Across U.S.A. Moving & Storage

                Admirers of a well-played bait-and-switch should by all means engage Across USA Moving and Storage.  It will cost you a bundle but you’ll see masters at work.
 
                We agreed on a price for a move from Houston to Durango, Colo.  At the pickup, the foreman loaded everything and then informed our daughter that the cost would be $5,000 above the original figure.  Part of that was justified because we had underestimated the number of boxes needed – but not by $5,000.
 
                Another $1,625 was tacked on for packing materials.  Again, part of it was justified as we needed boxes for a large-screen TV, mattresses and a few other items.  We did not need, for example, an ironing board padded and covered with tape.  We asked repeatedly for an itemized bill for these materials and never received one.
 
                At delivery, on a Sunday, the foreman demanded an additional $1,221, claiming that the parking area at our condo complex would not accommodate his van and he had to rent a smaller truck to shuttle in the goods from the street.  We had already measured the area and knew the space was adequate.  A blind chimpanzee could have maneuvered the van into position directly in front of our unit.
 
                When we told the foreman we would contact the company’s office on Monday to resolve the matter, he threatened us with an added fee of $250 to hold our goods overnight.
 
                In addition, five pieces of furniture were broken.  Of those, only two could be repaired.  Numerous heavy-duty packing boxes looked like they had been tossed from a truck.
 
                Finally, we assembled and filed all the required documentation to their settlement company, waited two months for a decision and were told we were entitled to a refund of $72 provided we made no complaint to the Better Business Bureau or elsewhere.
 
                Perhaps the most disturbing element of the entire sad scenario is that we had checked up on Across USA beforehand and found good reviews online.  If this is a reputable moving company, how must the shady operators conduct their affairs?
 
Ed and Marjorie Fowler, Durango, Colo.

Service cost: $9109

I have not received my stuff yet, but I must say my experience with this company so far has been terrible.  
 
Poor coordination, unreliable movers, and terrible customer service.  The replies from the different service representatives I have talked to have not been in line and are occasionally dishonest. 
 
My pick update was a mess.  If you take off work for a window of time or have a busy day, don't expect them to match that window.  After waiting around for quite some time for a pick up estimate, I called at 3PM, saying that I really need to get some things done, is it okay for me to leave.  She said that the movers would arrive at 7PM at the earliest and I would get a one hour warning.  I leave my house, drive about 40 minutes away to take care of some things.  Immediately, I get a call saying the movers will be here in 45 minutes (5:30 PM) and if I am not there, they will have to reschedule pick up for tomorrow.  
 
I was told on the phone a cashiers check would be acceptable for pick up and delivery, so I went to the bank and payed for both one for pick up and one for delivery.  Of course, when I talk to Robin on the phone, she says a cashiers check will not be acceptable for delivery.  When I said I was not told that, she makes it sound like it is a misunderstanding on my end instead of taking responsibility for the poor communication on their end. 
 
After coordinating via email with Robin, she had told me she would get back with a move estimate of the day my stuff would arrive "tomorrow".  They rarely answer their phones or return phone calls unless you leave a pretty unhappy message. Two days later, my call was returned and Robin says that she will call me this weekend to give me a delivery estimate when they have a driver.  That will be a a week and a half after my pickup date and my stuff has just been in a warehouse.  To get the sale, they will mention that it's usually 4-5 days from Texas to Seattle, but they fail to mention that your stuff will sit in a warehouse for 1-2 weeks before hand, you only find that in the fine print.  When I complained that she is not getting back to me when she says she is and not delivering estimates when promised, she lies saying she left  me a voicemail yesterday.  If she left me a voicemail, there would have been a voicemail. Again, a failure to take responsibility for poor service.  
 
This is a dishonest, poorly run company.  Don't be fooled by the polite service representatives on the front end. Updates soon when my stuff actually arrives.  
 .

Service cost: $1150

Nick, Joey and Memo showed up at the apartment in a timely manner. They explained the process over the phone because I couldn't be there and had all my paper work ready. "They moved the boxes and furniture,swiftly and with professionalism avoiding any damage" That's what Yani told me; she filled in for me. They were very polite and courteous to my friends who had to take over and helped them understand the process with ease. They notified me every step of the way any changes being made or any concerns. I felt like I was present during the entire process. I will definitely recommend their services to anyone moving. Excellent job.

