Review of Nation Relocation, Inc.

Ian_J

Hubschrauber Flieger
Staff member
For any families moving in the near future, I offer our latest experience as a learning tool:

Review of Nation Relocation, Inc. Moving Company
January-February 2009

Bottom Line: In case you don’t read the entire review, the take-away is to avoid this moving company. They are an unprofessional and poorly run operation who treat their customers horribly and are intent on misleading them and scamming the maximum amount of money they can while taking absolutely no care with your belongings.

The Company

The company we hired was called Nation Relocation, Inc. However, after reading multiple reviews and researching DOT and insurance records, we believe this company has operated, or is operating, with the following names.

Nation Relocation, Inc.
1680 Atlantic Blvd Suite D
Norcross, GA 30071
DOT # 1785176

A Van Lines LLC
1680 Atlantic Blvd Suite D
Norcross, GA 30071
DOT # 1719287

ENTERPRISE RELOCATION SERVICES INC
1680 Atlantic Blvd Suite D
Norcross, GA 30071
DOT # 1847246

Quick Trip Vanlines
6180 Atlantic Blvd. Suite B
Norcross, GA 30071
DOT # 1246490

Arsenal Van Lines, Inc
6180 ATLANTIC BLVD STE B
NORCROSS, GA 30071-1309
DOT # 1267793

It appears when the company gets too many complaints or is levied a fine by the DOT, (or has been ordered to cease operations as an illegal moving company by the state of Georgia as Quick Trip Vanlines was), they simply close down the old shop and re-open under a new name and DOT number.

The Estimate

They asked for a list of our items – mostly furniture, big stuff – over the phone and provided an estimate we loved. (Too good to be true, yes.) When they arrived and saw what we had, they upped the price by the estimate x 5.

Pick-up; the Movers and (lack of) Equipment

1. They arrived three hours late.

2. They arrived in a Ryder truck. I asked why the company didn’t have its own fleet and was told their truck broke down. This would turn out to be a lie. (We now know, of course, that one of the big “don’t do it!” signs is when a company doesn’t have its own moving truck. Lesson #1 learned.)

3. The truck was already half- filled with other people’s household goods, which isn’t unusual by itself, but it also didn’t appear there would be enough room for our items. I asked about this and was told it would all fit fine. Not so.

4. Luckily I had some extra boxes left over from a previous move or they would have run out. They also brought no tools for furniture (they used mine), no razor blade or knife (they used mine), and no markers (they used mine.)

30 Days of Storage Included in the Contract, but Not in Reality

When we had our household goods picked up we didn’t have a place to live yet in our new state, so we made sure our contract included storage for 30 days. During the pick-up, I explained to the driver we didn’t have a place to live.

About 4 or 5 days after the pick-up, the driver said he’d be delivering our goods in the next couple of days. We asked where he intended to unload the items, and he said in our new city and state. We asked him to put the items in storage as we originally requested, and he said if we did that, they would have to charge a $200 re-delivery fee for a local move from storage to our place. We explained this was not in our contract and we wouldn’t pay it.

“Okay,” the foreman said. “I can wait a day, maybe two days.”

Misleading Payment Options

This is a long story. In short: the company said it would take an up-front payment over the phone – plus a small deposit – but they only took the deposit. On arrival, they wanted a money order. They ended up taking a check and said a check for the rest would be fine on deliver, too. Not so.

On delivery, I got on the phone with the home office and was yelled at and verbally assaulted. He told me he would charge me for the time it took to figure it out, and when I said I wouldn’t pay for that, he began yelling at me. I hung up.

I should also mention the only option for calculating the cost was by cubic foot. After some research we should have clearly went with a by-weight carrier.

The Packing Job – How They Broke and Damaged our Items

A three-bedroom took them 9 hours to pack.
1. The foreman liked to gawk at my things, talk, and nap. He tried to get me to give him one of my military coins.

