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Terribly Frustrating Experience
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Terrible Experience with Trans United that led to total frustration for my family and me. I would recommend one to be prudent and stay away from this company. Given below is the complete timeline of my terribly frustrating experience with them. Thursday
05-Jun-2014: William (Bill) sent me a "Binding Moving Estimate” of $1,330.00 for 400 Cu. Ft., and is supposed to include all taxes, fees and surcharges. He also mentioned that they are not like other companies which initially quote a figure and then when their
driver turns up to pick up the belongings, the rate usually gets doubled or tripled. He had also explicitly stated that the delivery timeframe would be up to 21 “Calendar” Days and the same has been explicitly documented in the binding estimate. He told me
about being BBB certified and that they have great ratings and I got convinced with him after doing some basic review of the company. And they scheduled the final pickup time at 10 AM on June 12, 2014 after I paid the initial deposit, 30% of the total amounting
to $399.00. Thursday 12-Jun-2014: The driver, Ben, came 3 hours late in a “Ryder” truck and said that he is the Chief Executive of the company and that Bill reports to him and that we should be proud of meeting him in person. Then he looks at my belongings
and does some calculations and states that I have 635 Cu. Ft. and that my estimate would now be $2,420.00. And when I objected that the initial estimate cannot go wrong by over 50% in terms of Cubic Feet, Ben tells me that I can either accept the estimate
and they will proceed with the loading, or I can forego the initial deposit and find someone else to ship my belongings. I had no option but to accept the increased estimate at that moment since I was scheduled to travel the next morning. The helpers loaded
the truck and they did a great job and the volume was capped at 405 Cu.Ft.. Ben was shocked and couldn’t believe it and he wanted to rip me off with at least something. So, in the final bill of lading, he adds a new fee called the “Gypsy Moth Checklist Fee”
of $140.00 and asks me to make the balance payment now. I objected and stated that no additional fees are acceptable now and that I need to speak to Bill to understand what that fee is and why it was not stated before. However, Bill does not pick up the phone
and I left a voice mail asking him to call back. Meanwhile, Ben got upset and threatens me to pay up and I refused, and then he states that I will “f**king” pay the amount and leaves without handing me over the Bill of Lading or any proof for that matter which
states that he had even picked up my belongings. Bill finally calls up and I asked him what that fee was and why was it not stated to me earlier, and he responds that he is not aware of that fee and that he will get it removed and I can then pay the payment
due. And Bill wants to know whether I even tipped the driver and his helpers!! (Note: The Gypsy Moth Checklist fee as researched on the internet is applicable for outdoor belongings only and specifically for moves from the North-Eastern states to California.)
Friday 13-Jun-2014: I called Bill to check on the status but he does not have any update and states he will get it resolved and that I don’t have to worry. Monday 16-Jun-2014 to Thursday 19-Jun-2014: I call Bill everyday with either no response or with no
resolution on the same. I told him that I do not want my delivery to be impacted just because the payment has not been made, and that too because he is not getting the issue resolved since am ready to pay right now if the fee is taken off. And he said that
there will be no impact because I have been in touch with him everyday and that he will "take care” of it. Friday 20-Jun-2014: I try to reach Bill but he does not pick up the phone. I then call the Customer Service to check on the status, and they tell me
that they have been trying to reach me for the “overdue” payment and that I should pay up. When I objected that I didn’t even get a single call from the company and that I have been calling them everyday since the 12th and that Bill is aware of it, they say
that it is not their problem and that I need to pay up. If there is going to be any adjustment, they ask me to get it adjusted (if any) in the final payment at the time of delivery. I sent the payment($544.00) by mail to the customer service and expressed
my concern again in the mail and marked a copy to Bill. I then call up to check whether they have received the payment and subsequently ask them to update my delivery address. Monday 23-Jun-2014: I call Bill to follow up both by phone and mail but there is
no response. I call up customer service and they told that my belongings are in a storage in Dallas and that they will now schedule to deliver it within 21 “Business” Days. I objected to the new delivery time frame and said that my binding estimate clearly
mentioned it as up to 21 “Calendar” Days and that this is clearly not acceptable and that I have been cheated. They tell me to refer Section 7 of my bill of lading. And I mentioned that I haven’t been provided the same and asked them to send the same. Tuesday
