I received several different prices for my belongings but the best price came from a company called "Vanlines4u". Vanlines4u sent me an e-mail quote of $1,299. I called the Vanlines4u phone number and a man named David answered the phone. At first I thought he was one of the many service representatives working there, until I later realized, he seems to be the only person who answers the phone when you call Vanlines4u. I re-read the list to David, who seemed to be repeating or copying down what I said. David then came up with a quote of $1,344.
. I looked up Vanlines4u's record on Better Business Bureau and they had a B- which for a moving company is not bad. I decided to choose Vanlines4u and David asked for the down payment of 25% of the final bill, which was supposed to be $1,344. I gave him that down payment, which came out to $335.00. I asked for someone to be at my apartment on Saturday June 28, 2008. David assured me someone would be there either that day or the day after, which I approved.
Upon choosing Vanlines4u I understood they were a brokerage firm. They broker out other companies to move your belongings. As the broker, Vanlines4u is supposed to let you know what company is moving your belongings on the contract. They did not do that. I have later found out it was by a company called "M.G.O" which I'm pretty sure directly works for Vanlines4u.
On Thursday June 26, 2008 I received a call at noon, while at work, from a driver saying "I will be there today at 3pm". I immediately called David and told him that the moving company wasn't supposed to be at our place to either Saturday or Sunday of that weekend. David told me he would contact the driver. The driver then called me back and asked if could instead come at 5pm. I informed the driver, whose name is Ofir, that I wasn't ready. I told him I needed at least until Friday afternoon to get all of our belongings boxed and ready for pickup according to their instruction. He was not pleased but did arrive on June 27, 2008.
When Ofir arrived at my old apartment, the first thing he said when he walked through the door was, "This looks like more then the item list. Much more". This I didn't understand. We had the exact same item list as mentioned above, and the only extras we had were about three or four more boxes. Plus, he had made this statement before he had even truly looked around. I figured those extra boxes would be, maybe the extra $15.00 per box David had mentioned. Ofir then had me sign a contract that stated I understand it may take up to 10 business days to receive our belongings. I also signed an area that said I had paid the 25% and that 50% was expected after they finished packing our belongings into the truck. I read and understood this contract and I signed it.
Ofir had a partner with him who was very inexperienced and within the first hour of them being there, the partner dropped one of our dressers down the stairs, cracking the dressers draws from the inside. My fiancé was very upset at this moment as this was an expensive dresser and it was now broken. Surely, there had to be some type of compensation for this.
Ofir had arrived at around 8pm and was finished packing our belongings into the truck by about 11pm. At this time Ofir explained there was much more then expected so he said that the final price would be $2,600. According to federal regulations for the protection of household good shippers, a mover is not allowed to even quote mover then 110% of the non-binding estimate, which was $1,344. Obviously, $2,600 is about double, or 200% of the non-binding estimate. I thought Ofir was joking. I also noticed that he wrote $2,600 into the contract I had earlier signed with him. This was not something I signed or agreed to. At this point I crossed out my signature at the end of the document.
I explained to Ofir that we would not pay anything over $2,000. This was ridiculous. Ofir insisted he "had" to do it for his company. For the next 2 hours Ofir yelled at us, belittled us, and insulted us. He was screaming at us that we were cheap and that we wanted everything for free. My fiancé was so upset he was ready to unload the truck. We finally talked him "down" to $1,950. I was so upset I demanded he allow me to put on the contract that this was not going to be the final price. Ofir demanded $800.00 or he would not leave. Our dresser was already broken and now we had been fighting three hours, and it was against the law to charge us that much above the non-binding quote.
Around 2AM, Ofir finally left with our stuff. He actually had the nerve to ask us to "help him out a little", or in other words – give him a tip. There was no way. We had already spent more then the $672.00 we were supposed to that night. My fiancé and I were actually scared that we would never see our belongings again. We had been yelled at for three hours.
