26 Sep 2023 · MoveAdvisor
1.0 out of 51.0
TL;DR: Don't book with United Choice Movers unless you want to get charged double your estimate on moving day, and if you don't have the money to pay in cash or money order you will be stranded like we were, with no place to live. Go with a legitimate moving company who will have someone come to your house, PHYSICALLY LOOK at your stuff, and give you an accurate price. (Also, per my specs above, it was a 2 bedroom APARTMENT and the movers quoted $4800 on top of the $1000 deposit we put down. Hence, $5800).
My father-in-law and husband decided to go with this company and went through the process over the phone of taking inventory with Sales Associate Alex Scott to get an estimate. We paid the deposit (WHICH YOU ONLY HAVE 48 HOURS TO GET BACK BTW, it's listed in the contract), got our paperwork and were set.
I got a followup call on Wednesday 9/20, about 3 days out from our scheduled pick up, from Quality Assurance associate Joe Ellis in Georgia. He did not leave a message on my phone, called my in-laws to say he was trying to get in touch with me, but refused to say the reason like this was some CIA-level classified nonsense. Terrified that something was going wrong with the move, I called him back (he had no voicemail box setup with his name at this time) and left two messages. He called me back later that day to state that he needed a final inventory list for the movers and I could email that to him. He had emailed me a day or two prior with specifications for the inventory list (medium box = 18x18x18, medium plastic bin = 18-23 gallons etc.).
At this point, I had read reviews and gotten rid of big furniture items, such as our couch and our bed (and more), to MAKE SURE we would only get charged our estimate. The house was packed, so I sent the list with the specs given to me and left nothing out. He (Joe) called me the next day to go over the list with a few questions, and assured me that there was enough space in our estimate to fit everything, and that we might even SAVE some money (what a joke).
The movers show up on Saturday, 9/23 (since they don't give you a FIRM date, only a 2 day pick up window), look at our stuff, whip out a calculator, and tell us we were grossly underestimated for our space and that it will basically be double our estimate. The moving company who showed up at our house told us they aren't United Choice, and that they simply get jobs from them. Obviously, we didn't have the money to pay them and had to send them away (for which they claimed there would be a $750 cancelation fee). Luckily, our landlord has another apartment we can rent, since he already rented ours out, but had he not we would be stranded states away with nowhere to live. A customer service associate named Gabby called me yesterday, 9/25, to speak to me about my "experience at pick-up" at 9 pm. I didn't pick up (because it was an 800 number at 9 O'CLOCK AT NIGHT?!?!) but I will be calling back, along with the Better Business Bureau and a few other places. And I swear to God if I get a BS "we are sorry and would like to hear more about your experience" reply to this review my response will be going through an attorney.
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