STARVING STUDENTS INC

DO NOT GO WITH STARVING STUDENTS!!!! -Rude -Late -Refused to move certain types of furniture -Refused to move anything in a bag -Made rude/crude comments about my girlfriend and her female friends -Insisted that lunch be provided -tried to be paid for 1 and half lunch break -Damaged my property and didn't confess until told someone saw them drop furniture -Bad, Bad, Bad Stay away at all costs -They are not students, nor are they starving Let me start by saying that I have no idea how this company stays in business. We began researching moving companies for our move out of shared apartment to my own apartment just two buildings away in the same apartment complex in the winter of 2010. Starving Students gave us an estimate of 580 dollars for our one bedroom apartment move. We ended up going with them because we were on a very limited budget and couldn't afford anymore, although we ended up paying well over what we thought we would. Another reason we went with them was at the time I had a very heavy TV that I told them we would need at least 3 men to move. At the time I had just had emergency surgery and was unable to be present but my girlfriend along with my former roommates and a few friends all pitched in to help me move. It was also a few days after the big snow storm that dumped two feet on us. SS were scheduled to come out to our apartment at 8:00am for an estimated four hour move. My girlfriend recieved a call from their foreman at about 8:30 to inform her that they were running late, something about their truck being snowed in, this was two days after the snowstorm mind you. They didn't show up until 10:30, and by that point my girlfriend and friends had already moved several items by themselves walking to the new apt. When they arrived the didn't have the apartment number so they entered into the apartment building screaming my girlfriend's name. When they came into our apartment, we had staged most of the furniture to be moved to the front rooms. My girlfriend showed them bags which we had packed with clothes and we needed moved but they flat out refused to move them. They also wouldn't move our two Ikea shelves, which we mentioned in the phone interview as items we would need moved. They then started to move the furniture to their truck, at around 11:00am. At about 12:30pm my girlfriend decided to leave the apartment for sandwiches for her friends and my roomates. We would have thought they would have brought their own lunch, but they insisted that she buy them food. In the time that she was gone they just stood around and didn't move a thing. They also made several crude comments about her and her female friend to my roommates. When they returned with subs they complained about not getting any chips. They would start back up after taking what amounted to an hour and a half lunch break. When it came to moving my TV, they looked perplexed at how to move it. They attempted several ways to pick it up and finally two of them headed out the door trying to move what I had told them over the phone would take three men. Upon arriving at the truck they dropped the TV on it's top, cracking the unit and causing an unsightly blemish on the unit. This was all whitnessed by one of my girlfriend's friends who saw the whole debacle unravel from our balcony. When the foreman, who was MIA during this whole time, was confronted at the end of the day he insisted his guys didn't drop the TV. It wasn't until my girlfriend's friend told them that she witnessed the whole thing that he yelled at his men. Which was startling and upsetting to my girlfriend. When it came time to square up and pay SS they wanted us to pay for their lunch break hour, and insisted on a tip! My girlfriend feeling cornered payed them a total of 800.00 for a job estimated at 580.00. At the time I was at my parents house recovering from a surgery and couldn't be there during the move. When my girlfriend told me the story of how the move went I was shocked and somewhat in disbelief until it was corroborated by my roommates and others. It just seemed impossible to me and in someways still does. First off, I have no problem with tipping good service and in fact would have given each man a good tip if they had been on time, been professional, been gentlemen, and not behaved in the manner which they did. One last thought - I did call and give them a piece of my mind and essentailly told them I would tell anyone who would listen not to go with Starving Students. I called their claims center to ask for remedy for my dropped TV and was told that they would need to send out an appraiser to see the damage and that I wouldn't likely be given much seeing as the TV was old. This is an expensive lesson learned. Pay for quality. !!!!!!!STAY AWAY FROM STARVING STUDENTS!!!!!!!! I do want to say that most of the drama was from the foreman, all of the crude comments were from him and all the pushy tactics came directly from him. The two men on this crew were polite and hardworking. The foreman, whose name I have erased from memory, doesn't deserve to his job. I hope they have since parted ways with him.

Damages to home & furniture, fraudulent charges, misrepresentation of insurance, unresponsive, confrontational, false quotes, slow pace to inflate time charging, dismissive and contemptuous of its customers. Supporters are encouraged to contact jjp1@optonline.net for details.

While the initial pick up went smoothly, the company did not deliver in 1 to 6 days as guaranteed, nor did they keep the customers informed of changes in schedules for the delivery. They lost the credit card authorization form that was collected on July 12 and then insisted on new credit information before delivery could be completed despite the fact that it was late in the evening and their error. They were routinely dismissive, rude and unresponsive. In fact, I was greeted on the phone with the phrase, "So now you don't want to pay my guys..."When in fact I had arranged 10 days prior to pay because I did not want my sister to be responsible for the bill. Dolores repeatedly used the phrase "whatever" in her conversation with me to dismiss my objections and/ or concerns. The different departments within the company as well as the different offices on two coasts had conflicting rules and information that have yet to be answered. For instance, when does the clock start running for the 1-6 days they have to complete the delivery? Ask Dietrich and he tells you it starts running the second your furniture is picked up. Ask Dolores and she will tell you that it starts the day after it is picked up. My calls were rarely returned and one time, Dolores called me after 10 pm , seemingly unaware of the time of day on the east coast. With the exception of the initial pick up crew, it was an awful experience that I would gladly spend more money to avoid.

This was the single worst move I have ever experienced, and I have moved several times across country; Michigan to Washington, DC; Washington, DC to Texas and Texas to Alexandria, VA. The movers were completely inexperienced, unprofessional and slow. My last move was Texas to Alexandria; there were no broken dishes, furniture, etc. Starving Students broke 20 dishes and other valuables that were packed in bubble wrap in china boxes. They showed up several hours late, and already exhausted from other moves made that day. Do NOT use this company! They are absolutely not up to the task. The three movers assigned to my move were no more professional movers than any other men off the street, which is I'm sure where they came from.

The local driver and movers were great. Very efficient. However, dealing with Starving Students sales and management in California was a nightmare. Our representative, Dean, lied about the fees and scheduling. We were charged an extra hour for "transportation" costs and although we had set up our move to start at 10am, we were told that it would happen sometime between 9am and 1pm. When I finally got him on the phone after several attempts & no call backs, he called me a liar and threatened to cancel our move. When I asked to speak with a supervisor, I was told he did not have one. I did, eventually, get in touch with his supervisor and reported his foul behavior. I did not, however, have the opportunity to hire a different moving company, since we were not informed of the additional "fees" and change in schedule until two days before our move. **I highly recommend NOT using Starving Students. They are unprofessional, unreliable, and dishonest.**

THEY DID A GOOD JOB. THEY DIDN'T MOVE EVERYTHING LIKE THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO WITHIN LOCATION, BUT OVERALL THEY GOT THE JOB DONE. I WOULD PROBABLY GIVE THEM ANOTHER CALL AND WOULD MOST LIKELY RECOMMEND THEM.