Consumer complaints about Bekins Van Lines - General Moving Mayhem

Consumer Complaints & Reviews

Michelle of Cibolo, TX on Oct. 20, 2005

My husband was killed in Iraq and Bekins moved me to Texas from Ft Lewis Washington. I purchased additional insurance and was very nice to them, buying them food everyday and tipping them.They dropped off my things leaving me to put it all together and carry it all up the stairs by myself. I was in a new area with my two year old and did not know a soul. They never picked up the boxes and I had to pay to have them hauled off.

I was missing boxes of my late daughter's belongings, and my husband's dress blues.They broke my antique mirror and swore it would be replaced, it was never replaced. All of my breakables were broken, and they packed food with toilet brushes, and used wardrobe boxes to pack single bottles of hawiian punch, milking it for all they could. My doctor prescribed me Valium that I refilled while the movers were there, i went to take out the trash, and half of the bottle was missing, while I overheard the packers talking about partying and crystal meth.

I spoke to the supervisor, who responded by saying he would always take his employees word over a customer. So upon the stress of losing a daughter, and a husband, I had to deal with these horrible people. I don't wish bad upon people, but Bekins really should not be in business. They are disgusting, immoral, and uneducated people.

Carl of Fishersville, VA on Oct. 13, 2005

Bekins picked up our belongings on 12/18/04 in Palm City, Florida,
stored them until 2/23/05 and delivered them to Virginia 2/26/05.
Insurance was paid on these goods; however, our claim for loss and
damage, which amounted to almost $2,500 and included original repair,
purchase and estimate documents, was denied without explanation.
Bekins refuses to return our phone calls. The handling of this claim
directly contrasts their advertising claims and future shippers should

be forewarned.

Stephen of Parrish, FL on Oct. 12, 2005

Bekins recently moved us from Sacramento, California to Parrish, Florida. Damage occurred to some of our furniture because of water damage caused by a leak in the roof of the trailer as it crossed the country. Additional furniture damaged was caused by tools improperly used by Bekins' staff as well as inadequate padding placed around the furniture. After a claim was filed; Bekins' estimated $468.55 in damages and then subtracted a $500 deductible from the estimate .. holding me responsible for Bekins' negligence.

Estimates that I have received from reputable furniture refinishers have exceeded $1,123.00. Bekins's and the local Bekins' origination company have ignored all letters that I have sent to them regarding the resolution of my claim.

Shirley of Hot Springs, AR on Sept. 27, 2005

I hired Bekins Movers to store some of my furniture and then move me to Arkansas. They picked up the stuff to be stored on May 27, 2005. June 29, 2005 they picked up the rest of the load to bring it to AR. I only received one third of the load. I followed their instructions and filed a claim. I waited over the 45 days and called them. They told me that the driver MAY have part of my things. Because of the hurricane they asked me to wait another two weeks. I feel that they have had more than enough time to locate my things.

I took out value insurance. I also feel they owe me one third of my cost because they did not deliver one third. Also, when the driver came to deliver the partial load, he did not tell me until the very last minute that I still owed him $429.00. This was at 2:45 in the afternoon and the banks would soon closed. Luckily for me there was someone here to loan me $400.00 in cash. I have used Bekins in two other long distance moves and all went very well. This time, every box they delivered looked like it had been thru a war zone.

Carol of Longwood, FL on Aug. 30, 2005

What a TERRIBLE experience! The person who came to my house sounded good, and when I mentioned horror stories, he insisted that since Bekins has guaranteed pricing, that doesn't happen with them. I signed the papers, and the estimate was written directly across from the words, in capital letters, "GUARANTEED PRICE".

First off, it took a month to get my things. I heard nothing from the company about where my things were, and got no response to 2 phone calls and an email expressing my concern. When my things arrived, they needed to rent a smaller truck to reach my place. They wanted me to pay almost $400 for that, and I refused. Of course it took 5 minutes for them to get in touch with me then. They wanted to keep my things, and I said, well what is this paper that says guaranteed price?

After faxing a copy of the bill of lading to customer service, they said that they would inform the movers not to charge me anything. Well, today I got a bill for almost $400, with them having made changes by hand to their copy of the bill of lading, changes that I have not signed off. The guy in California, when I asked him about the pricing, said, well, it's on the guaranteed price line so it's code A. WHAT? I wanted to know why the estimate wasn't on the non-binding agreement line instead of the guaranteed price line. Oh, that's code B. ?? He insisted that he explained all of that, which I don't remember, then he went on to get nasty and say that I just didn't listen to anything, did I? That it's all about money for me isn't it? Well, duh.

