We used Flat Rate two years ago to move from Los Angeles to Ventura. Their quote was the best of all the companies we evaluated and we were quite pleased with the service. But, oh my, how things can change in the span of two years. Not only was the cost outrageous this time around - which we agreed to pay, believing we would be receiving the same high-quality service as before - but the quality of the service was horrendous. The movers showed blatant disregard for our belongings, stacking heavy items on top of those that were very fragile. They made little effort to relocate boxes and large items to their appropriate locations: bedroom 1 to bedroom 1, living room to living room. And they rushed out of our house when they were "finished" before we had a chance to ask them to more completely move items to where they truly belonged. Additionally, the movers obliterated a very delicate sculpture that is irreplaceable. And when confronted with their deed, they showed no remorse, only shrugging their shoulders. When we filed a claim with the main office, we received a laughable check in the amount of $30 with the excuse that they could only reimburse us $0.60/pound and that they were actually "prohibited" by industry regulations from paying any more than that. I highly recommend AGAINST using Flat Rate's services. read more

Check the rating information on this company... today they have 31- 5 star reviews and like 27- 1 star reviews... which evens out to 3!! I hired them to do a two part move. Two bedrooms and then a storage unit's worth of stuff to my new house 15 mins away in the same city. The movers showed up at my house, told me they were hung over, they huffed every time we showed them what we wanted to take (despite it being clearly marked on the inventory), they kept asking "There's more?!", and I had to ask them 5 times to take a mirror which was again... on the inventory list. Then they proceeded to extort tips by telling me that if I wanted my couch to arrive, they had to be tipped. Then we went to the storage unit where they acted like complete tools the entire time, and proceed to drag, scrape, and bang my furniture on the walls, floor, and doors of the unit. They packed the truck recklessly, and I saw a guy kicking my coffee table so it would fit between boxes. Then they would literally THROW my expensive furniture and tvs from the man on the ground to the guy in the truck. I watched at they dinged and decimated my cherry wood bed frame... I am still annoyed about it... I was seriously frightened at this point that my things would not arrive, they instilled no confidence in me that they were a legitimate company. I shouldn't have to be scared that they would steal my things. We then headed to the new house, they dropped boxes, and scooted them along the cement sidewalk with their feet. They put both my clothing and my sisters clothing completely mixed together in the master closet... we have to completely sort through it all again... its her clothes, my clothes, her clothes, my clothes. At the end of the day the lead guy was intimidating and actually asked for a BIGGER tip then what I offered them... I was scared and gave it to them rather then risk pissing off someone who now knows where I live, and the contents of my house. I have moved 5 other times in the past 6 years (college), and this company is by far the LEAST professional. I do NOT recommend you use this company. I would not recommend them to my worst enemy. Seriously... don't even consider them. Unless you like being frightened, having your things damaged, and basically being stolen from. read more

These guys were awful. Boxes crushed. Even ones that said fragile. upholstery on an expensive chair, torn. I would never use this company again, nor would I ever recommend using them. I know how to pack. These guys were careless, and it's obvious that they dropped several boxes because boxes were torn open and items such as stone collectables have scrapes like they fell out of the moving truck and tumbled down the highway. Awful awful experience. Look elsewhere. read more

Pretty bad experience. This is the 4th time using a moving company and by far the worst of the lot. The movers broke a lot, didn't properly wrap my artwork which got dirty en route, damaged my dresser, broke lamps and lampshades, put metal on top of my speakers and scratched them, just threw a bunch of odds and ends into big bins for transport... they would disassemble a lamp, put it in a box with my sheets along with the light bulb which could have broken but fortunately didn't... The only reason I'm giving them an extra star is because they hustled and had a good attitude the whole time. I just wish they had slowed down - I was paying them hourly it would have been better for all of us. read more

I would have given the full 5 stars, but there were a few snags that prevented it... and here they are: The estimator forgot to include the kitchen things (fridge, microwave, etc) and when I sent numerous emails to their estimator, they were never responded to. I guess since I signed the "okay we are moving" paperwork he did not bother following up. The movers did take the stuff anyway since it was HQ that blew it, but thankfully for them the fridge was really easy to get in and out. We also had a pretty sturdy bookshelf that "collapsed" during the move, and while the foreman (Jason) was really sympothetic and had me fill out some paperwork, I have a feeling I will not see anything from the company. Other than that, these guys were super friendly from first contact to moving day. Jason and his team were very professional and carried on great conversations while they moved stuff. For the price to move from LA to the San Diego area, their price could not be beat and their smiles and friendliness matched. Even when we could not completly finish packing everything, since we had extra boxes they picked up a few of the things and packed them for us... that was beyond the call of duty there. I do recommend them and would use them again. read more

I used Flat Rate Moving for my office move in San Francisco, and I was really happy with the service I received. They quote you based on the number of type of items you will need to have moved. The quote doesn't increase or change if they use any extra materials or take 8 hours for the move. The quote doesn't change if they have to take apart any desks or furniture and have to put it together again at new site. We were quoted about $1k to do my whole office, which included 15 office chairs, 9 desks that had to be taken apart and re-assembled, a bookcase, 10+ boxes, rugs, lamps, some loose items, etc. The whole move only took about 4-5 hours, and they brought a team of 4 to do the move. Don't be alarmed if they don't come in uniform. They are very helpful, polite, and professional. Each team comes with a leader who coordinates everything. Nothing was broken, and everything they took apart was put together better than before. Would totally recommend. Note: I changed my inventory again and again before the date - they have pretty good customer service. read more

