DON’T USE THIS COMPANY!! RUN!
Valerie
Submitted this review about
First Call Movers
Review made Live: 8/15/2012 12:07:00 PM
I contracted First Call Movers on August 8, 2012 to do a local move from Woodbridge, VA to MD. The transaction went relatively well when we went through the estimate. I gave them an inventory of the usual fare—sofas, chairs, flat screen TV’s, beds—and they provided an estimate on the number of hours it would take to move everything that included travel time. Before paying the 25% deposit, I asked a question about the “additional fees and accessorial services” because my fiancé and I were having them pack up some of our items. The response (or tactical diversion) provided by the First Call Movers rep was that any additional fees associated with the move will translate into any additional hours that may incur as a result of the move. He went on to explain that if the move is estimated at 5 hours but takes 7 hours, I would only pay $85 for each additional hour. If the move only took 4 hours, I would not have to pay the additional hour in the estimate. I’m not a “seasoned” mover, but that made sense to me. Ben went on to say, “they are basically your slaves for as long as you need them”. I thought that was a poor choice of words and wrote it off as youthful ignorance. Little did I know this was just a glimpse of the unprofessionalism and poor customer service that I later came to expect from them. I also provided information about a second stop at a storage unit 2.5 miles away. Again, “they are your slaves for the day. A second stop is not a problem. You only pay for the hours actually used.” I proceeded to give Ben the address of the 2nd location and was told a dispatcher will call me to schedule the move.
The day before the move, I did not hear anything from the dispatcher, so I called Ben back. Ben had already gone for the day, but another rep told me that the second pickup was not in the notes. Had I not called back to get the time of the move the next day, the carrier would not have known about the second pickup. Bad customer service. Strike 2.
Econo Van Lines called on moving day to let us know they were on their way. THEY were very courteous and professional. HERE’S THE BIG SURPRISE! ADDITIONAL CHARGES FOR THE BUBBLE WRAPPING OF VARIOUS ITEMS TO THE TUNE OF AN ADDITIONAL $500!! This goes back to the same charges I asked about but didn’t get the straight answer from First Call Movers. Pricing is at the discretion of the mover they contract with. Would have been nice if the broker included that tidbit of information in the estimate or at least gave me the straight answer when I asked about it. Had we known, we could have saved the money by going to LOWES or Home Depot to purchase shrink wrap to wrap everything ourselves.
Econo understood our predicament and gave us a discount, however, I was pretty upset to hear about these additional costs on the day of the move. Much of this could have been avoided had they just been upfront.
BOTTOMLINE…DON’T USE A BROKER AND DEFINITELY DON’T USE FIRST CALL. You’ll be better off going directly to a moving company and having these costs addressed upfront. My beef with First Call is that they are in the business of moving, I’m not. If I tell you I need to move a 57” flat screen TV, tell me that there will be an additional cost to wrap it and move it. The free quilted moving blankets that ARE included in the cost is not going to be enough to protect your furniture. When I called First Call on the day of the move to explain, they were less than helpful and quite condescending in their tone. Won’t use you again…and I hope those who are reading this are heeding the advice from me and others.
