This is a review of Encore Moving and Storage, 202 Berg St., Algonquin, IL 60102. DO NOT USE THESE MOVERS. I did not hire these movers in any case, but was assigned to them by a broker, Charter Van Lines, 21301 Powerline Rd. Suite 106, Boca Raton, FL 33433.
I will list a few of the worst aspects of my experience and strongly advise you not to hire this company. This is not an honest business.
1. The movers arrived a whole day after the 48-hour window that had been planned far in advance. They gave no notice at all of when they would arrive until the very last minute, despite my repeated calls.
2. I had arranged the move far in advance with the broker. We had agreed on a detailed inventory, and I asked very specific questions and received specific reassurances, in writing, as to the "binding" cost of the move. I had the dollar amount ready in a Postal Money Order as specifically instructed by the broker. But when these movers arrived, they acted as if there was no prior agreement at all, and proceeded to recalculate everything from scratch, stating that the broker "has nothing to do with this." They came on a Sunday, so there was no recourse to the broker, who was closed for the day.
3. When I tried to hold my position about the price, they repeatedly threatened to cancel the move. At one point, even after they had loaded the truck, they threatened to unpack and leave my property on the sidewalk. This is truly extortion. Like most people who are moving, the stakes were high for me because I needed to be at my destination to start a new job on a certain day. Also, my lease was up and I had to get out of my apartment on a certain day. Any change in this careful plan would come at significant expense to me, which of course they knew very well, but this is how they roll! Their message to me was: "You do it our way, you pay what we tell you, or we're leaving. We don't care about your agreement with a broker, this is what we're charging you now. Pay it, or you're on your own." Of course at this point I really did have no choice, and I had no way to evaluate their charges, though I repeat: I had been quoted a firm price based on an actually inventory, and I had been assured this price would not change. This was in a written contract. The movers simply acted as if this contract was meaningless.
4. In the end, they added almost $1300 in fraudulent charges to the "binding" price I had been given by the broker. They made it crystal clear, with their threatening and bullying tactics, that I had absolutely no choice but to pay it.
5. But that was not all. I missed 2 days of work at my new job and had to reschedule flights several times because they did not arrive when they said they would and did not provide any info about when they would arrive so it was impossible to anticipate what would happen next. And...
6. Even worse, although I had done a careful inventory with the broker -- so I know for certain we had an accurate estimate of the size of the move -- they arrived with their truck already so full that they could could not fit all my property, leaving me with no choice but to take a total loss on several items they left behind (not to mention the serious inconvenience of unexpectedly having to get rid of them when I was already 2 days behind schedule thanks to them). The total loss of property was approximately $2000 -- on top of the fraudulent "up charges."
6. My stuff arrived with many miscellaneous damages, but nothing significant enough to file an insurance claim due to high deductibles. Worse, everything smelled of some combination of something like cigar smoke and filthy dog... Disgusting! It took weeks to get everything cleaned up (and additional costs for steam cleaning, etc.).
There should be laws protecting consumers from this kind of fraud and abuse. Until such protection exists, we have to take care to avoid these companies and, no doubt, many others like them in an industry where taking advantage of vulnerable consumers seems to be the order of the day. (I can't tell you the number of friends and family who related similar experiences when I told them what happened to me.) Definitely if I had it to do over I would never again use a broker at all if there was any way around it. That was my mistake. If possible, make sure the company that you are making an agreement with is the same company that is actually doing the work. Otherwise, like me, you will have no way to evaluate in advance the people who are actually doing the move. Unfortunately this broker model is apparently quite common. I was suckered into it when I did an internet search and found a website offering "free moving estimate." Immediately my phone started ringing off the hook. The guy who called me from the broker (Charter Van Lines -- notice the misleading name, since they aren't doing any moving at all themselves) was so nice! But it didn't turn out that way. I hope this review will help keep you from making the same mistake. read more