Because MD is relatively small in terms of geographical area, the companies are listed only alphabetically by van line. Note that Jessup (a suburb of Baltimore) has been described as a hotbed of scam and dubious companies. The most notorious one, Giant Van Lines, is out of business, but its former employees have created several spinoff companies including Chesapeake Movers, Epic Relocation Systems, Go West Movers, and RSG Relocation Systems (see below):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7752
In Maryland the intrastate (within-MD) moving industry is governed by the Public Service Commission with phone number 410-767-8000. People moving within MD can contact them to see what is required for intrastate movers as well as what consumer protections exist.
Maryland is not a regulated state and it does not issue state license numbers. It requires ALL movers, even those that do local moves only, to have interstate FMCSA license numbers (the "MC" ones). MusicMom re-confirmed this in 10/06 with the Maryland Movers' Council.
According to "Rick" (industry expert), because Maryland is not a regulated state, moving companies that operate within the state can charge whatever they want under local ordinances. He posted that most intrastate moves are completed on an hourly basis.
-----------------------------------------
Comments and reviews on this website indicate that people should AVOID the following companies within front of their names. This is not an all-inclusive list of bad or marginal companies--this summary post is a work in progress.
AVOID this company. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3173
As of 3/08 this company has 24 complaints at the BBB in the past 36 months.
AVOID this company, which has an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB with 23 complaints as of 3/7/11, and an "F" rating. See this post for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 5965#55965
AVOID As of 3/7/11, this company had a "C-" rating and 37 complaints with the BBB. See also this Ripoff Report complaint where the manager, Regla, responded:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff97742.htm
AVOID this company. See these posts for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 5965#55965
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15103
As of 3/08 this company had 72 complaints at the BBB in the past 36 months. As of 3/7/11, its status with the BBB is currently under review.
AVOID this company. See these threads for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1600
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8406
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8505
Note that as of 9/06 this company was using the alias
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1555#71555
As of 3//7/11 this company had 80 BBB complaints over the past 36 months and an "F" rating.
AVOID this company, which is closely connected to the blacklisted Giant Van Lines. See this thread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8331
As of 3/08 this company had 11 complaints at the BBB in the past 36 months. As of 3/7/11 this company's BBB rating was under review.
AVOID this company, which has an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB, among other problems. See these posts:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2977#72977
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10771
AVOID this company, which is closely connected to the blacklisted Giant Van Lines. See this thread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8432
AVOID this company, which is closely connected to the blacklisted Giant Van Lines. See this thread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7752
As of 3/08 this company had 3 complaints at the BBB in the past 36 months.
AVOID this company, which has an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB. See these posts and threads for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7220
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9080 (bad interstate move)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6109#96109 (bad move)
As of 3/7/11 this company's BBB rating was under review.
AVOID this company, which has an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB. See this post (and subsequent complaints by "strongdab" and "mu4n6gal") for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2351#32351
As of 3/7/11 this company's BBB rating was under review.
AVOID this company, which has an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB and has DOT #1083708 and MC #454133. It is registered in FL as Moonlite Moving & Transportation, Inc. with president Suleyman Sahin. Do not confuse it with Good Samaritan Movers, Inc. (DOT #1002244) based in Atlanta, GA.:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5710
At the very end of the above thread, "dcgal" posted that she used them for a move from DC to NYC and was pleased (they were inexpensive).
However, Good Samaritan in Baltimore has interstate license revocations shown on www.safersys.org and the text on its website is the same as that used by many dubious companies. Also, someone posting from MD posted a very bad report that could possibly be related to this company:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3282#43282 (local)
Someone connected with Good Samaritan came on the messageboard to defend the company, arguing that the bad report probably referred to the GA company and trying to explain the circumstances underlying the license revocations:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6245#56245
However, this company should probably be avoided, especially for interstate moves.
In 7/07 someone posted that the Good Samaritan company in Baltimore had vanished along with the owner and all of the customer's belongings:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4353#94353
AVOID this company, which has an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB and is closely connected to Giant Van Lines. See this thread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7752
As of 3/7/11 this company's BBB rating was under review.
b]AVOID[/b] As of 3/7/11, this company had an "F" rating and 11 complaints with the BBB, and DOT #1157340. See this thread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7199
AVOID As of 3/7/11, this company had an "F" rating with the BBB and 68 complaints, is an alias of
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1555#71555
AVOID this company, which has MC #492093. Do not confuse it with the good Wheaton agent Olympic Moving and Storage in VA:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3638#53638
As of 3/7/11 this company had 0 BBB complaints in the past 36 months. However, with only 1 truck listed on protectyourmove.gov, it has 2 Hostage Load complaints on that site. Also, its website at www.olympicmovers.com resolves to a company with a different name - Capital Van Lines - and its address on protectyourmove.gov is an apartment building.
AVOID As of 3/7/11, this company has an "F" rating and 41 complaints with the BBB, and which is connected with Go West Movers, a known dubious or scam company. See these threads:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8122
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7100
AVOID this company, which is closely related to Giant Van Lines. See this thread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7752
AVOID this company. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5886
As of 3/7/11 this company had 43 BBB complaints in the past 36 months.
[:evil: A company's name has been deleted here because of litigation concerns.]
AVOID this company, which has an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6244
As of 3/7/11 this company's BBB rating was under review.
AVOID this company. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3683
As of 3/7/11 this company had 3 BBB complaints in the past 36 months.
------------------------------------------
Allied Van Lines agents
--Allegheny Transfer & Storage, Inc. (Allied) in Baltimore.
This company has the phone number 410-522-4422. It is said to be reputable but among the weaker Allied agents in the area. As of 9/06 its overall quality score from the van line was 4.30 out of 5 (between "meets standards" and "very good"). As of 3/7/11 this company had 3 BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and a rating of an "A+".
Someone ("Daniel") moving to Brooklyn got a quote from them and was leaning toward using them but never came back to report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1694 (interstate)
Another person ("jc") moving to Charlotte, NC said he had heard great things about the company but the estimator wasn't very friendly (he had a small load)--we don't know whether he/she moved with Allegheny:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4252 (interstate)
"Mo" (moving to Dallas with a larger load than "jc") got a quote from them and liked the estimator but again, we don't know whether he ended up choosing them:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4460 (interstate)--Coleman American Moving Services (Allied) in Baltimore.
BE CAUTIOUS about using this company. Some questions have been raised about the owner in PMs to a MovingScam moderator. Also, as of 3/7/11 this company had an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB and had 3 complaints in the past 36 months. "Rick" (industry expert) posted that Coleman American "is a recent Allied addition in the DC metro area. They are a part of Covan Worldwide Moving, Inc., http://www.covan.com/customerserv/servcenters.html, a smaller van line based in Alabama. They joined Allied to partner on their large volume of primarily military traffic.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3622#43622
"PMueller" (working for Allied in another state) posted that Allegheny Transfer (see above) and Victory Van (see under "Virginia") have much better quality scores than this branch of Coleman American:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9720
As of 9/06 this branch had an overall quality score from the van line of 3.80 out of 5 ("needs improvement").
A long-haul driver posted anonymously implying that this branch of Coleman American was very bad:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9115#69115
"anu" said that a friend had a good move with them and he was also going to use them for a local move in Falls Church, but he never came back to report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4334#24334 (local)
Despite this one good second-hand report, there are sufficient red flags that people should probably be cautious about using this company.
BE CAUTIOUS about using this company, which has the website www.earlesmove.com and the phone number 410-263-9000. It is a "meets standards" performer in terms of its quality rating from the van line, so there are better choices. As of 3/08 this company had 9 BBB complaints in the past 36 months. As of 3/7/11, the BBB is reporting that this company is out of business.
--Matthew Moving Company, Inc. (Allied) in Clarksburg.
NOTE: as of 11/10 the website of Victory Van Corp. in Alexandria, VA at www.victoryvan.com states that Victory has acquired Matthew Moving. Below is the original listing for Matthew Moving.
Matthew has MC #159515, website www.matthewmoving.com and phone 301-428-0850 or 800-827-0255. It has been in business since 1967 and up to around 1980, before signing on with Allied, it was an agent for Republic Van Lines (now defunct). Matthew Moving Company and Victory Van in VA are said by industry people to be the best Allied agents in the area. As of 7/07, Matthew had an overall quality score from the van line of 4.36 out of 5 ("very good"). As of 3/7/11 it had 4 BBB complaints in the past 36 months, 1 unresolved. "MusicMom" posted that she had never heard anything bad about Matthew and "weem" (works for a mover in northeast MD) also praised them on this thread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3342
"Rick" (industry expert) commented about them, "Matt established his company in the late 60's, hit some financial bumps in the '80s, and has been on the rebound ever since. They are an established company, doing $3M-4M annually and specialize in government work. Their location allows them to service the northern metro DC area as well as Frederick and Hagerstown easier than the van line agents located in northern Virginia. Ramar [Mayflower] and Security Storage Co. [United] are their primary competitors. All . . . are very reputable van line agents.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6302
In 8/07, the president of Matthew Moving told me that actually they have been doing about $6M annually for the past 6-7 years, and the "financial bumps" referred to by "Rick" above were when Republic went broke around 1980 and they had high costs related to switching to Allied.
Someone posted that she was moved from northern CA to MD by Matthew under a corporate contract with her husband's employer and had a very good move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3342 (interstate)
"northbound" (moving to Maine) seemed set to go with them because they gave him a TPG price (Thomas AAA would give only a Nonbinding) but he never came back to say how it went:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1004 (interstate)
"bsh117" got a quote from them for a move to FL but ultimately went with Moyer & Son:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3704 (interstate)
"Jstrevino" (moving to CA) said that Matthew told her that her long-haul driver would be from Coleman American Moving Services:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6041
"MovingtoMilford" posted in 9/07 that she had an excellent move with Matthew to PA--it was a self-haul with Reggie as driver and Jim as her sales rep, who was very helpful, offering free boxes. Matthew's quote was lower than the ones from Von Paris, Moyer, and Coleman Allied:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7450#97450
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14657 (interstate)
--Ryan Moving & Storage (Allied) in Abingdon.
This company went out of business and Hampden bought its assets.
- Maryland listings continued in the next post -
SUPERLIST - Moving Company Reviews Posted on MovingScam.com
-
MARYLAND (Part 1)
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7639#57639
-
MARYLAND (Part 2)
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7641#57641
Atlas Van Lines agents
NOTE: In 4/08 "bosoxfan" (banking professional familiar with the industry) said that every Atlas agent listed below is high-quality.
--Ace Relocation Systems (Atlas) in Jessup (also other locations).
This company has the website www.acerelocation.com and the phone 800-643-3981. This office won a quality award from Atlas in 2005, 2006 and 2007 (Milton Hill Award). Among other things, this means that it had a "customer satisfaction" score of at least 4.10 out of 5. Moving industry people have said good things about Ace Relo in general, and this branch in particular has been praised by "ECM" (now posting as I-95), a long-haul driver based in the Northeast. Industry people have said that it and Advance (see below) are roughly equal in quality and both are below Paxton and (especially) Alexander's, which is widely considered the best Atlas agent in the area. As of 3/7/11 this company had no complaints at the BBB in the past 36 months.
We have one fairly good review of the Jessup branch by "MovingtoSeattle" for a move to Seattle. It was paid for by the employer so it may have gone somewhat better than it would have otherwise:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7454#17454 (interstate)
We have a good review of the pre-move process by "Jonesey" (moving to San Francisco in a corporate-related move)--she used Ace but she never came back to report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2565 (interstate)
"Lori N." reported that she had a verbal commitment from Ace Relo to do a local move on 8/31/06 but Ace told her one week before that it had to complete a military move instead. Luckily she was able to get scheduled with Beltway:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9699 (local)
"lukenlaurafan77" posted that she was very happy with Ace Relo for her move to Colorado in 9/07, but when she used them as a booking agent for her return move to MD six weeks later, the driver for the hauling agent (Mollerup in Salt Lake City) was rude, there was damage, and some of her boxes were lost. However, she did get $950 from Ace Relo:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15057
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15269 (two interstate moves)
--Ace Worldwide (Atlas) in Baltimore.
This company has the website www.aceworldwide.com and the phone 800-637-6773.As of 3/08 this company had 3 BBB complaints in the past 36 months.
"lukenlaurafan77" posted in 8/07 that she was dissatisfied with Ace's Rick DiSanti, who came to do an estimate for her move to CO but failed to give her the required booklet on moving or to get back to her with an estimate:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14644
--Advance Relocation Systems (Atlas) in Baltimore.
This company has the website www.advancerelo.com. It won a quality award from the van line in 2005, 2006 and 2007 (Milton Hill Award). Among other things, this means that it had a "customer satisfaction" score of at least 4.10 out of 5. As of 3/7/11 this company had 0 BBB complaints and an "A+" rating in the past 36 months. Industry people have said that it and Ace (see above) are roughly equal in quality and both are below Paxton and (especially) Alexander's, which is widely considered the best Atlas agent in the area.
--Alexander's Mobility Services (Atlas) in Baltimore.
This company won a quality award from the van line in 2004 and 2006 (Milton Hill Award). Among other things, this means that it had a "customer satisfaction" score of at least 4.10 out of 5. This branch has been highly praised by "ECM" (now posting as I-95), a long-haul driver based in the Northeast, and also by "weem" (works for a moving company in northeast MD). Considered the "gold standard" Atlas mover by many industry people. No reviews.
Bekins Van Lines agents
--Berry Van Lines (Bekins) in Salisbury (also in Dover and Wilmington, DE).
This company has the website www.berryvanlines.com and the phone 410-749-9227. As of 3/7/11 it had no BBB complaints over the past 36 months. See under "Delaware" for other comments.--Childs Brokerage (Bekins) in Baltimore.
AVOID this company. It is generally regarded as poor in quality, although not a scammer. As of 3/7/11 this company had 2 complaints at the BBB in the past 36 months, and a "D" rating.
There is a bad report by "Disgusted_by_Bekins" having to do with claims not being paid:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9854#49854
AVOID this company. It is generally regarded by people in the industry as poor in quality although not a scammer. As of 3/7/11 this company had no complaints at the BBB in the past 36 months.
Mayflower Transit agents
--Baltimore Storage Co. (Mayflower) in Baltimore and Cockeysville.
This company has a phone number of 410-235-5900. As of 3/08 this company had 4 BBB complaints in the past 36 months.
"Rick" (industry expert) wrote that Baltimore Storage is "a third generation family company . . . one of Mayflower’s charter agents. . . . They operate mostly straight trucks along the eastern seaboard and selfhaul 90% of what they book. They would be a good choice in the B-more market.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9720#59720
However, others in the industry who are located in the Baltimore area have expressed reservations about this company, stating that it has a rough labor force. As of 3/7/11 this company's BBB rating was under review.
--Dennis Storage Company, Inc. (Mayflower) in Salisbury.
This company has a website of www.dennisstorage.com and a phone number of 410-742-1171. As of 3/08 this company had 2 BBB complaints in the past 36 months. As of 3/7/11, this company's BBB rating was being reviewed. Dennis is said to be a reputable, long-established company but we have no reviews.
"Firewalker" said they gave her a reasonable quote for a move to NM but she didn't end up going with them:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5230 (interstate)--Hampden Moving and Storage (Mayflower) in Abingdon.
A VERY GOOD PERFORMER with at least 5 good reviews and no significant bad reviews posted on this website. Hampden is a 100-year-old company owned and operated by the people who own Von Paris (United), but it still competes with Von Paris. It has the website www.hampdenmoving.com and the phone 410-893-6683. As of 3/7/11, it had 4 BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. In 4/08 it was praised by "bosoxfan" (banking professional familiar with the industry).
Somebody wrote in to ask about it and someone else answered anonymously that he/she had used it successfully for multiple moves:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4488 (several presumably local moves)
Someone else ("jiimmyskitty") was considering it for a move from MD to DC but never came back to report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1000#41000 (interstate)
"deborah" got a low phone estimate from Hampden for a move to Seattle but we don't know whether she used them:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3501#33501 (interstate)
"Rnjada" chose them for her move to FL, including storage, and was very pleased: "My personal favorite is Hampden...very profressional, family business, located right here in Abingdon. VP called me last night personally to see if I had any further questions and invited me to come tour their storage facility."
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9533#99533
She posted in 12/07 that the VP again helped her during pickup of the items:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15330 (interstate with storage)
"MD2AZ" gave Hampden a very good report on a move to rural AZ in 10/08, praising especially the sales rep Mark:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 245#119245 (interstate)
In 12/10, "mkabase1" reported a very good experience with Hampden's sales rep and move coordinator on a move to TN, although a worker hired by the van line driver threw some of her boxes to the floor of the truck: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19967 (origin agent for interstate move)
--Ramar Transportation and Logistics (Mayflower) in Frederick.
Praised by "Rick" (industry expert) as a very reputable agent. It was considered by several people but we have no reviews as yet. As of 3/7/11 it had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints in the past 36 months. Note that this company is also an agent for United under the name Ramar Moving Systems. See comments under "United" below.
--VIP Transport, Inc. East (Mayflower) in Jessup.
This is a branch of VIP Transport in CA and is reputable. Do not confuse with
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2637#22637
"Rick" (industry expert) posted in 8/07 that VIP's forte is in moving special products, for which it has received many awards from the van line:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4595#94595
National Van Lines agents
--AMC Relocations (National) in Waldorf.
As of 3/7/11 this company had an "A-" BBB rating with 3 complaints in the past 36 months. Mentioned but little information. "CFK" (with a small shipment to AZ) posted that the rep never showed up to do her estimate in December 2005 and she was poised to go with Hilldrup instead:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8452#48452 (interstate)
North American Van Lines agents
--Meadows Van & Storage inc. (North American) in Frederick.
This company has been in business for more than 60 years. Its phone number is 301-663-3155 and its DOT number is said to be 65369. As of 3/7/11 this company had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months. Mentioned but little information.--Sterling Moving & Storage (North American) in Jessup (also locations in MA, CT, RI, and VA). No longer in business (see below)
This company's website is www.navlagent.com/sterling and its phone is 301-604-4268. As of 3/08 it had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months. "Nancy" (works for NAVL) posted this about the company: "Sterling in Maryland has a good reputation in the NAVL system, has locations in New England, and their owner is active in the agent association." "ECM" (now posting as I-95), a long-haul driver based in the Northeast, has also praised this company. In 4/08 "bosoxfan" (banking professional familiar with the industry) also said that Sterling was very good.
"kevinbobrow" posted in 7/08 that he had a very bad experience with this branch of Sterling for an apparently short-distance interstate move--the company showed up a day late and with no tools to disassemble furniture, then couldn't find a driver, so he had to hire another company (Always Moving, which he liked) to move his things at the last minute and also pay Sterling $650 for the work they had already performed:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 005#115005 (short-distance interstate)
"Bosoxfan" reported on 3/26/12 that this company has closed its doors.
--The Moving Connection (North American) in Baltimore and Linthicum.
This company has DOT #988461 and website www.themovingconnection.com. Be careful, because there is a dubious company with the same name. There was a discussion about whether the Baltimore company (rumored to have internal ownership problems) really was an agent of North American Van Lines as it claims. An agent for NAVL said that it was:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=408
This is The Moving Connection's BBB report showing 3 complaints over the past 36 months as of 3/08: http://greatermd.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report ... m=22010778
As of 3/7/11 this company's BBB report was under review.
An anonymous guest chimed in "out of the blue" (always somewhat suspicious) with a good review:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... =2660#2660
Someone ("hxcxdiva") had the NAVL agent come in to do a preliminary estimate on a move to FL and gave it a good report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 5182#35182 (interstate)
"dustball" gave them a very good review for a move to CA in 11/06:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10713 (interstate)
Stevens Van Lines agents
--Worldwide Moving Systems (AKA A-Whisco Inc) (Stevens) in Waldorf.
This company has MC #271035 and website www.movingworldwide.com (it uses the name A-Whisco when it does military shipments). As of 3/7/11 it had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints over the past 36 months. Note that this is a different company from the dubious or scam company Worldwide Moving Systems in Plantation, FL with MC #445191.
Someone was using it for a 30-mile local move and was satisfied at the preliminary stage, and there are good remarks by "MusicMom," who observed some of its workers:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4460 (end of thread)
"sayhi2tinee" reported having a good local move into and out of storage with Worldwide in 12/04:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4031#84031 (local move with storage)
United Van Lines agents
--Bates Moving & Storage Company, Inc. (United) in Salisbury.
This company has the website http://www.batesmoving.com and the phone 410-749-7117 or 800-543-1902. In 9/07, "weem" (working for Mayflower in MD) posted that Bates is owned and operated by a member of the Von Paris family, well known in the industry and "good people":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7888#97888
“pigglet824” (real name Amanda) posted an overall good review on a move to NC in 12/07, but mentioned that one employee was extremely rough with things during loading and there were damages resulting from this:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15245 (interstate)
As of 3/7/11 the BBB reported 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
—Greenmount/Chipman Relocations (United) in Upper Marlboro.
This company has a website of www.chipmanrelo.com and a phone number of 301-390-9400. As of 3/7/11 this company had 1 BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. "Ken" (working for a United agent in Boston) stated in February 2004 that "I have depended on Greenmount to help me with my customers in the MD and greater DC area for years, and have yet to have a problem with them.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=944
"Jay" (works for United) posted in June 2005 that they were cancelled and were bought out by another United agent (Chipman):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4460
"Xcountrymover" gave them a rave review for a move to AZ in September 2005 and referred to them as a United agent:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5944 (interstate)
See discussion of Hilldrup under Virginia. Hilldrup and Von Paris are generally considered the best United agents in the area after Security Storage in DC.
--Park Moving & Storage Co., Inc. (United) in Aberdeen.
This company has the phone 410-392-4020 or 410-272-4466. As of 3/08 it had an “unsatisfactory” rating at the BBB due to unanswered complaints. As of 11/10 it appeared to have neither a BBB listing nor a functioning website. Park was mentioned by both an industry exper) and "weem" (working for a moving company in the area) in 10/07 and 11/10 as having economical pricing:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9303#99303
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 952#135952
--Ramar Moving Systems, Inc. (United) in Frederick.
This company has the website www.ramarmoving.com and the phone 301-694-3366. As of 3/7/11 it had 1 BBB complaint in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. Ramar is also a Mayflower agent under a slightly different name. Praised by "Rick" (industry expert) and others in the industry as a good company.
However, "phokod" posted a serious complaint about a local move where things were apparently stolen:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8976 (local)
--Suddath Relocation Systems (United) in Odenton. (Also other locations.)
This company has the website www.suddath.com and the phone 410-874-1010. As of 3/7/11 this office had no BBB complaints and an "A+" rating over the past 36 months. People in the industry have said that it is solid.
Someone posting as "X" gave them a good preliminary review for a presumably interstate move but never came back to report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6602 (interstate)
"7Whitney" gave Suddath a rave review for a self-hauled shipment to NY State in 8/07, saying that its sales rep was "outstanding and VERY thorough" and there was no damage:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14506 (short-haul interstate)
--The Davidson Transfer & Storage (United) in Baltimore.
This company has the phone 410-488-9200 and MC #69281.
It gave "Rnjada" a rather high quote for a move to FL in 10/07:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15066
In 1/08, "Rick" (industry expert) recommended Davidson's forwarding division to someone for a shipment to Alaska:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 650#102650
A VERY GOOD PERFORMER with at least 5 good reviews and no bad reviews as an origin agent posted on this website. This company has the website www.vonparis.com and the phones 410-888-8535 and 800-866-6355 (Savage). It has 44 trucks and covers northern VA and the DC area as well as MD. Someone posted that it used to be an agent for North American Van Lines. It may actually be the oldest moving company in the United States. Von Paris and Hilldrup are generally considered the best United agents in the area after Security Storage in DC.
