CLEMMER MOVING & STORAGE- Allied Van Lines

The good: The guys doing the moving were nice, courteous, decently professional, and had a good work ethic. The bad: The 'boss', Mr Clemmer, came and gave us an estimate, which was WILDLY off... I mean, he spent 10 mins looking over our house and contents, and deliberately gave us a low estimate -- then sent a truck which was far too small for the job. Instead of a one day move, it was a two day odyssey. And they wound up charging us $4700 instead of the estimated $3700, because of course it took so long. They cheated us, plain and simple, and that's aside from the drywall damage they did in two places in the house we left, and the damage they did to our new home. I cannot recommend this company for any reason. I got a lot of BS from the office people, with NO customer service at all. They act like it's MY fault that they underestimated the job. No, sorry. No dice. Don't be cheated by these people.

somewhat okay but quite a few things broken and small items missing. Sent 5 men to pack and only 2 men to unpack. When I called regarding the small items that were missing I was told that the warehouse person familiar with our move was on vacation and that they would have him call when he returned....No call needless to say.

Having downsized and given a lot of our seating (sofas and chairs) away, I thought our move would be completed quickly. The packer assured us he had a lot of experience. We pointed out the delicate artwork (porcelain, ivory, etc.) and he said it would not be a problem. I had not selected the insurance coverage prior to the move, and when it came time, I picked the 60c a pound coverage. NEVER DO THAT! The alternative was paid coverage and worth it, although I don't know how much it would have cost, since you have to list the value and I had no clue and was totally frazzled on the morning of the move. So the genius packer packed a porcelain sculpture with delicate flowers and birds in the Bottom of a large, heavy carton, and put 4 lamps on top of it. The ivory, which was a delicate carving of birds on a branch (certified ivory) was wrapped in paper and jammed in another box. The ivory was shattered, the porcelain broken into several pieces. Yes, I should have hand carried them to the new house and I'm kicking myself that I didn't, but I was so heartbroken that he took such poor care of them, since they're irreplaceable. Then, at 9pm, after an incredibly long day, they were bringing in the last few pieces and we suggested that they return in the morning, given the hour and how tired everyone was. But they insisted on finishing, and, in bringing in my china closet (which is four separate pieces that bolt together) they dropped one piece and broke it. I know it was an accident, but it was also careless. When we put in a claim, It took several weeks for the adjuster to come out, and 6+ weeks for a settlement offer, which came in at $450. Fixing the china closet alone was $900, the porcelain was valued at $7500 etc. They said they were not liable for carelessness or incompetence. I couldn't have been more shocked or disappointed in their response. I had used them twice before for local moves and was always satisfied, but I needed to be better advised on the insurance issue and I needed them to take better care of my valuable things. Huge disappointment.

The fellow who came to give the estimate was very professional, prompt, courteous and generally gave me a very good impression. The price was very competitive, though since I am not a professional mover I could not tell whether his estimate of the number of boxes we would fill with our belongings was realistic. Also, I realize that the estimator is not usually at the move itself. They were very accommodating to move us out on the 29th, hold our belongings over two nights for no extra charge, and move us in on the 31st. The movers came on time, were very professional and courteous, introduced themselves and were very considerate in the work they did. Towards the late afternoon, their truck was filled to capacity and the home was not empty. They said they would come back in the morning to finish up, so we moved the buyers' walk-thru to later afternoon. The next morning, to our dismay, someone from the company called to say they would not be able to send a truck or crew to us for a couple of days. The representative defended himself, saying the house was not packed completely as I had said it would be. However, packing had nothing to do with the problem of their lack of space. That was completely unacceptable, since the buyers were closing on the 31st. They did nothing to accommodate, were not apologetic, had no suggestions, did not offer us any compensation for the trouble we would be facing, packing the rest of the house ourselves, with a rented truck and local teenagers to help. On the 31st, some of the same movers came to move our belongings in to the new house. They did not always consider where to place boxes even though they were clearly marked as to which room they should go to. They did stupid things like reconstructing a dresser putting the mirror on upside down. Nothing was broken or damaged, and so far only a few things have been lost, including an award made of art glass. The base arrived but we never found the glass award itself. They also moved a piano. They did not put the pads under the piano feet as they should have. Not too many walls were dinged, but the floor did have some dents from dragged or dropped furniture. The washer and dryer were moved and installed, and a subcontractor prepared them for packing and then for use in the new house. The washer was never balanced, even though the company came back a second time. The rubber foot under the washer was bent under the foot, so that side was enough higher to make the washer unusable. In the end the move was a horrific experience, stressful beyond what anyone should expect, and I would consider it a disaster. We had to call in friends and neighbors to help, to store some of our belongings in their garage, and rent another truck later to move those belongings into the new house. The movers were good and professional in moving things out. However, the overall experience was beyond awful.

