Omega shipping is a rip off and horrible

Originally posted on September 27, 2008 by dilek74lr

Hi - I just wanted to warn anyone that was moving to Turkey and thinking about using Omega Shipping (located in New Jersy USA omegashipping.com)

My family and I moved to Turkey about 5 months ago from the USA. It was a company paid move but we were required to find a shipper.
I researched moving companies on the internet and sent out several bids for quotes, one of the companies I sent a bid request to was Omega Shipping.
After receiving my request, their sales person Micheal called me 3-4 times every day asking me if I had choosen a shipper yet.
He seemed very nice and very attentive. There price was not the lwest, or the highest, but I thought it was fair and I thought if he was calling as much as he was that we would be in good hands.

We signed the contract and paid the 25% down.
The very next day all tlephones calls stopped.
My shipping date was in 3 weeks, I was not contacted at all during this time.
Several times I called Micheal and left messages on his voicemail asking if there were any documents I needed to prepare either here or in Turkey.
After a couple of days he finally called me back and assured me we needed to do NOTHING, our items would be picked up at our door and delivered to our door in Turkey, no problems, and again, NOTHING we needed to do.

At 9PM the night before my pick up date, the driver called me to tell me he would be at my home at 9AM. I said that was fine.
An hour later he called back and said he would be there at 3PM, again, I said that was fine.

The day of the pick up they did not show up at 3PM, 4PM or 5PM.
I tried calling the cell # the driver gave me, but noone answered.
Finally, at 6PM they called me and told me they would be at my home at 6:30.
When they arrived, the driver and 2 guys came in. They took 5 minutes to walk around my apartment and then told me they did not have enough space left in the truck, they would come back tomorrow morning at 9AM and that I would be their first stop and they left.

The next day they did not come at 9, 10, 11 or 12. Finally around 1PM the driver called me and told me they would be at my home at 3 PM, they got there at 4:30 PM.
It took them less than an hour to load my items (mainly boxes and a couch and chair were the only pieces of furniture - we were not shipping that much).

A few days later I received a call from the accounting department at Omega Shipping and was told they weighed my items and it would be $2000 more than the original estimate.
I was shocked and upset, becasue we were not shipping that many things and already the quote was around $4000.
I called Micheal several times to talk to him and each time he said he was having his manager check it out. Finally after several days and several telephone calls, I called and told Micheal to forget everything and just bring my items back.
Ten minutes later his manager Joe called and said he had personally went to the warehouse himself and weighed the items and I was correct, they were overcharging me that I should not be charged for extra weight.
He did say though that he needed to charge me $350 for packing materials (they wrapped my sofa and chair in some type of paper material).
I agreed to pay the $350 and told him how important it was that my items be in Turkey when I arrived, in a month. He again told me there would be no problems and that we needed to do absolutely nothing, Omega shipping would handle everything.

We paid for door to door shipping from Virginia USA to Adana, Turkey.
Around June 10th we received a telephone call stating our items were in Istanbul (they should have been sent to Mersin).
My husband was told he needed to fly to Istanbul and fill out paperwork.
Due to my husband's job position, he was inable to go to Istanbul. Istanbul started making demands.
They told us several documents we needed to get, they wanted my husband's US passport, when we would send them papers, the next day they would give us a list of 5 more papers we needed to get, stamped and translations.
They also wanted papers from the US government.
During this time I called Omega shipping.
I had been told their agent in Turkey would handle any paperwork or anything that needed to be done.
Their agent NEVER contacted us.
He NEVER helped us at all. Everything was left to us.
Anyone who has had to get any type of paperwork done in Turkey knows it is an all day adventure to get one paper completed. You need to go to several offices, see several people and pay moeny.
It is not an easy thing. My husband is Turkish and it was even difficult for us.

This went on for 2 MONTHS! During this time, no one from Omega Shipping helped us or called us at all. I emailed Omega and called them on a daily basis, no called me back.
Whenever I did get to talkt o a person and not voice mail I was told someone would research and get back to me.