As of 3/7/11, the Savage and Gaithersburg offices together had 11 BBB complaints over the past 36 months - 10 of which were resolved and one of which was administratively closed - and their BBB rating was A+. A sales rep working for Von Paris in Savage, Brett Gailey, posts as "brett g" on the messageboard - his cell number is 443-536-3718.
"ECM" (now posting as I-95), a long-haul driver based in the Northeast, raved about them as a source of help in the DC area even though he said they are an agent for his competition. He posted that "they are the best game in town": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7025#47025
"dcnola" gave them a rave review for a move from DC to New Orleans: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3098 (interstate)
"Diana" moved with them from Arlington VA to Olympia WA and said that the Mayflower driver assigned to the move was quite a problem although Von Paris itself and the move coordinator Stephanie were great to deal with: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7327#37327 (booking agent for interstate move)
"MB" posted that a co-worker used them twice for local moves and was very pleased: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8191#38191 (two local moves)
"sriharirag" gave a good report on Von Paris for a move from MD to CA, although he noted that they used a shuttle when he thought it might not have been necessary: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9130#59130 (interstate)
'jwb" was poised to use Von Paris for a move to AZ (with storage) but never came back to give a final report: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7898#47898 (interstate)
Someone gave Von Paris a rave review for a move to Maine. His things had to be picked up and held in the warehouse for a day, but everyone did a careful job. Once the driver (Perry) from a Mayflower agent in Minnesota picked them up, they were delivered to Maine in three days:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8934 (interstate)
"californiamove" moving from MD to CA posted in 5/07 praising her sales rep, Steven Feldman (not sure what office he is in) -"He has been so helpful, straightforward, honest, and really has my best interest at hand.": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8115#88115
"cjm" (real name Chris) posted a rave review in 6/07 of a somewhat last-minute move to Philadelphia with Von Paris: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13943 (interstate)
"Moving to Mississippi" with a small load from DC to MS posted in 7/07 that he was happy with Von Paris except that he wasn't notified in advance that another United agent, Brooks Transfer, would be hauling his shipment. However, he liked Brooks: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14324 (interstate)
"Carter" posted in 8/07 that he had just used Von Paris for a move to SC and he was "very impressed with every aspect of the move and would definitely use them again.": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4517#94517 (interstate)
"hitthewall55" posted in 4/09 that she was leaning toward Von Paris for a company-paid move from IL to MD, mainly because its estimate was within their allowance. She also liked the fact that they used a person from a local company (Tom Walsh from Hutchcraft in Champaign) to do the survey, and she praised the move coordinator Amanda Jewell. However, she never came back to report on the move: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18140
"MusicMom" reported that Von Paris performed an "Excellent" office move on 6/1/11:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20648
Wheaton Van Lines agents
--Azar Storage (Wheaton) in Annapolis.
This company has the website www.azarstorage.com and the phone 410-263-9218. As of 3/08 it had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months. As of 3/7/11 it's BBB report was pending review. There are good comments on it by "weem" (working for a mover in northeast MD) and by "Rick" (industry expert): "Azar is an established company in Annapolis, MD. The Flory's have been involved in the business for over 20 years, purchased it while it was a Mayflower agency and then assumed Wheaton as their prime carrier. They are a small, quality company that caterers primarily to DOD and government moves. Most of their trucks run along the eastern seaboard."
Also, "Phillymove" gave them a good preliminary report for a move from MD to Philadelphia but never came back with a final report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6262 (interstate)
--Ernie's Moving, Hauling and Delivery Services (Wheaton) in Baltimore.
This company has the website www.erniesmovingandhauling.com and the phone 410-522-1806. As of 3/7/11 it had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months and an "A+" rating. Mentioned but no information.
- Maryland listings continued in the next post -
-
MARYLAND (Part 3)
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7642#57642
Independent moving companies
--Always Moving LLC (independent) in Baltimore.
This company has MC #397179, website www.alwaysmovinginc.com and phone 410-969-8585. As of 7/08, www.protectyourmove.gov showed it as having a Hostage Load complaint from 2005 and a conditional safety rating.
However, "kevinbobrow" gave it a very good report for an apparently short-distance interstate move in 6/08, when it rescued him from a situation botched by Sterling (NAVL agent):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 005#115005 (short-distance interstate)
As of 3/8/11 the web site domain was for sale and www.protectyourmove.gov had no listing for this company, which may indicate the company has shut its doors. The BBB still shows a rating on this company with 3 complaints and a "D" rating over the last 3 years.
A VERY GOOD PERFORMER with at least 5 good reviews and no significant bad reviews posted on this website. Note that all of these reviews are for LOCAL moves, and we have no information about how Beltway might perform on longer-distance moves. Beltway has interstate licensing authority but reportedly does not in fact do very long-distance moves. Its . As of 3/8/11 this company with website www.beltwaymovers.com had 0 BBB complaints and an "A+" rating in the past 36 months. Beltway, founded in 1961, was highly praised by "Rick" (industry expert):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3645#43645
"bikebloke" gave Beltway a rave review for a local move in July 2006, calling them "professional" and the move "fast and painless":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8737 (local)
"woody" used Beltway for a local move from his residence into storage and was very pleased:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2500#32500 (local)
"aaronw" used Beltway for a local move in January 2005 and was also very pleased:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3281 (local)
"sararosa" gave them a good review for a local move in VA, although a few pieces of furniture were slightly dinged:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4552 (local)
Another good report on a local move with Beltway in August 2005 was posted by someone who said that a friend had recommended them, and a MovingScam moderator commented that "Trucker" (a long-haul driver for a van line) told her that the Beltway employees were happy and performed well because they got good pay and benefits:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5632
Another good report on a local move with Beltway by someone posting from Arlington, VA:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1286#41286 (local)
A good review of Beltway by "dendrite88" of a local move in MD in September 2005:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4349#44349 (local)
"guest55" posted a very good report of a local move with Beltway - he paid $139/hour to move a 1BR apartment in May 2006:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9736#59736 (local)
Someone who had initially considered another company because of its low quote posted a rave review of Beltway saying that they completed the move in less time than they had estimated:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0670#60670 (local)
"sh91" posted in 8/06 that Beltway did an excellent job on a local move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7739#67739 (local)
"MusicMom" (MovingScam moderator) used Beltway for unloading a Broadway Express truck in 7/08 and gave them a rave review:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16682 (unloading help on an interstate move)
"dcgirl1977" also gave Beltway a rave review for a local move in 7/08, saying that they worked with her on the price, charging $145/hour. Having had bad experiences in the past with Smooth Move and Charming Movers, she was very pleased--"A++. . . They are, hands down, the best movers in MD":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17004 (local)
Reviews and comments here suggest that consumers should AVOID this company with MC#530456, which has a "B" BBB rating and 5 complaints over the last 36 months. As of 3/8/11 the company has 2 complaints with protectyourmove.gov (not for Hostage Load) - http://ai.volpe.dot.gov/hhg/SearchDetai ... d=30885486 See this thread for a discussion:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8311 (two reports of good local moves and one complaint about the company raising the price on an interstate move)
"dcgirl1977" reported a bad move with them in 2007 where they worked much too slowly:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 577#115577 (local)
--BLUEmove (independent) in Jessup. [It was originally a spinoff of Delahaye Blue Ribbon in NYC, for which see the listing under "New York City" (Queens).]
This company has the website www.blue-move.com (registered to the president, Mark Spitzer), the phone 301-570-3468, and the FMC license 020452-F. It is a freight forwarder. In 5/07 the president of BLUEmove in MD, Mark Spitzer, sent a message to MovingScam.com saying that he used to be involved in the NYC Delahaye Blue Ribbon, which he said is actually located in Manhattan at 51 East 42nd Street, Suites 411-412 with phone 212-490-2640. He said that the Maspeth location is actually their warehouse. He also said that the BLUEmove in Jessup, MD is no longer connected to the NY company, although it was a spinoff of that company.
Note that there is a bad report on a late 2005 move with the MD company, which used to be called Delahaye Blue Ribbon Relocation, here:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7755#47755 (international)
In 10/06, someone posted a good report on a move to Europe with BLUEmove in MD praising Mark Spitzer:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0059#70059 (international)
--Brennan's Moving & Storage (independent) in Baltimore.
This company has the phone number 410-242-5030 and DOT #977295. As of 3/08 this company had 1 BBB complaint in the past 36 months. As of 3/8/11, their BBB rating was in the process of being reviewed.
"weem" (works for a mover in northeast MD) said that he had heard good things about the company. Someone who works there ("Tanya") has made valuable contributions to the MovingScam messageboard. She posted the following info about Brennan's: "The majority of our moves are local, however we do long distance moves up and down the East Coast (North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, PA, DE, New Jersey, New York). One thing to keep in mind though, depending on how much you have to be moved on a long distance move we may suggest it's not cost efficient to use our company. (Basically, if you have a small amount of items, it would be best to use another company. Our customers have exclusive use of our trucks, we do not "piggy back" loads, so if you have a small amount of items it wouldn’t be cost efficient to pay for us to travel so far and back when there are other companies who could do it at a better rate by combining their loads).":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=883
In 7/07, "hmwende" (real name Heather) posted that her boss had an excellent local move with Brennan's - "She said it was a perfect move and she couldn't be happier. She commented that the movers were very professional, hard working, and friendly. Apparently, they mistakenly broke the leg of her daughter's particle board nightstand (had no value). They were over and over very apologetic even after my boss said that it was no big deal.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3089#93089 (local)
Heather added that Brennan's recommended Von Paris for her own move to FL since they couldn't go that far with her shipment.
--Carolyn's Custom Cleaning, LLC (independent) in Glen Burnie.
This company is listed on www.emove.com and supplies packing/unpacking and loading/unloading services in MD. It would not be licensed as an actual mover. It travels within a 100-mile radius but may not go to DC or VA. As of 3/08 this company had no BBB complaints n the past 36 months. In May 2004 "snow" gave the company a rave review on a local move and added the following comments: "The website is www.carolyncleans.com. I know that her husband handles most of the moving arrangements for the company and ordinarily uses another helper. I moved on Easter weekend so Carolyn herself was his very able assistant. They charged $55/hr for 2 hour minimum on both ends. That was way lower then the others on Emove, but maybe it was to get them started. Carolyn's office # is 410-590-1300.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1605 (local)
"Tanya" (works for a moving company in MD) gave Carolyn a rave review for some cleaning she did--although not related to moving, this speaks to her professionalism:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3179#53179
--Commonwealth Movers (independent) in Gaithersburg.
This company has the phone number 301-670-4638 and DOT #476249. As of 3/8/11 it had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. The only one who has posted about it is "paplazoo" (doing a local move), who said that they share an address with Town and Country and the owners are friends. He was satisfied with his move--Commonwealth gave him a "do not exceed" estimate:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3135 (local)
--David Racine (independent) in Elkton, near the Delaware border.
This company has the phone 302-598-2259. It may be listed on eMove.com (not sure). In any case, it is probably not licensed to do actual moves.
"Reno-vated" gave the company an excellent review for loading help on his Broadway Express move to NV in 7/06:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2567#72567 (loading help)
--Eagle Van Lines, Inc. (independent) in Temple Hills.
This company has the website www.eaglevanlines.com and MC #208997. As of 3/8/11 it had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. Mentioned but little information. Be careful not to confuse this company with others with similar names that are dubious or scammers.
--Flat Rate Moving (independent) in Rockville.
This company is on Southlawn in Rockville. It has the website www.flatrate.com and MC #480211. As of 7/06 there were at least three other branches of this company - in NYC, CA, and FL. It is different from Flat Rate Movers of NJ (MC #562493) and from the Flat Rate Moving in Silver Spring, MD (MC #540973), both of which are dubious or scam companies with no interstate licensing. As of 3/8/11 the Flat Rate in Rockville had 14 BBB complaints in the past 36 months and was rated "unsatisfactory" because of unanswered complaints. Industry people consider it to be a bit iffy, mainly because it gives Binding estimates often based on just an inventory list. There is a discussion of various aspects of the www.flaterate.com company on this thread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4547
According to "amolecule," it is owned by the brother of the person who owns the New York City Flat Rate. She moved locally with Flat Rate, had some issues with the quality of the packing, and concluded that "you get what you pay for." Flat Rate gave her a Binding estimate which she later thought was about $500-$1000 less than she would have paid with the other companies' hourly rate:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4865#24865 (local)
"carrieh04" also used the Rockville Flat Rate for a local move and was generally satisfied, although there was some confusion about the pricing:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4034#24034 (local)
"rani" gave Flat Rate a rave review for a Binding estimate move to NYC where they came on short notice after a scam company abandoned her:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9385 (interstate)
--Glamour Moving (independent) in Westminster.
This company has the website www.glamourmoving.com and DOT #517243. As of 3/8/11 it had 6 BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. It has been doing interstate moves since the early 90s. According to www.safersys.org it has 12 trucks:
http://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/p ... ath=LIVIEW
No further information.
--In and Out Movers (independent) in Germantown.
This company has DOT #1207006, website www.inandoutmovers.net and phone 301-916-9360 or 800-346-9857. As of 3/8/11 it had 10 BBB complaints over the past 36 months and the owner was listed as Igal Pinto.
"dc2va" gave In and Out a good review for a move from DC to VA in 6/07:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14058 (local)
"mi2kshop" posted an excellent review of them for a local move in 8/08:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 620#117620 (local)
--J. Norman Geipe Van Lines, Inc. (Independent) in Jessup.
This company has the phone 410-796-7810. It was once connected with Stevens Van Lines in Michigan and United Van Lines. As of 4/08 it had 4 BBB complaints in the past 36 months.
"Khaleas" decided to go with them for a move to VA, largely on the basis of the estimator's good performance:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8056 (local)
--Lee Family Transit (independent) in Laurel.
This company has the website www.leefamilytransit.com and the phone 301-919-6065. As of 3/8/11 it had had 1 BBB complaint over the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. We have no reviews and it is probably not licensed for interstate moves, but "jomercer" said a realtor recommended it for a local move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7711 (local)
--Meridian Transportation Systems, Inc. dba Meridian Movers(independent) in Clarksburg.
This company with MC #467965 is owned by Town & Country Movers (see below).
--Metropolitan Moving & Storage (independent) in Rockville.
This company with MC #513588 has the website www.dcmetropolitanmoving.com and the phone 301-279-0090 or 703-837-0091. As of 3/8/11 this company had and "A+" rating and 1 BBB complaint in the past 36 months.
There is a 2007 discussion of the company on this thread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13814
A VERY GOOD PERFORMER with at least 5 good reviews and no significant bad reviews posted on this website. Moyer has MC #147853, website www.moyerandsons.com and phone 301-869-3896 or 800-726-1817. As of 3/8/11 this company had an "A+" rating and 0 BBB complaints in the past 36 months. "weem" (works for a mover in northeast MD) has said that this company is very solid. "MusicMom" posted that it has DOT#222787, has 46 of its own trucks (which are blue), and has been in business since 1981. She said that she considered them for her own move before deciding to do a self-move, and a neighbor of hers used and liked Moyer:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9077#69077
"bsh117" (real name Brian) used them for a move to Tampa and was extremely pleased, mentioning especially Kenny the driver. Brian stated that he met Jason Moyer and John Moyer Jr and his wife met with John Moyer Sr, all in the home office. Moyer was the highest of Brian's three estimates. However, Moyer gave him a Binding estimate (JK Moving would give him only a Nonbinding) and the delivery time was short, probably because his shipment was the only one on the truck:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3704 (interstate)
"deliotb" gave Moyer a "B" rating for a move to Michigan in 8/06, saying that they gave him a good Binding price and moved him quickly in their own truck, but their loaders were a bit lazy:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9691#39691
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1925#61925 (interstate)
Someone posted a rave review of Moyer for a local move, saying that their hourly rate was a little more expensive than others but the 4 guys finished quickly and were very professional and pleasant:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6517 (local)
"Mixter" (real name Mick) posted that he called Moyer for a quote for a local move, and when they weren't available, he asked John (?) in dispatch for other movers, and he mentioned several by name and provided their phone numbers. "A place that is knowledgeable about its competition and is willing to help out a non-customer seems OK in my book.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9073#69073
"Ria" gave Moyer a rave review for a 10/06 move to Ohio including a car:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10457 (interstate)
Even when people didn't end up going with Moyer, they have praised Jason Moyer specifically. For example, "lukenlaurafan77" posted in 8/07 "I really like the way Jason handled the estimate":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6047#96047
"MovingtoMilford" seemed surprised that Jason didn't give an estimate on the spot using a handheld computer, but we've seen in the past that experienced reps can give high-quality estimates without this:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6148#96148
--New Horizon Van Lines (independent) in Frederick.
As of 6/08, this company had 0 BBB complaints over the past 36 months and was not licensed to move people interstate. "Rick" (industry expert) commented that the owner [Mike] was a good person who would do a good job on a local move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16611
As of 3/8/11 the FMCSA reports this carrier as being inactive.
--Pacific West Moving LLC (independent) in Bethesda.
This company has the website www.paxwest.com and the local number 301-466-7226. As of 4/08 this company had 3 BBB complaints in the past 36 months. Brandon Scivolette is listed as its owner on the BBB website. He has posted on MovingScam under the screen name "paxwest" and has praised Dan Cunningham, a highly controversial figure in the moving labor industry.
"OnTheMove4us" gave Pacific West workers a rave review for unloading a Penske truck and a POD in 10/07, stating that the company was recommended to him by PODS:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8183#98183 (unloading help)
However, some questionable aspects of this company have been discussed on MovingScam.com:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8338#98338
As of 3/8/11 neither the BBB or the FMCSA's website list this carrier, and it is possible they have closed their doors. A search for the phone number on the BBB's website brings up Elite Moving Labor, LLC, so it is also possible they have reincarnated as another service.
--Perry Moving Services LLC (independent) in Jessup.
This company has MC #469384, website www.perrymoving.com and phone 301-362-5600 or 888-290-2233. As of 3/8/11 it had 1 BBB complaint in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. It was formerly a National Van Lines agent.
"kcap" was leaning toward using Perry for a move to VA in 2/07 and said positive things about its owner, Richard Perry, who came out to do the estimate:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12606
However, "dcapellman" reported that Perry did not compensate him for stereo speakers damaged during a move in early 2007, apparently from MD to VA, even though he had purchased full replacement value coverage. He said there were also irregularities in the way the claim was handled:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15351 (short-distance interstate)
"dreamdazes" posted on the same thread in 1/08 that Perry was "fabulous" for a move to VA:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 841#101841 (short-distance interstate)
"JMillerFL" (real name Jim Miller) posted in 3/09 that he knew Richard Perry from being a National Van Lines agent and Perry was "a class act":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 814#122814
Perry also got enthusiastic remarks in 2/11 from "chptrkrules," another person working for National Van Lines - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 263#137263
--Southern Maryland Moving and Storage, LLC (independent) in Newburg.
This one-truck company with phone 301-884-8828 is properly licensed to do interstate moves with MC #592784. It is listed on www.uship.com at http://www.uship.com/profile/clnbiker where it had 3 negative, 3 neutral, and 154 positive comments as of 9/08. As of 3/8/11 it had an "unsatisfactory" BBB rating because of an unanswered complaint.
"dougkeen" gave this company a very good report for a small move to CA in the summer of 2008, noting, however, that four weeks elapsed between pickup and delivery while the truck picked up other loads:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17337 (interstate)
BE CAUTIOUS about using this company with website www.sprintvanlines.com. As of 3/8/11 it had 5 BBB complaints in the past 36 months. There are warning signs such as aggressive marketing, though someone posted a fairly good review of an interstate move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5406 (interstate)
"moved101" posted a complaint about a move to Chicago where the workers insisted on using and charging for packing materials and a company other than Sprint delivered the goods in a rental truck with only one hour's notice:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9663 (interstate)
There is a lukewarm review by "dendrite88" of a local move with Sprint:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1756#41756 (local)
However, "justmovedlocal" gave Sprint a good review for a local move in 8/06, saying that they didn't overcharge, were reasonably priced, and were careful to get authorization for extra services performed:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8595#68595 (local)
Because of the conflicting reports, people should be cautious about using Sprint Van Lines, especially for an interstate move.
--Thomas AAA Moving & Storage (independent) in Gaithersburg.
This company used to be a Wheaton agent before it was bought by JK Moving & Storage in 2004. As of 3/8/11 this company had an "A+" rating and no BBB complaints in the past 36 months. "amolecule" posted that its estimator told her that the owners were lifelong friends, and they were covering separate areas (VA and MD) and often crossing over unnecessarily. "So now, if you are in VA you are likely to get JK moving and in MD Thomas AAA, but its the same company and the same rates etc.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4865#24865
"Rick" (industry expert) posted that Thomas is a "good little, clean company with ethics. In the same class as Beltway.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3645#43645
"dw2763" (Danielle) posted that Thomas AAA was supposed to move her to Indiana but the company backed out 11 days before the move because the larger shipment scheduled with her very small shipment had been cancelled (this illustrates one of the risks of going with an independent):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8869#38869 (interstate)
A VERY GOOD PERFORMER with at least 5 good reviews and no significant bad reviews posted on this website (but see the note below on Town & Country being fined by the FMCSA). This company with DOT #418499 and phone 301-670-4600 has been praised as "solid" by "weem" (working for a mover in northeast MD). As of 3/8/11 Town & Country had 3 complaints at the BBB in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. In 5/08 it was fined by the FMCSA for a violation, but the nature of the violation is not listed - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16768 In 5/07 the owner (Kevin Bass) posted that he also owns Meridian Transportation Systems dba Meridian Movers, which he bought out of bankruptcy in 2004, and that sometimes customers get quotes from both Town & Country and Meridian. He said that he sublets warehouse space to Commonwealth Movers but does not own any part of that company:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9202#89202
Town & Country estimated the weight high in a GNTE given to "northbound" (moving to Maine), possibly because the estimator counted everything in case the customer decided to move it (he went with Matthew Moving):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1004
There is a good review of Town & Country by "fsgiles" saying that the price was low and the service at origin was good in his move from MD to IN. The main glitch was that there were not enough helpers at destination (a common problem for independents moving people interstate) and the customer and his family had to pitch in to help unload:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9766#49766 (interstate)
"Ckimoo" (Kim) chose them over Von Paris for her parents' large move from DC to NC and posted a rave report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5413 (interstate)
"Topaz" posted a rave review of Town & Country for a local move in MD--she says friends had recommended them and Town & Country and JK Moving gave her lower quotes than Beltway did:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5652 (local)
"KELLER" gave Town & Country an excellent review for a move from Baltimore to Northern VA--they charged $130/hour for 3 workers and a truck:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7288#57288 (local)
Someone gave Town & Country a rave review for a local move in 11/06, saying they came in below the estimate:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10431 (local)
"Kmar" posted an excellent report on a move with T&C to Chicago in the summer of 2006, stating that they were not the lowest estimate, but reasonably priced, and they were "fantastic":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13710 (interstate)
"peppy" posted in 6/07 that she had lots of friends who had used T&C for local moves and were very happy; she also said that T&C quoted her $180/hour for a local move, same as Commonwealth, whereas Moyer quoted $160/hour and Mighty Men $125/hour:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1462#91462 (local moves--secondhand report)
"NewMoover" posted an excellent review of T&C in 8/08 for a 2BR apartment move 100 miles over state lines:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 706#116706 (short-distance interstate)
-------------------------------------------
Rates for local moving
In 6/07, "peppy" (see above) posted that she got the following rates for a local move: $180/hour (Town and Country and Commonwealth), $160/hour (Moyer), $125/hour (Mighty Men):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1462#91462
Here's a useful thread from the summer of 2005 summarizing hourly rates for various local movers (Beltway, JK, and Town and Country all quoted $140-$170/hour; Sprint quoted $105/hour):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5710
See also the end of this post on "Virginia" for other local move rates quoted in 2006 and 2007:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7123#77123
Here's another informative post by "namllih" from December 2003 giving hourly rates--he ultimately went with Gulliver's and was pleased:
We've had four companies in for in-home estimates. All the in-home estimates have recommended 4 men to do the job. We're moving from a 2-bedroom high-rise apt to a 3-level townhouse.