24-Jun-2014 to Thursday 20-Jul-2014: I call Bill everyday with no response and sent several mails too. I called up Customer Service also almost every other day, with hold times often exceeding 45 minutes and/or calls being disconnected unceremoniously, but
they don’t have any update and with every day passing, the calls became frustrating with rude responses from the Despatch/Customer Service representatives, specifically a lady named “Tiara” or some name similar to it. The most common response was that there
are no trucks going to California and that once my good are loaded onto a truck, I will be getting a call. When I demand that I speak to some manager, she says that she will ask their “General Manager” to call me, but their General Manager didn’t even bother
to call. I was told that my belongings were confirmed to be loaded into a truck on July 21, 2014. Monday 21-Jul-2014 to Thursday 24-Jul-2014: The truck, supposedly loaded with my belongings, had some problem and was in the workshop for some repairs. Friday
25-Jul-2014: I call the Customer Service to get an update that the truck is finally set and and that my belongings have been loaded and that I will get a call from the customer 24 hours before the delivery. Monday 28-Jul-2014 to 03-Aug-2014: I called almost
every day to get a status update on when the truck will deliver my belongings but they did not have an update. They kept saying that the driver does not pick up calls while driving since he can be penalized $10,000 for talking while driving, and that the driver
will call me. Monday 04-Aug-2014: After being put on hold for several minutes, I am asked by the “General Manager” Melissa that how come my belongings have not yet been delivered and she expected it to be delivered by now. And she says that she is taking personal
attention on it now due to the delay. She hangs up after stating that she will get back shortly with a “confirmed” update. And, for a change, yes, the first time, she did call and state that she spoke to the truck owner and the owner confirmed that the belongings
will be delivered the next day, and that the driver will call me any minute after I hang up the phone. She also stated that if the driver does not call, I can call her back right away and she will share the driver’s number. Well, the driver never called and
she never picked her phone, and the Customer Service representative “Tiara" refused to share the number. Tuesday 05-Aug-2014: I call Customer Service again, and after being put on hold by "Tiara" several times, she says that my goods will be delivered on Thursday/Friday.
I reach out to the online chat representative, Kevin Parrish, and express my dissatisfaction at their services, the delay and the Gypsy Moth Fee. Interestingly, even he was not aware of such a fee and said that such things can only happen in California. Wednesday
06-Aug-2014: No updates as expected from Customer Service or the driver. Thursday 07-Aug-2014: I finally receive a call from United Moving Inc in the evening asking me to provide the delivery address so that they can deliver on Saturday, 09-Aug-2014. So, it
looks like Trans-United subcontracted the delivery to United Moving since they did not have any trucks going to the West Coast, and they didn’t even bother to provide them the delivery address. Friday 08-Aug-2014: I call up Customer Service asking them to
send me an updated final invoice after deducting the $30 per-diem for the delay. They send me the final invoice of $334.00 after deducting $210 for 7 days delay, but do not bother to communicate to United Moving. Meanwhile, the despatch from United Moving
call me and state that they are going to deliver tonight itself and state that the due amount is $1088.00. I try to make several calls to reach the despatch and the customer service from Trans-United but they are gone for the day. I try to contact them through
the online chat representative, Kevin Parrish, and he refuses to help and states that am a “cheap” guy and shouldn’t have moved to California. This just shows the kind of people and service provided by Trans United. After getting frustrated, I request "Lee"
from United Moving to help out by reaching out to Trans United and she does, and she was told that am due $394.00. When I told Lee that the amount is incorrect and sent her my new invoice, she again calls Trans United and finally they accept that the amount
I stated is correct. Finally the driver from United Moving arrives at 10:30 PM and by the time he was finished dropping off everything and assembling the dis-assembled pieces of furniture, it was past midnight. And we identified a couple of missing items and
we do not even want to bother following up with them any more. To summarize: They mislead you about their delivery timeframes. They lie about "Binding Quotes – GUARANTEED NOT TO EXCEED PRICES!”. They had a rude driver trying to rip you off with ridiculous
estimates and when not successful adding unscrupulous charges. They lie about “No Middleman or Third-Party involved”. They lie about “Transporting Household Goods in our OWN trucks”. They lie about “Specializing in …WEST COAST Relocations” They lie about “We
make a pick-up and the SAME truck makes Final Delivery” They lie about “We guarantee YOUR PICK-UP and DELIVERY DATES" They lie about “provided outstanding service to our clients across the USA"
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