Service cost: $1500

Kenneth quoted me at  long-distance move of just over $2700.00 I placed a $100.00 deposit on my card to reserve a move date of Wed 8/20/14 with a back-up date of Thursday 8/21/14.  I was given a morning move time, then lead on all day, with excuses of a broken down truck, a late previous move.  They showed up smelly and tired looking at nearly 8pm.  The lead Andrew he goes by "AJ" then stated it will take 2 hours to move my items and they will wrap them and get them on the truck.  He promptly demanded I pay him with my certified funds for the move they had not even performed.  Once they were paid the movers initially moved the boxes as if they would complete it in a timely manner.  Well that lasted all but 30 minutes.  They were taking my belongings outside and placing them on the ground.  They would disappear, one kept talking to his wife, cursing complaining about how he was going to quit, even the lead said he was either calling off the next day or starting late.  This Andrew guy reassured me my items would be wrapped and everything would fit and gave time estimates, all lies!  They never wrapped anything, he then began his trained scam.  He stated I was over my "cubic feet" and I would have to pay more, he stated 75 cubic feet, 100 random quotes as looked blankly in the air.  Did I mention he stunk, I mean this guy's BO was out of this world everytime he walked by he lit up the entire condo.  He then stated they were out of room on the truck and what did I want to do.  He stated the truck was filled to the max, to which I stated a semi was quoted for the move and it should all fit.  When I viewed the truck it was a large UHAUL, Andrew then revealed 2 other moves were on the truck.  So I stated, why am I at fault for you showing up late then with 2 other moves on the truck thereby making it impossible for my items to fit.  I demanded they return the next day and complete the move as quoted.  To which Andrew stated they will probably charge you a fee.  I advised I will not pay any additional fees for your lack of professionalism, it was your  issue.  These guys continue to stagger about dropping my items they then left at about 12:15am so I thought, they could be heard making noise until after 1:00am.  When I exited my home after 2:00am there was trash thrown about my community, water bottles tossed outside my door, 7-11 cups on the ground, boxes left and my plant was left on my door step.  The crew less 2 from the night before returned in the afternoon on Thursday demanding more money for coming back.  Mind you another moving coordinator from their corporate office apologized then ensured they would return by 10am with no further charges.  The crew moved my items from my garage and my dining room table and glass pieces for the top of the table.  Andrew then presented a quote for for double the fee for delivery, which was $1311.44 was now over 2600.00 due on delivery.  He then proceeded to advise I would be charged for the tape and shrink wrap to wrap my items.  I would be charged for everything item not on Kens' list, mind you as Ken and I were discussing the quote he was very non-chalant and careless, I now know intentionally leaving things off of the quote to low-ball me initially.  I was then told to call the Customer Service Manager and request and adjustment.  When I viewed my garage things had been left behind that should have been taken, a printer was smashed on the ground.  The following day I discovered screws and other items in my trash center that lead me to believe the crew had thrown away several of my possessions within the dumpster.  I then received a email-statement from Ken stating I never paid my pick-up invoice.  I then received an email statement from Ken further increasing my balance for over 3000.00 for the total move to over 4000.00.  I called repeatedly on Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and held for 20 minutes until "Josh" the Customer service Manager finally spoke to me.  In the mean time, a bill came through from Mor Levy, VP of Operations for storage $595.00.  I never asked to store my belongings.  I was told that they had up until 21 days to deliver my items, I agreed to that, then Josh states well 9/12 is not immediate delivery, mind you 9/19 was given as the first date available to deliver my belongings.  He sat on the other end of the phone smug and defending this "Hostage Scam" this company runs.  These people have stolen my $1411.44 as well as every belonging I own.  They have robbed me before my very eyes and then continue to attempt to extort money from me.  I have no idea where my possessions really are.  When I call multiple people answer, I get hung up on or sent to "Josh's" voice-mail.  These people lack professionalism and morals.  I am convinced they prey on those they know are in need of affordable moving.  I think they targeted me because I am a single woman and I am on a budget.  They are holding my items hostage, which I now believe they have discarded, gone through and stolen what they may have wanted and then have sold the rest for profit.  The thing that hurts and burns me the most is some things I can never replace.  I have now lost: all of my children's keepsakes from the childhood, my nursing diploma, class picture, my son's yearbooks, school awards, my children's baby books and family photos.  These people are criminals who should be charged with theft, extortion and a whole gammit of other charges.  They are terrible and why they are allowed to do business is beyond me.  I hope this review will save the next person from the heartache and loss I am now coping with.  My life has been forever changed in the matter of a week.  I can now say I have been violated and robbed and it was by people I trusted.  People I paid for a service, people who will never be held accountable and who the law will protect and allow to commit these terrible acts on other honest hardworking people.  Please avoid this company, it's just a scam, all they want is your money and your possessions so they can extort more money out of you until there's nothing left. .

