Dodge Moving & Storage Co., Inc. ("Dodge Moving") was recommended based on my search on a national site that finds reputable companies. The estimate was performed by a gentleman who stated that he was new to providing estimates. Despite this information, I still thought he provided a fair quote. A crew of five people showed up on the moving day. The lead stated that he had a new crew member that was in being trained in how to inventory items. She inventoried while the guys disassembled items. Everything was going okay until the crew realized in the middle of packing that they ran out of essential materials for a move. These items include boxes and protective materials. At that point, they started wrapping our glass items and white dining room chairs with large black moving cloths and tape. The crew disassembled three beds, tables, and a couch set. Near the end of packing, the crew lead was expressing his displeasure with the crew about the way the semi-truck was packed. A call had to placed for a second truck to complete the job. Our items were sent to the Dodge Moving in Earth City, Missouri. Our drop off date and location had to be changed several times and the company was willing to work with us regarding these changes.
The Delivery:
The delivery of our items fell below our expectations. The crew lead informed me that "he didn't have the correct number of crew members for our job so it would be a late night." During the delivery, a crew member said: "Sir, you should have paid us to pack your glass and chairs because this method was risky." I didn't inform him that I had actually paid for the professional packing of those items.
Our household items were being unloaded by three men. Due to the shortage of the crew, the lead attempted to talk me out verifying our inventory while the movers brought things into our house. We inventoried while they read off the numbers upon entering the house and putting items down.
The BEDS:
The reassembly of our beds were not done properly. The crew said that they didn't know how to properly put the items back together. I was advised to contact the crew who disassembled the beds to assist me. The beds were left with loose and stripped screws. One of the beds even had the screw removal drill bit still in it. It took me hours to move parts to the correct beds so that my children could have an appropriate place to sleep as they prepared for school the next day. The crew lead called into headquarters and annotated that he thought "the bed frames warped from the heat of the storage" but the company didn't address his notes.
When I unwrapped our dining room chairs, we found that there was a black haze on them from the cloths. This item was claimed and resolved. Glass items that were packed were left wrapped and leaning against the wall for us to unpack. The glass for the dining room table and the curio were left for us to assemble. As a disabled Vet that's not what I paid for. it was a long night.
We had a couch that was lost in the warehouse. It was recovered and delivered on August 19th. We were told that it was stored separately from our other items.
Our list of damaged items includes but not limited to:
White dining room chairs with a black haze (requiring replacement)
Standing mirror broken in multiple places (requiring replacement)
Master Dresser (requiring repair)
Master Mirror for dresser (requiring repair/replacement)
I would not recommend this company as we only moved 45 minutes away and yet sustained several broken items. Some of these same items were moved long distances without damage. I can only be lead to believe that the negligent actions of this company lead to the broken items. We paid for disassembly, packing, and assembly. This service was unsatisfactory due to the fact that out of five large items (three beds, one dining room table, and curio cabinet), only one item was completely assembled by Dodge Moving.
I was in the military and moved several times without this level of issues. By far this move has been one of my worst experiences. We are very happy that the insurance plan was purchased in addition to our homeowner's policy. When I called to inquired about the status of our claim, I wasn't given a time frame to expect repayment for the damaged items. Our settlement letter was dated, September 23, 2019, but the check is dated October 22, 2019. The discrepancy between the letter and check date is misleading although they were sent together in one envelope postmarked October 24, 2019. The settlement letter should be explained in more detail. The check is dated two months and ten days after our moving date. read more