Worse than Terrible
Bjorn Frogner
Submitted this review about
Win Van Lines
Review made Live: 11/8/2009 10:23:00 PM
Worse than terrible: They are dishonest, unreliable, and incompetent
I chose WinVanLines because they gave me an estimate of $2,993.01 to move all my furniture and household items in my 3 bedroom home from Bay Area in California to Annapolis in Maryland. However, after the movers had packed all my things into the moving truck on August 14, they told me that the total cost would be $4,712.75. That is 57% higher than estimated and that is after I decided to leave my heavy upright piano behind! Their main reason for the increase was that they packed some of my stuff and their packing was expensive. It is correct that they packed some (maybe 10%) of my oddball stuff, but I never imagined that it would increase the cost that much. But, what was my choice at that time?
I later looked at the contract which said: “The estimate is non-binding.” So, I suppose their estimates are worthless and just serve to mislead their customers into giving them the business.
Anyway, I needed to start driving to Maryland the next day and I had no time to argue. But, I told the foreman clearly, and we wrote down on the moving instructions, that the truck should arrive in Annapolis no earlier than September 4. Furthermore, WinVanLines agreed to keep my stuff in local storage in Santa Clara up to 30 days or until I told them to move it.
After I arrived in Annapolis, I found out that my home was not going to close as planned and I had to shop for a new home. But suddenly the moving company called me to let me know that the truck would arrive on August 29; leaving me no choice but finding local storage in Annapolis. When I called WinVanLines to complain, they initially denied that we had made any arrangement regarding date of arrival. However, once I pointed out what it said on the front page of the contract, they eventually had to back down.
When the moving truck arrived, the truck driver was alone. He said: “Since you have no home, we do not need helpers.” The truck driver unloaded all my stuff in a local storage I had rented and I unpacked most of the furniture for the next 5 hours on a very hot Sunday afternoon. The truck driver wanted the blankets used to wrap the furniture, otherwise “he would charge me $15 for each blanket.”
The day after all my stuff was in storage, I called WinVanLines. After some discussion, they agreed to arrange to have local movers help me when I was ready to move into my new home on September 27. According to the contract, WinVanLines was supposed to unpack and assemble all my furniture in my new home. However, when the day came, no movers showed up. So, I had to move it all with the help of my daughter, her boyfriend, and my wife. It was a terrible day that almost broke my 63 years old back.
I made numerous calls on the day of my local move. Although I did reach a woman in their office, she was completely unhelpful. When I called WinVanLines the next day, the customer support person (Simon) made excuses by saying that he made a deal with local movers so it was not his fault. After some heated phone calls the next few days, he offered to pay me $150 as compensation. My extra expenses beyond the $4,712.75 I already had paid WinVanLines, was $190.53 for the local storage and $106.72 for a local truck. So, $150 seems highly inadequate.
Since that time, I have made at least 15 phone calls asking for the $150 which I still have not received. Simon promised to pay, he told me I will get the check soon, the check is in the mail, etc., etc. The only conclusion I can reach is that people in this company lie on purpose. My impression is that they have no intention of paying and they are just waiting for me to give up.
So, I feel compelled to write this review with a recommendation that you do not do business with these guys. My experience with WinVanLines was simply terrible.
