November 19, 2006 Dear South Floridians: I would first like to mention that the purpose of this letter is not simply to pursue cash reimbursements for the devastating damages, missing boxes and constant overcharges of my moving experience with Fair Price Moving & Storage. Fair Price Moving has lied to me, deliberately ignored me, provided me with horrible customer service, left my questions and concerns unanswered on more than one occasion with no contact person, damaged most of my furniture beyond repair, lost another 10% of my total belongings, continued to add multiple last minute incredulous cash only charges, causing me emotional distress, and continued to conduct themselves in a highly unprofessional (vague, elusive, requesting tips, changing delivery dates and breaking their contract) manner. Ultimately, I would like to have Fair Price Moving's standards and practices thoroughly investigated and further more be closed to the public as soon as possible. Fair Price Moving should not be allowed to remain in business as they are highly unprofessional, immoral, and have taken advantage of many people, including myself, as reported by the Better Business Bureau. The following is a synopsis of my business relationship from start to finish with: Fair Price Moving & Storage 1692 NE 205 Terrace North Miami Beach, FL 33179 www.myfairpricemoving.com (305) 770-3824 Azulay, Arik (305)918-0687 USDOT-1102813 MC-454620 I was preparing to move from Florida to California, approximately 2500 miles on 9.28.05. This was my first move that required a moving company so I was very unfamiliar with how they operate. An estimator named Norman came to my home; he was kind and very reassuring that my personal goods will be handled with the best of care even though they had a complaint listed on the Better Business Bureau, Norman claimed that this complaint was a minor offence based on the Licensing information and will be resolved within the week. Norman's final estimate came to 580 cubic feet for a total cost of $2407.00. I had put a $100.00 deposit to confirm my reservation. My moving date was set for 09.28.05 at 9:00am, as the movers started bringing packing materials into my house the moving foreman sat me down and started pointing at the spots I had to sign plus pay the balance of $2357.00 before anything was started. While going over the paper work with the foreman I asked how they knew the actual total cubic footage the foreman told me there are guide lined markings in the truck which he will show me after we finish the paperwork. The Binding Estimate I received from Norman via email also states that their trucks are properly guidelined for customers and drivers to read. After all my items were packed into the truck I personally verified that where my items came to on their guidelines was 650cf. The foreman then proceeded to tell me that my household goods were 250cf more than the original estimate and that there will be an additional charge of $1641.00. I told the foreman that I saw where my items ended in the truck and he proceeded to tell me that the markings in the truck are incorrect. I had made a call to Norman and asked how his estimate could be so far off, he told that he will review the paperwork and get back to me, never heard from him again. As a gesture of my appreciation for their hard work, I gave a lot of my items to the guys packing my belongings such as golf clubs, car jack, shovels, tennis rackets, etc... As the movers were getting ready to leave the foreman tells me that I need to tip his guys, so they can have a meal today. I only gave $20.00 to them because I was very unhappy with the additional charge of $1641.00. Because I was leaving in two days removing my items was not an option. As the movers were leaving my home one of the moving guys turned to me and told me to contact the Better Business Bureau, as if he knows that this goes on all the time. I would like to say though that the moving guys were very polite and packed my household goods very well, even wrapping my furniture in blankets. My items were to go into storage because I had planed to visit my family plus still needed to find an exact address which my furniture could be delivered to in California. Part of the moving deal was that I would receive one month free storage. Two days prior to the end of my free month I receive a call from Arik, where I was told that I have to pay the amount of $235.00 for the upcoming month and that it had to be cash, no checks, and no credit cards. My contract stated that my storage fees would be $145.00 a month; I was told the reason for the increase was that my total cubic footage was more. After complaining about all these over charges, Arik decided to leave the price the same. When I arrived to California I contacted Arik from Fair Price Moving and set a date of 11.14.05 for my items to be delivered, and asked if they prorated the storage fees, which they didn't. On the 14th I heard nothing from Fair Price, so I gave them a day and called them back on the 15th. Arik gave me the number to the truck driver who was transporting my household goods. After speaking with the driver the date of my delivery was now postponed by a week. The day the movers finally arrived was on 11.22.05. When they came to my door their first words to me were that I must pay the remaining balance of $1691.00 which had to be paid either by cash or cashier check. The original quote was $1641.00 on my copy of the paperwork but on their paperwork someone wrote plus $50.00 next to the original. I tried to dispute this but the two guys played dumb and knew very little English. As soon as the foreman took my cashiers check the other mover tells me that because they are parked more than 75ft away I now have to pay additional $120.00 cash before they will start to unload my