The Arizona Republic 07/26/2014 PA G E F 2 || S AT U R D AY , J U LY 2 6 , 2 014 || T H E A R I Z O N A R E P U B L I C How to find reliable movers Seek recommendations, consult BBB website, get estimates from 3 movers. Stacia Naquin 12 News So how do you find a legitimate moving company? The best advice for anyone planning a move is to do research, according to industry representatives and consumer-protection professionals. Start with friends and family and ask about their experiences. Then, begin to look into companies more thoroughly through customer reviews and the Better Business Bureau. “Anyone can advertise their business on the Web with a good website, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they have a good reputation,” said James Negrete with Budget Movers, an accredited moving company with an A+ rating from the BBB. “There are plenty of companies out there that have a bad reputation, but the public are still using them and finding out the hard way by not doing their homework.” Dircks Moving & Logistics, which also has an A+ rating with the BBB, suggests asking three questions when deciding which company to select: » Does the company have a physical address? » Is there licensing information on the website? » Is the company a member of the BBB or the American Moving and Storage Association? If the companies you’re researching meet those requirements, it’s time to get in-home estimates. Representatives of the companies interviewed all suggested three in-home estimates. “Three companies should be enough after doing your research,” said Charlotte Smith with Family Moving Storage, another moving company with an A+ rating from the BBB. “More than that, it just gets confusing.” But getting three in-home estimates after you’ve done your research can take time. It’s important for customers to remember that the more time they allow themselves, the better decision they can make. “If it can be avoided, don’t wait until the last minute to hire a mover so you can talk to several companies about quotes,” said Felicia Thompson, vice president of communications at the Better Business Bureau of Central, Northern & Western Arizona. “We often hear from people who hired a company a day or two before the move and then didn’t have a choice but to pay undisclosed fees because they had to be out immediately.” Accredited moving companies are well-aware that rogue movers are out there and might be enticing potential customers with promises of a move at a much lower cost. It might sound good, but at the end of the day, is it too good to be true? Companies point to the cost of actually doing business as something for customers to keep in mind. “What we do is a difficult process for not a lot of pay,” Smith said. “It is very costly to keep a company going in this day and age with insurance, truck payments, fuel, taxes, good labor, workman’s comp, medical, drug testing, etc.” Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page Movers WHEN YOU HIRE A MOVING COMPANY Continued from Page F1 Many people don’t put a lot of thought into picking a mover. They simply want a good price, an on-time arrival and an uneventful delivery of their household items. But sometimes advertised prices aren’t what they appear to be, which is often the first sign of a cascade of problems to come. Shawn Marquez, acting director of the Department of Weights and Measures, warns of “rogue movers” who shake down people and scare them into paying more money than necessary. Some companies that appear to be legitimate don’t have licenses to operate in Arizona, he said. Some run up costs, intimidate customers and damage belongings, he said. In the past six months, his department has handled dozens of complaints, most of them involving movers from out of state. Marquez said his hands are tied when it comes to taking action. He has no authority to shut down a company even after complaints are substantiated. The best he can do is turn those cases over to federal regulators. James Negrete with Budget Movers, an accredited moving company with an A+ rating by the BBB, is familiar with the “upsell.” He says rogue movers pull in customers with a low hourly rate and then surprise them before it’s all over. “There are upsells that aren’t mentioned until their items are already on the truck,” Negrete said. “Shrink wrap, long carries, fuel charges, etc.” In some cases, customers find their items virtually held hostage until more money is paid. Linda Bauer Darr, president and chief executive officer of the American Moving and Storage Association, said that even when companies are shut down by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, some emerge with new names and licenses. Allstar, now All Stars Complaints in metro Phoenix involve many issues and span many companies, but one Chandler-based company is on consumer-protection advocates’ radar: a moving company owned by a family that was hit with an $80,000 fine for bad practices four years ago. The company: All Stars Moving & Storage, which has used the names Allstar, Allways