Seem too good to be true? Then it is.
Steven
Submitted this review about
Best Time Movers
Review made Live: 10/29/2008 4:44:00 PM
I used Best Time Movers (BTM) 2.5 years ago and I was quite impressed. I had to make 2 additional stops at a furniture store and a storage unit and that all went very smoothly. The move went well all together and I believe I paid around $900.
Fast forward to present. My wife and I researched about 5 moving companies this time around. All their prices were roughly $135/hr for three people and a 26’ truck, but BTM was $79/hour. I received a quote from Betty and Gail to move ONLY the furniture in my 4 bedroom house 13 miles. My family and I moved all the boxes and miscellaneous items to include to flat screen TV’s, BBQ, and patio furniture. I was quoted 9 hours at $79/hr for 3 guys plus 1 hour of travel time. I specifically asked Betty (or Gail) if there were any additional charges because the hourly price seemed too good. She said that there wasn’t unless we needed a mattress box or flat screen TV box which they kept on the truck. She directed me to the website and we looked together at the listed prices and nothing appeared to be needed. Fine. Seemed reasonable enough. Just before the crew arrived I received a call from the foreman, Daniel, who asked if I wanted a 4th person for an additional $20 per hour to speed up the move. I said fine because it was pouring with rain. When the crew arrived late at 9:20 (had an 8am-9am window) and we showed them the house I was told that there would be additional charges of $19-$22 PER ITEM to be wrapped in plastic wrap and protective paper. They also had the nerve to charge $6 per moving blanket! Are you kidding me? Why would I pay for anything that can be used repeatedly? I refused and they agreed. I had issue with the additional charges, but what could I do at that point, I needed to move. You see where this is going? So the move commenced and they spent over an hour just to prepare the master bedroom furniture . . . that seemed to be their biggest hurdle.
Fast forward . . . everything on the truck in about 4 hours. Not horrible. My wife went with the truck to the other house while I stayed to get the remaining odds and ends. I then got a call from my wife about 30 minutes later that the movers would not remove our belongings from the truck until they received $2900! Hugh? They we charging me for 8 hours of labor and 2 hours of travel time, they had only worked maybe 5 hours and the houses were 20 minutes apart. I was IRRATE. When I arrived at the house I had a heated discussion with the foreman but then an even more heated discussion on the phone with the Move Supervisor, Ron. I felt swindled. Plain and simple. They hide behind their contract like nobody’s business. Take what they say on the phone with a grain of salt because it might as well have not happened if it isn’t in the contract. I was shaking with anger on the phone with Ron and when I told him that I was told by Betty there weren’t additional charges and he basically called me a liar. That didn’t help matters. I was essentially paying $1500 in plastic wrap. How could that not be discounted easily? After about an hour on the phone (which I essentially paid for because the movers weren’t moving) we agreed on a 15% discount which brought the total down to about $2400. Still a far cry more than what I was quoted. I was also told that the movers could only work until 6:30 otherwise it would cost more money. So, we finalized the paper work and off they went.
I will say this . . . the actual movers are GREAT. They worked extremely hard and got everything done by 6:30 in the pouring rain. They went the extra mile to get my treadmill down to the basement too. The foreman, Daniel, is definitely good at what he does and I felt bad I yelled at him. The bottom line is this . . . they are cheaper by the hour but if you don’t wrap your stuff yourself, be prepared to shell out a ton of money in materials. Both the supervisor and the customer service girl I spoke to today said the exact same line, “We do not want to charge you for the materials. That’s why we tell you to pack yourself.” Oh really? I don’t believe that for one second! Then why are you holding my stuff hostage until I pay?!?! They know they're raking you over the coals and I can only describe the entire operation as DISHONEST.
I have a big issue with their people at the other end of the phone (Customer Service mostly) but I like the movers a lot, so it’s just a matter of what is most important to you.
DO NOT TRUST WHAT THEY SAY VERBALLY. READ THE CONTRACT WORD FOR WORD BEFORE SIGNING IT.
I HAVE LEARNED MY LESSON, SO HOPEFULLY YOU WILL LEARN YOURS BEFORE IT HAPPENS TO YOU.
