TORONTO - Movers on demand

[torontoguy]

416-919-6683

They said it would cost me around $100 over the phone ($40 an hour, 1 hour minimum for travel). The job took under an hour TOTAL and it cost me over $400!!!!

PLEASE AVOID ANY MOVERS FROM CRAIGSLIST and KIJIJI offering $xx per hour...

[MusicMom]

What were their reasons for the price change?

[krgrumpy]

We hired MOVERS ON DEMAND - Toronto (www.movers-on-demand.com or 416-919-6683) based on $40.00 per hour with a minimum three hour charge. We advised them that we were moving 4 heavy, commercial appliances. They never mentioned any surcharges for these appliances. We booked them based on their hourly rate. Upon their one hour late arrival they ask you to sign a general contract to start the move. However, when you arrive at the delivery site they will not unload your stuff until you pay their final invoice. This invoice is on a totally different receipt and has a whole list of surcharges. In our case the SCAM ARTISTS charged us for the labour, travel time, kitchen appliance surcharge, heavy equipment surcharge, and disassembly surcharge (we actually removed the doors and hinges to the equipment). We thought the total for the move would be ~$400.00...our bill was $897.00. We called the company and spoke to Kevin. Kevin said that upon booking he told us of all these surcharges...NO HE DID NOT!!! We called the police, but the officer advised that since we signed the generalized contract (even with these surcharges not listed on this document) there was nothing he could do. The delivery guys stated that they know their boss was overcharging, but there was nothing they could do. They just kept saying that they just worked for the company. BEWARE of these movers. They STEAL YOUR MONEY in front of your eyes.

[DruidZ]

I sure wish I had found this page before using these crooks. I too was promised one thing on the phone and had the bill more than double.

First they were late and I was under the gun to get stuff out. When they showed me the contract I saw that it had gone from a three hour minimum to four. A new $40 travel charge also appeared at that time. I didn't have much choice and I just sighed and prepared to eat an extra $80.

The contract had the same vague generalities about heavy stuff and appliances but I didn't worry about that because all I had was some pressboard office furniture and a bar fridge that anyone could (and did) pick up by themselves. See http://www.druid.net/darcy/movers_on_demand.py for a picture of this "appliance."

On arrival I was presented with the bill. Even though the total move at this point was less than two hours it was suddenly $290 plus tax. On top of the other things they charged me $30 for the bar fridge and $60 for one of the "heavy" desks that one of the workers was moving around the truck by himself.

Even allowing for an extra hour for traveling it would have been under the three hour minimum so the $40/hour morphed into almost $100/hour.

Avoid these people like the plague. They answer the phone as Elite Moving Services so they may be playing three card monte with corporate names to avoid bad publicity. The phone number to watch out for is 416-919-6683 or 1-866-831-2553.
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D'Arcy J.M. Cain <darcy@druid.net>
http://www.druid.net/darcy/

[Effieploy]

if I knew they were bastards
I was told on the phone they would move my stuff for $200 and then got charged for $600 in the end....
I actually had a look at their previous invoices
The first guy was charged $915 and the final payment was reduced to $250
The second one was charged $871 and he made a full payment by cash
The rest were all charged over $400

I remembered the guy before me was charged $620 and the final payment was reduced to $271



They claimed that they unloaded the guy's stuff in front of his door so the bill was reduced


Totally bullshit!!

[DruidZ]

Interestingly they called me and sent me a cheque for $100 as an adjustment. Not the full amount but a reasonable gesture anyway I thought. I was surprised to see that they were up to their old tricks again. Was this recent?

Also, what do you mean by "their previous invoices?" Do you have access to their records or do you know others who were ripped off?
_________________
D'Arcy J.M. Cain <darcy@druid.net>
http://www.druid.net/darcy/

[JSW2010]

So horrible! I wish I had of done better research.

We were doing a simple move - a small 2 bedroom apartment to another apartment 20 minutes away, with no heavy appliances or furniture other than beds and a couch. I asked about any other charges, including extra travel due to different cities (other than the extra hour), etc. I was quoted $50 an hour for 2 men and a large truck.

They were supposed to arrive at 1pm on moving day - they did not arrive until almost 5pm. We called them countless times, and each time it was "oh, we'll be there in an hour".

When they did finally arrive, they were completely and utterly rude to me. They gave me their sheet to sign, and I saw that there would be extra charges for EVERYTHING I had asked about - heavy lifting, town to town, stairs, etc. I refused to sign the sheet until I spoke to their office about it, and the two guys took it out of my hands and left. My husband came home then, and tried to deal with it. He also called their offices, who basically said they have no idea what I'm talking about (although I have it sitting in my email inbox!), and the rate is the rate. What about them being so late? Oh, they knocked an extra $10 off for that.

As he spoke to their office, I was standing behind the truck on our front steps, and the two movers didn;t know I was there. Both were talking about how stupid and lazy we were, and how we were idiots, and how they'll get paid anyway.

After hearing that, I'd had enough. We told them to leave. As they pulled out, the driver says "Sucks to be you!".

Classy.

[Movinghelper]

If the authorites are not doing anyting just remember, The media is a powerful tool, call them and let them know the scam.
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or more information on moving or to file a complaint go to http://www.protectyourmove.gov

1..NEVER PAY A MOVER A DEPOSIT FOR INTERSTATE MOVING! IT COULD BE THE START OF THE BIG SCAM
2. GO WITH IN HOME ESTIMATES ONLY.
3. DO NOT USE A BROKER.

[ilia]

Here's our experience: http://nurey.blogspot.com/2009/12/moving-scam.html

[BigLeeCalif]

I would send a pm to Fred0844.

He's the expert on Canadian affairs, and may be able to direct you all to the proper authorities.
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"It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt" Mark Twain

[Fred0844]

Without a written quote there is nothing that can be done.

People look at the math........ $ 50 per hour 2 men and a truck.
Out of that should come Insurance costs vehicle cost fuel cost worker comp. taxes cpp etc. and then pay themselves. I can't afford to start a truck for $ 50 per hour.

As for the media, a local paper ran a series of articles about such companies. One of the owners said that if he was shut down tomorrow, he would be up the next day operating under a different name and if he charged $2 per hour less they would be flocking to his door.

[BigLeeCalif]

Same story both sides of the border.
_________________
"It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt" Mark Twain