Moving, Adams Moving and Movers & A Truck. All Stars has racked up 26 complaints with Weights and Measures since 2009, including three so far this year and four last year. Weights and Measures ranks All Stars as its worst offender by complaints. It is followed by Move 4 Less, Arizona Discount Movers and Movers of the Valley. Marquez said a common complaint against the companies involve the original price of a move. “Now it’s been jacked up two, three, four and five times that amount,” he said. “Another common complaint is they agree to be at the moving site at a particular time and they never show up — and that’s part of the scam.” All Stars has an F rating with the Arizona BBB and 137 complaints against it. Most of the complaints have not been responded to. “Initially, consumers’ may contact the company based on a coupon received in the mail or an advertised special for movers and a truck,” according to a BBB report on the company. “Complainants allege that the company, prior to the move, conducts an ‘over the phone’ estimate. Consumers » Investigate the moving company before signing a contract. » Don’t hire a mover that requires a down payment or payment in cash. » Ask for the exact price in writing. Make sure you get a written statement ahead of time detailing charges. Don’t hire anyone who refuses to put a quote in writing. » Ask about the company’s insurance and repair/replacement policy. Some policies pay as little as 60 cents per pound for damaged items regardless of value. Brittany Bridgeman (center), with her parents Cheryl and Dennis Johanson, says she was overcharged by a mover. TOM TINGLE/THE REPUBLIC report that the business does not honor the estimated price and often adds packing and supply fees that the customer was not made aware of over the phone,” according to the BBB. “The company then requires consumers to pay the increased price before the business agrees to unload the consumers' belongings.” Alyssa Warner described her experience with the company on a move from one Chandler address to another as “nightmarish.” She says the movers overcharged her, scuffed her furniture, broke dishes and damaged the leg on her antique jewelry dresser. Before that, they refused to unload her furniture until she paid them. “So I gave them everything in my wallet. He (one of the movers) looked at it and looked at me and got closer to me and said, ‘Where’s my tip?’ And I said I don’t have anything else on me, and he asked again, ‘Where is my tip?’ I felt intimidated and really scared,” Warner said. Warner said she called the moving company and left a message, but no one called her back. Warner then contacted Call 12 for Action, which was able to negotiate a $200 refund. It’s not the first time this ownership group has been in trouble. In 2010, then-Attorney General Terry Goddard filed a civil fraud case against Chandler-based Allstar Moving & Storage, which had been the target of dozens of customer complaints and unpaid court judgments. Allstar, as well as Allways Moving, was run by the same family that owns the current company, All Stars. To settle the case, Allstar paid $80,000. The company has no connection to Allstar Metro Movers of Glendale, which has a top rating with the Better Business Bureau. Operation defended Allstar’s owner, Mohamed Elsayed, and its general manager, Amru Abdalla, were named in the state’s 2010 lawsuit. The suit claimed Allstar advertised flat hourly rates but routinely added hundreds of dollars to invoices. It says the company misrepresented that its moving crews were experienced when they weren’t, that Allstar was bonded, which it isn’t, and that it was insured. It failed to disclose that such insurance would cover only a fraction of any damage to consumers’ property, up to 60 cents a pound. According to several incident reports filed with Weights and Measures, Allstar Moving employees would demand additional cash above the original price and threaten to hold customers’ belongings or drive away if they didn’t pay. Abdalla later obtained a new license under the name All Stars. He said Elsayed, Allstar’s owner, is his father. Elsayed left the country and asked Amru and his brother, Amed Abdalla, to handle everyday operations at the new company. Amed Abdalla defended his company’s reputation and described it as a professional operation. “This is not the way we do business,” Abdalla said of Warner’s complaint. “We reacted quickly when we found out about Warner’s treatment, and we solved the problem the next day. We do professional jobs. We have satisfied customers.” Stephen Mills of Scottsdale said he had a similar experience with All Stars in April. He was planning to move his belongings from his Scottsdale home to a storage company when he received a mailer with a coupon offering a discount rate from All Star Moving and Storage. Although the movers from All Star handled the job very well, Mills said, his billing was messed up. He said he was overcharged, and the manager gave him the runaround repeatedly when he complained. “Well, I was very infuriated. Some of the