We had to move cross country from Chicago to Denver. I researched moving companies and stumbled upon a website that found multiple diferent moving companies and brokers. They reached out to me through phone calls and emails. One of the companies that called me was Lighthouse Moving- Walter. He called me numerous times and explained to me that Lighthouse moving was not a moving broker and that they had their own trucks and that they are the best in the industry. He gave me a brief over the phone estimate and also agreed to send in one of his co workers to give me an in home estimate which I agreed. The in home estimate was good and accurate. Walter called me to follow up- even on a Saturday. He was a very good sales person. We needed all our stuff to arrive on the 21st of June in Denver. I specifically asked Walter how much time he needed to make our date and when they would be able to come and pick up all our stuff from our house in Chicago. He told me that if they pick it up on the 14th of June we would get it by the 21st. I recieved a formal quote through email from Walter. On the quote in bold letters on the fron of the quote it said WE ARE NOT A MOVING BROKER. I agreed to the price and gave them my credit card with a $500 depost and was told that I have to pay cash or a certified check or cashiers check for half when they pick up our stuff and the remainder when they arrive. This was a little sketchy and should have been a big warning but when I questioned it Walter told me that their credit card company charges them a larger fee that he would have to pass on to me. I went ahead with this. On the 14th 2 men showed up and went through all our stuff and started loading it on the truck. The price that they quoted me was the same price that they had me sign a contract for. The main guy/forman had me sign an official contract with each boxed nubered and all our information and a date of the 21st on it for "earliest arrival". I questioned what this meant and he said that we shouldn't worry and that we are giving them plenty of time - almost 1 full week and that they would get our stuff by the 21st or the next day. He even made it sound like he might be the one driving out the truck and that we were in good hands. I didn't look specifically through the contract - my mistake but the foreman flew through it and made me initial and sign a bunch of spots. So far so good I thought.
June 20th- I tried calling Lighthouse Moving to see when they would be arriving with our stuff the next day. No response from anyone in the office. I called multiple extensions and even emailed- no response. I went through my cell history and found the numbers of the guys that came to move our stuff- I believe his name was Tony. I explained the situation and he said that our stuff was just loaded on a truck that morning. WHAT? He said that he didn't know anything more but would get the foreman to call me and get more details. I didn't get a call from anyone that day. The next day we were waiting and had the whole day open expecting our stuff to come. No answer. Again I called probably over 10 times and left numbers VM and emails no response. I called Tony again and he told me to call the forman Gregory. Gregory told me that our stuff was on a truck and it was on the way out but he couldn't give me an exact date or time and that the offices were moving and they didn't have any phones or computers set up and he couldn't get a hold of Walter. Still no idea of when our stuff was going to arrive. I did not get a call from Walter untill 3 days later after not hearing from anyone about where our stuff was or or any idea of when it would arrive. He told me same story about their offices moving and that he would get back to me and that the drivers truck broke down and he would let me know. I didn't hear back from him and still have not heard back from him since. What kind of person does this? He should not be working for this company or any other company. To not even have the decency to call someone back for over 3 weeks now?
Since we drove from Chicago to Denver and go there on the 20th thinking all our stuff was going to be there on the 21st we did not pack too much in our cars. That was a mistake... We were stuck with our bare minimum without any idea of where our stuff was and had to rent a hotel room for 3 nights and sleep in sleeping bags on the floor for over 10 days!
Our new person to contact was not Walt anymore but Gregory the foreman that was at our house and gave us a in home estimate. I called Gregory numerous times throughout the week of June 22-28 and still could not get an answer of where our stuff was or when we could expect it. He said that our "contract" we signed gave them up to 14 business days to deliver our stuff from the first avialble date the 21st. They lied right to our faces when they said they would deliver on that day. Walt lied and Gregory lied.
The worst lie and part of all this is that we got a call from the driver on Wednesday saying they were going to arrive on Thursday June 29th. The driver didn't have any specifics or reason for being late and said he would be there to unload and that we needed to pay them the rest of the balance. Expecting them to show up on Thursday. I got a call on Thursday morning from the driver now saying he got backed up and that they were going to be there Friday the 30th in the moring. This was just so frustrating now my wife had to take off work as I couldn't and our stuff was a week and half later then what they told us they would get it to us.
It gets even worst! When the truck arrived to unload our stuff it was in a huge semi truck with a bunch of other loads. I asked the drivers to see the DOT information and what company they were with. They did not provide it and said the "work" with lighthouse moving. I looked up their DOT information off their truck. It was a completely different moving trucking and brokerage company! Lighthouse outscourced our freight to another company! I asked them about the broken truck which they had no idea. It was a huge scam. They wanted all the cash upfront before even moving anything. I told them we would give half and the remainder of the half after we see and get all our stuff. The wouldn't do anything or move anything unless we gave them cash in hands. We had no other choice.
I called the office to try to speak to Walt- of course no anser. I called Gregory the forman and he was upste with me because I questioned the delivery guys truck and also didn't want to pay them the full amount up front. When I asked why they lied about not brokering out our freight he had no answer and said all moving companies do this
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! They lied to our faces. Walt never called or responded to a single email or voicemail I left. They broker out the freight and who knows how long it takes. The quote vs the contract they have you sign is a the biggest bait and switch. They pretty much hung us out to dry for almost 2 weeks without our stuff and then claimed we had no right to be mad or upset and that it was standard. No ethics, no customer service or anything.
I see horrible reviews now and wish I saw them before as well. DO NOT USE THEM.
