8 Feb 2018 · MoveAdvisor
1.0 out of 51.0
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.
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