2. The partner packed the first room – the kitchen – well while I watched, but after I left he did things I wouldn’t discover until they arrived to unload, like carelessly piling random items on top of other random items – to include the contents of dumped-out drawers, scratchable wood, a wood radio/CD player, a heavy, metal, WWII bomb, dumped-out pen holders, old (1800s – early 1900s old) hardcover books tossed in here and there with no care taken to lay them flat, and anything else he could find that would fit – and all of it a tall wardrobe box.

3. They didn’t fit all of our stuff in one truck, either on packing day or on the day it was meant to travel. The bulk arrived a month before the remainder.

On Arrival

The slow foreman was even worse on delivery. After a short time of carrying the smallest boxes, he said he was “sick” and sat in the truck. His partner tried to call some local day labor, but was not successful. I had to help carry the heavy items.

I discovered, in the truck, heavy items piled on light items; breakable items sandwiched between heavy solid items, and an upside-down lawn-mower on top of our boxes. The mower had been drained, but the remaining fluid leaked onto (and seeped inside) that wardrobe box with all those old books in it – along with three new throw rugs (all ruined).

They managed to break the glass of a $200 picture frame, and they also somehow punctured the box holding our TV on the side where the LCD screen was. (To our utter shock, they didn’t damage it.)

They Almost Drove Away With Our Things

On delivery, after ending the heated dispute with the owner about payment and hanging up my phone, I saw the foreman on the phone. He hung up and he and his partner were making a b-line for the truck. I asked where they were going and they said they wanted some breakfast. I told them we would get them breakfast. Anything they wanted – on us. (I had a sneaking feeling they’d been told by the home office to leave.) They declined. They promised they’d be right back. I followed them to the truck with the police on speed dial on my cell phone and told them point blank they were not leaving. If they truly wanted breakfast I’d get it for them, but there wasn’t any way I was letting them drive off. They relented, declined breakfast, and waited while I sat outside the truck and watched them while waiting for my wife to return with the money order.

Reimbursement for Damaged Items? Uh, no.

Probably our fault for not finding the small print, but this company says it reimburses sixty cents PER POUND of damaged items. So, if they lose a million-dollar necklace that weighs half a pound, you get – that’s right – thirty cents from them.

The foreman apologized for the packing and the breaking of things and said, “Text me how much it costs. I’ll send you the money myself.” I made a list (over $600 in damages), texted it to him, and he called back to say he couldn’t pay it. (Naturally.)

See, it seems he dropped one of the money orders we paid with ($500), and that got him fired.

Small victories.
 
Holy crap, what a horrible experience! I don't trusts anyone with my belongings. I always pack my own stuck so I know what has happened. Hopefully you at least broke even.
 
Holy cow Ian, that is insane. No one should have to put up with that. I can see why they want money orders, so you can't cancel the check.

It sad that people out think that is a way to do business. I'd definately sue them, file complaints with the BBB, and call your state's AG and give the all the data you have about the company's past. It probably won't go anywhere but you might get lucky and get the gov't on their butts. You could also call the local news station. Most have a hall of shame or problem solvers person.

Where are you at now
 
Yup-used a moving service once after getting out of the military and learned that I pack myself and rent a Ryder or Uhaul.

I ended up losing every piece of electronics I had and my "insurance" was voided the second they went bankrupt. I don't remember the name of the company but I move myself from now on.
 
The movers we used from Chicago to Indy were decent folks, Bekins, I think they were. I did the majority of the packing myself, but they helped finish up. A lamp got broken, and a bit of minor scratching to some furniture but all-in-all not bad. For $4k they'd better have done a good job...

Sad there's operators out there that treat people the way you got treated, Ian! That royally sucks. :(
 
This was the first move ever I've hired some else to do. I've either done military funded moves which were fine or moved myself. My mistake was assuming after years of military contracted moves that all moving companies and experiences would be the same. Wrong!

I've filed complaints with the BBB and the DOT and have left tons of reviews all over the internet. Not that it will do much... if these guys start to get in trouble they'll simply change names.

K and I started researching this stuff AFTER the move - had we done this before the move we would have just moved ourselves.
 