Service cost: $2723

If a used car salesman and a pick-pocket/con artist had a love child, it would be the owner of Across USA Moving, Yair “Jerry” Gamlieli.
 
If you only take away one thought from the reviews on this page, let it be this: Run. Run for your life.
 
I lived in Texas, and I was giddy for getting an awesome job offer in San Francisco. I start researching moving companies and had many calls for estimates. [EDIT] the luck, Haley with Across USA was the first caller. These sales reps are very charismatic, friendly and wow - they are like your new bestie. 
 
She said, if I had my things picked up on Monday, August 4th, that it would arrive in SF on Friday, August 8th. She told me that the move would cost $1200.  I don’t have a lot of things - so this seemed like a nice deal.  The movers came, and BOOM all of the sudden the end result is $3200.  How did that happen?
 
The moving guys come at the latest possible time on Monday and they took over 7 hours to pack up a 1-bedroom apartment. THEY TOOK OVER 7 HOURS. Then we had to make 3 different payments because my things kept going over the estimated cubic footage. I ended up having to pay over double, just at pick up. Their rule is 50% payment at pick-up and 50% payment upon delivery. 
 
So the next morning, Tuesday, I call the moving office just to be sure we are on track for delivery. Robin, the delivery-date-person, said that they were going to have a truck leave Texas to California the FOLLOWING FRIDAY, AUGUST 15TH. Come again? 
 
This is when I snapped. So, I was put in touch with Josh Berry, a customer service-ish person. I’m willing to bet that the owner “Jerry” is Josh’s biological father. Josh spent over an hour on the phone with me telling me about their foundation as a family oriented business. Who cares? BACK TO ME - let’s fix my problem. So then he offers a few solutions to expedite my order for the cost of $1500. Yep. To have my things by the time they said I’d have them, I’d have to pay $1500 more. Why? Because if you read the fine print on the contract, it says that any delivery dates agreed to by the staff are “merely estimates” and that they can take up to 14 business days to get your things there if they wanted to. And believe me, they do. They hoard your things in an effort to save gas and mileage. 
 
So here I am, not independently wealthy and thinking about how my clothes, my bed, my medications, are all on that truck. They have my life in their immoral, god forsaken truck. I even escalated and started emailing the owner and another VP. Not one member of leadership would even agree to speak with me. Now that’s great customer service. Apparently, the owner was conveniently out of pocket during the few days this was happening because of his “religious beliefs”. I’m sure his god loves it when he rips people off. 
 
So, long story short, I agreed to pay this absurd fee because at this point it’s just about necessity. I was starting a new job and needed clothes and something to sleep on. So, they took my money that same day. The next day, Josh calls me and says that Jerry decided NOT to expedite my things. He said, sorry but it’s just not going to happen per Jerry’s whimsical decision. They blatantly decided to not honor their expediting service agreement after taking payment - with no explanation. And they wouldn’t actually be getting my things out of Texas until Monday, August 18th. That is two weeks from when they picked it up (the 4th). I started my new job on August 11th. 
 
So what about all that money I just gave them? Well, they aren’t refunding it either. Because now, my docking area in my new apartment for the moving truck is about 4 feet too small. So now I owe a $450 shuttle fee so that they can rent a uHaul and unload my things into a smaller truck for delivery. Yay, so not only am I getting totally screwed out of money, but my personal items are just being thrown around everywhere. 
 
So, I sat here. I sat here defeated. And from the first week in August here we are in the last week. It turns out I still owe this ridiculous amount of money and when I asked Jerry and Josh for an itemized list of charges they failed to provide one. Until this day, this large amount of money I owe does not make sense. He sent a list to me that included several “miscellaneous” charges. The good news is that I have engaged an attorney who is currently looking over all the paperwork (looks like I have a case), I’m filing a BBB claim and I’m going to file claims on the charges with my bank. 
 