JK Moving -recommended by our realty agent is the highest at $180/hr for 4 men and a truck; provided extensive copies of letters of priase from satisfied customers USDOT 1065394 MC 196957; seems to have good word of mouth
Gullivers Movers -found in the Arlington, VA community phone book quoted us $158/hr for 4 men and a truck; could not find on Safersys.org...
Thomas AAA Moving & Storage -found from the internet USDOT 390593 MC 221260 - $140/hr for 4 men & 2 trucks
Quality Service Movers -found in the Arlington, VA community phone book quoted us $160/hr (I think) for 4 men and a truck; USDOT 819924 MC 312495 safersys.org showed high out-of-service rates for these guys and I asked the sales rep and he of course told me the website has some inaccurate info on them which they are now following up on...
I was referred to Smooth Movers, Ryder Van Lines, Giant Van Lines (apparently known scammer) via www.123movers.com So I am leary of all the bunch that I found this way -although all these such companies quote rates at half the hourly rate $75 to $95 of those I've had for in-home estimates I don't think the risk is worth it. -
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=762
"weem" (working for a moving company in northeast MD) commented on the above that "Maryland is NOT regulated---4 man rates with agents for major van lines run $140 to $200 per hour.---movers a county removed cover that market at the lower rates usually."
-
MASSACHUSETTS - (Part 1)
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7647#57647
Massachusetts is a regulated state. The MA Department of Public Utilities/Transportation Division maintains a complaint database about in-state moves that is worth looking at although somewhat sketchy. To see it, go to this page and click on the "Movers" button at the upper left, then select the city in which the company is located - http://db.state.ma.us/dpu/qorders/frmTransportation.asp
Because MA is relatively small in terms of geographical area, the companies are simply listed alphabetically by van line.
Reviews and comments here indicate that people should avoid these companies with the
This company has the website www.bennysmoving.com. It might be OK for local moves but interstate moves are a different matter. See the following threads and posts for why. As of 3/15/11 this company had 5 complaints with the BBB.
"go4dau" had a horrible experience with them on a move from CA to Houston:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8529#48529 (interstate)
"Calobaby" posted that he had a horrible move with them from San Francisco to Boston - they picked up his things three weeks late:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3098#63098 (interstate)
"just moved Sally" described overcharging and a long delivery delay on a move from Phoenix to Nashville:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9445 (interstate)
AVOID this company, which has MC #536295. See these threads for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5586
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8439
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11628
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14079
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14687 (and embedded thread)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16909
AVOID this company, which has MC #508714, website www.juliansvanlines and phone 1-888-252-0770 or 617-795-1777. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14235 (reportedly connected with Majestic Van Lines - see below)
As of 3/15/11 this company had 24 complaints and an "F" rating with the BBB in the last 36 months.
AVOID this company, which has MC #517032, website www.louisvanlines.com - the owner is Louis Murat (apparently Haitian) - and phone 866-848-3127 or 617-276-9026. See these threads for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9534
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14651
AVOID this company, which has MC #541129. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8663 (especially the comments by "LooneyOne")
AVOID this company, which has the website www.michaelsmovers.com and MC #465895. See these threads for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11768
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11825
There are three review-type threads on Boston movers that people might find useful:
1. Here's a 6/05 thread where "bostontoseattle" was trying to decide between Humboldt (United), Rainbow (North American), Ayer (North American), and Duggan (Atlas) for a long-distance move - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4684 The person seemed to be leaning toward Rainbow but never came back with a final report.
2. Here's a useful post summarizing "neesieb's" impressions of many different companies before she settled on Rainbow for her 12/06 move to San Francisco with storage:
11/29/06 and 12/04/06 - My initial quotes for move prices were from
Carmel Movers, Hyde Park, MA - 4800lbs, Binding NTE rate of $3965.75 plus storage after an in-home estimate [See continued comments below.]
Isaac's Relocation Service, Brighton, MA - 4500 lbs, Non-Binding rate of $3250.52 (4700 lbs at $3372; 5200 lbs at $3607) after an in-home estimate [See continued comments below.]
Gentle Giant - which I have used and loved locally, but think it is not the wisest for long distance - 6295 lbs at $8195 with NO in home estimate
Olympic Moving and Storage, Watertown, MA - 5267 lbs, Non-Binding at $7500.34 after an in-home estimate.
Big Foot Moving - New local company that friends have used for local moves and thought highly of. The President Mike Bavuso came for an in-home estimate and seemed like a real straight-shooter. However, I don't get the sense that they do too many moves like mine and have to see what their final numbers are. [See continued comments below.]
Rainbow / North Am Van Lines (Jim McEnaney) - Very professional, pleasant, informative, answered my trillion questions politely, and actually early for the meeting (I was still in the shower!). Gave me a GNTE for 4630 lbs at 4076.22 (64 % discount) // 5240 lbs at 4519.02 (I am deciding whether to take a dining room set out with me which accounts for the variance in weight) plus insurance and packing materials costs and then agreed to discount the SIT at 68%. His est. weight was on the low side of the estimates I received so I liked the fact that he was willing to give a GNTE. And, I didn't need to pay up front.
Big Foot Movers - Contract out with Rainier Overseas - Gave an estimate for 5,000 lbs at $5150 pls a large insurance cost. Told me that Rainer didn't operate on the 400n tariff bc it wasn't a van line. Although the cost would have been close to Rainbow and I liked the guys I dealt with alot, I was nervous about using a local co that doesn't seem to have the track record of the major van lines. Also, the lack of the tariff made me nervous - not sure why though!
Wm. Duggan / Atlas - 5000 lb estimate at 64% discount plus SIT. Great service on the phone but I felt like the young pup sales rep was a little too slick and itching to get out of my house. Also, I didn't like the fact that he said my home required a shuttle when I moved in there without one and every other company said I didn't need one. Also, wouldn't do a GNTE estimate.
Humboldt / United - 6200 lb estimate at $8871.68 plus SIT. Met with Bill McRae. He was great - informative, polite, all that I could ask for. Only reason that I chose Rainbow is the GNTE at the lower weight.
Isaac's Relocation - Would be cheaper but lost comfort after reading this board.
Carmel Movers - same as Isaac's - and when I questioned them about the postings on this board. He got a bit defensive and tried to pull some funny numbers / acronoyms on me. That stopped when I reminded him that I was a prosecutor familiar with consumer protection laws. - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10612
3. In 6/08 "JULY" (moving an approximately 4500-pound shipment to DC) made a very useful post describing her experience with five reputable companies in the Boston area. She approached two independents (Big Foot and Gentle Giant) and three van line agents (Humboldt, Marathon, and Olympia) for quotes. In general, what happened was that the independents quoted significantly higher than the van line agents, probably because they would have had to send a dedicated truck to DC with only her shipment on it and no possibility of a return load (known as back-haul). Humboldt and Olympia, in particular, seemed more comfortable with doing her move to the DC area than the other companies. Gentle Giant was the least responsive of the five:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16593
Allied Van Lines agents
--ABC Moving and Storage (Allied) in Clinton.
This company also has an office in Hudson, NH, and in two other locations in New England. In Clinton it has the same street address as Allen and Coles (North American). (See discussion below under Allen and Coles for the relation between the two companies.) As of 3/15/11 this company had 1 complaints at the BBB in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. As of 8/06 its quality scores were at the high end of the "Meets Standards" range (4.21 where the range is 4.05 to 4.29).
"cambridgepittsburgh" gave ABC an excellent review, especially praising its sales rep (Lenny Stone), for a move to Pittsburgh including a 6'1" grand piano in 11/05. ABC self-hauled using its own straight truck and driver because the move was only 600 miles and it was the slow season, so no shuttle was needed and delivery was within 2 days:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6249 (interstate)
--Roger Sitterly & Son (Allied) in Springfield and South Deerfield.
This company has website www.sitterlymovers.com and the phone 800-533-1171. As of 3/15/11 it had an "A+" rating and 1 BBB complaint in the past 36 months.
--Wakefield Distribution (Allied) in Danvers.
This company has the phone 800-225-3688. As of 3/15/11 it had 1 BBB complaint in the past 36 months and a "B+" rating. Wakefield has been praised by people in the industry, including "PMueller"--working for an Allied agent in FL--who said that Wakefield self-hauls many of its own loads (desirable). As of 9/06 its overall quality score from the van line was 4.48 out of 5 ("excellent").
Someone who eventually went with Humboldt ("cow2215") was underwhelmed by the Wakefield estimator:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8419#48419
Atlas Van Lines agents
--A. Walecka & Son, Inc. (Atlas) in West Wareham.
This company has the website www.awalecka.com and the phone 800-221-2158. As of 3/15/11 it had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints in the past 36 months. Walecka won a quality award from the van line in 2005, 2006 and 2007 (Milton Hill Award). Among other things, this means that its "customer satisfaction" score was at least 4.10 out of 5.
One person ("protijy") used it for a move from Boston to San Diego and was very pleased:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5572 (interstate)
Someone else ("marin") praised its estimator but ultimately decided to move with Conlon (United):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3988
"Twinks99" moving VERY last-minute to CA posted in 5/07 that Brian Walecka (estimator) was "very thorough and professional," but decided to go with Paul Taylor (United) because of better scheduling:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13826
"rezf" gave Walecka a so-so review for his move to VA in 5/08--even though he paid for "exclusive" delivery, there were missing items and there was some damage (although he was compensated for the damage)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16130 (interstate)
--Wm Duggan Co., Inc. (Atlas) in Walpole.
This company has the website www.wmdugganco.com and the phone 800-561-4808. As of 3/15/11 it had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints in the past 36 months. This company was praised by "IMP" (a moving professional). It won a quality award from the van line in 2006 and 2007 (Milton Hill Award). Among other things, this means that its "customer satisfaction" score was at least 4.10 out of 5.
A person posting as "sdhughes" (real name Grace) was leaning toward Duggan for a Boston to Atlanta move, but unfortunately after initiating three threads she never came back to report. She remarked that the rep from Wakefield (Allied) promised that his company would self-haul the load in its own truck (desirable). Her threads contain a lot of useful discussion:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1425
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1472
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1513
Bekins Van Lines agents
--McKee's Moving and Storage (Bekins) in Weymouth.
This company has the website www.mckees-express.com and the phone 781-682-6200. "stayathomecristi" decided to go with them for an interstate move to VA but never came back to report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6603#46603 (interstate)
As of 3/15/11 the BBB was reporting that this company was out of business.
--Tobin & Sons (Bekins) in Peabody.
This company has the website www.tobinandsons.com and the phone 800-974-0400. As of 3/15/11 it had 4 BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and a rating of an "A+".
Somebody posted a very bad review of this company for a move to Phoenix. Tobin moved the items in a rented truck to its warehouse, then a van line driver picked them up and delivered them unprofessionally, and there was bad damage :
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0276#20276 (interstate)
Graebel service centers
--New England Movers (Graebel) in Wilmington.
Be careful because there is another New England Movers that is disreputable. This company has the phone number 978-983-3900. As of 3/15/11 it had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating.
"Dagny" used Graebel for a Boston to Palo Alto, CA move and was fairly well pleased, although he/she said that they greatly underestimated the weight so it was essential to have had a GNTE:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... =7305#7305
"sdhughes" (Grace) reported that its estimator gave her misinformation and badmouthed other van lines:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1442#11442
Mayflower Transit agents
--MAST Moving Systems (Mayflower) in Wakefield.
This company has the website www.mastmoving.com and the phone 800-797-4944 or 781-224-3200. As of 3/15/11 it had an "A+" rating and 0 BBB complaints in the past 36 months. Mentioned but no information.
--McLaughlin (Mayflower) in Lowell, Woburn and Randolph (also several locations in NH).
This company has the website of www.mcmoving.com. Moving industry people have spoken very highly of this company. Its HQ is in Nashua, NH and it has been a Mayflower agent since 1937. It won a Mayflower "Circle of Excellence" award in 2004 and many years previously. As of 2006, scores for its drivers, loading/delivery crews, and packing crews were all above average. Claims prevention scores were above average to excellent. The only below average score was for sales consultation/move coordinator. As of 3/15/11 McLaughlin had 2 BBB complaints in the past 36 months. People considering using this company might want to look at the comments about it under "New Hampshire" as well, because the complaints are somewhat different.
"Jag" used McLaughlin for a Boston to Atlanta move and posted in 7/04 that he was generally pleased, although he mentioned that communication was not great:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2069 (interstate)
--Mullen Moving and Storage Co., Inc. (Mayflower) in Pittsfield (also locations in New York State).
This company has the website www.mullenco.com. As of 3/15/11 it had 4 BBB complaints in the past 36 months, with an "F" rating for failure to respond to 2 complaints. Its customer satisfaction scores were said to be poor as of August 2005:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5583
A complaint on RipoffReport in 1/07 raises the possibility of Mullen giving a lowball estimate:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff228695.htm
--Plymouth Rock Moving and Storage, Inc. (Mayflower) in Pocasset.
This company has the phone 508-563-9533. As of 5/08 it had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months.
"stayathomecristi" negotiated with them for an interstate move. She had trouble getting a GNTE from the estimator (Marc) and ultimately decided not to go with them:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6603#46603 (interstate)
As of 3/15/11 the BBB is reporting that this company may be out of business.
--Scott Relocation Services, Inc. (Mayflower) in North Attleboro.
This company has the website www.scottrelo.com and the phone 508-643-4047. As of 3/15/11 this company had an "A+" rating and 2 complaints over the last 36 months.
"torres" got an estimate from them for a 17-mile 11,000-pound move and said they quoted by weight, but we don't know whether he went with them. He said they were the only company willing to come to his home to do the estimate:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=519 (local)
National Van Lines agents
--Edwards Movers (National) in Easton.
This company has the website www.edwardsmovers.com and the phone 781-767-0300 or 800-698-6683. As of 3/15/11 this company had 4 BBB complaints over the last 36 months and an "A" rating.
"smatwilly" (working for a NAVL agent in Maine) posted in 8/08 that this company and one of its drivers, John Nijeidlo , known as "Big John," did a great job on a very large intra-MA move for one of her accounts:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17066 (intra-state)
North American Van Lines agents
--Allen and Coles Moving Systems (North American Van Lines) in Clinton.
This company has the same street address as ABC (Allied) in Clinton. "Nancy" (works for NAVL) posted that it has a good reputation in the industry and has won awards from the van line. In 5/08, "bosoxfan" (banking professional familiar with the industry) posted that "ABC and Allen & Coles [are] owned by the same individual, Julian Coles. Mr. Coles has owned the North American agent for over twenty years (headquarters is in Portland, ME) and recently purchased the Allied agent. Since Allied and NAVL are sister companies - it made sense to use the same warehouse, but are independent of one another. I had the opportunity to meet Julian in 2005 - stand up individual. Either way you will receive a quality move from them.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 059#109059
"ophelia" (med student moving to TX) had a delayed shipment with this company. It was picked up on July 30 but sat in the warehouse for a while before it was eventually delivered on August 16. NAVL was overbooked and communication was poor, and she posted that the driver was from Roadway rather than NAVL. There are several threads describing her saga which make interesting reading and suggest that people should be prepared for delays if they have smaller loads going at the height of the moving season:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4889 (interstate)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5512
--Ayer Moving & Storage (North American) in Ayer.
This company has the website www.ayermoving.com and the phones 978-772-2558 or 800-233-MOVE. According to its website, it has been a North American agent since 1951. As of 3/15/11 this company had 0 BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating.
"bosoxfan" (banking professional familiar with the moving industry) strongly praised workers from this company for efficiently loading and taking his belongings to storage in the Ayer warehouse on a frigid day in 2000:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 767#108767 (intrastate with storage)
--Carroll the Mover (North American) in Quincy.
This company has the website www.carrollthemover.com and the phone 617-472-8040. As of 3/15/11 it had 0 BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating.
"bosoxfan" posted in 4/08 that Carroll would handle North American shipments from Chicago going to areas south of Boston while Rainbow or Sterling would handle shipments going to areas north of Boston.
There is a good report on Carroll by "cck02170" for a local move, although a NAVL driver told a MovingScam moderator that the company passed from one generation to another a few years ago and things changed for the worse:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5548 (local)
A VERY GOOD PERFORMER with at least 5 good reviews and no significant bad reviews as an origin agent posted on this website. Rainbow has the website www.rainbowmovers.com and the phone 800-922-1020. As of 3/15/11 it had an "A+" rating and 4 BBB complaints over the past 36 months. It was praised by "East Coast Mover" (a long-haul driver based in the Northeast now posting as "I-95"): http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5126 It was also recommended to a MovingScam moderator by a Wheaton driver in a Private Message as having good people and a nice, clean facility. "Rick" (industry expert) posted that Rainbow is "a good, solid company . . . They wouldn't have been two time winners of the North American Van Lines “Agent of the Year” and three time winners of the “Customer Quality Choice Award” for best overall quality and service excellence if they weren't.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 976#112976
Most reviews have also been very positive, although there is a bad report by "thomassit" (see below). Reportedly the company is headed by Tim McEnaney and other family members (Jim, Jon, and Erin) participate in the business.
"daria028" decided to go with them for a move from Boston to Kansas City and we are waiting for her report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7098 (interstate)
Her estimator was Jim McEnaney, who was praised by "EastCoastMover" (a NAVL driver based in the Midwest) as follows: "Jim is one of the owners (2nd generation) and is a real stand up guy....you should have no problems whatsoever":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1776#51776
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6417#76417
We have a very good review by "nerissw" for a Boston to San Francisco move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6606 (interstate)
"Going East to West" posted a very good review of Rainbow for a move from Providence (RI) to San Francisco:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7721 (interstate)
"stayathomecristi" posted a vague comment in 11/05 that she didn't have a good feeling about the Plymouth location for an interstate move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6603#46603
"boston-to-nyc" (Flo) gave Rainbow a rave review for her move to NYC, praising Jon McEnaney, who came to do the estimate. The estimate was reasonable and included two shuttles, and the driver picked up one day and delivered the next:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1654#61654 (interstate)
"chitoboston" posted that Rainbow provided the shuttle and workers to unload his Prager shipment in Boston, and they were excellent:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9610 (unloading labor)
"nojojojo" posted that Rainbow did a great job on his 1BR move to New York City in 2/07, giving him a GNTE, being "polite and professional" throughout, and delivering everything undamaged the next day:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11835 (interstate)
"mm78" reported a good 1400-pound move booked by Rainbow to Portland OR in 7/07 - Jon McEnaney was helpful when he did the estimate. He chose Rainbow because it had a 1000-pound minimum, lower than other companies:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14559 (interstate)
“thomassit” reported problems with his move to Minnesota in 11/07 involving poor communication, late pickup, and no compensation for late delivery - most disturbingly, the sales rep and the relocation manager apparently promised him things that they knew (or should have known) to be false:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15209 (interstate)
"johnnyk900" gave Rainbow a rave review in 2/08 for a (self-hauled) large move to Raleigh:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15581 (interstate)
In 4/08, "bostontochicago" posted an excellent report on her 4/07 move to Chicago, saying that Jim McEnaney was helpful and the loaders were good:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 940#106940 (interstate)
--Sterling (North American) in Lowell. (Also locations in MD, CT, RI, and VA.)
This company has been praised by people in the industry. There is a Sterling in FL that is disreputable, but the legitimate company in MA has the website www.navlagent.com/sterling and the phone 978-667-0044. We have no reviews of this branch as yet.
Paul Arpin Van Lines agents
--Liberty Moving and Storage (Arpin) in West Wareham.
This company has the website www.libertymovingandstorage.com and the phone 508-273-0395. As of 3/15/11 this company had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. It was recommended by "Glad to Help" (a person with many years in the industry):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1437#61437
--Paul Young in Braintree.
This company was praised by "East Coast Mover" (a long-haul driver based in the Northeast now posting as "I-95"):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5126
Someone posted a rave review of a May 2004 move with Paul Young from Boston to NYC. They sent 4 guys to pack a 1BR and delivered the next day:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0209#60209 (interstate)
- Massachusetts listings continued in the next post -
-
MASSACHUSETTS (Part 2)
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7649#57649
Stevens Worldwide agents
A VERY GOOD PERFORMER with at least 5 good reviews and no significant bad reviews posted on this website. This company's website at www.marathonmoving.com says that it functions as a Stevens Worldwide agent for interstate moves. However, it self-hauls every shipment going 600 miles or less using its own trucks and drivers (desirable), and even goes up to 1500 miles on occasion. At least for local and relatively short-distance interstate moves, it has an excellent reputation in the industry. As of 3/16/11 it had an "A+" BBB rating with 3 complaints over the past 36 months - Marathon is located at 129 York Avenue in Randolph with phone numbers 781-963-0322, 617-325-1832, and 617-969-5152. See the "For local moves" section at the end of this post for additional comments on Marathon.
One of the MovingScam moderators toured the facility in 2008 and met the owner of the company, Paul Nelson, and a couple of the drivers. Paul's wife also works at the company, doing inside sales and billing. The moderator was very favorably impressed by all of the Marathon personnel and by the warehouse and trucks.
"rassha" gave Marathon a very good review for a 10-mile within-state move in 8/06. The company charged $168/hour for 3 workers and a truck:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9255 (within MA)
"eoren1" (real name Eyal) posted that Marathon was "great" for his move in Jamaica Plain in 2006 and they also gave him a lower quote than Gentle Giant for a move to DC in 7/07--$3800 for 5700 pounds. He later posted that he used them to move to DC and the move was "awesome" with "impeccable service" and they even refunded $300 of his money:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13600 (local and later interstate)
"plonk" gave Marathon (and especially the driver, Mitsu) an excellent report for a move to DC in 10/07 including a plasma TV--they delivered the next day:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14566 (interstate)
"krawek" (real name Joseph Krawek) praised Marathon highly in 10/08 for his move to FL--"my belongings arrived on time and with no damage"
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 144#119144 (interstate)
United Van Lines agents
--Conlon (United) in Seeconk.
This company has the phone 508-336-7766. As of 3/16/11 it had 1 BBB complaint in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. Conlon's location may be convenient for people moving from Rhode Island (Providence and Portsmouth areas).
It has a rave review by "dazzla" for a move from RI to CA. He visited its office and warehouse and praises all the personnel there, including the estimator, Michael Carolla:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4995#34995 (interstate)
--Gallo Moving & Storage LLC (United) in Milford.
This company has the website www.gallomoving.com and the phone 800-777-4712 or 508-422-4400. Its website states, "Although we have only been in business for a short time, we can point to a long and proud history. We purchased the assets of S&M Moving Systems, who had purchased P.E. Burke, a long recognized leader in both quality and integrity in the Massachusetts moving industry. We still have storage accounts from P.E. Burke dating back to the early 1960’s in our warehouse." As of 3/16/11 this company had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A" rating.
A customer posted in 7/07 that that one of Gallo's sales reps used to work for Rainbow:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2956#92956
--F.B. Rich & Sons (United) in Pembroke.
"stayathomecristi" was underwhelmed by Rich's estimator for an interstate move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6603#46603
As of 3/16/11 this company had an "F" rating with the BBB and 2 complaints.
A VERY GOOD PERFORMER with at least 5 good reviews and no significant bad reviews as an origin agent posted on this website. This company has the website www.humboldt.com and the phone 781-821-8777 (24 hour number) or 800-225-9845. (It is very unusual, and very desirable, for a moving company to be reachable by customers 24/7.) Humboldt has DOT #363405 and MC #87541. It has been in business for more than 100 years, having started as an ice hauling business in Boston in 1905, and is now run by the grandson of the founder.
