My move with Allways was a disaster. Don’t believe a word their salesman, Steve, tells you. I was moving across the country and had heard horror stories about moving companies under-estimating the costs, and then subcontracting to cheaper services. I was assured this wasn’t going to happen, 5 star rating, NS family company, BBB approved, blah blah. The salesman walked by phone with me through my whole house while I described everything, measured everything and counted things. I was given a quote which I signed. I subsequently spoke with the salesman to say that some things hadn’t been packed, and was assured that they’re movers, this is their business, don’t worry, they’ll pack what I missed and we estimated what that would be.
The second you sign the contract you can forget about any service. I booked in advance and had been given a date range for pick up. By a week before this range date started, I was emailing and calling daily to find out when they were going to pick up - no response. Finally TWO DAYS BEFORE I get a call from a cranky sounding sub-contractor who is apparently going to do the move. By this point I had moved across the country to start a job and had a friend at my house be there for the move - he was subjected to Mike, a bullying mover who ordered him around, storming around the house... Mike told my friend I’d not told the truth about what was in the house. (I literally walked through the house and described everything to the salesman, but whatever). He didn’t have any packing materials, and had 4 boxes. My friend read his instructions – and they were barely legible. In a way it’s no wonder he showed up unprepared….He didn’t have enough room in his truck (by A LOT), and so apparently a second mover was going to show up to get the rest. Who? We aren’t told. Another sub-contractor. So now my stuff is divided between two trucks being carried by a completely different company than the one I hired. When was that second truck going to show up? No one could say. He showed up late in the evening of the following day, by surprise, and packed until 11:30 pm.
Fast forward to delivery day. I’m working that day – so I start calling a few days beforehand to find out when they’re expected as I will arrange to have someone at the storage facility, and I am supposed to have a money order ready when they deliver. They’ve told me it will be more than what they quoted me – Can I get an amount? Nope. Can’t get anyone to return any emails. I finally get the salesman on the phone who sold me this lemon of a service, as I can see he’s passing my emails on to someone – who I am also now emailing – who also never responds, and the salesman says to me – “I’m just the salesman” (ie not my problem). He gives me the name of the owner Paul, so now I am dealing with him. Eventually two movers contact me the day before delivery and tell me I am to have two separate money orders ready payable to them (they’re not even pretending it’s Allways moving anymore). I am now the dispatcher as Allways seems to have abandoned the project.
Both truck drivers tell me they’re delivering first thing the next morning, so I mention to both of them that the other will be there at the same time so they might want to work that out between them – and I give them each others’ number. Mike, the crabby mover from earlier – starts sending crabby text messages to me about how he’s going first, and he’s going to charge me $150 an hour for the time he’s waiting, and that I should have told the other guy he had to wait. I’m reminding them that I am the customer, not the dispatcher, not Allways, and that they need to work it out with each other or work it out through Allways.
I send screen shots of the whole crabby Mike conversation to the owner who does – nothing. So I arrange for the storage place to stay open late and I text the owner to problem solve this - if the guy with the smaller load could deliver tonight, then cranky dude can have his 8:30 am-or-he’s-gonna-explode time slot. So we do this in the pouring rain late into the evening.
Next morning Cranky guy shows up at the storage place at 6:40 am to be first in line – if the second truck had been there I’m really not sure how that would have played out… My son was there to check off the delivery stuff and Mike refused to unload anything without prepayment (this is by the way, illegal). When my son told him that the stuff needs to come off the truck before he’s paid, Mike orders his guys back in the truck and they’re getting ready to drive away with my stuff when my son agrees and gives them the check. (I would have let them go – they had a full truck full of crap and they were on their way to another job). Any pretense of making sure that what went on the truck – came off – is thrown out the window. We have to take whatever they say is ours and we have no recourse.
This was an 8.5k move that now cost me 14k for this ‘service’.
This move was a sh**show from start to finish, no support from Allways – and subcontracted to a couple of random people, one of whom should not be doing this job. They have your stuff hostage. Apparently they can do anything at that point.