Looking for movers?? BEWARE!! Horrific experience. Horrific. My husband and I did a cross-country move from Los Angeles to NJ and used Flat Rate. The movers came (without ever confirming their time of arrival; we had to keep calling when they said THEY would), and brought in our things. We have a 2 piece sectional. First piece came. Then the second, all wrapped up, but appeared longer than it should be. They undid the wrap and it turned out it wasn't ours! They also brought into our apartment someone else's box thinking it was ours. Don't you guys have a system to manage different customers' belongings??? After they brought in our stuff, we were like, where's this? where's that? They looked in their truck and said they didn't bring it with them but were in their warehouse in NJ. Fine. Turns out, the rest of our stuff was actually 3,000 miles away, still in LA! The rest got delivered 2-1/2 WEEKS LATER!! For 2-1/2 weeks (half a month!!) we had to sleep on a mattress on the floor because parts of the bed were still in LA, watch TV that was on the floor because the TV stand did not make it, eat from our sofa because our dining table and chairs did not make it along with others. We could not put things away and "move in" to our new place during this whole time because the move was not completed. It's a terrible thing to deal with. On top of it all, they LOST a container that has most of my husband's clothes and some of the furniture were damaged and/or broken! The management was very uncooperative. Never called back when he said he will. This is the service you want from a moving company?? These are the people you trust with your precious belongings?? Never again. Moving is stressful enough. You don't need to deal with this and definitely not worth the risk of this happening to you. read more

I've used these guys several times and they are always prompt and reliable. They pack the stuff well and even offer to take a few extra things (probably because I'm a repeat customer) Hopefully I won't move in the future for a while but I would certainly recommend Flat Rate. read more

As several reviewers mentioned, don't use this service if you want your stuff to arrive in good condition. Given the amount of stuff we found that was broken, it seems that the Flat Rate moving staff must handle items much worse than baggage handlers at the airport. I also noticed that several of the negative reviews came from folks that moved from Northern California, perhaps there is a pattern here. A lot of stuff is broken and was not assembled correctly. We are still hunting for screws and trying to figure out how to assemble stuff that these movers said they would put back together but never did. The packing and loading process was horrendous. On the first day, the main guy walked through the entire house and checked against the inventory to make sure everything matched. He said everything was fine. On the second day, though, suddenly towards the end the guy starts to dispute things he agreed to move the day prior. It turned into a horrible experience, as this guy was trying to find things that are on the inventory and claiming they were not. On arrival, we ended up having to unpack and put back together way more than we should have. My advice is, stay away from this moving company. The only thing that worked out was that they were on time, and almost everything did show up. Only after threatening PUC complaint did they stick to the original flat rate they had promised. I had to move a few things myself to make the guy happy. What a messed up experience. If you choose this service, be very careful and make sure they stick to their flat rate. best way to do that is to make sure the inventory is super exact, and don't let the sales guy talk you into accepting "utility" boxes for misc. Make sure everything is on the inventory, piece by piece. read more

This is the first time I'm writing a review so please bear with me. I have moved many times both local and long distance across the country and I've always used a professional moving company. Today I had the best experience in all my twenty years!! Today I had to move my entire household (note I'm a bit of hoarder and have two young kids) so basically a LOT of stuff including very heavy items like a 1876 piano, a totally large and unnecessary treadmill, six outdoor sheds, a basement and garage full of stuff and twenty very very large potted plants!! This was the best moving experience I have had in twenty years of moving! First we had a great initial consult with Kyle our relocation specialist who came to evaluate our stuff and gave me the price for the move, he then worked on getting a reduced fee which he did! He reduced the price by almost $1000. He was so easy to get a hold of throughout the whole move and he came to check in on us during the move and even helped put some furniture together. In the past the guy who comes to give the price always tried to get a few bribes from me but Kyle was totally professional. I had gotten a quote from two other companies to compare and I couldn't even get a hold of anyone to ask any questions let alone negotiate a price ! The moving crew which included Andrew the foreman and six guys (Chuey, Carlos, Jose, Alejandro and I hate that I can't remember the last two guys names) were just so awesome I don't have enough words!! Andrew himself was this young guy that honestly I did not imagine was going to be such a phenomenal leader. He was totally on top of every detail, at ever step he would review with me where we were at, how much longer he expected things would take and what was his next plan to help expedite things. I mean I was blown away by all the things he considered like getting the baby room set up first so my son would have a place to sleep tonight, or bringing two trucks on day two just to make sure we did everything in one trip and most importantly he was on top of his guys! He knew who had what talent and assigned them accordingly. The guy who was most organized and good with delicates wrapped my fine China, the strongest carried the heaviest items up the staircase. And let me tell you Andrew didn't just lead he was hustling and lifting and moving right next to every guy and sometimes doing double! When we got to the new house he had the guys in a huddle to review what they needed to do and what they could improve on! These guys hardly took a break, they stopped literally for fifteen minutes to grab food on the way to the new house and still got to the new house before I did! It was a totally grueling two days of serious packing and heavy lifting to a two story house and these guys just worked! We started at 10 and didn't stop till 7 or 8 at night and did the move in two days !!! Packing and unpacking a 3000 sq ft house full of Stuff!! I was amazed! The guys were so super awesome each one was nicer and more helpful than the other! I just don't have enough words everything made it home in perfect condition and I couldn't be more pleased ! Thank you Kyle, Andrew, Andrews crew and Flatrate for providing such great service and having such awesome employees!! read more