According to its website, Humboldt did 5900 moves in 2008 with its 23 trucks, generating revenue of $15 million that year. It is the largest United agent in greater Boston and does about 60% of all United work in the area. As of 3/16/11 , it had only 1 BBB complaint over the past 36 months, both resolved, and an "A+" rating --excellent in view of the large number of moves it does each year. Unlike most Boston moving companies, it has a strong international division, handling about 1500 international relocations a year. It is the third largest intentional shipper for UniGroup Worldwide.
People in the industry have spoken very highly of this company. For example, one person who works for a highly respected independent mover told a MovingScam moderator in a Private Message, "I must say that Humboldt is one of the most honest agents I have ever come across in the moving industry, and I would recommend them totally. They have the complete respect not only of their peers but also of their competitors. I can tell you that you could eat off their warehouse floor on a bad day and anyone who takes that good care of their warehouse all the time - let's just say that I think they pay attention to details - all of them!" Also, "Archie White" (owns a United/Mayflower agency in Atlanta) commented in 6/08 that he knows the owner, and "they are a long time agent for United, very well respected in the industry." - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 214#112214
Humboldt has a relatively large hauling fleet, which is desirable because it means that the company is more likely to self-haul the goods, which in turn minimizes the possibility of damage and delay. The company moved from Milton to a brand-new facility in Canton in 2000.
Humboldt's brand manager, Dan Komm, has helped develop several YouTube videos on Humboldt that people may find informative:
http://www.youtube.com/user/relaxandget ... rHqtB7TxRY (history of the company)
http://www.youtube.com/user/relaxandget ... uH259e6MW4 (warehouse)
http://www.youtube.com/user/relaxandget ... v4RJq0fY68 (international division)
There is a rave review posted by "cow2215" in 2/06 for a move from Boston to Northern CA, singling out the Humboldt sales rep, loaders, and driver (David Pike) for praise:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1930#51930 (interstate)
There is a good review by "ENugent" (an attorney) for a Boston to Seattle move in 1/05 - her only complaint was about the "flaky" move coordinator:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=26391 (interstate)
"cambridgepittsburgh" considered Humboldt for a move from MA to PA in 10/05 but ultimately went with ABC (Allied). He said that Humboldt was going to self-haul the move and the sales rep (Chris Clark) was very good:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6249 (interstate)
"dumbaussie" posted a rave review of Humboldt in 4/06 for its "just wonderful" help with an international shipment from Norway to the Boston area:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 5954#55954 (destination agent for international move)
"boston_to_TX" posted in 6/06 that Humboldt was the origin agent for a company-paid move by Armstrong Relocation to Houston - no special comment was made about Humboldt:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8682 (origin agent for interstate move)
Someone posted a bad review of a small move with Humboldt to CA in 8/06, mentioning bad packing with inadequate supplies available (and damaged items as a result) and overcharging with most charges eventually reversed by Humboldt, suggesting that it was Humboldt's error. The poster said that the sales rep and the Mayflower long-haul driver were good, however, so Humboldt probably deserves a pass on this one move that was apparently botched by the packing crew:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9730 (interstate)
"rachellech" posted a rave review of Humboldt for a move to Austin, TX, in 8/06, mentioning specifically David MacDonald (sales rep), Jacqui Yarrell (coordinator), Tim, AJ, Kevin, and Tony and his wife - she was more impressed by Humboldt than by Rainbow, although she said both were good:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9917 (interstate)
"prawlings" gave Humboldt an excellent review for a move to Utah in 9/06, praising the sales rep (Richard Merrill) and saying that he/she also liked Steven Goff of Rainbow but Humboldt's pricing was better. The truck driver and helper that picked up the shipment also delivered it (desirable):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8217 (interstate)
"KW" also gave Humboldt a rave review for a move to GA in 10/06, posting that both Jacqui (the coordinator) and Tony (the driver) were great:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0520#80520 (interstate)
"bostontompls" posted an excellent review of his small shipment to Minneapolis with Humboldt in 5/08, singling out Dave MacDonald (sales rep) and Jacqui (coordinator) for special mention. There was almost no damage and delivery was in 7 days:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16313 (interstate)
"JULY" moving to DC also noted Dave MacDonald's thoroughness and professionalism in 6/08, stating that as compared with estimators from other companies, "Dave seemed to offer me the most details about things without me having to ask." His GNTE estimate was also one of her two lowest and she chose Humboldt although she never came back with a final report on the move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16593 (interstate)
"ashishcn" posted in 7/08 that she had chosen Humboldt for her (self-hauled) move from Boston to NYC, and that Dave MacDonald was "great, very patient and very helpful," but again, she never came back with a final report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16989 (interstate)
"aus_to_bos" posted in 5/09 that they had used Humboldt for their previous move to Austin from Boston, and they loved the company:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18137 (interstate)
In 12/09 "cambos2008" praised Humboldt's estimator, Hal, for a move from Boston to Toronto--he chose Rainbow because its price was lower but there were problems with Rainbow's service and he later wished he had gone with Humboldt despite its higher quote:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 982#125982 (international move)
In 1/10, "nchica" posted that she was going with Humboldt for her move to Portland, OR - "Not only am I comfortable with their price, but they took my small move seriously, were EXTREMELY informative (I cannot emphasize this enough!) and professional," whereas Rainbow didn't even get back to her with a formal quote:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18931 (interstate)
"PGS" posted in 4/10 that she chose Humboldt for a move to Chicago mainly because of the estimator's outstanding communication and thoroughness:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 375#130375
She followed up in 6/10 with a rave review of Humboldt's performance and she was also pleased with Planes as the destination agent:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19431 (interstate)
"lettezilla" posted in 5/10 that she had chosen Humboldt for a move to Chicago based on reasonable price and responsiveness:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19283 (interstate)
"Vegas" posted in 6/10 that he had chosen Humboldt for a move to Los Angeles partly based on being impressed with its estimator Dave MacDonald:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19381 (interstate)
"amukh03" considered several companies for his/her move to NC in 7/10, but chose Humboldt because of its reasonable price, likely self-haul, and the professionalism of Dave MacDonald:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19499 (interstate)
--McCollister's Transportation Group, Inc. (United) in Boston.
This company is HQd in NJ and is one of United's largest agents, with 15 offices nationwide. "Rick" (industry expert) was lukewarm about them but it was unclear whether he meant this particular branch or McCollister's as a whole. "Fred0844" (works for United in Canada) stepped in to point out some of McCollister's strong points:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6260
As of 3/16/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with 1 complaint in the last 36 months.
--Paul W. Taylor Co., Inc. (United) in Wakefield.
This company's website is www.taylormoving.com. It was praised by "East Coast Mover" (a long-haul driver based in the Northeast now posting as "I-95"):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5126
It was also recommended by "Glad to Help" (a person with many years in the industry):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1437#61437
And it was praised in 2003 by "Bob Murphy" (former Mayflower driver) and by "Josh" (working for another United agent), who posted that its quality scores from the van line were very good overall:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... =1381#1381 (and following)
It is said to have a large hauling fleet (desirable, because it means that the company is more likely to self-haul the goods).
"onward" gave Paul Taylor a rave review for a 9/06 move from Cambridge to Pittsburgh - he was moved by an independent contractor for the company and was the only load on the truck:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10002 (interstate)
"ma2ca" posted an excellent report on a 9/06 move to the SF Bay area with Paul Taylor, singling out the long-haul driver (David) for praise:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10019 (interstate)
"ashishcn" posted that Paul Taylor's continental driver David Stanley was "phenomenal" on a move from CA to Boston in 2006, with a great work ethic:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16998 (hauling agent for interstate move)
David Stanley was chosen as household goods van line operator of the month for United in 11/04 and also in 6/06:
http://www.unitedvanlines.com/mover/uni ... 126-06.htm
As of 3/16/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
--T.E. Andresen, Inc. (United) in Salem and Salisbury.
Mentioned but little information. The company has the website www.andresenmoving.com. As of 3/16/11 they had an "A+" BBB rating with 0 complaints over the past 36 months.
Wheaton Van Lines agents
Note: Olympia [formerly Olympic] Moving and also Gentle Giant (which was also a Wheaton agent at the time; see below) told customers that they would use Rainier Transportation Systems to move goods in a container to the West Coast. This probably means that the container would be transported by rail, which is relatively inexpensive since there is no driver but can be undesirable because of the jouncing. People should be cautious about using such a service.
--Olympia [formerly Olympic] Moving and Storage, Inc. (Wheaton) in Watertown (also in Alexandria, VA).
Olympia has the website www.olympiamoving.com and the phones 800-220-4211, 800-222-4744, 617-782-8860, and 617-926-5555. There is a long discussion of this company on the following thread, where people noted that there is a disreputable company in IL with the name Olympic Moving and Storage: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4703 This company is completely unrelated to the one in IL. According to its website it was Wheaton Van Line's Agent of the Year for 2007 and it has a branch in VA (run by the owner's brother). A Wheaton driver told one of the MovingScam moderators that he thinks both branches are very good. Like several other moving company owners in the Boston area, the owners of the two branches of Olympia were originally workers for Gentle Giant. As of 3/16/11, the MA branch had 4 BBB complaints over the past 36 months, with an "A+" rating.
"Amazonia" posted that Olympic was recommended by Gentle Giant (which she liked) for long-distance moves:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... =6640#6640
"Drivingwest" (moving from Boston to San Francisco) posted that Olympic was going to use Rainier for his interstate move and the goods would be shipped in a container (see note above). He never posted whether he used Olympic, though.
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6581 (interstate)
"Michelle Recourt" posted a generally good review of her move with Olympic to VA in 7/05, saying that there was a little damage but claims were paid promptly and fairly, and the furniture repairman sent by the company was excellent. Olympic was recommended to her by Coldwell Banker and its quote was reasonable:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4703 (interstate)
"JULY" moving to DC posted in 6/08 that she liked the Olympia estimator, Kevin Doherty, who gave her a reasonable estimate comparable to Humboldt's. She mentioned that a woman at her law firm had used Olympia three times and was very pleased:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16593 (second-hand report on two local moves and one interstate move to DC)
Independent moving companies
A VERY GOOD PERFORMER with at least 5 good reviews and no significant bad reviews posted on this website. This company's website is www.bigfootmoving.com and its phone is 781-488-3090. Like many movers in the Boston area, the owner of the company, Mike Bavuso, used to work for Gentle Giant. Mike started Big Foot in 2003 and moved the company from Waltham to Arlington in 2007. Although Big Foot focuses on Boston-area and short-distance moves within MA, it is licensed for interstate moves (MC #500130). It does goes to nearby states as well as to Washington DC. As of 3/16/11 it had an "A+" rating with the BBB and 0 complaints over the last 36 months. www.safersys.org was listing 2 trucks and 4 drivers. Big Foot has a 12,000-square-foot warehouse.
"Shane" posted a very good review of his 100-mile move to CT with Big Foot in 6/07--the cost was $120/hour for 2 men and a truck vs. Marathon's quote of $155/hour for 3 men and a truck, and the hours came in under the estimate. In 12/07 he posted on the same thread that he had used them for the reverse move and they again performed well:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14101 (two short interstate moves)
"vlad" gave Big Foot a rave review for his move to Cincinnati in 5/08, noting that the owner was hands-on, the driver was college-educated, the crew packed his things with care, and there was absolutely no damage despite the fact that his things had been stored in Big Foot's warehouse for two months--"I felt as though they really cared about my stuff.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16181 (interstate with storage)
"rydog444" (a former driver for an independent mover) chimed in on the same thread that he had heard very good things about Big Foot from Clark & Reid, a high-quality independent in the Boston area.
"jcd2672" posted in 5/08 that Big Foot's owner, Mike Bavuso, was "very responsive and followed up on every aspect" on his move booked to VA more or less at the last minute. The driver and crew chief, Dave, was also "extremely efficient and easy to get along with." The cost was less than Gentle Giant's quote, delivery was two days after pickup, there was no damage, and it was "by far the best move I have ever been part of. A++":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 807#109807 (interstate)
Also in 5/08, "troche" (a real estate agent in Cambridge) reported having had a great local move with Big Foot after one of her clients had a "terrific" experience with them:
"Not only did they do a wonderful job but the crew [Nick, Tyler, Lorenzo] was a pleasure to spend the day with and very professional. . . . Not one item was scratched ...and I had a few precious pieces of furniture and large glass items to be moved. My couch would not fit through the doors - they expertly moved it out of the second floor porch larger windows without missing a beat. While moving in to the new place...prior to storing items in the garage I looked out to see one of the crew sweeping the garage for me - thanks Nick! And the icing on the cake was that the dryer hose did not make the trip, and the company President, Mike Bavuso, made a special extra trip to personally help me hook up a new hose - on a Saturday late afternoon to boot - so I could get laundry started. Unbelievable...and definitely "above & beyond" my expectations!!!!" - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16319 (local plus a good report on a client's local move)
In 6/08 "JULY" moving to DC posted that she liked Big Foot's estimator, Jim Cronin ("a very nice man") although she eventually went with a different company:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 750#111750
A VERY GOOD PERFORMER with at least 5 good reviews for local moves on this website and no bad reviews. Note: we have no reviews of this company for longer-distance moves (see below). Gentle Giant (unrelated to the Atlas agent of the same name in Los Angeles) has an excellent reputation in the industry. It became a Wheaton agent in 2004, although as of 5/06 it was no longer listed as such. It is said to be expensive, but it has some very good comments on local moves in several posts (almost all were quoting hearsay, however):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... =1566#1566 (local)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... =1482#1482 (local)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... =6643#6643 (local)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... =8766#8766 (local)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... =8905#8905 (local)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8038#18038 (local)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3182#33182 (local)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2952#52952 (local)
One of the MovingScam volunteers spoke with them about an interstate move in 2004 and concluded that they were not really equipped to do such moves:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... =8765#8765
Several people such as "cambridgepittsburgh" (with around 9,000 pounds!) posted that they would not come to the residence to do an estimate for an interstate move, and a couple of people posted that Gentle Giant said it was going to use Rainier Transportation Systems for such moves (see note above on Olympia Moving). In addition, "cambridgepittsburgh" posted that in October 2005 that Gentle Giant asked him/her to submit an inventory list for a 600-mile move to Pittsburgh and was very slow in getting back to her with an estimate:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6249 (interstate)
"boston-to-nyc" (Flo) posted in June 2006 that GG gave her a high estimate based on her inventory list for a move to NYC and required a deposit - she went with Rainbow instead:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1654#61654
HOWEVER: The marketing director at Gentle Giant came on the messageboard in May 2006 to say that they now have their own interstate licensing authority and they use their own trucks and drivers to move shipments interstate. "Gentle Giant provides end-to-end services (our full-time employees load, drive, and unload the shipment) to anywhere in the US." She said that they use Rainier only for some international shipments. This is her post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8291
In 5/06 a MovingScam moderator confirmed this independently with an industry person, Marshall Aikman of Amazing Moves in Denver. Marshall worked for Gentle Giant as a crew chief for about 8 years and he says that GG is now fully equipped to do interstate moves. They have tractor-trailers and their drivers come through Denver frequently. Nevertheless, reviews here show that independent companies (even reputable ones like Gentle Giant, JK Moving in VA, and Big John's in NYC) sometimes get into trouble when they try to move people crosscountry. The driver may be unable to find unloading help, the cost may be high because the company has no van line to help it find return loads, and there can be delays while the company tries to find enough loads to fill the truck at origin. People should be cautious about using such companies for very long-distance moves.
Nevertheless, GG was recommended by "Glad to Help" (a person with many years' experience in the industry) for a move from MA to PA:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1437#61437
"ligeti42" posted in 6/07 that although they were somewhat pricey, she had had "exceptional" experiences moving locally with Gentle Giant:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13946 (local moves)
Consistent with cautions above about using GG for very long-distance moves, "mm78" reported in 8/07 that GG, despite having a great reputation for local moves, was very slow to respond to his/her request for a quote on a small move to OR and would not do an in-residence estimate:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14559
As of 3/16/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 2 complaints over the last 36 months.
This company also has a branch in Philadelphia with MC #270660 and - at least formerly - in CA, under the name Super Movers:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2048#42048
BE CAUTIOUS about using this company, which has MC #272369. See these posts for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8269#58269
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2869#82869
It may be all right for local moves, but probably not for long distance moves. As of 3/16/11 it had 10 BBB complaints over the past 36 months and its driver out-of-service record was much higher than average, showing rules violations and a non-English-speaker driving a tractor-trailer in GA.
--Julian Wright Moving Company in Belmont/Cambridge.
This company has been highly praised by people in the industry. It is no longer a Graebel agent as of 2006. As of 3/16/11 it had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. Do not confuse with the dubious company Julian's Van Lines in Brighton.
"Lynne" was set to use this company for a move from Boston to Philadelphia (she said they were going to self-haul her shipment), but she never came back to tell us how it went: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1594
"ENugent" also looked at Julian Wright and the company told her that it would be both the origin and destination agent for a move from Boston to Seattle, i.e. her shipment would not be transferred from one truck to another. This happened in November, in the off season.
BE CAUTIOUS about using this company, which has the phone number 617-491-7700. As of 3/16/11 it had an "F" BBB rating with 7 complaints over the past 36 months, so this fits with "rosiet's" report on them below. She said she had one good move with them and then one not-so-good move. Nick's is apparently not licensed to do interstate moves. It's probably safest not to use this company for anything other than a local move.
--Precision Moving Company (independent) in Somerville.
This company has MC #557376, website www.precisionmovingcompany.com and phone 617-623-7700. As of 3/16/11 it had 17 excellent, seemingly genuine reviews on www.yelp.com and no BBB complaints over the past 36 months. It is listed on www.safersys.org as having 2 trucks and drivers.
"researchvet" looking into the company for her move to Philadelphia in 5/08 posted that the sales rep was pleasant and gave her a very reasonable Binding estimate as well as a promise of same-day delivery, although the office person acted a bit miffed when she asked for the "Binding" part to be put in writing:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16347
--Roadrunner Moving & Storage, Inc. (independent) in Charlestown.
This company has MC #29262 and the website www.roadrunnerworldwide.com. Do not confuse it with the dubious or scam companies with the same name in CA and TX. See this thread for a discussion - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2562
Roadrunner has two excellent Yelp reviews from 2007 and 2008 on this page:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/roadrunner-movi ... ery:movers
As of 3/16/11 it had an "A+" BBB rating with 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
"heath17" gave Roadrunner-MA a rave review for her move to Dallas, which was a self-haul and very well priced:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8853 (interstate)
"Tim" posted a rave review of Roadrunner-MA for his move to Charlotte, NC, saying that transit time was only 3-4 days:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0437#70437 (interstate)
Comments on this website suggest that people should BE CAUTIOUS about using this company, which has MC #623045, the website www.stairhoppers.com and the phone 857-928-0876. As of 3/16/11, Stairhopper had no BBB complaints over the past 36 months. However, in 6/08 it was alleged that a Stairhopper review on Citysearch.com was stolen from a testimonial on another company's website:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16547 (bottom of p. 2)
Followup research by a MovingScam moderator showed that at least four Stairhopper reviews - three on Citysearch and one on Yelp.com - are virtually identical to reviews of other companies posted elsewhere, including Simonik (Allied). See this post:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 153#112153
For local moves
Marshall Aikman of Amazing Moves in Denver worked for Gentle Giant as a crew chief for about 8 years and knows many people in the Boston moving industry. He told a MovingScam moderator in 5/06 that in his opinion, Gentle Giant and Marathon Moving Company are tops for local moves in the Boston area. He felt that GG might be somewhat more expensive than MM because of its higher overhead with 8-9 satellite locations. However, he said that both companies are excellent. He also recommends Big Foot Moving & Storage in Waltham, a small company where he knows the owner. He does not recommend either Nick's or Benny's.
"gosox" posted in 2006 that he was set to go with Marathon Moving for his local move:
GG quoted me $165/hr for two guys and a truck, compared to $110 for MM. Also, MM doesn't charge for travel to and from their base, whereas GG does. One thing that impressed me about both companies was that they thought to tell me that I'll need a moving van permit to park on the street in Cambridge on moving day, and provided all the instructions to get one. They were the only two companies to do that, which shows that they're committed to doing things right. - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9263#59363
"ligeti42" was quoted the following rates to load an ABF truck in Cambridge in 7/07:
The GG $141/hour is for two movers. FYI, I see now that Marathon's $150 rate is for three. - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2328#92328
"Philippe" summarized rates and hours estimates for his local move in 2004 for (I believe) a 3-man crew:
Here are the quotes that I got:
- Nick's (Somerville): $170 / hour (appr. time: 4 hours)
- Marathon Movers: $140 / h (appr. time: 5 to 7 hours) / $100 deposit
- Gentle Giant: between $178 and $204 / h (depending on date) + $70 for parking permit from City of Boston ($20 if you go and request it on your own): 2-hour minimum, appr. time was 3-4 hours
- Humboldt Moving: $186 / hour (4-hour minimum)
- Benny's (the one I went for eventually): $99 / hour (crew of 3; appr. time: 3 1/2 hours). Total actual time was 3 hours and 40 minutes (close) and the final bill included $8 extra of shipping supplies. Very reasonable.
In local moves, time is of the essence of course because the longer the move, the more you pay. That is why I indicated the approximate times for doing the job that I got from the moving companies when I called them. - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0860#20860
"rosiet33" (a resident of Boston) posted the following in 2004:
Marathon Movers was highly recommended on the Arlington list - a local bulletin board for Arlington (www.arlingtonlist.com). I used Nick's (somerville) a couple of times - once was terrific, once was so-so (not enough manpower, and I thought one guy's knees were going to give out on the spot!) Last time I moved I used Benny's Moving & Storage in Watertown. They were suspiciously cheap, but turned out great. - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6511#16511
-
MICHIGAN
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7650#57650
Comments and reviews on this website indicate that people should AVOID the following companies with
AVOID this company. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3182
AVOID companies with these names, which are aliases being used by Modern Moving (MC #583193) as of 11/06. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10472
AVOID this company. See these posts for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... =4386#4386
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9187
"Eric" posted, however, that he and his family used them for several local moves between 1997 and 2001 and were pleased. He said that they used to be an agent for American Red Ball:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0794#50794
AVOID this company with website www.unionmoving.com. It scammed someone:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3687
Here is a website run by a labor company in Lansing, MI that has reviews of various Michigan moving companies, mostly small ones - http://www.professional-moving.com/cate ... y-reviews/ MovingScam.com has not verified the reliability of the judgments on this website but it might be worth a look.
DETROIT AREA
"Eric" posted that a sales rep from White Star (Mayflower) told him that all of the major van line agents in the Detroit area have pretty good reputations.
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1460#61460
Someone in the industry said that this was because of the presence of large auto makers (and their accounts) in the Detroit area.
Allied Van Lines agents
--Morse Moving & Storage (Allied) in Detroit (also in Traverse City and Mount Pleasant).
As of 9/06, Morse had an overall quality score from the van line of 4.46 ("excellent"). As of 5/08 this company had 15 BBB complaints in the past 36 months. As of 3/31/11, that number had reduced itself to 5 complaints over the last 36 months.
"Eric" gave them a rave review for his company-paid move from MI to IL:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0709#50709 (interstate)
--Rose Moving and Storage (Allied) in Dearborn.
"Rick" (industry expert) posted that they own about 20 enclosed and open auto transporters and can transport autos as well as household goods: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3328#53328 Another industry person told a MovingScam moderator in 2010 that they do very little moving of household goods; they are primarily an auto hauler and offie mover. As of 9/06, Rose's overall internal quality score - 4.37 out of 5 - put it in the "very good" category and its drivers' scores were in the "excellent" category.