Finally I reached the owner of Omega shipping.
A receptionist had given me his cell number and I called him all day and left 11 messages.
During this time, all our items were in Istanbul and they were charging us daily to store the items.
Finally I called the owner and he answered the phone. He told me in no uncertain terms was there anything he was going to do to help us.
He admitted it was Omega's mistake that our items were shipped to Istanbul and not Adana.
He told me the agent in Turkey should have been helping us and if he was not that was not his problem, we would need to contact the agent in Turkey (when we contacted the agwent in Turkey he told us there was nothing he could do we had to contact Omega Shipping).
He told me he had my money (approx. $5500) and he wasn't going to do anything and hung up the phone on me.
I tried to call since and cannot get anyone.
Finally we had to pay $5000 to someone in Istanbul to release our items.

Omega shipping is a rip off and horrible.
My recommendation is not to ship anything to Turkey - bring a few suitcases full of things and start new here. Shipping is a extremely expensive and complicated.
When we received our items most of our glassware, plates etc were broken. All the boxes were cut open and squashed.
I had to rewash all of the linens and close because boxes were open and dirt and dust had gotten in. Several boxes and items were missing. Someone slashed the back of our couch open with a boxcutter.
It was horrible - do not ship anything! Save yourself time, money and sanity! If you do need to ship, please do not use Omega shipping.

WARN ANYONE TO STAY AWAY FROM OMEGA SHIPPING

Originally posted: May, 7 2009 by Wirose


We moved to London, UK from Wisconsin last August 08 using Omega shipping for transporting our personal items .

We are still having unresolved issues with Omega Shipping.

Do you know if there is any class action going against them?

It seems there are few people who had bad experience with Omega Shipping.

Our paper work was filled in incorrectly and it was never shown to us till our stuff arrived.

Some of our stuff arrived damaged even though it was supposed to be wrapped (it never was).

Our price was also higher than quoted.

They told us we had full 20feet container and when the container arrived, it was not even close to that. Our stuff was scattered all over the container and the local UK delivery agency was shocked when the container was opened by our house.

We took tons of pictures, etc and sent it to Omega Shipping. Hillary Crammer ensured us that all would be taking care of and corrected.

There were other issues i.e. not returning our phone calls or e-mails, not giving us certain paperwork on time, not explaining insurance policy etc.

Nobody even bother to apologize for the damage to our stuff.

Well, we are still waiting for our compensation and it is very frustrating.


I also do want to WARN ANYONE TO STAY AWAY FROM OMEGA SHIPPING

STAY AWAY FROM OMEGA SHIPPING

Tim R. Oakland, CA 7/20/2009

We hired Omega Shipping to move a container of furniture to Europe.
The mover they contracted in Europe did not unload and unpack the furniture on the receiving end, which was supposed to be included in the contract. Worse, two years after the move we received a letter from the European movers saying they were still owed 2,500 euros from Omega Shipping and that unless WE paid them within 10 days, under French law they were entitled to come after us. Dozens of emails, phone calls and faxes to Omega Shipping have gotten us nowhere.

Be afraid, be very afraid of using Omega Shipping.

Mon Aug 07, 2006 7:35 am Post subject: Re: International Move from Arizona to Australia - Omega Shipping

OMEGA SHIPPING is a fraude. They should be put in jail. Stay away from John Hanczor, please stay away.


Mon Oct 01, 2007 12:15 pm Post subject: Re: International Move from Arizona to Australia - Omega Shipping

I could not agree more - STAY AWAY FROM OMEGA SHIPPING AND JOHN HANCZOR! He is a complete fraud and is operating an entirely shady business.
As soon as they pack up your stuff to move, you will NEVER get a response from him or his company again. They will keep your belongings indefinitely. I don't trust him or his company and I wished I never hired them - I would advise anyone to STAY AWAY!

