As you can see, I normally leave positive reviews if I am impressed, and almost never any negative…read morecomment if I am disappointed. However, I feel compelled to write a negative one for this company.
I got an in-person estimate from this company, which was $1295.72. I got multiple estimates, but no other company could beat this. So I hired them.
We packed more than 90% of the things by ourselves. I attached photos taken at the time of home inspection performed 5 weeks prior to the move. See garage packed with boxes and living space with very few items left. Remember this is 5 weeks prior to the move. We kept putting things in storage spaces into garage. Also, since the new house is just a street away, we kept moving things by ourselves after the close date.
By the time the mover arrived, there were few things left that needed to be packed. On the day of the move, they called me asking if they needed to bring anything. I asked them to bring several boxes for unpacked items. They ended up using only 5 boxes as Bill of Landing shows. Both my wife and I helped them. My wife packed almost all kitchen items since they required special care. I moved electronics (PCs, TVs, printers, etc) by myself without packing.
After everything was done, they tried to charge me over $4000, but after taking a look at my puzzled face, a lead man spoke with the management, it came down to $2574.60. However, this was still twice as much as the estimate. He did not give me any warning that the final charge would be significantly higher than the estimate.
I posted my initial review, and Robert called me the next day, and he said in an accusatory voice that the price went up because everything was not packed and they needed extra time packing. Give me a break! The average packing specialist costs $60 per hour. So, $1279 ($2574.60 minus $1295.72) is equivalent to 21 hours of packing.
The fact is, the estimator underestimated the amount of items we had and the time it took to load/ unload them. We had two large bookcases (143" wide, and 110" wide) that needed to be separated and joined. As a result, they needed to run the truck twice. A website entitled "The Top 10 Moving Scams" says, "An 'estimator' who does a quick walk-through of your home without opening cabinets and taking note of exactly what you plan to move is going to be way off the mark."
Also, in the process of moving, they broke several items, one of which was missing a part. I brought it to the lead man's attention at the end of the move. All he said was, "I will look for the missing part in our truck, and get back to you," but he never did. He did not mention anything about filing a claim. These items were not expensive, and I was not necessarily asking for compensation. All I was hoping was honest disclosure (whoever broke it should know) and prompt follow-up (the lead man did not contact me, unsure whether he even tried to find the missing part).
If I had simply called them to file a claim, I am sure they would have accused me of not telling the crew on the spot, and made the filing process almost impossible. On the other hand, if a customer brings it to the crew's attention on the spot like I did, they will say,"OK, let us check, and we will get back to you," and they don't. Either way, they dodge customer's filing.
After seeing my review, they called me immediately and turned their fault into mine saying, "you did not pack everything! You could have filed a claim for damaged items. It is clearly written in the contract!"
I am taking this case to Small Claims Court.