Wow...thanks for the intel...that is pretty bad. People complain quite a bit about mil moves, but what many people don't think about is that the contracts are awarded over and over...a company sucks...they are fired. In all the moves I have done with the AF, I have been fairly happy. If we move out of town in the future, we are going to do the PODS thing. Yeah, it's a pain loading and packing your own stuff, but "if you want it done right"...
 
we too do it ourselves if we need to. when i moved from apt to apt, i'd move most of the boxes myself and hire a day company to move the furniture..that worked out fine cuz they'd follow me or i'd follow them and it'd be done within hours.

when we moved to AZ, we packed a 2 bed apartment in a uhaul and uhauled all the way from Florida...

TONS of work but it was worth it in the end to know that our stuff was secure and it was actually quite a fun and memorable experience. Who knew a beagle would fart so much in a uhaul and that it was a pain in the butt to air the thing out! HAHA

would i do it again? probably not....but i do know that i'll ALWAYS pack my own things.

my parents used a moving company (north american i think) that lost (?!) a lot of our electronics and i remember my brother being so upset about them "losing" his boombox at the time. how items get lost while moving is beyond me!

Sorry you had such a crap experience....whenever it comes to using someone else, a contractor, movers, caterers etc....always have to look at the ROC, DOT and BBB for insight!
 
I moved once a year to a new apartment each year since early 2006. Every time we did it ourselves but that just because we really don't have that much stuff. If I ever had to move cross country I would sell all the crap and just keep the few items we have that actually have meaning. Hopefully we won't have to move for a loooong while now since we bought a house last June.

oh...forgot to add that I'm sorry to hear about the issues you had Ian. It seems like the moving business is where you want to be if you want to run a shady business. There are tons here in the valley that have their names plastered all over the local new channels on those investigative stories.
 
I think we're going to do a POD for the move out to DC. We will be downsizing in square feet significantly so much of the furniture won't make the trip. But it's the smaller stuff, especially kitchen items, where it gets expensive to replace.

When I moved out to PHX I used a LTL trailer from ABF. I loaded a Uhaul with my stuff, backed it up to the trailer and transferred it. A week and a half later I did the same thing but in reverse. Two pieces of furniture got scratched but it was cheap IKEA stuff and I didn't bother to cover it well.
 
I think we're going to do a POD for the move out to DC. We will be downsizing in square feet significantly so much of the furniture won't make the trip.

you should hit me up when you plan on selling some furniture. I could use some [newer] couches...
 
After 2 moves in 7 months (one of which is currently in progress) I say sell everything and airline yourself to the new digs.

I hate moving.
 
Update:

After filing complaints with the BBB and DOT we received responses from both. With the BBB they forward the complaint to the company who is able to write a response. They responded with:

Sorry but based on our records you did not use our company to move you.
Please remove this complaint from our record this customer did not use us.
Thanks

ps , please provide us with your quote # or order # so we can verify you.
So I provided the order # and received a second response:

Now I see which job you are talking about.
I think you forgot to say that you add about 6000 Lbs to you initial order of 3000 LBS and we had to accommodate your move at the last minute.
You forgot to say that you called us and said that you ready for delivery ASAP and you need no storage and when we got to your place you asked for storage service and we told you we do not have a storage place in CT.
You signed that all services were rendered and you have no claims of any kind against us.
You did not notify us of any issues regarding your move.
If you have any claims please fill out a claim form which can be obtained from our web site.

What about the false claim you / your wife wrote on ripoff.com
Look for the lawsuit we filling against you for damages you caused us by false slander and defamation of our company, I do not know why you do this but we will find out very soon.
You should check very carefully what you write on someone you better have the facts when you post it.
Have a nice day

Naturally, all of their claims are blatantly untrue.

First of all, they quoted us in cubic feet, not pounds.

Second, we told them we needed storage and then they surprised us and called saying they were ready to deliver even though we had no address yet.

Third, I notified their home office with all these issues and was chewed out over the phone.

