I will simply give the facts. I called 4 weeks ahead of time to hire Short Notice Movers for a move from a house to a two bedroom third floor apartment. First of all, they were 2 1/2 hours late (they said because the morning move took more trips then anticipated) which was actually ok as I was trying to finish up painting my new place. When they arrived at my house I knew immediately I was in trouble as the truck they brought was definitely inadequate in size. Then when they entered my house to see what all needed to be moved I showed them that I had moved all the furniture (couch, loveseat, 3 dressers, hope chest, coffee table, two end tables, two queen size mattresses and box springs, and a bed wall unit) into the living room and I had all of my boxes stacked in my dining room (probably about 60 paper boxes). I had everything taped, labelled and had indicated to them that they would not need to take the "loose" stuff (lamps, plants, pictures, clothing, smaller items, etc.) as I would be moving that stuff with my dad's truck. I then showed them the appliances (which I told them about when I first hired them-fridge, stove, hood microwave range, dishwasher, stand up freezer, washer and dryer) and they acted like they knew nothing about it. They actually first told me they wouldn't be able to move the appliances - they said they would send a couple of guys a few days later to move them. I told them that wouldn't work as not only did I need to be out of the house by noon the next day but I needed use of my appliances at my new place. They did not even have an appliance dolly. So then they said it was going to take at least three trips as they would not be able to fit everything on the truck. I said "oh my gosh, this is going to cost me a mint" and Cam (the owner) told me not to worry - he would give me a discount. So then for the next SEVEN HOURS my 14 year old son and I moved as much as we could (both the "loose" stuff and boxes) right along side the two men that did the moving. When putting my items into my new place they simply dropped everything in my living room with the exception of the few times my mother, sister and myself directed them otherwise. When it finally came to moving my appliances they actually set my brand new $1000 fridge on its side because they couldn't stand it up in the truck. They did the same with my stand up freezer. Because of this I could not plug them in and use them for 24 hours.
So let's just review the actual facts:
1) Did not provide a quote or even come to see what needed to be moved in order to know what size truck to be required
2) Was 2 1/2 hours late
3) Did not bring an adequate size truck to do the job in one load (like other professional movers do)
4) Did not bring an appliance dolly to move the appliances
5) Did not use blankets or any kind of protection at all on my furniture
6) Took 7 hours and three trips (I was only moving 10 minutes away)
7) My son and I had to help
After all of this, Cam presented me with the bill. He wanted to charge me $540 - 7 hrs x $67/hr plus 1/2 hr travel time plus HST and NO DISCOUNT as was mentioned earlier in the day. I was disgusted but figured this was my mistake in the first place for trying to save myself some money and going with the least expensive movers - it ended up costing me more in the long run. I told them that I would not give them more than $500 (which was considerably more than my family suggested I pay them) and gave them the reasons why. Cam accepted my cheque and left. On top of everything, while setting up everything (it was not set up in any way at all like other movers do) I notice damage to my large dresser (a notch at the back in the particle board). There is really nothing I can do - the cheque has already been cashed and I am just trying to get over the feeling that I had been ripped off. So there are the facts, the choice to hire these movers is up to you. I can say I have learned a valuable lesson in that if I ever have to move again I will not "cheap out" and I will go with a professional, more reputable company.
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