Then I wanted to know why my things took so long to get here. According to him, none of it was his responsibility after it left my house. As I unpacked, I came across cockroaches and mouse droppings, as well as moisture stains and terrible smells. I found a family heirloom broken, as well as a column that isn't manufactured any more. All I can say is, everything was misleading and they DON'T care about their clients, or their clients' things. I will never, ever use another mover.

Karen of Plattsburgh, NY on Aug. 17, 2005

I am so happy to see that I am not the only one to have a HORRIFIC move with the Bekins company. My husband and I have moved a cross country twice before, and each time was not great, but this experience with Bekins was BY FAR the absolute worst. They unpacked our stuff from storage in Madison WI, as well as marrying it with things we had brought from Colorado, and I was assured that my things would be there within five days--they have this "spread date" policy, which indicated that my things were to be in NY between July 31st and August 3rd.

On August 1st, I got a call from the COMPUTER voice--(a human never ever contacted me in any way from Bekins) calmly informing me that my "spread dates" hah changed and they were now August 3rd-August 8th! The cheery computer voice hoped this "wasn't an inconvenience"..Well needless to say, there we were in our empty townhouse, with nothing--no dishes, mattress, nothing for another week! So, we bought an air mattress, and tried to keep our spirits up.

On the morning of the 8th I got up early, as I had been informed (again, by the computer voice) that my things would arrive on the 8th. At 8:15 I called the drivers cell phone number--I had demanded this from our agent in Madison the days before, and WOKE HIM UP..So much for morning delivery. he called me at approximately 1pm and was two hour away. At 6:45pm, he and ONE other guy showed up to unload our 7500 pounds of furniture and boxes. Not only were they DAYS late and HOURS late, but these two guys couldn't have been more rude.

They dropped my things, banged my furniture around, and when I got concerned kept telling me "it will be alright..". My boxes were crushed, and much of my china, and a halogen lamp were absolutely shattered. Our furniture was on its side, unwrapped, and our Kayak was smashed up against the back of the truck. As you all know, they won't do anything until you pay them, and at that point I just really wanted a bed to sleep in and a dish to eat out of, so I paid them, thinking how much worse could it get?

At 1:45am, when my beds weren't put together, I was informed that my "space on the truck" was empty. I said, "but there are numbers in the inventory that I haven't crossed off?" and was told that "well, everything was off the truck, so I must have not been paying attention, and they were SURE everything was there".. Well, everything is NOT here. We are missing two irreplcable prints (not to mention the $300 frame job on each) and two Tiffany bowls, and the list is growing very day.

I have yet to reach a sympathetic human at the Bekins office, and have been told that a "claim form" has been issued and that they will track my inventory with the paperwork from the driver when he gets around to sending it in..No one from the calims office has ever contacted me, or apologized in any way, and I was forced to pay the total bill regardless of the late delivery and mismanagement of my things. Isn't there any way they are accountable for this situation?

Lori of Hoover, AL on Aug. 1, 2005

When chosing Bekins I thought I was chosing a team of professionals but that was proved to be wrong. I could go on for hours about the mess I went through on them packing me but I will just start with when they arrived to unload my furniture. I was so excited about moving into my brand new home and using my brand new furniture that I had bought in Florida (where I moved from) until they opened the trailer and things started falling out. They started unloading and here comes my couch that I have never sat on ruined and that was just the start.

Just about every piece of furniture that I own was ripped, scratched, dented , and/or dinged. Just about all my furniture is either new or 8 months old. I also don't find it very professional having a twelve year old unloading my furniture and putting his dirty hand all over my walls that were freshly painted. The wood floors I was so happy to have now have dents and scratches all over them. My clothes that I have spent hours on ironing are now wrinkled from being thrown in the bottom of boxes, a lot of my boxes are crushed.

They also shrink wrapped my outside grill which is broken from being turned upside down but they didn't shrink wrap my brand new leather couch that still has the tags on it. Makes no since at all.

