Worst moving experience ever. Vernon came to my house to estimate the move from Seattle to San Francisco. He told me if I took my hot tub and grand piano that they would need a 26 ft truck and the quote was $6,000. If I got rid of the two big items they could use their own 16 ft truck and it would be $5,000.
Initially I thanked them and said I decided that I would just move myself.
After reconsidering the scope of the move I reached back out to see if they were still available to move me. I was told yes, but the original quote was no longer valid because it was too close to the move. It would now cost $8,000, even though I had gotten rid of the piano and the hot tub. Fine. You'd think that a good company would say how grateful they were that I decided to give them business after all. These guys just jacked the rate 60% as they figured they had me in a bind. I almost said no, but decided I'd swallow it an do it.
Although Vernon had visited my home and seen everything I had to move, they were totally unprepared day of. During the initial visit I was told they had their own 16 ft truck to use and would bring all their own tools to take apart furniture and then reassemble it on the other end. They decided to rent a truck instead as they wanted to fly home. They used my tools (without asking) for disassembly. On the other end they put nothing back together and also left my furniture shrink wrapped for me to take care of.
They arrived as promised on the day of the move with their rented 16 ft truck. Vernon immediately started complaining about the amount of belongings and expressed shock that I still had an upright piano. He had previously told me the upright would be no problem, it was just the grand (which I gave away) he was concerned about. He informed me they couldn't take the piano and didn't have the right equipment to move it. Well, I am a professional pianist so this just screwed me in a big way.
After 90 minutes of moving, the complaining started that the crew was exhausted. Vernon pulled me aside to tell me that he had never miscalculated truck size before but there was no way they were going to fit everything into the truck they rented. The truck was soon full and at least 1/3 of my belongings were still in the house.
I asked if they could add a trailer to the back with the rest. They weren't sure and took off to lunch. I spent the next hour phoning around and found a trailer available at UHaul. When they returned from lunch they wanted to go look at the trailer. At the UHaul site they announced they wouldn't pull a trailer as they felt it was dangerous. But what about everything else in the house?
Vernon announced he was getting pissed that I kept bringing up their initial quote of $5K with the switch to 8k and that despite seeing all my stuff didnt feel he was responsible for taking anything that wasn't already in the truck. He said he would just drive to San Francisco with what he had and didn't care about the rest of my stuff. He would just leave it. So, they told me the only way to get the rest of my things was to pony up another $3500 to get a second truck. Hmm, Budget was renting them for $1,000 but they wanted to go with their pals as Penske and charge a premium. Because I really had no choice now, I agreed.
They rented an additional 10 ft truck, loaded it and informed me that what still didn't fit wasn't going. They left behind a full 4-drawer file cabinet, a book case, printer, big box of tools like my drills, saws, etc, my back yard furniture, the piano, a vacuum cleaner, chafing dish and butcher block. They just left it. I had to move everything back inside by myself which resulted in an injured back and chiropractic bills. I had to just leave it all in the old house so I could get on the road and meet them in San Francisco. The things they left stayed in the house for an additional week until I flew back to Seattle to get a truck and take the rest out. This cost me an extra week's rent in the old house, a plane ticket, truck rental and more. Because I couldn't get a one-way truck, I had to rent storage in Seattle until I can get everything. Some things had to go to the curb as I couldn't move them alone and then I had to pay my former landlady for rubbish removal.
They arrived in San Francisco more or less on schedule. The unit next to mine was also moving the same day. The Task Team claimed priority with the loading zone as they needed to catch their plane back to Seattle. As I already wrote, they left shrink wrap on everything and I had to put items back together myself. They also made very little effort to ask where I wanted things placed. Some, but not much.
This move that was originally quoted at $5,000 has now cost almost $14,000.
These guys are fraudulent and untrustworthy. Vernon will come across as your BFF to get your business. Do yourself a favor and hire someone else. read more