"Lady" (moving to Houston on a company-paid move) said in 1/07 that she was underwhelmed by Rose's estimator, who she felt was inexperienced: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10913
Atlas Van Lines agents
--DMS Moving Systems, Inc. (Atlas) in Canton (also in Birmingham, AL).
This company with phone number 800-521-5225 was highly recommended by "Michael" (he worked for DMS for a year). It won a prestigious award from the van line in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 (Milton Hill Award). As of 3/31/11 this company had no complaints at the BBB in the past 36 months.
We have one very good review by "billnthelma" for a move to NC, mentioning the sales rep (Brian Robinson) and the Atlas driver (Randy Marcum): http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9515#49515 (interstate)
"Eric" also posted saying that his brother moved with DMS from MI to MO and was very happy with the move: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0770#50770 (interstate)
"brionjlock" gave DMS Birmingham a rave review for a move from Birmingham to Atlanta, particularly praising the driving team and crews. They were careful and took pride in their work--"words cannot describe the incredible job they did.": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2103#62103 (interstate)
This is the second rave report we have had on DMS Birmingham drivers. "amoorthy" praised Glenn Knox (driver #642) and his wife, who were the haulers for her move from Seattle to NJ: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7924#27924 (interstate)
"bruin1996" gave DMS an excellent review in 2/07 for a move from Ann Arbor to New York City--the only surprise was that they charged $625 for third-party crating and uncrating of his 50" plasma TV, but he was still under his moving expense allotment: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10556 (interstate)
"tizzylizz" also gave DMS an excellent review for an 8/07 employer-paid move to North Carolina--she got three estimates and reported that the sales reps from Corrigan and Palmer were also very professional: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6564#96564 (interstate)
--Imlach Movers, Inc. (Atlas) in Trenton (has branches in Dallas and San Antonio, TX).
This company won a quality award from the van line in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 (Milton Hill award). Among other things, this means that its "customer satisfaction" score was at least 4.10 out of 5. As of 3/31/11 this company had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months.
"Lady" (moving to Houston on a company-paid move) was leaning toward Imlach in 1/07 - they gave her a GNTE of $4600 for 5380 pounds including a car: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10913 (interstate)
Bekins Van Lines agents
Someone in the industry told a MovingScam moderator in 2010 that Bekins has only a very small presence in the Detroit area.
AVOID this company. "Michael" (worked in the Detroit area for about 6 years) posted that "Bekins quality was horrendous most of the time.": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7198#47198 As of 5/08 this company had 9 BBB complaints in the past 36 months. As of 3/31/11 this had decreased to 4 complaints over the last 36 months.
--Midwest Moving and Storage (Bekins).
Mentioned but no information.
Graebel service centers
Someone in the industry told a MovingScam moderator in 2010 that Graebel has only a very small presence in the Detroit area.
--Graebel Michigan Movers, Inc. (Graebel) in Canton.
The general website for Graebel is www.graebel.com and this office has the phone 734-416-2020 or 800-383-0500. As of 5/08 this company had 1 BBB complaint in the past 36 months. Mentioned but no information.
As of 3/31/11, the BBB reported that this company was no longer in business.
Mayflower Transit agents
--Premier Relocations LLC (Mayflower) in Novi, Ann Arbor, and Grand Rapids.
This company has the website www.premier-mayflower.com and the phone number 800-863-5161. As of 3/31/11 this company had no BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating. Good comments from industry people, one of whom reported that Premier is a large, quality agent serving a big portion of Michigan with several warehouses. Corrigan (United) has owned Premier since 2002, but has kept it as a Mayflower agent: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6259#66259 (and following)
"Rick" (industry expert) posted that most of Premier's management and drivers have worked for Corrigan, which has excellent reviews and comments here: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8751#78751
"nabordawg" posted an excellent report on Premier-Novi in 10/08 for his move to Tulsa: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17463 (interstate)
--White Star Movers (Mayflower) in Sterling Heights.
"Rick" (industry expert) posted that White Star is a fairly new Mayflower agent (formerly independent). It has the website www.whitestarmovers.com and the phone 586-977-0400. As of 3/31/11 it had 4 BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and an "A" rating.
"Michael" posted that when he worked in Michigan in 2001, White Star operated out of a public storage facility - he felt that it and All Around Moving (Bekins) were best avoided: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8366#78366
However, "moverchick" (manager of White Star's new location in Naples, FL) came on to correct Michael by saying that White Star owns a public storage facility but it does not operate out of one. She added that the MI location has the Mayflower Regional Fleet Driver of the Year, Michael Davis: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8522#78522
In 2010 another industry person confirmed to a MovingScam moderator that White Star is a quality operation and does not operate out of a public storage facility.
North American Van Lines agents
--Palmer Moving & Storage Col (North American) in Ann Arbor and Warren (also a location in Ohio).
This company has the website www.palmermoving.com and the phone 586-834-3400. This large carrier formerly had a contract with the University of Michigan to move office equipment and employees' household goods. As of 3/31/11 it had 3 BBB complaints in the past 36 months, and a rating of an "A+".
"Eric" (moving to NC) and "Michael" (worked for Atlas in NC) both posted that Palmer is a good company: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8835
--University Moving & Storage Co. (North American) in Ann Arbor (also in Grand Rapids and Farmington Hills, plus Indianapolis and two locations in Ohio). As of 3/31/11 this company had 1 complaint in the last 36 months, and an "A-" rating.
This company has the phone 734-662-2783. In 1/08 it was praised by "smatwilly" (works for a NAVL agent in Maine), who said that it is large and self-hauls a lot of its shipments (desirable): http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 261#102261
Stevens Worldwide Van Lines agents
--Stevens Worldwide in Waterford.
As of 3/31/11 this company had 25 complaints at the BBB in the past 36 months. No reviews, but favorable remarks by "MusicMom" (MovingScam moderator). "Rick" (industry expert) posted that "the Waterford location is the largest of their six wholly owned branch offices located in Michigan and Ohio. About 30 over-the-road drivers operate out of this office.": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0772#50772
He added that "Stevens has been servicing the AA market for more than twenty years with locations in Waterford, MI and Toledo, OH. Both have very good quality scores. Of all the potential choices listed [Corrigan, Midwest, White Star, Morse], they have the largest hauling fleet.": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1387#41387
He stated further that Stevens is "a mid-sized van line based in Saginaw, Michigan. They have held their interstate operating authority uninterrupted since 1976. The company celebrated their 100th anniversary last year. Stevens is a recommended provider for both the U of M and their alumni association.": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 5987#65987
"Velociraptor" posted that they offered to move his car to FL for about $1000 in the same trailer with his household goods (rather unusual): http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7441
United Van Lines agents
A VERY GOOD PERFORMER with at least 5 good reviews and no significant bad reviews as an origin agent on this website. This company has the website www.corriganmoving.com and the phone numbers 513- 759-6000 or 800-543-4977.
Only the Farmington Hills, Bay City, and Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo locations are listed by the BBB. As of 3/31/11 the Farmington Hills and Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo locations had an A+ BBB rating with only a total of 4 BBB complaints in the past 36 months, all resolved or administratively closed (excellent for a company with 186 trucks that reportedly does about 10,000 moves a year). As of 3/31/11 Corrigan had no complaints listed on www.protectyourmove.gov and one of its offices won a 2009 Customer Choice Award from United Van Lines for having the highest customer satisfaction rating among agents. It has one complaint on RipoffReport but this appears to have been an unintentional service failure and the General Manager, Nate Corrigan, came on the website to offer to make amends.
Corrigan was highly recommended by "Michael," who worked for the Farmington Hills branch for 5 years. He felt they are better than Morse (Allied): http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1408#21408 Michael also commented that "they were United Van Lines very first winner of the prestigious President Quality Award, they have been in business since 1927 and are family owned, with 13 locations in Michigan, Ohio, and Chicago.": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=464#464
"ArchieWhite" (owns a Mayflower/United agency in Atlanta) posted in 6/07 that "Corrigan is one of United Van Lines' top agents. Paul Corrigan, the owner, is the chairman emeritus of United Van Lines/Mayflower, there is not a more honorable man in the world, much less moving world...": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0224#90224
The company is still run by members of the Corrigan family.
"Witkacy" was impressed by the Ann Arbor branch and was set to move with them to KS but never came back to report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2291#42291 (interstate)
"Glitzy" posted a good preliminary report on an Ann Arbor employee named Tina, who scheduled an estimate for his move to GA: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7978 (interstate)
"Newguyfrommi" ultimately decided to move himself to Indianapolis in a Penske van but praised the Ann Arbor branch highly for professionalism in the pre-move process: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7995 (interstate)
"Eric" gave Corrigan a rave review for his move to Raleigh, NC, in 6/06. Even though his things had to be transferred from one trailer to another and there was minor damage, he said that the driver (Chris) was excellent. He also noted that Corrigan charged only half as much for boxes as his local U-Haul: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8995 (interstate)
"dave_261" gave Corrigan an "8 out of 10" for his move to Raleigh, NC in 8/06. His move was booked through Consumers Relocation (AAA) by East End Moving in Rochester, NY, which is owned by Corrigan. Delivery was very fast and there was only very minor damage. The only glitch was that Dave wasn't notified of a firm pickup time until the afternoon of the day before his move: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9596 (interstate)
"mi2kshop" posted that there was an overflow situation with his 8/06 move to the DC area so items had to be picked up later, and then the final bill was $1000 more than it should have been. However, Corrigan corrected the billing error. He gave the company a B-/C+ overall. However, Corrigan may have been just the booker and not the hauler, in which case the van line bears some responsibility for the problems:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9538 (interstate)
"a2marina" gave Corrigan-Ann Arbor a rave review for her move to CA in 6/08 - "great customer service": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16760 (booking agent for interstate move)
"A2socworker" posted very complimentary remarks about a Corrigan-Ann Arbor rep in 7/08. Although the rep knew that he wasn't going to get the move (to Chicago) because of shuttle costs, he still took time to go through the residence and give a weight estimate plus helpful moving recommendations, including information about other companies like Men on the Move and Two Men and a Truck: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 117#113117
"jamcracker" reported a bad experience on his move booked by Corrigan-Farmington Hills to NC in 8/08 - boxes of fragile electronics were turned on their sides and heavy book boxes were loaded on top, so there was damage at delivery. However, he said that Corrigan's estimator and office staff were very professional and it was the driver sent by the van line who loaded the shipment, not Corrigan: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17106 (origin agent on interstate move)
In 7/09 "michigantrumpet" gave Corrigan a very good review for his move from Ann Arbor to CA - the rep was Steve Vigo and the driver was Dave Hudson: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18369 (origin agent for interstate move)
"newjobinMA" posted in 7/10 that Corrigan did a basically good job as the booker for his move from PA to NH, although there was an initial communications problem. Corrigan had the account for his employer-paid move and McCollister's in NJ was the origin agent with Diggins & Rose in NH as the destination agent: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19546 (booking agent for interstate move)
--Frisbie Moving & Storage Company (United) in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Saginaw.
This company has the website www.frisbiemoving.com and the phone 313-837-0808. As of 3/31/11 the company had an "A+" rating with 2 complaints with the BBB in the last 36 months.
"medstud2005" and two other people posting on the thread below said that they were going to go with Frisbie for an interstate move in the summer of 2005, but none of them ever came back to report: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4385
On the same thread, "Michael" (worked for Atlas in NC) said that he thought Corrigan was much better than Frisbie. However, Frisbie gave "medstud2005" his lowest quote.
Independent moving companies
--Handle With Care Moving & Delivery (independent) in Ann Arbor.
This company with MC #359936 has the website www.hwcmd.com and the phone 734-677-2000. As of 3/31/11 it had an A+ BBB rating with 1 complaint (resolved) in the past 36 months and 1 complaint on www.protectyourmove.gov (from 2009).
"deliotb" gave this company a very good review for a move to New York City, saying that they were low-cost. The only downside was that the workers didn't speak English well and didn't do a proper inventory, but nothing was lost. This post gives other information about the company: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8770 (interstate)
--Men on the Move-Ann Arbor (independent) in Westland (Ann Arbor area).
This company has MC #342891 and phone 734-729-6683. As of 3/31/11 it had an "A+" BBB rating and no complaints in the past 36 months.
Someone moving from Ann Arbor to Indianapolis got what he considered a ridiculously high Internet quote from them and ruled them out: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7995
However, they were recommended by Corrigan in 7/08 for a move to Chicago where there was no access for a tractor-trailer, because they run smaller trucks: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 117#113117
--Two Men and a Truck (independent) in Ann Arbor and Novi.
Not much information. In 2010 an industry person told a MovingScam moderator that its quality is hit or miss. For example, in his opinion Novi is not bad but Ann Arbor is poor. Advertises that it does interstate moves, but probably shouldn't be used for long interstate moves.
GRAND RAPIDS AREA
Atlas Van Lines agents
--Powell Relocation Group (Atlas) in Grand Rapids.
This company won a quality award from the van line in 2005, 2006 and 2007 (Milton Hill Award). Among other things, this means that its "customer satisfaction" score was at least 4.10 out of 5. As of 3/31/11 the company had and "A+" BBB rating with 1 complaint over the last 36 months.
"kurubus" moving to CA in 8/07 gave high marks to Powell's sales rep Chad but went with Woodworth (Allied) because of scheduling issues: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14714 (interstate)
--Weller Transfer, Inc. (Atlas) in Kalamazoo.
This company has the website www.wellertransfer.com and the phone numbers 269-342-5064 or 800-648-9228. As of 3/31/11 this company had an "A+" rating with the BBB and 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
Its packing crew did an excellent job for "Gaviidae" on her shipment to the Netherlands in 8/07, using plenty of high-quality packing material and building crates as needed, preventing damage: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14450 (packing for international shipment)
United Van Lines agents
--Corrigan Moving Systems (United) in Grand Rapids.
This company has the phone 800-829-0940. See remarks on Corrigan under "Detroit area."
Independent moving companies
--Two Men and a Truck (independent) in Kalamazoo [Legal name is Koho Inc.].
This branch of Two Men - www.twomen.com - has MC #418644 and the phone number 269-488-6683. As of 3/31/11 it had had only 1 BBB complaint over the past 36 months. Its General Manager was listed there as Trent Kissell and its owners as Kent and Heidi Norcutt.
"wyoluvr" gave them a very good review for unloading an ABF truck in 2005 - "very efficient and polite" - and was considering using them again in 2007 to move a 1BR apartment to Ohio:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14501 (unloading help)
LANSING AREA
Allied Van Lines agents
--Woodworth Moving & Storage, Inc. (Allied) in Jackson (also in South Bend, IN).
This company has the website http://www.alliedagent.com/woodworth and the phone 517-787-9330 or 800-822-3883. Its website says that it was founded by the great-grandfather of the present owner in 1907.
"kurubus" gave Woodworth and Allied Van Lines a very good report (3.5/4) for his move to CA in 8/07--he rented a Budget truck to give the Allied driver Larry M. better access and helped unload:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14714 (interstate)
North American Van Lines agents
--B&J Moving (North American) in Lansing.
This company received a top quality award from the van line (Customer Choice award, which is based on customer surveys) in 2006. As of 3/31/11 this company had an "A+" rating with the BBB and 0 complaints over the last 36 months. No other information.
NORTHERN MICHIGAN (UPPER PENINSULA)
North American Van Lines agents
--Guindon Moving and Storage (North American) in Escanaba and Negaunee.
This company's phone numbers are 800-562-1075 and 800-628-0927. According to a company press release in 2/06, Guindon has overall quality scores in the "excellent" category based on booking, origin services, and hauling scores received from customers. The Escanaba office received a top quality award from the van line (Customer Choice award, which is based on customer surveys) in 2006.
"LynnA" gave Guindon a very good report on her shipment to AZ, saying she chose them partly because people had told her they did a good job on local moves:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8110 (interstate and local)
United Van Lines agents
--Escanaba Moving Systems (United) in Escanaba.
This company has the website www.escanabamoving.com and the phone 906-786-8205 or 800-433-1537. As of 3/31/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with no complaints over the last 36 months.
"rozh1" gave this company a very good review in 3/08 for booking her move from Los Angeles to MI, mentioning especially the sales rep Anna Norman. Gemini (United) was the origin agent and a van line driver hauled it:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 897#105897 (booking agent for interstate move)
Wheaton Van Lines agents
-- Frank the Mover (Wheaton) in Gwinn.
Mentioned but not much information. This company got a quality award from the van line in 2004.
-
MINN ESOTA
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7652#57652
Allied Van Lines agents
--Berger Transfer & Storage (Allied) in Roseville (Minneapolis/St. Paul area).
Berger is the largest Allied agent, so large that it is almost a van line in its own right. It has offices in a lot of major cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte, Houston, and Roseville, its HQ. It self-hauls a large percentage of the shipments it books. According to "PMueller" (working for another Allied agent), it is known within the van line for providing good quality for a fair value. It has a large number of corporate accounts but also services COD customers. In 9/06 this particular office of Berger Transfer had an overall internal quality score from the van line of 4.48 out of 5 ("excellent"). As of 4/5/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with 3 complaints over the last 36 months.
"ncolt" posted a very good review of his move to Houston with Berger in 4/07. It was a self-haul and damage was almost nonexistent. Berger charged only about $5000 (including a full pack and full valuation coverage) to move more than 8000 pounds 1200 miles:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7224#87224 (interstate)
--Piepho Moving & Storage, Inc. (Allied) in Eagan.
Agent for Allied Van Lines since 1952. They have four locations throughtout Minnesota and Wisconsin, and are currently employing 100 full time workers. As of 11/22/11 Piepho in Eagan was ranked 10th in the Allied Van Lines hauling fleet, and had an overall quality score from the van line of 4.5 out of 5. In addition, they have won the Allied "Apex" award for excellence for 15 or more years, as well as the "Customer for Life" award for quality. As of 11/22/11 this company had 0 BBB complaints over the last 36 months, but no rating. This could reflect that the BBB is currently re-rating the company.
Atlas Van Lines agents
--Ace Worldwide Moving (Atlas) in Roseville.
As of 4/5/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints in the last 36 months.
"sleepingkerri" decided to use Ace for her small move from Minneapolis to Chicago. She reported that they were "good but not great"--oddly, they made no inventory list and did not present any official weight tickets--but her things arrived undamaged 4 days later:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7934 (interstate)
--Action Moving Services, Inc. (Atlas) in Burnsville.
This company got a quality award from the van line in 2006 and 2007 (Milton Hill Award). Among other things, this means that its "customer satisfaction" score was at least 4.10 out of 5. As of 4/5/11 this company had an "A+" rating with the BBB and 3 complaints over teh last 36 months.
"puzzleengineer" (a driver for National Van Lines) posted that Action helped him get very polite, careful helpers on short notice over the 7/4/06 holiday:
http://householddrivers.com/PHP-Nuke/mo ... opic&t=302
"gatorinmn" gave them a rave review for a short local move in 8/07:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14650 (local)
--Alexander's Mobility Services (Atlas) in Bloomington.
This company got a quality award (Milton Hill Award) from the van line in every year from 2004 through 2007. Among other things, this means that its "customer satisfaction" score was at least 4.10 out of 5. As of 4/5/11 this company had 0 BBB complaints over the last 36 months.
Bekins Van Lines agents
--Twin Cities Moving Systems, Inc. (Bekins) in Eagan.
As of 4/5/11 this company has an "A+" rating with the BBB and 2 complaints filed in the last 36 months. No further information.
Graebel service centers
--Graebel in Minneapolis.
"scorpmonkey" posted in 3/08 that its sales rep Linda Bahgat (972-864-8505 X 243) was very helpful on the phone re her small shipment to TX - ". . . they were the preferred moving company at AMD in TX where I used to work.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15784
As of 4/5/11 this company had an "A+" rating and 1 complaint over the last 36 months.
Mayflower Transit agents
--McCollister's Transportation (Mayflower) in Fridley.
This company has the website http://www.mccollisters.com/find_us/fin ... apolis.php and the phone number 800-328-2421. McCollister's is a large agent with many offices nationwide and is generally fairly highly regarded in the industry.
However, "macd" chose this company for his move to Raleigh, NC, in 6/06 and had a bad move. "Michael" (working for an Atlas agent in Raleigh) kept in touch with "macd" and commented that the goods were held for a very long time in McCollister's warehouse waiting for a driver and there was a long delivery delay and damage. "macd" posted about his bad experience on ReloRow.com when that site was still up, but never came back to MovingScam.com with a final report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8008 (interstate)
As of 4/5/11 the company has an "A+" rating with the BBB and 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
--Metcalf Moving & Storage, Inc. (Mayflower) in St. Paul.
As of 4/5/11 this company has an "A+" rating and 3 complaints with the BBB in the last 36 months. No further information.
North American Van Lines agents
--Beltmann Group, Inc. (North American) in Roseville.
As of 4/5/11 this company has a BBB rating of an "A+" with 2 complaints over the last 36 months.
"Nancy" (works for NAVL) has said that this branch of Beltmann is good.
"marcie" posted that it mistakenly tried to charge her extra on a move to NJ thinking that she had a Nonbinding estimate rather than a GNTE, but immediately corrected the error when she pointed it out:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3306 (interstate)
United Van Lines agents
--Ballard Moving & Storage Company (United) in Eagan.
No reviews. However, "puzzleengineer" (a driver for National Van Lines) posted that the company helped him get very polite and competent helpers on short notice over the July 4, 2006 holiday:
http://householddrivers.com/PHP-Nuke/mo ... opic&t=302
As of 4/5/11 this company has a BBB rating of an "A+" with 1 complaint over the last 36 months.
--Barrett Moving & Storage Co. (United) in Eden Prairie.
--Mohawk Moving & Storage (United) in Minneapolis.
This company with DOT #624078 and MC #177170 has the website www.mohawkmoving.com and the phone numbers 800-328-2995 and 763-784-1000. It has a division in Carrolton, TX (near Dallas). One of the MovingScam moderators has seen the company's trucks on the CA freeways and they look new and clean. "Michael" (worked for Atlas) posted praising them when "macd" said that he was leaning toward them for his move to NC:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8008 (interstate)
"kargo" gave them a rave review for his move to Maine in 6/08, praising especially their excellent communication:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16721 (interstate)
As of 4/5/11 this company has a BBB rating of an "A+" with 3 complaints over the last 36 months.
Wheaton Van Lines agents
--Harco Moving & Storage, Inc. (Wheaton) in Coon Rapids (Minneapolis area).
This company has the website www.harcomoving.com and the phone 763-571-6227. Mentioned but no further information.
As of 4/5/11 this company has a BBB rating of an "A+" with 1 complaint over the last 36 months.
--Paragon Moving & Storage(Wheaton) in Hopkins.
This company won a quality award from the van line in 2004.
As of 4/5/11 this company has a BBB rating of an "A+" with 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
Independent moving companies
--Bester Bros. Transfer & Storage, Inc. (independent) in South St. Paul.
This company has the website www.besterbros.com and the MC #156715. As of 4/5/11 this company has a BBB rating of an "A+" with 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
"movingwhen" posted that he had used them twice for local moves and was very pleased:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1166#61166 (local)
--Good Stuff Moving (independent) in Roseville.
This company has the website www.goodstuffmoving.com and MC #461016. Good Stuff has many fewer trucks than Bester and has been licensed for interstate only since June 2003. As of 4/5/11 this company has a BBB rating of an "A+" with 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
"movingwhen" posted that he had used them for a local move and they were "just okay":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1166#61166 (local)
--Night Moves (independent) in Minneapolis.
This company is listed on www.eMove.com and its phone is 952-884-7386.
