Allied vs. Armstrong Relocation

[boston_to_TX]

We are moving from Boston to College Station, TX (about an hour and a half from Houston).

Are we ok going with either Allied or Armstrong Relocation?

They both work with our new employer for moves so I *think* we're dealing with the Houston branches?

We were really suprised with the cost for both of them, even with the 65% "educational discount," our two and a half bedroom apartment comes to around $7K (give or take $1K) without packing which is a lot more than our friends who are relocating other places with other movers are paying. We were told that the 110% estimates are guaranteed. This is still quite a bit more than our employer is willing to reimburse us for, but we are willing to pay it if it means a hassle-free move, unless there is a better option out there.

Armstrong puts us at 8,170 pounds and Allied 9,000. They both said there will probably be an extra charge around $1K because our new house is on a cul-de-sac where a semi cannot reach so they will have to change trucks.

We did try a different mover and got a $4K estimate, but then read very bad things about it on this site, so now we're back to the places our employer recommends.

Are we doing the right thing?

[BigLeeCalif]

Hi Boston To TX

I can't speak from experience with Allied, although I am certain that there are those here that can.

I can speak from experience with Armstrong, though. I am a former employee of an agency in Northern California that represented both Mayflower and United Van Lines (they are commonly owned by Unigroup)

One of our major Electronic firm accounts transferred many employees to and from the Houston area, and Armstrong was the agency that I dealt with for their destination storage-in-transit if needed, and destination or origin services as needed.

I am not recommending them, but I can say that the experience I had with them, from the General Manager down to the warehouse manager was steller, and the accounting/customer service people were efficient.

And most importantly for you, as the consumer, is that all claims were handled quickly and to the satisfaction of the customer.

Naturally, company paid moves tend to go smoother, but we used them on individually paid moves with the same level of competency.

Lee

[Diane]

Hi - I think you would probably have a good move with Allied or Armstrong since they will try to keep on the good side of your employer, but I certainly think you can do better pricewise and still have a high-quality move.

Broadway Express would move 12 linear feet of goods for $2565. That is what they estimate will be needed for an average 2-3BR apartment and it is the equivalent of about 5400-6000 pounds. Although your estimates are for much higher poundage, two factors could have come into play: (1) reviews here show that for an "account" move, estimates are often given on the high side; (2) you could have a lot of books, and weight doesn't matter with Broadway Express. Even if you do have to use more space (say 16 linear feet), BE would charge only $3301. Then you could buy an awful lot of moving help with the money you would save. There are some very good loading companies in Boston such as Gentle Giant and Marathon Movers (see reviews linked to below under "Massachusetts"). At destination, if access makes a shuttle necessary, you would have plenty of money left to hire a local company to do that.

[boston_to_TX]

Thanks for the information. We do have a lot of books, though so do our friends who are moving this year. However, we also have a granite topped bureau and a solid oak table which are probably contributing to the extra weight.

I wish we could use Gentle Giant for the entire move, but from what I understand they only do interstate moves along the East Coast? Otherwise they contract out?

With Broadway Express... do they ship the stuff and we would need to arrange both loading and unloading on either end?

[Diane]

You could use Gentle Giant for the whole move, although I think the cost might be similar to the quotes you already have. See the comments by the GG manager in the summary post on MA linked to below--they apparently can do long-distance moves now. If they tell you they can move you using their own truck and driver and your things will be delivered by the same driver who picks them up without ever being set off in a warehouse, I think they would be worth considering.

If it were my move, however, I would use Broadway Express and Gentle Giant or Marathon for loading the truck. Here is an online brochure explaining how BE works--and yes, you do have to hire workers to load and unload the truck that they drive: http://www.movingscam.com/images/offsit ... s-0102.pdf
The trucks come with 150 moving blankets and you can hire the driver for $30/hour to help load. There are more than 200 mostly rave reviews on a sticky at the top of the messageboard.

I don't know whether you can pocket the extra money if you don't use everything the employer will allocate for the move--that might influence your decision.

[boston_to_TX]

My husband didn't want to deal with getting any more moving estimates so we ended up going with Armstrong because the estimates were similar and Armstrong had far superior customer service. On the plus side, we were able to get another couple of thousand moving expenses out of the university from my husband's department and Armstrong said they could charge the university directly so we don't have to wait for a reimbursement-- a definite plus when we don't have paychecks yet.

We will be moving at the end of July and I will update how it went in August.

Thanks for all the help! This is a great site.

[BigLeeCalif]

It is good that Armstrong will bill the University via Purchase Order.

Purchase orders are usually not open-ended, so the charges probably won't be out of line with what is estimated.

I used to handle the invoicing with some of the major corporations, and just because they have deep pockets does not mean that they accept anything as being gospel just because it is on an invoice. Some companies will question any charge that is not clear and not itemized correctly.

Happy Moving

Lee

[boston_to_TX]

We're about half-way there...

They gave us a 2 hour window for picking our stuff up, from 8am to 10am, and showed up at 9:59am on the dot with a shuttle. My husband said they showed up with two big guys who did all of the organizing and directing and I think three scrawny high school students to do all of the lifting. They finished around 2:30pm (I think) without incident.

They gave us a 7 day window, from August 1st to August 7th (between 8:30am and 10:30am) to actually deliver our stuff. I am willing to bet that they will show up at 10:29am on the 7th, but I'm getting pretty used to sleeping on the floor.

Will update again once our stuff gets here!

[Diane]

boston,

I am confused about which United agent (company) actually did your estimate because Armstrong Relocation doesn't have a location in Massachusetts. Could you please clarify this? I know that Armstrong is the booker and hauler for this account move but I would like to know who the origin agent was so I can give them credit. Thanks.

[Guest]

Looking over our stuff it was Humboldt.

We are NOT happy campers. We're paying a HUGE amount, and they gave us a 7 day window which ended today (most people we know moving this summer got 4 day windows and got their stuff on time). With no sign nor word from the movers, we called them this morning and apparently they're not coming today (which is the last day of their 7 day window). It didn't seem like they were planning to tell us they were going to miss the window either. The contract says they will pay for half our meals today and reasonable hotel charges, but we weren't planning on going to a hotel.

It makes me worry that other things will be done shoddily as well. I guess we will have to be extra careful checking over our stuff if they do come tomorrow. I also worry that even though we got rid of a ton of our weight before the movers came (boxes of books, futon, electronics, cookware etc.) that we will still charge us the same as if we'd shipped it all. That's probably irrational though.

[boston_to_TX]

That above "Guest" is me, btw. Sorry about that.

[farrah7031]

Boston-

Did they say when they suspect they will deliver? You can ask them to see if they've already weighed your load and what the final total will be.

[Guest]

They came today. They were a day late and 3 items short (a framed picture, a rug, and a projector screen). The picture and the rug are in a warehouse in Oklahoma and should be shipped to us via UPS or else the driver was going to pick them up for us. They think the projector screen got packed in with someone else's stuff while in Oklahoma. They are trying to track it down.

Unloading took 2 hours and they were very competent and efficient (the moving guys are bigger in TX, I guess).

We forgot to ask them the weight and the final cost, but will the next time we are in contact, and we will be in contact again as they still have some of our stuff.

[boston_to_TX]

(above post was me again-- sorry!)

[Diane]

So your things were inventoried by Humboldt in Boston, picked up by an Armstrong truck and driver, taken to an Armstrong warehouse in Oklahoma, and then delivered in TX by a different Armstrong truck and driver? My guess is that the "three scrawny high school students" who helped load the shipment were people that the Armstrong driver and his helper picked up in Boston - maybe from Humboldt's lot labor or maybe from some other source.