(Part 1 of 2)
I hired Costa Mesa Moving Co. in June 2010 to move my family's two bedroom home items from Lakewood, CA to Costa Mesa, CA. The quote prices seemed reasonable, they are a Member of the Better Business Bureau, and I liked the idea of using a local moving company. They even had a nice website. Not a lot to go on, but as you will see, this pretty much is all I had to make a decision.
I began to have concerns when they agreed to move me over the phone, site unseen, but did not provide any email or paper confirmation. I sent them an email as a written attempt to fix the moving date, but received no reply. Subsequently, I changed the date of the move to the following week and at that time found out that they did receive my email, had a record of my phone conversation with the company, but didn't actually have me scheduled to move. I then was told over the phone that I needed to give my credit card number to bind them to move me. Apparently, that's how Costa Mesa Moving rolls - a credit card handshake is all you need.
I then asked them to come to my home to give an estimate, thinking/hoping that I would receive a written estimate. The written estimate would give me some sort of protection and better clarify the move terms. Well, they came out, told me that it would cost around $500, but did not provide a written estimate. Time was getting short, so I took a chance and later gave them my credit card information over the phone to bind them to move me.
Under the California Public Utilities Commission (moving companies are utilities?), moving companies are required to provide (i) the "Important Information for Persons Moving Household Goods (within California)" booklet (see http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/hhgfaq/ ) and (ii) a written "Agreement For Moving Service" three or more days in advance of the move. Well, they did not provide these either. (I learned about these two California Public Utilities Commission requirements from Costa Mesa Moving Co.'s one page, written moving service agreement that I received on the day of the move) (Costa Mesa Moving Co. should put a copy of the "Important Information for Persons Moving Household Goods (within California)" booklet and a blank copy of their standard "Agreement For Moving Service" on their website so customers can be better informed of what to expect.)
With a few days remaining before the move date, I was committed to Costa Mesa Moving Co. as no other moving company that I know can reasonably schedule a move with only a few days notice. I had to be out of my place on that Saturday. My stress level was high since I had no written confirmation of what they were bounded to. Would they show up? Would I really be charge around $500? Would they show up with a truck big enough to move me in one trip or would they need two trips? My family's move from Lakewood to Costa Mesa involved many other issues I needed to address outside of moving my items, so the stress from Costa Mesa Moving Co. didn't help things.
Costa Mesa Moving Co. charges an hourly rate for the labor plus material charges. For the drive time, they charge Double Drive, meaning they double the time it takes to drive from the old place to the new place as a round trip charge. Double Drive is a reasonable charge since they do not start charging you for the initial drive from the company to your old place and the driving time between your old and new place is particular to your move. However, here is where a disreputable moving company could screw you - bring in a few $9.00 wardrobe boxes, work slow, take breaks, take an hour lunch while driving from the old place to the new place, etc. - all of which could result in a $500 moving estimate reaching $1,500 in actual costs.
(End of part 1 of 2) read more
