NorthStar Moving Company

Initial phone contact was quick and easy, and the process and pricing were clearly explained. On moving day the team phoned ahead and arrived slightly early due to lighter than expected traffic, which was fine. Team lead walked me through the paperwork while the other two began preparations. They wrapped all furniture better than I expected. I'd asked beforehand whether it was ok to leave things in drawers etc, and while this was ok (they just drapped those items as a whole) the furniture did end up being turned upside down as it came down the stairs, which made a mess of everything inside -- in retrospect I would have done better to empty those drawers into boxes beforehand. The team worked quickly and efficiently and for the most part were very polite (with some occasional swearing heard in the background -- I guess that makes things seem lighter?). The guys seemed good natured but argued a bit with each other on occasion. They did sometimes drag things across the floor a little more than I would have liked, which left some marks. When the truck arrived at the new house the team got right to unloading everything. This stage went a lot quicker, and they respected my request to be extra careful on the new floors. After unloading the truck we also had them move some existing bulky furniture that had previously been moved to have the floors redone, and they seemed to have no problem with this. This alone was a HUGE help. This was my first time engaging a professional moving company, I and I feel that it was worth the cost. I'd certainly use North Star again if the situation arises.

I highly recommend NorthStar Moving company. When the crew arrived (on time), I still had so much left to pack, and they took over like gangbusters. Because of the extra time and materials (they brought loads of boxes, etc.), the overall move was quite a bit more expensive than I'd originally estimated. I have only myself to blame for that, for being so unprepared. But they saved me! I could never have finished all that by myself. They were professional, courteous, careful with my belongings, and basically worked like slaves to do a great job for me. Would definitely hire them again.

How Northstar saved our move (and our sanity): In April, 2013 we had planned to move our entire house (3300 sf) from Sherman Oaks to Encino. We had booked with another mover over a month before, and planned for a 3 day job, packing on Wednesday, loading and moving Thursday, unpacking Friday. On Wednesday (the packing day, which was also the close of escrow), to our alarm, we discovered that our seller had not fully vacated the property. We immediately put the brakes on escrow, instructing them to withhold payment until we were sure that our new home was really vacated -- but - this would mean our move would be delayed for a day. Our original mover was terrific, but was also completely booked and could not change their schedule to accommodate us. While everyone began to panic, I calmly went on Angie's list, saw the ratings for NorthStar and called them with the following question: "Are you available to move a 3300 sf home the day after tomorrow?" After a brief hold, Jessica F. came on the line and said "No problem." Within minutes, I had a e-mail confirming that their estimator, Gadi A. would be at our home the following afternoon to look things over. We called our original mover (who was still trying to juggle their schedule to help us) and told them not to worry, we had found an alternative. Gadi arrived on time - truly one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet - and we spent about 20 minutes going over the house and then 45 more just chatting - he put my wife and I at complete ease at NorthStar's ability to move some pretty tricky stuff (including antiques, over-sized furniture and a piano). I asked Gadi if he needed 2 days to move - he said 1 day was more than enough. Moving day - the crew was right on time (8:00 on the dot) and the entire house was packed by 2:00. By 5:00, they were completely unloaded, with all of the beds and much of the furniture in place, meaning that we could actually enjoy that night in our new home (and not a hotel). The following day, the crew came back to unpack the boxes, unwrap and place furniture. I discovered I had forgotten about 2 dozen boxes in the old house's attic, still needed to move food from the refrigerators, take some yard furniture, and finish packing my home office. No problem - 2 guys accompanied me, and even climbed into the attic to grab the forgotten items. This would have easily taken me 3 or 4 hours myself; we were out of there in less than an hour. And when it was all over - the move cost me $2,500 LESS than we were planning to pay to our original mover.

Move went smoothly, nothing broken or missing, and they made it a relatively easy day overall. Good price for the day.

Great! Moving is such a giant job. These guys made it as easy for me as is possible. Highly Recommended!

Arrived on time, worked the whole time, packed quickly, followed me to the new location, carried everything in and placed in desired room. Offered to help unpack.

