STARVING STUDENT MOVERS

It was a complete nighmare. They are thieves and liars.

The two movers, Will and Travis, called before arrival to confirm the time. They walked through the office with me to determine exactly what was required, and what tools would be needed. They had me sign the invoice to confirm the start time for the job, and they started moving. They got the entire job done in approximately 30 minutes, the were very professional ,and took great care of our furniture to ensure no damage to the pieces. When they finished, they had me inspect where everything was to make sure it was placed appropriately, and the also asked that I inspect the pieces to confirm their condition, ie: no damage. I was impressed with their overall performance, the promptness of their arrival, the professionalism they used, and the careful manner that they employed moving these fully loaded file cabinets around.

My things were packed badly, stolen, broken or missing. It was a nightmare and some of those things can never be replaced. Don't use them!!!!

On Tuesday, 6-14-11, I hired movers for a 6-18-11 move. Two movers arrived on time at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, 6-18-11. They complained of being tired, and of the fact the apartment was located on the third floor. Although the move sheet clearly stated the address and apartment number, 301, they claimed the main office didn't tell them the apartment was located on the third floor and that a stair fee would be added to the bill. I contacted the main office to complain about their tiredness & the additional fee, the manager waived the fee and said the movers were tired because of the heat. Afterwards, one mover determined he needed a third man and requested to leave the site to pick him up. After it was approved by the main office, he also informed me that the fee would increase from $98 to $145 per hour. At this point I really wanted to cancel the move. I felt this was a bait & switch situation. However, I had to be out of the apartment that day. I did not have the choice to cancel the move. I approved the third man and the hourly increase. One hour later, the movers arrived. The third man could not speak English. The clock began at 3:00 p.m. After 20 minutes of deliberation deciding whether the boxes or furniture should be loaded first, they decided to load the boxes first. We had the boxes & furniture organized separately because of the two unloading destinations. Then one of the movers told me they would take a break every hour. One mover began loading the boxes in the elevator with a hand truck, the other two loaded the boxes from the elevator to the truck. The move was going very slowly. My roommate & I took it upon ourselves to help by pushing the boxes & furniture close to the elevator, and taking small items down the steps. We dismantled two of the three beds. By approximately 4:30 p.m., the mover upstairs disappeared. Only half of the boxes were loaded. We were told he was sick & was in the bed of the truck, and a replacement was on his way. At 5:00 p.m., I called the main office to complain, no one answered the phone. After 45 minutes, the replacement arrived. The move continued again, very slowly. By 6:00 p.m, the movers started moving the furniture. Some of it was loaded in the elevator, some carried down the steps. We recruited two friends with two pick up trucks. They began dismantling the desks & moving parts of the desk in the elevator. The four of us helped the three movers. By 8:00 p.m., the truck was fully loaded & ready to go to the first destination. The movers left their tool box, hand truck & a back pack behind. It was returned to them later that night. Two of us followed the movers to the first site, which took approximately one hour to unload. When the truck arrived at the second destination the four of us helped the movers unload. The move was completed at 11:00 p.m. If we had not helped, they probably would've finished at 2:00 a.m. I disputed the final charge of $1522. The mover discounted the price to $1332. I submitted a check for $1125 and charged $200 to my credit card. I have disputed the credit card charge with my bank. I called the main office on Monday, 6-20-11 to complain about the inefficiency, the unprofessionalism, the breaks, the sick worker, the additional mover, the replacement mover, and cost of the move. The manager sent a $145 refund. I've filed a report with the Better Business Bureau of New Orleans and have determined that not all of the movers were actually students, particularly, the non-English speaking mover.

We chose Starving Students because they were the cheapest moving company we could find. Apparently you get what you pay for when it comes to movers, and I feel we would have actually spent less money with a more expensive option. They arrived two hours after we were scheduled to move, and spent a large part of their time (on the clock mind you) either taking smoke, snack, or cell phone breaks, or standing around cluelessly. One of the movers was obviously more experienced than the other, but that was the guy that took all of the smoke breaks and kept calling his boss. (I think it was his boss...) When my boyfriend scheduled the move and described what we needed to move, they quoted that it would probably take about 2-3 hours. It ended up taking four, and it would have taken longer if my boyfriend and I hadn't started loading and unloading things to speed up the process. These guys seemed completely oblivious to the time they were wasting -- I started to wonder if it was intentional and they were just suckering us out of more money. Again, you get what you pay for. Next time, we'll be sure to hire a more professional crew and have it done in half the time.