Moving all my stuff - A continuing horror story

Spoiler: tl;dr • show

I used Allstate Van Lines, the communication has been abysmal and my stuff is currently missing (it never made it to the dock in the US). The guy who picked up my stuff is missing and has a history of operating without a license.

Part I - Communication

The communication with this particular agent has been the worst I have ever experienced in my life (not exaggerating), and I have explained high concepts to people who don't even speak English.

My adventure officially started September 16th 2014 when sent an eMail saying

I'm finishing up my final packing list so it's about time I ask what days are pickup (so I can have everything ready)

Also, as a side note, your website seems to be down.

Thanks again

Which I got the invigorating reply:

We working on it.

Cool beans

I'll ask again since I probably wasn't clear:
I am just about done packing, what days do you schedule to pick up stuff? Alternatively: what's the last possible day to pick my stuff up before a shipment goes out?

We need 1 week notice for pickup. Let me know when you are ready.

I will be ready by next week, so I'd be happy to schedule that right now

He then asked how many boxes I have, what size they are. I told him how many and the different sizes to which he says (multiple eMails combined here):

Because your boxes are all different size, we will have to use 2 pallets and after palletizing, your total volume will probably increase.

...

I thought you will be packing in one sized box. 50 cartons will not fit all in one pallet.

...

[I said my boxes fit just fine in the 100cu/ft]
They might not. Palletizing usualy adds about 10-15%

...

[I asked how much a second pallet will increase my quote]
About $270

At this point it's been three days, I move in just less than three weeks, so I was fed up and said "Ok whatever." I asked when the pickup is scheduled and found out it hasn't been yet because, "I was waiting for your go ahead to make sure we are clear on all charges."

Long wait short: twenty days later my stuff got picked up.

Part II - The Pickup

Jeff came by early in the morning with his van and packed my boxes nicely into it. He was even friendly enough to offer a box for some things that needed one.

Now, at this point I was worried about the cost; if it was too much I would need to have some of the boxes back to put in storage, so I asked.

Patrick, it has not yet reached Los Angeles warehouse. I can not really do anything until I get measurements.

Wait.

Wait.

I live in Seattle. They sent a man in a van (heh that rhymes) to pick up my stuff and drive it to LA before they measure it?!

Hurrrrr

So a week later, two days before I fly out of the US, it still hasn't shown up in LA. So I ask again:

Just send a check for $1620. I don't think it will be more. I will let you know if volume changes.

I asked for an invoice before I paid for it, which I got and paid. Reluctantly.

Part III - Now I'm in the UK

I flew into the UK on October 9th

October 20th I get an eMail asking me to fill out insurance forms before they get my stuff gets loaded onto the carrier

Hurrrrrrrrr

For those keeping track, that's three weeks after my stuff got packed into the van.

Part III - Wait...what‽

At this point I'm just curious when my stuff will arrive.

Oct 26 - Just curious, is there an estimated date it'll show up here?

Oct 27 - I have to check with co-loader.

Nov 8 - You ever get around to asking?

Nov 10 - Terminal have not receive your boxes. We are trying to trace them now.

Nov 10 - Do you mean US or UK terminal?

Nov 14 - US terminal.

Ok, I'm not happy now.

I wasn't happy with the shitty communication before, but this...this is unacceptable. It's been eight weeks since my stuff has been picked up and he's just now telling me this‽ "

So I told him exactly that.

Problem is that mover that was hired to pickup your boxes does not pickup the phone and does not return our calls.

We have also called police, but they said they can not go to his place of business since this is civil. Maybe something happened to the guy, maybe he is in a hospital or something or even worse....Do you have some friends or relative in Seattle to visit his place of business?

I told him I do not, then I decided to dig out the paperwork he had me sign (a printout of a screenshot from his Yahoo Mail) and do some investigating on Jeff.

His eMail address (from the page he printed out and signed) is movertrucks@yahoo.com
The websites associated with it are movelaborexpress.com and JEFFSEXPRESSMOVERSLLC.NET
His name is Jeffrey Johnson

Here's his twitter account, which looks like a bot account

Here's his Facebook page

Here's a site with a review of his business which says it's a scam

Here's his Yelp page which only has one-star reviews of very unhappy people

Here's a Seattle Times article about companies that are operating without permits that specifically names him for not showing up to court
Here's another site showing he got fined

Part IV - Conclusion

As of right now there's a good possibility my stuff is gone forever.

I asked when I should start filing for an insurance claim, he said give them "two weeks to find this idiot."

My advice sofar from this experience:
•Start the packing and sending-off process way earlier than five weeks if possible
•Use a company that gives you a quote before they pick up your stuff
•Don't use Allstate Van Lines

Also, if anyone has advice for me other than wait a couple weeks I'm happy to entertain all suggestions!

Oh wow.  Doesn't help but if I had since the initial email, I would have told you to find someone else.  U pack U Ship seems to be the best option for shipping boxes.  Who arranged the man with the van?

I would file insurance now.  It's been months and you know it was a scam.  Why wait?

And dispute the charge on your credit card TODAY.  I think you only have 60 days to do so from the charge.

Who arranged the man with the van?

All States hired Universal Shipping Co who hired Jeff

So, it got subcontracted then subcontracted again

As far as disputing the charge, it was by check.

Looks like they changed their name

http://www.inter-movers.com

I read through this whole saga yesterday and all I can say is ugh, I feel for you. 

UPDATE

Seattle's KIRO 7 did an investigation into my missing shipment:

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/kiro-7-investigation-movers-operating-illegally-wi/njYqq/

tl;dw: The dude who picked up my stuff picked apart my boxes and sold off my stuff. In the case of the comic shop it was one week after.

