NorthStar Moving Company

From our experience talking to several moving companies, we learned something everyone should keep in mind when hiring a moving. While some movers may be a bit faster or slower than others, the number of person-hours required for a move depends mostly on how much stuff there is to move and pack and distance from the truck to the front doors). In terms of price, compare companies on their hourly rate and the size crew not their total estimate. An estimate that's 20% lower because they think it will take 2/3 the time, is actually MORE expensive. Also, unless you're moving a 2-bedroom apartment or smaller, it's worthwhile to pay for a larger crew to do things faster. They gave us a detailed estimate at a fair price that was very competitive in the end we chose a different mover we liked just a bit better.

Ok - did not set up as told when I moved. Some breakage. One wet box.

It seems like there's no such thing as a "great" moving company. My research left me with the impression that the industry as a whole is rather prone to sloppy work and dishonesty. My apprehension over choosing one led me to Angies List and I picked North Star because they seemed to have the best reputation. The short story is, all of my stuff made it with minimal damage and the price was reasonable. My complaints are: -Movers arrived 4 hours early to pick up my stuff and I was not ready. They pressured me to let them in early to start packing up, which ended up working out fine but was stressful. -Arrival was delayed due to re-route, but actually this wasn't the worst because they credited me for each day the truck was late which brough the final price down. -Delivery guy didn't call ahead so it was a bit of a surprise when he called to say he was at my new apartment, Was a bit disruptive to my day not to be able to plan this ahead of time, but from what I have read this is par for the course with moving companies. -Biggest complaint was confusing billing. There was a lot of back and forth and various contractors calling their "managers" to confirm costs, etc on both pickup and delivery. It is not a simple flat fee...it's a whole process of adding and subtracting fees and discounts until they ultimately come up with a number and then that's what you have to pay. -Movers who dropped off made me write down my credit card number on a piece of paper which didn't make me feel great about the security of my information.

They were actually quite good. They did a really good job. I’m very pleased. Their pricing was very reasonable. They were right on time. They were generally very careful.

They were actually quite good. They did a really good job. I’m very pleased. Their pricing was very reasonable. They were right on time. They were generally very careful.

From start to finish, it went great. They did a video chat walkthrough with me to get a "not to exceed" estimate. The movers themselves, led by Jeremey Utu, were prompt, professional, courteous, and worked very hard all day (about 10 hours of heavy lifting). Furniture was disassembled and wrapped, and then reassembled at our new house. They communicated with us very well so that things went where they were supposed to. I would not hesitate to call them again.

It went great Jose, Lulo and Darwin were friendly, careful and fast. They finished several hours sooner than the not to exceed estimate. There were a few bits that were a little tricky in the new place, In one instance Darwin and Lulo had to remove the legs of a desk in order to get it through the door of the room, These guys were terrific, polite, careful and speedy all in good humor. I couldn't have asked for a better team to move me. To top the great service, I bought a coupon through angie's list for $50 that was good for $150 off the total bill.

Awesome. With the Angie's List coupon $50 for $150 worth of service, it was very affordable.

Excellent!!! The crew came on time, packed everything up securely, and unloaded with ease. It made moving a breeze and pleasurable! Thank you!!!!

I think they did a good job except for the last part. They helped us move a lot of things. We didn't really keep count of what they moved. In the end, I think I left a mirror and an extension rod in their truck and they just drove away. They were very careful with the furniture. They disassembled the beds pretty quickly so that was good. They were quite efficient. If they had to check their truck before the left, it would be great. It was pretty quick. They did it in less than half a day. They were pretty thorough about calling me.

These guys were extremely fast and efficient. They moved an entire one bedroom literally within 2 hours, drove to the next place and unloaded it up some really steep stairs. I commend their great attitude and relentless work ethic. I would be a fool not to recommend this company to anyone. These guys are great! Thanks to Jeremy, Ivan and Lloyd.

These guys are awesome!! Tek and his crew did an amazing job. This was the second time I have used them for a move. They called about 30-45 minutes prior to arrival so I knew when they would get there. They packed my kitchen and wrapped all the furniture. They then loaded the truck and we were on the way to the house in just about 2 hours. At the house they asked where I would like all the furniture placed so I didn't have to move anything around afterwards. In total the job was about 3 hours 45 minutes. I would definitely recommend them to anyone who needs a mover. I will use them again in the future if I need to move again. Great job!!!

Fantastic! We had 3 movers and a truck. They moved quickly and efficiently. They brought us about 10 wardrobe boxes for free which made moving our clothes a breeze. It took them 3 1/2hrs. They will offer you a $15 discount if you leave them a review on Google. Happy to oblige! We also purchased an Angie's List voucher which made the final price of the move money well spent.