Today is August 25th. It is way passed the 14 business day guarantee, and they said they will be coming today. Robin gave me the phone number for the driver. I called him for 6 days, since he left Texas, and he would not answer or return my calls. Finally, he called yesterday and said he was coming with my things. I have broken glass, chipped wood, broken furniture, etc. I have taken pictures of the damage, so consider that another claim unrelated to the unethical practices. 
 
So, the moral of the story is that Across USA Moving is the type of company that SHOULD NOT BE IN BUSINESS just based on morals, ethics and out of basic regard for humanity. They took all of my belongings for a month. Without any consideration for what this does to the lives of their customers. They did it to prove a point because I argued - but they should think about who their audience is before they mistreat people. They should know who has powerful connections, as well. Thank goodness I have family and friends that were willing to provide me with food, air mattresses and with clothing. Seriously - think about it. They took my life from me during one of the biggest times of my life and never gave one thought to my feelings, well being, health or quality of life. 
 
 
I hate them all.

Service cost: $3200

Here are the facts:
We had a quote from North American Van Lines (NAVL) for $8,400 based on an in-home survey, guaranteed not to go up.  Across USA (AUSA from here on) told us that they knew exactly how they priced things and would guaranteed to beat the price.  AUSA knew what the quote was as far as scope (packing, loading, transport, and unloading) and how much money was involved.  The local rep quoted us $6400 based on the knowledge of the NAVL quote.  They also insisted on a 25% deposit to guarantee the service.
The day of packing arrived and the AUSA representative told my wife that the original estimate was too low and the cost was now going to be over $10,000.  When she said that wasn't the original quote, the representative in our house said, "We will work something out."  Unfortunately, she signed the revised estimate based on the verbal acknowledgement.  Also buried in the fine print was a clause that said same day cancellation is subject to a 50% penalty.  Read on for how this impacts things.
When the packing was finally done, the cost of the move had risen to $13,000 and change.  My first response was to simply unload the truck, we would go back to NAVL.  When we protested, the representative called Josh in the Dallas office and spirited conversation took place.  When asked if they were going to honor the original quote or the statement about working things out, Josh basically said the signature on the new estimate voided all previous estimates and that the original numbers were not correct, even though we had a guaranteed maximum price from NAVL, and from previous, we would still owe them $6,500 to simply unload the truck.  At the end of the discussion, Josh and the local representative agreed to a reduction in price to a little over $10,000.
So, we are off to our new home, hoping that our belongings would be there sometime, even with a promise of a delivery within 2 to 7 days of packing (which would have been 6/10 to 6/15).  On 6/15, the truck had not even left TX.  We finally had the truck pull up at our new home on 6/19.
With the unloading, it looked like a lot of our boxes had been stepped on by a large creature.  Seams were busted, tape broken, and packing blankets torn and ripped.  Several of the tags were missing and we ended up with at least 3 or 4 items that simply could not be accounted for.  We still haven't figured out what may be missing.
And, finally, lets talk about the damages to our goods.
-  Leveling foot on washer broken in half.-  50 inch TV with a shattered screen.  It was simply packed in sheet cardboard, not bubble wrap, no foam, no nothing.  You can see exactly where something hit it and broke the glass.- a Bohemian leaded crystal vase purchased in Europe in 1988 shattered. Irreplaceable.- the mirror for a 75 year old bedroom suite destroyed.  Irreplaceable.-  A broken book case.- Major scratches and chips of wood missing from out formal dining table.-  A dining room chair with all of the tenon joints for the back broken.-  Several other pieces of glassware broken/shattered.-  Damage to a brass rack due to bending of some of the trim.-  Clothes thrown into a wardrobe box without the hanger bar.-  Books thrown into medium and large size boxes by simply sweeping them off of the shelf they were on.-  Boxes that were mislabeled as to which room they came out of.-  Missing parts and pieces to put furniture back together (pegs and a screw for the master bed frame).-  And that is what we have found so far with about half of the boxes unopened (we are moving into a smaller house, so some of the boxes will not be opened for a year or so when we buy a house).
Overall, on a scale of one to 10, I would give this move a minus 5.  If you want to see what I learned after the fact, search for "How to avoid scams and fraud when moving."  This company would fit at least half of the items.  Finally, I am not going to hold my breath for a $25 refund on a fully paid for move as their email notice about providing feedback promises.  Maybe I will be surprised.
 .

Service cost: $10300