On August 3rd, TransAmerica Moving arrived to start the move, and we gave them a cashier’s check in the amount of $1,522.00. They were surprised at how long it took them to get to our residence (probably about 9 hours from Southern CA) and were in a huge hurry to get back on the road. The told us they were heading all the way back to So. CA and that our things were going to be put in storage. Everything was rushed in the end, and the result was that things were not taken that should have been. We were told Joy would contact us with a final amount due.

After arriving in Illinois, we waited a couple of weeks and never did hear from Joy or TransAmerica. We called and spoke with Joy and asked her the status of our move. Joy told us she didn’t know and would get back to us. We also asked her for a total amount due, and she told us she would let us know. Joy never called back, and a few days later we called again and asked her if she had a delivery date scheduled. She told us she would have to check with dispatch and get back to us. It had been almost 3 weeks since they picked up our things, and at the time we were going to be out of town for a week, so we told her to not schedule delivery during that week. She told us she would leave us a message and let us know what was going on.

When we returned, we contacted Joy again and asked for the status of our things, since she failed to call us with a message and update. She told us that there was delivery scheduled for September 6th, 7th, or 8th, and that the driver would contact us. We asked again what the total amount due would be, and again she told me she would get back to us. Again, she failed to do so. After having our things for over a month, TransAmerica did not deliver on the 6th, 7th, or 8th, and no one contacted us delaying or canceling the “scheduled” delivery.

After several more conversations with TransAmerica during the week of September 13-19, we received no new information. We were told a few different conflicting stories, from “there was an issue that was finally resolved”, to “oh, I thought you were all taken care of”, back to “I’ll need to contact dispatch and find out if a truck with your stuff on it is heading that way”. Never once was there any remorse from Joy about what we as a family that had just moved across the country was going through. Never any sign of urgency to make things right. It was literally a challenge to get any answers out of TransAmerica and Joy. It wasn’t until we continually called TransAmerica and asked for the name and number of someone in charge of Joy, which we were constantly told that she was the only one that could help us, that there seemed to be some action taking place. Joy contacted us on September 23rd and told us that delivery was scheduled for September 25th or 26th and that the driver would contact us with an exact date and time. Again we asked for the total amount due, and for the first time we were made aware of the balance when she faxed us the amount due of $4,848.00. The driver called on September 23rd and informed us he would be making the delivery on September 28th instead. The driver called again on September 26th and changed the delivery date again to September 27th.

We were surprised by the drastic increase from the original estimate and irritated by the delay and inconvenience of such a late delivery, as well as having no notice of the amount due. We contacted the Department of Transportation to find out what our rights and responsibilities were in this situation and what recourse we could have against TransAmerica for their lack of cooperation and late delivery. DOT said that we were only required to pay the original estimated cost plus 10%, and the remaining balance would go to a 30 day due date, and we could file a complaint for the late delivery. They also told us that due to the increase in weight hence the increase in the cost, that we could request the load be reweighed and could witness the reweigh as part of our rights.

On September 27th, the driver arrived at our residence in Illinois, 7 weeks later than we were told and expected. We explained to him, Tony, the situation and asked him to have the load reweighed. Tony told us that he could not do that as he had two other loads on his truck to be delivered. We told Tony that if he weighed full now and again after our belongings were unloaded, then he could give us an accurate weight. He told us he wasn’t going to be able to do the reweigh. We told Tony that we were not able to get to the bank to get any money as he called on Saturday afternoon after the bank had already closed to tell us that he would be delivering on Sunday instead. Tony told us he would not be able to unload and that he would return Monday morning.

On September 28th, Tony arrived again. We handed him a cashier’s check drawn in the amount of $1672.00, the amount still owed from the original quote plus 10%. We explained to Tony what we had been told by the DOT. Tony told me he was not able to make that decision and he would have to call the office to find out how to proceed. After about an hour and no word on what was going on, we called TransAmerica and asked to speak to Joy. Another Tony answered the phone and told us that Joy was not in the office at the time. We explained to Tony what was going on and he told us, “You’ve had seven weeks to get the money together” and then told us that he would have Joy call us back. A few minutes passed and Joy called. We told Joy that we were not happy with what was happening and informed her of what we were told by the DOT. We let her know that we had the money due her as explained by the DOT and requested delivery. Joy told us she had told us the balance due weeks ago and that she would not deliver without payment in full. Joy also said she had paperwork with our signature on it verifying we were aware of the total due long ago. We have not signed any paperwork from TransAmerica that shows a final amount, so we asked Joy to fax the copies to us. Joy told us she would. The driver was told not to deliver our property and drove our things to storage. We have yet to receive a fax from TransAmerica showing the final balance and a date before September 23rd with our signatures on it.

During the “delivery” on September 28th, and the phone calls determining what would happen since we didn’t have the final amount due, Tony from the offices of TransAmerica informed us that we would now be obligated to pay $500 each day the moving truck was at our house, as well as storage fees. He was even threatening us that he was some federal law guy, and that the next person he better hear from is our attorney. Now, I ask you, where was this all-mighty Tony guy when I kept asking for a decision-maker besides Joy to contact me during all this?

We’ve called the DOT again and explained to them what had happened, and the representative told us that they could not hold our property hostage, and that offering them what we had was fulfilling our contractual obligations to TransAmerica. The representative told us that TransAmerica’s actions at this point were illegal and were violating our rights.

It’s been 11 weeks since TransAmerica Moving picked up our belongings in California, and we still have not received them. The only communication from TransAmerica since September 28th is a very generic email informing us that they still have our property, we still have a balance due, and that they would like to work things out with us. It was about 3 sentences long, and signed only by TransAmerica Moving. We are taking the next step with this. What I’m learning is that most people just pay them the money they say they owe, and let it go. We’ve been told quite a few times that it would be cheaper for us to do the same, rather than pay the fees that may add up if we press charges. We believe this is exactly why they have gotten away with this for so long. We would never want anyone to go through what we have, and are committed to making them get more than just a slap on the hand.

http://www.nwcn.com/localnews/consumer/stories/NW_091009GJB-movers-mark-up-cost-TP.16a7b1b4a.html