BEWARE!!
In August of 2014 we began the process of relocating to FLA from GA and selected Hilldrup Moving and Storage from Lawrenceville Georgia. We selected them because of their lack of complaints with the BBB, few negative reviews on social media sites, and the professional demeanor of the individual who came to our home and performed the estimate. The estimator also listened to us when we told him that the weight to bulk/mass ratio of our household items is deceiving. During our previous 3 moves our items always required more trailer capacity (squares) than the weight would normally require.
The moving crew who came to our home were fast and courteous during the packing and moving out days. The also brought, on move out day, a 53 foot trailer. Our items easily took up 3/4s of that trailer. Hilldrup then took our household items back to their warehouse.
On 10/16/14, we called to schedule delivery of our items in storage on 10/28/14. We were given a 4 day delivery window that extended to 10/31/14. We later received a communication from our move coordinator, at Hilldrup, that our delivery was scheduled for 10/30/14.
Very late in the day on 10/27/14 we received an email from the move coordinator that our delivery date had been changed to 10/31/14, with no explanation. I was suspicious and called the move coordinator. She had no explanation or didn't want to offer one In the early afternoon of 10/29/14, and after no status update from Hilldrup, I called to ensure everything was moving ahead as planned for 10/31/14 and ensure everything we owned was on the truck. During that conversation the move coordinator told me the driver from another company was still at their warehouse "attempting to load the truck." She then told me that our load was an "overflow" situation and that our entire household would not fit on the truck. When I asked her when the rest of our household items would be delivered, she said "I don't know." I then asked her how much of our shipment would be on a second truck. She again said she didn't know, but guessed 2 to 3 thousand pounds. (13% to 20% of our original 15040 pounds) I asked to speak to her supervisor. Her supervisor did not call me so I called her. The move coordinator "had just left her office", but the supervisor informed me that I had informed her of things she didn't know about. She stated she would "call me back after she did some investigation", but never did. I then called corporate headquarters in Fenton Missouri and spoke to another customer service rep who repeatedly stated that we were required to pay full amount due and there was no compensation policy for overflow. She informed me that delivery was scheduled for 11/4/14. I then asked to speak to her supervisor. On the 31st, move in day for the 1st shipment, the HQ supervisor called and left a voicemail. Upon finally speaking to her and her reiterating that there is no policy to compensate for overflow, she acknowledged the mess this move had become and offered $250.00 as an apology. Realizing there was little I could do, and they would not deliver our remaining items until we paid full amount, I accepted. At that time, she informed me that our delivery date was now changed AGAIN to the 11/5/14.
During the first delivery on the 31st, I spoke to the moving crew and driver from the other company. The driver informed me that he had listed 5 complete pages of exceptions (damages) at the warehouse when he picked up from Hilldrup. Members of his crew described the haphazard way they found items of our household leaning against walls unpadded or stacked in vaults
During the 2nd delivery of our household items on 11/5, the second driver told us of the unprofessional behavior of the Hilldrup warehouse staff. He described how they laughed at him and stated that he couldn't get our entire overflow on his truck either. Luckily he ignored their taunts and did so. It is critical to note that this driver brought 4000 of the original 15040 pounds loaded (27%); a remarkable miss in estimating trailer capacity for a professional moving company who had in their possession our items and had delivered them to their warehouse in their truck.
At the placing of our household items into Hilldrup storage is where the quality of service stopped and became the 2nd worst relocation we have encountered in eleven other relocations. Numerous items that were not placed in boxes but wrapped in moving pads were damaged. Most of the items have multiple damages. The damaged padded items total approximately 44 items out of 488 items shipped; boxed and unboxed. Additionally, our mattress and box springs came out of the boxes, the Hilldrup crew placed them in, dirty and soiled.
It cannot be emphasized sufficiently in words how bad this move was and will continue to be as we go through the claims, repair, and/or replacement processes. I realize every organization has a bad day, but this is a complete process failure initiated at Hilldrup. read more