Alex of Glendale, CA on June 28, 2005

I hired Bekins to pack and load my possessions and move them to my
new home. The packers were not happy because they said I did not buy
enough boxes. I spoke with Steve Jones, my salesman, who said that I
had purchased everything I needed. The packers then threw my jewelry,
collectibles, personal items, shoes and clothes into boxes together.
They used no rhyme or reason, no packaging supplies or wrapping and
absolutely no professionalism. I complained vigorously to Steve, who
showed up the next day to supervise the loading of my possessions.
The driver showed up, his children in tow, to help load my
belongings! When the items were unloaded at my new home, I found
loose jewelry in many boxes, lamp shades were ruined, a beveled glass
table top and various kitchen items were broken, I was missing boxes of
my possessions and I had received boxes of someone else's items. Each
person I spoke with at Arcadia and Bekins' corporate office was
unsympathetic and completely unhelpful. I even left a message for the
supervisor, Mike Rogers, who never returned my call. My damages total

approximately $600 and I will never use Bekins again.

Robert of Cleveland, OH on June 27, 2005

My clients went to the Bekins website and were referred to a local
Bekins agent, Capital Moving
and Storage. My clients signed with Capital for an intrastate move.
Capital damaged most of my clients' possessions and then refused to
follow PUCO regulations (state rules regarding the handling of claims).
As their lawyer, I sued both Bekins and Capital under a principal/agent
theory of liability. Bekins plead that their agreement with Capital
covered interstate (not intrastate) moves only. This information was
never disclosed by Capital to my clients. I then sued both entities
under my state's consumer protection laws which provide for general
and punitive damages and attorney's fees. We also sued under the
insurance policy my clients purchased for the move. They capitulated

and paid handsomely.

Katheryn of Surprise, AZ on May 26, 2005

I have 3 typed pages of complaints that I mailed to Bekins on 2/22/05 in regards to our move from California to Arizona with their unprofessional drivers and helpers. On Jan. 31, 2005, the 1st van pulled up to our house 4 hours late and was already 2/3 full of furniture. There was no way our household goods could fit. The driver assured us that it was not a problem, he could fit everything in. After loading all afternoon and into the night, it was 4 am the next morning that he told us everything would not fit (besides some furniture, there was a garage full of boxes still left). He said there would be another truck coming to pick up the remainder of our household goods in a few hours.

It was now Feb. 1, 2005 and the new owners of the house were going to be moving in that day. FYI: We had made these moving arrangements far in advance and confirmed the moving date a month ahead of time. To shorten this saga a bit...the 2nd van arrived & with the help of the local Bekins personal (who were very helpful, while the new owners are waiting with their furniture van & helpers to move into the house. The van was loaded 3 hours later & taken to the local Bekins storage area, to be delivered to Arizona at a later date.

There was a major discrepency about the delivery date of the 1st van - we made several phone calls to Illinois to straighten it out & thought we had arranged everything with the driver. It wasn't supposed to be delivered until Feb. 7th and they were telling us that the van would be delivering our things on Sat. Feb. 5th...and if we didn't accept that date, they would put it in storage and charge us for that time, plus the loading & unlodading fees. So we move up the delivery date to the 5th. After the 1st van is unloaded we realize that we only have parts of things, like out of 3 beds, we don't have all the pieces to just one bed and we have table legs but no table to use for meals...so we sleep on the floor and eat all our meals out (all of our boxes are still in California with food, plates, etc.) The 2nd van is supposed to deliver the rest of our household goods on Feb. 8th, but 3 times it gets rescheduled.

Ernest of Fort Oglethorpe, GA on May 13, 2005

Bekins moved us from Pensacola, FL to Fort Oglethorpe, GA in
March 2005. We purchased the premier insurance which was supposed to
provide replacement cost to any items that might be damaged during the
move. One of the Bekins employees, Shawn, stole from us and damaged
our credit. When we reported this to Bekins, they informed us that
Shawn had been fired the prior day due to charges brought against him
in another county. When Bekins arrived to unload our belongings in
Georgia, we were introduced to a young teenager, Eddie, the lead
man's cousin or nephew. We were told Eddie was going to help out
since the crew was missing one mover that day. Eddie and the moving
crew caused damage to our belongings resulting in a broken desk, lamp,
and TV antenna, a broken locking mechanism on the Nordic Track, a broken
safety hinge on our dining room table, a damaged corner on the armoire
and damage to numerous artificial plants. I called Bekins and the
insurance adjuster and filed appropriate paperwork. An adjuster
made a decision regarding our claim without ever coming to our home to
inspect the damages we alleged. They refuse to pay for anything
except the broken desk and have not offered a formal reason for the

denial.

