Moving van delays leads to anxious wait for Valley newcomers
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Long Island, New York family that moved west for a fresh start here in the Central Valley is, instead, off to a miserable start.
They say a moving company they hired a month ago to transport their property still hasn't finished the job.
The Kleinman family is settling into their mostly empty Clovis condo.
The cupboard is bare. They're sleeping on air mattresses.
They've been dreaming of California for months but the move has been a nightmare.
"A nightmare would be even too generous because you can wake up from a nightmare," says Jason Kleinman.
Jason and Alayne Kleinman say their belongings are three weeks late.
A United Van Lines spokesperson says, "The family is able to file a delay claim."
"We have and it's $100 a day," Jason said.
The Kleinmans arrived July 8 after a 10-day cross country drive.
But during the trip, Alayne says she couldn't track the moving truck, so she called United Van Lines.
"I finally got a message saying, 'Oh, your stuff never left New York. It's still sitting here. We actually are waiting for a driver. We've unloaded it into a warehouse.'"
Once the truck finally reached California, another delay.
"It reached the border and apparently, they found a couple of ants on the truck," Jason said.
The truck had to be unloaded in Phoenix to take care of an ant infestation.
On Friday, United Van Lines told Action News, "There will be a driver assigned now that the trailer has been treated and can be transported early next week."
But the Kleinman's are worried about the condition of their antique furniture, vinyl albums and collectibles since their property's been unloaded twice.
"Very worried because there's a lot of items on there," Alayne said. "I mean, it's our entire life on that truck. It's us. It's our two children."
The Kleinman's say United Van Lines should have been more upfront and immediately told them about both delays.
They plan to start a baking business but all of their equipment's on that truck.
