They were late in getting my belongings to me from Los Angeles to Seattle, so I had to purchase clothes for the new job I was starting. That alone I wouldn't have said anything, however, when the truck finally arrived, the driver wouldn't take anything off of the truck until I paid him the balance. I did so and they dropped the furniture, boxes, etc, gave me the manifest and promptly went outside to wait for me to check it all, but no, they had left when I came out with questions.
As I went down the list, I noticed box after box missing. Overall, 10 large boxes of belongings, of which I have been compiling a list as I can remember. I tried to call them, but got a voicemail so I left a message. No call back. I called again and a woman named Danielle told me she would have the owner call me directly at 3pm. I waited and no call. Then I called again to find out how I would file an insurance claim. No call back. After this, no more calls answered from me and no call back to this day.
I was advised by my sister, to try using a moving company my brother-in-law worked for; Shleppers Moving and Storage. I agreed to use them, and two weeks in advance, set a date of November 28th, 2016, when their rep came by my house and quoted me $400 for the move. I told him that was low, seeing it was always around $1000 to move my things, when I did it myself. I was excited to not only save money, but not have to move the items. He reassured me everything was fine and the quote was solid. He agreed on the 28th, and told me they would get me a time. I called to get that time, but never got a response back (trusting this was family and everything was going to follow through). I finally received a call, morning of the 28th, that they were out front! Regardless, I was eager to move, and went ahead with buzzing them up.
In walked three movers, none of which were my brother in-law. It turns out he was called onto another move. I let these three strangers into my home, which was one of the worst mistake I have ever made. During the corse of my move they took twice the time they said. I had friends tell me they saw them by their truck, not doing anything. They finally got my things down to the truck, and we went to my new home.
There, I found that my stereo had been broken. That was after they smashed a lamp into the ground. It was not until later that I found the goose down, feather, couch that I got from Restoration Hardware was damaged, and one of my finer rings had been stolen! I was too busy dealing after the move, with the fact they asked me for $1000 for their service, and that’s outside of the materials they tried to charge me for; boxes they took back, tape they used, and plastic I had provided, but they used their own. Yup, $1000 for a job that I was quoted $400. I told them I would give them $700. They got their boss Jesse Heeber on the phone, and after a lot of arguing, he agreed to $700. I paid in cash, and they left. I received no quote, no paperwork, and no Bill of Landing.
I called Shleppers Moving and Storage, here in LA, and spoke with Jesse. Over the course of a month, he reassured me he was going to handle this. He kept telling me to call him back, and then would not answer. Then, he stopped answering my calls and texts. I tried calling the office in New York. They got me on the phone with Rob. He told me he was going to handle the situation. I never heard back from him.
Now, after looking over the internet, I have found that this is common practice for this company. I have found rampant complaints of over charging, surging, stealing, and more. It’s terrifying!!! Who knows what else they took I have not discovered yet. Worst is, I didn't look at reviews myself! I hired them. Now I see why reviews matter.
Now, I am trying to file a claim with my own insurance, but they need a Bill of Landing. They need paperwork. Something this company knew I would need. I am out of options, and left screwed over like everyone in all the reviews I’ve read since this happened. Including an interesting one, by a former employee, who states that this kind of stuff is encouraged! How does a scam and set-up, like this thieving company, keep getting away with this?
I bid out 6 moving companies for our cross-country move. I went with Shleppers because their Customer Service Rep, Erica Sanchez guaranteed that I would have my items delivered on 1/15/2016. The LA crew came to my house, packed us up on Jan 3rd. It was then supposed to be shipped by freight to the NY warehouse, and then to my new home in Hoboken, NJ on Jan 15th. I was extremely meticulous in my planning because I have a 3 month infant & all had to be precisely planned.