Overall I was pleased with my move (except for the fact that I live in goddamn L.A. now, but that's not FlatRate's fault). There were very few snafus and the pickup and delivery crews were pleasant to work with. For those who want the gory details and the few negatives... PRICE: I had gotten quotes from a few moving companies and FlatRate was slightly higher, but they were best able to accommodate my specific timeline of moving out of Oakland on a Wednesday and into L.A. that Friday. The day before my move I decided to purchase an additional large piece of furniture at the Crate & Barrel outlet store in Berkeley, which does not deliver. I called FlatRate and they agreed to add the item to my inventory list and pick up the item for an additional $150 total. The rate truly was flat -- I paid exactly what the quote was with no funny business. PRE-MOVE PROCESS: the estimator Zoran came to my apartment to inventory my items and gave me more confidence than others when answering my high-anxiety questions. (An estimator from another company told me I'd need to secure a parking permit for the truck but offered no help as to how I would go about doing that, which didn't work well with my goal to do as little work as possible myself.) After I agreed to FlatRate's quote, I did have to call a few times to follow up with dispatch about dates and such, which was a little stressful. Also, on the day of the move, dispatch apparently did not give my detailed freight entrance directions to the driver, so that caused some confusion. PICKUP: Foreman Lazaro brought his crew (Paoi and Jose) into my apartment and declared that the job would be "cake" ("cake cake cake cake cake cake cake cake cake cake cake"?). The team finished the packing and loading of my one bedroom apartment in about five hours. Lazaro managed the crew well and amused me with his occasional involuntary rapping along with the radio. ECO-CRATES AND OTHER PACKING MATERIALS: I opted for the eco-crates, which meant that most of my items were packed in plastic bins. New cardboard was used for the wardrobe boxes for my clothes as well as for various other items that did not fit into the eco-crates. I pointed out a small wooden table that I had made in First Grade wood shop class (I was a badass seven-year-old) and warned that it needed extra care, so Lazaro packed it in the middle of two large linen boxes full of packing paper. All of the furniture was wrapped in blankets and shrink wrapped (and I was able to keep my clothes in my dresser drawers). DELIVERY: on Friday a totally different crew (foreman Eric with Jesus and Alfredo) arrived on time for my delivery. They were very helpful in terms of arranging my furniture in different places until I was happy with it. Eric even offered some unsolicited interior design advice about the placement of my carpet (he was probably right). Eric also hung my full length mirror for me and when I complained about a closet door that I wanted to take off, he used his toolkit to take care of that as well. The delivery was very swift. Overall the eco-crates were a good choice because the crew unpacked everything and so there was no mess of cardboard for me to deal with. Yes, all of my stuff was just strewn on counters and such, but it did make unpacking a little less painful. However: NEGATIVES: 1) I disposed of my desk in Oakland, so I had asked the pickup team to pack the contents of my desk drawers in paper boxes (that I provided) instead of eco-crates so that I could keep the items in paper boxes in my new apartment until I found a new desk. The items were mistakenly packed in eco-crates though, so upon delivery they were unpacked onto my floor and we had to re-pack them into paper boxes (Eric's crew helped me). 2) The corner of my full-length mirror broke off. Eric glued it for me, but every bad life occurrence of mine for the next seven years will be blamed on FlatRate. 3) The base of one of my floor lamps was broken. It was a similar lamp to two others I had, which were not broken. Those two were disassembled and packed more carefully, so it seems the one breakage was due to inadequate packing. Eric attempted to glue the broken base for me as well. 4) Some of the packing was a little suspect. For instance, I had some keepsake posters (I still "believe" in the 2007 Golden State Warriors) that were packed in an eco-crate with some lumpy items under and above, somewhat crumpling the posters. If the posters had been placed on the bottom or top, they would have been fine. Overall I would recommend FlatRate to a friend, especially if it got me out of helping them move. read more

They're awesome (and I have high expectations). I lived in NYC and used many movers until I found flat rate. I had a great experience with them in NY so when I was moving to my new home in LA I decided to use them again. I began by contacting them on line and the next mroning I received a call back and had someone out at my home the next day to review my move and provide an estimate. Times are tough and they worked with me. The booking was very flexbile as well. We were closing on our home and were not exactly sure of which day it would happen. Flatrate was accomodating to our moving target move date. The guys did not show up on time, they were actually a few minutes early:) All of them were friendly, they assisted us with wrapping some additional items and were incredibly accomodating. They handled my items with care and consideration, they were quick and efficient aside from courteous and professional.. I would most certainly recommend them to anyone. In fact we need to relocate my fiance's furniture from Australia to LA and we will be using FlatRate for that as well. Good luck with your move and know these guys will take care of you! read more

I've moved twice in the last 6 months--the first time cross country and the second time same city--and used Flat Rate Moving both times and I have recommended them a half dozen times since. I didn't know what to expect for my first move--I never did it before, but was surprised at how easy it was with Flat Rate. This was the easiest part of my move...both times. PRICE: Could not be beat. I shopped around for my cross-country move and read all about the horrors of hidden fees and surprise charges. I did not encounter that with Flat Rate. I was quote a price, and the company honored the rate that I was promised. CUSTOMER SERVICE: from the office team helping me planning my move, to the movers who showed up to my door on moving day, the experience with this company put me at ease every step of the way. My emails were always responded to in a timely manner, questions were always answered in clear detail, and the moving teams were always friendly and accommodating. PROCESS: sooo simple! you pretty much tell them what you need and they will work with you on the best rate and procedure for your move. I needed a lot more hand-holding the first time around, but even then, every step was laid out right in front of me. I made a call, put in a request, estimated the size of my move and e-signed some documents...from that moment on I had an attentive customer service staff at my fingertips, and friendly and efficient movers to help me relocate. If this is your first move or your hundredth move, I recommend (and have recommended) this team and this company. read more

Today I had the best experience with moving that I could ever wish for. It started a couple of weeks ago with me contacting FlatRate for a quote. Mike was very informative and easy to work with. The quote was reasonable, and much better than those other companies quotes that were by the hour, with no not-to-exceed price. My move completed by the team of Jose, Christian and Gilbert. They were incredible, quick, careful and very easy to work with. I was thinking that today was going to be the most stressful day of this whole moving process, but they made it the easiest day possible. They provided a great (in fact, they exceeded my wildest expectations) moving experience. I don't think there is anything that they could have done to make it better. read more

