The worst experience I've ever had. I'd prefer to give negative stars! They broke MANY of our things, and we had items go missing. Additionally, they overcharged us more than 1000 over the original cost, and refused to return our things unless we paid upfront the amounts in dispute. While at my home they threatened to take all my items back to their warehouse and charge me even more money.
I paid as I wanted my items back. After the move, I filed claims with them and opened a complaint with the Illinois Commerce Commission. Advanced first offered a settlement of 60 bucks. The second was for around 180. The third was around 500. I rejected all of these offers as I wanted what was fair, reasonable and just. After much back and forth, I finally filed a small claims suit...and yesterday I WON everything I asked the court for. Use virtually ANYONE else! I wish I had read previous reviews.
The owner is not an ethical person. If you had these issues, see it through to the end and don't give up. As long as the truth is on your side, you will prevail. Document EVERYTHING. Who you spoke with, estimates, contracts, emails...EVERYTHING. I would NEVER recommend this company. The owner is toddler like in his fits of anger when he knows he is wrong. Go with a reputable well known company. It is worth it!
IF YOU HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED BY THIS COMPANY, CONTACT THE FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIERS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION @ 800-832-5660 TO FILE A COMPLAINT**
AVOID “ADVANCED” MOVING & STORAGE, INC LIKE THE PLAGUE. In fact, I firmly believe that having the plague would have been a more pleasurable experience than our happenings with this grossly despicable company, and its owner, Jim Lalagos.
Our experience with Advanced Moving and Storage, Inc began in late March, when we hired them to move our household goods from Illinois to Texas, based on their seeming ability to do so on a short notice. Upon providing a 25% deposit (with the remaining 75% being due upon delivery), the company agreed to a 4/3/17 pickup date, and a 4/7/17 delivery date (with 4/15 being the latest that they were supposed to deliver).
The moving crew arrived on the scheduled date, and performed their duties without incident. Bill, the driver, informed us after the trailer was packed that he would call us on Thursday (the day before our scheduled delivery date of 4/7), to let us know what time he would be arriving on Friday. Confident that we would be receiving our household goods on 4/7, we left for Texas in our personal vehicle on 4/5, and arrived late at night to our empty house on 4/6.
Even though we never received a call from Bill on 4/6, we still woke up early on 4/7, anticipating that our property would be arriving that day. After waiting several hours and not hearing anything from the company, we took it upon ourselves to reach out to them. Jim Lalagos, the owner, finally got in touch with us later that afternoon. He informed us that the truck broke down in St. Louis (where they were delivering a load to another family), but assured us that it was a “minor issue,” and that he would have more information for us on Monday (4/10).
It’s also important to note that Jim called us on 4/5 and said that he needed to run our card for the remaining balance that was supposed to be due upon delivery. We did not think anything of it at the time, but in hindsight it is hugely suspicious that he needed to run our card around the same time that the truck allegedly broke down.
As Monday rolled around, however, we did not hear anything from Jim. Once again, we reached out to him and he told us that he had no idea when the truck would be repaired, but that it needed a new hose. Jim was reasonably polite up until I asked him about a discount for the inconvenience, or compensation for all the things we had to buy to sustain us in an empty house. He became aggressively psychotic at this point, and told me that he owed us nothing, and that he legally didn’t have to do anything in terms of recompense. Moreover, he informed me that he was facing a lot more problems than us due to his truck being broken. Disturbed by this, I hung up.
Two days later, on 4/12, I called Jim again. Once again, he said that the truck was still being repaired, but there now was a problem with one of the gauges. I asked him to provide an estimate as to when the truck might be back on the road, yet he still claimed to have no idea. Two more days passed before I contacted him again, and he responded, per usual, with “I don’t know.” Fed up with Jim’s lack of communication, his inability to perform the service we paid his company for, and his rude behavior, I told him that we were going to consult with an attorney. Furious that I would dare question his authority, Jim said that he would no longer be in communication with us.
Following this, I had to use my father (who lives in Chicago) as an intermediary between us and Jim. On Wednesday, 4/19, Jim told my father that the truck was repaired, and that it would be leaving on 4/20. Also, Jim said that we owed him almost $4,400 even though he had already been paid in full. Shocked by this, my father demanded to know why. Jim responded by saying “I will refund what they paid through their debit card, but I need a wire transfer or cashier’s check.” Alarmed by this, my father alerted me immediately.