STAY AWAY FROM OMEGA SHIPPING

Originally Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:55 am

PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM OMEGA SHIPPING. THEY PICKED UP ALL OF MY PRIVATE AND PROFESSIONAL GOODS TO SHIP FROM WASHINTON TO EUROPE IN APRIL.
OMEGA SHIPPING PROMISED TO DELIVERE IN ca. 3 WEEKS - IN JULY (NOW) I DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHETHER THE CONTAINERS EXIST
OMEGA SHIPPING DID NOT SEND THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT, DID NOT GIVE ME BACK THE ORIGINAL TITLE OF MY CAR, THEY DID NOT SEND ME THE INSURANCE DOCUMENTS.
IN EUROPE, I FOUND OUT THAT THE PACKING LIST WHAT THEY PROVIDED IS NOT ACCEPTABLE IN EUROPE.
THEY DO NOT INFORM ME WHERE ARE MY CONTAINERS AND BASED ON THE NUMBERS PROVIDED SUCH CONTAINERS DO NOT EXSIST.
JOHN HANCZOR HAS INTRUDUCED HIMSELF AS THE MOST TRUSTABLE PERSON - BUT MY EXPERIENCE IS JUST THE OPPOSIT.
AFTER OMEGA SHIPPING HAVE YOUR GOODS, THE FRIENDLYNESS STOPS AND YOU WILL BE TOLD TO PAY 100% UP FRONT OTHERWISE NO TITLE, NO INSURANCE, NO GOODS, NO SHIPPING INFO.

Too late now, but I found out that OMEGA SHIPPING has very bad reputation in Europe

Omega Shipping hundreds of individuals have noted their horrific experiences

Originally Posted: Thursday, October 01, 2009

Omega Shipping hundreds of individuals have noted their horrific experiences.
The following narrative explains the interaction I have had with Omega Shipping since 7/31/2009.
As you will see in this document, Omega Shipping has leveraged duplicitous and unethical methods to force me into
(1) paying exorbitant fees and
(2) working with an international firm that is attempting to charge even more fees to retrieve our property.

In July 2009, I contacted several firms regarding an international move to Budapest Hungary from Las Vegas Nevada.
After speaking with Hillary Cammer at Omega Shipping, I felt as though this firm offered the best service and value for a door-to-door move, even though Omega Shipping refused to provide an on-site inspection and estimate.
This should have been my first clue this was not a company to work with.

I was told they would handle everything including packing our belongings in Las Vegas Nevada, the international shipment, and then a contracted local firm would clear our belongings through customs and deliver them.
The quote I received on 7/29/2009 was for $6450.
On 7/31/2009, I signed the quote, Omega Shipping’s Agreement, and paid a $1500 deposit.

Our move was scheduled for 8/17.
On that day, local movers were to pick up our property, pack it, inventory it, and remove it for international shipment.
Until 12:31am on 8/17, we had not been contacted by the local movers and after calls and emails, received an email from Hillary Cammer stating the local movers were in fact going to arrive.

On 8/17, three individuals arrived, none of whom spoke any English, packed up our property, put in on a truck and left.
There was no receipt provided and no itemized inventory given to us.
We were scheduled to fly from Las Vegas to Budapest Hungary the next day, 8/18.

After 10 days, I received an invoice from Omega Shipping for $11450.06, $5000.96 more than originally quoted.
I was told the shipment was much larger than expected.
I had no verification this was accurate.
There was no way for me to say, “Yes, you’re right, it is much larger than we thought it would be.”
I was unable to dispute any allegations.
Furthermore, I was already in Hungary.
There was not anything I could do to terminate this relationship with Omega Shipping and use another moving company.
I was essentially extorted into paying an extra $5000.

On 8/31, I reluctantly wired the funds to Omega Shipping, they would not accept any other form of payment, which is to create a scenario where there is no way for me to recoup those funds if there are problems with the move.
This is a deceptive business practice which should be investigated by the Attorney General’s office.

I was told our shipment would take 2-3 weeks, however, our container did not leave the US until 9/10, three weeks after it was picked up, and is not scheduled to arrive in Germany until 10/4.

In Hungary, we were passed to another firm, EuroMove, who was to handle the shipment from Germany to Budapest, and deliver it to our home.
EuroMove began stating that we were supposed to have been given detailed inventories, so exact that we should know exactly what items are in each box.
At no time did Omega Shipping tell us this needed to happen, nor did the movers in Las Vegas create these precise lists.
EuroMove stated that it was standard procedure to have these lists and that Omega Shipping was negligent.
Because of this failure, we will be subject to much higher customs fees, as much as 300% of the value of our property.

Over the next few days, EuroMove began asking for us to sign countless documents, including several Powers of Attorney.
It is public knowledge that many businesses in Hungary utilize deceptive practices to inflate charges; we did not want to sign these forms and provide color copies of our passports, ID cards, Social Security cards, etc that would make identity theft very easy.
There was no way for us to be sure our information was secure or how it was going to be used, especially if numerous Powers of Attorney were signed.
We did not know this company and had no reason to trust them.