We've moved cross country from NY to LA and back within the last year. On the trip out, both teams were solid. They arrived to LA on the first day of the window which we were thrilled about. On the return trip, both crews were great - on the last leg, Rocco and David and team were especially helpful, sorting out how to make my delivery on the promised day despite an unforeseen hiccup on their end. They asked me where I wanted every box very explicitly and were cheerful despite my 4 floor walk up. Overall we've been really pleased with both moves. Little things will happen in any type of cross country move - i.e. IKEA furniture is not meant to withstand a whole lot. But we've found Flat Rate to be professional, polite, through and cheerful, upfront and honest. Would definitely use them again. read more

I find that you can tell a lot about an organization by how it deals with problems, and I found that with Flat Rate, especially when someone is on vacation. Everything started out great. The relocation specialist was informative, responsive, and patient when I needed to change the inventory list a few times. The cost seemed competitive and to be a good value compared to other moving companies. The pick up location was Oakland and the guys were fantastic: friendly, professional, personable, accommodating, and they loved my dog! (I kept getting worried that he was getting in their way but they were so cool about him wandering around while they did their thing.) The guys were very careful with everything, wrapped it all well with blankets and did not have any accidents whatsoever. It took them about three hours from start to finish to move all my stuff out of a two bedroom house. The delivery location was LA. The movers were pretty good but not fabulous like the Oakland team. They had a good system and were very efficient. It took them about two hours to unload everything into a second floor one bedroom apartment (they had elevator access). They were very accommodating about my special requests and when I missed checking off one of the numbered boxes, they spent a good five minutes looking through all the boxes they had piled up to find the box and they weren't bitter about it at all. Well, accidents do happen and when they moved my sofa out of the elevator, they broke another tenant's bathroom window. It was really unfortunate because everything had been going smoothly. I wasn't mad because it was a tight space and like I said, accidents do happen. Of course I was concerned about the property manager's first impressions of me but I was hoping he would be understanding about it. The lead mover told me to call the main number and work with Paul on the damage report and gave me Paul's card. I called within a couple hours and had to leave a message. I waited for a few hours and thought I'd try to call back again. This time I got a live person (Victor) and was told that Paul was not in the office. I explained the situation and was told that Alma would be the one deal with the situation but that she was on vacation. Victor told me that Alma would get back to me in two days. I felt that was too long to wait to repair a broken bathroom window opposite the elevator (think privacy issues) so I asked how they handle urgent situations when Alma is out. Not only did Victor not answer my question, he said that he couldn't guarantee that Flat Rate would reimburse the cost of repairing the window. WHAT??!! It was their movers who broke the window so what kind of logic would lead Victor to think that Flat Rate would not cover the cost? Even worse, Victor began to cop an attitude and made me feel like this was somehow my fault. At that moment, I started thinking Why am I doing all this work? I got Alma's email from Victor so I emailed her and Paul because I had not received any response from my original voice mail to Paul, who was supposed to be the lead in resolving this situation. I received an out of office reply from Alma instructing me to email their generic email address so I did that. I never did hear from Paul, which indicates a communication gap between the movers and the office. I then forwarded my email to the generic email address and did get a call back from Jessica. Her customer service was great overall but she was not able to help me. She, like Victor, said that Alma was the only one who could help me and that she would be back in two days. I waited patiently for two days and then called back to try to resolve this once and for all. This time I spoke with Alex who asked me to send pictures of the broken window and then said I needed to have the property manager get an estimate that would have to be approved by Flat Rate to make sure it was "reasonable." Otherwise, Flat Rate would replace the window themselves. I called the property manager who seemed annoyed with the time involved in having to bring someone on site for an estimate saying that he always uses a company that charges reasonable prices. He said that Flat Rate could come and fix the window as long as they had insurance. I emailed Alma and Alex to relay all the information and used some strong words to express my frustration at having to deal with a mess their movers created. Alma called me within 20 minutes and requested the property manager's phone number. She assured me that she would resolve the situation. I heard from her once to say that she had left the property manager a message and was waiting to hear back. I asked her to keep me updated but never heard back. About one week after that, I noticed that the window was fixed. I know I should feel relieved but I keep thinking that I'm going to see an invoice in my mailbox. The three stars are for the movers who worked so hard and exhibited more professionalism than the office staff. read more

I booked with FlatRate even though they were more expensive than other companies because they guaranteed a delivery window in California moving me from Manhattan. They already changed the delivery window once and are now calling it 'estimated." I feel manipulated and misled by the company and will not use them again or recommend them. read more

I wanted to write an update on what happened when I went to pick up half the coffee table that was delivered. Overall the customer service was very apologetic and respectful. I know that mistakes happen and I was ok with that. They offered a discount on my next move if I used them + $100 off the current, which was nice. On my out the women in charge of claims says "I though we were not going to give a discount unless he changed his review on Yelp." I was shocked... I dont know how other people would react but I said that I didnt care about the discount told her she was basically bribing me to write a good review for her. I am a pretty calm person, but I really reacted to that because it calls into question the good reviews they have. There are definitely fake reviews here. Things they could do to improve are 1. pay the movers more and increase the number so they dont go so fast and things break. 2. Improve the claims department (you basically have to get insurance and add that to their their flat rate) 3. Better planning and communication on when your stuff is going to be delivered and picked up. With that being said. I do believe they have the potential to be a good company and are trying very hard to be one. I think it would be worth it to give them a try on a short across town move. I would not recommend letting them put your stuff in a warehouse. Finally be aware that many of the 5 stars here are fake so who know what the norm is. read more

I really wanted to like Flat Rate because of all the positivity on Yelp but I was definitely let down...after just receiving the estimate. The estimate was ridiculously high, higher than the 2 other estimates that I received from major moving companies (who have hundreds of positive yelp reviews). I had heard about the low prices from Flat Rate so I was pretty shocked. It's kind of like how you feel after you watch the remake of a book into a movie - you go in with high expectations that are usually not met. Well, I expected Flat Rate to have good prices, and they didn't even come close! I'm talking a difference of $1000!!! I am glad I called around. The estimator came over and guestimated how many boxes we would have (I said we would not need them to pack) and, while the guy was nice, I felt he didn't know what he was doing - obviously, given the ridiculously high estimate I was given. To their credit, someone did call and try to correct the situation after I expressed that the quote was absurd. However, it's so difficult to find time out of my day to have someone come over to give an estimate that I am not sure it's worth it to have someone come over again. Moral of the story, which you should do regardless -- Shop around and get a few estimates!! read more

Terrible customer service and reliability. We chose FlatRate because a friend recommended them, even though they were more expensive. Salesman was nice and responsive. Also pickup team was nice and only broke one thing. However, since they picked up our property they have been totally unreliable, feels like intentionally lying, about delivery. Twisting the contract and ignoring information we provided. DO NOT USE THEM read more

I was surprised that Flatrate reached out and contacted me in response to reviews I posted on Yelp and CustomerLobby. Alma called/emailed to apologize for my experiences with my two recent moves and convey their interest in discussing my situation further and reaching a "satisfactory resolution." As I described in my original review, I technically already reached a settlement agreement for the two claims that I filed with Flatrate. While I was not satisfied with the monetary reimbursement I received, I understood when I deposited the checks that they represented "full and final resolution". I was just tired of dealing with the runaround from January until the end of March; time/effort is money and I certainly didn't enjoy having to make the effort every 1-2wks to follow up on what I believed to be simple and straightforward claims. I was more than patient with the process of having Flatrate first try to locate the missing items, but once it was established that they were indeed missing the reimbursement process should never have taken that long. I definitely appreciated that Flatrate was interested in discussing my dissatisfaction with my experiences further and trying to find a satisfactory resolution, though I wish that this approach was their policy from the start, rather than only in response to postings of less than flattering reviews. Better late than never, I suppose. Flatrate ultimately approved an additional amount towards my loss claim, which made my total reimbursement amount the same as the settlement I proposed many weeks/months ago. If this amount was ultimately approved, my only question is why it wasn't considered legitimate enough to approve from the very beginning, where I could have saved weeks of effort and time. I've upgraded my impression mainly because I DID NOT expect attention from Flatrate, and certainly not any additional reimbursement. I'm not naive enough to expect that things won't get lost or damaged as a result of moves, but whether a company responds efficiently and reasonably in providing customer service and aftercare can set them apart. Hopefully Flatrate will take steps to ensure that they do not force future customers to jump through hoops and exhausting their patience before ultimately arriving at a reasonable resolution. read more

I made the terrible mistake of using United/Suddath for my last move from the Bay Area to South Carolina. I paid thousands more than I would have with Flat Rate and received absolutely horrible service, including a botched pickup, botched delivery and scratches and dents on all of my furniture. Oh, and some items are missing. The point of my updated review for the amazing team at Flat Rate is this: ***If you're wondering if you should spend more and use one of the "big" or "name brand" companies, please think twice. The service and care I received from Flat Rate in New York, LA, San Francisco and Cupertino was stellar. I am super regretful of my decision not to use Flat Rate for my last move.**** read more

I've never used movers before, but I found these movers on Google. They made the move from LA to NY very smooth, and their prices were much more reasonable than other companies I researched. They came over and packed up all my loose ends for me, and even repacked my glassware to ensure they wouldn't be broken during the move. They were extremely courteous and responsive while they were packing and moving. They had great communication from start to finish. They arrived earlier than expected with my delivery, and my brother had no complaints about the condition his stuff arrived in. read more

Sales over-sold us on what we were paying for. We moved from NYC to LA, and had a two month gap in the middle. We said we would give them plenty of heads up on the day we wanted to move in, and they said that was great. We had a defined move-in day in LA three weeks in advance of when we were arriving and we informed them immediately. Nowhere in our contract, emails, or any of the paperwork we have does it say there was a 7 day delivery window. We were first told of the window only a few days in advance of our delivery date, when we already had made arrangements with our building. Of course, our items arrived at 4pm on the 7th day of our window, and we slept on an air mattress in an empty apartment for 7 days. The excuse given to us was that it is a long drive across country. However, we gave them 3 weeks notice of the specific day we wanted to move in, and it was clear they did not start moving our stuff until maybe the day before our move-in. We thought at worst they would be 1-2 days late. We were wrong. Very pathetic logistics operations. They defiantly do not care because most people don't move often, so it doesn't matter to them if a customer won't use them again. Throughout the delivery process we were told we would get call backs that we never received, and we had to reach out to them four times for information. Each time the agent was surprised someone hadn't already told us the info we were asking for. The boxes arrived in extremely bad shape. We were lucky that only a few minor items were broken. Half the boxes were crushed from being piled too high, and a number of boxes had holes or rips large enough to fit a hand in. We did an extremely diligent job of packing, so only a few glasses and bottles broke. The movers themselves were nice on both sides of the move, and they worked hard/carefully while we were watching. We would guess the non-customer facing movers at the depots are less careful because they're not working for tips. read more