I tried calling Gili, the manager, on that day and did not get him. I was out of the country then from July 8th- 24th. When I returned I tried calling Gili and still didn't get him. Late July, I began looking for an apartment in Boston with my fiancé. On July 28th, Gili called us and began yelling at me. He said that I had a problem with his "f*cking" services then I could "f*cking" deal with it. I began to get teary, and finally Gili said he would give me a final price of $1,700 if I was to write a letter saying that all of the services from Vanlines4u were good and that I had no complaints. This was now coercion.
On August 1st, I had signed a lease for a new apartment and I was moving in on August 22nd with my fiancé. I called David and told him, on August 1st, that we would be in Boston by August 22nd. Since they had 14 business days to deliver, I figured that now they had the 14 business days from the beginning of August.
My fiancé and I called up Gili on August 21st, the day before our move, to ask when he would be delivering our belongings. Gili said he would be there either Sunday or Monday (August 25th or 26th). We understood this. On Monday August 25th, we tried to get a hold of Gili and he would not pick up his phone for about an 8 hour period. Finally he called us back that night and told us he would be at our place by Wednesday the 27th. Of course Wednesday came and he was not there. Again, we called him for several hours before we got a hold of him. He now said he did not know when he would be there but that he would waive any fees of flights of stairs or any additional storage fees we had incurred. I thought this was already taken care of since we had the note that said $1,700 is the final price, but apparently I was wrong. Finally on Friday August 29th we reached Gili and he promised my fiancé he would be here that weekend on Saturday or Sunday. He repeatedly promised. On Saturday he called us and told us he would be here around 5 o'clock on Sunday August 31st.
On Sunday we began trying to call Gili at 3 o'clock. His cell phone was turned off. My fiancé and I tried calling every half hour after that. He never picked up the entire day. His cell phone remained off. Monday September 1st came and went.
On Tuesday September 2nd Ofir called us in the morning to say he would be there around 2 o'clock and that he expected the final payment of $565 as well as $200 more for storage. This would now bring the total price up to $1900. We had no idea he was even coming that day. We told him; again we had things going on and asked him to come at 4pm. We said we would discuss prices with him when he showed up. Meanwhile, Gili, the manager – still had his phone off.
Ofir arrived around 4:30pm and began demanding more money for storage, for the stairs up to our new apartment, and anything else he could think of. He told us he would not give us back our belongings unless we paid him more.
I warned them what they were doing was against the law. Ofir didn't care. While my fiancé talked to them, I called the police without their noticing. I contacted the local police department and told them of our situation and that we were scared they would hold our stuff ransom unless we gave them any amount of money they asked of us.
The Boston Police arrived around 5pm and an officer named Victor introduced himself. He asked what the situation was, and I explained that we just wanted our belongings back, and according to the contract. Victor understood and asked to see the contract. Victor looked over the contract and asked for our story. Victor noticed the contract did say it would be $75.00 for a flight of stairs. I mentioned we were promised no charge for that, but unfortunately I did not have that in writing. Victor suggested we pay them the $75.00 at the time, and take them to court later. Ofir fought with Victor over the number of flights, feeling there were three when Victor corrected him that there was only one flight. Victor also told Ofir that if we were to pay the $75.00 in addition to the $1700 we already had paid altogether, he must finish the job.
We all agreed on this and Victor left. Ofir had another partner with him and they began bringing in our belongings. We started noticing that some of our furniture had been torn, scratched, and even ruined. Our wooden chair was practically destroyed. Our filing cabinet was ruined. The wooden futon had scratched wood lining it. The Office desk was broken. The small office desk's wood was scratched. Our belongings had been treated poorly. His response was "file it with claims".
Ofir told us we "wanted everything for free" which I think is hardly true, when we paid for $1775 worth of damaged belongings. He also asked me, while waiting for the cops, "Why do you care? It is just furniture!". This upset me because, it is more then "just furniture" it is our belongings that we had paid them to take care of.
Victor, the police officer, visited again and told Ofir to finish his job but told us to follow up with them in court. Ofir finished his work and left very quickly only for us to notice he had hardly finished assembling certain items. I still do not know if Ofir worked for Vanlines4u or for M.G.O. or for both.