On Thursday, 4/20, I called the company and spoke to Jim’s receptionist, Dahlia. She informed me that the truck was leaving that day, but that we still owed the company $4,400 (cash or cashier’s check by 4/22), or else it would not be delivered. Utterly appalled, I indicated to her that what they were doing was/is illegal, and that the proper authorities would be contacted, in addition to legal action being taken. She then said that our property would be arriving on Sunday (4/23), or Monday (4/24) & that Bill would be calling us in advance, but refused to give me his phone number. I subsequently decided to file a report with the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (Department of Transportation), whereupon they told me that Jim was likely holding our belongings hostage, and that the company could be facing a $10,000/day fine for doing so.
To add insult to injury, Jim had the audacity to call my father the day after I talked to Dahlia & to leave him a voicemail specifying that if we didn’t get a cashier’s check to him by the end of the day on Saturday (4/22), then our property would not be delivered. Furthermore, Jim told my father that we never contacted him, which is an abject lie. On 4/22, I once again called the company, and Dahlia notified me that we still owed the company money. She also said that the truck was in Missouri delivering someone elses load, which gave rise to another suspicion which I will detail in the next paragraph.
I firmly believe that a) the truck never broke down, and that Jim brought it back to Illinois to fill it with more loads after delivering to the supposed family in St. Louis (to increase his profit) before sending our shipment down to us in Texas, or that b) the truck did break down, but that it was repaired much more quickly than Jim let on, yet he delayed our shipment to fill it with more loads before finally sending it our way. I have experience in the transportation industry, and I know that the turnaround time for a truck is generally not the two weeks that it supposedly took for Advanced Moving and Storage to get theirs repaired.
Late Sunday night (4/23), we received a call from Bill telling us that he would be arriving on Monday (4/24) between 9-10 am. Bill and a crew of three outsourced movers arrived at around 9:15 am, whereupon Bill brought in a stack of papers that he said we needed to sign before he could start offloading the trailer. After reviewing the papers, we noticed a Credit/Debit Card Authorization Form, stating that we owed $3,300, and that we could not file any claims for missing/damaged goods expect through Advanced Moving and Storage. Hugely disturbed by this, we told Bill that we had no legal obligation to sign said form since they had already been paid in full, and that we had proof of payment.
Bill proceeded to go into his truck to call Jim, and told us that he revised the form to indicate that we did pay in full. Not convinced by the legality of this, I told Bill that we would contact our lawyer and the FMCSA. Bill then said that we would be charged for the extra time, and he went out to once again talk to Jim, while I called our lawyer (who was out of the office) and the FMCSA. The agent with the FMCSA told me to do whatever possible to regain possession of our property, even it meant signing something that was illegal (since it could be worked out in the courts later).
Shortly after this, we received a call from Dahlia telling us that we had to sign the document, and that it was standard practice for their company. I told her that they were extorting us and engaging in illegal behavior, whereupon she put Jim on the phone. Jim told me that he was “done playing games,” and that if we didn’t sign, then we would instruct Bill to leave with our property. I told him that what he was doing was against the law, but he hung up anyways. Bill subsequently said that he was leaving with our property, and taking it to a storage facility indefinitely, which we would also be charged for.
After that, I called the police, but my mother hurried to the truck to sign the form under duress, simply so we could regain possession of our household goods. Shortly after signing, a deputy sheriff showed up, and filed a report to make note of the fact that we were strong armed into signing the document. After all of this, Bill finally instructed the crew to offload our property, which was done within five hours. After three weeks of unbearable stress and misery, we finally had our belongings… or most of them.
We are still going through some of the inventory, but are already missing over $3000 worth of property, my desktop computer included. I believe that Bill or Jim stole a variety of items from our shipment, especially since the company appears to be financially insolvent. Advanced Moving and Storage is also officially under investigation by the FMCSA as I type this. Do NOT use this company. I have never dealt with a criminal enterprise, but this is probably the closest that I will ever come to doing so. If you value your money, time, sanity and property, then steer clear of Jim Lalagos, his son Tyler, and their company, Advanced Moving and Storage, Inc.
