Arpin Van Lines - Gold Country Moving & Storage

Where do I start about Gold Country Moving (GCM)? They did a totally unacceptable job. I am embarrassed I actually paid them but didn't have a solid legal reason to forgo payment. They also had all of my furniture. I absolutely would not recommend them! 1. Craig, the move coordinator, came to my home. Gold Country was actually the only company that wanted to give me an in-person assessment. He gave me an estimate based on our walk though. The estimate included a variety of general household items to be packed and most of my heavy, solid wood furniture from a high-end furniture brand- large sectional sofa; a 8 piece dining room set; iron 4-poster bed; two dressers; an armoire and one 30 in flat screen TV. The old 19 in TV and two furniture items in the den were to stay & go to charity or junk. I told Craig the den didn't need to be packed. The estimated packing date was either 8/22 or 8/23. 2) I had to change the address twice: once because a complex wanted to change lease terms unexpectedly, then because my preferred unit in the new complex became available before I was scheduled to arrive. My first call was about a week before the packing date 8/15 0r 8/16 around 3pm). I spoke directly to a human named Robert and gave him the first address change (1). He told me I was scheduled for 8/23 because the crew had another packing appointment on 8/22. I had two other calls about issues, and on each case, the person read back the wrong address (2, 3). One of the calls included Craig receiving my credit card info and noting the changed address. On the night of 8/21, I received an email from Cheri, the co-owner, and a text from Craig saying they kept trying to reach me and the crew was coming on the morning of 8/22. When I texted Craig, I informed him Robert clearly said my move date was 8/23. I had a handyman crew coming on 8/22 to clean out the garage and backyard. Because of the failed communication between GCM staff, I had to make last minute dog sitting arrangements (not needed if folks are only in the yard & garage) and try to keep track of two teams of workers in my home at the same time. 3. One of the workers (Tony) arrived dressed in a sloppy unprofessional fashion. While the lead( Robert) instructed Tony look at items in the garage that needed transporting, he touched my bare shoulder, then asked if he could work for me on the side. His supervisor was in the other room! I don't think he was making a pass, but touching customers, especially on bare skin, is made me uncomfortable. I felt this was unacceptable and told Robert. 4. At the end of packing I was asked to sign a paper stating we walked through and all items were accounted for. Robert and I had walked through a few times during packing, but not at the end. I made the mistake of still signing without insisting we walk through again just before they left. The writing on the inventory was really hard to read and I was tired. Lesson learned on my part. Also gave Robert the new address when I noticed the incorrect information on all of the forms (4). 5. After the movers left, I noticed the old TV in the den was gone. I offered it to the handymen, and assumed they came in to get it while I was busy with something else. I left to run errands after everyone was out of the house. When I returned the armoire and the flat screen TV were still in the master bedroom. I spoke to Craig on the morning of Friday 8/23. He said he would look into the matter and call me back. He also read back the wrong address -again (5). He didn't call me back. During our conversation he asked me if saw the moving crew take the armoire out of my house. 6. I called the office 8/26 and spoke to Cynthia, who confirmed that the paperwork in the office actually listed my packing date as 8/23! At the time, I told her I changed units and needed to change the apartment number. She read back the first address, which I already updated with other GCM staff members five (5) times. 7. When Cheri called me back, she was more concerned about Tony "stealing" from GCM than the fact that he put his hands on a customer without permission, or that they left the large solid wood armoire. She also informed me that the inventory included a flat screen TV and I was charged for a TV box. The flat screen TV was sitting in front of me at the time. She also read back the first, previously updated address (6), and I gave her all of the current destination address info. This was the Monday before my stuff was supposed to arrive in San Diego, and I needed to arrive to sign my lease or risk losing my apartment. As a result of the armoire being left, I incurred the expense of a flight to sign the lease and return to Sacramento. Cheri didn't call me back on Monday 8/26 8. I actually had to call GCM to discuss this mess on 8/27 because they didn't call me. When Cheri called me back, she told me the packing crew would return for the armoire and TV but there would be a $125 trip fee. I included several other boxes since I had to pay anyway. My move date would also change to Saturday 8/31 because of the delay. Robert and one other man arrived 30 mutes late on Wednesday 8/28 morning- the unit number wasn't updated on any of the documents, so I updated again (7). When I asked about the move in date, he also stated Saturday 8/31. 9) I received a text from Cheri on the night of Wednesday 8/28 the moving crew would arrive at destination on the morning of 8/29. I return text threatening to report them to Arpin Corporate and the BBB. When I spoke to her on Thursday 8/29, she had no recollection of telling me the move date was Saturday 8/31. She called me latter and changed to Saturday 8/31. She also deducted $125 because of my troubles after I told her I would give GCM an F on Angie's List. 10. Joe, the other owner called me on Friday 8/30 to confirm. He didn't have the new unit number (8). On Saturday he informed me the semi truck wouldn't fit into the complex gates, and I would have to be charged for a U-Haul to bring my stuff in. A groundskeeper and I reassured him people move in using semi-trucks from large moving companies all the time w/o issue. He then charged me $75 because they had to walk from the main drive way to my apartment. His helper was a tattooed out day laborer Joe never worked with before. This guy stood in front of me while taking a personal call and getting water( he asked). While on the phone he took a tomato from a bag Ieft on the counter, ate it and left the seeds in the sink. When I informed Joe, an showed him the seeds, the guy denied it and Joe questioned my story. He offered to send his only helper home, but I insisted they just get this over with. 11. After they left, I opened the armoire to find that Joe did not bolt the top of the piece to the base. I would have been seriously injured if the upper portion of my solid wood armoire fell when I opened the doors. He apologized profusely, but I had to bolt the until together my self. When I upackedI found that they individually wapped each of my shoes in paper-- unnecessary charges for packing materials. I am looking into whether I can identify the charges for the TV box, and the unnecessary paper used in packing. Unfortunately, the things that I can identify as needless charges aren't worth my time or effort to take Gold Country/ Silicon Valley Moving and Storage to small claims court. Cheri and Joe stated the company has been in business for over 20 years and has a "A" rating on Angies List. That information is total inconsistent with my experience. She said I should not give GCM an F, letting the actions of "one bad apple (Tony)" influence work for the other hard working people in the company, then offered to drop the trip charge. I took the offer, because the charge was ludicrous under the circumstances, and would not let it influence my rating- if that was the intent. I did not see any rating for GCM, but couldn't access San Jose Lists. I did see a rating of 2/5 stars on another consumer site after GCM had my stuff. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!!!