. We are looking for compensation for the time, the broken laws, the lies, our damnaged furniture, and for being ordered to give more money to receive our belongings. This was a terrible experience, and I do not want anyone else to suffer from this company "Vanlines4u" or "M.G.O" (which does not exist on better business bureau).
. I looked up Vanlines4u's record on Better Business Bureau and they had a B- which for a moving company is not bad. I decided to choose Vanlines4u and David asked for the down payment of 25% of the final bill, which was supposed to be $1,344. I gave him that down payment, which came out to $335.00. I asked for someone to be at my apartment on Saturday June 28, 2008. David assured me someone would be there either that day or the day after, which I approved.
Upon choosing Vanlines4u I understood they were a brokerage firm. They broker out other companies to move your belongings. As the broker, Vanlines4u is supposed to let you know what company is moving your belongings on the contract. They did not do that. I have later found out it was by a company called "M.G.O" which I'm pretty sure directly works for Vanlines4u.
On Thursday June 26, 2008 I received a call at noon, while at work, from a driver saying "I will be there today at 3pm". I immediately called David and told him that the moving company wasn't supposed to be at our place to either Saturday or Sunday of that weekend. David told me he would contact the driver. The driver then called me back and asked if could instead come at 5pm. I informed the driver, whose name is Ofir, that I wasn't ready. I told him I needed at least until Friday afternoon to get all of our belongings boxed and ready for pickup according to their instruction. He was not pleased but did arrive on June 27, 2008.
When Ofir arrived at my old apartment, the first thing he said when he walked through the door was, "This looks like more then the item list. Much more". This I didn't understand. We had the exact same item list as mentioned above, and the only extras we had were about three or four more boxes. Plus, he had made this statement before he had even truly looked around. I figured those extra boxes would be, maybe the extra $15.00 per box David had mentioned. Ofir then had me sign a contract that stated I understand it may take up to 10 business days to receive our belongings. I also signed an area that said I had paid the 25% and that 50% was expected after they finished packing our belongings into the truck. I read and understood this contract and I signed it.
Ofir had a partner with him who was very inexperienced and within the first hour of them being there, the partner dropped one of our dressers down the stairs, cracking the dressers draws from the inside. My fiancé was very upset at this moment as this was an expensive dresser and it was now broken. Surely, there had to be some type of compensation for this.
Ofir had arrived at around 8pm and was finished packing our belongings into the truck by about 11pm. At this time Ofir explained there was much more then expected so he said that the final price would be $2,600. According to federal regulations for the protection of household good shippers, a mover is not allowed to even quote mover then 110% of the non-binding estimate, which was $1,344. Obviously, $2,600 is about double, or 200% of the non-binding estimate. I thought Ofir was joking. I also noticed that he wrote $2,600 into the contract I had earlier signed with him. This was not something I signed or agreed to. At this point I crossed out my signature at the end of the document.
I explained to Ofir that we would not pay anything over $2,000. This was ridiculous. Ofir insisted he "had" to do it for his company. For the next 2 hours Ofir yelled at us, belittled us, and insulted us. He was screaming at us that we were cheap and that we wanted everything for free. My fiancé was so upset he was ready to unload the truck. We finally talked him "down" to $1,950. I was so upset I demanded he allow me to put on the contract that this was not going to be the final price. Ofir demanded $800.00 or he would not leave. Our dresser was already broken and now we had been fighting three hours, and it was against the law to charge us that much above the non-binding quote.
Around 2AM, Ofir finally left with our stuff. He actually had the nerve to ask us to "help him out a little", or in other words – give him a tip. There was no way. We had already spent more then the $672.00 we were supposed to that night. My fiancé and I were actually scared that we would never see our belongings again. We had been yelled at for three hours.
I tried calling Gili, the manager, on that day and did not get him. I was out of the country then from July 8th- 24th. When I returned I tried calling Gili and still didn't get him. Late July, I began looking for an apartment in Boston with my fiancé. On July 28th, Gili called us and began yelling at me. He said that I had a problem with his "f*cking" services then I could "f*cking" deal with it. I began to get teary, and finally Gili said he would give me a final price of $1,700 if I was to write a letter saying that all of the services from Vanlines4u were good and that I had no complaints. This was now coercion.