Advanced Moving and Storage, Inc. Reviews
The worst experience I've ever had. I'd prefer to give negative stars! They broke MANY of our things, and we had items go missing. Additionally, they overcharged us more than 1000 over the original cost, and refused to return our things unless we paid upfront the amounts in dispute. While at my home they threatened to take all my items back to their warehouse and charge me even more money.
I paid as I wanted my items back. After the move, I filed claims with them and opened a complaint with the Illinois Commerce Commission. Advanced first offered a settlement of 60 bucks. The second was for around 180. The third was around 500. I rejected all of these offers as I wanted what was fair, reasonable and just. After much back and forth, I finally filed a small claims suit...and yesterday I WON everything I asked the court for. Use virtually ANYONE else! I wish I had read previous reviews.
The owner is not an ethical person. If you had these issues, see it through to the end and don't give up. As long as the truth is on your side, you will prevail. Document EVERYTHING. Who you spoke with, estimates, contracts, emails...EVERYTHING. I would NEVER recommend this company. The owner is toddler like in his fits of anger when he knows he is wrong. Go with a reputable well known company. It is worth it!
IF YOU HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED BY THIS COMPANY, CONTACT THE FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIERS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION @ 800-832-5660 TO FILE A COMPLAINT**
AVOID “ADVANCED” MOVING & STORAGE, INC LIKE THE PLAGUE. In fact, I firmly believe that having the plague would have been a more pleasurable experience than our happenings with this grossly despicable company, and its owner, Jim Lalagos.
Our experience with Advanced Moving and Storage, Inc began in late March, when we hired them to move our household goods from Illinois to Texas, based on their seeming ability to do so on a short notice. Upon providing a 25% deposit (with the remaining 75% being due upon delivery), the company agreed to a 4/3/17 pickup date, and a 4/7/17 delivery date (with 4/15 being the latest that they were supposed to deliver).
The moving crew arrived on the scheduled date, and performed their duties without incident. Bill, the driver, informed us after the trailer was packed that he would call us on Thursday (the day before our scheduled delivery date of 4/7), to let us know what time he would be arriving on Friday. Confident that we would be receiving our household goods on 4/7, we left for Texas in our personal vehicle on 4/5, and arrived late at night to our empty house on 4/6.
Even though we never received a call from Bill on 4/6, we still woke up early on 4/7, anticipating that our property would be arriving that day. After waiting several hours and not hearing anything from the company, we took it upon ourselves to reach out to them. Jim Lalagos, the owner, finally got in touch with us later that afternoon. He informed us that the truck broke down in St. Louis (where they were delivering a load to another family), but assured us that it was a “minor issue,” and that he would have more information for us on Monday (4/10).
It’s also important to note that Jim called us on 4/5 and said that he needed to run our card for the remaining balance that was supposed to be due upon delivery. We did not think anything of it at the time, but in hindsight it is hugely suspicious that he needed to run our card around the same time that the truck allegedly broke down.
As Monday rolled around, however, we did not hear anything from Jim. Once again, we reached out to him and he told us that he had no idea when the truck would be repaired, but that it needed a new hose. Jim was reasonably polite up until I asked him about a discount for the inconvenience, or compensation for all the things we had to buy to sustain us in an empty house. He became aggressively psychotic at this point, and told me that he owed us nothing, and that he legally didn’t have to do anything in terms of recompense. Moreover, he informed me that he was facing a lot more problems than us due to his truck being broken. Disturbed by this, I hung up.
Two days later, on 4/12, I called Jim again. Once again, he said that the truck was still being repaired, but there now was a problem with one of the gauges. I asked him to provide an estimate as to when the truck might be back on the road, yet he still claimed to have no idea. Two more days passed before I contacted him again, and he responded, per usual, with “I don’t know.” Fed up with Jim’s lack of communication, his inability to perform the service we paid his company for, and his rude behavior, I told him that we were going to consult with an attorney. Furious that I would dare question his authority, Jim said that he would no longer be in communication with us.
Following this, I had to use my father (who lives in Chicago) as an intermediary between us and Jim. On Wednesday, 4/19, Jim told my father that the truck was repaired, and that it would be leaving on 4/20. Also, Jim said that we owed him almost $4,400 even though he had already been paid in full. Shocked by this, my father demanded to know why. Jim responded by saying “I will refund what they paid through their debit card, but I need a wire transfer or cashier’s check.” Alarmed by this, my father alerted me immediately.