Move went very smoothly, no problems noticed.

Three day move done for price quoted. The price was competitive with other quotes. I can't say if that is a good deal or not. I chose them because of better ratings. The crews were very courteous and efficient. Have not yet found anything broken. The whole process was done very professionally.

Jason, Carlos, Will, and Gidal moved me today. Great guys! Very helpful, on time, very careful with my furniture! I'll certainly give Northstar a call the next time that I need a move! Thanks, Guys!

They were very professional, responsive and careful. I would recommend them to anyone.

Second time we've used them. They've been great both times. They do what they promise when they promise, and are always very helpful and careful with the items they're moving. Ramiro G., William C., and Jorge M were the guys on the team this time. Nice and professional.

This was a big deal purchase. it turned out well. They did a good job and there were no major issues. They were on time and were quick with the work. I was generally happy with everything. They put a bed frame together for me. I was outside at the time but when I came back in there was a scratch on the bed frame and I don't know how it got there. Otherwise I would say it was fine. They came out a week or two after I bought the deal. It closely followed that. I would consider using them again. I thought they did a good job. I think I would be present if they assembled any furniture again but I am guessing it is nothing they did. I am assuming it was done by the other movers. This was the only concern and it was a minor one.

I had a mixed experience with NorthStar. Of the three moving companies I've used, NorthStar falls in the middle. Everyone I spoke to was professional and pleasant. They do the estimate by having you take a video of your contents, which is much more convenient than an in-person estimate. The not-to-exceed estimate was fairly useless--for a 1-bedroom apartment, they initially gave an NTE of 7.5 hours and later adjusted it to 6.5 hours. The actual move took 3 hours. I understand the NTE is a maximum, but estimating 7.5 hours is ridiculous. I do appreciate that they were able to fit me in since I could only move in the morning. There were some communication issues. I was supposed to receive a revised estimate the next business day, but didn't receive it and I emailed two follow-up messages over the next two days before I finally got a call back. The representative was apologetic--apparently the emails were not properly routed to her from her colleague. The company called two days before the move to confirm and answer any questions I might have. On the day of the move, the movers called to say traffic would delay them about an hour. It was not an issue and I appreciated the heads up. The movers were professional and efficient. They hustled to get the move completed by 1 p.m. Overall, they did a good job and I would have rated them an A until today. When moving, the movers taped the drawers of a filing cabinet shut. When I removed the tape this evening, I found one of the drawers was completely broken, as in all of the pieces were broken apart and piled on top of each other inside the cabinet. Now, this was a cheap filing cabinet and I understand things break. However, the drawer had clearly broken while they were moving it and instead of telling me, they tossed the pieces inside and taped the drawer shut so I wouldn't notice it until later. The issue isn't the broken filing cabinet--the issue is covering it up. Considering that the company is only liable for 60 cents per pound for damaged property, what's the point of hiding an accident that at most would cost the company $15? I recommend NorthStar with some reservation. If you are looking for a competitive price and your belongings are inexpensive, then NorthStar is fine. UPDATE North Star followed up with me shortly after I posted this review with a phone call to understand what happened and to apologize for the issue with the filing cabinet. The manager wanted me to know that it's not acceptable behavior and that she would speak with the moving team to reinforce this. I appreciated that North Star promptly reached out to me and offered a sincere apology. I wouldn't hesitate to use North Star again. Stuff happens during a move and I was impressed by how the company handled it.

That went well. They broke one of my lamps, but they credited me for that. They contacted me after the move to ask if there were any problems, and one of the lamps that I had was broken by one of the movers, so they reimbursed me for that plus some more. I was fairly satisfied with North Star Moving. The breaking of the lamp was a small negative. Their customer service was excellent, because they reimbursed me fully plus some more for that. The total price was higher than I expected. The move was a 3 or 4 hour move, so the total bill was quite a bit higher. I was overall very satisfied with everything that they did. In San Francisco it was a condo, so it was fairly difficult to bring my furniture in there. They broke a lamp and scratched one of the walls but they fully reimbursed me. The only thing that wasn't great was the price that was higher than I had anticipated. Maybe it was a fair price for what I got.

We were impressed with the promptness of our "moving team" and they did get everything packed up in a timely manner. There were some issues with this team which we did not speak to Northstar about at the time. Anyway you look at it, moving is a traumatic event...especially when you're 81 and 57! We were contacted by Northstar moving this April, 2016, and asked what had happened that caused us to give such a poor review of their company. After we explained it all, we were told we could have done it at the time of our move so, why didn't we? Honestly, we didn't think Northstar would care about our problems with the "packing" team so we simply moved on. As it turns out, Northstar had already terminated the "packing" team due to their behavior with the movees. They were very apologetic and willing to make things "right" with us. We would now recommend them to anyone moving from state to state and the fact that all arrived without a scratch ding or ding on it.

