WARNING - DO NOT USE SWIFT AMERICAN MOVING
Mike
Submitted this review about
Swift American Moving
Review made Live: 10/19/2010 5:34:00 PM
I would warn anyone against using this service. Absolutely, without a doubt the worst decision of my life. I was relocating from the NYC area to Chicago due to my job. I called a number of different moving companies and spoke to several people at each one. Swift is great with sucking you in. They are friendly and professional before the sale. Once they have your deposit and especially once they have your things it is a WHOLE different story.
First of all I was VERY VERY specific with my inventory of items. I even provided the number of boxes I had and the CU FT of each one of the boxes. I called back 2 times to add additional items, each time the price would fluctuate by around 20 dollars or so and the final quote ended up being around $1428. Additionally, when we first booked the move, we were told it would be 3-5 days to Chicago, so based on this information, myself, my wife and 2 small children booked flights, and packed enough toys and clothes for 5 days worth since this is what we were told. On the day of the move, the guys show up late (I had told them I had a flight to catch later that day and that they HAD to be on time). The guys that moved my things onto the truck were friendly and professional and I have to say worked very fast. Once the Items were on the truck, the "moving consultant" said that the total price was going to be $3700 based on the cu ft it was taking up. When I argued that my inventory was very specific and that I wanted a calculating agent that they used to calculate the initial quote the guy couldn’t' answer me and said that I had to contact the office. At that point I was stuck between them unloading all of my things (which they may not have done anyway) while missing my flight and work, or being screwed by these guys. I figured the right thing to do would be to have them load it and speak to the office while the truck was in route.
My things were picked up on a Wednesday morning - that day I flew out to Chicago and the next day, started calling the office to dispute the price. I was finally able to get someone on the line on Friday who would give me an answer. When I asked them when I would be receiving my things, I was told by Monday or Tuesday. I called back on Monday to check progress and guess what? I was told that my things hadn’t left NJ yet. They hadn’t even left NJ!! I then said that I wanted to speak to someone about the fact that I was quoted more than 2k more than I was being charged and that my things hadn’t even left the origination state yet. I was transferred to someone named “max” who said that he would personally take a look into this and call me back within an hour. That was the last time I heard from “Max.” I called every hour between 10 AM and 5 PM for the next 4 days and each time I was told that “Max” was going to be back in the office by so and so time – never heard back from him.
So I was told on Friday that I would be getting my things by Monday or Tuesday, then on Monday told that my things were not even on the way yet. On Monday I told them that I didn’t want the move anymore – that they need to keep my things there in NJ and that I was going to get on a flight and pick up my things myself with a full refund. I was told that I would be called back with relevant information.
On Tuesday, the next day, I was told by the office that they would have the dispatch call me. When I spoke to the “driver” about an hour later he said that they were in Ohio (about half way) and that I would get my things that evening or the next day. On Wednesday morning I called again – the office said the driver would call me back. I heard back from the driver who then said that the truck was in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh???? They went backwards!!!!!???????? When I pointed this out, he then said that the truck had broken down and that they were going to bring out another truck to load my things and eventually bring it out. I eventually received my shipment on Saturday afternoon. My family of 4 was living on 5 days worth of clothes and toys (I have a toddler boy – enough said) in a 1 room hotel for 11 days because of the lies these guys told. I was out over 2k more than I had because of the lies these guys told. They KNEW that if they quoted the actual number of DAYS and the actual DOLLARS involved that NO ONE in their right mind would use their service – and no one should. This was by far the most stressful experience of my life.
I am reporting these guys to the Department of Transportation, the BBB and because this was an interstate move, I am also reporting them to the FBI. If you don’t want to be cheated, don’t use Swift American Movers. Consider yourself warned.