As a precaution, we visited with the local Hungarian Customs officials to discuss the matter.
We were given very explicit guidance that was contrary to everything stated by EuroMove.
Immediately I contact Jeanine Berrios at Omega Shipping.
Her response was that we should contact the local company and handle it ourselves.
This answer was unacceptable.

Hillary Cammer responded to my email stating she wanted to discuss the matter over the phone.
Having pre-existing knowledge that 90% of the things she said over the phone were inaccurate, I wanted everything in writing via email.
Both Jeanine and Hillary refused to comply.

We then began to receive invoices from EuroMove.
First for 300 Euro and then there were implications that we would be seeing even higher charges to bring our shipment into the city limits.
Hungarian Customs officials told us this was an attempt at fraud.

Again, I contacted Omega Shipping and again Hillary Cammer said she would only discuss this matter over the phone.
This was unacceptable.

I was also told that this Terminal Fee was not included in our all inclusive, door-to-door service.
On the phone, Hillary said that once I paid Omega Shipping, I would not be charged another penny by anyone, with the exception of customs fees.
However, after my property was picked up, I received an invoice stating that several fees were not included.
Again, Omega Shipping was in possession of everything I own and changed things knowing there was nothing I could do.

I sent out another email, this time to both Omega Shipping and EuroMove, stating that I was not satisfied with EuroMove and wanted Omega Shipping to utilize another local firm for this portion of our relocation.

I was then directed to Mr. Boaz Aviani, President of Omega Shipping, who said he would refund us $2300 but that we would be on our own to get our property from the German terminal to our home.
I explained to Mr. Aviani that this entire catastrophe was unacceptable and that I would not allow him to leave us high-and-dry without our belongings; that we had a contract for him to provide services and that if he failed to do so, there would be legal ramifications.

Mr. Aviani would also have me believe that EuroMove is asking for documentation per Hungarian regulations.
As previously mentioned, this is not accurate, which initiated contact with Omega Shipping.
I contacted Omega Shipping because I was told by local officials in Hungary that EuroMove was not following the law.
In fact I was told that at best they are ignorant and have no idea what they are doing, at worst they are trying to scam us.

Mr. Aviani responded to my emails by saying that he would no longer deal with me, but only our attorney.

It is now 10/1, I have no property, am at the mercy of a company that has been leveraging deceptive practices since Day 1, who has subcontracted my relocation to a company in Hungary who is obviously dishonest, and now refuses to take responsibility for this situation.

Omega Shipping has leveraged our personal property as a means by which to obtain fees and payments from us under duress. Their refusal to provide guidance or statements of any kind via written correspondence proves guilt. Obviously, they do not want make any promises in writing that could be used in future legal activities.

The fact Omega Shipping is coercing me to utilize a company I know is attempting duplicitous activities is incorrigible. Even worse, they are trying to turn the tables on me, as if any of this is due to my actions.
I paid Omega Shipping in advance and have little recourse outside of a court to retrieve my payment.
At this point, I may never get my property.
My only fault is entering into an arrangement with Omega Shipping.

I am not alone in my continual problems with Omega Shipping.
Recent online searches have yielded hundreds of results where countless individuals have noted their horrific experiences.
All of these complaints also mention Omega Shipping’s method of low quotes and high invoices once property is no longer in the possession of the owner.
These entries also note Hillary Cammer’s unethical actions, Boaz Aviani’s dismissal of customer issues, and “all-inclusive” door-to-door moving packages leaving the customer with thousands of dollars in additional fees in order to retrieve their property.

I am not naïve and understand that an international relocation is a long and arduous process.
However, I signed an agreement with Omega Shipping in good faith; I assumed they would look out for my best interests, especially given the amount of money involved. I assumed they would fulfill their end of the agreement and actually deliver my property without duplicitous actions. I was wrong.

