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The following is a complaint aginst Moving Direct LLC of Long Branch, NJ and its affiliate, Trans-American Van Lines.
On December 8th 2010 I sent out emails to moving companies to get quotes for a move from Camp Hill, PA 17011 to New York City. My husband, 85 and I, 73, have moved a couple of times in the last few years and gave given away a lot of furniture, clothing, etc... The one thing we had of great value was fine china. 18 place settings of Rosenthal china and 12 place settings of Limoge, with many beautiful serving platters, bowls, coffee and tea pots, gravy boats, etc...
I interviewed several moving companies and the one that came across as the most
reassuring was Josh Socher of Moving Direct headquartered in Long Branch, New Jersey. I did notice that he had a FL area code. Socher agreed to send 3 professional packers, special dish packs and proper packing material. On December 8th I gave him my American Express credit card number and allowed him to charge a $300 deposit. against a $1500 total, with full replacement coverage insurance, for a December 28th move. My American Express Statement showed that the $300 deposit was charged by Trans-American Van Lines, not Moving Direct.
December 28th came and the movers never showed up. There had been a snow storm in New York and New Jersey a couple of days before but they didn't even bother to call and say they weren't coming. There was no snow in Camp Hill, PA.
Socher didn't answer my calls. Finally later in the day someone named Brian called from Long Branch, New Jersey to say they still would come. He didn't say what his position was but he was rude and my apprehension grew. No one showed up, which by now didn't surprise me. After a while someone named Miguel called to say they would be in Camp Hill, PA in one hour. He made the same unfortunate impression as Brian so I wasn't surprised when no one showed up.
On December 29th two guys showed up, not three as promised by Socher. They were Miguel and Jay, obviously not experienced packers. Miguel asked me to initial many forms and I never received the promised copies. I didn't see dish packs and saw just one small roll of bubble wrap and some newsprint. No packing peanuts. . I hoped for the best.
Every time they carried something out they'd disappear for an inordinate amount of time. Turned out they took frequent "smoking" breaks. These slackers wasted a total of several hours sitting in the truck which said "Budget" on it, obviously a rented truck. I overheard Miguel talking on his cell phone to his boss saying how much "stuff" we had and that they would not be able to do a second job that day. He also said he was using a
lot of packing material ! I kept trying to call Socher but he wouldn't pick up. I had no one to turn to.
Our move consisted of
Place settings of Limoge and Rosenthal china
1 double dresser
1 set of wooden wall cabinets
1 tall book shelf
1 tv monitor and stand
1 small mirror-front cabinet
2 bathroom etageres with glass shelves
1 queen-size bed with futon and drawer underneath
1 sleep sofa
1 love seat
kitchen utensils, small appliances
Books
Kitchen ware
Three 2-drawer file cabinets
Dell PC tower, keyboard, HP printer, Dell monitor, Dell printer
Four folding TV tables
Six folding side chairs, two floor lamps
20 pre-packed Fedex document boxes
l met the two movers in front of the NYC apartment building on the 30th. I was stupid enough to give them $100 each BEFORE they moved in our things. I was getting bad vibes and hoped to convince them to be decent human beings by tipping them before hand. That's when Miguel put me on the phone with his boss who demanded $4000. He said his name was Eli but he had the same "sound" as Brian from the day before. Never heard a last name from asnyone.
Miguel said I was way over the limit in pounds and cubic feet and if I didn't give him $4, 000 in cash or money order he was taking all with our things. I said fine, take inem, but let me get my husband's medicines out of the truck. By then I had been standing, freezing, in the street for 4 hours.. It was l p.m. They refused to let me get the medicines. That's when the "boss" reduced the price to an extra $2700. They already had $300. I gave in in order to get my husband's medicines. I had to find a Post Office to get money orders. I asked Miguel for copies of whatever it was he made me initial when there was no time to read them and he refused. Then the two men abandoned the sofas in the hall. As if by magic, workers from the building showed up and moved in the sofas and helped us with other items.