Simon of Palm Coast, FL on March 10, 2005

We used Bekin Van Lines in a recent move and purchased replacement
cost insurance from them. Bekins broke our bedroom mirror and
headboard. We have provided them with the original receipts for the
furniture, but Bekins and the insurance carrier will pay only 1/2 the
receipts price. I protested this decision but was informed today that

my request for additional money has been denied.

Kim of Lindhurst, OH on Feb. 24, 2005

Bekins moved our household furnishings this summer. We purchased
additional insurance through Bekins for $900. When we unpacked, we
found ripped upholstery, cracked frames on a mirror and painting
(both packaged by Bekins) and broken branches on our silk trees.
We filed a claim and received no response. After numerous calls and
3 letters, there has still been no response from Bekins or the local

Little Rock agent. Damages resulted in approximately $2,000.

Jonathan of Incline Village, NV on Feb. 14, 2005

Bekins moved our household from Rochester, NY to Reno, NV. Our
salesman told us our belongings would be loaded before Thanksgiving and
delivered by December 9th. I explained that we were traveling on
vacation over the holidays with our 2 small children and we would need
many of the packed items for the vacation. The salesman made a note
on the contract that all items must be delivered by December 17th at
the latest. our belongings did not arrive by the 17th resulting in
significant stress and cost to our family. Bekins has denied our
claim and our phone calls are not being returned. We will file a
complaint with the BBB and go to small claims court if necessary for

compensation of the $1,000 in additional expenses we incurred.

Myron of Las Vegas, NV on Jan. 24, 2005

Bekins moved me from Newburgh, NY to Las Vegas, NV using a local
agent. They were over 3 weeks late shipping my items.
Numerous items were missing and the items I did receive were damaged.
My claims for food and lodging were denied. The move costs $12,119.

I hired an attorney and received almost $8,000 from Bekins.

Robert of Seattle, WA on Jan. 19, 2005

The Bekins non-binding estimate given to me for a local move was
$536. In hopes of lowering the price, I moved the kitchen table and
4 chairs, a bed, a TV, a microwave and a TV stand myself earlier that week.
Upon delivery, the total moving charge showed $815. The movers could
not explain the inflated price, so I spoke with the dispatcher who
made a minor reduction in price. I was forced to sign the invoice so
the movers could leave; however, I added an addendum to the invoice
stating my frustration and canceled my credit until I could speak
with a relocation consultant. I ended up paying $631, still more than
the original estimate, but less than what they were trying to scam from

me.

Andrew of Boerne, TX on Jan. 2, 2005

I contracted with Bekins to move my household goods from Sacramento,
CA to Boerne, TX by 9/18/04 at the latest. The actual delivery date
was not until 10/02/04. This 15 day delay caused me to incur large
expenses for food and lodging as well as frustration, anguish and
family strife. I filed a claim with Bekins on 10/17/04 for all
expenses incurred and included all receipts. On 11/17/04 Bekins sent
me a check for less than half of the claim and gave no explanation as
to how they derived the amount. When I asked for an explanation, they

were indignant and refused to send or provide any further information.

Jeffrey of Lincolnwood, IL on Dec. 29, 2004

Bekins Boyer-Rosen Moving Company sent totally unqualified people
to move a large household of valuable furniture that my wife and I
collected over a lifetime. As a result, they damaged over $75,000 of
our possessions. The movers smoked and sat on our expensive antiques,
damaged wood stairs and walls, ruined our baby grand piano and left our
possessions overnight in a truck that leaked profusely during the rain.
Bekins made numerous promises that they did not keep, and while I cannot
list them all here, I have contacted an attorney and written an
extensive letter to Bekins and the Illinois State Commerce Commission

detailing the damages and asking for assistance in this matter.

Andrea of Wilmington, NC on Dec. 19, 2004

Bekins damaged and lost multiple items during a recent move.
They paid only $350 of the $8,253 claim I submitted. Repeated
attempts to resolve the situation have failed as Mr. Rogers has

refused to reply to either my attorney or me.

