In May 2008 I spoke with Gisela at Orbit Van Lines and received a quote of $4.00 a cubic foot to for a long-distance move. When I called June 2008 and spoke to Ray to solidify the moving date and leave a down payment, Ray took the liberty to change the original quote and charge $5.00 a cubic foot without telling me. Then, conveniently, the email confirming the charge was never sent and I did not realize the change in price until days later when they finally sent the confirmation email after much prodding. The owner agreed to honor the original quote but added a 10% fuel surcharge in exchange.
On the day of the move, the movers arrived with the contracts stating $5.00 a cubic foot AND a 10% fuel surcharge...pure fraud. After calling the owner the movers agreed to change the contract to the agreed upon price, but then tried to cut corners on everything from wrapping the furniture insufficiently and stacking the furniture in a way to maximize their cubic footage.
Although I requested for the delivery to be made as soon as possible, it took 56 days, periods of unwanted storage in two states, dozens of unreturned phone calls, several conversations saying my belongings were on a truck (only to find out later that they never were on a truck), and even a couple conversations with Ray mockingingly saying federal regulations give him 30 business days to deliver. I believe that my belongings would not have been lost if the delivery had been made in the “14 business days” that I was told repeatedly. The unaffiliated moving company that drove my belongings from California to Seattle explained that Orbit Vanlines/Top Notch Vanlines had stored my belongings “along a wall” and he had little help figuring out exactly which items were mine. Upon delivery, 3 extra large boxes, 4 pieces of framed artwork, and a wood bed frame and headboard were not delivered.
Dealing with Ray's attitude of superiority ("I don't get paid to give apologies" and "I don't care if I lost $5 or $1000 worth of your belongings") to listening to him playing the victim ("If you want to get critical of us" and "We just can't find any drivers with gas as expensive as it is"), led to the most stressful situation I have encountered as a consumer. You are in business; I paid for services; being treated as if I should somehow be grateful to receive your terrible service and have my belongings lost is not acceptable. If you lose an enormous wood headboard, apologize for it.