UPDATE: ASAP Van Lines Responds To Complaint Alleging $400 Bilking

Using freight shipping can be a great way to move stuff for cheap, but scams abound, as this letter from the mother of longtime reader Crayonshinobi shows.

ASAP Vanlines did a whole buncha switcharoos on Crayonshinobi’s mom, the worst of which was tacking on $400 more. The agreement had been for cost based on weight, but after the shipment left, said “the scales were broken” and were now going to charge by cubic foot. When the family refused shipment at the other end, the company left a series of screaming and scathing messages.

Crayonshinobi’s mom is filing a chargeback and is even going to cancel the credit card she paid with because she’s worried about this company messing with your account even after all is (seemingly) said and done. Her tale, inside…

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Crayonshinobi’s mom writes:

It started with a simple quote for a dining room set. Hutch, table, six chairs. Move from Illinois to Colorado. First quote was 100.00 lower than 2nd quote, which I did accept (thinking gas prices had gone up). In our discussion and written quote, the weight we were billed for was 1800 #s. Less than a truckload (LTL). Aaron explained that his computer could calculate the dining room set and he agreed we would definitely not meet(exceed) the 1800 pounds. I then asked if we could put the table saw on and he stated yes, it shouldn’t be a problem. I know for a fact the saw weighs in at 140 pounds.

They arrived at the house on Monday, began packing the hutch and at that point we were told $140.00 for packing material. I called the office speaking with Aaron who assured me he would do something. They took 35.00 off.

Next the driver tells us that we have to pay almost 400.00 dollars more for the cubic feet we are taking up. Once again, I call Aaron and state to him that we are not paying for cubic feet, we are paying for weight. He states he will get back to me after talking to the owner. He leaves me a voice mail and said that the “scales were broken” and that it is correct to charge by the cubic feet.

I call him back and leave a voice mail stating it is not acceptable and I will not pay for cubic feet. Never heard back from him again. Tried emailing and no response.

Tuesday (the next day) the truck is in Colorado!!! I receive a phone call from my niece who states she heard from the trucker and he wants to deliver immediately. I was shocked -as they had just left the day before. They must have drove all night. I immediately call the office and get voice mail. I left a message that there is a discrepency with the billing and that until this is cleared up we will not accept delivery. I also wrote an email with the same information to Aaron.

Aaron calls me and states that I should personally speak with the owner…named Dorri. I call Dorri and a Tiffany answers the phone and states that “he is not available and could she help me”. I then explain to her that the agreed upon amount of $1200.00 has turned into 1600.00 and I asked why. She states that we are paying for 2100#’s. My reply was “WHAT COULD WEIGH A TON?”” “YOU ARE TELLING ME A DINING ROOM SET WEIGHS A TON??” She immediately goes into a rampage about how they did nothing wrong and that is exactly what it weighs.
I related to her the exact words from her salesperson Aaron and how it was determined that we would not be even close to their minimum. She didn’t care and that is that. She then states that my daughter (she is referring to my niece) has accepted shipment.

I told Tiffany, no she didn’t and no she won’t. That really angered her and she started yelling at me and I hung up. I called my niece and warned her NOT to accept shipment. She had 2 phone calls from this Tiffany and she left a SCREAMING message at one point for my niece to call her immediately. My niece did not call her and at 5pm Tiffany called her again and yelled at her that she MUST take shipment and pay the money. My niece declined and stated that she must take this up with me since I am the person who contracted and there is a dispute. Tiffany hung up on my niece.

I refuse to pay the additional charges and frankly, they can have the dining room set. I have called my credit card company and put a dispute on the card as well. I will also cancel the credit card after reading the horror stories about this company.

The dining room set was really not worth the 1200.00 to move and certainly not 1600.00 they are charging. We did for sentimental reasons and honestly this is now an issue of ethics and I fully intend not to give in. They can have the set and the table saw (it wasn’t a good one anyway).

Should be interesting to see what their next move will be.

This is why it’s so important to check out a moving company’s rep before you do business with them. Things To Know Before You Freight Ship is a good place to start, as is Movingscam.com’s How to Find a Reputable Moving Company. — BEN POPKEN

(Photo: Getty)

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