Empire Moving and Storage

Reviews

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1. P

   Philip F.

   Source: MoveAdvisor

   8 Feb 20184+ bedroomPaid $14,000

   Worst Moving Experience I have ever had.

   We have never used professional movers for any move in the past. This experience was our first. We had Empire Moving & Storage come out to give us a visual inspection of all of our property that would need to be moved and we received a quote based on that in-person visual inspection. The visual inspection lasted over an hour. The initial quote we were given was for $7,638.34. Our understanding was that this was for everything in our home. We knew that it was an estimate so I personally budgeted for approximately 20% overage as their sales person told me that they guaranteed not to go over 10% above their estimate. We had two other companies give us estimates and Empire’s quote was the best. Before final selection I called to discuss our pick-up and delivery schedule. We needed a fairly tight delivery window based on a personal family scheduling issue. At that point, we were told that in order to guarantee a 3-day window for delivery, we would need a dedicated truck and that for that level of service would cost an extra $1,500. That used up my budget buffer, but the 3-day delivery window was very important to us so we agreed. Just prior to signing our agreement, as I looked through the details of the estimate we received, I noticed some items that seemed to be missing from the inventory and so I called Empire to discuss that, as I was concerned that they would charge me even more, above the initial quote, 10% potential overage, and $1,500 dedicated truck for guaranteed delivery. I was told at that point, that since we were getting a dedicated truck, so long as everything fit on the truck, that the pricing wouldn’t change and not to worry. Additionally, I asked if we need to have all of the furniture wrapped with furniture blankets or if those were provided with their service and was told that they included providing all the blankets for all wood, fabric and metal furniture and that they would provide both disassembling and re-assembling of all furniture at no additional cost. On moving day, the movers showed up and asked to do an initial walk through. Upon completion of that walk through, we were told that this was way more stuff than they were prepared for and that it would cost us significantly more money. I explained what I had been told by the sales person and that I did not expect to pay any more. The individual that was in charge of the on-site move called and spoke to some people and said that they would need to charge me about double what they had initially quoted me, so I told them to go ahead and leave and I would try and figure something else out. Shortly after they left, the sales person called me back to find out what had happened and I explained what I had been told and explained why I asked the movers to leave. He told me that I must have misunderstood and that there wouldn’t be any additional charges other than about $700-$800 for some additional packing materials, because although the moving blankets were included all of the tape and additional cardboard that would be needed was not included. I reluctantly agreed to have them come back with the understanding that I was only looking at an additional $700-$800 and because I had not been able to find another viable option with the very short timeframe that we now had. The moving truck and movers returned and began loading the truck. After they had loaded about one quarter of our belongings we were told that there would indeed be an additional charge for the items that they had initial “inadvertently” not included in our estimate and that we would not be getting a dedicated truck. They also claimed that they never promised a dedicated truck. Because we were completely out of time, we very reluctantly agreed to let them complete the move. After they had completed packing the trucks and had left, we began cleaning the empty house and found that there were many items that the movers had not taken, but had just hidden the items by sticking them in closets and attic spaces. The boxed up the most important items that were small enough to ship and paid to ship them to our new address. On the other larger items, like a desk and a small Wardrobe Armoire, we were forced to donate them to a charity in order to get them out of the house. On top of that, there was quite a bit of damage to the house including large gouges, scrapes, and holes in walls, flooring, and the stairway. Additionally, we found a large amount of broken glass in the basement. Then, weeks later when the movers showed up at our new location, we were forced to pay in cash and charged an additional $900 on top of what we had reluctantly agreed to, before the movers would even begin to empty the truck. Upon the completion of the unload, the truck driver told me that they were really in a hurry and did not have time to re-assemble any of our furniture or other items that had been disassembled and they left. Our contract clearly states that the movers would disassemble and reassemble all furniture. This is where the real disturbing problems began to become evident. These movers, had destroyed much of our belongings. This was not the normal scrapes and small dents from moving (we have moved ourselves many times and know that there is always some small damage that occurs), but significant damage to furniture, appliances, boxes, and more. Additionally, we determined that there were multiple items that were just missing. The amount of damage and overall disregard for our belongings seems to move well beyond minor moving damage to a level that I would regard as gross negligence. When they disassembled items, like our air hockey table, they just ripped things apart instead of removing screws etc.

