good service, poor estimate
chris b
Submitted this review about
Full Service Van Lines
Review made Live: 4/3/2015 9:25:00 PM
After taking quotes from a few places and thoroughly searching online reviews, I chose Full Service Van Lines to take care of my family move from Maryland to Florida.
My sales point of contact was Allan, who was very friendly and always willing to help. I spent nearly an hour with Allan on the phone as I walked around my house and described a full inventory of what I wanted to be moved. As the weeks up to the move passed, I continuously updated the inventory for things we sold or forgot to put on etc. My quote was $4,500 including packing for 950 cubic feet.
I was very insistent in my quote that the pickup must be on a specific day. This was key in the planning of my move. I was less concerned with delivery date, but I asked for 3 days after collection.
2 days before collection, my order was handed to a driver by dispatch and he contacted me stating he would be there on the morning of my requested day (Friday).
Sure enough, at 8:30am two local 3rd party guys showed up, with 2 employees in a Full Service Van Lines truck arriving shortly after. The guys were friendly and definitely did a good job. Shortly after seeing everything, the driver warned me that it looked closer to 1200 cubic feet. Each cubic foot above my quote would be billed at $4.75 (my original rate). I offered my disappointment, as the only things to be packed were those quoted.
When the truck was finally loaded I was informed that I had taken 1500 cubic feet, which would cost me an additional $2500 from that originally quoted. This was 50% extra from the original quote. At this point I said I would remove some large items that I felt had not been efficiently packed, like desks and tables that could have been broken down and flattened. In the end I settled with the driver on $1900, and a Monday delivery promise, which was reasonable taking everything into account. I then paid 50% of remaining bill by personal check, with the final 50% payable on collection.
Monday rolls around and 1 hour before expected delivery I have Full Service Accounts Administrator Nancy on the phone, stating my personal check had not cleared from Friday, therefore I would have to pay cash (over $5k owing at this point) to get delivery that day. Now I should have thought about this before using a check, I don’t blame the company for their stance on this matter. In the end Nancy managed to get an OK from the manager to deliver my possessions after I had a Bank of America associate in the local branch assure her the money was going to be good. Realistically the check I gave them could have bounced the next day, so I do appreciate the service provided by Nancy.
After the office gave them the ok, the same crew and van arrived at my house and smoothly delivered every single item in the exact condition it left my old house. I gave them the cashier’s check for the remaining balance and they were on their way.
Long story short, the physical service was excellent, Friday pick up and Monday delivery 1000 miles away, not one item was damaged. However, the original quote was way off and I advise anybody to firstly quote on the high side when giving an inventory and also take the time to dismantle any furniture yourself or demand the movers do it to save cubic feet on the truck. I have a suspicion that every moving company operates in a similar manner, as they have to quote low to get custom.