My contact at Inter-Movers is dragging his feet to do anything about it

Patrick, I have spoken to KIRO 7. I know all about it. I am out of the office until January 6th. We will talk then to figure something out.

No amount of poking and prodding is changing his mind.

I filed a police report; the officer said, "I'll hand it off to a detective, but I don't know if he'll pursue the case or just [write it off as] a civil case."

I asked over at avvo what I should do and one lawyer said to sue Inter-Movers to recover my loss.

I have contacted almost a hundred lawyers (no exaggeration) and only one has gotten back to me:

I'm continuing to try to find someone who will work on contingency (i.e. they take money only if you win at a percentage), but in the mean time I'm attempting to raise funds to hire him. Hopefully it pans out.

I figured you guys would appreciate being kept in the loop of things.

My hindsight advice:
•Make sure you get EVERYTHING in writing and copies of it. Jeffrey asked if I wanted to fill out the paperwork "now or when you're over there?"

•Also: take pictures of everything you think is valuable. My best friend of twenty years went to the comic store in the report and was able to retrieve the stuff I had pictures of, I only wish I had taken pictures of much more than that.

•Make a list of every item that's in every box. I did this and saved it to Evernote and it has been useful to forward to the police.

•Other lawyers' sites I have read want a copy of every correspondence. I'm lucky, in a way, that all our communication has been in eMail.

I'll keep ya guys updated if anything else happens.

UGH. I feel terrible for you. I know what it's like to have your stuff taken; my house was broken into the week I moved to Woodinville last year (city named only for the proximity to where you are) and I felt so violated afterwards.

I am moving all my stuff to England with Upak, and I have insurance, but I'm still worried about what happens if the stuff doesn't make it somehow. It's worth so much more than money, you know?

Anyway, I feel your pain.

The stuff that means the most to me can't be bought with money:
Every time my now-wife came to The States or I went over there we made a memory binder with scraps of our adventures (ticket stubs, maps, hotel things, etc).

What really grinds my gears is knowing this guy went through my boxes, took the stuff that looks like it could make him a couple bucks, and the stuff that means most is most likely in some dumpster now. I'll never see it again.

Oh! One other piece of advice:
•Read what your insurance covers. Mine only covered—when on land—tornadoes, airplane crashes, fires, and lightning. So, I was denied my insurance claim.

An update:

Another person reached out to me to tell me about Jeff (the dude who took my stuff and sold it):

His idiot employee stole my check book and tried to cash a check at my bank for a 1,000. My bank knew it was a forged signature and took a copy of the guys DL and finger print so this is how I know it was Jeff's employee who committed the fraud. Anyway I called the police and they took down the info but basically told me there was nothing they can do the case would never go anywhere.

I'm speechless that he can continually get away with this crap!

After talking to a bunch of people they suggested contacting the Attorney General's office (again), to which they replied:

Under state law and the Washington State Constitution, the Attorney General’s Office has little original criminal authority. The Attorney General’s Office does not launch criminal investigations without a request from a county prosecutor or the Governor.

You may also want to consult with a private attorney to determine any legal rights and remedies that may be available to you.

Following that logic I contacted the county prosecutor:

Our office does not investigate potential crimes. We file cases only after they have been investigated and referred to us by law enforcement. As a result, we need matters such as this to be brought to the attention of the local law enforcement for investigation before we can act in any official capacity.

...

Lastly, because the behavior you have reported to us also concerns questionable business practices, you should consider filing a complaint with the Washington State Attorney General's Office at http://www.atg.wa.gov/fileacomplaint.aspx. If criminal charges do not result from an investigation, the Attorney General's Office may be able to assist in preventing future business practices of this nature.

Yay circles! 

Following that logic I decided to call the police to see how the report I filed on December 29th was coming along.

It turns out the officer never turned in the report. So it's gone nowhere. 

So unless I hire a lawyer it seems nothing is going to be done by the authorities, and my GoFundMe campaign has dried up.

On the other battlefront, my shipping company has stopped responding to me completely so I filed a complaint on their BBB site since they seem to be responsive to that.

And it worked!

Sorta

They did respond quickly (within an hour each time), but their answers are very vague even though I keep pressing for something solid. I'm happy to share the correspondence sofar if anyone is interested.

This is getting very irritating and stressful. My options are running out. The police won't do anything, the Attorney General won't do anything, of the 70+ lawyers I contacted only four got back to me and only one of those said he'd take the case if I can get the money (which doesn't seem to be happening).

My wife and I have decided that we're going into the moving business when we retire since it seems nobody will do anything to stop you from straight-up stealing other's stuff.

I am so very sorry to hear you aren't getting any help with this awful situation and how much stress you're under trying to get it sorted out.   I hope the company you contracted with gets off their a$$ and gives you the satisfaction you are entitled to very soon.  It's just unbelievable what a runaround you're getting! 

What a nightmare! I can't begin to imagine how horrible this has been for you.

I am so sorry - this is almost beyond belief. I would try to get one of the local TV stations that do 'investigative reports' on the case....that can sometimes move mountains.

Thank you all for your kind words

Vadio: that happened!
http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/kiro-7-investigation-movers-operating-illegally-wi/njYqq/

Unfortunately it hasn't done very much, but I'm very grateful for it! He found out exactly what happened to my stuff and gave me the leverage to actually go at this with some force.

What a journey!  I really hope that you can get some answers and, at the very least, shut this jerk down.  Good luck with everything!