When we began unpacking we were shocked at how our Rosenthal and Limoge china had been "packed" by the so-called expert packers. Things were stacked one on top of the other with a piece of paper around it. Many pieces were broken. I have kept them and will photograph everything. In addition to the breakage, fully half the pieces are MISSING from the two sets of valuable china, as well as the glass shelves from two etageres. The Dell printer was damaged and is inoperable; and doors on the on the wall cabinets were broken loose. (I suspect that the missing china will soon be found on E-Bay.)
After the move we investigated Trans-American Van Lines and found complaints against them on [redacted].. Further investigation reveals that Moving Direct was not immune from complaints to the NJ Better Business Bureau and that it is not a mover but uses third parties. It appears that the sales agent (Socher) operates out of an apartment In Hallandale, Fl.
I feel a crime (theft), businees fraud and unspeakably cruel treatment of seniors is involved and that we should be compensated for this by refund of the unwarranted overcharge by Moving Direct and Trans-American plus damages for missing items, breakage of dishes and other items as noted above.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I own Reddy Movers in Warwick, RI. When I read stories like yours I am just irate. Movers have a usually uncalled for reputation for breaking things and other damage but this is totally reprehensible.
Unfortunately movers in large cities and states get away with this stuff because there are so many schemes that the consumer can fall into as you did. You can try calling the Attorney Generals Office or Public Utilities. Don't bother with the BBB. They are worthless. I truly wish I could help.
Donald Reddy
I am having the same issue with the company as we speak. The movers picked up my things two days earlier than expected, causing a mad rush. They took 2 weeks to deliver my things. When the moved stuff in the damagaed a wall and did nothing about it. I am missing 2 boxes full of things, and this is 2 weeks after initial delivery. I am not hearing anything from them! I wish this was a more visable view of this company or I would have NEVER chosen them.
My furniture is still missing. I am afraid to have them deliver it. I would love to get some media exposure to this problem, and would love to contact the local media here as well as 20/20 and Dateline. These scams need to be exposed.
I had the same issue happen with this company. They demanded more money after loading my belongings and tkaing them to their warehouse in NJ. Now this was a move from NC to NY! Eli and Mike kept my belongings hostage in NJ for a couple weeks while I had to sort it out with federal bureaus, even submitting a hostage claim against the company. When I finally got my belongings many items were broken including my china cabinet from France. One of the legs was completely missing. When one of the movers found it in their NJ warehouse he tried to exchange the cabinet leg for "additional personal services" from me. I had already felt as if my situation as a divorcing woman with children was being taken advantage of and that put it over the top! I could not believe getting back a part to my furniture was now contingent on intimate interactions! I have decided to let the insurance company take my beloved china cabinet and I must now try to contend with getting reimbursed for thousands of dollars of lost and damaged belongings. TRUST ME when I say find another company. This is by far the least ethical company I have ever come across. I truely believe if they had not been threatened by the federal agency with a $10000 fine, I would have never seen my things again. Keep searching for a moving company PLEASE!
I also went through complete hell with this moving company. They arrived the night before they were scheduled to move me. We were not ready for them but I let them come in and walk around to see what they would need the next day. We had also told them because of where we lived they would need a smaller truck to access my home. The agreement was they would rent a truck to come to my residence the next day. They insisted the next day that they did not want to rent a truck and brought the semi instead. I was promised their arrival by 8am and they were two hours late. Because we were driving to our move destination and had a planned time to be there we had to have family watch them pack so we could get on the road. We were six hours into our trip before they ever left our house and we were moving very little large furniture. My weight was 300 pounds under my estimate and with packing services they owed me .59 per pound back. This would have been around $177.00. Finally, our delivery arrived, we started to unpack and found many things broken. I collect Cherished Teddies and they were wrapped three and four wadded into one piece of paper. My hutch for my computer desk was broken, my wireless router didn't even make the move, I am sure someone is enjoying it now. My grandmother's cookie jar was broken. After numerous arguments with Mike and Eli they finally agreed to refund me $100. I had issues finding a notary and it took me a couple of months to get the release agreement sent back to them. Now I can't seem to get either of them on the phone because they sold the business, lost their DOT number, and have disappeared from the face of the earth. I am going to be contacting the New Jersey States Attorney, as well as the better business bureau. My understanding is that there are a great deal of people who have had fraud at their hands in the last year, perhaps we should all get together and file a class action suit.