Kristy of Fort Myers, FL on Feb. 21, 2004

I contacted the company for a long distance move from Dallas, Texas to Fort Myers. Florida in August 2003. A sales rep in Dallas came to my apartment to give me an estimate. He was very nice and I thought the price was somewhat reasonable, and he said I would have my things in Florida within 10 days of the pickup. So I agreed. The first thing that went wrong was that I could not get the company to commit to a date that they would pick up my things. And I had to force them to come on a specific day. The movers came in and were quick and even wrapped a few things for me.
My things took longer then the 10 days to arrive. It was actually 18 days later that my stuff came and the items that had been wrapped were broken. I had two glass lamps shattered and one large ceramic pot broken. PLUS they lost two boxes that contained a small table top waterfall and a VCR. Estimated loss was around $1,000. Plus I didn't have a bed to sleep on so for three weeks I had to stay in an apartment with no furniture and sleep on an air mattress! And when I called to complain about my stuff being late the operator was rude and said things like because I didn't have a lot of stuff they were moving (under 1000 pounds) they would just have to "get to it when they could".

I was outraged. ONce the mover did show up, he was very unproffesional. His wife and baby wre in the truck with him and it was only him unloading two couches, bed, dresser...he was struggling and looked like he was just throwing stuff around. Oh and when he opened up the truck my $3,000 couch was ON ITS SIDE! My $250 bike was also bent. And he would not unload the truck until he was paid with a money order. I had to pay him...I just wanted a bed to sleep in! AT this point I was so grouchy form not getting any sleep, I didn't care. But later after I noticed the broken and missing items I tried contacting corporate offices who said they would put an agent to "work on it". After months of calling and getting a total run around I get this pathethic letter in the mail apologizing, saying "in the future we will try to make sure this doen't happen."

Linda of Reno, NV on Dec. 23, 2003

On September 15, 2003, my husband and I used Bekins Moving to move from Long Island, New York to Nevada. Howard, the driver, assured us that our possessions would be in good hands. He was overtly friendly and asked me several times to sit in his truck, but I refused. On October 9, 2003, the furniture finally arrived in Reno. We had been sleeping on an air mattress on the floor of the house for weeks. Howard was again overtly friendly and asked my husband to sit in the cab with him. He talked my husband into signing the Customer Service Report before all of our possessions were unloaded.
When two of our mattresses were unloaded, they were water soaked and heavily soiled due to a leak in Bekins' truck. Howard claimed they were damamged due to a rainstorm he experienced on the way to Nevada. He said it would be "fine" if we accepted the mattresses and that we should put in a claim for them as well as the other damaged items we received and he would "vouch for us". Then he immediately drove away before we could add an addendum to the Customer Service Report.

We waited patiently for our furnishings and now we had to sleep on an air mattress once again. We placed a claim to Bekins on October 24, 2003 and was denied everything except $50. We had expensive, top quality BeautyRest mattresses that cannot be replaced for $50. We called Howard to complain and he said, "Don't worry, I wouldn't leave you high and dry. I'll go to bat for you. Bekins' truck leaks and they will cover it. I'll speak with Jeffery tomorrow." I just received a call from Howard today (Dec. 23) and he said that there's nothing he can do for us since my husband signed the papers stating that all the furniture was in good condition. How's that for sleazy?

Gail of Commack, NY on Dec. 4, 2003

I signed a contract to move from FL to NY. Upon delivery many items were damaged. They refused to unwrap the furniture and just left. The salesman Joseph Schuber accused me of provoking his men and insurance fraud without doing further investigation. I am left with damaged merchandise and no one will return my phone calls. They keep referring me to other people and avoiding the problem at hand.

Damage Resulting: Furniture ripped , torn, chipped, gauged and splintered. Edges broken, finished rubbed off. The inventory clerk and driver would not do inventory with me on items damaged and lost, they just left without notice and they were not finished. They did not assemble any of the furniture as they were supposed to do and they did not wrap the bottom of any of my merchandise causing the furniture to chip and rip.

Linda of Las Vegas, NV on Sept. 18, 2003

Several of our items were broken during the move, which took place Jan 20-Jan 30, 2003. The driver at the time acknowledged the fact that items were broken, and we were told that although we were signing a receipt, we were not waiving our right to file a claim. The signature simply meant that we did in fact receive all items. On August 22, supposedly, a letter was sent saying that our claim for $1,100 worth of merchandise was denied. We did not receive such letter until today, September 18, when I finally called to check the status.

