired, and irritated they had to spend the night at a hotel, but they were not as friendly as before.  They were dragging the couches across a wooden floor and banging the walls with the dolly and our large furniture.

Before they were halfway done the main mover demanded payment because it was already 5 p.m. and the guy at the El Paso office couldn't leave before we paid up.  So we did.  I don't know why we did.  We were also tired and the storm had continued through the night while we were driving and a 9 hr trip turned into nearly 12 1/2 hours.

Towards the end of the movers bringing in the last of the furniture, I noticed that the nightstand leg was chipped and missing a stabilzer.  I figured I wouldn't bring it up to the workers (what would they have been able to do at that point?) and would just send a quick email letting the manager know.  Plus with the "truck weight insurance" it should be covered no problem.  I wasn't expecting everything to be intact.

They quickly finished up, and took off quicker than a bat out of hell around 9 p.m. without even letting us inspect the rest of our belongings.  Almost every flat surface had deep scratches in it (our stone furniture excluded), our dresser had a large indent, one of the office drawers now striated as if placed between two pressure plates and slowly squeezed, the frame of our brand new 60" flatscreen with a large crack in it.

Needless to say, we were less than impressed.  But it was late and we had been awake for far too long.  We would deal with it in the morning...or not.  Upon going back upstairs, under our bed there was pieces of the frame that the movers did not even bother to put together correctly.  If we hadn't noticed that, we probably would have cracked the frame.  In one of the drawers there was about 5 two inch long screws taped together, and we still don't know where they go.

So we had to put this complex frame together so we wouldn't throw away the cash we spent on it.  It took us another 2 hours.  For labor that we had already paid for, for a job that they didn't seem to have an issue taking things apart but couldn't be bothered to put it back together again.

The frustration I felt at that point almost exceeded my exhaustion, but I succumbed to sleep and decided to send a wordy email with picture evidence in the AM.  The El Paso manager was very surprised that this move had gone so awry, and gave me the information to talk with customer service, and see what kind of compensation could be had.

Great, the basic insurance (weight of truck included) should be more than enough to cover all the damages.  Not!  My settlement offer was a pittance of $200 ish, based on .60/lb/item.  No inclusion of truck weight as previously mentioned. I wanted to ensure that the truck weight clause was true before proceeding with arbitration, so I contacted American moving and storage association, who was the party responsible for being a fair voice in matters like this.

The only problem was, that the arbitration service had no voice.  I left a voicemail stating I had questions about the arbitration process and the insurance, to no avail.  I waited a few weeks, wrote an email, and.....nothing.  It is clear that the service provided by AMSA is less than stellar.

So now, I'm past my arbitration right period.  But it doesn't matter, because a mute fair voice is like walking into a wolf den covered in raw steak.  Just more money to be thrown away and given to this corporate giant that cares naught for the regular joe.

I'm not only recommending that anyone lucky enough to read this steer as far away from All My Sons, but ANY moving company that is a part of the AMSA.  The list of their movers can be found on promover.org  

Again, I wish I would have remember this wonderful site before moving on, as there are numerous other complaints about All My Sons from it seems every base they work out of.  And although we have dealt fairly well with the large costs, it may not be the case for others.  Save yourself a lot of money and find a different path, we wish we could have.

I will be updating this constantly so that people can be forewarned.  Please spread the word about the terrible issues that I, and many others have faced with All My Sons and the AMSA.  I guess I should feel lucky that all our stuff made it here though, since some people's belongings have just disappeared.