A Moving Tale

We cannot begin to tell you how many times our moving company has heard people say “I swore I would never use movers again after my last experience.” Unfortunately people have negative experiences with movers often. The following is a typical tale of one of those negative experiences.

Why I Swore I Would Never Use Movers Again

I finally bought my first home and was ready to start moving my things. I had a small economical car which is great for gas mileage but not so great for moving. So I started the process of find the right moving company. My lease was not up for another month and a half so I had some time to get my things to my new house. That way I could slowly get most of my things boxed in the evening hours after work so there would be no rush.

I started the process of looking online for a moving company. I looked into several companies and I decided to choose a company that had given me the best quote. My move was scheduled for four weeks later so that way I would still have enough time to get my things together without rushing. It would also give me enough time to clean my rental home and get out by the end of the lease. I scheduled my move on a Saturday and put the date of the move in my calendar. Additionally I wrote down the amount of the quote with the company’s contact information. The weeks went by and I casually packed my things in boxes. I must admit it felt good to have a game plan that allowed me to move at a reasonable pace.

Preparing for My Move

Moving day was approaching rapidly. I kept looking at my packed boxes which would make me smile knowing I had everything done. It was Thursday, two days before my move, when I decided to call the moving company just to confirm that they would be out at 9:00 AM on Saturday. The person who answered the phone said they would check with the owner and get back to me. It was towards the end of the day on Thursday so I was not surprised when I did not receive a return call from the moving company the same day.

Try Try Again

Friday came and I had not received a return call all day. I called right after work again just to see if they were still going to be out at 9:00 the next morning. The same person answered the phone and said they would check with the owner and give me a call right back. This is when I should have seen some red flags. My inner voice said “maybe she does not realize I am the same one that called yesterday and she never followed up.” An hour went by and I had not received a return call. Then I called back to see if she had heard from the owner yet and my call went unanswered. I’m sure I am just anxious and they will show up tomorrow morning I thought. I went to bed early, knowing I would not be sleeping in and tomorrow was the big moving day.

Moving Day

Saturday morning, moving day, I was ready to go. I was up early, phone in hand, watching the clock, waiting for the movers to arrive. 9:00, the movers had not arrived yet. I kind of figured they would not be there at 9:00 on the dot so I was not too worried. 9:45 rolled around and I started to become a little bit more worried. I called the moving company to see when they would be arriving. The same person answered the phone I had talked to previously. The person said they were unsure of the schedule for the day and would give me a call back in a few minutes. I thought that was fair enough.

Hello?

I managed to wait a half an hour before calling back once more. The person answered the phone and when they realized it was me on the phone, they hung up immediately. I called back immediately thinking it was perhaps a mistake. They answered the phone and then immediately hung up again. Naturally, I proceeded to try to reach them multiple times with the same result. I was astonished. Why is it they would just ignore my calls? Better yet, where were the movers? The next few hours I went through a range of emotions from disappointment to anger. Finally I had to give up on the idea of them showing up after noon had passed. Furthermore, I was still perplexed why they didn’t show up. I just wanted to know why.

Back to the Drawing Board

So I was back on the hunt for another moving company. The next moving company I called that had decent rates explained stated that they have a lot of customers come to them after other moving companies do not show up. I asked the logical question “why wouldn’t they show up?” The moving company explained that come moving companies will book as many jobs as they can for a certain date. The moving company will then only choose to do the move that makes them the most amount of money. Therefore they leave people stranded without movers that they booked days, weeks, or months in advance. Once our conversation had concluded I booked my move with them for the following weekend.

They Showed up, Which Was a Good Thing?

They showed up which was fantastic, granted they were thirty minutes late. Nonetheless, they arrived which was an improvement from the last company. However, I was immediately uneasy once I laid my eyes on the movers. There were three movers that showed up. There was one younger gentleman that showed up and two men in their thirties. The older ones were very rough around the edges, to put it nicely. They made me feel uncomfortable throughout the entire moving process, so much so that I called a male friend to stay with me while they were moving things.