Update: North Star's station manager also called to apologize and discuss the mistakes they made. She was sincere and was willing to work with us to make things right next time, which made me believe that it was an honest mistake. We had mixed experience with North Star. It started with something ugly. The movers were supposed to arrive between 9:00am and 10:00am. My wife called around 9:30am to make sure movers would arrive on time. A pleasant girl assured us that the movers would be on their way soon. Nobody came after 10:00am. So, my wife called again around 10:05am to ask what was going on. A man picked up the phone and immediately insisted that my wife had called him to cancel the moving half an hour ago. First of all, my wife spoke to a woman, not a man. Second of all, why would we cancel the appointment when we packed everything and had to return the key by the end of the day? My wife explained to the man why it didn't make sense, yet the man simply ignored her reasoning and blamed her for canceling the appointment. That, is what I call flat-out lie. Things got better, though, after my wife asked to speak to the man's manager. The manager was courteous and helpful. He agreed to dispatch a crew in two hours, and the crew arrived half an hour earlier. They also proposed to deduct 60 dollars for being late for two hours. Then it became strange again. The crew lead gave us a really expensive quote that was not what we agreed on. The lead was polite and professional, though. He called North Star office, and it turned out our estimation was not in their system! Fortunately, North Star was decent to go with the quote that we told them (there was only verbal confirmation from North Star). The crew was great though. Jason, Oscar, and Gerardo handled our packages with care. They responded to our requests politely and promptly. The station manager called again later to apologize and discuss the mistakes they made. She was sincere and was willing to work with us to make things right next time, which made me believe that it was an honest mistake.

Bought special contacted vendor didn't hear from them for a couple of days and when I did I was informed that they do the specialize in the type of moving that I required, I responded to them that they don't do furniture moving and their reply was that they do not do local moving. I searched in Angie's List for local moving and they were the first name on the list. UPDATE: Called, was told that they did not do my kind of move. Asked for refund on Angie's List and got it and also got a $50 I'm sorry from North Star. Definitely think they tried to make this right and would use them if I have a state to state move in the future.

Moving is a difficult experience for anyone but I must say NorthStar made it go as smoothly as can be expected. All 3 movers were a delight to talk with and most importantly they worked hard. They showed up on time (actually about 15 minutes early. The foreman surveyed what we had and they went to work right at 8. They were very careful about not causing any damage. Wrapping in blankets and taping up all furniture that could be damaged. They advised me that a desk/bookshelf unit I had put together would have to be taken apart which they did. We have a heavy couch on the 2nd floor that I thought was going to be a real problem but I was truly impressed with how seamlessly they were able to get the couch out. They took a short break (off the clock) for lunch - I had ordered pizzas for everyone. And they were right back to work. Again, being very careful with moving items and getting things into the house quickly. They were mindful about when we'd get into overtime and made sure that didn't happen. I had forgotten to give the foreman the Angie's List coupon I had purchased. i called NorthStar a few days later and they said it wouldn't be a problem to credit me the $150. Also, I've been scammed before with other movers charging a lot of $$$ for packing materials so was a little nervous to see what they were going to bill me for the tape they had used but it was a very reasonable $60 or so. Overall, they were exactly what you want out of a mover. They were friendly, hard working movers that know what they are doing. Nothing was broken or scratched or anything. I certainly do not look forward to our next move but when we have it, it will be with NorthStar.

The crew arrived on time and went right to work. I don't really like writing reviews but love to reading other reviews in determining a good company to use. They were extremely fast and quick about loading everything up. I would definitely recommend / use them again.

They arrived on time and were very efficient and polite. Did a great job of wrapping up the bed and a large rug to protect them.

I schedule a move from S. Cali to Va for an across national move, I had some concerns that some moving companies didn't show up at the schedule moving date, but not for this moving company, they called ahead to confirm, arrival on time, and help with labeling the boxes fast move. definitely an excellent experience. will use it again in the future.

The guys were great. Very competent and pleasant to work with. There was something dragged along the wall while they were moving my furniture down the stairs at the townhouse. They told me they have a department that will come fix any issues. I fixed the problem myself and just asked them when they were moving things in to my new place to make sure to stay away from the walls. Overall everything was great.

This was the best moving experience I've ever had. The team they sent out (Ray, Manny and Ricardo) was careful, friendly, helpful and did a great job. They arrived on time, worked quickly but carefully, and were friendly and easy to work with. Our driveway is very steep and they had to park at the top and bring the stuff down. They did this without complaint. Ray was the head of the team and couldn't be better to work with. I can't say enough about how great he was - willing to change where he put something if I wanted it moved, in one case, a couple of times until it was in the right spot. These guys were actually fun to be with. I would absolutely use them again and would recommend them without hesitation. Another thing I like is that the company is very green using blankets rather than plastic wrap.