2. J

   Jeffery G.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · Milwaukee, WI to Dallas, TX

   25 Dec 20173-bedroomPaid $7,900

   Move.

   I've moved seven times and used five different moving companies. Empire Moving and Storage is not only the worst moving company I've experienced, but also, arguably, the worst company of any kind. The comments posted by Murali Ramesh are spot on. Before posting a review, I waited until I received my claims check ($153) for the furniture Empire broke or damaged, including my grandfather's antique hat rack, which was snapped like a toothpick and had to be thrown away. (I posted, below, a photo of a company worker holding the bottom of the broken hatrack. He wore a T-shirt that read: "I'd help but I don't want to," which should be the company slogan. (I was, by the way, reimbursed $6 for that antique hat rack.) Altogether, five pieces of furniture were destroyed or damaged. It's not only that they were damaged, but the manner in which they were damaged. A handmade maple bookshelf, pictured below, looked as though it were smashed with a sledgehammer. Even one of Empire's movers remarked that it looked like someone intentionally kicked it. The company bid $4,000 on my job, and charged me nearly $8,000. I don't know exactly how moving companies calculate charges. But I do know that I provided exactly the same information to two other moving companies that bid roughly $6,0000, which was $2,000 closer to the real cost than Empire's bid. I hired Empire based on its low bid. HUGE MISTAKE. At the pick-up, when the movers told me the price, I almost told them to unload my stuff and leave. But the employee talking to me told me I would lose my deposit if I did. Two days later, however, another Empire employee told me that I would not have lost my deposit if I had told them to unload the truck and leave. The worst aspect, however, was the customer service. I could not get my moving coordinator, Allen Kingman, to call me back, respond to my concerns, or give me updates. The only time the company got back to me was to tell me when the rest of the money was due. My moving coordinator, and anyone else I spoke to at Empire, seemed indifferent to what I was going through. I finally found out my delivery date when a driver called me from Dallas and said he would be there in two hours, which I wasn't prepared for. I'm a grown man, but on two occasions this company practically reduced me to tears. That's how frustrated I was, with no recourse. On delivery, one of the movers even complained about putting my bed together, until I told him the bed was assembled when they started the job. STEER CLEAR OF THIS COMPANY.

3. M

   Murali R.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · Hartford, CT

   1 Nov 20172-bedroomPaid $3,850

   Absolutely Pathetic Company..Pls avoid at all costs.

   We had to move in a hurry due to professional commitments from Minneapolis, MN to Hartford, CT. Despite the bad reviews this company had which I discounted as one-offs and the limited time I had I booked Empire moving due to the nominal cost that was quoted. MY BAD MISTAKE! Everything seemed fine with the move co-ordinator Mark Chase until they received the first payment for about $518.34. After this everything was downhill. We had our flights booked on 28th Sep and had clearly requested for a 27th Sep move. Till the 25th Sep I did not receive any updates regarding the timing of the move. On following up on 25th I received an update late in the night saying the truck driver would arrive at 9am the next day on a very short notice. I was out of town and had planned to be back on the 27th as per our original move plan. Despite requesting for an alternate time my request was declined by Mark Chase. The truck arrived only at 3:30pm after waiting all day. The quotes went up from the binding quote of $2591.70 to $3850 saying I had additional boxes and the sofa was very heavy. We paid up the balance as we had no other option at the last minute of our interstate move. This was bad enough but my real nightmare started after we moved to our new apartment in Hartford, CT. The original planned move date was Oct 3rd but I did not hear back from the company till date (Nov 1st). We have lived out of the suitcase for more than a month now. We have an infant who is 1yr old and parents who are 60+ years old. We have been sleeping on the floor assuming that our stuff would arrive soon. But I have not received any update from the company regarding when my goods would be shipped, Every time I call up the customer care number a person by name Mara/Vanessa pick up and tell me that a supervisor is working on the schedule.( its been 30 days since the original planned date and I don't have visibility to where my goods are.) I have repeatedly asked them to connect me to the supervisor but he seems to be on eternal vacation every time I call. There is no one to provide me an ETA or return my calls. I call them up everyday but have still not got an ETA. Its been more than 40 days since my goods were loaded on a truck I don't even have hope I will see my stuff ever again. I plan on refurnishing my entire house again and taking some legal action against the company Please take my advise never book from this company despite getting low quotes as the quotes will automatically go up after the first installment has been made. Clearly this is no customer service and visibility to goods that this company has.

