Small one bedroom apartment move
Watch out! Priority 1 Movers has new people and the service isn’t what it used to be. We moved a small one bedroom apartment three blocks and they charged us $957 total.
The new guy, Mike, estimated that it would take four to five hours. Even after he came to our place and saw what we had, he didn’t change his estimate. In the end, they charged us for 8.75 hours, not the four to five hours estimated. Those 8.75 hours included a half-hour lunch break, around a half-hour when the truck mysteriously “got lost” driving three blocks in Kits, and at least 6 cigarette breaks taken by the crew. At ten to fifteen minutes per cigarette break, that’s $85 to $127 we paid them to sit around smoking cigarettes, instead of working.
They deducted the charge for the half-hour lunch break when my wife reminded them that, just a couple of hours earlier, when they took the lunch break, the driver said that we would not be charged for their lunch half-hour.
Mike says they billed us almost twice as much as his estimate because we were not ready for them when they came. Well, there were still a lot of items to load while we were packing the last few things. Even if the loading took a little longer than expected, that doesn’t explain why it took three and a half hours to unload the truck into a first floor apartment.
To top it all off, they charged us for five wardrobe boxes, two of which were used and beaten up. Their website says wardrobe boxes are included in the package. The emails I got from Mike said the wardrobe boxes are included in the package. When I talked to Mike on the phone, he said “You can have up to five wardrobe boxes, and, don’t worry, they are included in the package.” When Mike came to deliver the storage bins and asked me how many wardrobe boxes we would need, he said, “Don’t worry. You can have up to five wardrobe boxes for free. They are included in the price.” Guess what? We were charged $84 for wardrobe boxes. And some of them were used.
When I called Mike to get a refund because they had obviously made a mistake charging us for wardrobe boxes that they had repeatedly said were included in the package, he agreed to refund the $84 we had been overcharged. After we returned the storage boxes he gave me a cheque for $84. Guess what? The cheque from Priority 1 Moving Ltd. bounced. That’s right. The cheque from Priority 1 Moving Ltd. was returned by their bank. Even after we had paid them almost $1000 to move our small one bedroom apartment, Priority 1 Moving Ltd. didn’t honour an $84 cheque they had written to a good customer.
Be very careful! If you absolutely cannot find a reputable mover and have to use these guys, deal in cash. And when their website says, “There are no hidden fees,” don’t believe it. Unfortunately for people like us, who trusted the reviews on this site, it looks like the new people are cashing in on the good reviews of the previous owners. Hey, if you can find out where Ryan has gone, go there instead.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $957.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Be honest
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Deal in cash
- Company Response
Let me respond by saying I have been with this company since 2010 and have received positive reviews from customers that I have been involved in, as highlighted below. As to your complaint, the initial quote was for 5 hours is an estimate and is contingent on numerous things. After a confirmation phone call the day before I asked are you all prepared for tomorrow’s move you responded “Yes”. The day of the move there was fresh concrete steps poured at the front entrance so we had to move through the garage, which only stayed open for 10-15 seconds each time, and had to open and close the garage for every trip from the elevator with a turn key. Not to mention the elevators were not locked off as per requested which caused delays in loading/unloading of the elevator. You had 3 other people helping you pack in your apartment as the guys were trying to manoeuvre items to the elevator and were still packing 4+ hours into the move. Now on to the sanitary state of your apartment, I get a call from our movers who have over 5 years experience and over 1000 moves under their belts and they have never refused a job but soon into the job they began breaking out in hives and had trouble breathing. I went to London Drugs and purchased antihistamines, latex gloves, and masks as this was the only way they would continue with the job. I won’t jeopardize my workers health. I even stopped by and went up saw how dirty, dusty, an ill-prepared you were for the move. When I dropped off the bins to your home the lights were off and windows were closed and I didn’t see how unbearable it was. As for wardrobes, they are included (up to 5) in our moving quotes and these were one of the first items unloaded at your new place and your wife was asked to unload the contents, as we take these back at the end of the move. When the move was completed (which contained many lose items, and unsealed boxes which added to the time to load and unload) you were not present at the location and your wife had not emptied the wardrobes hence you were charged because they were left behind as we had to purchase new ones for a move we had scheduled the next day. When I picked up the wardrobes they were thrown away and the truck was thoroughly power washed and disinfected for fear of bed bugs. We even notified your new building manager about the conditions of your old place and they thanked our guys for letting them know and even a neighbour of yours offered up their own gloves to help our guys. Ryan is the owner of this company and is very much involved and backs the position of the company and our workers in your claims.