Bait and Switch at Columbia’s Moving Man

 A moving and storage company which is recommended by Columbia University is apparently engaged in deceptive marketing practices on campus.

 In a classic bait-and-switch, the company Hudson Moving and Storage is listed by Columbia as one of two recommended moving companies. It sets up a tent every spring on the main campus, promises to pick up students possessions from their dorms, store them and return them each fall for only $200.

 The catch: this year Hudson told students that the only dates Columbia would allow them to move back in were September 8-11. To change the date would require an additional payment of $80 payable in cash on delivery. Warnings of this extra charge for a date change were not given to students signing their contracts, or included in the contract or mentioned on Hudson’s website.  Columbia College sophmore, Nguyen Hong Kong, had no idea that  would make it so difficult and expensive to change her move in time. Moving companies do not generally charge for date changes.

 September 8 is the first day of classes, so Columbia College students are furious about being told they have to move that week. Reached for comment, Hudson Movers said that Sept 8-11 were the only dates given to them by Columbia.

 However Columbia, Thursday denied the claim, saying that the only blackout date they had given Hudson is the morning of September 5. A second call to Hudson produced some furious, and unprompted denials, from the manager Victoria. “ Those dates were approved by Columbia. We never work on the weekend. We aren’t hiding anything.”

 Reached for comment Director of Residential Programs Karu Kozuma had to laugh “What kind of moving company doesn’t work on the weekend?”

 He said check  to find out from colleagues in another department how this problem was allowed to develop. The moving industry is notorious all over the world and in the past Columbia has stopped having to use companies which were poor at returning student possessions at the end of the summer. Columbia University approved vendors are essentially given a license to print money so far more study needs to be done to find out how they get on the list and who benefits.