4. T

   Tbnu

   Source: MoveAdvisor · Denver, CO to Eugene, OR

   1 Oct 20173-bedroomPaid $3,500

   2 weeks to receive our stuff, $3K of tools missing & broken furniture.

   What a nightmare. The movers were very unprofessional and inexperienced (only a few items wrapped appropriately). We received our stuff 2 weeks after promised. Our tools (chain saw, multiple bags with hand tools) disappeared. Couch and tables scratched. Shelving unit and a dresser completely destroyed. It has been 2 months since we filed our claim for the crappy $0.60/pound insurance they offer. Have yet to get a response and no one is answering our calls. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Other positive reviews likely from their own employees.

5. R

   Robert C.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · Renton, WA to Alexandria, VA

   18 Sep 20172-bedroomPaid $4,624

   Fraud and Deceit and Lost in Transit.

   I received an internet quote on-line from Jacob Reed at Empire Moving and Storage. I asked for an in-home binding estimate and Empire Moving and Storage sent an employee to our home to take an inventory and provide a binding moving quote. The binding quote to move our goods from Renton, Washington to Alexandria, Virginia came in at $4624.60. We signed the contract and were given a date to pick up goods and a verbal estimate of two weeks in transit to Virginia. The movers showed up late in the day on August 24th, our back up move date. Immediately upon arriving, the mover, the same man who came to our house and did an in-home inventory, accused us of adding goods to the shipment and jacked up the quote an additional $1600. Of course, he didn't even have the contract with him and had to ask me to pull up the contract on my computer and send it to him. Yet he knew I had more than he quoted, without having the contract. We had not added any items, and had taken 5 loads of goods to the Goodwill since the in-home quote. I told him that one of two things was going on here, either he was very bad at estimating or they were doing a classic bait and switch. I would not sign the increased price and they continued to load our furniture and goods anyway. He said we would get a call in the morning to give an approximate date for delivery in Virginia. We never received a call and made numerous attempts to speak with someone who could tell us the progress of our move. Finally on 9/11, day 18 since picking up our goods, I was told by Shaul, their supervisor in Denver, that the truck had never even left Washington, and that they were thinking it would leave by Wednesday, 9/13. I called again on 9/13 and was told the shipment was in transit and would arrive in their Denver facility on Saturday, then join a shipment to the East Coast. Today is 9/18, day 25 since our goods were picked up in Washington, and Shaul says that they can not contact the driver and do not know where our stuff is. I am doubtful now that I will ever see my furniture and household goods and am contacting the insurance company for the move.

6. N

   Natalie H.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · Colorado Springs, CO to Katy, TX

   12 Sep 20174-bedroomPaid $7,900

   My move.

   All of my things are with this company they seemed great until they got my money but nine days later my things are in the originating state I cannot get a hold of anyone nor does anyone call me back they are holding my household goods hostage for whatever reason upon looking at the paperwork it is incomplete and very unclear and my moving estimate just about doubled in their defense I probably had more things than I thought but double?? the company who brokered this deal is coast to coast I can't seem to get in contact with them either! do yourself a favor use someone else! I REPEAT DO NOT USE COAST TO COAST OR OR EMPIRE MOVING UNLESS YOU LIKE TO BE SCAMMED.

7. R

   Rebbekka

   Source: MoveAdvisor

   10 Aug 20171-bedroomPaid $1,450

   If only I had paid more?