"Farrah7031" (key MovingScam volunteer) posted in 6/07 that her father had just used them to load a Budget truck for a local move and said that "Terry and his helper were teriffic! They used every square inch of the truck to get all our things loaded! I would recommend them to anyone!":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9779#89779
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/posting ... 9816#89816 (loading help)
-
MISSISSIPPI
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7654#57654
Allied Van Lines agents
--Southern Heritage Transfer & Storage (Allied) in Jackson.
"chaz4moving" (former Allied sales rep familiar with the industry) posted in 6/08 that he had worked with this company in the past and "the owner is a good guy" - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 597#110597
"llama" moving to Seattle posted in 6/08 that he was favorably impressed with the sales rep, who was thorough, and a friend had used them for a local move with good results:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 576#109576 (second-hand report of a local move)
As of 4/5/11 this company had 0 BBB complaints in the last 36 months.
Atlas Van Lines agents
--Bean Moving and Storage, Inc. (Atlas) in Hattiesburg.
This company won a quality award from the van line (Milton Hill award) in 2006. As of 4/5/11 this company has a BBB rating of an "A+" with 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
Mayflower Transit agents
--McConnell Bros. Transfer & Storage (Mayflower) in Jackson.
Mentioned but little information.
United Van Lines agents
--Armstrong Relocation (United) in Madison.
Armstrong is one of United's largest carriers, with many offices nationwide. As of 4/5/11 this company has a BBB rating of an "A+" with 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
"llama" posted in 6/08 that its sales rep gave him a GNTE estimate 2,000 pounds below the Southern Heritage and McConnell Bros. estimates - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 576#109576
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MISSOURI
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7655#57655
Missouri is a regulated state. The Missouri Department of Transportation's Division of Motor Carrier Services (573-751-6483) with website www.modot.org is the group that has intrastate licensing information. However, MODOT told a MovingScam moderator that they can't give out any information over the phone because of confidentiality (!!). To find out whether a company is licensed and insured to operate in Missouri, you have to fax Motor Carrier Services at 573-522-6708, give the company's USDOT number), and say what information you want and why. The specific PHONE number for the part of MODOT that handles "authority" issues is 573-751-3358.
For the Kansas City area, see also "Missouri" (for Kansas City, MO moving companies).
Atlas Van Lines agents
--ABC Moving & Storage Company, Inc. (Atlas) in Chesterfield and Lee's Summit. As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 3 complaints over the last 36 months.
Mentioned but no information.
--McCormack-Payton Storage & Moving Company, Inc. (Atlas) in Grandview.
This company won a quality award from the van line in 2004, 2005, and 2006 (Milton Hill Award). Among other things, this means that its "customer satisfaction" score was at least 4.10 out of 5. As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
"dsrieder" moving to Atlanta posted that they did not give him the YR&R booklet but just emailed him the quote, and he was poised to go with Select Van instead:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7264
Mayflower Transit agents
--Select Van & Storage (Mayflower) in Kansas City (also in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, and Des Moines, Iowa).
This company has the website www.selectvan.com and the phone 1-800-825-0633. See discussion under Nebraska. As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints over the last 36 months. A person who works for Mayflower in another state told one of the MovingScam moderators that Select is a BIG Mayflower agent; a big booker and a big hauler. "Their scores for van operator, packers, estimators, sales, move coordinator, etc. all meet or exceed expectations. Their average score for 'willingness to recommend' and 'overall move performance' is also above average." Mentioned by "Rick" (industry expert) in 6/08 as a good company:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 591#110591
"dsrieder" moving to Atlanta was poised to go with them but never came back to report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7264 (interstate)
"kirby" had Select Van as his destination agent for his 5/07 move booked by Dahill from Brooklyn, and he was pleased with them:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13275 (destination agent for interstate move)
--Studdard Relocation Services (Mayflower) in Lee's Summit.
This company has the website www.studdardrelo.com and the phone 816-524-2772 or 800-836-0908. As of 4/6/11 it had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints over the past 36 months. "Rick" (industry expert) posted that it is operated by the father of the person who runs Studdard Moving & Storage (Arpin) and that it is a "professional operation":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13761
North American Van Lines agents
--Cord North American (North American) in St. Louis.
This company received a top quality award from the van line (Customer Choice award, which is based on customer surveys) in 2006. Reportedly it is larger than Whalens. As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A+" rating with the BBB and 3 complaints over the last 36 months.
--Whalens Inc. (North American) in Grand Forks.
This company received a top quality award from the van line (Customer Choice award, which is based on customer surveys) in 2006. No further information.
Paul Arpin Van Lines agents
--Studdard Moving & Storage (Arpin) in Leavenworth.
Not much information. This company has the website www.studdardmoving.com/default.htm and MC #497605. "Rick" (industry expert) posted that it is operated by the son of the person who runs Studdard Relocation Services (Mayflower):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13761
United Van Lines agents
--A-Mrazek Moving Systems, Inc. (United) in St. Louis.
Mentioned but not much information. Its phone is 800-325-4174. The company's website at www.a-mrazek.com states that one of its drivers, Stephen Bergman, was a United Driver of the Year in 2006 in the Special Products division. As of 4/6/11 this company had 0 BBB complaints over the last 36 months and an "A+" rating.
"nini1" reported being underwhelmed by the company's sales rep in 4/07, who was "pushy" and inattentive to detail:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13500
--Fry-Wagner (United) in St. Louis (also in Lenexa, KS, near Kansas City).
This company has the website www.frywagner.com and the phone 800-394-0049. The license numbers for Fry-Wagner's division that does household moves appear to be DOT #133959 and MC #169343. As of 8/10, when you plug in those numbers you see that the company has only 1 complaint on www.protectyourmove.gov (from 2006). Fry-Wagner was praised by "Rick" (industry expert) in 11/08: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 597#119597 It won the United Van Lines Customer Choice Award every year between 2002 and 2009, as well as the prestigious President’s Quality Award in 2008. As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with 6 complaints over the last 36 months.
We have a very good review by "cardsfan" for a move from St. Louis to Tampa:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1292#51292 (interstate)
"visitor10" (apparently someone in the industry) posted that "Fry-Wagner also has a Kansas City office that is in Lenexa, Kansas and covers the entire Missouri/Kansas Area. Good company too.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6678#56678
"dsrieder" moving to Atlanta said they gave him only a Nonbinding quote so he was leaning toward Select Van instead:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7264
"simbha_lion" posted a rave review of Fry-Wagner Lenexa for his move from Kansas City to TX in 7/07:
Fry Wagner folks as scheduled came on the 17th morning...there was a quality control guy who came along with them and he checked everything to make sure that the company guys followed the move procedure to the dot. They packed everything professionally. They were done in 2 hrs. The move coordinated was very good. She called me like every other day to keep me updated about the moved. We received all our stuff on the 24th afternoon. Again the moving coordinator kept me posted about the status of my stuff every alternate day. The driver called me a day before and on the morning of the delivery day. They had the stuff delivered and unpacked in two hours. I am glad the move is over and Fry Wagner was awesome. I would definitely choose them the next time I move. Also they were way cheaper than the others. It cost me just $1527 including zero deductible coverage. I know I didn't have too much stuff with me, but their quote was half of what others [Berger Allied and King's North American in Kansas City] had quoted. http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4107#94107 (interstate)
He also said that Fry-Wagner also helped him avoid a shuttle charge at origin.
“Lakelife” posted an excellent review of Fry-Wagner in 11/07 for his move to San Diego. He also considered Select Van, but after Fry-Wagner agreed to deliver on a Saturday without charging extra and also move his 40 year old car for a reasonable cost he went with them. He singled out the packers (Jimmy S. and 2 helpers) and the driver (Ken A.) for special praise:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14112 (interstate)
On 7/5/10, "ShowMe2" posted that Fry-Wagner took much longer than estimated on a local move; and although they agreed to refund him some money, they were slow to follow through:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 561#132561 (local)
In the same thread, "bigtuna" complained on 7/7/10 that he used Fry-Wagner but his delivery was going to be delayed because there was no United Van Lines driver to transport it (note that this is the fault of the van line, not Fry-Wagner):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 646#132646 (interstate)
Wheaton Van Lines agents
--Superior Moving & Storage (Wheaton) in Kansas City.
This company has the website www.superiormoving.com and the phones 816-471-1662 and 800-786-1662. As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A+" rating with the BBB and 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
Mentioned by "Rick" (industry expert) in 6/08 as a good company:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 591#110591
He again mentioned Superior favorably in 11/08, commenting that several people at the company are involved in both the Kansas and Missouri Movers & Warehousemen's Associations:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 597#119597
Independent moving companies
BE CAUTIOUS about using this company. It has the website www.aardvarkmoving.com or www.aardvark-moving.net and the phone number 816-228-6683, which is the same as the number for the Blue Springs Burger King. As of 4/6/11 this company had 16 complaints over the last 36 months with the BBB.
--Carlyle Van Lines (independent).
This company with MC #279780 specializes in government and military moves and does some moves for individuals as well. It is HQd in Missouri and has the website www.carlylevanlines.com. As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A+" rating with the BBB and 6 complaints (all resolved) over the last 36 months. One of the MovingScam moderators spoke with a son of one of the Carlyle drivers in 2006 and he said that his father had worked for many major van lines and was happiest with Carlyle. Carlyle does not have satellite locations as such but uses resources from Paul Arpin agents, etc. when it needs them. "rich1lenore" was interested in moving with them and "MusicMom" said her neighbors in VA were pleased with Carlyle:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1714 (interstate)
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MONTANA
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7656#57656
Allied Van Lines agents
--Rocky Mountain Moving & Storage, Inc. (Allied) in Missoula.
This company has the website www.alliedagent.com/rockymtn and the phone 406-728-2116. As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with 0 complaints over the last 36 months. No further information.
Mayflower Van Lines agents
--Suhr Transport (Mayflower) in Great Falls, Helena, and Billings.
This company has website www.suhrtransport.com and phone 406-245-4135. "Rick" (industry expert) posted in 8/07 that it is operated by a father and son, "both as honest as the day is long.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6267#96267
North American Van Lines agents
--Montana Transfer Co. (North American) in Missoula.
This company has the website www.montanatransfer.com and the phone 406-728-8080 or 800-447-7557. As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A" rating with the BBB and 1 complaint over the last 36 months. Mentioned but no information.
United Van Lines agents
--Mergenthaler Transfer & Storage (United) in Helena (also in Spokane, Salt Lake City, and several other locations in MT).
This company's website is www.mtsfreight.com and its phone is 800-836-1938 or (in Missoula) 406-756-9700. It handles both freight and household goods. As of 4/6/11 it had 2 complaints with the BBB in the last 36 months. In 4/07 "az ops man" (working for a Mayflower agent in Phoenix) posted that he had used them for 12 years and they always provided quality service:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13494
"Mizwoodymmw" posted that Mergenthaler workers unloaded their truck when they moved to MT 11 years ago. "Great workers, all stuff unloaded and assembled as needed.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9650 (unloading help)
However, "jimj59" posted in 8/07 that he had had two bad experiences with Mergenthaler in the past, although the complaint was a little vague:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6264#96264 (?interstate)
Wheaton Van Lines agents
--Blair Transfer & Storage, Inc. (Wheaton) in Missoula.
This company has the website www.blairtransfer.com and phone 406- 543-5131. "Rick" (industry expert) posted in 8/07 that it had been in operation for more than 80 years but he thought the owner had recently sold the company:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6267#96267
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NEBRASKA
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7657#57657
Two people in the industry - "Rick" and "Omaha 1" - have said that there are no bad moving companies in Omaha.
Allied Van Lines agents
--Coleman American Moving Services (Allied) in Omaha.
This company has the website www.colemanallied.com and the phone 402-733-2560. As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A" BBB rating with 1 complaint in the last 36 months.
"Beagle" gave the company a very good review of a move to Shreveport, LA, in 8/06. The Allied drivers were from Florida and worked all day to load in extreme heat. Delivery was in 2 days (!) and damage was very minimal:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9047 (interstate)
--Ford Brothers Van & Storage Co. (Allied) in Omaha.
As of 4/6/11 this company had 0 BBB complaints in the last 36 months.
"Omaha 1" posted that this is a very good company:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3182#63182
Atlas Van Lines agents
--A-1 Metro Movers (Atlas) in Omaha.
This company received a quality award from the van line (Milton Hill Award) in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Among other things, this means that its "customer satisfaction" score was at least 4.10 out of 5. As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A" BBB rating and 0 complaints in the last 36 months.
"Rick" (industry expert) posted that it was one of the better agents in Omaha:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2624#62624
Mayflower Transit agents
--Borley Moving & Storage, Inc. (Mayflower) in Lincoln.
As of 4/6/11 this company has an "A+" BBB rating and 1 complaint in the last 36 months.
According to "Rick" (industry expert), Borley has been a Mayflower agent for decades and has "a fairly good reputation as a small local mover":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2813#42813
--Select Van & Storage (Mayflower) in Omaha (also other locations).
This company's website is http://www.movingservices.com/selectvan/form.htm It is the same company as Mid-America (United). Both companies are owned by the Smith brothers. According to "Rick" (industry expert), Select Van is one of Mayflower's largest hauling agents and is HQd in Omaha. They also have offices in Lincoln, Des Moines, and Kansas City, MO. Their drivers are some of the highest rated in the Mayflower fleet:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2813#42813
Another industry person commented that their scores for packers, estimators, sales, and move coordinator all meet or exceed expectations. Their average score for "willingness to recommend" and "overall move performance" is above average. The company was also recommended by "Omaha 1" and "BigLeeCalif":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1558#71558
As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 6 complaints over the last 36 months.
United Van Lines agents
--I-Go Van and Storage Co. (United) in Omaha.
As of 4/6/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
"ArchieWhite" (owns a Mayflower/United agency in Atlanta) posted in 6/07 that he knows the owner, Steve Nogg, and the company would do a professional job at a fair price:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9702#89702
"Omaha 1" posted that this company is independent of Select (Mayflower) and Mid-America (United), that it "has been around forever," and that it is very good:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3182#63182
--Mid-America Relocation, Inc. (United) in Omaha.
This is the same company as Select Van & Storage (Mayflower). Both companies are owned by the Smith brothers.
Independent moving companies
--Patt's Moving Center (independent) in Fremont. [Legal name is Davis Patterson.]
This company with MC #570964 has the website http://www.pattsmoving.com and the phone 402-727-0866. It got its license to do interstate moves on 5/15/07. On safersys.org it is listed as having only 1 truck and 1 driver. As of 4/6/11 this company had a "B" rating and 10 complaints with the BBB in the last 36 months. In 3/08 a customer posted that it is listed on www.emove.com with about 200 good reviews there and it offered to drive a rental truck to TX for him:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15786
"omahawagon" posted in 7/07 that he had a very good move to San Antonio with Patt's (which gave him a Binding estimate)--delivery was in two days:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13895 (interstate)
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NEVADA
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7658#57658
Comments and reviews on this website indicate that people should AVOID the following companies with
AVOID this company, which has MC #626158. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15596
AVOID this company, which has MC #458553. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15667
AVOID this company, which has MC #526036. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14887
AVOID this company. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9007
AVOID this company. See these threads for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7498
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1602
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15666
CARSON CITY
Atlas Van Lines agents
BE CAUTIOUS about using this company. "mntxnvlinda" posted a complaint about damage and missing items on a move to Minnesota--she was unsure whether the hauler (Silver Eagle) or the destination agent (Schroeder) caused the problem, but it seemed to have been the former:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1965#51965 (interstate)
LAS VEGAS
It has been difficult for MovingScam to identify any clearly and consistently first-rate moving companies in Las Vegas. A brochure put out by the Las Vegas BBB in 2004 suggests that there may be a problem with dubious companies in the city - http://www.vegasbbb.org/views39.pdf (p. 23). People have speculated that because Las Vegas is isolated there is not enough competition to keep the companies on their toes. One person moving from Las Vegas used a United agent (Corrigan) from his destination city instead, with Puliz (United) in Las Vegas doing the household survey:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3728 In 5/08, "rydog444" (used to drive for a respected independent) posted that "You really need to be careful about hiring a legit company out of Vegas. . . . Go by any trucker areas in the morning. There are many guys hanging out there looking for work. It is very easy for a bad mover to find cheap, unskilled labor in Vegas. . . . It is important that you use quality movers.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 256#109256
Here is a very detailed post by "Vegas" discussing four Las Vegas companies that she was considering for an interstate move in 5/07 (she ultimately chose All American and was very pleased - see below):Vegas wrote:My husband and I are moving to Boston around 6/15/07, and I have gotten a few estimates from local agents. I thought I would post my experiences with them since there isn't a lot on this site for Las Vegas. We're moving into a 2 bedroom/2 bath in Boston, from a house to an apartment. We're leaving town June 18 and plan to arrive in Boston on June 25.
All American Van and Storage (Allied agent)
Rep called the day before to confirm appointment, showed up on time, prepared, didn't have trouble finding the house. She estimated about 4,018 pounds. Including $25,000 in full value 0 deductible insurance, the estimate came to $3,600. This also includes all crating, uncrating, etc. This is a binding estimate, so whether the weight is more or less, the price stays the same. She also estimated an additional $529 in shuttle charges if we need a shuttle at our destination in Boston, making the total price possibly around $4,129. The pickup was for June 15, exactly when we wanted it, and the delivery window was June 26-June 29, confirmed, exactly when we wanted it as well. All American has been a member of the BBB for about 40 years, and they have had only 2 complaints in the last 3 years, and an "A+" rating.
Puliz (United agent)
Rep was on time and prepared. She seemed to be very thorough as we went through the house, picking up on items other reps did not mention, like the fax machine, e.g. She estimated $3,500 lbs. (the lowest we saw) and the estimate came to $3, 840.57 with full $25,000/no deductible insurance, but did not include uncrating of one glass tabletop, which the rep said would have to be priced by the destination agent. However, the price was for a June 19 pickup (the day after we leave, so someone else would have to be there to release the items), and a delivery window of June 26-July 7 (kind of a long time to wait for our stuff). If we want it picked up June 15 before we leave, then there was additional charges for storage, warehouse handling, and the price would be about $4,300. Both prices included about $300 for destination shuttle charges. This was a guaranteed not to exceed, so if the weight ends up being less, we pay less. If it's more, we pay the estimate. Puliz has been a member of the BBB for almost 20 years, and they have had 2 complaints in the last 3 years, with an "A+" rating.
Moving Relocations Specialists (Wheaton agent)
Rep called before coming to confirm appointment; showed up on time and without any problems. Was very thorough in explaining charges for crating, insurance, fuel surcharges, etc. Estimated the weight to be around 4,100 lbs. Estimate was $4,065, shuttle charges would be about $450. With full insurance, the total price would be $4,800. This was guaranteed not to exceed, so if it weighs less, we pay less, if it weighs more, we pay the estimate. MRS has only been around since 1999. As of 4/12/11 this company has an "A+" rating with 0 comlaints over the last 36 monhts.
Ace Worldwide (Atlas agent)
This was a strange experience. I made an appointment, and got no call confirming. Then on the day of the appointment, no one showed. I called the local office number and phone just rang and rang (no answering machine, even). Then I called the national number and told the person who answered that the rep was not there. He then had the local manager call me, who apologized and made another appointment for me, as he could not get ahold of the rep. The next day, I received a voicemail from the rep stating that she had left me three messages before our appointment date, which I never received. I check my messages pretty frequently, and my voicemail was working fine those days, so maybe she just dialed the wrong number? Anyways, she showed up a few minutes late to the second appointment, but that was because she missed the freeway exit and had to call me for directions. When I showed her the kitchen tabletop which needed to be crated, she stated that she had forgotten her tape measure, so couldn't measure it. She estimated that the weight would be 4,500 lbs. (stating she added an extra 300 lbs. because she hates to get calls from customers later complaining about extra charges, which makes me think this estimate was not a guaranteed not to exceed estimate). The price came out to $3, 933.69, shuttle would raise that to $4,363.89. She stated that we would get $75,000 in insurance at no additional charge (I think the estimate included a $350 "insurance related" surcharge). She also said that the fuel surcharge, which they had listed at 11%, might go up between now and our move, so that would increase the price. As of 4/12/11 this company has an "A+" rating with 0 comlaints over the last 36 monhts.
We narrowed it down to Allied and United, and we have decided to go with Allied, since the total price with shuttle won't exceed $4,129, which is pretty low, comparatively, and they have confirmed our pick-up date and a short three day delivery window. United would have been $300 cheaper if we had agreed to have them pick up after we were gone and then agreed to a 2 week delivery schedule, but we decided we didn't want to risk being stuck sleeping on an air mattress in Boston for two weeks.
So, I guess this posting is more for informational purposes than anything else since the postings about moving from Las Vegas are a little slim. - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13653
Allied Van Lines agents
--All American Van & Storage, Inc. (Allied) in North Las Vegas.
This company has the website http://www.alliedagent.com/allamerican/ and the phone 702-399-9913. 4/12/11 this company has an "A+" rating with 2 comlaints over the last 36 monhts. Someone was set to use this company for a move to CA in 2/07:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2944#82944
"Vegas" posted detailed preliminary remarks about the company (see above) and then an excellent review after she had actually used them for a move to Boston in 6/07. She praised especially the careful work by the Allied Van Lines drivers Joy and Randy. Randy told her that All American has good workers:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2036#92036 (interstate)
In 11/08 "Kellie" posted a rave review of her move to MA, praising especially the All American sales rep Tina and the Allied driver David (based in San Jose, CA):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17558 (interstate)
Atlas Van Lines agents
--Ace Worldwide Moving & Storage, Inc. (Atlas) in North Las Vegas.
See above post by "Vegas" for one customer's impressions as posted in 5/07. This company's phone number is 866-315-6683. It was mentioned favorably by "Rick" (industry expert) as a company to get a quote from.
However, in 9/06 somebody at the company made a bad decision about how to deliver a shipment booked by University Van Lines and the customer's things arrived severely damaged:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3644#73644 (local delivery)
Graebel service centers
--Graebel/Nevada Movers, Inc. in Las Vegas.
Mentioned but no information. As of 4/12/11 the BBB has this company listed as being out of business.
Mayflower Transit agents
--Sierra Moving Systems (Mayflower) in North Las Vegas (also in Reno). As of 4/12/11 this company has an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
This company is owned by the owner of Puliz (United). Mentioned but we have no information.
North American Van Lines agents
--Capitol North American (North American) in Las Vegas.
According to the Las Vegas BBB, this company is also doing business as Aaffordable Movers and its phone number is (702) 457-5353. The company is very large but its quality scores are mediocre (in the "meets standards" category). Not recommended by moving industry people posting here. A driver told a MovingScam moderator in 11/06 that it tends to give low Binding and Binding Not to Exceed quotes. As of 4/12/11 this company had 2 complaints with the BBB in the last 36 months, and an "A+" rating.
United Van Lines agents
--AAction Movers of Nevada (United) in Las Vegas.
This company is HQd in North Dakota. It has a website at http://www.aactionmovers.com and its phone number is (702) 452-0000. According to the Las Vegas BBB publication mentioned above, this company has or had another name (ASP, Inc.). As of 4/12/11 this company has a BBB rating of an "A+" and 2 complaints over the last 36 months. A customer moving to Oregon ("dave g") posted that they wanted to charge him what he considered an exorbitant amount ($3000/mo.) for storage of the contents of a 3000 sq. ft. house:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3357#53357
--Puliz Moving & Storage Co. (United) in Las Vegas (also in Reno).
This company is owned by the owner of Sierra (Mayflower). See above post by "Vegas" for one customer's impressions as posted in 5/07. This company has a website www.puliz.com. It is not listed in the BBB flyer referred to above so it may have joined the United network fairly recently (?). As of 4/12/11 they have had 2 complaints in the last 3 years, with an "A+" rating.