As soon Northstar movers had all of our belongings, all of the communication stopped. They had claimed that they would communicate with us every step of the way, but this was false. When I called to let them know we were ready for our items to be ship, they gave me a two week window, which we understood. However, every time I called to ask for a firm date of when we might receive our things, they had no idea, nor could they send me to anyone within the company that could give me any answers to my questions as well. Every time I called, I was given the run around, and sent on to yet another person. I would get comments like, "Well, we might have a truck in the area next week, or maybe we could have it there by Wednesday." But of course, Wednesday came and went, and no stuff or communication. I also sent emails, with no reply. No one seemed to care. I was deeply concerned that our things would never arrive. I was told, and it was also in writing in our contract, that we would have constant communication the 24 hours prior to the arrival of our belongings. We were given just a few hours. When the truck did finally arrive, it was old and dirty and had a tiny little sign in one corner that read "Northstar". Not exactly professional. And nothing like the pictures you see online. But our story gets worse. The movers opened the truck. They started to unload. They began with our barbecue, which unfortunately still had ashes in it (our bad). They spilled the ashes all over the back of the truck and proceeded to walk through the ashes. They then wanted to bring all of the boxes into our new house (with new white carpets and new tile floors) with soot all over their feet. They wore no booties, and didn't care. When I expressed concern, they were irritated. My friend ran to the store to get some disposable booties and some clear plastic to line the hallways with. When I offered to sweep up the ashes in the truck they said no, and kept working. I jumped in the truck and swept them up anyway. It was a really big mess, and I didn't want all of our boxes and our new home covered in ashes. By this time though they had moved enough stuff, that the mess had been disbursed and most of the boxes and wrapped furniture we're now covered with silt. When I asked the movers to remove the wrapping on the silt covered furniture, they said no. They said they had to bring it in first, then unwrap it in place. No avoiding it... I had ashes on the new carpet. Ugh! The movers were rude, and really could have cared less what we thought. They were just on a mission to get our stuff delivered. When it was all said and done, we did have a broken piano, a dented washing machine, several smashed boxes and some other boxes that just never arrived (my kids ski clothes and some kitchen stuff). I think this company is horrible and unprofessional. This is by far the worst customer service experience I have ever had. Do NOT use this company for your long distance move. Do NOT let them store your belongings. Most of our items arrived, and we are grateful that this nightmare is over!!!!!

Overall, the moving service was adequate. The movers were generally quick and helpful, although less careful with furniture than we would have liked. On the unpack side our new home was 3 stories. Initial unpack was fine, but towards the end things that needed to be upstairs started getting left on the ground floor. Annoying, but I was sympathetic, that was a lot of stairs. Average overall. The real problem started a few weeks later when we realized our travel bag with a great deal of SCUBA dive gear was missing. We did our due diligence and looked everywhere, including back in the old apartment, but nada. Gone. We realized in hindsight it had never made it into the house. Moving out of our apartment the movers were taking things to the elevator and leaving them there. Best case, they weren't paying attention and somebody walking by grabbed our stuff. Worst case, it happened to "fall off the truck" while they were at lunch after the loading was complete. I truly don't know which, but I don't excuse either. We contacted North Star about this. To say the response was unsympathetic would be an understatement. Their contact was more than happy to point out that we hadn't taken additional insurance, and they'd be happy to reimburse us the base value of $0.60 per pound of lost item. That's going to come out to about $45 on nearly $4,000 worth of dive equipment. They reiterated over and over that this was what they were legally bound to - which I had never contested. They were more than happy to tell me all the ways and reasons I shouldn't have trusted them, seemingly without any sense of irony and certainly no sense of shame. Maybe it's just me, but the fundamental job of a mover is to get my things from A to B, and I shouldn't have to pay them extra insurance to make sure that happens. I strongly recommend against using this company. If everything goes well they'll probably be fine, if unimpressive. If things don't go fine, they'll hang you out to dry and stick you with with the pain of their screwups.

The job went really great particularly taking into consideration that we did not do a good job of getting ready for Northstar. we made many of the decisions on what needed to be packed and where it would be moved and stored on the fly. The employees were exceptionally polite and helpful and cheerfully put up with us changing our my minds several times requiring goods to be moved multiple times. The crew consisting of Luis D, the foreman, Anthony Z, Jessee and Angel worked very hard all day without taking any breaks other than a short lunch. We were very impressed with the work ethic of this crew and look forward to working with them again.