   My husband and I are teachers. We moved to Germany two years ago to teach overseas, and while we sold most of our things, we kept a little bit of stuff that we held dear (family heirlooms and things like that). Upon our return, we decided to move to Oregon, but we needed to get our things from Colorado that we’d kept in storage. We called several moving companies, and in the end we chose Empire Moving and Storage. They told us that they were locally owned and trust worthy. On the day of the move, we were notified that the movers would arrive between 9 and 10. They actually showed up at 1:30 (but, yeah I know, that’s a common thing). My husband and I were ready for them. We’d purchased 300 cubic feet of space in their truck (The man who booked it told us that they prefer to itemize it and know exactly what’s being loaded, but since we hadn’t seen it in years we told him we weren’t sure, and he assured us that as long as it fit in the space, everything would be okay) and we’d already and measured out the space in my in-laws garage. We knew everything would fit. We waited, and when they arrived, they loaded half of our things. Then they told us that the rest wouldn’t fit, and that since the small pieces of furniture weren’t all itemized, they couldn’t take them without charging us more money. We refused, and were left at a standstill for over an hour while we tried to get ahold of a supervisor, when they did finally reach someone, they accepted that they made a mistake, and they loaded all of our things. One week later the delivery driver attempted to make a delivery at my parent's place in Oregon where we’ll keep our things until we move into our home next month. My parents just moved here as well, and they had not had problems with their movers delivering their goods, driving up the road and into the driveway (they live on a dirt road (see the picture below)). Our drivers arrived and parked at the end of my parent’s road. They walked to the driveway and told us that they couldn’t pull in there. We were surprised, but told them that they could unload at the end of the drive and that we would move everything the rest of the way. Then they went to their truck and told us that that they couldn’t make it up the hill to my parent’s house (mind you: not only did my parent’s driver made it up, but several semi trucks do it every day). They said we could either meet them at the end of the road (1/4 of a mile away from the driveway), or they would charge us more to get a smaller truck to get it down the road. At this point, I called their office in Colorado and spoke with a supervisor. The first supervisor I spoke with assured me that his team sent pictures, they couldn’t make it up the hill, and I had ten minutes to pay them before they left, took my things, and locked it up in Washington where I’d have to go pick it up if I wanted it. I called my husband, who was waiting at the end of the road with the drivers, and told him to pay them. He did. They took the money and drove away. in the mean time, I was told that another supervisor would be calling me. He did, and he treated me awfully (I have a recording of the conversation if you need it). At one point he told me that if we’d paid more, they could have delivered it all the way. At another point, when I told him that I’d call the police to tell them that the movers had taken our money and our things, he told me to go right ahead and call. He said they could legally hold our things for two weeks. He spoke over me, and didn’t seem to care about what I’d already gone through with their company (I did ask for a partial refund after all of the crazy things that had happened and because we were now going to have to get all of our things from the end of the road). After speaking with him and getting nowhere, I went to meet my husband at the end of the road, and was pleased when the truck returned. The boxes in the truck weren’t stacked well. We had several broken items, some that were not replaceable like a chair that came from my husband’s grandmother. We got it to my parent’s house after the truck was long gone, and now we’re going through our things, adding up the broken items (more pictures below, and even more of the damage should you need them). That’s where we stand right now. Hopefully you can share and investigate this concern so that others are not subject to the same treatment (though, find the pics of a review below that shows others have unfortunately had similar things happen).

8. W

   Wayne

   Source: MoveAdvisor · Colorado Springs, CO to Sunnyside, NY

   12 Jul 20171-bedroomPaid $1,600

   The Worst.

