D C VAN LINES MOVING

I hired this company three weeks before my scheduled move tomorrow, 7/26/11. On Friday, 7/22, they called to confirm my move for 7/23. I pointed out that I wasn't moving until 7/26. They hemmed and hawed and then agreed to move me on 7/26 as scheduled. Today (7/25) I heard from my building manager that they still had not submitted their certificate of insurance. I called DC Van Lines and got the run around (someone was at a funeral, etc). I bugged them until they gave me a story about their insurance company not cooperating. I asked the name of their company and called them myself (since I am supposed to move at 9 am tomorrow and needed this resolved). It turns out that DC Van Lines does NOT have business insurance any more - their policy was cancelled and they are not insured at all. Instead of letting me know that when they were first asked for the certificate of insurance (when I would have had time to easily hire someone else), they let this go on until I was completely backed into a corner and had to hire another moving company 18 hours before my move (not an easy thing to do, FYI). Do NOT use this company. They are unprofessional, uninsured, and unreliable.

I hired this company because, quite honestly, they were the cheapest ones around. They quoted me $90/hour for three (I assumed able-bodied) movers, unheard of for other companies. I was moving from a one bedroom condo to a 4 story townhouse in the same neighborhood. One thing I should mention is that the distance from my condo to the freight elevator was extremely far, something that the movers could not be held accountable for. However, the experiences that followed were shocking and forgettable. The three men showed up pretty much on time and ready to move. The only issue was the age and working condition of these men. I don't require that movers are built like body-builders, but these guys were all in the 50-60 age range. They were definitely not in the right condition to manage a full move, and their performance definitely confirmed that. They also failed to show up with proper moving equipment. In fact, they did not have ANY moving equipment. The move time could have been cut in half if the company had invested in the proper equipment. We finally arrived at the new townhouse after 3.5 hours of moving about 20 pieces of furniture. Once we started carrying furniture up the stairs (I say "we" because a friend and I ended helping them out to expedite the process), the movers ended up scratching the heck out of the staircase walls. Granted, the staircase was pretty tight, but they should have still been more careful. I ended up deducting the cost of fixing the damage from their payment. Overall, I would definitely say that you get what you pay for. Next time, I will invest in a much better moving company.

Spoke with representative to arrange the move about 2 weeks prior to actual date. The company called to confirm about 3 days in advance. Although they were a bit behind schedule on the day of the move they called about an hour before arrival time to let me know. Each call was courteous and respectful. When the movers arrived, they introduced themselves with a handshake. The total move took about 3 1/2 hours. They were proficient and so far nothing appears to be damaged which is great! The only reason for rating professionalism as a B is that they stopped between destinations to "grab a bite." However, would still recommend - certainly for the flat rate price given and up-to-date contact with the representative prior to the move and arrival.

They were the cheapest company in comparison. They were not the greatest but they were okay.

They were top-notch and had improved since some bad reviews. Mr. Terry who is the owner was very sensitive to that and right off the bat he said we are not going to do this, that and that. He also said if anything like that happened, he asked me to call him right away, so I had confidence in what he said. They were really, really good. Other moving companies that we called did not seem very interested because it was such a small move, but this company did do a good job and don?t care if it is just a 2 or 3 hour job. I spent $360 on the job and it was $90 an hour and I thought that was the best price. They arrived within 10 minutes and the crew that came out was very personable. There were 3 people that came out to move our things and they had their own truck. They were polite people that seemed to be perhaps from a church or something and it was very much a pleasure, and I gave them a good tip.

Their hourly rate was significantly lower than any other company I checked with, and they had a great Better Business Bureau report. The crew showed up on time, worked hard, and dealt with a few 'put this here, no wait maybe it's better over over there's. Highly recommend.

They are very professional and did a great job.

They broke the glass stand on our 52 inch TV, put two holes in our mattress and broke a 19 year old potted tree. Our mattress was also returned filthy, so dirty it needs to be professionally cleaned. Their truck packing skills were less than adequate. Additionally, the man who packed the truck tried to negotiate with us to handle the damages privately, but only wanted to pay half. Completely unethical. When it was time to pay the bill, the man who was responsible for packing the TV did not want to charge us for the 17 minutes over the 8 hours and his co-captain became upset and they began verbally arguing in front of me. They just damaged a $5000 TV and they were fighting about $34. They finally agreed to charge me for 8 hours and not the 17 minutes, but then started yelling at each other again outside in front of my condo. I have called the company twice to handle the damages and they said they would call me back since they are not sure what to do.

Considering that DC Van Lines was by far the lowest quote I got, their service was exceptional, very professional and we feel we got very good value for the cost of the move. We were able to get a four man crew for what most companies were charging for a three man crew. The move was during the storm Ernesto, but the team worked very hard and quickly, with no prompting nor one complaint. The only negative I must note is that they were 45 minutes late starting the job as they did not account for extra traffic due to the storm.

I needed heavy furniture moved within my house. Most moving companies have a minimum charge based upon multiple hours of work, so everyone else was prohibitively expensive. But DC Moving charges by the hour (plus a one-hour travel charge), so I only had to pay for what I needed. They were courteous and prompt, and very helpful.

3 guys showed up to move the apartment, but only 2 of them bothered to do any work. In general, you had to keep an eye on them or they would stand around and work slowly. When driving to the destination, which we had arranged for them to follow us to, they disappeared and showed up 1 hour late with no explanation.

They were very professional and very timely.

The estimate was accurate, and the workers arrived at time promised. They worked quite hard for 3 hours. Nothing was damaged. The phone was answered immediately by a company rep. who provided rates and scheduling information. Payment by credit card was accepted.