The movers had excellent timing for getting everything packed and loaded from the old place into the truck. Unfortunately, they were not careful and caused many black marks from the dolly, I presume, on the walls in the bedroom when moving the furniture out. They wrapped everything in blankets but they did not wrap the dining room table legs and two of them were damaged during the move. A representative called me to see how the move was going mid-way through and I mentioned the table to him. He talked to the foreman on the job and then I told him that I would need to contact Crate & Barrel to find out what they recommend to fix the table legs and then I would contact him again. I was thankful that my most valuable items, the office furniture, master bedroom furniture and living room, made it with out being damaged. After they had finished unpacking and had left, I was moving one of my paintings to the correct room I was going to hang it in and I noticed that it was damaged too! It is a fairly large (3'x5') painting and it was not as carefully packed as other items. In the center of the painting there are two crease marks where pressure was applied to the painting. This is not easily repairable as the painting was purchased in Bali during a vacation. I do not know how to resolve this one. I will bring it up when I find out about the table legs and call William back. I do like the fact that everything is wrapped in blankets for moving, however, there needs to be a strictly tape side of the blanket and a furniture side. Again, after they left and I was wiping off the furniture I noticed several sticky spots on a handful of items that was obviously tape residue from the side of the blanket that was in contact with the furniture. Overall I was content with the movers. They were fast but I would have sacrificed speed for more caution next time. I paid $1000 and they finished the move in about six and a half hours. I was moving just 2 miles from the old to new place. There were four movers and I was going to tip them $40 each if they had done an awesome job. After seeing the damage to the bedroom walls at the old place and the damage to the table, I reduced it to $30 each. Hopefully an amicable resolution will be made with me by company regarding the damaged items. I would recommend them to friends with the contingency that they carefully watch them pack all items before taking them to the truck and then relaying the importance of not rushing to the extent of marking the walls. read more

I found Flat Rate moving to help me get my furniture from LA to NYC. They were great. Not only was Mike my sales guy awesome at helping keep the move within my budget, but the moving guys were very gentle with my stuff making sure to pack it all with lots of blankets. Only 2 things broke in the move - a pint glass I had packed incorrectly and a wooden case for something that they packed incorrectly. Their service team was great and within a week sent me a check for the damages. Very awesome customer service by Crystal. read more

Rude and Overpriced! Don't waste your time filling out their form or accepting their call. I submitted an online form for a price quote, they called me to collect additional information; then transfers me to another rep to collect more information. My move is simple and small. All boxes will be packed and apartment size is a studio; the move in less than 2 miles aways. They told me pick up could be anywhere between 1pm-4pm (whattt? that late and who doesn't give an exact time?). Then he says that it will cost $600-$700. HAHA joking right... no joke! Studio size furniture, a few boxes and less than 2 mile move = 2 hours max = $700..Crazy! Then when I told him that was too much for my budget for this small move; the man got an attitude saying he's sure I could find some cheap person to pick up my stuff and throw it on the back of a truck. Rude, rude and over priced. Don't waste your time filling out their form or accepting their call. read more

BEWARE of Flat Rate Movers if moving cross-country! Though I was impressed with the speed, efficiency, and care of the moving crew itself, I am overall disappointed with my moving experience with flat rate. We were mislead to believe that our shipment would arrive within 7 to 14 days of our move date by our sales representative, though it was written into the contract that in fact Flat Rate would not be obligated to deliver our shipment until 7 to 14 days from the earliest date that we indicated were able to receive it. This meant that our belongings sat in LA for a week as we drove cross country, and had not even been scheduled to leave LA until days after we arrived in Philadelphia. We still have not received our shipment and thus our move is not yet complete. This was a huge factor for us in choosing a moving company. I do not feel Flat Rate did an adequate job explaining this policy, or keeping us informed regarding their timeline for delivering our shipment. read more

FLAT RATE MOVING - more like FLAT OUT CRAZY! If you want to deal with a true psychopath during your next move, then book Flat Rate and let them send you Sergio from Uruguay (he volunteered this info) as a lead foreman. Sergio loves power, and control. He stood by and watched two other guys do the bulk of the work. Then, when he decided to chip in, he rolled furniture pieces like they were junk. He stacked my high-end furniture on top of each other like pitching sacks of flour. We're talking about solid furniture (NOT stuff from Ikea). When I tried to get him to be careful he yelled at me. Sergio showed poor behavioral controls --all the traits of true anti-social behavior: Grandiose sense of self-worth - He kept saying "I have twenty plus years moving experience. Plz. I know what I am doing" "This is a true real man's job." Pathological lying - Sergio - "We are going to do a great job." Cut to when we arrived to the moving destination. Sergio - "It's 5 o'clock, guys I wanna go home. Move this fast." Cunning/manipulative - "It says five boxes here for linen on the list, not kitchen utensils. No. No! You cant put kitchen stuff here." When I arranged the move I expressly TOLD Flat Rate that I would be moving kitchen stuff. Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom - Juvenile delinquency In the middle of the job: Sergio - "hey, buddy, do you have a drink?" me - No, I don't. Sergio - "I give you money go to liquor store get me something" me - Excuse me. Irresponsibility - Sergio - "I will charge you more." me - I am already getting charged more than double for the fact that this is solid "real" furniture. Sergio - "We should charge you more. We can move the stuff, but we cant pack, and dissemble." Lack of realistic, long-term goals - Sergio "we can do this in no time...It's taking longer...MAN, don't put that box in the truck!!" me - I am putting it in my car Sergio - "When we are working, don't touch anything." me - I don't understand. I cant touch my stuff? Parasitic lifestyle - Sergio -"I live in Uruguay. I come here for six months, take USA money and go home." Glibness/superficial charm Sergio - with a smile "We work hard mahn. Don forget to tip my men" Impulsiveness - Sergio "guy can you wrap this. Wait, let me see how the truck is." Comes back. Works on the dining area little bit. Then... Works in the bedroom a bit. All the while telling his guys to move faster. Callous/lack of empathy - Me - Sergio you are ruining the furniture. Stop rolling it on the concrete like that. Sergio - "I know what I am doing." Me - Sergio the surface is chipping. Please, stop. I guess I will talk to your insurance company. Sergio (He grabs the broken surface) - "You will get paid by the pound. This piece less than a pound. You cant even get 60 cents." Failure to accept responsibility for own actions me - Enough. I don't need your attitude. Please, leave. Empty the truck. Put my stuff in the house and leave. Sergio - "I am doing my job, and you frustrate me mahn. You attack me." No more FLAT RATE for me. I'm OK with paying more to move if you do the job well and have at least a half way decent attitude. Sergio was a monster. The other two men were great. I don't know how they stand working with Sergio. I have hired Flat Rate three times in the past five years. Once, when they were a new moving company (they were great). Then a second time (they were OK). The third --forget about it! I even used to refer Flat Rate to coworkers, and friends. Flat Rate could be fine, if they wouldn't hire psychopaths. But unfortunately they do. Buyer beware. read more