Lighthouse Moving, Inc. Reviews
We had to move cross country from Chicago to Denver. I researched moving companies and stumbled upon a website that found multiple diferent moving companies and brokers. They reached out to me through phone calls and emails. One of the companies that called me was Lighthouse Moving- Walter. He called me numerous times and explained to me that Lighthouse moving was not a moving broker and that they had their own trucks and that they are the best in the industry. He gave me a brief over the phone estimate and also agreed to send in one of his co workers to give me an in home estimate which I agreed. The in home estimate was good and accurate. Walter called me to follow up- even on a Saturday. He was a very good sales person. We needed all our stuff to arrive on the 21st of June in Denver. I specifically asked Walter how much time he needed to make our date and when they would be able to come and pick up all our stuff from our house in Chicago. He told me that if they pick it up on the 14th of June we would get it by the 21st. I recieved a formal quote through email from Walter. On the quote in bold letters on the fron of the quote it said WE ARE NOT A MOVING BROKER. I agreed to the price and gave them my credit card with a $500 depost and was told that I have to pay cash or a certified check or cashiers check for half when they pick up our stuff and the remainder when they arrive. This was a little sketchy and should have been a big warning but when I questioned it Walter told me that their credit card company charges them a larger fee that he would have to pass on to me. I went ahead with this. On the 14th 2 men showed up and went through all our stuff and started loading it on the truck. The price that they quoted me was the same price that they had me sign a contract for. The main guy/forman had me sign an official contract with each boxed nubered and all our information and a date of the 21st on it for "earliest arrival". I questioned what this meant and he said that we shouldn't worry and that we are giving them plenty of time - almost 1 full week and that they would get our stuff by the 21st or the next day. He even made it sound like he might be the one driving out the truck and that we were in good hands. I didn't look specifically through the contract - my mistake but the foreman flew through it and made me initial and sign a bunch of spots. So far so good I thought.
June 20th- I tried calling Lighthouse Moving to see when they would be arriving with our stuff the next day. No response from anyone in the office. I called multiple extensions and even emailed- no response. I went through my cell history and found the numbers of the guys that came to move our stuff- I believe his name was Tony. I explained the situation and he said that our stuff was just loaded on a truck that morning. WHAT? He said that he didn't know anything more but would get the foreman to call me and get more details. I didn't get a call from anyone that day. The next day we were waiting and had the whole day open expecting our stuff to come. No answer. Again I called probably over 10 times and left numbers VM and emails no response. I called Tony again and he told me to call the forman Gregory. Gregory told me that our stuff was on a truck and it was on the way out but he couldn't give me an exact date or time and that the offices were moving and they didn't have any phones or computers set up and he couldn't get a hold of Walter. Still no idea of when our stuff was going to arrive. I did not get a call from Walter untill 3 days later after not hearing from anyone about where our stuff was or or any idea of when it would arrive. He told me same story about their offices moving and that he would get back to me and that the drivers truck broke down and he would let me know. I didn't hear back from him and still have not heard back from him since. What kind of person does this? He should not be working for this company or any other company. To not even have the decency to call someone back for over 3 weeks now?
Since we drove from Chicago to Denver and go there on the 20th thinking all our stuff was going to be there on the 21st we did not pack too much in our cars. That was a mistake... We were stuck with our bare minimum without any idea of where our stuff was and had to rent a hotel room for 3 nights and sleep in sleeping bags on the floor for over 10 days!
Our new person to contact was not Walt anymore but Gregory the foreman that was at our house and gave us a in home estimate. I called Gregory numerous times throughout the week of June 22-28 and still could not get an answer of where our stuff was or when we could expect it. He said that our "contract" we signed gave them up to 14 business days to deliver our stuff from the first avialble date the 21st. They lied right to our faces when they said they would deliver on that day. Walt lied and Gregory lied.
The worst lie and part of all this is that we got a call from the driver on Wednesday saying they were going to arrive on Thursday June 29th. The driver didn't have any specifics or reason for being late and said he would be there to unload and that we needed to pay them the rest of the balance. Expecting them to show up on Thursday. I got a call on Thursday morning from the driver now saying he got backed up and that they were going to be there Friday the 30th in the moring. This was just so frustrating now my wife had to take off work as I couldn't and our stuff was a week and half later then what they told us they would get it to us.
It gets even worst! When the truck arrived to unload our stuff it was in a huge semi truck with a bunch of other loads. I asked the drivers to see the DOT information and what company they were with. They did not provide it and said the "work" with lighthouse moving. I looked up their DOT information off their truck. It was a completely different moving trucking and brokerage company! Lighthouse outscourced our freight to another company! I asked them about the broken truck which they had no idea. It was a huge scam. They wanted all the cash upfront before even moving anything. I told them we would give half and the remainder of the half after we see and get all our stuff. The wouldn't do anything or move anything unless we gave them cash in hands. We had no other choice.
I called the office to try to speak to Walt- of course no anser. I called Gregory the forman and he was upste with me because I questioned the delivery guys truck and also didn't want to pay them the full amount up front. When I asked why they lied about not brokering out our freight he had no answer and said all moving companies do this
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! They lied to our faces. Walt never called or responded to a single email or voicemail I left. They broker out the freight and who knows how long it takes. The quote vs the contract they have you sign is a the biggest bait and switch. They pretty much hung us out to dry for almost 2 weeks without our stuff and then claimed we had no right to be mad or upset and that it was standard. No ethics, no customer service or anything.
I see horrible reviews now and wish I saw them before as well. DO NOT USE THEM.