I agree! I would love to find out how to take part in a class action suit. My stuff was picked up in North Carolina on June 9 to be moved to Oakland, CA and I still have not heard anything from them and it is now July 6th. I have been the one calling them to get updates. The customer service is the worst I have ever seen, and now I'm worried that I will never see my stuff, and if I do receive all of it, many items will be broken. Or that I will be asked for more money. These guys are just awful and I feel totally helpless since they have all my stuff!
A new company has taken over since I had my move. I wish you the best of luck getting your stuff. Contact the Monmouth County States Attorney's Office and they can help you!
they are now operating under "United Master Lines" in N miami beach Florida
United Master LInes has reportedly been in business since 2004, so scammed again. This scam just changes names and registered agents. United Master Lines, is located at 20400 NE 15th Ct in Miami, FL but the address was just changed on 10/31/11. The owner is Dorokhov, Alexei and would encourage phone calls at [protected] because they still have an A rating at BBB while Red Gold or Moving Direct has a Solid F. I have tried to bring this up with 20/20 and Dateline. I had never heard of moving scams before I was a victim of it.
FORMALLY KNOWN AS MOVING DIRECT LLC OUT OF LONG BRANCH NJ, THEN SWITHCED TO A NEW NAME CALLED ALL POINTS VAN LINES OUT OF CA, THEN SWITHCED OVER TO ZOOZ TRANSPORTATION, ALSO OUT OF CA, THEN UNITED MASTER LINES OUT OF MIAMI FLORIDA, BC THEY PICKED UP A NEW CARRIER(ALEX DOROKOHV) ONE OF THE BIGGEST SCAMMERS IN THE GAME TODAY, AND THEN NOW THEY ARE GLOBAL EXPRESS VAN LINES OUT OF BALTIMORE, MD.
TRUST ME BUYER BEWARE, THIS COMPANY LED BY JOSH SOCHER(JUST GOOGLE JOSH SOCHER MOVING SCAM, AND SEE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT) HE IS ABSOLUTELY THE WORST, TELLS THE CONSUMER EVERYTHING THEY WANT TO HEAR, STRAIGHT BAIT TACTIC, THAT UNFORTUNETLY HE'S TAUGHT TO OTHER MEN THAT ARE GOOD AT IT, AND NOW THEY ALL DO IT WELL. THEY CALL UP AND SAY W/E YOU WANT TO HEAR, THEN TAKE YOUR DEPOSIT, THEN NEVER TALK TO YOU AGAIN, THEN THE FOREIGN LABORERS ACTUALLY COME TO YOUR HOUSE PROBABLY A DAY OR 3 LATE, LOL, THEN THEY PUT ALL YOUR STUFF ON THE TRUCK, AND *CHANGE THE PRICE ON YOU, ITS USUALLY BETWEEN 100%-300% INCREASE, I KNOW MINE WAS AROUND %120 SO I GUESS I GOT AWAY SAFE? LOL MY PRICE WENT FROM $8, 000 TO $18, 590! BELIEVE THAT!
THESE GUYS ARE GOING DOWN, THEY RIPPED OF MYSELF, AND SOME OTHER IMPORTANT PEOPLE THAT I KNOW PERSONALLY. LOOK OUT JOSH SOCHER AND THE GLOBAL EXPRESS TEAM, YOU GUYS ARE GOING DOWN TOWN, TO THE BIG HOUSE!