ComplaintsforVIP Transport, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  02/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In 4/2021, I hired this company to pack, store and move my entire ***** sqft house. I entrusted them so much that I also had them pack, store and move my mother's ***** sqft house about a year later. During this time my belongings were still in storage, so my mother's things were stored with mine. Both households were delivered to our new house in 3/2023. Upon delivery, several things were noticed to be broken (even beyond repair) and this was prior to any boxes being unpacked. Once we began unpacking, we noticed that many more items were broken. I was in email communication to the company during this time and I was informed that I had 9 months from the time of delivery to file a claim. I filed my claim within that amount of time and I was just informed today (2/5/24) that most of my items do not qualify anymore because the 9 month time frame began when my items went to THEIR long term storage. A storage that I have no access to and am unable to assess if any items are damaged. During these years in storage, I am paying monthly for storage and for insurance to keep my items safe. This is completely unacceptable! I was specifically told in an email from this company that I had 9 months from the date of DELIVERY to file my claim. I was contacted by their claimsteam10 and was offered some compensation for the items that were damaged during the actual delivery only. They said that they were not responsible for the boxed items and that was the responsibility of VIP transport. There were many more boxed items that were damaged than items that were damaged during delivery. The claimsteam10 sent the damage report to VIP transport and they told me that they would review it and get back to me. They got back to me today with the message that they are not responsible for ANY of the damage that they caused because they claim that I did not file in time. AGAIN, THEY THEMSELVES TOLD ME THAT I HAD NINE MONTHS FROM THE **** OF DELIVERY TO FILE SAID CLAIM! Attn: ***** S @ *********

  

  Business response

  02/12/2024

  Dear ********************,

  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to ****************** concerns, it is much appreciated.  

  Please know that ****************** household items were delivered into S.I.T (storage in transit) at our ********************************************************************************** on 3/31/2021.  "Storage In Transit" is a term defined in applicable provisions of United Van Lines' operating tariff, which refers to storage associated with an interstate move.  Liability for loss or damage to goods occurring during the interstate move or while in S.I.T is governed under the Interstate Bill of Lading , applicable tariff and governing statutes and regulations.  As an agent for United Van Lines, VIP Transport is bound by the operating tariff and must abide by the regulations set forth.

  Under the federal regulations governed by the Department of Transportation (***), a shipment is allowed to remain in temporary storage (S.I.T) for a duration of 180 days from the date of delivery into the warehouse.  Once the 180 days has passed, the *** mandates that the shipment is converted to a permanent storage status and requires the carrier (United Van Lines/VIP Transport) to notify the customer of the change in status, their options for filing a cargo claim and the new rates associated with the permanent storage status.  Once a shipment is converted to the permanent storage status, the *** views the shipment as a final delivery.

  ****************** conversion date was 9/28/21 and was provided the required notification letter via email on 7/23/21 (attached for your reference).  The nine month timeframe in which to file a claim for cargo loss or damage begins, per the ***, on the date of conversion of 9/28/2021 and was valid through 6/28/2022.  Regretfully, our office was not in receipt of a completed claim form within that time period from ************** for the items that she is claiming damage to currently.  

  I hope the information provided helps to clarify the settlement position that our office provided to ************** on 2/1/2024, thank you.

  Kind Regards,

  ***************************

  Director of Administration

  VIP Transport Inc.

  Customer response

  02/12/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:
  I did receive the conversion letter, but I did not understand what it meant, so I asked follow-up questions about it.  I was still paying a significant amount for storage insurance, so in the answer to my questions, I interpreted it as the insurance was to continue covering my items while in permanent storage and that each "company" was responsible for liability for 9 months and that a different entity would be responsible after the 9 months in long term storage, but that I would still have 9 months from the time of delivery to file and make all claims.  

  In my communications (which I have attached).  I stated that I was under the impression that my 9 months to file claims was until December 2023 (by which time I did file my claims).  At no time did ANYONE contradict my date, or tell me that it was incorrect.  There was NEVER any mention that that there were different types of claims and that more than one entity was responsible for the claims.  I was under the impression that the responsibility was from one entity at a time, but that I was fully covered and insured during the entire time and for a full 9 months following delivery.  I did not understand (even though I asked many questions) that there were different deadlines for different items in my move.  That was NEVER made clear to me as it was all one move to me.  This is all very misleading and in my opinion should be stated at each step and explained in detail when I asked my questions.  In every explanation it appears that I have 9 months from my delivery date.  They never mentioned that I have to look through the box contents within 9 months of storage.  I am not a professional mover and that differentiation was never made clear to me.  I feel that this is taking advantage of a customer that is paying a very significant amount of money to keep my items safe.  

