On 09/08/2026, my spouse and I hired Mako Movers for a local South Carolina household-goods move of…read moreapproximately one mile, from our home to a storage center 1 mile away. Before the move, the company came to our home and provided an estimate of $1,992. Our home was a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home; however, we had sold or removed more than half of our belongings before the move, and we had personally packed a substantial portion of the remaining contents.
Despite the in-home estimate and the scope of the move, only two movers arrived. The movers told us that they had been told the job was a one-bedroom-apartment move. This raised serious concerns that the company did not accurately communicate the scope of the job to its crew or staff the move consistently with the estimate it provided.
The service was not completed professionally or in a workmanlike manner. The movers caused damage to our home, including dings, missing or damaged drywall, wall marks, and damage or scuffing to the finish on the stairs and landing from dragging or scuffing items. We also observed unsanitary and unprofessional conditions during and after the move, including urine on our seating, trash left in the home, and partially eaten food left on the floor.
The movers also did not complete the agreed move. They left items behind, including a television mounted on the wall and my toiletries that were on the sink. They did not move all of the household goods as expected. Because the move was incomplete, my spouse and I had to stay up until approximately 3:00 a.m. packing and loading our own truck with property that still needed to go to storage, in addition to cleaning up the trash left behind.
The movers did not deliver our belongings into storage that evening because they missed the storage facility's access window after taking the entire day to perform a local, approximately one-mile move.
The following day, we received an invoice for approximately $4,600, compared with the original in-home estimate of $1,992. This was an increase of approximately $2,608, or about 131% above the estimate. We dispute the increase because the charges were not adequately disclosed or explained before service, and we were not provided with a valid, informed, signed revision or change order authorizing this substantial increase. [Revise this sentence if you signed any revised estimate, change order, or final paperwork. State precisely what you signed, the date/time, and whether you objected.]
I contacted Josh Oleen to seek a resolution and stated that we would pay $2,400. Josh Oleen refused and stated, in substance: "No bro, not a chance. We'll just pack up the stuff and hold onto it in storage until you can pay." Because the company threatened to retain our household goods unless we paid the disputed amount, we contacted law enforcement. Police responded to the situation. [Insert police agency, report or incident number, and responding officer's name if available.]
I believe the company's conduct warrants investigation, including whether it properly disclosed and applied its rates; whether all charges were authorized by the estimate, any valid signed change order, and its applicable South Carolina household-goods tariff; whether it was properly staffed and prepared for the move it estimated; whether it properly handled and safeguarded our property; and whether threatening to retain our belongings to force payment of disputed charges was lawful.