Move from California to Texas
Jenielle
Submitted this review about
Cali Moving
Review made Live: 7/26/2011 12:21:00 PM
I picked Cali Moving for a move from Orange County, CA to Houston, TX. It was the biggest mistake I have ever made. The estimated $2,600 for a 3 bedroom condo, but our move ended up costing nearly $5,000.
- They do not confirm a move out time until the day before your move date. Since I didn't receive their call until the afternoon, they gave my promised morning move out time to another customer. This was a huge problem since we were planning on starting our cross country trip that afternoon.
- We were charged $650 in packing materials. Any boxes they provided would be $10/each and every roll of tape (which they used very generously) was $5. When I asked them to use our tape, they refused saying that their tape was "special moving tape". They refused to pack our bookcases and lamps because they said they would fall apart in the truck. We were forced to buy a $275 TV moving box and a very expensive mattress packing system (our mattress still ended up getting dirty and warped from the excessive storage times). The foreman was rude and condescending when it came to the hidden charges. He "graciously" offered us a flat rate charge on our belongings, which my husband smartly declined. Our exact weight amount was over $500 less than the flat rate price the foreman offered (which I'm pretty sure is not even legal--there was no mention of flat rate options when I spoke with Cali Moving).
- They ran out of space on the PENSKY truck, so they had to call another one from Los Angeles. It took over an hour for the additional truck to get to Orange County while the workers lounged on our furniture in the parking lot.
- The movers left trash strewn about every room. There were half used rolls of tape haphazardly left on the carpet with crushed cans of soda from my refrigerator (taken without my permission). The foreman had the audacity to say that we could put their tip on our credit card.
- The nightmare really began when we were awaiting our belongings. On multiple occasion, the people at Cali Moving (the agent I spoke with the most was Maricella) told me that a move to Houston would take 5-7 days. What they fail to tell you is that they are allowed to keep your belongings in storage for up to 30 days until it is convenient for them to start moving. I gave them some slack for the July 4 weekend, but I was getting antsy by the second week. When I called to ask about the status of our move, Maricella informed me that our belongs were still in Los Angeles and would not be moved until the Wednesday of the next week. Her exact words were, "Unfortunate for you, but fortunate for us, we have been very busy!" I was appalled.
- I asked for some type of monetary discount for the delay in delivery. After speaking to her manager, Maricella informed us that we were getting a $100 discount. She forwarded us a sheet to sign (with the date February 2011 and my name mispelled despite many e-mails with my correct information) stating that we are given the $100 discount if we agree not to complain anymore. We reluctantly signed the sheet and I confirmed that our account reflects the discount for the day-of move. She informed me that the discount was in our account and no further action needed to be taken.
- Our belongings finally arrived over 3 weeks later than anticipated, but the nightmare doesn't end there. The foreman arrived 3.5 hours later than he said the day before. The first thing he said was that we would be charged for the "long carry", $75 for every 100 feet. He claimed he couldn't move his truck any closer and was condescending to my husband when he suggested other options. Since our total weight was over 5000lbs (it was 6000lbs total), he charged us an upcharge for the extra weight (which wasn't in the contract). We ended up paying $381 extra. None of the workers were direct employees of Cali Moving.
- The foreman did not believe that we had $100 discount, even though I showed him the updated information direct from our job number on the Cali Moving site. Contacting the offices was impossible since it was a Saturday afternoon. He claimed that he needed a signed form from Cali Moving to apply any discount, even though no form was ever sent back to me. He said he was "doing us a favor" by letting us print out the paperwork we sent in to Cali Moving originally.
- They started moving in boxes, only to realize that the things they were moving WERE NOT OUR BOXES. Thankfully, they had our things on the truck. There was NO inventory list and they did not check off boxes as they came in. When they did open the correct door on the truck, the foreman dropped 6 of our boxes. As my husband stood stunned on the sidewalk, the foreman yelled, "Well don't just stand there with your hands on your head, come over here and see if your stuff is broken."
- At the end of 4 hours, they were in a rush to finish. They left trash on our patio and nothing was set up or assembled, per the contract. Two of my desks were damaged. We ended up with a mirror that isn't ours, and are missing a large storage unit. All claims are dealt with through a 3rd party.
Unfortunately, our experience with Cali Morning is the norm, and not the exception for such a horribly company. Our friends move the same time as us and had a similar, if not worse, experience. Cali Moving was a very expensive learning experience for us. Please don't make the same mistake.