On Thursday, 4/20, I called the company and spoke to Jim’s receptionist, Dahlia. She informed me that the truck was leaving that day, but that we still owed the company $4,400 (cash or cashier’s check by 4/22), or else it would not be delivered. Utterly appalled, I indicated to her that what they were doing was/is illegal, and that the proper authorities would be contacted, in addition to legal action being taken. She then said that our property would be arriving on Sunday (4/23), or Monday (4/24) & that Bill would be calling us in advance, but refused to give me his phone number. I subsequently decided to file a report with the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (Department of Transportation), whereupon they told me that Jim was likely holding our belongings hostage, and that the company could be facing a $10,000/day fine for doing so.
To add insult to injury, Jim had the audacity to call my father the day after I talked to Dahlia & to leave him a voicemail specifying that if we didn’t get a cashier’s check to him by the end of the day on Saturday (4/22), then our property would not be delivered. Furthermore, Jim told my father that we never contacted him, which is an abject lie. On 4/22, I once again called the company, and Dahlia notified me that we still owed the company money. She also said that the truck was in Missouri delivering someone elses load, which gave rise to another suspicion which I will detail in the next paragraph.
I firmly believe that a) the truck never broke down, and that Jim brought it back to Illinois to fill it with more loads after delivering to the supposed family in St. Louis (to increase his profit) before sending our shipment down to us in Texas, or that b) the truck did break down, but that it was repaired much more quickly than Jim let on, yet he delayed our shipment to fill it with more loads before finally sending it our way. I have experience in the transportation industry, and I know that the turnaround time for a truck is generally not the two weeks that it supposedly took for Advanced Moving and Storage to get theirs repaired.
Late Sunday night (4/23), we received a call from Bill telling us that he would be arriving on Monday (4/24) between 9-10 am. Bill and a crew of three outsourced movers arrived at around 9:15 am, whereupon Bill brought in a stack of papers that he said we needed to sign before he could start offloading the trailer. After reviewing the papers, we noticed a Credit/Debit Card Authorization Form, stating that we owed $3,300, and that we could not file any claims for missing/damaged goods expect through Advanced Moving and Storage. Hugely disturbed by this, we told Bill that we had no legal obligation to sign said form since they had already been paid in full, and that we had proof of payment.
Bill proceeded to go into his truck to call Jim, and told us that he revised the form to indicate that we did pay in full. Not convinced by the legality of this, I told Bill that we would contact our lawyer and the FMCSA. Bill then said that we would be charged for the extra time, and he went out to once again talk to Jim, while I called our lawyer (who was out of the office) and the FMCSA. The agent with the FMCSA told me to do whatever possible to regain possession of our property, even it meant signing something that was illegal (since it could be worked out in the courts later).
Shortly after this, we received a call from Dahlia telling us that we had to sign the document, and that it was standard practice for their company. I told her that they were extorting us and engaging in illegal behavior, whereupon she put Jim on the phone. Jim told me that he was “done playing games,” and that if we didn’t sign, then we would instruct Bill to leave with our property. I told him that what he was doing was against the law, but he hung up anyways. Bill subsequently said that he was leaving with our property, and taking it to a storage facility indefinitely, which we would also be charged for.
After that, I called the police, but my mother hurried to the truck to sign the form under duress, simply so we could regain possession of our household goods. Shortly after signing, a deputy sheriff showed up, and filed a report to make note of the fact that we were strong armed into signing the document. After all of this, Bill finally instructed the crew to offload our property, which was done within five hours. After three weeks of unbearable stress and misery, we finally had our belongings… or most of them.
We are still going through some of the inventory, but are already missing over $3000 worth of property, my desktop computer included. I believe that Bill or Jim stole a variety of items from our shipment, especially since the company appears to be financially insolvent. Advanced Moving and Storage is also officially under investigation by the FMCSA as I type this. Do NOT use this company. I have never dealt with a criminal enterprise, but this is probably the closest that I will ever come to doing so. If you value your money, time, sanity and property, then steer clear of Jim Lalagos, his son Tyler, and their company, Advanced Moving and Storage, Inc.