The three men crew showed up on time. They introduced themselves, took a quick look around to assess what they'd be moving, reviewed the contract with us, and then got right to work. We were 90% packed when they got there, and finished the last of the packing while they were loading the truck. The truck they brought was HUGE. This allowed for the movers to arrange things in the safest way and not cramming anything in. The movers were very friendly, and they never stopped working. One of them even helped me take out the trash. They provided boxes for hanging clothes. There was no charge, because they could reuse them. The move into the new apartment went just as smooth as the move out of the old apartment. When we got to the new apartment, the movers took a 30 minutes lunch break (which we didn't have to pay for). When they started unloading, things went very quickly. They separated items by rooms and helped us arrange furniture. The cost: I rated them a B, because the hourly rate was more than we had hoped for. However, this may be because we are not used to hiring movers and it ended up being worth it because of the quality of their work. The rate was $115/hr. The drive time between the two apartments took 30 minutes. Therefore, they charged us for an hour because of double-drive time (they do this to account for the drives to the first apartment in the morning, and the drive back to the moving facility at the end). The move itself took 2.5 hours at the old apartments and 2 hours at new apartments. This bring the grand total (driving and moving) to 6.5 hours ($747.50). The only other thing that we got charged for was a couple of rolls of tape, and some saran wrap they used to make moving large furniture easy (we had been told of these costs at the start). This totaled about $30 ($777.50). We had purchased the coupon off of Angie's list- pay $50 for $150 off of moving service. Therefore, we paid Angie's List $50 and NorthStar $627.50. Overall, we cannot recommend this company enough.

It was a great experience. They were very excellent to work with. They were very careful and helpful during the move. I would absolutely recommend them to others.

Moses was in constant contact with me and showed up at the scheduled time. He and is partner were extremely professional and wrapped and padded my furniture and antique rug better than any moving service I have ever used. Moses delivered the load to my sister at the time he scheduled and she also was very impressed with their professionalism. All the items were in perfect shaped which is the tirst time that has ever happened to me on a move. I highly recommend Moses.

Excellent service. Courteous and professional crews at both locations. Furniture was well wrapped and cushioned, including a grand piano. Inventory was accurate. Dispatch kept us informed on the status of our shipment and gave accurate estimates of arrival. Goods arrived undamaged. Highly recommended.

All around they were terrific. Provided an extra man over and beyond quote. Courteous pleasant hardworking.

showed up on time (actually ahead of time) and did as promised.

I called for a quote moving across country from Columbus, Ohio to Phoenix, Arizona. The woman I spoke to was so rude and unwilling to answer questions, I just gave up! All she was willing to tell me was it was a flat fee - $1795.00 for a 1 bedroom home? I wouldn't know the entire price until they delivered it to Phoenix! This was the flat rate and that is all she could say! She said she would send me an inventory sheet but that really wouldn't help!! Amazing! I was hoping to use their services after the good reviews they had received on Angie's List!

Attempted to contact NorthStar based solely on Angie's List ratings. Visited their website last Monday and because it was pre-business hours, left a text message through their automated service. Pressing "send" returned "your message has been sent." As of Wednesday, no word. Once again, because it was pre-business hours, I visited their website and found an "info@northstarmoving.com" link allowing email communication. I sent my brief message but here it is Thursday morning, and not even a canned response. Lack of customer service on the front end is a "buyer beware" company in my books.

I had lived in my apartment for over 18 years, so I had a lot of stuff. I thought I had everything boxed but there is always more. They arrived on time and worked consistently for 5 1/2 hours to load the truck. I have an old upright piano as well as many other heavy items. There were 20 stairs and a long walk to the truck. It only took 2 1/2 hours to unload. The only item broken was due to my packing not the movers. It was a long day, but they were pleasant, helpful and hard workers the whole time. I have already recommended them to friends who will be moving.

They took an acoustic blanket of mine that -- in all fairness -- looked very much like their moving pads. I called the next day, sent a picture of what it looked like, and they said they would try to locate it. Well, they didn't and they never called back to let me know...so, that's the downside. Happens so much here in the US (lived in Japan for 30 years). Good companies are good until they get their money. Then they forget.

Santa Clara County: Reason for low rating, is after the move I found out that a box was lost, furniture was damaged and boxes were badly damaged. Would not use service again. Pros: - Cost estimate was accurate. - Pre-move estimator was professional and timely. - Start time was flexible. Cons: - Box lost, and movers did not report. - Furniture was damaged and not reported. - Boxes were damaged and was placed so that I could not see damage. - Truck was an Enterprise Rental, and appears it was dirty inside, as boxes had dirt on bottom. - Movers got lost in the middle of the move, it was less than a mile between places. At least not charged for lost time. - Mover made comments contrary to estimator's instructions, etc. - Tracked in dirt that required professional cleaner to get out of carpets. In the future, I would not tip movers until after the move with adequate time to access any damages.