furniture listed on my bill wasn’t even mine,” Miller said. “I tried to get them to address my bill, but they wouldn’t.” Brittany Bridgeman also received an All Stars flier in the mail advertising an affordable move. “$39.99 an hour for two men and a truck, $49.99 for three men and $59.99 for more than three movers. I wanted three,” Bridgeman said. Bridgeman said the move took three hours and she paid $960 in cash. She said she never received an invoice. Bridgeman, too, said some of her furniture was damaged. She said she complained about the experience but no one from the company called her back. “It’s sad because people all over the Valley are having the same issue,” Bridgeman said. Amru Abdalla disputed Bridgeman’s version and said it took the company six hours to move her and Bridgeman paid $220. “I’ve only received one complaint about my movers intimidating anyone, and that employee was fired on the spot,” he said. “When you do 600 moves a month, you will get complaints, and usually when we hear about them, we can resolve the issue. We are the Number 1 moving company in Phoenix. ... We don’t want unhappy customers ever. When you factor that four or five people have complained to Call 12 for Action, that’s not much.” Amru Abdalla denied that the practices he and his father were sued over in 2010 remain in place. “I’m not looking to do this for money. I have plenty of money,” he said. “My father and I started this in 1994, and after all this, I believe this will be my last year in business. I have lost too many people because of it, and I’ve lost my reputation.” Feds regulate movers The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is tasked with regulating the moving industry, but it only investigates movers from out of state coming in. The federal agency can impose civil fines up to $25,000 and can revoke a company’s license. For local or in-state moves, people can turn to Weights and Measures either during A Gannett Newspaper Copyright © 2014 The Arizona Republic 07/26/2014 Roberts nessman who has raised nearly four times as much as Smith and will enjoy support from the business community. Page : F02 caid expansion. Tea-party hopes lie with Vince Leach of Tucson and Mark Finchem of Oro Valley. field Park councilwoman who, to my knowledge, has never tried to sleep on a bare mattress in an empty house to » Have someone present when your goods are picked up and delivered. » Go over items as they are delivered. Document any missing items and note any damage. » If a moving company is attempting to withhold delivery, contact the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures at www.azdwm.gov or 602-771-4920. OTHER RESOURCES » For interstate moves: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, www.protectyourmove .gov or 888-368-7238. » Industry-funded group that assists consumers: Move Rescue, www.moverescue.com or 800-8321773. Sources: 12 News/Arizona Republic research, Arizona Department of Weights and Measures or after a move if they believe they’ve been wronged. Interstate issues Interstate moves can be perilous, particularly because it can be difficult to tell what company actually will be packing and hauling your belongings. “If we get 100 complaints, you can bet 99 of them will be about movers coming from out of state,” Marquez said. Three months ago, Erna Pontillo, 53, drove from Fairfield, Conn., with her mother and pets, hoping to make it in time to meet the movers. The movers never came. Each day she waited, she became more frustrated. If she wasn’t there to meet the movers at a moment’s notice, her belongings would be sent to storage, she was told. “People don’t realize how this messes your life up,” Pontillo said as she waited weeks ago for the movers in her Gilbert home. “Everything, everything I own is in that truck. Everything.” That night, five hours after the movers had been scheduled to come, they arrived. State regulators and police were there waiting — to supervise the move, cite the mover for vehicle-safety issues and notify federal regulators who have enforcement authority. Pontillo chose Colonial Van Lines, a broker company based in Florida, because she recognized the name. According to Weights and Measures records, three other subcontracted companies were involved in Pontillo’s move. One picked up her belongings, another delivered a quarter of it, and another delivered the rest June 9. Colonial Van Lines checks the moving companies’ insurance, license and complaints with the U.S. Department of Transportation before connecting them with customers, said Cicely Cloudy, the company’s customer-service manager. Marquez urged customers to work directly with a moving company, not a broker, so that they have one point of contact throughout the move. Includes information from Call 12 for Action reporter Stacia Naquin of 12 News and Republic reporter Michelle Ye Hee Lee. July 28, 2014 4:54 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA doesn’t chair a committee. Seel is running as a team with Thurane Aung Khin while the district’s other incumbent,