   Called and got a bid to move my girlfriend from Colorado to NYC. The rep I spoke to was experienced and did a good job of quoting me.. I thought. Was quoted $1350.00 total charges. Not bad for a cross country move. We packed everything up so all the movers had to do was load and go. The movers who showed up were great. They were loaded and gone in about one hour. Several days later I received an email from Empire's dispatch department alerting me to the additional charge of $300 for a "shuttle" because an 18 wheeler could not come into my neighborhood. The goods had to be unloaded from the 18 wheeler and then reloaded onto a smaller truck to be delivered. Here is my issue. The rep I spoke to told me how he used to live in NYC growing up, lived in one of the five boroughs. Do you not think that he would have known that a large truck would not be able to come into my neighborhood? Do you not think he should have advised us at the time we hired this company that there was going to be a "shuttle charge" which would add an additional $300 to the bill? Do you not think that a moving company would educate their customers about this especially when delivering to NYC? As if they do not have Google Maps and could not verify where my address is at and at that moment determine that a "shuttle fee" would need to be added to the charges. Oh but the "shuttle fee" is mentioned in the fine print. As any educated and concerned consumer would do I emailed the company and advised them that I wanted to speak to a supervisor or manager about this fee. No response. I waited for several days until finally on the day before the delivery was going to be completed my girlfriend called to request a supervisor. The guy she spoke to was a complete a**hole. Absolutely no willingness to hear her or even understand our perspective. Basically told her that if she did not like it we could either pay the additional $300 or not get our belongings and they would see us in court. When she told me what had happened I immediately jumped on the phone and requested to speak to that same "gentleman" to which I was told that "he is not in but we will have him call you." Can you believe that I never got a call back? Shocking..not really. Look, it was never about the money as we were completely okay with paying the "shuttle fee" and making this a smooth drop off but the unprofessionalism and lack of courtesy by those who are allegedly "leaders" of this company is alarming. They have no clue what customer support is. Once they have your belongings loaded you are at their mercy and they play it that way. So here's to you Empire Moving and Storage.. you are the absolute worst company I have dealt with in years and I cannot wait to let every social media platform know about you and your sh*tty group of supervisors and managers. I will never recommend you to anyone and hope that this review deters even one more person from using your services. Thanks for the awesome support and courtesy you showed us.

9. G

   Gretchen

   Source: MoveAdvisor

   22 Jan 2017Paid $4,500

   Completly undewhelmed.

   This company was a total let down. We got quoted at close to $3000, on moving day after all was said and done it came to over $4500 the sales person that dealt with my husband was rude and claimed that we had not informed the person who quoted us of all that we had. Over 90% of our items were boxed by us, and my husband fully disclosed what we had in our house. We had no choice but to pay in order to continue with the move. The two men who moved us were very nice, but once they collected our items we had no contact with anyone. Our items were "missing" for almost two weeks. Multiple attempts to contact empire and "Jon Allen" in order to get an ETA on when our items would be delivered to us resulted in silence. Emails if responded to said that they would "check on it". No one ever got back to us. Finally on Thanksgiving day someone called and said that our furniture would be delivered the next day. They set up a time between 10AM and 1PM. Our items did not arrive until close to 4PM. Multiple items were damaged including a bed which is totally in-repairable, a brand new TV, and several items that can't be replaced. Boxes that were labeled fragile were upside down and when turned right side up, you could hear that the items were broken. Almost all of our main furniture had scratches or parts missing, and were stacked on each other with out any sort of wrapping or blankets to prevent damage. After all of this was said and done I contacted the company in order to begin a claim. I faxed and emailed and filled out all forms necessary and I was told that all of my information would be sent to their claims department. After several weeks of silence and attempts at getting an answer Jon Allen told me that he would look into it. Again..silence. Finally after multiple calls and emails I contacted the operator and finally got a phone number to CSI who apparently claims go through. I contacted them and they had no claim under my name or move number. I had to start a brand new claim. What could have been settled quickly and painlessly has now taken almost 3 months just to initiate a brand new claim. I am beyond furious at the lack of communication and in-professionalism that I have received from this company. My son is still with out a bed, and we are out a brand new TV- not to mention our furniture that was fairly new, now looks like its been through the ringer.

10. M

    Michele

    Source: MoveAdvisor

    21 Nov 2016Paid $6,780

    Craigslist Movers - Empire Moving and Storage - Not Professional.

