My husband and I had a terrible experience with this company. Sherry Clark at MSA gave us a quote of $2,480 and a truck came to picked up our belongings on May 14th, 2011 at which time we paid $1,200. A week after they picked up our stuff Sherry told us that it would need to pay an additional $2,900 (stating that the weight of our belongings was 6,660 pounds way over the estimated of 4,000 pounds she originally told us). So the additional weight was the reason for the extra charges. We were supposed to get our stuff by June 1st, around June 10th we started to get really frustrated and thats when we read all the negative reviews (and we realized all the positive reviews written months earlier were all fake).
I contacted the Department of Transportation (DOT) hotline at 1-888-368-7238 we learned that Moving Services of America (MSA) is really a company called ""Allstate Relocation Van Lines"". They WERE a licensed company (DOT #1462677) however their license was revoked in April of 2011. Therefore Moving Services of America (aka Allstate Relocation Van Lines) is not currently licensed. We filed a complaint with the DOT and if you have been a victim of this company I encourage you to do the same.
The truck arrived in our town on June 29th, 2011. Sherry Clark told us on the phone that they would not unload our stuff unless we paid the FULL balance upon arrival (the full balance meaning the $2,900 that she told us we had to pay because of the extra weight). We had a cashiers check ready for roughly $1,200 (which was the remaining balance of 110% of the original quote. We learned from the DOT that legally a customer only has to pay 110% of the original quote to have the shipment unloaded, and then any additional charges can be billed within 30 days). But Sherry told the truck drivers not come to our house until we agreed to pay the FULL balance, so we finally agreed to do so. Sherry said we could pay the remaining amount with a personal check. So we wrote our a personal check for around $1,700.
We told Sherry Clark on the phone that we wanted our belongings reweighed at the weigh station close to our home. Sherry agreed to this (legally moving companies have to reweigh your belongings if you request it). We met the truck at the weighed station before they unloaded our stuff and got an initial weight. Then the drivers followed us to our house and we gave them the cashiers check (for $1,200), PLUS the personal check (for $1,700). AT that point they then unpacked the truck (a few boxes were missing, we lost about $500 worth of stuff).
We then all went back to the weigh station for a second weigh-in and that is when we discovered the TRUE weight of our belongings was only 3,500 pounds! At this point the driver GAVE US OUR PERSONAL CHECK BACK for $1,700! Thank goodness that the driver was at least a reasonable person. The driver did demand that we pay $325 for ""packing materials"" which we just gave him in cash. But the point of the story is, having the truck reweighed saved us over $1,400!!
If you are in this same situation, DEMAND TO HAVE THE TRUCK RE-WEIGHED! The way this company is scamming people is by lying about the weight of your items and telling you that you owe a few more thousand than you do.
This post is meant for people who have already had their belongings taken, if you have paid a deposit with this company, please DO NOT LET THEM TAKE YOUR STUFF. It may take months to get it back, some of your stuff maybe stolen, they will lie to you about the weight of your items, and try to trick you into paying more money. I suggest cancelling your credit card (if you used it for the deposit) and look for another company.
If you have been scammed by Moving Services of America, you are not alone! I hope and pray there is some power out there that can shut this company down for good. Please spread the word about your story so we can prevent other people from having this experience.
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