Metro Van Lines

Review: [redacted] quoted a move for me from [redacted], VA to [redacted], VA to move my parents on April 28, 2014. This is a 5 hour trip and was scheduled for a Monday morning. The person who was handling this move for me, Stephanie, was wonderful. However, I could tell her hands were tied by a very rude and overbearing supervisor. After being on the phone with them all day trying to find out their ETA, at 5:00pm I was told that the supervisor was put on permanent leave and the General Manager was not going to do this move at the quoted price, approximately $1,500.00. He said it had been quoted incorrectly and he had no intention of sending anyone unless I agreed to pay $4,000.00. So at 5:00pm on the day of the scheduled move, my sister and I, stranded 5 hours from home, were on the phone trying to find another mover that could come the next day and complete the move. The house had been sold and we were supposed to have been out by Monday. Everything in the house had been packed up and the furniture shrink-wrapped. There was no phone, computer or cell service as this was in the mountains. We had to go to the nearest town to get enough cell service to search for movers and make phone calls in the hope that someone would answer after hours. However, as a result, we had to unpack blankets, pillows and several other items in order to stay another night at the house. Not only did they breach the contract, to date, they refuse to refund my deposit, the General Manager has yet to speak with me directly and they will no longer answer my phone calls.Desired Settlement: Deposit refund of $100.00.

Review: We were contacted by the company in question (Metro Van Lines) responding to our general request for moving information. The company was vying for our business with over 5 emails and 5 telephone calls; this was simular to other companies vying at the time. While discussing the move the company offered an all inclusive flat fee (email attached) and then asked for a list of items to be shipped. We provided the list and the company gave an estimate that was higer than we thought was reasonable--they adjusted their estimate and put it in writing. The whole conversation the employee continued to offer a move that had no hidden costs and was a flat rate.

There were numerous discussions on the phone and email between us and the company--Credit card authorization, deposit, and other particulars--The company continued to state it was a flat rate. We then confirmed via email, as written in the contract that we would need to pay 70% of the estimate at pick up--We were very specific in the email and they resonded in email with an exact amount that would be due at pick-up.

At pack up and pick up date the driver showed up and immediately stated that the contract we had was not valid and showed a new contract that did not reflect an all inclusive move and he further started discussing how this move was going to cost us some 400% more than the estimate we received. An example of this was that the three medium sized pictures we had would cost about $1,700 alone to ship--Thes are simpll two mirror and one framed poster. He also insisted that we sign a new contract. We immediately called the company and they made him hand correct the contract and when we made a hand correction to the contract only to add language that was missing and that was only and clearly on the original contract the driver scratched out the language we put in.

Bottom line the driver intimidated and refused to do any work without signing the incorrect and now manipulated contract. During the pack out, which only took 2 hours as there was only one room of items he continually talked about how it was going to cost more. After the pack out we followed the driver to the weigh station where they left all the packing equipment and material on the truck and it was weighed with that material on it--Virtually none of it used iin our move because we did our own packing except for the mirrors and one picture. The contract clearly stated that the tuck was empty when weighed. Three companys estimated out weight--All came in under 2,000 pounds--The final weight which they now refuse to share when we asked on the phone--is somewhere over 3,5000. They insisted that we now write them a check for the new ammount of the total weight they manipulated. So we went from having to write a check for $998--which they put in writing to a check for over $2500--they threatened to not deliver and that the itemes would eventually be trashed or sold if we did not produce a check immediately!

We tried to reason with the company during all this time and they continually hung up the the phone and would not address any of our concers.

They nee to be honest, give us the correct weight live up to their agreement for a flat rate and refund the maoney we paid. We will only pay what is due under the agreement and the contract.

[redacted] and [redacted]Desired Settlement: Apology, and adjusted bill and refund of overpayment

Review: I recently hired Metro Van Lines to help me move from a one bedroom apartment in [redacted] to my new condo in [redacted]. Metro Van Lines sent a man named [redacted] to my one bedroom apartment on 12/27/2012 at 10:00 AM to take a look at my furniture and provide me an on-site quote. I was given a written quote of $1140, which included 9 hours for moving ($99/hour), one hour for travel time and $150 for including my [redacted] condo association as the additional insuree on the insurance provided by Metro Van Lines. I was told as well as it was stated in the written quote that the quote would include all packing material and handling cost for all of my furniture. I paid Metro Van Lines $249 which included one hour ($99) for deposit and $150 for the insurance.

