**Moving adventures in DC

[alohast]

Hello there: I previously posted information on this thread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... ight=la+dc

We are now in DC, and I thought I'd give an update and ask a few more questions....

We ended up using Andy's Transfer in LA, and the people who came to the apt. were very nice and efficient. However the staff back at the office are considerably less so. All our stuff got on the truck OK, and once enroute we headed off to DC to find a place. When we tried to find out where and when exactly our stuff wd arrive, the web was useless -- despite the claim that we cd track our stuff online, all the site wd tell us is that it is "en route" -- and the office staff just told us that it was "on schedule" for May 2.

This was a problem bc. as it turns out we cannot move into our new apt. till mid-May, and as you may know movers storage is expensive -- about $2600 for two weeks. Of course if they moved our stuff into their own warehouse, they wouldnt need a shuttle, which was $900, bringing the cost down to $1700. But Andys told me they would still need a shuttle. WHich I find hard to believe.

So we looked into self-storage, which is considerably cheaper. The problem there is that Andys needs to be convinced that they can fit their 18-wheeler into the self-storage place -- how can i guarantee they can? The guy at the place says they can, but what if it's not?

So I think what we're looking at is having Andys move us into self-storage for a couple weeks, I hope w/o having to use a shuttle, and then hiring another mover to move us from storage to our new apt. It wd be about 3 miles, and about 7900 lbs wrth of stuff. Any recommedations? Thanks in advance.

Finally a word more about Andys: The movers themselves are fine. But the front office is not as helpful as it could be. For instance, instead of telling us what our options were when we said we wdnt have an apt. by May 2 -- the driver may have had some room in his schedule; we cd move into their storage; we cd move into our storage -- we were told, "I think you need to find an apt. by May 2." Which was undoubtedly true, but in our case not possible. Also I had to ask about the shuttle to their own warehouse. Finally I am bothered by the fact that they charged our credit card for the full estimated cost on the day they put it on the truck. Is that SOP? I thought they were supposed to charge on the day they deliver. In our case, the final cost came in about $700 less than the estimate, so I just have to assume that they will credit our acct....

thanks again to everyone here for all your help!

[MusicMom]

If the person at the self-storage place said they can fit a full truck/trailer combo, then the odds are someone has before. Professional truck drivers are VERY good, and can park better than most cars & SUV's I see in parking lots.

[Diane]

Hi - it's standard to charge your credit card on the day of pickup, or at least put a hold on the funds to be sure that the money is there.

Thanks for this balanced report. I'll be hoping that all goes well from now on. Please let us know. There are good small independent movers in DC who can move you out of storage, such as Beltway. You might actually call them to see whether they know anything about tractor-trailer access at the mini-storage place you've chosen, since they have many locations and know the area well.

[Rick]

alohast wrote:

The problem there is that Andys needs to be convinced that they can fit their 18-wheeler into the self-storage place -- how can i guarantee they can?

It’s a long shot but ask the driver or dispatcher to enter the address at Google Maps, switch to the satellite view and zoom down to the lowest resolution to see the access. If its too fuzzy, Google Earth provides better resolution.

[Ruges]

Anouther thing to consider is not all trucks are equal. a 12" difference in wheel base or kingpin to trailer axle can be the difference in the truck getting in or not. One thing that is on your side is the driver needs to make atleast one attempt to get his truck in place.

[alohast]

Thanks again for all your help here... one detail really rankles. It's when Diane says it's SOP to charge your CC upon pickup for the full amt. I signed the release, and I understood it to mean that a hold wd be placed on our card for the full amt on the day of pickup, w. the actual amt charged on day of delivery. Like when you check into a hotel or rent a car.

Instead our card was charged for the full entire amount on the day of pickup. Now, bc we are going into self storage and not using a shuttle (and bc. our stuff weighs less than estimated), the final charge will be some $1500 less than the estimate -- and Andy's says it will take up to four weeks for the credit to appear on our card.

Im sorry, but that's unacceptable. It may well be SOP in the industry -- I just got off the phone w. Andy's and that's what they told me -- but that doesnt mean it's right. And as Andy's told me over the phone, if the charge were in excess of the estimate (and wasn't part of the guaranteed price -- say, we needed a shuttle), then wed have to sign another authorization form and they wd charge us rt away. But since it's a credit, they can take up to four weeks to give it to us -- it all depends on "how long it takes to process the paperwork." Andy's also made the point that they still haven't been paid, NAVL has the money -- but again, that's irrelevant to us, since our card has already been charged. Someone has the money, and it's not us.

[Jim]

alohast, I don't want to get into a whole host of detail, but there is an inference being made (holding a customer's money for an excessive period) that isn't being done to simply hoard money until the mover HAS to let it go. The truth is that (on average) it takes about 3-4 weeks to gather all of the paperwork together associated with the move, review everything that happened with a move, process the paperwork, calculate, and then process a refund. It isn't as simple as putting everything into a scanner, have a machine evaluate everything, and then "poof" you have a refund. It is sometimes very tedious and time consuming because much of the administrative process is manual.

I personally never liked holding money that wasn't mine and refunded the money as soon as I knew how much the credit would be. On the other hand, I wasn't going to give a customer an estimated refund that would likely short-change somebody either way. I understand you don't like the fact that it takes a long time to process a refund. However, it's in everyone's best interest to take the time needed to calculate the correct amount and refund the right amount to you.....

[Diane]

alohast,

What Jim says is true. Your case is kind of complex and it's probably best to let it play out rather than having to revise things later.

Nevertheless, I feel your pain. One company that I like very much, University Van Lines (Atlas) in Rahway, NJ, actually charges the card the correct amount on the day of the move, after the truck is weighed, rather than charging the full amount and then issuing a refund later. They told me that it just seems to work out better that way for both them and the customer. (Note that this type of weight discrepancy is less complex than your situation with the shuttle and all.)

I suspect that this is one of those unfortunate things that is caused by the bureaucratic nature of the van line system. I'm sure that agents like Andy's don't like it either, but they too are trapped. I don't think you're going to get anywhere by getting mad at Andy's. In my view, incidents like yours are one more piece of evidence for going with a strong independent moving company that can make its own rules rather than with a van line agent that has to play by somebody else's rules.

When Andy's told you, "You better find an apartment by May 2nd" they may already have foreseen that something like this was going to happen to the funds and that you would be unhappy. In other words, they were probably worried about it and (in their own way) were trying to warn you. I want to stress, though, that I understand completely where you are coming from in this.

[Nancy]

Alohost, All drivers work on delivery schedules that are determined when the shipment is registered. Therefore, if you signed the Order for Service requesting delivery that included May 2nd, it's inherent upon you to have a place for the goods to be delivered to on that day. The driver can't hold your shipment on the truck until Mid May. The drivers make their income by loading, unloading and taking on more loads. He can't sit in DC and wait for your apartment to become available. Which is why dates are signed for on contracts before the shipment is loaded.

Everyone has pretty much explained the credit card procedure in detail. The aspects of your move seemed to change after your load. It wasn't anticipated by you or the mover, so the charges are less. They'll be refunded in due course.

Also, if additional services were added, they can't charge your card immediately. They are required to wait for 30 after billing to charge any additional services to you.

[ArchieWhite]

And credit cards are not required, you can always pay by cash or certified check...the exact amount can be determined after weighing, and you can pay by one of the other methods and then no problem.