MOVING SCAM (Bait and Switch, Forged ...
"Always #1" is a scam moving company connected to at least nine other companies: "Lighthouse Vanlines," "Express Relocation Systems," "Countrywide Relocation," "All American Van Lines," "Meridian International Movers," "State To State Relocation," "National Moving Service," "Corporate Relocation," and "Relocation Solution." Most of these businesses, if they haven't been shut down yet, all have 1-star reviews on Yelp, similar stories of bait-and-switch tactics or damaged items, and most connected to one man, "Leo" (also goes by Levani). Most are based out of New Jersey (many at the same 333 Veterans Blvd Carlstadt, NJ address) or Georgia, and share different pieces of info (phone #, address, etc—google them if you don't believe me). I only know this info because I wasted too much of life doing extensive research on them after the numerous issues my family and I had during a very difficult move last year. This was our first big move and we found them because we only had two weeks to get our stuff from Philly to L.A. They pulled a standard bait and switch scam, offering a low-ball estimate and increasing the price (by $2k) after the truck was loaded with our goods (which is illegal). In addition to that and numerous other more minor issues (not able to tell us where our goods were for 2 weeks, not responding to calls, adding extra charges etc), we experienced the following 3 major issues: no license to operate in CA (which is illegal in the state of CA), no Bill of Lading until day of delivery, and also on the delivery day, showing a new contract with new prices and our forged signature. Luckily, after taking them to court, we got our $2,691 back. I know far more about moving law than I ever hoped to (I am a music teacher goodness' sake!) and know now how many of these businesses operate. They prey on these stressful times and count on people not holding them accountable. My heart goes out to you if you were caught up in their scheme and just know there is action you can take!