Once they had finally got my things to my new home, it was time to pay them. They gave me the total amount of the move which was higher than the fee I had agreed on initially on the phone. I reluctantly asked why the price was different. One of the older gentleman (one with a neck tattoo) stated there were additional fuel fees, mileage fees, and box fees. I was so ready to be away from them and the situation that I just decided not to haggle nay further. I did not want to cause a raucous, especially since these lovely individuals know where I live. Therefore, I paid them and they were on their way. The nightmare was over, or so I thought.

Unpacking

I was unpacking my boxes several days later. The few boxes they packed contained my dishes and almost all of them were broken. The boxes I packed myself had the tape at the top cut and taped over. I thought that was strange so I started to go through the boxes pretty carefully. One of the boxes happened to have my jewelry box in it. I went through it and noticed that a family heirloom from my grandmother was not in there. I never really wore it. The ring just stayed in the jewelry box all of the time. I went through the rest of the box that the jewelry box was in and did not see the ring. I went through the rest of the boxes very carefully as well.

My Discovery

One of the first things I setup once the boxes were unpacked was my TV and that’s when I noticed my Chromecast USB was missing too. They are not terribly expensive but I knew it was missing. I always left it in my TV because that’s where I always had it. Once I had unpacked everything I realize that my missing things were not in the boxes. I knew the movers had stolen the things. There was no reason why they would ever cut my packing tape and then tape the boxes back again with their own tape. I think they seriously had the younger guy ride in the back of the truck and go through boxes while the older two were driving. It made sense once I thought back about it. The younger gentleman was drenched in sweat when they arrived at my new house.

What Should I Do?

I was conflicted, I knew they had stolen from me. There was not doubt that my grandmothers ring and some other smaller things had been stolen. I could call and file a police report but then again the less than reputable looking movers knew where I lived and I might be jeopardizing my own safety by doing so. That is why I started to look at local pawn shops for my grandmother’s ring with no luck. Then I decided to look at the pawn shops closest to the moving company’s address. I kid you not I found it at a pawn shop less than a mile from the moving company’s location.

Conundrum

Many friends disagreed with my decision not to call the police. I decided to just buy my own ring back. I explained the situation to the pawn shop owner, pictures of the ring on my grandmothers, mothers and my own finger too. They were as sympathetic as they could be considering the situation. I could have just filed the police report and got the ring back at no charge. Once again I had to remind myself that the movers knew where I lived. The pawn shop owner sold me my own ring at not much more than what he bought it for initially. I only wish the movers were as ethical as the pawn shop owner.

Never Again

Just to recap. I chose the cheapest moving company the first time and they never showed up. The second company I chose, stole from me and I had to spend a great deal of time and money getting my own things back. Certainly I would have been better off to just hire a reputable moving company and pay a little extra. Instead I hired the “cheapest” moving companies which ended up costing me much more. I almost lost a family heirloom that had been in my family for almost a century.

My experiences made me want to never hire another moving company again.

Conclusion

While her story may seem a little bit extreme, her experiences she had are not all that uncommon. There are plenty of companies that take the largest paying job and abandon the others. There are also thieves within the moving industry. She even did a lot of the right things, like packing her own boxes and taping them. What she did not do is check for licenses and online reputation. Our company has written articles about licensed movers and what to look for when hiring a moving company. Choosing a company simply based upon price is usually a mistake.

Call us today at 614.475.1389.

We all want a great deal on services. However, the story above proves, what may sound like a great deal initially is really much more expensive than it sounds. We cannot stress enough the importance of reading reviews. If someone has had a negative experience with a moving company, they will right about it online. Also check for a moving license before hiring a company. A mover that is moving people without a license is breaking the law. Do you want someone engaging in criminal activities around your belongings or family? No.

Call our licensed moving company for an estimate or even for advice on your upcoming move. AIM Moving Services looks forward to working with you.