On Monday Jan 10th, I called Shleppers to give me a delivery window for the 15th. It was then that there seemed to be my first cause for concern. They got really strange on the phone & told me to call the driver. I was then given the drivers phone number, and I called him. The driver told me he was still in CA, and had no intention to leave town for a few more days. This was unacceptable to me, as we were guaranteed delivery on the 15th & someone clearly dropped the ball at Shleppers in the logistics dept. We had purchased plane tickets, and everything around these dates, as again I have an infant child and we could not live on air mattresses out of an empty apartment. I called Shleppers many times for customer support on what to do, what was my new window of delivery etc.… At one point Michael the owner got on the phone with me. He was extremely rude, talked down to me & told me that nothing in life is a guarantee and I was lucky I didn’t move in the summer because everyone is always 3 weeks or more delayed. He also told me that if I was to stay in a hotel, I could submit my receipt to their insurance for reimbursement & this is in fact the reason they have insurance company after all. Michael told me he would personally take care of me & then I never heard back from him again. I left him many messages with no return phone calls etc.… Everyday I called the driver, who refused to pick up. Everyday I called Erica at Shleppers & emailed her. She rarely would call me back. At one point she told me the truck broke down in Arkansas. She later admitted to me that the driver’s wife went into labor, that he parked the truck in Arkansas, bought a ticket to NY to be at the birth of his child & abandoned the truck. My husband, My Mother in Law, my baby & I ended up staying in a hotel from 1/15 – 1/22. That is 8 days in a hotel, and a lot of money out of our pocket we were not anticipating.
On 1/22 I was called by the driver who told me that he was 15 miles from Hoboken, NJ & that he needed to get home before the storm hit & he would not be bringing our stuff till Monday the 25th. We were about to have 2 feet of snow dumped on us & I had to threaten to find him & break his legs in order to get him to bring our stuff. Him & his crew were incredibly aggressive, & rude. They were very slow & kept demanding that we give them a really good tip. We still tipped them $400 cash because that are manual laborers and it was the right thing to do. Upon unpacking I realized many things were missing. 1. Our Christmas tree, 2. A framed Album Rolling Stones Album Poster that was signed by all the Rolling Stones, 3. An original print of Brad Pitt, signed by Brad Pitt, 4. An original print of Jimmy Kimmel, signed by him. (My husband and I are in the entertainment industry & have a lot of original artwork that is signed and priceless). My daughter’s dresser in her nursery was also damaged.
I kept calling and emailing Shleppers for help in trying to locate my items, and they couldn’t even bother to call me back. I texted the driver finally and asked if he had my Xmas tree, or any artwork. He wrote me back 10 days later in the middle of The Super bowl that he had our Xmas Tree & a couple pieces of the artwork & he would come by in 30 mins. I had a house full of people & now I had to deal with this? When I went outside to get my things, he handed me my signed Rolling Stones custom framed poster that had serious water damage & was now ruined. He handed me my Christmas tree, & my framed print of Brad Pit. He claimed to not have Jimmy Kimmel, and I never did receive it. I called Erica Sanchez again; she acted nice this time, ensuring me she would push my claim through & that I would get reimbursed. THIS WAS ALL LIES!!! She had me do lots of paperwork, provide all the back up receipts of the dresser, pictures of the damaged & lost artwork, and my hotel out of pocket expenses. I had to wait 60 days to hear back from Anthem, their insurance company who offered me a total of $66 for all my damaged, missing items, and out of pocket expenses. This was very unsettling to me. I called Erica again & she reassured me she would talk to the owners, as they were all aware how messed up my situation was & that they would add to my settlement. She promised to call me back later that week, and never did. I spent 2 weeks calling everyday and not getting a returned call. Today she told me there is nothing she can do, that the owners of the CA branch do not value my business and refuse to give me a dime over $66 for all the hell they put me & my family through, not to mention the items I can never replace again. THIS IS SO UNPROFESSIONAL ON SO MANY LEVELS!!
I am a VP, of Business Development. Never in my whole career have I seen such a piss poor display of customer service. I have made 4 cross-country moves in the last 10 years and will tell everyone who listens what a horrible company Shlepper’s is. I will take to every blog & website I can to also bash this company. The way they take care of their clients is disgusting & I don’t wish them on my worst enemy!!
This compliant applies to Civic Van Lines, Inc. - DBA Shleppers Moving & Storage (Owner/Co-Owner Mr. Zion Bitan). I sued this company and was awarded a judgment—I have impeccable documentation about my experience. From start to finish my experience was very poor. The price they charged me was over 50% more ($550) than the price they quoted me-- even after I removed a table and 4 chairs from the original quote. The movers checker-stacked my boxes (left big spaces in between) in order to inflate the cubic footage (since they charge by the cubic ft. this inflates the price). I took my own tape measure into the truck and showed the mover the actual measurements. He would not relent and insisted his measurements were correct.