"23" (working for another United agent) posted in April 2005 that "I have used both Aaction and Puliz. I would recommend Puliz first because they always seemed to go the extra mile for me.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9806#29806
Puliz did a household survey for someone moving with Corrigan in Michigan (see above), indicating that Corrigan too thought it was better than AAction.
Wheaton Van Lines agents
--Moving Relocation Specialists, LLC (Wheaton) in North Las Vegas.
See above post by "Vegas" for one customer's impressions as posted in 5/07. This company is not listed in the BBB flyer referred to above but it has a website at http://www.movingrelocationsspecialist.com that says that its owner, Ed Fetters, is a high-rated driver. Its incorporation papers say that it is located in Henderson, NV--not Las Vegas. It won a quality award from the van line in 2003. Someone posted that he had a good move to Australia with this company:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8447#28447 (origin agent for international move)
Independent moving companies
--Warren's Homework (independent) in Las Vegas. (Legal name is Warren Ardoin.)
This company with MC #324230 has the website www.warrenshomework.com and the phone 702-876-9610. As of 4/12/11 this company had an "A+" rating and 3 complaints with the BBB over the last 36 months. It has one bad review and one good review on Kudzu - http://lasvegas.kudzu.com/merchant/reviews/1446704.html Although it is licensed for interstate moving and the BBB lists it as an interstate mover, the customer quoted below posted that it does not do interstate moves. As of 6/08 it had 3 BBB complaints over the past 36 months.
It was highly recommended in 6/08 by "Nera," who said she had used it successfully for several local moves:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16357 (several local moves)
--West Coast Relocation, Inc. (independent) in Henderson.
The president of this company with MC #414653, Paul Buckles, came on the messageboard in 7/08 saying that his company had no current connection with West Coast Moving & Storage (Stevens) in California. He said that in 2004 he had sold some trucks and phone numbers to the latter company, headed by Doug Derobertis, but the latter had "issues" and he didn't want his company to be confused with Doug's company:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 201#114201
RENO AREA
Allied Van Lines agents
--Colonial Van & Storage (Allied) in Reno.
An Allied driver posted in 5/08 that this company is related to the Colonial Van & Storage (Allied) in Sacramento and Fresno, CA, and that it bought Silver State Moving & Storage (formerly North American - see below) in late 2005:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 310#109310
As of 4/12/11 this company had a BBB rating of an "A+" with 3 complaints over the last 36 months.
--Silver State Moving & Storage (formerly North American; now Allied) in Reno.
See discussion above under Colonial Van & Storage.
Mayflower Transit agents
--Sierra Moving Systems (Mayflower) in Reno (also in Las Vegas).
This company is owned by the owner of Puliz (United). As of 4/12/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints over the last 36 months. No further information.
North American Van Lines agents
--Owens Brothers Transfer Co., Inc. (North American) in Reno.
As of 4/12/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with 0 complaints over the last 36 months. Mentioned but no further information.
United Van Lines agents
--Puliz Moving & Storage Co. (United) in Reno (also in Las Vegas).
This company's website is www.puliz.com and its phone is 775-322-7029 or 800-826-5711. It is owned by the owner of Sierra (Mayflower). See comments under Las Vegas above.
Wheaton Van Lines agents
--Five Star Moving and Storage (Wheaton) in Reno.
As of 4/12/11 this company has 0 complaints with the BBB. Mentioned but no further information.
Independent moving companies
--Carneys Full Service Movers (independent) in Sparks. (Legal name is Robert Carney.)
This company with MC #542657 has the phone 775-358-3900. As of 4/12/11 it had 0 BBB complaints over the past 36 months, and an "A" rating. Mentioned but no further information.
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NEW HAMPSHIRE
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7659#57659
The following exchange gives a driver's point of view about some high-quality companies in the NH-MA area. "Helen" in NH posted asking for an opinion on the following movers that she already had quotes from:
Allen & Coles (North American) in Portland, ME (HQ).
Able Moving & Storage (Arpin) in Amherst, NH.
Sterling (North American) in Lowell, MA.
ABC (Allied) in Hudson, NH.
"ECM" (long-haul driver based in the Northeast who now posts as I-95) responded to her as follows:
In no particulair order this is who I would use in the area.
Allen&Coles in PLAISTOW-North American
Mclaughlin in Nashua - Mayflower
Paul Taylor in Salem- United
Dont misunderstand the one's you picked may be great. I choose these because I live and work in this area and have intimate knowledge of them from the owners down to the drivers/ helpers. - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4241#34241
Atlas Van Lines agents
--Wood Bros. Moving & Storage Inc. (Atlas) in Portsmouth.
As of 7/12/11 this company had an "A+" rating with the BBB and 0 complaints in the last 36 months.
"WORFsonofmogh" moving from Somersworth, NH to San Diego gave a good report on the pre-move process (his sales rep was Jack Gordon) and was set to go with Wood but he never came back to give a final report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1477 (interstate)
"CassandraKC" used Wood for a move to NYC and was very pleased (she said she had used them previously and they had performed well). The only problem was that people in the Wood office were lax. First they asked her to determine the parking situation in Manhattan on the day of the move and then they tried to charge her $90 extra for a Saturday delivery after the fact when it had never been mentioned--we don't know how this was resolved:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5727 (interstate)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5848 (interstate)
Bekins Van Lines agents
--A to Z Express, Inc. (Bekins) in Salem.
This company has the website www.atozexpress.com, and its phone is 603-226-3030. As of 7/12/11 this company has an "A+" rating and no complaints with the BBB in the last 36 months. No further information.
--Interstate Moving & Storage (Bekins) in Greenland.
This company has the phone 603-430-8400. As of 7/12/11 this company had an "A+" rating and 1 complaint with the BBB in the last 36 months.
"WORFsonofmogh" moving to San Diego got a quote from them but he commented that the sales rep (Bob Machulis) seemed anxious to leave and took a long time to get back to him with the estimate. However, the main reason he didn't go with Bekins was uncertainty about what the final charges might be because of Bekins using the 412 tariff:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1477 (interstate)
Mayflower Transit agents
--McLaughlin Transportation Systems, Inc. (Mayflower) in Nashua (HQ), Concord, and Portsmouth (also in Woburn, MA). (Also dba McLaughlin Mayflower.)
This company has MC #063020, website www.mcmoving.com and phone 603-883-4000. Moving industry people have spoken highly of this company, which has its HQ in Nashua and has been a Mayflower agent since 1937. It won a Mayflower "Circle of Excellence" award in 2004 and many years previously. As of 2006 its quality scores from the van line for its drivers, loading/delivery crews, and packing crews were all above average. Claims prevention scores were also above average to excellent. The only score that was below average was for sales consultant/move coordinator. The current owner is the grandson of the founder of the company. In response to some reports on MovingScam of poor communication, "ArchieWhite" (owns a Mayflower/United agency in Atlanta) posted in 6/08 that "McLaughlin's main forte' is trade shows, electronics, special commodities, so having their residential COD household goods act down to a science might be a bit lacking," but it is a good company - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 438#110438 This is somewhat in conflict with what a MovingScam moderator was told by someone at the company in 4/08, which was that McLaughlin focuses on COD household goods moves although it also handles account moves and military shipments. Its owner also runs an oil company. A sales rep for the Concord office told the MovingScam moderator that the company is the largest moving company in New Hampshire.
Of note, as of 6/08 McLaughlin had an "unsatisfactory" BBB rating because of 2 reportedly unanswered complaints, with 11 complaints over the past 36 months, and the BBB added this comment: "According to BBB records, this company has a "pattern" of complaints: "Complainants allege that the company showed up with fewer movers than previously agreed upon and that damage was done either to the consumer's home or to their property. Complaints also allege that the company charged additional fees after the move or did not provide refunds that were owed to consumers." - http://concord.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.a ... rm=5000376 . One of the MovingScam moderators spoke with the McLaughlin customer service rep, Andrea Oliver, about the "unsatisfactory" BBB rating in 4/08 and Andrea explained to her that the BBB listing is out of date and actually all complaints have been answered. The moderator knows of several very good moving companies that also have "unsatisfactory" BBB ratings and in her opinion it is not a deal-breaker. Nevertheless, in her opinion the McLaughlin sales reps should at least be asked about the situation. It should be noted that as of 6/08 the MA office of McLaughlin (in Lowell) had only 2 complaints over the past 36 months with 0 complaints in the past year. People considering using McLaughlin in NH might want to look at the MovingScam comments on McLaughlin in MA as well. As of 7/12/11 the BBB rating was an "A+" with 7 complaints over the last 36 months.
"WORFsonofmogh" got an estimate from McLaughlin for his move to San Diego and described the sales rep (Fraser Nixon) as seeming a little green:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1477
"Cheryl" was negotiating with the company for a move to WI but never came back to report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2605
"Kutiepie_nh" gave McLaughlin an excellent review for an apparently self-hauled shipment to SC in 1/08, saying that the driver (Tim) and helper were "fantastic":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 719#102719 (interstate)
"adkterp" posted in 6/08 that he had a good experience with McLaughlin-Nashua overall on his move to MD (on time, no damage, best price), but communication was poor. "I had to call the night before and demand that someone find out if the truck was coming [to deliver] so I could take off work that day. Everytime I called, my move coordinator [Jamie] was not in the office." Still, the driver [David Gagon] and helper [Walter A.] were excellent on this self-hauled shipment:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 437#110437
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 435#110435 (detailed report on his interstate move)
United Van Lines agents
--Diggins & Rose, Inc. (United) in Hudson and Manchester.
As of 7/12/11 this company had 10 BBB complaints within the last 36 months. "WORFsonofmogh" got an estimate from them (not sure which branch) for his move to San Diego and said the sales rep (Greg Prince) was friendly and professional--he ultimately went with Wood Bros.:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1477 (interstate)
Wheaton Van Lines agents
--Colonial Moving & Storage (Wheaton) in Peterborough.
This company's phone is 800-600-6683. As of 7/12/11 this company had an "F" rating with the BBB for 2 unanswered complaints against it, with 5 complaints total over the last 36 months. No further information.
--Lake Country Moving & Storage of New England (Wheaton) in North Berwick, Maine.
This company's phone is 866-366-1890. Mentioned but no information.
Independent moving companies
--Blodgett Express (independent) in Concord.
Some people have hired this company through emove.com and some have contacted them directly. The person who wrote Broadway Express review #78 gave this as their contact information: (603) 224-8089, 6 Thompson St #A , Concord, NH, even though someone else said they were in Francestown. They would not be licensed as an actual mover and probably don't have either workers' comp or liability insurance, since most eMove companies do not. As of 7/12/11 this company had an "A-" rating with the BBB and 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
"jm in austin" used Blodget to load a Broadway Express truck in Boston in January 2005 and gave them a rave review:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7274#27274
"Craig" used them to load a U-Haul truck in NH for a move to FL in February 2005 and was very pleased:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3423
"jc" was set to use them to load an ABF truck going from Boston to Chicago in June 2005 (he said he liked the way Tracy Blodgett sounded on the phone) but he never came back with a final report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4687#34687
On a cautionary note, "Gonegolfing" posted that he used Blodgett to load a PODS container in Boston in December 2005 and they were careless and broke stuff, although they had done good work for him previously. He speculated that it was because the head of the company was set to retire and the workers were less careful as a result:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6799
AVOID this company, which has website www.cormiermovers.com and MC #266413. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15510
A Google search shows that there was an enforcement action (fine) against them by the FMCSA in 2002. Also, there is a complaint about them on the Internet involving a piano move:
http://mmd.foxtail.com/Archives/Digests ... 04.07.html
As of 1/08 Cormier had an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB for an unanswered complaint. As of 7/12/11 this company was no longer listed with the BBB.
--Dartmouth Moving & Storage (independent) in Claremont.
This company has MC #418671 and website www.dartmouthmoving.com. They offered to move "sma" to NM but "MusicMom" posted that they were unlicensed to do so:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9131#49131
Reviews and comments here suggest that consumers should AVOID this company, which has DOT #267558 and MC#374605. As of 12/07 Certified Moving & Storage had an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB for unanswered complaints. As of 7/12/11 this company had an 1 complaint over the last 36 months.
People investigating the company for "Cindy" in 2003 found that they were formerly called Atlantic Movers and had many insurance cancellations and several license revocations: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=675 In 12/07, someone posted that the quote she got from Certified had "Rye Moving Systems" on the paperwork but the DOT numer was the same: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 345#101345
"WORFsonofmogh" posted that its rep (Jim Leroy) was wearing a shirt saying Certified Moving but the estimate said Quality Moves and the Yellow Pages listing where he found the company said ITC Moves:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1477
"Kutiepie_nh" reported in 12/07 that Certified/Rye gave her a very low estimate for moving her household goods and car to SC and claimed an association with Graebel that it apparently didn't have:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 270#101270
"stunter1" reported a bad experience with Rye in 6/08 and "Rick" (industry expert) reported that Rye and Certified were still listed as having the same license numbers:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17316
--Ray the Mover (independent) in Manchester.
This company with website www.raythemover.net has MC #108756 and phone 800-321-7170. As of 7/12/11 it had 5 BBB complaints over the past 36 months. According to safersys.org it has 10 trucks and 10 drivers and has been licensed to do interstate moves since 1983. In 1/08 "smattwilly" (works for an Allied agent in Maine) posted that she had worked with Ray the Mover and thought it was an "excellent" company with a branch in FL:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 783#102783
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NEW JERSEY (Part 1)
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7660#57660
People can contact the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs at 973-504-6442 to check on companies' licensing and complaint history for intrastate moves (within NJ). Here is a FAQ sheet that it has put out -
New Jersey Public Movers & Warehousemen FAQ's
The NJ Warehousemen and Movers Association at 732-341-3934 may also be able to offer some insight about quality.
If anyone has a complaint about an intrastate (within NJ) move and has gotten no resolution from the mover, contact the investigator for the Regulated Business Section (Vincent Buonanno) at 973-504-6442. If he does not answer, leave him a message and he will call you back. If you want to file an online complaint, you can do so by clicking on the following link and downloading the complaint form - Public Movers and Warehousemen Complaint Form
The State of New Jersey has no jurisdiction over interstate moves. Therefore, for information or to file a complaint, contact the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of the Federal Highway Administration (FMCSA). The New Jersey regional office is located at 840 Bear Tavern Road, Suite 310, West Trenton, NJ, 08628-1019 and its phone number is 637-4200 /4222/4229.
Comments and reviews on this website indicate that people should AVOID the following companies with the
AVOID this company, which has the phone 888-828-6683 and (as of 10/07) an "unsatisfactory" BBB rating, with 34 complaints since 8/06 - http://trenton.e-asp.net/NIS4/bbbreport ... 0025000532. See this thread for why to avoid it:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15005
AVOID this company, which has the phone 800-897-6616, the website www.aemoving.com and MC #461152. See these threads for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9303
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10789
As of 12/06 it had 21 BBB complaints over the past 36 months.
AVOID this company, which has MC #525546. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6706
AVOID this company, which has the website www.allinclusivemoving.com and MC #515686. See this post for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 694#115694
AVOID this company, which has the websites www.allstarvanlines.com and allstarmovesnj.com and MC #442053. See these threads for why:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff224197.htm
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff227314.htm
Do not confuse this company with All Star Moving in Brooklyn, which has many excellent reviews here.
AVOID this company, which has MC #531282 and as of 10/05 was licensed to move only cars, not household goods, interstate. See this thread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6177
AVOID this company, which has MC #490948. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9184
AVOID this company, which has the phone 201-797-1314 and websites www.atoppsmoving.com and www.magicmovingandstorage.com and www.njmove.com according to the BBB. As of 11/07 it had 31 BBB complaints over the past 36 months. See this thread for a discussion:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15026 (the company is said to work with
AVOID this company. It has an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB. Also a horrible review of an apparently local move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3973#33973
AVOID this company, which has MC #497811 and website www.thebestflatratemovers.com. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8753
AVOID this company, which has MC #180510. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6847
The legal name of this company, which has MC #520641, is Mirit Great American, Inc. It may also go by the name Patriot Relocation and claim to be located in Illinois, but it is the same bad company. It has only 2 trucks and drivers listed on safersys.org and has been licensed for interstate moves only since June 2005. People say that it quotes by cubic feet.
"mschool" posted a very bad review of a move from NJ to CT where the company charged double and some items were not picked up:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5394
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2638#72638 (another very bad review)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10216 (another very bad review)
AVOID this company, which has the website www.herculesmoversinc.com and the phone 201-770-1990 or 732-396-8883. In 1/07 I was told that it had acquired American Movers (formerly North American/Global) in Long Branch. Although it is not certain that this Hercules is connected with the dubious Hercules HQd in California (the license numbers are different), in 5/07 a rep from the Rahway Hercules quoted somebody by cubic feet and there are coupons on the website, both of which are red flags:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13555
They gave someone a suspiciously low (half-price) quote in 6/07:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0212#90212
AVOID this company, which has MC #462129 and is sometimes listed as being in Kearny. See these complaints for why:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff198996.htm
http://www.thesqueakywheel.com/complain ... nt7397.cfm
The company shares an 800 number with Top Moving LLC.
AVOID this company, which has the website www.northamericamovingsystems and MC #598789. See these posts for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4720#94720
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14352
As of 8/07 it is on the Blacklist.
AVOID this company with MC #520641, which is an alias of Great American Van Lines - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13873 See above under "Great American."
AVOID this company, which has MC #528458 and has been licensed for interstate moves only since 10/05. See this post for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4318#64318
AVOID this company, which has the website www.topnotchvanlines.com and MC #616756. See this thread for why:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15454
AVOID this company, which has DOT #1702028. It advertises on www.uship.com that it can do interstate moves but it has no MC license. According to www.safersys.org, it has only 2 trucks and drivers and moves freight, not household goods. Nevertheless it did a local move very cheaply for "sun4112" who posted in 2/08 that he was very pleased with the price and service:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 368#103668 (local)
AVOID this company, which has MC #308109 and is different from the White Glove in NY that is a Bekins agent. See this thread for why to avoid it:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/results.asp ... archtype=0 (14 complaints)
See also this summary - http://www.movinganswers.org/thread/252 ... 48262.html
NORTHERN AREA
Allied Van Lines agents
BE CAUTIOUS about using this company. Although Berger is a very large Allied agent and has a good reputation nationally, this particular location has had quality scores in the "needs improvement" category:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9933#49933
As of 9/06 the score had moved up, but only to 4.15 out of 5 ("meets standards").
However, we have a good review of Berger NJ by "guest-mark" for a move to CA. He talks about his estimator being Howard and his packers being Darius and Jose. This should help identify the branch of Berger that Mark used:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7599#47599 (interstate)
--Jabbour and Randolph (Allied) in East Hanover.
Very little information. "Stephanie" got a quote from them for her move to NC but went with Holman instead:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=366
--JD Carton and Son (Allied) in Parsippany.
As of 7/13/11 this company had 15 BBB complaints, and an "A+" rating over the last 36 monts.
Several people posting here have said that this company was highly recommended by friends and real estate agents for local moves:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 5801#45801 (local)
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0228#60228 (local)
Its overall quality scores from the van line as of 6/06 were in the "very good" category with the driver's score in the "excellent" category:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0298#60298
There was some concern expressed here in 2005 when "janny" moving to NC posted that Carton was "out of service" due to an unpaid fine - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6281
However, in 6/06 "janny" returned to say that she had used Carton anyway and they did a very good job. She said that she didn't especially like the estimator (James) but singled out the driver (John) for praise--this was a self-haul. She added that the fine was due to a traffic ticket that the company hadn't known anything about (?):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1008#61008 (interstate)
In 6/06 "ljb1" was leaning toward using them for a local move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8492
"teaboat" posted in 8/08 that the company did a very good job moving a family member locally and the estimator was very nice:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17223 (local)
--Reliable Van & Storage (Allied) in Elizabeth.
Caution: there is a totally unrelated scam company called Reliable Moving
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2255#52255
The Reliable Van company in Elizabeth seems to be respected by industry professionals, and it has very good to excellent quality scores from the van line. It is large, with 80-100 trucks. It reportedly focuses on international moves, being well located near the airport and port. As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" rating with the BBB and 4 complaints over the last 36 months.
One person ("pacerfan577") gave Reliable Van a bad review for what was probably a local move, but the move was in 2003 and I think the report should probably be disregarded:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3592#23592 (local)
"elletrod" reported in 12/06 that an estimator for the company, Christian Ohm, was unprofessional, failing to show up for a scheduled appointment and then evading her phone calls and lying about it:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10735
However, "KSG" posted in 3/07 that Christian Ohm arrived on time to give an estimate and was "very professional":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4893#84893
And "alboogie7" posted in 5/07 that Christian Ohm, although he said he had been working in the industry for only a year, was "very professional." However, he didn't tell the customer right away that Berger Transfer in Ramsey would be handling the move, since it was small, which the customer found disconcerting:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13839
--Simonik Moving & Storage, Inc. (Allied) in Bound Brook (Bridgewater) and Mt. Laurel.
This company has the website www.simonikmoves.com. As of 7/12/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 9 complaints over the last 36 months. "PMueller" (works for another Allied agent) posted that the branch in Bound Brook has much higher quality scores than the branch in Mt. Laurel. As of 9/06 the average of the two branches was 4.36 out of 5 (in the "Very Good" range):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9919#69919 Both she and "weem" (works for a mover in northeast MD) recommended Simonik to someone moving from NJ to Colorado:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7108
In 8/06 there was an incident in which the owner was cited for displaying a gun that he had no license for, but I don't think this has much relevance to the performance of the company:
http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl ... /608160329
"PHL->SEA" (moving to Seattle) gave Simonik a good review for the pre-move process but ultimately decided to go with Sinclair because of its GNTE estimate--Allied agents give TPG with GRR estimates instead:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5863
"SkyyBlueGuest" (Christine) gave Simonik a good review for the pre-move process for a move within NJ and also posted that they were great during the move itself:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1071#31071
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7642#37642 (local)
"Karissa" gave Simonik a basically good review for the actual move from NJ to CA (there was a long-haul driver from another Allied agent) but said that Simonik's people didn't handle the paperwork well:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5903 (interstate)
"KJ in NJ" posted that a colleague of her husband had a great experience with Simonik and she was considering them (along with All Jersey) for a move from NJ to Troy NY:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7744#37744
"NJ - New Mexico" (real name Liz) gave Simonik-Bridgewater an excellent review for a move to Albuquerque, NM in 4/07, praising especially the sales rep (Jack Moriarty), the packing crew, and the Allied driver Otis Espy and his assistant Thomas Armstrong, who were able to get into her apartment complex without using a shuttle:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7344#87344 (interstate)
Atlas Van Lines agents
BE CAUTIOUS about using this company, which has the website www.allseasonmovers.com and the phone number 201-997-8034 or 800-323-0717. People have reported that this company is the one that AAA refers people to for its "free FVR valuation" deal. Comments on All Season by industry professionals have been lukewarm at best.
"dtoregon" told me in a Private Message that she was underwhelmed by its estimator, who refused to give her a Binding Not to Exceed quote for an interstate move when three other nearby companies did so. As of 7/12/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with 0 complaints in the last 36 months.
--Crofutt & Smith Moving & Storage, Inc. (Atlas) in Landing (HQ) and Randolph.
This company with website www.crofuttsmith.com also has locations in Raleigh, NC, and St. Charles, MO, near St. Louis. Its phone numbers are 973-347-7200 and 800-524-1793. It won a quality award from the van line in 2006 (Milton Hill award). As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with 3 complaints in the last 36 months.
