The bottom line up front is that this firm:
- Damaged several of our items
- Charged us more than their estimate
- Did not arrive or finish on time for the pack out
- Did not arrive on the scheduled delivery date
- Was consistently rude, hard to reach, hostile; they rarely answered their phone and refused to speak with us when we tried to call on our pack out day.
- They ran out of packing supplies and were rough and careless with our items.
- Refused to clean up empty boxes, despite promising to do so when they pitched us
- Refused to assemble our kitchen table even though that was part of the deal
- Left most of our stuff in the driveway. Refused to finish the move. The second they got paid, they pretty much stopped working.
Let's get into more details:
Second, I hired this company for an interstate move. The packers arrived and presented unusual paperwork that had terms different than what I was expecting. The form said to immediately call their office to resolve any questions. However, when we called, no one answered. We emailed. No one answered. We asked the team lead Kevin to have the office contact us so we could resolve our questions; he refused. Ultimately, we had to be out of the rental home as their was a new tenant moving in that day so we had no choice but to sign the paperwork presented (under duress) so the movers would pack our things. We felt this was a manipulative and intentional tactic.
Third, the packing team did not have sufficient packing supplies, resulting in several items being put loose on the truck with no box and no protective material at all. They ran out of boxes despite the total weight of our move being far lower than their estimate. We have several photos to document and prove that they did not follow common sense or industry norms when packing our things. In one case, we found a single, small item inside of a huge, sealed box. In other cases, things were thrown into a box with no protection at all (like paper, bubble wrap etc.). When we asked them why, they said they had no idea that our items would be stored for 5 weeks.
Fourth, one of the team members just hung out, and did little or perhaps no packing. I believe he was under the influence. We asked that this team have no further contact with me or my wife, and not be involved with the delivery of our items. The firm sent him as the team lead for the delivery anyway, ignoring our request and making us extremely uncomfortable.
Fifth, the team refused to take inventory or maintain an inventory list, and the team refused to number the boxes.
The team left without a word and provided us no paperwork. I emailed the firm and called, and did not hear back from anyone for four weeks.
About one month after the packout, and 5 days before the move, Best deal movers called us and asked to shift the delivery date from 1 November to 31 October. I also received a text and an email indicating the move would take place on October 31st. Although this was extremely inconvenient and would cause me to miss both work and an important deadline for graduate school, I agreed to the change given how acrimonious things had been. I thought being agreeable might help. Unfortunately, on the 31st, the moving company never showed up. I called repeatedly but no one answered the phone at the office. Toward the end of the day, we were informed that the team would not be coming until 1 November. Further, the company demanded a certified check (higher than the amount of their original estimate) to deliver our goods. This felt like we were being extorted. Similar to their pick up, they provided no notice, an ultimatum and no time to consult with our attorney to find out if we should pre-pay in full with a certified check. We offered to pay in full with a credit card, but they refused. We offered to pay with a certified check after they delivered our goods so we could inspect for damage, but they refused. We felt we had no choice but to pay them and then fight with them to recover damages after the fact.
When they arrived at our home, they refused to unload unless we signed new paperwork, which we had never seen, requesting changes to the move. They said if we didn't sign it immediately without reading, they would not deliver. They said if we took time to read it, they would charge us extra for extra time for the move. An impossible situation.
We paid for them to reassemble furniture, but they refused to reassemble our kitchen table. We paid for them to take away empty boxes, but they refused and left the home a mess. read more