Stay away from Omega Shipping This is a huge rip off

Originally posted: Tuesday, November 24, 2009

I have hired Omega Shipping for moving services in December 2008.
I agreed to a quote of $6650.00 to partial pack my belongings, dissemble some of my furniture, load and move it in an AC-Storage until it will be shipped to New Zealand, if I should get the visa.
Other locations were discussed, because to get a Visa is difficult and I had to be in the country to apply for.
I paid a deposit of 50% $3760.00
3 month later I had to go to the storage to remove some of my items and I realized that my stuff was not entirely in an AC Storage as I requested.
Instead the items were on several locations.
After a fight they agreed to move my stuff free of charge completely in an AC Storage.
I insisted that the storage contract is under my name.

Now 10 month later I decided to move back to Germany and I have called Omega Shipping to arrange the shipment.
They gave me a price of $4650.00 this would have been okay, if they would have subtract the deposit payment of $3760.00, but they refused to do so.
They insisted that this are the costs even Germany is 4000 miles and New Zealand is 8000 miles away from Miami.

What means that I had paid $ 3760 for 4 people working from 10 am to 4 p.m. in my house and probably 3 hours more to unload the items and put them in storage.
What would mean I have paid $418 per hour or $104.50 per person including using the truck.
This is a huge rip off.

The good thing is, that my stuff is in a storage facility paid from myself, so I am free to hire a reliable company to ship my belongings to Germany.
After this incidents I have done more research about this company and there are more horror stories to find.
So stay away from Omega Shipping, the Sales person is friendly and the quotes are okay, but in the end you will pay much more, especial if you are in another country and it will be hard for you to deal with them.

Omega Shipping Ripoff and Scam

Originally Posted: Friday, March 23, 2007

After recently having items shipped from France to Overland Park, KS, I must express my extreme distress at the gross negligence and complete disregard for the customer displayed by Omega Shipping.
First Of, After receiving the quote and giving Omega Shipping a 25% deposit based on the quote we were informed it would take approximately 6-8 weeks.
This was around the end September 2006,Then, the French moving company sent movers that spoke no english, even though we were assured that Omega Shipping's agents in France would speak english.
Then the movers refused to take several items that were marked for pickup and took other items that were not marked.
We were told that we would receive a packing list of what the movers did take.

Several months later (in March 2007) we received a scribbled list in French that listed items we had no idea of what they were.
It was around mid March of 2007 that we were informed our shipment was finally ready for delivery.
The attitude of Omega Shipping was simply "Oh well", not even an apology.
They imediately began to demand payment and sent an invoice which did not include the deposit we had paid several months ago (I am not surprised they forgot).
When I called to inquire about some of the charges on the invoice, it took about over a week to get any response from Omega Shipping, but this was the normal operating procedure.

One charge was $475 for packing, this was odd as the moving company in France (Omega Shipping agent) refused to move anything not already packed.
Omega Shipping subsequently reduced the amount by half, but refused to provide proof the charge was valid, as is true with all the charges.
Omega Shipping simply said "pay up or we will place your possesions in long term storage and charge you a 10% storage charge".

Had our possesions not included very personal items, we would have told them to keep it.
I am sure Omega Shipping was aware of the fact that there were irreplacable items in our shipment and used this to their advantage.
Even the $45 they charged for an insurance policy was never disclosed.
When we purchased the policy I was repeatedly told it will be 3% of declared value of goods and nothing more.
When I received the invoice and asked about this additional charge, again it was "Oh well"After we transfered payment to Omega Shipping via wire transfer and informed them we were moving the weekend they wanted to deliver our items and asked if we could we have it delayed for a few days so we would not have to move it again, the response was "not a chance, unless you want to pay a 10% storage charge and a re-delivery fee".

After over a 4 month delay in delivery, Omega Shipping would not even delay delivery of our goods for 3 days!!I am looking for an attorney to scrutinize the invoice and all contract material between Omega Shipping and myself to see if there is any legal recourse I have to obtain a refund of a portion of the money charged by Omega Shipping.
I don't feel I am entitled to all of it, but feel that Omega Shipping did not even come close to fulfilling their end of the contract and that some of the charges may be jacked-up as Omega Shipping refuses to provide proof of the charges.

I would have to say that dealing with Omega Shipping has been the worst business experience of my life, once they got the deposit, it would take a least a week for them to respond to any phone call or email.

Eric Overland Park, KansasU.S.A.