"PacerFan577" praised them as his origin agent on a move to FL in August 2004. "They gave me free used boxes to pack everything, their guys were incredibly efficient, their estimator really knew his stuff, and their moving coordinators were extremely friendly and seemed to care. . . The problem was when they turned it over to corporate for the long haul." His things were held in the warehouse for pickup by an Atlas driver and arrived two weeks late with serious damage. He concluded, "Unless the agent can guarantee you they will handle the move the entire way (unlikely), I would shy away from using Atlas from New Jersey to Florida.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3592#23592 (interstate)
However, he later reported that his damage claim was paid in full, though not until six months after the move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3495 (interstate)
"FredMc" reported two good local moves with Crofutt & Smith in 2005:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4721#84721 (local)
--Kilpatrick Moving & Storage (Atlas) in Northvale.
This company has the website www.kilpatrickmoving.com and the phone 201-768-5050 or 800-346-1957. As of 7/13/11 this company had a BBB rating of an "A+" with no complaints over the past 36 months. No further information.
--Nelson Westerberg (Atlas) in Somerville.
This company won a quality award from the van line (Milton Hill Award) in 2007.
AN OUTSTANDING PERFORMER with more than 20 good reviews on this website and no bad reports as an origin agent. This company's phone number is 732-882-1060. As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with 0 complaints over the past 36 months. Background, contact information, and multiple rave reviews (too many to list individually here) are on its review thread.
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3063 (end)
I know the owners and their two estimators (Bill Quigley and Mike Carolan) personally and I have visited the company's warehouse. Here are some photos of the key personnel:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 559#475459
People like the estimators. For example, "CLB" posted that Bill Quigley "was very personable and provided lots of tips regarding packing . . . I liked him and would feel comfortable doing business with him.": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4298#34298
"kyuss1" posted that "He was the most outstanding sales rep I've ever dealt with in all the moves I've made."
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 5890#25890
"SusanF" went with another company for her move to TX but posted this about Bill Quigley--"I had the sense of complete transparency with him. He took the time to show the difference in cost between the different deductibles with the insurance. He wanted to see the items in storage.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1179#61179
One move with University that's not on its review thread because we never got a final report is a move to Seattle by "seacookie": http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0292#50292 (interstate)
She followed up with me in Private Messages as to what happened. The shipment ended up being around 22,000 pounds--almost a whole trailer. The Atlas Van Lines driver (John from Atlantic Relo in Dallas) was able to pick up the shipment at her residence in Brooklyn without using a shuttle. Two University Van Lines workers and the driver and his helper packed her one day and loaded the next. As far as I know, the move went OK although she was unhappy about two smaller loads being added to the trailer in Dallas and Portland since she had thought that she was going to get an exclusive move. (The drivers will always want to fill their trucks as full as possible.)
"Elletrod" moving to VA posted in 12/06 that she had decided to go with University even though their quote was slightly more than the one from Central Moving Systems (Mayflower): "I feel like Mike Carolan is very straight forward and open. I ask a question and there's an answer...no um's and oh's." She had some damage with her move, but her claim was paid in full and she ultimately gave University a very good review, praising the driver and workers Andy, Danny, and Caesar as "awesome":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10772
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11774 (interstate)
"tiffanysmovingtotexas" posted in 7/07 that she chose University for her move from NJ to TX mainly because it gave her a GNTE (APP) quote - also, she liked the sales rep, Mike Carolan, who was "absolutely amazing and helpful and easy to work with":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14216
"Barbara" singled out Larry Petrakakos for high praise for her move on 10/3/11
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21039
Bekins Van Lines agents
BE CAUTIOUS about using this company, which has the phone 908-753-6515.
"blangga" gave Vreeland a mixed review for a company-paid move from PA to NJ in 2002--nothing was damaged but the shipment arrived late after the truck reportedly broke down:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9569#39569 (interstate)
"vixvm" posted in 3/07 that he would not recommend Vreeland--when he told its sales rep that he was going with another company, the rep got angry and said that he hoped that his things would be damaged:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4706#84706
As of 7/13/11 the BBB reports that this business may be out of business.
- New Jersey listings continued in the next post -
-
NEW JERSEY (Part 2)
Re: Summary of moving company reviews posted on MovingScam.c
This is the link to this post - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7661#57661
NORTHERN AREA (continued)
Graebel service centers
--Graebel in Randolph.
As of 7/13/11 this company had a BBB rating of an "A+" with 1 complaint over the last 36 months.
"candalaria" posted in 3/07 that she liked the estimator and said that friends had had good moves with Graebel, but they have a 5000 pound minimum in the summer so she didn't go with them for her interstate move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4907#84907
--"Foothills" posted an excellent review of his move to VA in 11/07:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15255 (interstate)
Mayflower Transit agents
--A Colonial (Mayflower) in Hackensack.
As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints over the last 36 months. The company has the website http://www.movingservices.com/colonialmoving/ and the phone number 201-343-5777. It used to be a North American Van Lines agent. It has positive remarks by industry professionals although we have no reviews as yet. "moverjim" was one who recommended this company:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6933#56933
"jvs205" reported in 12/05 that its sales rep gave him a somewhat inaccurate weight estimate:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6832
--Central Moving Systems (Mayflower) in Bridgewater.
This company's internal customer satisfaction scores from the van lines were excellent for the last half of 2005, better even than Dahill's (a Mayflower agent in Brooklyn) for the same period. It was a past Mayflower "Circle of Excellence" winner. Its phone number is 800-222-0327. As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
There is a rave review of the company by "blempert" for a move from Manhattan to San Francisco at the end of December 2005, and the poster also says that they handled a damage claim perfectly:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7225
"Robin37" was set to move with them from NYC to San Francisco at the end of November 2005 but never came back to report (unless she is the wife of "blempert" above). She mentioned that her sales rep was Keith Haszto and the person who runs the company is Brian Coriell.
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6445
In 12/06 "elletrod" moving to VA reported that the sales rep Keith Haszto did a very good job and his presentation packet was impressive:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10735
"tiffanysmovingtotexas" posted in 7/07 that "keith haszto was wonderful . . . he was very direct and explained the valuation thing to me in a really understandable way"--but she went with University because it gave her a GNTE quote while Central gave a Nonbinding:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14216
"rpereira" gave Central Moving Systems an excellent review for hauling a 10/07 shipment to Raleigh NC that had been booked by Sinclair, praising the driver, Spike:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15661 (interstate hauling)
"agnipani" said that Central (and specifically the sales rep Keith Haszto) did a good job on her 6/08 small move to IL, the only hitch being that the Mayflower driver arrived with no helpers so her husband had to help move things upstairs at destination:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16826 (booking agent on interstate move, with storage)
--Lincoln Storage Warehouses (Mayflower) in Union and Madison.
This company has the website www.lincolnstoragewarehouses.com. As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with 1 complaint over the last 36 months. No further information.
BE CAUTIOUS about using this company. As of 4/06. Molloy had only one complaint with the BBB over the past 36 months, for "sales practices," but it also has a complaint on RipoffReport about bad service and damage on a local move. As of 7/13/11 this company had 4 complaints with the BBB over the last 36 months. The company has changed van lines frequently. First it was a North American agent, then Wheaton, and then (since 1999) Mayflower. It has a high driver out-of-service rate shown on www.safersys.org. The company has a branch called Advance Commercial Movers that handles commercial shipments.
"dilferaff" (Greg) posted that a sales rep told him that Molloy gives only Nonbinding estimates:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9764#39764
Molloy has a very bad review here by "consumer helper" alleging severe lowballing on a presumably interstate move. It appears that the company strong-armed the customer to get paid rather than collecting only 110% of the Nonbinding estimate at delivery:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1980
"dcarpa" posted a similar complaint alleging that he was billed 60% more than the estimate and Molloy failed to release his goods for 110% of the estimate as the law requires:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0955#60955
A Molloy sales rep reportedly said something that misled "girlwithapearl" (Kelly) moving to CO, but loading seemed to turn out OK although she never came back with a final report. She posted that Molloy used workers from Liberty (United) to help and that the Mayflower driver seemed good. A quality control person from Molloy even showed up at her door to ask her how the estimate and loading had gone:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7073 (interstate)
The quality control person later showed up on MovingScam.com saying that Molloy had NOT seen her posts and that Molloy's owner was simply very concerned about quality:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1737#61737
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1732#61732
"Jessica" (moving two households to FL) posted that she liked the Molloy estimator, Lou, but we don't know who she finally went with:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 3345#43345 (interstate)
"longislandmove" moving to FL posted that the sales rep badmouthed other companies and would give him only a Nonbinding estimate:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1731#31731
"BigLeeCalif" posted that when he used to work for a UniGroup company in northern CA, "in my experience in agents for Mayflower in NY metro area, we had better response with Dahill than Molloy Brothers.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=61755 #61755
"fkhan27" posted that his 8500-pound shipment loaded by Molloy on 6/23/07 and going from NJ to TX was on a truck that was still in NJ on 7/11/07 although the delivery spread had ended on 7/3/07, so he knew it was going to be delivered well beyond the spread. However, he didn't post the ultimate outcome of this move, and in any case it was Mayflower's fault, not Molloy's, because they didn't supply a long-haul driver. Mayflower told him that they would pay his hotel bills and half of his meal charges for the days of delay beyond the spread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2277#92277
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 2728#92728 (interstate)
"rpereira" said that he didn't get a good vibe from the Molloy rep in 10/07, who would give him only a Nonbinding estimate for a move to NC, so he went with another company:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15661
In 12/08, "nj_consumer" posted an excellent review of Molloy for a local move, noting that a quality control officer showed up to make sure that everything had gone OK (Molloy also sent such a person previously - see report by "girlwithapearl" above):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17551 (local)
AVOID this company, which has the phone 201-863-3000, the website www.omegashipping.com and MC #237742. According to the BBB its president is Boaz Aviani and its vice president is John Hanczor:
http://newjersey.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report ... m=31000123
In 4/08 one of the MovingScam moderators was informed that the company had moved from Long Island City to NJ and had been discontinued as a Mayflower agent although it is still listed as a Mayflower International Mover. Omega was mentioned in 12/06 as doing an inventory and packing for Rainier on an international shipment:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 7720#77720
However, Rainier probably doesn't use Omega for this any more in view of the many bad comments about the company on this thread:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8957
As of 7/13/11 the BBB is reporting that this company is no longer in business.
National Van Lines agents
--Harrington Moving & Storage, Inc. (National) in Maplewood (with an office in Manhattan). Also dba Harrington Movers.
This company has the website www.harringtonmovers.com, phone (973) 313-2246 and MC #351638. As of 7/13/11 it has 3 BBB complaint over the past 36 months, and an "A+" rating.
"microwave234" posted a complaint in 2/07 saying that on a move to VA, pickup went well but the movers arrived 10 hours late for the delivery, finishing at 10 pm and hiring someone off the street to help:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11745 (interstate)
"NJ to NC" chose Harrington for a 6/07-7/07 employer-paid move to NC after they offered to keep the items on the truck for a week without charging. As it turned out, the weight was less than estimated so it cost $1500 less than the GNTE estimate. There was a little damage but National Van Lines paid the claim fairly so she was pleased:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0576#90576
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16403 (interstate)
North American Van Lines agents
--Able Metro Moving & Storage (North American) in South Plainfield.
"Nancy" (works for another NAVL agent) said that they are a small agent. As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 2 complaints in the last 36 months.
"JenM" moved with them to Dutchess County, NY but never came back to report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4419 (interstate)
AVOID this company. It has MC #73535 also uses the name Able Apollo (somewhat confusing in view of the other NAVL agent Able Metro in the same area). It has a high "vehicle out of service" rating on www.safersys.org with many of the problems having to do with brakes. It has given people fairly low GNTE quotes.
"ShirazM" reported that a box was missing from his apparently self-hauled shipment when it was delivered in Chicago, but we have no final report on this and responsibility is unclear:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6188 (interstate)
"Grizzlybel" complained that a sofa transported by Apollo was damaged when it came out of mini-storage in Ohio, but there is no way of knowing who caused the damage:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6863 (interstate)
"cady" complained about rushed service, damage, and missing items on a self-haul by Apollo to MD:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8566 (interstate)
"lisastwins06" posted a complaint about damage and lost items on a move to MD, stating that Able Apollo advised her to buy Baker International insurance rather than selling her valuation coverage, which in my experience is unheard of except for scam or dubious companies:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9719 (interstate)
One person posted in 3/07 that the Apollo sales rep who came to do an estimate "reminded me of a shady car salesman.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4519#84519
--A. Santini (North American) in Roseland.
This company is said to do very few household moves. As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with 0 complaints over the past 36 months.
"Stephanie" got a very high quote from them for a move to NC--someone speculated that the estimator was inexperienced. She went with Holman:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... =1948#1948
--Move 1 Relocation Services (North American) in Edison.
As of 7/13/11 this company had 0 BBB complaints and an "A+" rating over the last 36 months.
A driver for this company, Dave R., has been highly recommended by "I-95" (a long-haul van line driver based in the Northeast):
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8325#58325
In other words, if you move with this company and get this particular driver, "I-95" feels that you will have a good move.
However, another driver told me in 11/06 that "move1 has gone into the crapper."
Paul Arpin Van Lines agents
--All Jersey Movers (Paul Arpin) in Piscataway.
This company has the website www.alljerseymovers.com and the phone
732-603-0100. As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with 1 complaint in the past 36 months. No Further information.
--Allstate Moving & Transfer Co. (Paul Arpin) in Linden.
This company with website www.allstatemoving.com and phone 908-474-0007 does a lot of military moves. Its NJ license number is 00041PC. It won a quality award from the van line in 2004 and was "Agent of the Month" in November 2005. Do not confuse this company with All States Moving LLC in Clifton, NJ, which is most probably a scammer (see list of dubious companies above). As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
Allstate Moving & Transfer has a very good review for a local move within NJ:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5689 (local)
"shauna120" was booked by Allstate to TX after also considering University Van Lines. There was a hiccup with the estimate when the owner/estimator quoted the wrong price at first, but he gave Shauna free boxes and the loading went well. However, the shipment was hauled by an Arpin Van Lines driver, and unfortunately several pieces of furniture were delivered damaged. We are waiting for a final report on how her claim was handled:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7452 (interstate)
Here is a thread where someone was considering both Allstate and University for a local move and it gives their hourly rates: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6368
This is the specific post outlining estimates: http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 6149#46149
--Booth Movers, Ltd. (Paul Arpin) in Carlstadt.
As of 7/13/11 this company had 3 complaints with the BBB in the last 36 months.
This company gave "Stephanie" (moving to NC) a very low Nonbinding estimate and she went with Holman instead:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=366
Stevens Van Lines agents
--AAAmerican Moving & Storage (Stevens) in Wyckoff.
As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating with 0 complaints over the last 36 months.
No further information.
United Van Lines agents
--Holman Moving Systems (United) in Hackensack. Also has an office (HQ) in Wilmington DE.
This company has the website www.holmanmoving.com and the phone 201-487-3900 or 800-222-0875. As of 7/13/11 the NJ and DE offices together had 0 BBB complaints over the last 36 months. According to its BBB listing, Holman was founded in 1886. Its first-quarter 2010 quality scores from the van line - based on ratings by customers - averaged 4.7 out of 5 (high) for the NJ office, which is its flagship office.
Several industry pros including "Fred0844" (works for United in Toronto) have said that it is a highly reputable old-line company. One moving company owner in NJ commented, however, that because it does a lot of corporate/national account moves (about 70% of its business is in this category), it may not be quite as consumer-friendly as some agents that focus on COD moves. As of 6/10, the company was being run by a brother-sister team, Bob and Kathy Holman. Bob manages the fleet as executive VP and Kathy is the president of both Holman and XONEX, the relocation arm.
"Jay" (works for Armstrong in NC) posted that he used to work for them in NJ and "they are a good orginization and were one of the founding agents of United Van Lines back in the 40's. They are a self haul company and do like to self haul all of their own orders. Holman, btw is the fathers last name. . . . Xonex, is, or at least used to be the relocation side of the business which dabbles in home buyouts, mortgages, things like that. . . . Holman just about turns down every cod move out there because they are a national account company. im pretty sure, or at least thats what i was aware of, that they only did local cod stuff and stuff they knew they could cover."
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 0656#40656
"Stephanie" (moving to NC in 8/03) gave Holman a good review for the pickup crew but complained about poor communication. Also, her things were stranded in Holman's warehouse and delivered (by a van line driver) a week beyond the delivery spread. She felt that Holman had overbooked, but the van line did compensate her with $300:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=614 (origin agent for interstate move)
"kyuss1" moving to CA gave his impressions of the estimator, Pat O'Sullivan: "Pat was very nice and professional. . . [but] the thing that really did them in was that they don't accept credit cards. That and the fact that their estimate was 10% higher than University and 20% higer than Wade Odell Wade pretty much sealed the deal.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 5890#25890 (interstate)
"SusanF" decided to go with Holman for her move to TX, partly because they would self-haul. Her estimator was also Pat O'Sullivan. She posted that as of 6/06 they do accept credit cards. Her actual move with Holman went very well although the move coordinator didn't seem to be on top of things and a couple of the helpers were inexperienced:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8644 (interstate)
"arche" moving to CA commented in a Private Message that his estimator, Pat O'Sullivan, was "extremely nice, courteous, and professional. He really represented his company's claim to over 120 years of service to the nth degree." (He went with Moving Man.)
"John Bliss" gave Holman very high marks for his 4/10 move:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19351 (within-state move)
--Liberty Transportation & Storage Co., Inc. (United) in Union.
This company has the phone 908-964-8390 and the website http://www.libertytransport.com. As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" BBB rating and 5 complaints over the last 36 months.
"Glad to Help" (in the industry) posted that it was a good company and that it is unrelated to the Liberty (United) on Long Island:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 4515#64515
--Suddath Relocation Systems (United) in Wayne.
No reviews as yet. This company has the same owner, Joe Cuccurullo, as the office in Suffern, NY (Rockland County). As of 7/13/11 this company had an "A+" rating with 4 BBB complaints over the last 36 months.
A VERY GOOD PERFORMER with at least 5 good reviews and no significant bad reviews as an origin agent posted on this website. This company's website is www.wowmoving.com and its phone number is 201-493-9300. Its president is Edward O'Dell and its vice president is John Dack. It has been praised by several industry people posting here, including "ArchieWhite" (owns a United/Mayflower agency in Atlanta). As of 7/13/11, WOW had an "A+" rating and 3 BBB complaints over the past 36 months (all resolved)--a significant improvement from 11 complaints in 2007.
"move2az2" gave WOW a rave review on his move to AZ:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3661 (interstate)
"kyuss1" (moved to CA with University Van Lines) posted his impressions of his sales rep John Dack, who is also an owner: "John was extremely professional. He used a portable blackberry and printer and gave me a clean, professional estimate on the spot. He also offered a folder with at least 30 interstate references and a rights booklet. He was on-time and courteous. . . . I like that these guys were the only BBB members of the 3 companies University, WOW, and Holman (with no complaints against them atm). John claimed that WOW did 46% of the interstate moves in Bergen County which was impressive if unverified.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 5890#25890 (interstate)
"Radiance" posted that she had used WOW several times (for local moves within northern NJ and then for a cross-country move in late 2004) and was very happy with them. "I found them to be professional, on-time and I don't believe their prices exceeded the estimate. I did not move anything valuable like antiques, but only once did I have something damaged in those several moves, but it was a cheap piece of do-it-yourself furniture.":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 1016#51016 (local and interstate)
"Glenn925" posted a very good review of his 19,000-pound move to FL with WOW, the only glitch being that his move coordinator (Lauren Adessi) was hard to reach:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9358 (interstate)
"rmonrose" was set to use them to store antiques for a year or two:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7060
WOW provided a shuttle for an Adco (United) shipment from Chicago to NYC, and the customer ("Addison") was very pleased with them:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 8241#58241 (local shuttle)
"smensch" was set to go with WOW for a move from NYC to TX but never came back to report:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5205 (interstate)
"moving_engineer" gave WOW an excellent review for his move to OR in 9/06 - his estimator was Dick and he got a very good price, I think because they must have had another shipment going that way:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9631 (interstate)
"amountee" reported that WOW did a great job on a self-hauled move to WI in 8/06, mentioning that the sales rep (Jim Murphy), driver (Jose), and loading and unloading crews all did a great job, although the move coordinator was hard to reach:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9535 (interstate)
"jpd" got quotes from All Brunswick, JD Carton, University, and WOW for a move to FL in 1/07 and praised Bill Quigley as University's sales rep but decided to go with WOW because of its lower price. WOW's rep was Dick Cooper. "jpd" reported that the move went extremely well and his things were delivered undamaged in FL five days after pickup by the same team that loaded them--Jose, Angel, and Juan:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10513 (interstate)
"Samitoro" posted an excellent review of WOW for a last-minute move from Manhattan to Dallas in 5/07, mentioning the estimator (Jim Murphy) and United Van Lines' handling of a missing box situation. "I called the shortage number on the form and the woman who called me back seemed genuinely concerned and promised a thorough investigation into tracking and recovering the box," which contained winter clothes. (The box was delivered to her via UPS a month later.) "For no hassle moving and honest estimates this is a great company." She paid only $2100 for the move, much less than she would have paid for a Penske truck rental ($1700) plus fuel charges:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 9154#89154
"rohitmittal" posted an excellent review of WOW for a move to Chicago in 5/07 - her estimator was also Jim Murphy:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13555 (interstate)
"tiffanysmovingtotexas" posted in 7/07 that "dick cooper . . . was totally awesome. he gave me lots of tips and i felt like he was being super honest with me about everything" - but she went with University because it gave her a GNTE quote while WOW gave a Nonbinding:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14216
"bruingrl" moving to CA posted in 7/07 that she decided to go with WOW over University because its quote was lower per pound, although Nonbinding. She liked both sales reps (Bill Quigley from University and Jim Murphy from WOW) very much:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14148
"margaretmoves" posted in 7/07 that she decided to go with WOW for her move to MA because WOW's estimator (Chris) quoted her a much lower weight and price than University Van Lines, although it was a Nonbinding quote:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14170
"CelticKate" moving to Santa Fe reported in 7/07 that she chose WOW because she liked the estimator (Dick Cooper) and the estimate was easy to understand. However, she wasn't told that she might have a Mayflower driver. As it turned out, that driver (John) had truck problems and wasn't good at communicating. The shipment was delivered 5 days after the end of the delivery spread, but the van line offered to pay for her hotel and 50% of the meals during that 5-day period, and during the delay, WOW's move coordinator Elizabeth and helper Mia stayed in touch and tried to be helpful. Also, United Van Lines paid her delay claim with a nice letter from Lorelei Holloway, a customer service specialist:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14425 (interstate)
"choate" posted in 9/07 that he had a good move with WOW to Chicago, the only glitch being that the move coordinator said at the last minute that his pickup date would have to be changed (but then it was changed back). The cost was only a few hundred dollars more than ABF would have charged for two ReloCubes:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14812 (interstate)
"Oakland-bound" who moved to CA and had storage with WOW posted in 11/07 that a sofabed was left behind and she had damage but she was hoping that the claim was going to be settled to her satisfaction--she said the sales rep (Jim Murphy) had been helpful. In a later Private Message she said that most of her claim had been adequately settled but in general she was not impressed with WOW's performance:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15092 (interstate)
"mnebaum" (real name Liz) reported in 11/07 that WOW's performance was disappointing on her shipment to AZ--when her original service reps Elizabeth and Mia left the company, apparently the paperwork associated with her move was not turned over to another person and her scheduled pickup was delayed by a day. Also, although her driver (Joe Rodriguez from the Mayflower agent Amodio in CT) was good, his apparently inexperienced helpers damaged her almost-new furniture. Further, WOW was unresponsive when she asked them for a claim form. She did like her sales rep (Dick Cooper), as well as University Van Lines' Bill Quigley:
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14606 (interstate)
"mama4jc" said that she had an excellent move with WOW to Tampa in the summer of 2007 - "flawless . . . excellent communication":
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtop ... 199#115199 (interstate)
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