During our move, we had ONE man moving our items, the other just stood around doing nothing. He was rude, and smelled as though he hadn't showered in a week. I mentioned several times about items that were very imporatant to us and he either ignored the fact, or made rude comments. A few items are irreplacable, and we just were seeking an amount to try to have them repaired. The movers were also four days later than the promised date, so when they finally did arrive, they basically dumped our stuff out and left.

John of Nanaimo, BRITISH COLU on July 5, 2003

We thought by hiring Bekins it would make our move a lot easier. Especially moving from Palm Springs, Ca. to Vancouver Island, B.C. What a nightmare it has been for the past year. We still have not been given the opportunity to explain our ordeal and consequently our loss verbally. We have left numorous messages pleading for a return call but to no avail. I had an antique 1780 Manton shotgun muzzle which belonged to my great-grandfather. I had it wrapped in a towel and taped tight. The wife of the driver said Bekins are not allowed to transport firearms across the border. She said she would not tag it so customs would not know, and that she would take extra care of it for us. We trusted her and from all the confusion during the unloading of the truck I never asked about it until we started to unpack.

We found out later that Bekins can transport firearms and I feel the drivers deliberately lied and stole my rifle. To this day almost a year later Bekins has not contacted the drivers for an explanation. I also had damage done to my marble table which was crated by them and of course they did denied my claim for that as well. But no mention of my missing rifle. I wish I had read other complaints from previous customers prior to my hiring Bekins then I would have saved myself a lot of grief and heartache.

Lee of Flagstaff, AZ on July 3, 2003

This company, Pacific Storage Co., in San Jose, Calif., is apparently an agent for Bekins movers. We contracted for them to move us from Santa Cruz county to Flagstaff, Arizona. They picked up our things on June 16, and we never heard from them again. They have not called even one time. I sat in my new house for 3 days waiting, not hearing from them, and I finally called them. They told me "we're not sure when it will go out". I called a second time a few days later, same info. I never heard another word from them.

I called 3 or 4 days later, and they told me to call Bekins in Illinois. I LITERALLY GET NO OTHER INFORMATION. NO WHY. NO REASON. I don't know if they have lost all of my things, or if they are just incompetent or stole everything, or what. Delivery date was supposed to be June 20-25. They are contracted to deliver by the date of June 25th. Is is now July 1. I have no idea when or where all of our things are. My wife and daughter and I sleep on the floor, we have none of our possessions. It is amazing and I do not understand. They refuse to answer any questions, merely tell me to call Bekins in Illinois. They do not seem to know where our things are either. When I type in my bill of lading number in Bekins' tracking site, nothing pops up. Literally nothing about this situation makes any sense at all. It's like a bad movie.

Christine of Washington, DC on Jan. 27, 2003

We moved with Bekins in July 02. They stored our belongings from July through November. When they delivered our belongings (they broke a number of things but that is the least of it), they never delivered either an office desk or an antique hall table. We found out later that they broke the desk (grabbed it by its legs and ripped the legs out of the screw sockets). We have called their local office numerous times and never get a call back. We have been promised that the desk would be fixed and it has never happened. Each time it is another excuse - "we didn't know", "we can't reach you", "it's too cold", "it will be another 2 weeks". Meanwhile, we run a business from our home and need our desk.

The corporate office isn't that much more help. They can't get the local office on the phone to put pressure on them to give us back our desk (even unrepaired) or to 'fess up and say they don't have our hall table.

Tina of Lakewood, CO on Sept. 9, 2002

Hiring Bekins Van Lines to do our move was the biggest mistake we could have ever made. Being a big name in moving made us think we could count on their knowledge and expertise. Unfortunately, they had neither. They were out for the sale and that was it.
To make out move a little less expensive (we were moving ourselves, not the company) I packed boxes myself, mostly unbreakables. Our contract said that we be packed on July 25, 2002 and loaded on July 26, 2002. Our sales rep called and asked we we could do a pack and load on the same day and I asked they the packers would be finished for the loaders and was asured that it would be ok because we only has a half day pack and the packers would come around 8 a.m. and the loaders at 10 a.m. Well the packers were not finished by the time the truck showed up and the driver and loaders started taking out boxes that had not been labled and things from that point on became chaotic.
I was trying to keep track of where the packers were and the loaders at the same time. I was alone in this since my husband was already in Colorado. Then our driver wanted to know if he could deliver our shipment on Monday July 29, 2002 instead of Tuesday July 30, 2002. We would be traveling on that day and didn't know if we could make it to our new apartment on that day. He assured us that he would be able to deliver around 4 p.m. We pulled up to our apartment at the same time the Bekins truck arrived.
When the local men hired to unload began the unload, one of them became very frustrated and quit because most of the boxes that were coming off the truck were not tagged. These were the boxes that I packed. When I asked the driver (Marc) why they were not tagged and inventoried he said that he thought the packers were supposed to have tagged and inventoried. When I called the sales rep for Bliss Moving and Storage she said that it was the responsibility of the driver to tag and inventory any boxes packed by the owner. As of this date neither side has accepted responsibility.

