Very Dissatisfied at Delivery
JM
Submitted this review about
Flatrate Moving
Review made Live: 11/18/2008 4:09:00 PM
"My experience with this company was horrible. The pick-up and loading process in Los Angeles went okay (although they were overpriced and the "flat rate" concept makes no sense whatsoever) but the delivery process was fraught with problems. My belongings were supposed to be delivered in 7-14 business days upon my arrival at my destination. Of course, it took 14 days, which is not a problem, as I was expecting that, but there was a serious problem with communication on the company's part. After waiting almost two weeks for my belongings to arrive, a company representative from the dispatch department contacted me and let me know that my stuff would be delivered in 3-5 days. "Terrific", I thought, as that would mean a timely delivery, and the dispatcher informed me that I would be given 24-48 hours notice before the moving truck was set to arrive. Four days went by and no one called me. I called the company several times trying to find out where my stuff was and no one bothered to return my call. I even called my representative on his cell phone to no avail. NO communication from the company. On the fifth day at about 11:00 a.m. I received a call from the driver informing me that my belongings would be delivered THAT DAY after 5:00. So much for a little notice. He gave me the sorry excuse that the dispatcher had been sick and thus couldn't call me to let me know the time frame. So 5:00 comes and goes, and the driver calls back and says he won't be arriving until late because of traffic. I say "okay. drive safely." Then comes another call from the driver informing me that it will be late when they arrive so they might unload my things tomorrow. I tell him that that is not okay, because I have specifically reserved parking spaces through the municipality and they expired that night. My instructions are ignored. He informs me that he will deliver my belongings the following day at 8:00 a.m. They arrived at 9:00 am, which was of course no big deal to me. THEN came the fun stuff. I had signed a contract indicating that there would only be one flight of stairs at the destination address, and I told my sales rep that it might be one more flight but I wasn't sure, and he told me "Don't worry about it" and went on about how my quoted price was firm and that was what the "flat rate" concept was all about. He said that I would only be charged extra if there was some situation that arose whereby the movers would have to load my belongings onto a smaller truck in order to get close enough to my apartment. So Of course I didn't worry about it. So the driver walks into my apartment and says he's charging me for an extra flight because I'm on the second floor. He's verbally confrontational and completely disrespectful when I suggest that maybe if I call the office they will drop the fee because I have been inconvenienced. He raises his voice to me and goes on about something that I can't understand because he doesn't speak very good English. He says he will not unload anything from the truck unless I give him $100. Fine. I give him the money. Fast forward FOUR hours. It takes two men FOUR hours to unload a ONE bedroom apartment...The driver/mover is finished and ready to leave, after complaining about how hard his job is. As if I CARE how hard his job is. I go to sign the inventory and agreement and surprise! The $100 extra I gave him is recorded nowhere on the paper. Call me crazy, but after the interaction I have had with these people, I think it was more than an oversight. I ensured that he recorded my $100 payment and sent him on his way.
Now none of this sounds particularly awful, and I've put it behind me, but the bottom line is that these people were completely unprofessional and didn't listen to a single word I said throughout the moving process. I am so incensed, as I find it insulting and rude, not to mention disrespectful to treat a customer in this manner. I will certainly never use them again. I have few regrets in life, but this is one of them."