Cross State Moving

All I wanted was a simple move from my small 1 BR apartment to a house we bought in the same city, about 2 miles away. Although the actual movers themselves seemed to a good job packing (we packed some stuff ourselves beforehand), loading and 2 weeks later unloading (different crew), I cannot recommend this company to anyone due to their deceptive and borderline extortive practices. The company was very prompt in providing an estimate that outlined that 3 hours was the minimum work, that travel time was an extra hour fee, and that packaging materials were not included in this estimate and were an extra fee. The estimate also said that "loading and unloading" were included in the estimate and that "labor time starts when we arrive at pick up location. Time finishes when we are done working at destination." Although I knew to expect paying extra for the boxes they provided, the price was excessive--, e.g., $50 for packing tape. Then after they've loaded the truck, they bring you a bill will all these extra fees and labor costs. When I called the representative and explained my dismay to a 3 hour job + 1 hr travel time (again, given up front in the estimate) turned into being billed for 5.5 hours, he explained that the 1.5 hours is "implicit" in moving quotes. When I pointed out that the quote includes "loading and unloading," and I would be happy to pay the original quoted estimate since I didn't use any additional labor, he repeated the same thing and then threatened to unload the goods or take them to a 3rd party storage facility (it was 7pm) at this point. With the threat of having my household goods abandoned on the street, I said ok, and then please give me a FULL estimate of when it will be dropped off. Fast forward 2 weeks to delivery at the house. I have my estimate in hand and understand the process: 3 hours minimum labor plus the travel fee. So then the truck shows up 2.5 hours late, with a different estimate in hand, with an added "loading labor cost" charge. The company demanded that we settle these additional costs while they had my goods at their mercy. So I called the same representative, and explained my dismay again. This time I explained that he prepared the estimate for the delivery that did not include this charge (he created all the estimates), he explained that it was his mistake but that he wouldn't waive the additional charge. I said I'm sorry that he made a mistake, but I was happy to pay the original delivery estimate. He explained that the crew had loaded the truck and it took an hour, I said I understand but that is included in the 3 hours, not a separate charge (the crew spent less than 2 hours on site unloading). He then became rude and unprofessional saying I seem to have "understanding" problems and maybe it extends to life in general. I said that the words on your estimates matter, and you can't show up on someone's doorstep with new charges to correct your company's "error." I've contacted my credit card companies, and cannot recommend this company to anyone who values adherence to rules and fair business practices.

At first I was ecstatic to find this company. Others had quoted me around $1300 for this job as they had a minimum. Cross State quoted me $69 an hour for 2 men and a truck. This was perfect for us as we were really not moving that much stuff. I thought their time estimate (5 hours) was a little low, but I thought that even if it took 6 - 7 hours, it would still come in significantly lower than everybody else. On the morning of the move I sat and waited for the crew to arrive. After a while I decided to call and check they were on their way. Problem #1 They have several phone numbers, nobody was answering any of them. I also e-mailed my customer rep, Jessica. After about an hour of calling, I did finally speak to somebody. When I asked if my moving crew were on their way, there seemed to be some sort of confusion. Apparently, they had me down as a "night move." I had told my customer rep the total opposite when I booked them. The move needed to be finished by 4:00pm. (Again, condo rules.) The man on the other end of the phone did mention rescheduling, but as I had to book elevator time at the condo, I decided to call him back. I have left messages on about 3 different phone numbers, and an email to my customer rep. I have no confidence in this company. Even if they return my calls (which I doubt,) we will not use them. Lesson learned. If it seems to good to be true, it probaby is. If this had been a full move with the sale of a house, it would have been a disaster.