We are in the process of moving from San Francisco, CA to Covington, KY. That's how this all started. We started with the big moving companies (Allied, etc.), and did the in-person assessment and quotes. Those prices were quite high, so we used their quotes to get quotes from smaller, private companies. We thought we found a good one and were getting a great deal. Lesson learned.
I entered my information into an online form to receive quotes, which in hindsight wasn't the best way to start, but I received a handful of inquiries and resulting quotes as a result. I chose one that seemed legitimate based on the website and email communications, but mostly based on the phone conversation I had. I spoke with a woman, Lisa, who was supposedly the daughter in a family owned, private moving company that owns 10 of their own trucks with offices on both the West and East coasts. They only did moving, so we didn't have to worry about our 'stuff' being mixed with other LTL freight and in general, they seemed very legitimate. To be sure, I had my partner call and speak with the same woman. She had the same feelings. So, we went back and forth on the quote to make sure we were accurate, and put down a $100 deposit to secure our pick up window from 10-12am on May 31. We felt great we were saving a lot of money and had this locked down.
Fast forward to the week of the 31st. We had not received any communication from them, and could not get email responses in the 24 hours prior to our pick up (they supposedly had 24/7 customer service). Come 11:30 am day of, we had not heard anything and had been trying to get in contact with the woman all morning by phone and email. About that time, my partner and I each received a phone call from two different people, supposedly from the same local moving service (answering the phone only as "Moving Services"), and one of them quoted us they would be there 5-8pm that evening, the other 4-6pm.
Of course the delay was a big problem, and the conflicting information concerning. Our lease ended that day. We sent stern emails to the original coordinator (Lisa), and were making multiple calls to this new company trying to get more information and a guarantee a pick up would happen that day. Each time I called they made a claim that their foreman would be calling shortly. First it was "he'll call in 15", then "he'll call right away" and each time this new woman said "I'm sorry I got caught up in things." It got more and more sketchy and we had little confidence at that point in giving them all of our belongings.
So, we went with plan B and secured a uHaul, choosing to move it all ourselves and drive separate vehicles across the country. In my final call to the woman telling her not to bother continuing with the pick up, she said "are you sure? he's on the way right now" - yeah right. At that point, I pressed her much harder on their company (is the name of the company really "Moving Services), their credentials, a contract, anything, and her only response was "I'm just a dispatcher." When I finally asked who owned the truck that would supposedly be arriving, she hung up on me. SO, I think we made the right call.
Because we didn't follow through, I'm not sure what would have happened. I suspect (from stories we've heard since), they were coming late on purpose so we would have no other options and once they loaded the truck, would double the quote. Alternatively, they were just going to steal our belongings. I still have never heard back from the original woman (Lisa) that coordinated the original contract. I have filed a chargeback for that deposit.
Lessons: Absolutely never book moving services with Lexington Moving Services. Secondary lesson - don't skimp on moving services or you're risking putting yourself in a tight spot at the last minute, or worse.
Lexington Moving Services Reviews
We are in the process of moving from San Francisco, CA to Covington, KY. That's how this all started. We started with the big moving companies (Allied, etc.), and did the in-person assessment and quotes. Those prices were quite high, so we used their quotes to get quotes from smaller, private companies. We thought we found a good one and were getting a great deal. Lesson learned.
I entered my information into an online form to receive quotes, which in hindsight wasn't the best way to start, but I received a handful of inquiries and resulting quotes as a result. I chose one that seemed legitimate based on the website and email communications, but mostly based on the phone conversation I had. I spoke with a woman, Lisa, who was supposedly the daughter in a family owned, private moving company that owns 10 of their own trucks with offices on both the West and East coasts. They only did moving, so we didn't have to worry about our 'stuff' being mixed with other LTL freight and in general, they seemed very legitimate. To be sure, I had my partner call and speak with the same woman. She had the same feelings. So, we went back and forth on the quote to make sure we were accurate, and put down a $100 deposit to secure our pick up window from 10-12am on May 31. We felt great we were saving a lot of money and had this locked down.
Fast forward to the week of the 31st. We had not received any communication from them, and could not get email responses in the 24 hours prior to our pick up (they supposedly had 24/7 customer service). Come 11:30 am day of, we had not heard anything and had been trying to get in contact with the woman all morning by phone and email. About that time, my partner and I each received a phone call from two different people, supposedly from the same local moving service (answering the phone only as "Moving Services"), and one of them quoted us they would be there 5-8pm that evening, the other 4-6pm.
Of course the delay was a big problem, and the conflicting information concerning. Our lease ended that day. We sent stern emails to the original coordinator (Lisa), and were making multiple calls to this new company trying to get more information and a guarantee a pick up would happen that day. Each time I called they made a claim that their foreman would be calling shortly. First it was "he'll call in 15", then "he'll call right away" and each time this new woman said "I'm sorry I got caught up in things." It got more and more sketchy and we had little confidence at that point in giving them all of our belongings.
So, we went with plan B and secured a uHaul, choosing to move it all ourselves and drive separate vehicles across the country. In my final call to the woman telling her not to bother continuing with the pick up, she said "are you sure? he's on the way right now" - yeah right. At that point, I pressed her much harder on their company (is the name of the company really "Moving Services), their credentials, a contract, anything, and her only response was "I'm just a dispatcher." When I finally asked who owned the truck that would supposedly be arriving, she hung up on me. SO, I think we made the right call.
Because we didn't follow through, I'm not sure what would have happened. I suspect (from stories we've heard since), they were coming late on purpose so we would have no other options and once they loaded the truck, would double the quote. Alternatively, they were just going to steal our belongings. I still have never heard back from the original woman (Lisa) that coordinated the original contract. I have filed a chargeback for that deposit.
Lessons: Absolutely never book moving services with Lexington Moving Services. Secondary lesson - don't skimp on moving services or you're risking putting yourself in a tight spot at the last minute, or worse.