On the day of the move (2/9/2013), three men from Metro Van Lines showed up at my apartment at 8:00 AM as scheduled. Only one person could speak English; his name was [redacted]. While the other two men moving my boxes, [redacted] walked around my apartment, took a look at my furniture and then provided me a new quote of $2340, which covered 7 hours of moving, one hour of travel time, additional packing material charges ($1164), 3% convenience fee for using credit card, a 15% fuel charge, and $150 for the insurance. The reason that there were only 7 hours and not 9 hours for moving is because my condo renovation completion was late and hence the furniture just needed to be delivered to the new condo, but not assembled. [redacted] told me that the $99 hourly rate only included the blankets for the wooden furniture. Since some of my wooden furniture have glasses, the $99 hourly rate did not apply. I called [redacted] with the hope that he would verify what he told me during the site visit, but he denied that his quote included packing material and handling for all of my furniture. Due to all of the arrangements that I already made, I had no choice but let them proceed with the move. Around noon, they took a lunch break and then [redacted] told me that I needed to pay them my balance of $2308, which included his 8 AM estimate and one extra hour, before they delivered my furniture to my [redacted] condo. I paid them! At 3:50 PM, in my [redacted] condo, they stopped the move and [redacted] told me that it would take an extra 20 minutes to bring up the rest of my boxes and that I needed to pay another hour before they continued. In the mean time, he also asked me for a 15-20% tip ($408-$544) and made me fill out the survey in front of him. I paid them the extra one hour which added up to a total payment of $2722, filled out the survey and told him that I could not afford to give him any tip since I was already charged an additional $1582 on top of the written on-site quote. I was so upset, but I could not say or do anything because I was so afraid that they would damage my furniture/belongings and would not deliver all of them.

On 2/12/2013, I spoke to a Manager at Metro Van Lines and explained my situation to her. Her name is [redacted]. [redacted] promised me that she would check with [redacted] and [redacted] and get back to me. I called her again on 2/13/2013 and she had no update for me. I told her that I had to travel for work and asked if she could keep me posted on her finding via email or phone. I did not hear from her. On 2/20/2013, I called Metro Van Lines and asked to speak with [redacted]. An Assistant Manager named [redacted] answered the phone. [redacted] refused to provide me her last name and told me that [redacted] was busy. I explained my situation to [redacted] and asked for her help. While I was on the phone with [redacted], she kept telling me that even though the written quote stated that packing material and handling of all furniture were included in the quote, the statement implied for wooden furniture only. I asked if there was anything that she could do for me. She said No.

I am really hoping that my complaint will help other people to avoid my horrible experience with Metro Van Lines. The written quote and payment receipts will be sent to you. Thanks for your help.Desired Settlement: Receive a refund of $1403 from Metro Van Lines

Review: Spoke with the company and received a quote of $375. I also spoke with a sales person by the name of [redacted]. I have numerous questions for her about the business and the charges for the move. She told me that everything was included in the $75 an hour and nothing else would be charged. The movers arrived and told me that the information she gave was all incorrect and that I could not stop this move unless I paid the whole fee. He then made me sign everything and I ended up with a bill of $971 and had to tell them to not move items just to get my price down to $597. All of my money that I was alloted to move with and plus was gone in less than 3 hours. The minimum moving time was 4 hours and I only needed 3 hours which I told [redacted] in one of our telephone conversations. I paid $75 deposit and they charged me an extra $10. I called the manager said her name was [redacted] and spoke with her about the issues and she told me that she could do nothing but talk to the sales associate and apologize. I told her I would be reporting this issue she stated she did not care and her such a rude attitude while explaining to me I would never get a refund. I called back after realizing I was charged an extra $10 and was told I would be refunded my money but was not asked my name or to confirm the card number I used. I have never been so ripped off in my life. As a civilian or military member.Desired Settlement: I would like to receive the rate that I was told about and not all the rediculous added fees and to let all other military members and civilians that this company needs to be avoided and shut down for good. I felt I should have been treated better and not lied to.

Review: I contacted Metro Van Lines, LLC and asked for an estimate to move our furniture from a residence in [redacted], VA to our new residence in [redacted], VA. They responded with an estimate of 4 men and a 26’ truck for a 4 hour move to load and unload, plus 1 hour of travel time at $110.00 per hour for a total of $550.00. I scheduled the move for August 1, 2013 at 8-9AM. On August 1 around 9:30AM I contacted the office to inquire as to where the crew was. At that time I was informed that the crew would be there at 11:00AM. At 11:30AM I called the office again and was told they would be a little past noon. At 1:00PM I called once more and this time was informed that it would be closer to 2:00PM before the crew would arrive.

A crew showed up a little after 2:00PM with a 24’ truck half full of furniture from a previous job. We were told by the driver that they would not be able to take our 3 rooms of furniture in this truck unless they made 2 trips which would cost extra. We informed them that we were promised a 26’ empty truck and would not pay for a 2nd trip because they brought one that was half full. The driver told us that unless we agreed to the additional trip and cost they wouldn’t load the truck. They were asked to leave at this point. Approximately 30 minutes after the departure of the crew, the office called me to apologize for the inconvenience and offered to send a crew with an empty truck the next morning, which we agreed to.

Friday, August 2, 2013 at 8:00AM, the new crew arrived and we began the paperwork to start the move. It was at this time that we were presented with a blank service agreement and told to sign it. My husband objected to signing anything that was blank and asked why it couldn’t be completed before a signature was required. We were told that per company policy, it was to be completed at the end of the move. When the driver was questioned further, we were also told that we would be charged for a 4 hour travel time at $110.00 per hour instead of the agreed upon 1 hour of travel. We were also told that unless we signed the blank agreement form they would not move us, so this crew was also asked to leave and we made other arrangements to move our furniture.

Metro Van Lines, LLC had a signed estimate for $550.00 and a deposit of $110.00. They however, fraudulently ran through a $300.00 charge that we were not aware of, nor authorized. We are requesting a return of all monies taken by this company.Desired Settlement: This company should really be out of business. Apparently what they have done to us is a regular business practice for them based on the Revdex.com's reviews.