Alex Moving & Storage - North American Van Lines

A couple of items wound up broken, a few wound up missing, and they repacked some of my boxes in order to make more room on their truck for other customers. I was bothered by all of it. I had everything pre-organized for me to move in, and they didn't even bother asking me to do so. Everything felt rushed. All of that, and I didn't even get all of my belongings delivered at once. They brought half of my things on the first load, and half on another, about a month apart. I'll never use another company like this again. Instead, I'll only work with a nationwide mover that's using a dedicated truck. At this point, I'm questioning why I went through the trouble of all the preparation. All things considered, at least the price was reasonable (I saved $5,000!), and I didn't have to drive 1,700 miles in a U-Haul. I'd say I was 90% satisfied, overall.

They moved my house to storage until I found a house in Virginia. They were awful. They lost boxes, a book case and art work. The driver was supposed to hire local people to help unload my grand piano but they did not. They refused to unload the truck till they were paid. Some of my boxes were delivered to other people and I received other peoples boxes. They just left my patio furniture un-assembled and lost the hardware to assemble it. It was a terrible experience and do not recommend them.

The salesman Jerry Durham was not detail oriented and would not detail in the contract where the safe was to be placed in Maine. Google maps were used to show where the safe would need to be placed. I went over that item several times regarding weight and placement and he would not state the placement in bid. The driver Wallace Gibbs was very personable and professional. I went over the safe issue again with Wallace and he said that it would be okay as they do this all the time. Upon delivery he was on time, however the number of helpers that he expected to assist from the local North American company did not arrive and the whole unloading and placement carried on until after 11:00PM. At that time, DARK OUTSIDE, he said they would not be able to place the safe in the lower garage. He said that the local company would need to complete the work. The next week I received a call from an Alex Moving manager and was told that the local company needed $185.00 to complete the move, i.e., the safe. I was forced to pay the $185.00 to complete the move. This brought the $13,235.00 original cost to $13,420.00. I need a refund of $185.00.

He was courteous and very professional. He took a very thorough survey of my place and gave me a detailed printout of the services that would be provided.

We basically moved two households into one. It was a large, complex move and as far as the packing, and transport, everything as very very well done! In particular we opted for the guaranteed price with insurance and the woman who was our representative had a great personality and was very sensitive to our needs. As it turned out, they underestimated the weight and cost of the trip, but our price was not adjusted. They could have chosen to change the rate and charge us the full amount, but they really stepped up and stood by the estimated price they gave us at the start. Some people intentionally give a low bid to secure the job, then raise the price once it's started but these people did not do that at all and that speaks volumes to the honesty and integrity of the company!

See above !

The estimate process went so lousy that I decided that I did not want to use them for my move. I scheduled and appointment with the company for a representative to come to my home to give me an estimate on the cost of my move. The first appointment was scheduled for April 20, 2010 at 2 pm. The representative who was supposed to perform the estimate was "Brenda". My mother-in-law altered her schedule so that she could be home for the inspection. Well, at about 3:30 pm, after Brenda did not show up, I called her on her cell phone and she stated that she neglected to put my appointment in her outlook calendar. She apologized stating she could not make it to the house for the estimate. She asked If I would be available the next day, Wednesday April 21, 2010 at 4:30 pm., I said I would, and we rescheduled. On Wednesday April 21, she called me stating she was sick and would be cancelling our appointment. She told me that someone would call me on Thursday the 22nd to re-reschedule. As of 3:30 EST, no one called. Therefore, I called the company and spoke to "Anna". Anna asked me when I planned to move, and I told her the weekend of May 29th. Anna then suggested that someone could come by on Monday May 3rd. I told her that was not acceptable because that would be too close to the move as I had other companies coming out to give estimates and I wanted to include their estimate in my decision making process. I wanted to make my decision prior to May 3rd. She put me on hold and came back and told me that someone could come out that evening at 8pm. Alex Duarte came out and took a visual inspection of the items we needed to move. The items were in two locations, our condo, and a storage facility located about 5 miles from the condo. After the inspection of both places, Alex gave my mother in law the estimate from the condo but not from the storage room. My mother in law asked that he email the complete estimate including both locations to me (since I am coordinating the move). After 4 or 5 days of back and forth with the company and quite a few phone calls, and after asking for Alex's supervisor, I finally got the complete estimate sent to me. I thought the estimate was reasonable but after all of the problems I had in just getting an estimate, I figured the move would be a chaotic mess and I decided not to use them.

This is the second time I have used Alex Moving and Storage. The first time was in 2007, and they did an excellent job. However, when I moved again a few months later, I could not find their paperwork and had forgotten their name. I ended up using Starving Students Moving, which was a HORRIBLE mistake. When I went to move again, I did find their name. The estimator, Judy, did a very good job of explaining everything and gave me a "not to exceed guaranteed" estimate that was $300 less than the other estimate I had received. They sent 3 men, who arrived promptly at 8:00 AM. They worked hard and efficiently, and were cheerful and cooperative, doing anything I asked them to do. They did not break a single knick-knack, and finished almost exactly in the estimated time (the estimate was 8 hours; it took about 8 1/2 hours). I will definitely use them when I move again.

Yet unfinished

They were very good and very efficient. So far, everything I've unpacked I haven't had any breakage or damage. They answered all my questions. They told me they would be there at 8:30 and they were there right on the dot.

THEY WERE EXTREMELY FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL IN MOVING. THE TEAM THEY SENT WAS ON TIME AND VERY PROFESSIONAL. NOT ONE THING IN OUR COMPLETE HOME WAS BROKEN OR DAMAGED. THEY EVEN PUT RUNNERS IN THE NEW HOME SO WHEN THEY WENT BACK AND FORTH TO THE TRUCK THAT NOTHING WOULD GET ON THE ENTRYWAY OR CARPET. WHAT A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE.