Not-So-Divine Van Lines
Lisa Branton
Submitted this review about
Divine-Vanlines
Review made Live: 12/16/2013 12:50:00 AM
WARNING! This company is scamtastic! They have no problem lying to you repeatedly or stealing your money. They also outsource the actual moving of items. Full story below. I'd flush my money down the toilet than give it to these people again.
I began speaking with Daniel at Divine Van lines on 10/14/13 for a move from CA to NJ planned for late November. Me, my boyfriend and our 6 month old son were moving the contents of our 900 Sq Ft apartment across the country. Daniel quoted us at $1525 based on 300 cubic feet and said it would take approximately 7-10 days to receive out items. He took a verbal list of household items from me as well as helped me estimate the number of boxes the typical 2 bedroom apartment move has (around 30, in Daniels professional opinion). He also told us to expect the movers to arrive at our apartment in CA on either November 25 or November 26.
The Friday before November 25, I called Divine Van lines since no one had contacted me yet to let me know which day to expect the movers. Danielle answered the phone and said they would be at our apartment on November 25. November 25 came and went and no one showed up. Once again I called Divine Van lines and spoke with Danielle who said they'd be there on November 26. She said we were the first pick up of the morning and that they should arrive around 8:30-9:00 AM. At 9 AM I called Divine Van lines since no one had arrived. Danielle told me the driver was on his way and would contact me an hour before he arrived. The driver called me when he arrived at my apartment at 11:00 AM. Just a little late. My boyfriend took care of this end of the move and was there when the driver and two other men arrived. They noted we had stuff that wasn't on Daniel's original estimate list and that it would cost more than double the amount originally discussed. The driver said we now had 700 cubic feet and our new estimate was now $3814.50. The only furniture in this move was my sons crib, changing table, rocking chair, bookcase and a computer chair. The rest of the items were boxes. $3814.50 worth of boxes. OK. We had no choice but to pay them.
As noted on our paperwork, the first available date for delivery was December 4, 2013. Per Daniel, our items would arrive 7-10 days from date of pickup, between December 4-6. On December 5, I contacted Danielle who informed me the scheduled date for delivery of our items was between December 8-13. She said that more than likely our items would arrive December 9 or 10 and that her driver, Victor, was on his way.
On December 6, I contacted Divine Van lines. Danielle answered and said she would call me back after she spoke with her driver. Danielle didn't call me back so I called her. Danielle said she talks to a lot of people throughout the day and forgot to call me back. She also said that due to bad weather, the driver, Victor, was stuck in New York and that he should arrive December 13 or December 14. Danielle said Victor would contact me 24-48 hours in advance to let me know when to expect him. Since no one contacted me by Friday, once again, I called Divine Van lines. Daniel answered this time. He said he'd call me back after he got in touch with the driver, Victor. Daniel never called me back. I called the cell phone of the driver who picked up my items originally. He answered and said that Victor would be at my house on December 15 and apologized for the delay due to bad weather in New York.
On December 14, Victor called me and said his GPS told him he'd arrive at my house on December 15 between 4-7 PM. Victor called me on December 15 at 1:50 PM and said he'd arrive between 1-1.5 hours. Victor and his helper arrived around 3:30 PM on December 15. I noticed when he arrived the DOT number was different than that on Divine Van lines paperwork. Victor informed me he did not work for Divine Van lines. He just picked my items up from them FIVE days ago. He said he got stuck in Texas earlier this week due to bad weather for a night. He hadn't been to New York yet.
Victor delivered my items minus a few boxes and a dolly that didn't make the inventory list either. Also, I paid Divine Van lines to pack my two flat screen TVs for moving, They charged me over $200 to wrap them in bubble wrap and tape an old box around it. The boxes they use for packing aren't meant for the items. It's just whatever left over crap they have and can use to steal your money.
