13 Dec 2022 · MoveAdvisor
1.0 out of 51.0
There were 2 big issues:
1. Initial refusal to refund deposit under questionable circumstances
2. The moving cost jumping from $5,697.66 (final estimate) to roughly $9,800 once the movers arrived, due to what appears to be poor/inconsistent communication/inventory practices between those who take estimates over the phone and the movers.
First, we were initially denied our moving deposit because I requested it on the 4th business day -- 1 day over the refund policy. The issue here is that I tried to contact my sales rep, Howard K., and customer service on the 3rd day to provide an updated inventory list and receive the updated estimate/quote. No one from customer service called us back (I left a voicemail). I called Howard and texted him the updated list. He said he wasn't available and that he’d call me back the next day. Howard was apparently off work the next day, so Justin M. form quality assurance took the call instead.
After learning I couldn’t get my deposit back and talking with Justin, I decided to continue with the service -- even though the estimate jumped from $3,697.66 to $5,697.66. To make sure we weren’t met with another price increase when the movers arrived, I made sure to do a meticulous inventory with Justin. He assured me that he didn’t anticipate a price increase.
However, once the movers arrived on Nov. 30th, they started pointing out things on their inventory list that didn’t match ours.
- For example, they only showed that we counted our futon cushion and not the frame – we ran into this issue when we got our initial quote from Howard and updated the new inventory list with Justin to include both mattress and frame. But the movers did not show the same inventory.
- Another example: the day before the movers arrived, I spoke with Jeremy from dispatch to verify that plastic tubs would be acceptable under our “20 boxes” quote. He said yes. The movers arrived and said that these boxes were not on their list – their list showed that we were put down for “20 medium boxes.” At no point was box size brought up to me—not verbally nor in writing. And I had asked Jeremy specifically if box size mattered – he said no.
- Also, when I updated the inventory list with Justin M, we included a large arching lamp. This was also not on the movers list.
- The movers also claimed that we hadn’t specified our dresser size. Again, this was not brought up with Justin nor Howard during our inventory discussion.
- Lastly, when I brought up miscellaneous items with Justin and Howard, they assured me that they wouldn’t take up much space, so we didn’t need to take a detailed inventory of each item. The movers said the miscellaneous items weren’t on the list, which further contributed to price increase.
Movers arrived two hours later then scheduled time range further pushing the time of our move, and availability of alternative options.
As stated in contract if price of move changes at time of pick up please contact customer service. However, Jeremy with dispatch discourage me from reaching out to customer service and started that if I did the movers would leave and move date would have to be rescheduled, if I failed to agree to revised price. He also expressed frustration when I did reach out to customer service (spoke with Justin). During my call with Justin he assured me he would contact the movers and sort this out. However Jeremy, stated there was nothing customer service could d to change the estimate.
In sum, we did everything we could on our end to make our final estimate was the correct estimate. And after all the pains we took to ensure we were set, we ended up with a quote that was about $3,000 over. This put me and my fiancé in a very unfair position – pay an extra $3,000 or cancel the move, rent a Penske and do it ourselves. We chose the later, and it made our move that much more stress and headache than it needed to be.
To top it off, we were denied our $2,000 deposit.
Worst customer experience of my life.
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