I drove across country and called weekly to inquire where my stuff was.
In 3 weeks times it had not even left the place of origin. It took 30 days to receive my goods and I had to replace much of my wardrobe.
The biggest problem was that many of my belongings were severely damaged. A very padded TV box with a 50” TV had a crushed upper corner. The box had obviously tumbled and fell upside down and the TV frame was cracked and the screen was completely shattered. My two couches were wrapped in blankets and plastic but they had obviously been dragged instead of carried because 2/3rds of the feet on both couches were broken off and the leather near the bottom was scuffed up and torn. An entertainment center had the corners cracked and a tandem kayak had clearly been dragged upside down making one the seats unusable.
Company policy is that BEFORE the movers unload you possessions they insist on receiving a cash payment. They have you sign for each item unloaded and lead you to believe you are signing saying that you have received the item. However if you read the form you are signing saying that you received the item AND that it’s in it’s original condition. To sign for each item and inspect it means that you would have to unpack each item and inspect it (this would take hours). There is no way the movers would tolerate waiting for you to unpacked every item to inspect it. I was pressured to sign for each item without verifying its’ condition.
This company makes filing a claim and getting a fair price for damages VERY difficult. Filing a claim with their insurance company has to be done using hard copies via snail mail (yes you have to print out and send every picture). I received a form letter back from the company that did not even address my specific claims. Most of my claims were outright denied (with no rationale). I generously depreciated my TV and they only offered me about 10% of even the depreciated value. The judgment I received was over 10 times what I was offered.
In spite of winning a judgment Mr. Bitan of Civic Van Lines/Shleppers Moving and Storage has refused to pay me. In fact rather than pay me he spent nearly as much as he ended up owing me to fly across country to defend his company. Between filing a claim to their insurance company and filing a lawsuit I have spent over 30 hours and had to go to court twice missing 2 half days of work. I now have to spend more time to file a sister state judgment and have the sheriff cease assets/freeze their bank account.
If you want to read the absurdity of the argument Mr. Bitan made see claim #113695 filed and adjudicated at Civil and Magistrate Court in Augusta, GA.
Shleppers Moving & Storage Reviews
They were late in getting my belongings to me from Los Angeles to Seattle, so I had to purchase clothes for the new job I was starting. That alone I wouldn't have said anything, however, when the truck finally arrived, the driver wouldn't take anything off of the truck until I paid him the balance. I did so and they dropped the furniture, boxes, etc, gave me the manifest and promptly went outside to wait for me to check it all, but no, they had left when I came out with questions.
As I went down the list, I noticed box after box missing. Overall, 10 large boxes of belongings, of which I have been compiling a list as I can remember. I tried to call them, but got a voicemail so I left a message. No call back. I called again and a woman named Danielle told me she would have the owner call me directly at 3pm. I waited and no call. Then I called again to find out how I would file an insurance claim. No call back. After this, no more calls answered from me and no call back to this day.
I have no resolution.
I was advised by my sister, to try using a moving company my brother-in-law worked for; Shleppers Moving and Storage. I agreed to use them, and two weeks in advance, set a date of November 28th, 2016, when their rep came by my house and quoted me $400 for the move. I told him that was low, seeing it was always around $1000 to move my things, when I did it myself. I was excited to not only save money, but not have to move the items. He reassured me everything was fine and the quote was solid. He agreed on the 28th, and told me they would get me a time. I called to get that time, but never got a response back (trusting this was family and everything was going to follow through). I finally received a call, morning of the 28th, that they were out front! Regardless, I was eager to move, and went ahead with buzzing them up.
In walked three movers, none of which were my brother in-law. It turns out he was called onto another move. I let these three strangers into my home, which was one of the worst mistake I have ever made. During the corse of my move they took twice the time they said. I had friends tell me they saw them by their truck, not doing anything. They finally got my things down to the truck, and we went to my new home.
There, I found that my stereo had been broken. That was after they smashed a lamp into the ground. It was not until later that I found the goose down, feather, couch that I got from Restoration Hardware was damaged, and one of my finer rings had been stolen! I was too busy dealing after the move, with the fact they asked me for $1000 for their service, and that’s outside of the materials they tried to charge me for; boxes they took back, tape they used, and plastic I had provided, but they used their own. Yup, $1000 for a job that I was quoted $400. I told them I would give them $700. They got their boss Jesse Heeber on the phone, and after a lot of arguing, he agreed to $700. I paid in cash, and they left. I received no quote, no paperwork, and no Bill of Landing.