On August 1st, I had signed a lease for a new apartment and I was moving in on August 22nd with my fiancé. I called David and told him, on August 1st, that we would be in Boston by August 22nd. Since they had 14 business days to deliver, I figured that now they had the 14 business days from the beginning of August.
My fiancé and I called up Gili on August 21st, the day before our move, to ask when he would be delivering our belongings. Gili said he would be there either Sunday or Monday (August 25th or 26th). We understood this. On Monday August 25th, we tried to get a hold of Gili and he would not pick up his phone for about an 8 hour period. Finally he called us back that night and told us he would be at our place by Wednesday the 27th. Of course Wednesday came and he was not there. Again, we called him for several hours before we got a hold of him. He now said he did not know when he would be there but that he would waive any fees of flights of stairs or any additional storage fees we had incurred. I thought this was already taken care of since we had the note that said $1,700 is the final price, but apparently I was wrong. Finally on Friday August 29th we reached Gili and he promised my fiancé he would be here that weekend on Saturday or Sunday. He repeatedly promised. On Saturday he called us and told us he would be here around 5 o'clock on Sunday August 31st.
On Sunday we began trying to call Gili at 3 o'clock. His cell phone was turned off. My fiancé and I tried calling every half hour after that. He never picked up the entire day. His cell phone remained off. Monday September 1st came and went.
On Tuesday September 2nd Ofir called us in the morning to say he would be there around 2 o'clock and that he expected the final payment of $565 as well as $200 more for storage. This would now bring the total price up to $1900. We had no idea he was even coming that day. We told him; again we had things going on and asked him to come at 4pm. We said we would discuss prices with him when he showed up. Meanwhile, Gili, the manager – still had his phone off.
Ofir arrived around 4:30pm and began demanding more money for storage, for the stairs up to our new apartment, and anything else he could think of. He told us he would not give us back our belongings unless we paid him more.
I warned them what they were doing was against the law. Ofir didn't care. While my fiancé talked to them, I called the police without their noticing. I contacted the local police department and told them of our situation and that we were scared they would hold our stuff ransom unless we gave them any amount of money they asked of us.
The Boston Police arrived around 5pm and an officer named Victor introduced himself. He asked what the situation was, and I explained that we just wanted our belongings back, and according to the contract. Victor understood and asked to see the contract. Victor looked over the contract and asked for our story. Victor noticed the contract did say it would be $75.00 for a flight of stairs. I mentioned we were promised no charge for that, but unfortunately I did not have that in writing. Victor suggested we pay them the $75.00 at the time, and take them to court later. Ofir fought with Victor over the number of flights, feeling there were three when Victor corrected him that there was only one flight. Victor also told Ofir that if we were to pay the $75.00 in addition to the $1700 we already had paid altogether, he must finish the job.
We all agreed on this and Victor left. Ofir had another partner with him and they began bringing in our belongings. We started noticing that some of our furniture had been torn, scratched, and even ruined. Our wooden chair was practically destroyed. Our filing cabinet was ruined. The wooden futon had scratched wood lining it. The Office desk was broken. The small office desk's wood was scratched. Our belongings had been treated poorly. His response was "file it with claims".
Ofir told us we "wanted everything for free" which I think is hardly true, when we paid for $1775 worth of damaged belongings. He also asked me, while waiting for the cops, "Why do you care? It is just furniture!". This upset me because, it is more then "just furniture" it is our belongings that we had paid them to take care of.
Victor, the police officer, visited again and told Ofir to finish his job but told us to follow up with them in court. Ofir finished his work and left very quickly only for us to notice he had hardly finished assembling certain items. I still do not know if Ofir worked for Vanlines4u or for M.G.O. or for both.
. We are looking for compensation for the time, the broken laws, the lies, our damnaged furniture, and for being ordered to give more money to receive our belongings. This was a terrible experience, and I do not want anyone else to suffer from this company "Vanlines4u" or "M.G.O" (which does not exist on better business bureau).