Now I have things missing that were not inventoried by either and no proof that I had these items moved by Bekins. The driver also listed my furniture with scratches on all sides and leather furniture was marked as having scratches and tears! The couch that was mentioned was 2 weeks old when it was moved by Bekins and there are no tears on them even now. The driver put that all my furniture had scratches, dents, tears, nicks, cuts and fading so that when it arrived at the destination and had damage done by them then we would have no claim because he had already listed the damage.

Martin of Ashland, OR on Jan. 12, 2002

Dear Consumer Affairs: We wanted people who are contemplating moving and using Bekins to know of our dreadful experience with that company. While there were some problems with picking up our delivery, and with substantial delay -- our goods arrived eleven days late, accompanied by several misstatements as to when they would arrive and some damaage -- our overwhelming complaint relates to their refusal to accept responsibility and respond to our numerous telephone calls and letters, including some certified return-receipt letters which clearly were received by them.
First, it took us several months to obtain payment for our expenses incurred as a result of the late delivery, with our having to make numerous telephone calls, virtually all of which never reached a person but only the person's voice mail. Most of these calls were never returned. And, when we finally did receive payment for the expenses, we did not receive the full payment for related expenses--expenses which we had incurred with their knowledge and permission and were told would be reimbursed. This discrepancy amounted to approximately $150.00.

More distressingly, over a period of more than six months, we have attempted to get Bekins to finally settle the balance of our claim, a mere $55.00 item for a broken antique table leg, which we had repaired, and which we had documented with photographs and a repair estimate from a reputable company. To this day, despite repeated phone calls and letters to Bekins, they have refused to respond and to pay the $55.00 item. One can only imagine what might be the case if the claim were substantial in nature if the company is unwilling to make payments which are clearly due in these small amounts. We have never in our lives experienced with any company of any kind the consistent and callous disregard of customers as we did with Bekins.

Patrick of Knoxville, TN on Nov. 13, 2000

O'Briens Moving and Storage in Reno picked up our furniture and has been storing it for the last 4 months, with the understanding that we would call when we had settled in to a new area. We called them several weeks ago and let them know that we would need our furniture delivered on Nov. 10. We received and signed the necessary paperwork shortly after that, advising that loading would begin 11-2 and we would receive our furniture 11-10th, 11th or 12th. These dates were fine, as we would be leaving for Florida for 2 weeks on the following Friday, 11-17.
On the 9th of November I called to check on the time and was told that the furniture was still in Reno and had not been loaded as of yet. In speaking with O'Briens we were told that our contract for this was with Bekins LLC, and we should contact them with any questions. I did this and expressed my disappointment that I was not even called and told that there was a problem. I was treated to a representative that could care less about my problem. She was rude, condescending and ill informed as to the status of my load, and argued that it was not her job to notify me of anything. I asked for her supervisor, she was not available. I asked for her supervisor's supervisor, out on vacation. I asked for anyone in charge, no one could help.
Today, 11-13 I received a call to tell me that my overflow goods would be coming at a later date. What overflow goods? Oh there was other furniture on the truck prior to yours, so they couldn't fit it all on. The fact that we would not be here for that load meant nothing to her. The fact that we haven't received our first load meant nothing. The fact that all of our stored belongings and clothes were not here meant nothing. The fact that if it arrives after the 17th, which I was told is a real possibility, that I would be gone for 2 weeks meant nothing to her. Perhaps I could speak to a supervisor, I asked. Not available. The supervisor's supervisor? Still on vacation.

I asked about compensation for the delay. "Well if you need toilet paper or something, make sure you save the receipt". What about the $125 a day that we were told about. "That doesn't apply to you". Well, as I sit here in my empty house (except for my air mattress and laptop, I can assure you that I am disgusted with Bekins. I have been in business for years and am appalled at this company's lack of concern for their customers as well as their poorly trained representatives.