ComplaintsforPremier Van Lines International

• Initial Complaint

  07/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We had a big move from ****** ****** to ***************, *****.. we had reached out to ***** who is the *** I now know , and had a good go at first. As crunch time came, we were finding ourselves with more and more questions, and less and less answers. Communication was not there. ***** hired a moving contractor in ****** and we heard from her only once. Although we were a bit ******************** claimed we were verbally abusive. We simply stated that the Communication was weak and we didn't know about the ***** lb 2 day rule until the day before the move. Well, we spoke with the ****** mover and expressed our frustration, she was going to talk to *****, and the next thing we know...they dropped our move...17 hours before the movers were to come..left us high and dry with a email..incredible. made my wife crohns act up as she was in dire distress as we are to be out of our home in 2 days..absolutely horrible people with no regard for their clients

  

  Business response

  07/26/2022

  The customer stated "Communication was not there." It was the other way around. Our company gave the customer very detailed instructions on the contract, the transportation cost estimate information, the insurance valuation option, and transit time. All questions from the customers were answered. 

  
  On 7/17/2022, 9 days before the move, our company sent both customers very detailed information about their move, including in both the subject line and body of the mail: packing and loading 7/26 and 7/27. They simply did not read e-mails and do not follow instructions. And more importantly, they failed to ask specific questions about anything that they did not understand. For example, we asked for a detailed list of all valued items worth over $250 each,and we received a list of firearmswith serial numbers --- but without any value next to each firearm. We asked them repeatedly for a valued inventory list and never received that list. You can decide who is lacking in communication. 

  When our partner office called them the afternoon before the move, and notified them when the moving truck should arrive the next day, one of the two customers became hysterical and began to yell and swear on the phone to the coordinator.They insisted that they didn't need two days for the move, that they had 'done our work for us' (whatever that means), and were very unhappy with the procedure. They were so abusive and hysterical that the coordinator was obligated to ask their operations manager whether it was safe for the moving crew to go out the next day if the customer was emotionally unstable with several firearms. The decision from the ********* ****** office was no, the crews will not come out on 7/26 and 7/27, it is simply not safe for them to go out. That was a decision made by the local partner office, and while our company supports their decision, our company did not make the decision to cancel the move.

   

• Initial Complaint

  06/10/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid Premier Van Lines International $3,457.43 to move my belongings from ** to AK, plus an additional $250.00 to store my things until my house was move-in ready, and upon receiving my items I realized my safe was missing. When I contacted *************************** regarding my safe I was informed that the fact that my safe got lost is my fault and that if I want any hope of getting it back I will need to contact an attorney. Besides refusing to be even slightly helpful, this person was totally rude to me for reasons that I dont understand. Since then, Premier Van Lines has refused to return any of my phone calls or respond to any of my emails.

  

  Business response

  06/16/2021

  Shipment was picked 2/3/2021, crated next day, nailed shut and was stored for one month for delay in payment. All items were inventoried which unbeknownst to us included a small safe until we received the origin documents back. To this day, we dont know the contents of the safe. Shipment arrived to ******, stored and delivered in June 2021. The crate was opened in front of the customers at their residence for the first time since 2/4/2021.
  
  Customer declined additional insurance and was notified that our ***************** Coverage $0.60/lb/item would apply. Customer did not fill out the high value inventory form. Customer signed destination documents which indicates that all items were delivered and nothing was missing.
  
  
  The customer misinterpreted the fact that no full coverage insurance means a payout of $0.60/lb equals they are to blame for a missing item. Our employee repeatedly stated we legally have to explain what it means if the customer ************************* additional insurance and what the payout would be. That is not equivalent of blaming them for a missing item. However, it is a customers fault if they have high-value items in their shipment that they never declared. They were given multiple chances with two separate forms to declare any high-value items, both before and during the move date. They never mentioned or listed anything worth $250 or more in their shipment. Our company will not communicate via phone from this verbally abusive customer. A claim form via email sent and was returned to us blank with a refusal note. It was never suggested first that the customer hire an attorney, that was their idea.
  
  We have a process in which the customer and driver inspect all boxes, determine if anything is missing or damaged and then later fill out the insurance claim. If our customers have something of high value, they should always list them on the high value inventory or at least mention them, whether additional full coverage insurance is purchased or not.
  

  Customer response

  06/17/2021

  There was no crate opened in front of me nor was I told to expect that. You have flat out refused to even look for the safe which was lost by your company. I want my safe back. My sons and daughters umbilical cords are in there. My children are Lakota and this is extremely culturally significant to our family. We want our safe returned to us.

  

  Business response

  06/18/2021

  The customer was told long before the move date that their shipment would be crated into one or more lift vans. The lift vans are extensively explained to all customers that will use them later: their dimensions, how much they can hold, their average weight, pictures of them, etc. The crates were on the truck that was at their residence during the unloading. They were not opened until the delivery date. Which means the safe was lost somewhere between the loading of the truck at residence in ** state, and the loading of the lift vans at the local ** warehouse about **************************************************** the local warehouse. As we told the customer previously, if we or the customer themselves call the local warehouse that picked up the shipment, they will immediately say "We don't have the safe". Which is exactly what they said. It's gone for good. The claim form has been sent, that's all we can do. Only a private investigator would have a very, very slim chance of finding out where the safe went. Hundreds, if not thousands of shipments have been through the *************************** warehouse in the last 6 months. The safe is gone. Once in a while, maybe every couple of years, every ******* shipments, this happens. That is why our company recommends optional moving coverage or valuable items, because it's hard to predict when there would be a missing item in a shipment, since it's so rare for that to happen in a crated move. 

  Customer response

  06/24/2021

  We contacted ************************* immediately and they recalled our shipment and everything was in the crate, besides the fact that they were extremely polite and have been extremely helpful, unlike ***************************, who was extremely rude and unhelpful. Given the difference in attitude, Im inclined to believe that the people in ** are being honest. I am not interested in money, Im interested in getting my safe back. If you need a private investigator to find my safe I would suggest you hire one. I will contact everyone I have to in order to get this company to do their job, but one way or another Im going to get my safe. Lakota culture may not matter to Premier Van Lines International, but it is extremely important to my family and we will do everything in our power to get our childrens umbilical cords returned to us. We will expose this companys utter lack of concern for people of other cultures to everyone and anyone we can until our belongings are returned to us. In case you havent noticed, casual racism isnt acceptable in this country anymore and poor customer service representatives can and do get fired on a regular basis. When my safe is returned to me, I will stop pestering people. Premier Van Lines International is one of the worst companies I have ever dealt with and I seriously recommend that no one use them, especially if you happen to be Native American, as they obviously dont care if they lose items that are culturally significant to our families; they cant even be bothered to pretend to care.

*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. ↩