  I would like to be contacted by someone of a higher position than the person that I have been communicating with.  This treatment is NOT acceptable!

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  You don't provide enough room to explain our situation so it will be quite truncated. We'd like to write more. What is presented is only part of the story. We used Mayflower Transit/VIP Transport Las Vegas (the movers) for a cross-country move in mid-November 2022 from Henderson NV. 1. When bidding the job, we specifically asked if our furniture would be put reassembled, and were assured it would be. Not! They failed to put 34 shelves back in various credenzas, breakfronts, and office furniture, saying “we don’t do that.” 2. They refused to reconnect the 3 parts of a large breakfront, about 12 feet wide, and 8 feet tall. We had to wait weeks to hire someone to reconnect the pieces before we could use it, costing almost $400, for which the movers deny any responsibility. 3. When the movers bid the job, we specifically asked them to look at our large custom built entertainment center, 10 ft wide by 8 feet high, to be sure they could move it. The rep looked at it carefully, and said it would be no problem. We relied upon that. Late in the morning of the move, the movers told us they couldn’t move the piece, because it was too heavy. Isn’t that what movers are paid to do, move heavy furniture? We were stuck, with no choice but to leave the piece in Nevada, and no chance to make other arrangements to try to recoup our investment in it, which cost us approximately $4,300, in 2013, and which will cost us 3 times that to replace it. The movers only gave us a credit of about $110 for not moving it, an amount we feel is absurdly low, given it was so heavy that it couldn’t be moved. 4. The movers weren't careful. We filed a claim for damage to 14 items, including breaking the arm off a priceless robot sculpture. I saw one of the movers trying to cover up the broken arm by placing it next to the sculpture so we wouldn’t know it was broken. The movers paid us some compensation, less than what we claimed. It took us months of hassling to receive anything.

  

  Business response

  05/15/2023

  Dear Ms. ********,

  ****** *********** household goods shipment was transported from ********** ** ** *** ******** ** in November 2022 pursuant to a Mayflower Transit. LLC Estimate/Order for Service and Bill of Lading.  Thus, Mayflower Transit was the interstate motor carrier of record for the purposes of Mr. *********** interstate move.  During their interstate move, VIP Transport, Inc. was acting solely as a disclosed household goods agent of Mayflower under their operating authority.   VIP Transport assisted Mr. ********* with filing their claim for cargo loss or damage with Mayflower Transit's corporate office and did not have any involvement with the direct settlement of their claim.  Mr. *********** complaint against VIP should be directed to the BBB of Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois in St. Louis, Missouri so it can be referred to Mayflower Transit and a informed reply can be provided regarding the claim settlement and actions taken in order to resolve Mr. *********** concerns. 

  Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter, it is much appreciated. 

  Kind Regards,

  ***** ********

  Director of Administration, VIP Transport Inc.

  Customer response

  05/15/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  VIP Transport tries to make it appear that it had little to do with what happened.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  My wife and I visited VIP Transport's offices in Las Vegas at least twice to pick up boxes to use to pack.  We were told by them VIP Transport was handling the entire move on behalf of Mayflower.  VIP was involved in every facet of the move.  The driver of the moving truck gave us his card, which had VIP Transport on it, the itemized customer inventory form identified both the estimator, ***** ********, and the move coordinator, ******** *****, as being affiliated with VIP Transport, and as working out of VIP Transport's office in Las Vegas.  We understood that VIP Transport was Mayflower's agent for purposes of the move, would be coordinating the move, and the driver was hired by VIP Transport.  Veronica Carrillo, a VIP Transport employee, made all of the arrangements for the non-bound services, and was the person we were told to keep in touch with regarding every aspect of the move, and recovery of reimbursement.  VIP Transport had not only apparent authority, holding itself out as being the mover, or the mover's agent, but it had actual authority over all aspects of this move.  It should not be permitted to slither out of responsibility by some sleight of hand.

   

  Customer response

  05/17/2023

  Please note the survey lists the two people, other than VIP Transport's van driver, we had the most contact with before and during the move, both of whom are listed as VIP's employees, ***** ********, the salesperson/estimator, who made various misrepresentations to us, and ******** *****, VIP's move coordinator.  Our driver used a VIP business card. 

  We visited VIP's offices at least twice before the move to pick up empty boxes VIP offered to us.  

  If you need any further information, please let me know.

  Sincerely,

  *** *********

  

  Business response

  05/26/2023

  Dear Ms. ********,

  Please know that I have reached out to Claims Team 10 to obtain a copy of the settlement letter that was provided to Mr. ********* (copy attached) which itemizes the settlement position for each item listed on the submitted claim form.  The total settlement of $3,522.00 was processed by Mayflower Transit and mailed out at the end of April 2023.  While processing the claim, Claims Team 10 reached out to our customer service and operations department regarding the entertainment center (the item that shows as denied on the settlement letter).  

  The driver confirmed that an attempt was made to disassemble the large unit (measures approximately 10' X 12') in order to prepare it safely for interstate transport.  During the attempt, the driver discovered that the entertainment center was glued together, rendering it impossible to disassemble without damage and in order to allow the piece to fit into the trailer.  As the entertainment center could not be transported and was not transported, it could not be included in the claim as a damaged or lost item (further explanation on the settlement letter confirms that Mr. ********* was not charged for the weight of this item or any charges associated with this item).

  Mayflower Transit does provide the right to request arbitration if a customer is not in agreement with the settlement position offered by the processing claims team.  I will be happy to notify Claims Team 10 to forward arbitration information to Mr. *********, if he wishes to pursue the dispute.  

  Please let me know if there is any further clarification needed regarding Mr. *********** claim settlement or VIP Transport's position as an agent for Mayflower Transit and I will be happy to assist.

  Kind Regards,

  ***** ********

   

   

   

   

   

  Customer response

  06/04/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  As set forth already, a number of times, in a number of forums, in detail, I was concerned about whether the entertainment center could be moved, so I drew the salesperson’s attention to it and asked him to inspect the piece to determine whether Mayflower could indeed move it.  The salesperson did just that.  He inspected the piece, and told me Mayflower could and would move it, no problem.  In fact, I also asked each of the other two movers who we received estimates from the same question about the entertainment center.  Both of them inspected the piece, and both also told me they could and would move the entertainment center.  Thus, three moving companies all said the same thing about the piece.  If it was so difficult to move, as Mayflower contends, you would think at least one of the three moving companies would have expressed some reservations.  But they didn’t.  That proves the entertainment center could have been moved, had the moving team been so inclined.
  
  When the moving team arrived, the excuse given by the moving team for not moving the piece was it was “too heavy.”  Indeed, the son of the owner of the moving truck, who spent most of his time packing and unpacking the truck, told me he could bench press 500 pounds but he couldn’t move the piece.  Isn’t that what reputable national moving companies do?  They move heavy pieces.  But not in this case.  What Mayflower did do was tell me it could and would move the piece, a statement upon which my wife and I relied, to our detriment.  It seems to me that constitutes either negligent misrepresentation, or fraud.  
  
  Had we known ahead of time Mayflower would take the position it wasn’t going to move the entertainment center, we would have made other arrangements to move it, as the entertainment center was my wife’s favorite piece of furniture in our house.  Instead, we were forced to leave the piece in the house, and replacement cost will be well over $10,000.  By the way, the moving team waited until more than two-thirds of our furniture was out of the house before informing us it wouldn’t move the piece, thereby placing us in an untenable position where we had no alternatives.  We were under duress at this point. What the moving team should have done was to look at all of the furniture before it moved any out of the house.  That way we could have stopped them from taking anything right at the beginning.  But we weren’t given that choice. 

  So-called professionals, like Mayflower, which holds itself out as a premiere moving company, should have been able to figure out a way to move the piece.  Instead, the moving team made up excuses.  It appears to us that they simply didn't want to take the time, and make the effort, to move it.  I have no doubt that if we got into litigation, discovery would turn up many instances where Mayflower has moved larger, heavier pieces.

  We can't afford to hire a lawyer to engage in an arbitration with the company.  Moreover, industry arbitration systems are often stacked against the consumer anyway, given that the arbitrators depend on the companies for repeat business, while they are unlikely to ever see the same consumer twice.  So we will not be pursuing arbitration.  But we will pursue other alternatives which may be available to us.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