And fourth, yeah, I expect to see that lawsuit any day now. ;)
 
I would send them a certified letter with your attorney's address so they know where to send their process server.
 
Ian,

What I am about to say my seem harsh and please do not take it personal because I do not mean it as an attack on you. I have been involved in the moving and storage business most of my life. I was a Master Mover with Allied Van Lines when I owned my tractor and trailer. That means I was in the top 3% of the fleet which consisted of 3000 drivers.

When I drove I heard these stories more times than I care to remember so I am going to make some assumptions base on my experience. I bet they were an independent operator, not affiliated with a major carrier, and if they were not the lowest cost they were close to it. So you bought on price and got what you paid for. You hired a crap company that has crap personal representing them.

Now I want to address some of your misconceptions on how the company is screwing you. All moving companies that operate interstate must use the current tariff. It was 400-N when I was driving. For all I know it still may be the same. This industry is still regulated by the government. The tariff sets the max that can be charged, but it does not set the min.

~all interstate shipments are charged on a weight base. They use the estimated volume to estimate the charges, but the actual charges are base on what your belongings weigh. The formula is 7lbs per cubic foot, but can be adjusted if the estimator feels it is needed.

~.60/lb insurance is what the tariff requires the carrier to provide for no cost. You could have purchased additional insurance if you felt it was needed. As a driver I loved people who did not purchase additional insurance because it limited my liability. I would guess they said you were fully covered. You were fully covered to the extent that each and every one of your belongings were covered at .60/lb.

~Your obligation on a COD shipment at the time of delivery is to pay the estimate plus 10% if the actual charges are more than the estimate. You did not need to pay it in full if it went over. If you refused to pay that then the carrier has the right to leave and then the charges really start to mount. What people do not realize is the carrier needs to have legal ownership of the household goods to cross state lines with them. They are required to "sell" them back to you for the cost of the move. That also give the carrier legal leverage if the person refuses to pay. So if you had NOT paid them then they were within their rights to leave. If you HAD paid them and they left then they were stealing you belongings and I would have let them go and call the cops while following them.

~check your contract to see where the storage is. Storage is separate from carriage and is treated so in the tariff. You have one rate for the interstate carriage. Once your stuff is delivered into storage then that part of the contract is complete. Then when you are ready to take delivery locally the local rate applies. You cannot get a one rate deal. If they told you so they misled to you. A $200 delivery out charge is very cheap even on 9000 lbs. The delivery out charges are based on the hundred weight. I cannot remember what the rates were, but lets say the local rate for storage delivery out is 7.00 per 100lb of shipment weight. That means the delivery out of storage would have cost an additional 630.00.

Hate to tell you, but this company does not care about you. You were a one time COD customer in a big pond with a lot of fish in it. They are in the business of servicing everyone only once. You may have some revenge though.

You are doing the right thing in the way you are getting the word out about this clown. There is more that you may not thought of and it would help if you have a picture of the side of the truck that they used while loading and unloading you. They are required by the DOT to have certain markings on the cab that has their DOT number on it. If the truck does not have it, and I would guess it did not, then they could be in a load of crap. Enough that it could even bring the company down. You see if they do not have the required info on the door then they can get away with not stopping at the scales or pay the required road use tax. I would go as far as guessing that the drivers are not following the required duty time regulations and recording that in logbooks. So now the DOT can sanction the company. Even the IRS along with each states revenue department that this company operated in can come down on this company for fraud and tax evasion.

So how do you lessen the risk? Go with a major carrier. They may cost more, but you will have piece of mind the brand does not want to be tarnished. They have relocation contracts with large companies. And these companies do read the consumer boards. Buy the insurance. If they do not offer any then run. You may be able to get coverage from your renter/homeowner policy. Just ask your agent. Do not give any money up front and pay with a credit card, even if you have the cash. That way you can refuse service when they show up to load and you do not like what you see and they do not have any of your money. You may also have recourse with the credit card company on any disputes.

Sorry to hear about your problem Ian and I hope your next move is better.

Brian
 
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