I called Shleppers Moving and Storage, here in LA, and spoke with Jesse. Over the course of a month, he reassured me he was going to handle this. He kept telling me to call him back, and then would not answer. Then, he stopped answering my calls and texts. I tried calling the office in New York. They got me on the phone with Rob. He told me he was going to handle the situation. I never heard back from him.
Now, after looking over the internet, I have found that this is common practice for this company. I have found rampant complaints of over charging, surging, stealing, and more. It’s terrifying!!! Who knows what else they took I have not discovered yet. Worst is, I didn't look at reviews myself! I hired them. Now I see why reviews matter.
Now, I am trying to file a claim with my own insurance, but they need a Bill of Landing. They need paperwork. Something this company knew I would need. I am out of options, and left screwed over like everyone in all the reviews I’ve read since this happened. Including an interesting one, by a former employee, who states that this kind of stuff is encouraged! How does a scam and set-up, like this thieving company, keep getting away with this?
Shleppers Moving & Storage: California
I bid out 6 moving companies for our cross-country move. I went with Shleppers because their Customer Service Rep, Erica Sanchez guaranteed that I would have my items delivered on 1/15/2016. The LA crew came to my house, packed us up on Jan 3rd. It was then supposed to be shipped by freight to the NY warehouse, and then to my new home in Hoboken, NJ on Jan 15th. I was extremely meticulous in my planning because I have a 3 month infant & all had to be precisely planned.
On Monday Jan 10th, I called Shleppers to give me a delivery window for the 15th. It was then that there seemed to be my first cause for concern. They got really strange on the phone & told me to call the driver. I was then given the drivers phone number, and I called him. The driver told me he was still in CA, and had no intention to leave town for a few more days. This was unacceptable to me, as we were guaranteed delivery on the 15th & someone clearly dropped the ball at Shleppers in the logistics dept. We had purchased plane tickets, and everything around these dates, as again I have an infant child and we could not live on air mattresses out of an empty apartment. I called Shleppers many times for customer support on what to do, what was my new window of delivery etc.… At one point Michael the owner got on the phone with me. He was extremely rude, talked down to me & told me that nothing in life is a guarantee and I was lucky I didn’t move in the summer because everyone is always 3 weeks or more delayed. He also told me that if I was to stay in a hotel, I could submit my receipt to their insurance for reimbursement & this is in fact the reason they have insurance company after all. Michael told me he would personally take care of me & then I never heard back from him again. I left him many messages with no return phone calls etc.… Everyday I called the driver, who refused to pick up. Everyday I called Erica at Shleppers & emailed her. She rarely would call me back. At one point she told me the truck broke down in Arkansas. She later admitted to me that the driver’s wife went into labor, that he parked the truck in Arkansas, bought a ticket to NY to be at the birth of his child & abandoned the truck. My husband, My Mother in Law, my baby & I ended up staying in a hotel from 1/15 – 1/22. That is 8 days in a hotel, and a lot of money out of our pocket we were not anticipating.
On 1/22 I was called by the driver who told me that he was 15 miles from Hoboken, NJ & that he needed to get home before the storm hit & he would not be bringing our stuff till Monday the 25th. We were about to have 2 feet of snow dumped on us & I had to threaten to find him & break his legs in order to get him to bring our stuff. Him & his crew were incredibly aggressive, & rude. They were very slow & kept demanding that we give them a really good tip. We still tipped them $400 cash because that are manual laborers and it was the right thing to do. Upon unpacking I realized many things were missing. 1. Our Christmas tree, 2. A framed Album Rolling Stones Album Poster that was signed by all the Rolling Stones, 3. An original print of Brad Pitt, signed by Brad Pitt, 4. An original print of Jimmy Kimmel, signed by him. (My husband and I are in the entertainment industry & have a lot of original artwork that is signed and priceless). My daughter’s dresser in her nursery was also damaged.
