Dishonest, incompetent, overcharged, unresponsive
John Douglas
Submitted this review about
Master Movers LLC
Review made Live: 7/26/2009 11:07:00 AM
We are extremely dissatisfied. This was our eight move using professional movers and our first time using Master Movers. We hired Master Movers of Indianapolis for our in-town move due to the low, in-home estimate. The movers arrived on time, in matching T-shirts. This is where the professionalism stopped. The Master Movers team foreman started adding fees from the beginning, for example the "Free Furniture Wrap" that was advertised (borrowing the blanket was free, you still have to pay for the tape used - they charged us for 30 rolls at $6 each - and the time it takes to wrap them up). The truck was too small, requiring two trips (about an hour each way), for which we also had to pay. In the end, the job, with a "Not to Exceed" total of about $893 cost well over $1,400. Here's the scam: they quoted us for 7 hours of labor at $105/hr plus $157 driving charge plus $625 in packing materials. In the email with the estimate, Brian Epting said we could deduct the $625 from the $1,561 "Not to Exceed" total. In fact, the movers used this $625 fluff to extend the labor charges from 7 hours to 10.5 hours! Master Movers demands exact change in advance (in a money order or cash) but did not provide a valid amount before unloading the truck (that guarantees a tip, I guess). Whenever we pointed out the estimate, the Master Movers team foreman (who spoke broken English) kept reminding us that we wouldn't pay more than the $1,561 "Not to Exceed" total. If only they had put as much effort in treating our property responsibly as they had trying to get as close to the $1,561 as possible! The workers' English was so bad, furniture and boxes were dropped in the wrong places. The Master Movers team's workers were also visibly exhausted after the seventh hour, which we observed as they became increasingly careless with our belongings, dropping a heavy box of books on a glass-pack box (pre-marked "FRAGILE" and purchased from Master Movers). The Master Movers team also left two carloads of items at the prior residence. These items were not included in the segraged "stays here" pile we had in another room (probably another translation problem). They assume everything is okay if you do not contact them within 24 hours and only on their website, and then they will hold you to the $.60/lb "insurance" you agree to (that's a little over a twenty-five cents for for a broken $400 8-oz Mignon Faget pitcher) . No copies of the paperwork were provided when we demanded them; it was slightly funny because we argued over whether they could take a credit card and the packet included a credit card authorization form! They refused to honor our 10% coupon (provided by the company) on the scene, requiring us to mail it in for a rebate.
