Bad experience with ABF
Bill
Submitted this review about
ABF UPACK
Review made Live: 6/4/2012 3:03:00 AM
The short story is that ABF/MoveBuilder failed to deliver their service to us and then charged us a $350 penalty fee because we fired them. The key points of the story follow:
-When I scheduled my service with ABF/MoveBuilder, I told them that we had to be moved out of our apartment by Memorial Day (a Monday). Their proposed solution was to deliver a trailer on Thursday, have their movers load the trailer on Friday, and then move the trailer from our premises on Friday. They then told me that it was important for me to get permission from my apartment complex that they could leave the trailer parked overnight (from Thursday to Friday), based on this project plan, I agreed to do business with them and get the requisite permission for Thursday night.
-ABF/MoveBuilder told me that I had to use their movers during the load/unload process in order for my contents to be insured. However, they also told me that as long as the trailer was not in their possession (i.e. from the time their movers loaded the trailer to the time their driver picked up the trailer) that my contents would not be insured. Further, I would also be liable for any injuries/accidents/parking citations/etc. that may result from their truck being parked on the apartment complex premise.
-On Thursday night, I was later given a confirmation call that the movers would arrive between 8 and 10 am on Friday to complete the work. I was also told by the driver that the work would need to be completed by 4pm on Friday or the trailer “probably” would not get picked up until Tuesday of the following week-or even later. He then told me new information…that the movers are not the same company and that they (ABF) are not responsible for movers who fail to complete the work on time.
-On Friday, the movers did not arrive until noon. Two hours later than the time promised by ABF/MoveBuilder. Three movers were sent. They appeared as unprofessional as you would expect for people who show up 2-4 hours late for a job. They were also not in the shape to finish our move in the four hours that it would take to “probably” get the trailer moved before the weekend.
-I called ABF/MoveBuilder to express my concern about the trailer being left over the weekend. They acknowledged that this type of situation happens quite routinely with their company. I asked for a guarantee that the trailer would be removed from my complex on Friday. They refused to make that guarantee. I asked to speak to a supervisor. They said none were available, but that I would be contacted by one later. I was never contacted later by a supervisor.
-Given the corner that ABF/MoveBuilder put me in on the day of my move, I cancelled the service with them. I refused to let the movers touch anything in my house or on the trailer. They did no work on my job.
-ABF/MoveBuilder threatened to charge me three termination fees. $150 for not continuing with the movers, $150 for not continuing with the driver, and $50 for not using their unpackers in Colorado a week later. I told them that I disagreed with such fees being charged to me because ABF/MOVE BUILDER FAILED TO DELIVER ON A SERVICE PROMISE THAT THEY MADE IN GOOD FAITH. They told me that a supervisor would contact me before attempting to charge me these fees. Again, a supervisor never contacted me, but they did decide to charge my credit card the $350.00
The lessons that I learned from this are:
-ABF/MOVE BUILDER HAS AN INCENTIVE TO KEEP THE TRAILER ON THE CUSTOMER’S PROPERTY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE TO REDUCE THEIR LIABILITY FOR YOUR CONTENTS. BEWARE OF ANY CLAIMS MADE BY ABF/MOVE BUILDER THAT THEY WILL REMOVE A TRAILER FROM YOUR PROPERTY ON A SPECIFIED DATE…ESPECIALLY IF THAT DATE FALLS CLOSE TO A WEEKEND.
-ABF/Move Builder quotes service dates and times in bad faith.
-Move Builder requires you to use their movers if you want your contents insured; however, their “movers” are not employees of the company. They subcontract out the work and do not have good systems for ensuring quality. The movers contracted for my job were terrible, and I was forced to use them, which resulted in the bad outcome.
-Do not use ABF/Move Builder
