BELTON, Mo. — Moving can be stressful and expensive. That's especially true for customers of one moving company who claim they were left with sticker shock and damaged items from their moves.
All My Sons Moving and Storage is based in Carrollton, Texas, but the company has locations all over the country, including in the Kansas City area.
It's the company Niesha Franklin of Belton hired after the closing date on her new home changed several times, leaving her scrambling to find movers.
[GALLERY: Customer complaints are nationwide]
She spoke to a staff member over the phone and an accepted an offer for her move across town.
"He quoted me a price starting at $600," Franklin said.
She said she did not receive an email from All My Sons detailing expected charges prior to her move.
When moving day arrived July 3, so did the problems, starting with Franklin's washing machine.
"Before he laid it down, he scratched my floor," Franklin said. "Brand new floors. I looked up underneath it before he laid it down. The dolly went up into the washing machine, so up underneath it's dented in."
Franklin said the soap dispenser was broken off the machine as well and two dressers were damaged along with her dining room table.
"They didn't have any covering over it — no protectors, nothing," she said, "It scratched all four sides and even the legs."
Franklin problems were only beginning. She also was not prepared for the bill that came at the end of the day.
"The move ended up costing us $1,300," Franklin said.
She was also out money from tipping the crew and buying a new dining room table.
Franklin said the movers told her All My Sons would pay for any needed repairs, but her calls weren't returned.
Finally, when she didn't hear back, Franklin contacted the Better Business Bureau and the Missouri Attorney General's Office.
The Better Business Bureau page for the Kansas City branch shows 39 complaints during the last three years. An alert about the rising complaint volume was issued in September 2016, which said All My Sons promised to conduct "extensive hiring sessions to replace problematic crews" that contributed to issues.
A spokesperson for the Kansas Attorney General's Office said there have been two complaints about All My Sons in the past five years, while the Missouri Attorney General's Office did not respond to our request for information.
Nationwide complaints
After her experience, Franklin began searching online and came across a Facebook group called "All My Sons Moving & Storage Poor Business Practices."
"It seems to be a nationwide problem," Kelly Lyons, who started the group, told 41 Action News.
Lyons started the page after her move in July in Alabama.
"I gave him a real accurate description of my things and he was like, 'Oh, that shouldn't cost any more than $600,'" Lyons said of getting a quote from All My Sons.
She is on a fixed income, so she relied on that estimate.
Lyons even received a confirmation email before her move, though it does not show detailed information, but when the final bill arrived it was nearly $1,700.
No one had prepared Lyons for the face that a $600 quote could nearly triple.
"No, absolutely not," she said.
Lyons' group now has nearly 100 members, who shared their pictures and stories with 41 Action News.
One woman in St. Louis shared a video in which a mover failed to keep a dolly upright, sending boxes toppling down.
A customer in Dallas shared pictures of a broken table, while another customer in Cleveland ended up with shattered china and a scratched dining room table.
"Now that these members are part of my page, I feel like I owe them something to try to do something about it," Lyons said.
All My Sons responds
41 Action News shared information from the Facebook group as well as specific complaints from Franklin and Lyons, with Chris Generale, the All My Sons president and chief administrative officer.
In an email response, Generale wrote that there is "nothing more important" to the company than "doing the right thing" if there's a mistake made or an issue with service. He promised to review the Facebook group and, after we reached out, both Franklin and Lyons were compensated for their experiences.
After hearing from multiple customers about the low quotes they received over the phone, we asked Generale to shed light on the company's procedures for estimates. He responded:
Customers are quoted an hourly rate for labor and travel with a standard fuel surcharge and materials if needed. Customers are only charged for the actual labor and or materials used. There is typically a two hour labor minimum on all jobs, plus the quoted additional travel and fuel. Unfortunately, this minimum is what most customers recall. We understand the stress related to planning a move and are careful to explain this in detail 24-48 hours prior to the move on a confirmation call which is time stamped. Additionally, we send an email to each customer detailing exactly how hourly charges and payments work
Generale said customers can request on-site written estimates before moves if they want to know the final price upfront.
As far as steps taken to prevent damage to items, Generale pointed to a "detailed onboarding training process" for each mover, which includes instruction on packing and loading as well as customer communication. He said movers also receive on-the-job training with crews.
He encouraged any customer with damages or a service question to call the All My Sons Customer Care Department at 1-866-941-1849.
