Complaint Review: Camel Moving And Storage - Pacoima California

We hired this company to do an international move. Ron Ratoviz (sales rep) advised me they would handle the entire move themselves; they had the lowest price, and reputation for the best service. I explained over the phone all of our belongings we would be bringing. I was told we had about 200 cubic feet and was quoted 3,260.00 plus an extra 500.00 for insurance. He told me 200.00 of moving supplies were also included in the price. We were told not to use our own boxes as it would void the insurance. A 500.00 deposit was needed from my credit card over the phone and then the balance was to be paid in cash only the day the movers came. I had another mover from a different company come over who actually looked at what we were taking and gave me a quote that was about 300.00 higher than my quote from Camel. I decided to use Camel since their quote was lower and they already knew the size of our load.

The movers came on Monday 4/27/09 and packed our things. They used only 5 of their own boxes. We had loosely packed some of our items in our own boxes to keep our things organized as we were expecting Camel to pack everything in their own boxes. They just taped up our boxes without securing anything and used them anyway. After our items were packed and loaded on the truck I was informed the balance due was now skyrocketed to 4,060.00 in cash. 500.00 was already charged to my cc. Ron, over the phone, determined we had 250 cubic feet even though most of the boxes were our own small boxes.

I reluctantly paid thousands of dollars IN CASH as our move date was just a few days away. I was assured we were now paid in full stateside and abroad. My wife and I spent the rest of that day in a daze feeling like we have just been had and something was not right. Little did we know this was just the beginning of the worst service we have ever experienced.

We were now overseas. More than 2 wks went by and I was notified via e-mail by Al at Camel that I needed to sign documents from a company called Dynamic L.A. before our items could be shipped. I couldn't believe this as we already paid an enormous price for our small amount of belongings to Camel and signed their paperwork. If that doesn't qualify as my authorization then I don't know what does! I did not know who this 3rd party was and was surprised to learn that our belongings have not yet been shipped. I informed Al I had no way of signing this company's paperwork as I was already abroad, and my only means of communication at the time was a local internet cafe. Al advised me he could take care of the paperwork for me, but needed me to reply to the e-mail giving my authorization. I did. I had no other choice. We needed our things and thought they had been shipped long by this time. I later learned that Dynamic is an international mover. Camel hired Dynamic to do what we hired Camel to do and tried to keep that from us. No one at Camel ever said they would be using a 3rd party. Ron told me Camel is taking care of EVERYTHING with the exception of using the overseas movers once our shipment reached our overseas destination. This explains why our price was so high.

The movers overseas contacted me 1 week before our cargo arrives. I am advised they need a copy of our passport, and our delivery address. We already provided this information to Ron at Camel who was to take care of it, but the movers abroad said they never received it from them. We had to spend more time and money making copies and mailing out the exact same information we sent to Ron @ Camel. I was also advised they needed our original customs declaration form for unaccompanied items that we received when we landed that would have a stamp on it. Ron failed to mention that this was going to be needed. I am glad we kept it. I am also notified of a balance due that equates to 250 USD to be paid c.o.d. on date of delivery. Ron advised he would take care of it once I brought this to his attention via e-mail. Days went by with no update. I contact him again. He advises they are overseas fees and they're not Camel's fault. I never heard from him again, and e-mails went unanswered. I was absolutely livid that I was being ignored and Camel was bestowing this problem on us.

The mover abroad reviewed our document prepared by Ron @ Camel. I was advised of numerous inaccuracies on Camel's document and was told it was evident they are not experienced with international moving, and could have saved a lot of money going directly through Dynamic. Camel used them as the middleman for our relo and tried to keep it from us. I forwarded all of the correspondence from the mover abroad to Ron at Camel pointing out their negligence and incompetence. Camel is fully aware that every bit of information in my complaint is 100% correct! On date of delivery, my bicycle was also completely disassembled. The movers abroad were puzzled as to why Camel would take it apart. The movers abroad were kind enough to spend an extra hour outside rebuilding my bike.

This was our first overseas move. We were naive and Camel took advantage of us. I let Ron talk me in to putting my trust and faith into their service. They are very dishonest and it took the movers abroad to review the document and bring their incompetence to my attention. Of course Camel never admitted to any of it.

I cannot change the past, but I do not wish this upon anyone else. Our experience with Camel Moving and Storage was absolutely horrible. Please do yourself a favor and stay away from Camel Moving!

Joe

Huntington Beach, California

U.S.A.

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