Atlant Van Lines Miami Moving and Jacksonville Moving Experts at Unethical and fraudulent business practices Hollywood Florida

Crooked as the day is long! My mother put her trust and worldly possessions in the care of these "people" in a move from MA to TX. Total cost estimates: ~$2800 broken out into 3 payments; $700, $1068 once items are loaded, and the balance due upon delivery, before items can be unloaded.

The move had been planned, paid ($700 deposit), and organized with Ben and Jeff (Atlant) to the day of to ensure my mom would make it to Texas without having the headache and stress that normally comes with a cross country move. They discussed the furniture, the number of boxes, apartment layout, and any stairs or impediments that could be problematic. My mother was assured that her 20 stairs would not be an issue, all belongings in her 900 sq ft apt and small storage contents would indeed fit in a space they would provide; equivalent to 1300 sq ft. Atlant made sure to keep continuous communication with my mother leading up to the day of the move.

Let me also add, this move...so that my mother could be and spend time with her terminally ill, dying, grandson. Before his memory and ability to communicate are completely gone. So, you see, our family had already been hit with a universe changing blow. The day of the move. 3 guys showed up...4 hours late, in a 26' RYDER rental truck. 2 of the guys didn't speak english very well, if at all. My mom, who had been prepping for the move for weeks, had everything boxed up, packed up and ready to go. My sister and brother were on hand to help out and make sure all went according to plan; as was my mothers landlord. Walking up to the apartment, the men stopped, started discussing something in another language (Russian?), took out an invoice pad, and began making notes. Once in the apartment, they walked around the apt., made some more notes on the pad (nothing was communicated to my mother with regards to what they were writing). They then proceeded to take the furniture out to the truck. Upon coming back into her apt., they brought packing tape and started adding packing tape to already triple taped boxes. When asked why the extra tape was necessary, one of the men said they were required to make sure all was secure.

During the loading process, my sister and mom went to the bank to get the $1068 cashiers check for the next payment due. Upon arrival back to her apt., my mom sees the movers sitting in the truck with the back locked. My mom was told they were done and they took the check. My brother then came out and told her that half of her belongings were still in the apt. When my mother confronted the movers and asked them to open the back of the truck so she could view her belongings and was told the space she paid for was packed full, they were done and had to leave to pick up another customers items using the rest of the available space and then head to Texas. My mom was then told that the boxes were NOT included in the estimate and therefore would not be taken and that she paid for 1300 cubic feet, not 1300 sq feet. These movers made a mess of my mothers home, left pieces of furniture strung all over the place and provided her with a secondary invoice: the use of packing supplies (the tape they used on all the boxes but refused to move!) and a $200 stair fee ($50 per 5 stairs). She was then extended a (what Atlant called gracious) offer: they would fill the remaining space of the truck making sure to get all of her belongs, for $5500).

I am in Texas and received a frantic phone call from my sister; my mom sobbing uncontrollably in the background. I couldn't believe my ears! I called Ben and he told me that my mother clearly "misunderstood" and should "pay more attention to details". I was awestruck. I proceeded to explain what I expect to happen: unload the truck and refund the deposit. He told me "that would absolutely not be happening". The deposit is nonrefundable since his guys already loaded items onto the truck. Yet, they kept completely silent the entire time loading. Cutting corners, scratching walls, and locking my mother out of her belongings when she went to get them money!! When the movers left, the phone number (that was readily available and often answered) now had a message stating "the subscriber you are trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time, please try again later". The advisor #/ext was unavailable or sent calls to VM and calls were not returned. When we did get someone on the phone and were put on hold for a transfer to Ben (the phone actually wasn't put on hold) Ben can be heard in the background saying "that woman's belongings are on the truck, my job is done. There is no need for anymore communication". The person who answered the call realizes that he, in fact, did not place the call on hold and we heard it all. He did not come back but simply hung up.

Now my mother is stuck in an apt with all utilities turned off, no place to put the belongings left, and is supposed to drive to Texas in the morning. Now, they delivery date scheduled for next Sunday was changed to tomorrow. My mother is driving cross country and will not arrive until Saturday. They told her to "take the crap tomorrow or pay all the extra fees". #fraudscamatlant