belongings. They told me that after 75ft there is a dollar per foot charge. They held my furniture hostage until forcing me to drive to the ATM to get cash and refused to bill me this additional “unloading” charge. They made no effort to park in the alley which would have put them at my front door; instead they parked on the main street. I later measured the distance which came to 90ft so I paid $120.00 for 15ft more. I later found that their contract states that there is a $75.00 charge each additional 50ft. I was also told that the movers were from a different company; I later called Fair Price Moving and found that they were from the same company. So finally these two guys start moving my belongings in and I notice that they are cramming it all in the living room, so I ask if they were going to bring the bedroom items to the bedroom and assemble the things they disassembled and they nodded their heads yes, and I watch as they cram all my things into the living room. Once again out of the kindness of my heart, I order a pizza thinking they will be there awhile assembling my stuff. After eating the foreman, who spoke no English then comes up to me and hands me paper work to sign. I asked him if they were done, of course there was a communication problem so the other guy who spoke very little English tells me yes they are done. I asked what about the furniture that needs to go into the bedroom and be assembled. The mover who spoke very little English tells me that because they have to carry it up stairs that I would be charged $75.00 for each item they brought up. Now I am to a point where I just want these people out of my life so I go through the paper work with the foreman who speaks no English, the paper work was impossible to read and noticed that three boxes were missing and of course these items were things like my stereo, Play Station, Subwoofer, DVD player, two Satellite receivers and other items I haven't yet noticed are missing. Plus one of my boxes was opened and most of the items were missing out of it. Now I am looking at my furniture piled up in my living room, as the movers are removing the blankets from the furniture I discover all four legs on my dresser have been ripped from their mounted position, the corner and edge of my headboard is smashed in and black, the coffee table too has smashed corners. There are divots in all of my wooden furniture as if hit by a hammer. A $1600.00 dining table with a glass insert, the box which had the glass was crushed so bad that I didn't even know that it was the glass to the table. To top it off the movers hide this box behind everything. When I asked what the next step was as far as missing and damaged items they both just looked at me and shrugged their shoulders. I carefully observed the movers in Florida packing all of my furniture and wrapping everything in blankets; obviously the abuse of my furniture took place on the trip to California. Every single piece of my furniture had been damaged some way. Fair Price Moving clearly mistreated all of my furniture. Now I'm standing there with what's left of my stuff and make a call to Fair Price Moving in Florida and ask to speak to Norman about my issues. I am then told that Norman does not handle these situations, I must speak with Arik. So I am told to hold while the Receptionist tried to reach Arik only to be told he is not in, doesn't have a voicemail, I couldn't leave a message with her and to try back later. After making several attempts and leaving messages for Arik, I decided to make up a different name to the secretary and all of a sudden I had Arik on the phone. I tell Arik about the missing and damaged items and he tells me that I have to take pictures and email him. So I take the pictures send them and try to get a hold of him again. This process took two weeks, just so he could tell me I have to contact the claims department. I contacted the claims department and I am told a list of all these things I have to do like photo copies of the Bill of Lading, pictures, and receipts from my damaged and missing goods and mail it to Anthem Claim Management, 2351 W. Memorial Court, Anthem, AZ., 85086. I sent the package of all the paperwork they required on 12.5.05 which is costing me more money. On 01.16.06 I receive a letter stating that the compensation for my damaged and missing items comes to a total weight of 435lb which means they are liable for the amount of $261.00. Now in order to receive this large generous compensation I have to not only sign this Release and Settlement of Claim but it also has to be notarized. I did not sign any release forms for this will give these types of companies the freedom to continue ripping off the consumer. I did in fact contact the claims department to let them know that I was not signing this form and during our conversation I asked if they receive many claims from Fair Price Moving and the gentleman told me more than I could imagine. Ever since this incident I have been doing research online on how I should handle this, I found many web sites that basically allow you to voice your complaints with a moving company. I found that Fair Price Moving & Storage was not only listed on them but several times for the same issues. This company is obviously very skilled at ripping consumers off and should be thoroughly investigated and no longer able to operate. I will provide any paperwork, pictures and receipts to help. Original Estimate: $2407.00 Cubic Feet Over: 250cf $1691.00 (70cf over) Exceeding 75ft away: $120.00 (actual 90ft) Sony Stereo: $200.00 Dual Subwoofer: $200.00 Play Station: $175.00 2 Satellite converters: $100.00 C-dal dining table: $1590.00 DVD: $50.00 Total: $6533.00 (Not including all damaged furniture and/or lost item in boxes) Claims Compensation: $261.00 Thank you for your time,