A true surprise can only happen when you least expect it. And no one delivers a surprise quite like FlatRate Movers. The best part is they really go out of their way trying to act like there will be no surprises. They build a relationship of trust and they reassure you over and over that there will be no surprises. It's like when your spouse plans a surprise party for your 40th birthday and you just KNOW it's going to happen, but every time you ask it's "oh no, there will be no surprises, no parties." Then, when you least expect it, BAM. Surprise. FlatRate starts off all above board--we want to send one of our professional quoters over to create an inventory of your stuff and give you a price. They make a good show of walking around to each room, and typing into their little laptop, making lots of notes. They open closets and cupboards and they really check your stuff out. They send you an electronic quote right there on the spot and you can sign a moving agreement with your shiny new professional quote. When you call in to pay a few days in advance, they ask if you've added or removed anything from your quote which would impact your price. No, everything is still there. The movers continue the "No Surprises" charade. They wear T shirts and everything! They count all of your stuff an put little stickers on in so you know they're serious. After all of this professionalism and up-frontness you are officially least expecting it and BAM! SURPRISE extra $1000 bill! Turns out, they were all in on the surprise from the very beginning! After being punked, the movers break it down for you. The quoters walk around all official with their laptops and electronic quotes, but they are actually under quoting you so you don't get sticker shock and immediately run to a different moving company. Then the movers come in and wear special "No Surprises" T shirts and get almost all of your stuff loaded so you'll really be surprised (and unlikely to run for it) when they provide you with the actual price. Those surprises geniuses! Flat Rate really had me going for a while there. If you don't like surprise bills, I would say FlatRate isn't your company. If for some reason you still want to hire them, but hate surprises, just go ahead and add 40% to whatever they quote you. That ought to do it. read more

This is hard since I've never used movers before this to compare to but I'm going to be honest. They seemed professional, arrived an hour early which is TOO early in my book but they waited nevertheless, so cool. The price was perfect, less than I was looking to spend and ended up moving more that we originally had planned. Overall they were good and I am satisfied except for these two points that REALLY irk me and leave me with an unbelievably bad taste in my mouth. They broke a piece of glass in a frame, giant custom frame and told us they would replace it for us no problem and gave us a phone number for a lady named Maria. Despite numerous calls and emails, no one has gotten back to us. Secondly, they put together my huge king, wooden platform bed totally wrong. It's platform on one side and not on the other side if you get my drift and impossible for me to fix myself. In the end their work was sloppy and didn't even check to make sure that it even resembled a platform bed. read more

Good guys, showed up late, but called and let us know where they were. They worked hard to get everything delivered on time. It was a complicated job, but they stuck to their word - one flat price with no upsell, good people. Thank you. read more

There is no reason to request a quote to get their rate. I just tried to get a rate of moving my 1 bed room apartment, but they didn't give me exact rate when they call. They just gave me an idea that the moving cost will be between $1,000~2,000. Do you think that make sense?!! Just a simple moving of 1 bedroom apartment usually costs $70~100/hrs and 3~4 hour minimum, therefore, usually it costs around $210~$400. Even if I pay tip to the mover, $500 is enough, but they ask us more than $1,000 No one can agree this weird policy. FlaeRate Moving must to change their policy how they get a conversation with a customer and deal with it. There is NO REASON to talk about it. read more

I used FlatRate on about 5 moves and for the most part they are reasonable in the rate as long as you negotiate properly in the beginning. I learned that after the first move with them. Two of the moves were items being stored. One at a storage unit and another at a home. 3 years later when the items are being unpacked, things are missing. I will give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the stored in a home boxes, however the one to a storage unit has never been touched for 3 years until we unpacked in October. a Nespresso machine which they packed went missing. Pots and pans and silverware GONE!!!! One of the Senior relocation consultant said well maybe you left it there... How if they packed it and put it in the truck and we did a final check to make sure that nothing was left behind. Either way because we were moving in November I said I'd use them again thinking they are the lesser of the evils out there......NOT!!!! Joy (Hagit) Karavany came out to give an estimate and seemed very sympathetic to what happened with the last move and said she "would take care of us". She came to the house and wasted about 2 hours of our time and said would send an estimate that evening and never did. I called the next day and was treated very poorly (keep in mind I was the victim here) and never heard back from Joy or anybody for that matter. Im actually glad they didn't contact me because I went through Excalabur and had an amazing experience with Johnathan. I was so desperate and drained from packing that I thought to give them another chance and Im glad it didn't work out because I will never use them again and am glad I found an excellent moving company, Excalibur! Don't settle for just okay, use somebody you can trust. I never give bad reviews but I wanted to warn others about poor ethics and poor customer service. Now after much research, most companies will give you a FLATRATE!!! So don't be fooled by the name. And if you do go with them make sure you don't just get a quote for a number of boxes. make sure its a package deal.... a FLATRATE. not a FLATERATE for X number of boxes. Good luck to you all moving and hopefully my advice helps. read more