    Empire Moving and Storage Inc. 6547 N Academy Blvd #1066 Colorado Springs CO 80918 Phone: 1-888-558-8752 Fax: 719-960-4065 DOT #: 1044554 MC #: 436581 When you hire a professional moving company you expect, professionals. Deposit made 9/16/2016 of $1,650. Pick up date10/01/2016 Truck with 4 men who used a Budget rental truck to pick up the items. The driver indicated the items would arrive 10/8/2016. Once the items were picked up, communication was very little as to the status of the household items. On 10/04/2016, the company said they wanted full payment but didn't have an ETA. I said I wouldn't pay any more until I had an ETA. On 10/17/2016, several attempts made to Allen by cell phone, email, and voicemail but no communication as to where my household items were. Then, 10/25/2016, an email was sent asking for the remainder of the payment. After trying to call Allen, he finally indicated to me that my stuff was in route. The driver should be calling. I only heard from the driver after I made the final payment to which he gave 12 hours notice. Then, I come to find out that Empire hired random people from a Craigslist advertisement and random guys just showed up at my house. This really freaked me out that unprofessional, unchecked random dudes were hired to look at all my stuff and be in my house. It felt like a seedy drug deal with cash being exchanged and random moving practices in the back of a semi-truck. There were several damaged items such as a bookcase, box spring, and wood furniture with scrapes so large the piece was completely damaged. Specifically, a wood table in my family for decades. Also, the way they treated the stuff in the semi-truck was completely awful. They pulled on bicycles as if they were just branches from a tree. These bicycles are Trek bikes and not cheap. They could care less and provided no opportunity for reimbursing of these items. Total bill was $6,780. They even added $80 on the spot for steps, regardless of the damaged furniture. I expect much more from a professional moving company.

