Low ball estimate to get job
Keith
Submitted this review about
Americas-Moving-Services
Review made Live: 11/16/2009 2:39:00 PM
I've never used a mover before so I learned a lot during this experience. Basically, I'll never hire a mover ever again.
I contacted several brokers and went with America's Moving Services. They weren't the lowest bidder, but they seemed to be honest and responsive.
I don't think America's Moving Service is a dishonest company, but they apparently purposely low-balled the estimate in order to get the job. While providing Eric with my inventory list over-the-phone, he told me that I wouldn't hit 2,000 pounds - which he said is their minimum weight limit - and therefore I didn't need to continue telling him what I have to move.
Eric said that if I did go over 2,000 pounds, I'd be charged $0.69 a pound. That sounded fine with me and we moved forward with a $2,324 estimate.
I had a one-bedroom apartment with no heavy furniture but lots of boxes - many of them were mostly peanuts and one item. While I was boxing everything up, I weighed the boxes and realized that I'd be looking at around 3,000 pounds. No problem, I thought, another $690.
When the actual movers came, Northwest Relocation, the driver provided a non-binding estimate of 4,200 pounds. He said it looked like 3,000 pounds but he didn't want to be way under because they'd have to eat anything beyond 110% of the non-binding estimate.
Well, according to the movers, I had 5,700 pounds of stuff and where my original estimate was $2,234, it ended up being just under $4,000. I'll provide a separate review of Northwest Movers when I'm finished disputing the additional charges.
But there's no way I'll ever hire a professional mover again. If I did, I wouldn't use a broker and I'd hire someone who can physically come to my home and provide an accurate quote. Doing over-the-phone estimates is a joke. Going with a broker like America's Moving Services is a waste of money. Contact a mover directly and have them come to residence for an estimate. Or just hire some day-laborers to load your truck and drive it yourself.