My experience went very well. The staff was professional and took great care of my things- no damage was done. The were also punctual and efficient. I would recommend this company to others.

Where to begin? The first problem was with the estimator who, after canceling the first day, came back and estimated only about 1/2 of the weight of our move. We did a walk-thru of our house (all 8000 sq. ft., including the basement, garage, patio and outside shed) and yet he estimated that one regular truck would be enough for the entire move. In the end, 3 trucks were needed, which caused this to be the worst move EVER, since the VA company we hired had to scramble at the last minute to send more trucks up to PA. After the first truck from VA showed up, they knew immediately that the move would be at least 2 times the weight and they couldn't believe that the Clemmers' estimator could have been so ridiculously off. But that wasn't even the only problem. We also had this company come and help us pack. We didn't even care how much we had to pay. We emailed them a few times to make sure that they were ready for the amount of packing that needed to be done, including the garage & shed. We even requested that the packing be done several days ahead of time, just in case we needed to do additional packing. We were assured, time and again, that everything would be done in time. Instead, they show up the DAY BEFORE the move, with only 2 people, one of which was a woman who was on the phone the entire time she was at the house. Despite the fact that we went over the stuff that needed to be packed and what didn't (trash) they did whatever the heck they wanted. As a result, we are still opening boxes that have nothing but TRASH inside (seriously, like empty Gatorade bottles and dirty napkins) while they left behind ALL OF OUR TOOLS!!! They literally threw glass items and bottles in boxes without wrapping them, while using an entire box to put just a $12 lamp shade. Oh, yeah, they get paid by the amount of boxes they "pack." This move was a real nightmare and it was all due to Clemmers. The amount of items that we lost will cost us hundreds of dollars to replace. We wouldn't recommend them to our worst enemy.

Clemmer provided an estimate of the weight of our belongings which determines the moving and storage fees. The estimate provided by their employee Matt was significantly under the actual number. Despite Matt's assurance of his 'significant experience', his estimate was low, resulting in higher moving and storage fees. I can only assume this is a 'bait and switch'. On moving day, all items were not delivered and the inventory of items not delivered was not accurate. Four days later missing items arrived. However, two chairs were missing and a bed damaged and could not be assembled. Claims were filed on these items, but were not honored. Bottom line, no concern for our belongs, bait and switch estimation process, no integrity to honor claim process, no customer service. I suggest you look to another providers (that includes avoiding Allied in general).

The pre-packing and the moving of my furniture into the van (for the most part)was done timely and professionally. The problem arose with the delivery date. On the day before the contracted delivery date, I was advised by Clemmer that my furniture would be delayed two weeks. They told me there was nothing they could do because it was out of their hands and Allied Van Lines determined when the delivery would be made. I asked what I was supposed to do. I was told to call Allied and I did. However, Allied said it was Clemmer's mistake and Clemmer blamed it on Allied. I rented furniture and asked Clemmer to advise me if the delivery would be earlier than 2 weeks. Well, of course, the delivery was earlier and I was not advised. It was necessary for me to move around the rental furniture, so my belongings could be moved in. During this entire ordeal, no one took responsibility for anything. It was always necessary for me to call them. Rarely, did they call to advise me of anything.