    Response from Empire Moving and Storage

    We would first like to thank the customer for choosing Empire Moving and Storage Inc for her relocation and allowing us to provide service. We would also like to apologize to her for any disappointments or misunderstanding that she has experienced with us. Moving can be stressful and this was a relocation that was coordinated both with our customer & her employer who agreed to fund/reimburse for the move. Below is our company rebuttal of the concerns listed by the consumer. We will start our rebuttal with FIRST CONTACT then for ease of understanding and making sure that we address every issue we will copy and paste our customer complaint in portions to respond individually. We hope that after reading the below info and our final rebuttal that the customer will agree to resolve all issues. FIRST CONTACT: 08/25/2016 4:48:41 pm MST - Customer was contacted by our rep and quoted for her upcoming move to WA. All of her questions were answered and she was informed of our contract terms and conditions. Customer agreed to move forward with the scheduling of her move that would be set to take place in about a month and her deposit was made. 1) A. CUSTOMER COMPLAINT - Pick up date 10/01/2016 - Ravenna, OH. Truck with 4 men who used a Budget rental truck to pick up the items. The driver indicated the items would arrive 10/8/2016. Once the items were picked up, communication was very little as to the status of the household items. B. COMPANY RESPONSE - PICK-UP DAY: Basic service plus packing was handled at the home by our crew in a rental truck because all trucks were dispatched. Customer has stated that we offered "No communication as to where her household items were" however we have found 17 recorded calls and 32 documented emails all related to the coordination of the job. We also have a number of calls and emails between our company and the funding employer. All parties knew of our processes and the customer was aware that after pickup of her items they would then be placed in our OH storage facility until loading for her delivery. We maintained communication with our customer after unloading into storage and throughout the entire process of the move. 2) A. CUSTOMER COMPLAINT - On 10/04/2016, the company said they wanted full payment but didn't have an ETA. I said I wouldn't pay any more until I had an ETA. B. COMPANY RESPONSE - On 09/29/2016 we contacted S. D** who worked in the HR dept with the new employer. They customers new company was informed that we needed the agreed payment that was supposed to be made at pick up. They agreed that they would be handling that and asked that we call them on MONDAY 10/3/2016. Customer was aware of and signed a contract that agreed to a 3 payment process that needed to be met in order for operations to run smoothly (Deposit, 50% at pick up , 50% on delivery). This was also agreed to by her employer. On the date 10/04/2016 (as stated by the customer) the customer refused to pay any more until we had an ETA. We explained to the customer that her items were not in transit yet and that it would be impossible to let her know of the exact ETA. The only thing we could provide was a delivery spread at that time. No money was paid to our company that day but we were justified in asking for at least half of our payment. Second payment was not received until 10/21/2016. At that time the customers items had already been loaded and left for transit. 3) A. CUSTOMER COMPLAINT - On 10/17/2016, several attempts made to Allen by cell phone, email, and voicemail but no communication as to where my household items were. B. COMPANY RESPONSE - Allen was not in the office on 10/17/2016 - He did speak with the customer on the following day 10/18/2016. Customer was then informed that we still had not received 2nd payment. Customer was also informed that her items were already loaded and in transit at that time. She was also given her drivers name and number at request and was allowed to track her own shipment at her discretion. **CUSTOMER WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT THE REMAINING BALANCE MUST BE PAID IN CASH OR POSTAL MONEY ORDER ONLY TO THE DRIVER. AND THAT CREDIT CARD, PERSONAL CHECKS, OR NON-POSTAL MONEY ORDER WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AT DESTINATION** 4) A. CUSTOMER COMPLAINT - Then, 10/25/2016, an email was sent asking for the remainder of the payment. After trying to call Allen, he finally indicated to me that my stuff was in route. The driver should be calling. I only heard from the driver after I made the final payment to which he gave 12 hours notice. B. COMPANY RESPONSE - From the start of this job all parties understood that the final balance would need to be paid on delivery in either a postal money order or in cash. We normally do not accept credit card payments on delivery. However an exception was made and the purpose of the email sent was to collect balance and the customers final payment was processed by her credit card the day before her delivery. 5) A. CUSTOMER COMPLAINT - Then, I come to find out that Empire hired random people from a Craigslist advertisement and random guys just showed up at my house. This really freaked me out that unprofessional, unchecked random dudes were hired to look at all my stuff and be in my house. It felt like a seedy drug deal with cash being exchanged and random moving practices in the back of a semi-truck. B. COMPANY RESPONSE - The customer is referring to a man that was used to assist in the unload of her furniture in WA on delivery. We have important requirements that must be met before hiring any employee temporary or full time. We feel that EXPERIENCE can be gained but things like reputation, honesty, overall integrity, drive, and common courtesy cannot be overlooked and are the most important aspects. The employee that was used met our company requirements and did nothing wrong and there was no incident between that employee and our customer. There were a lot of random moving practices both inside the truck and inside the home during the unload. There was no seedy drug deal and we do not feel that was appropriate for the customer to say out of anger. **We request that it be omitted from the public!** 6) A. CUSTOMER COMPLAINT - There were several damaged items such as a bookcase, box spring, and wood furniture with scrapes so large the piece was completely damaged. Specifically, a wood table in my family for decades. Also, the way they treated the stuff in the semi-truck was completely awful. They pulled on bicycles as if they were just branches from a tree. These bicycles are Trek bikes and not cheap. B. COMPANY RESPONSE - Because of the phrase "they treated the stuff in the semi-truck completely awful" we would like to know if any of the damages were cause during the unload? Empire Moving and Storage Inc does include basic insurance valuation at 60 cents per pound per article on any and every job. This insurance again IS included in every customers price at no charge. Our company was not aware of any damages until we received notification of this complaint from our BBB 11/22/2016. We have called the customer several times in an effort to resolve and give instructions on how to resolve. We have sent a damage claims form to her personal email that we need her to return to us listing the damages and also including any pictures necessary. When we receive the damage claims form we will be sure to compensate our customer for any damages that we have caused. **We would like to note to our customer and to our BBB that we are willing to settle this issue for the damages even if it means going above what her damage claims form calculates. We always have and always will compensate for any damages. 7) A. CUSTOMER COMPLAINT - Total bill was $6,780. They even added $80 on the spot for steps, regardless of the damaged furniture. I expect much more from a professional moving company. B. COMPANY RESPONSE - Additional Flights of stairs are in our contract and will be charged to every customer. The first flight of stairs is included at every pick up and delivery locations but a $75 fee will be added for each additional flight. We feel we were professional during the entire course of this job. FINAL REBUTTAL: We would like start our final rebuttal by restating our customers desired solution. CUSTOMERS DESIRED RESOLUTION FOR Job # EM7478385 - OH to WA is: Seeking funds be remitted for damages and for the business to change recruitment practices from random dudes from craigslist. We have been thorough in explaining what our customer must do in order to start the claims process. We have agreed to compensate for any damages that we have caused and will wait for our damage claims form to be returned. We feel our recruitment practices are exactly what they should be and are proud to be operating now for over 14 years!