I SHOULD HAVE STUCK WITH ABF
Written: Oct 26 '07
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Pros: Honesty, quick, reliable, great service on-time.
Cons: I had to sweep-out an ABF trailer. It wasn't too bad. Not worth complaining about.
The Bottom Line: ABF is highly reliable. There are no surprises with them, as there are with other companies.
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| skigalini's Full Review: ABF U-Pack Moving |
ABF = Trustworthy, dependable, less hassle.
I used ABF twice before my previous move. Basically, they would drop off a 28-foot trailer in my driveway and I would hire local movers to load it and unload it.
ABF has always been dependable for me. However, being economy-minded as I am, and having a wife who is an economist, I sought competitive bids from full-service carriers (they load, move and unload). That was my biggest mistake. Boy did I ever get screwed. Got a second? Read this ...
World Moving Services/Avalon - THIEVES:
One of the competitive carriers (can't remember the name) went by density (approximate feet) and the other went by weight (that's World Moving Services/Avalon). I told both of them that I have a 3 bedroom house that takes between 21 and 24 feet of space in an ABF or other large trailer.
The carrier that went by 'space' was at least $3000 higher than ABF. The one that went by weight, World Moving Company (subcontracting Avalon Moving Services), was about $600 less. Before signing a contract with World Moving Services/Avalon, they stated that 24 feet of space would be the approximate equivellant of 3600 lbs. Heck, I didn't know how much my stuff weighs. Then I signed the contract with World Moving Services/Avalon and the nightmare began.
They stated in a contractural guarantee that my window for pickup was 48 hours. Reluctantly, I went along with it. On the first day, they rescheduled 3 times. First, we had a 3-hour warning, then a "sorry we can't make it. Then it was 7:00 am the next morning and we prepared ourselves. 7:00am came, then 8:00 am, then 9:00 am. Nothing. Then I got the call. They assured me that it would "for sure" be between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm in the evening on the second day of the 48 hour window.
I moved half the house to the driveway to speed up the process. Keep in mind I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old boys that were hungry, haven't slept good and needed to be in bed that night before 10:00 pm.
Then the driver's dispatch (Avalon) calls me at 7:30 pm and said it would be a couple of more hours. By this time it was getting dark outside. I strung lights for safety purposes to help the movers load once they arrived.
Then the driver called me at 10:00 pm and said he would be there in 3 hours. I was angry at that point and said we had to get some sleep and I could not start loading at 1:00 am in the morning. The driver (who barely spoke English) said he would meet us at 7:00 am in the morning. By the time I got everything out of the driveway and back into the house and garage, it was 1:00 am. I went to a hotel that cost $180 per night (average rate in Phoenix in November) because it is peak tourist season in Phoenix.
We got only 3-1/2 hours of sleep and then went back to the house, arriving at 6:50 am. Finally, at 9:30 am, the driver shows. The driver walks through the house and tells me that I have probably 15,000 lbs of stuff and that my cost would probably be 4 or 5 times the original estimate. Let me see ... that means I would have to pay about $15000 for 22-feet of load. Oh My God. I almost had a heart attack.
The driver then opened up the back of his 24-foot bobtail truck and I saw that it was halfway loaded. Only 12-foot of space left on his truck. I was so mad that I threw a fit, said a few explanatives, and got everyone angry at me. This company (World Moving Services/Avalon) had not only showed up a day late, but they deprived me of my sleep before a long 2300-mile journey across the continent with my family, made the price five times higher than the original estimate and now this (12-foot of space for a 24-foot load). I told the driver that he is past the 48 hour window, that I originally stated that my load takes 21 to 24 feet and now he only has 12-foot of available space. Service failure was my reason for cancelling.
The driver said that another truck could come by sometime within a day or two and pick up the other half of the load from my house, then my load would be reloaded a couple of times before it got to me. I said that it sounds like ar recipe for busted TV sets, broken mirrors and damaged goods to me. I told him to get lost.
I called World Moving Services and their dispatch, Avalon Moving Services and cancelled the move due to service failure.
I then called the local ABF terminal and spoke to the Manager. He dispatched an ABF trailer to me within four hours. I had local movers already on-hand and was on my way that same evening. Wow!
ABF came through for me. I cancelled my credit card before World Moving Services could make further charges against me. However, World Moving services keeps calling me and telling me that I breached a contract and they are threatening to collect almost $4000 from me.
I received no services, nothing from World Moving Services/Avalon and now I'm in a bitter financial dispute with them.
World Moving Company and Avalon Moving Services are scheisters and thieves. They are extremely disorganized and cost me very much in loss of time, hotel cost, anguish, arguments between me and my spouse and time-loss at work because of their late arrival and changing prices.
I will NEVER use anything but ABF again. I learned my lesson. World Moving Company and Avalon are truly cheats and crooks and are still fighting me to steal my hard-earned money which they did not earn and don't deserve. The nightmare is not over.
I'm just an engineer and a consumer, just like you. Please do not consider these 'good deals' on moving. Go with ABF and rest easy. They have now moved me 3 times. All three times it was nothing but professional and they do what they say they will. No tricks or entrapment with ABF like some of the other companies. ABF is a stellar company with integrity.
Scott Shamblin
8611 Concord Mills Blvd., Ste. 111
Concord, NC 28027
Work – 704-850-2082
Cell - 704-421-3882
Emails: scott.shamblin.ext@areva.com / scottshamblin@aol.com
Recommended:
Yes
Punctuality: Showed up early
Ease of Filing Claim: N/A
Lost Goods: No
Amount Paid (US$): $2700
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Epinions.com ID:
skigalini
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Reviews written: 2
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