I had a short move, but was having some trouble finding a moving company with reasonable rates. After calling, the process went very smoothly and the crew actually came early, which was great. They also moved everything in a timely manner and put everything in it's final position. I would recommend FlatRate Moving to anyone looking for a stress free and affordable move. read more

This is the second time I have used FlatRate Moving to take our daughter from southern California to NYC (first for grad school and now for a job). First, the sales representative, James Brombeck, was wonderful. His friendliness and calm, professionalism really helped me stay calm. I had to book very late as she got the job, quickly had to find and apt. and move. James found room for her things on an earlier truck than was first shown as available - thank you James! The crew showed up within the time period that we were given. They carefully wrapped everything that we hadn't boxed and labelled every box and furniture item. If you have never moved cross country, be prepared to be a bit patient because it takes longer than a local move. If your things aren't properly labeled they could get mixed up with others on the same truck. That doesn't happen in a local move where the truck is just for you. The guys were polite and very careful, even about a cat we have that can't go outside (we have owls, coyotes, etc.). Everything went smoothly. I felt that we were well cared for. read more

After the disappointing experience with Flatrate, I appealed to have some of the costs refunded. See my previous review for details. They supposedly asked the senior management but despite multiple attempts to find out what is going on, I have heard nothing back. Perhaps they are hoping I will simply forget about the experience? read more

I cannot say enough good things about FlatRate Moving. Seriously. You don't even know. I've worked with many moving companies over the past, and these guys are the best of the bunch. They helped me plan my move from the beginning. When I sent them an estimate of the number of boxes I had, they were skeptical, thinking I was over counting my boxes. At no charge to me they sent someone out to review every item I was planning on packing and moving, and came up with a less expensive estimate. I wish I could say I was completely ready for them on my moving date, but I wasn't. No matter. The movers were friendly, helpful and accommodating, helping me pack up clothing and loose items that I had yet to pack. (I tipped a bit extra as they were so nice about it.) Once the movers drove off, FlatRate Moving stayed in touch with me each step of the way, letting me know when my items would arrive at my destination. I actually had two destinations: a storage locker and my new home. It was no problem to them. They separated the items, which made it easy for them to unload at my new home, and then to take the rest to the storage locker. I see that some people have given them dismal reviews. I'm not surprised only because no one can have a perfect record. Nonetheless, I'm skeptical of people who gave them one star. These guys are great, and will go out of their way to keep you informed, and to make sure your move is as stress-free as possible. There was one broken item, but they pointed it out to me, and told me exactly how to file a claim. True honesty. I rarely write reviews, but when I do it's usually because I love a business, and this is no exception. read more

FlatRate was recommended to me by a friend and using them made my move from San Francisco to Los Angeles (after a serious relationship split up and move out) much smoother and more worry/hassle free. The option to store my stuff in LA (for $90/ month + tax) and then have it delivered free of charge to my place in LA was wonderfully convenient. Every time I made an appointment to visit my storage unit - I was able to retrieved my items quickly and easily. (My only qualm is that the storage unit was in Vernon, an out of the way, run down part of Los Angeles. Going to the unit itself was not so fun) The delivery staff in San Fran, the delivery staff in LA and at the storage unit were professional, fast, courteous, and friendly. I have not yet unpacked all my items - but all my furniture is in great condition and was packed up well. James Bromback - who set me up with my initial plan was always friendly, responsive and generous. I would highly recommend FlatRate for friendly, reliable, prompt and safe service. After many moves doing it DIY, I will never move without professional help again. It makes a world of difference and is worth investing in. read more

I hired Flat Rate Movers THEY BREAK YOUR THINGS!!!! They came out and looked at the Apartment. I compose Music and asked about my expensive and fragile audio equipment. I was told they will expertly pack all of it. That I should not pack electronics , let the experts do it for you. I packed everything else but the electronics. I quote from their contract 'Flat Rate Moving Systems will be responsible for the pick-up , delivery, and all materials necessary for protection of your furniture. This applies to beds, pictures, mirrors ,lamps and electronics (TVs,computers, stereo equipment,and microwaves)' Guess what THEY LIE Three guys show up in a passenger van. I asked them where are you going to put the furniture? It will take 50 trips in that van. So one guy leaves. I tried to talk to the other two movers, one only spoke Spanish not one word of English. The other one said he was a student on Holiday from Slovakia never moved any one before but needed the money. The third guy returns with a truck he rented from Penske. I leave and go the new apartment. When I return to see why it is taking 6 hours to move a two bedroom apartment that is already packed except for electronics. I found they had put glass table tops in my wife's Honda. They told her she had to move these because they simply do not have enough packing material, they took apart my audio furniture and dumped the fasteners in my wife's purse and said give to him later we no have way to pack these things. After 12 hours these guys finished moving a two bedroom apartment. They placed a Microwave on the kitchen counter. when we slid it into place the door fell off. Flat Rate said ,sorry we drop it off back of truck not our fault hot today hand get sweaty. He drags in the upper bay of my studio furniture, no bubble pack no blanket and it is ripped apart. Flat rate said , look not our fault it just fall apart. As I unpack I find my thousands of dollars of audio gear was tossed in a box, no paper, no bubble pack nothing. Everything I packed was fine they broke a Microwave Oven, destroyed a Hafler Power Amp and crushed the right upper bay of my studio furniture. I sent them a bill with documentation for 780.00 They gave me 165.00. Never let these people near your items. They claim in their contract THEY pack and move your electronics. Garbage. They should change their name to Third Rate Third world movers. You would be better off renting a Uhaul and picking up day laborers.This is the slimiest con job of a company I have ever dealt with. DONT NOT HIRE FLAT RATE unless you really like your property destroyed read more