I kept calling and emailing Shleppers for help in trying to locate my items, and they couldn’t even bother to call me back. I texted the driver finally and asked if he had my Xmas tree, or any artwork. He wrote me back 10 days later in the middle of The Super bowl that he had our Xmas Tree & a couple pieces of the artwork & he would come by in 30 mins. I had a house full of people & now I had to deal with this? When I went outside to get my things, he handed me my signed Rolling Stones custom framed poster that had serious water damage & was now ruined. He handed me my Christmas tree, & my framed print of Brad Pit. He claimed to not have Jimmy Kimmel, and I never did receive it. I called Erica Sanchez again; she acted nice this time, ensuring me she would push my claim through & that I would get reimbursed. THIS WAS ALL LIES!!! She had me do lots of paperwork, provide all the back up receipts of the dresser, pictures of the damaged & lost artwork, and my hotel out of pocket expenses. I had to wait 60 days to hear back from Anthem, their insurance company who offered me a total of $66 for all my damaged, missing items, and out of pocket expenses. This was very unsettling to me. I called Erica again & she reassured me she would talk to the owners, as they were all aware how messed up my situation was & that they would add to my settlement. She promised to call me back later that week, and never did. I spent 2 weeks calling everyday and not getting a returned call. Today she told me there is nothing she can do, that the owners of the CA branch do not value my business and refuse to give me a dime over $66 for all the hell they put me & my family through, not to mention the items I can never replace again. THIS IS SO UNPROFESSIONAL ON SO MANY LEVELS!!
I am a VP, of Business Development. Never in my whole career have I seen such a piss poor display of customer service. I have made 4 cross-country moves in the last 10 years and will tell everyone who listens what a horrible company Shlepper’s is. I will take to every blog & website I can to also bash this company. The way they take care of their clients is disgusting & I don’t wish them on my worst enemy!!
This compliant applies to Civic Van Lines, Inc. - DBA Shleppers Moving & Storage (Owner/Co-Owner Mr. Zion Bitan). I sued this company and was awarded a judgment—I have impeccable documentation about my experience. From start to finish my experience was very poor. The price they charged me was over 50% more ($550) than the price they quoted me-- even after I removed a table and 4 chairs from the original quote. The movers checker-stacked my boxes (left big spaces in between) in order to inflate the cubic footage (since they charge by the cubic ft. this inflates the price). I took my own tape measure into the truck and showed the mover the actual measurements. He would not relent and insisted his measurements were correct.
I drove across country and called weekly to inquire where my stuff was.
In 3 weeks times it had not even left the place of origin. It took 30 days to receive my goods and I had to replace much of my wardrobe.
The biggest problem was that many of my belongings were severely damaged. A very padded TV box with a 50” TV had a crushed upper corner. The box had obviously tumbled and fell upside down and the TV frame was cracked and the screen was completely shattered. My two couches were wrapped in blankets and plastic but they had obviously been dragged instead of carried because 2/3rds of the feet on both couches were broken off and the leather near the bottom was scuffed up and torn. An entertainment center had the corners cracked and a tandem kayak had clearly been dragged upside down making one the seats unusable.
Company policy is that BEFORE the movers unload you possessions they insist on receiving a cash payment. They have you sign for each item unloaded and lead you to believe you are signing saying that you have received the item. However if you read the form you are signing saying that you received the item AND that it’s in it’s original condition. To sign for each item and inspect it means that you would have to unpack each item and inspect it (this would take hours). There is no way the movers would tolerate waiting for you to unpacked every item to inspect it. I was pressured to sign for each item without verifying its’ condition.
This company makes filing a claim and getting a fair price for damages VERY difficult. Filing a claim with their insurance company has to be done using hard copies via snail mail (yes you have to print out and send every picture). I received a form letter back from the company that did not even address my specific claims. Most of my claims were outright denied (with no rationale). I generously depreciated my TV and they only offered me about 10% of even the depreciated value. The judgment I received was over 10 times what I was offered.
In spite of winning a judgment Mr. Bitan of Civic Van Lines/Shleppers Moving and Storage has refused to pay me. In fact rather than pay me he spent nearly as much as he ended up owing me to fly across country to defend his company. Between filing a claim to their insurance company and filing a lawsuit I have spent over 30 hours and had to go to court twice missing 2 half days of work. I now have to spend more time to file a sister state judgment and have the sheriff cease assets/freeze their bank account.
If you want to read the absurdity of the argument Mr. Bitan made see claim #113695 filed and adjudicated at Civil and Magistrate Court in Augusta, GA.