Admiral Moving & Storage, Inc.

Review: Admiral Moving did not complete the requested actions in our quote and attempted to overcharge us (double our quote). They will not return my calls.

We hired Admiral Moving & Storage of South Windsor to move our apartment belongings on April 27th. We got a quote prior to moving (ON LOCATION) for $800 to move EVERYTHING including the garage, wall hangings & glass items (lamps, etc), and the shrink-wrapping of all furniture. Our quote included three men and a truck at $130 per hour (which equals roughly 6.25 hours). The man who wrote our quote ([redacted]) was instructed that we wanted our garage items put onto the truck first so that they could unload them (on their return trip to South Windsor) into a 10 X 20 storage unit that I requested on their premises. We also requested that our waterbed be loaded onto the truck last so that we would have time to set it up in our new home while our dogs were being boarded for the day. Our bill says that they started work at 7:30 a.m. but they did not arrive at our home until 8:40 a.m. (it's a 20 minute drive). Upon arriving they decided to pack the apartment items on the truck first despite my protestations. They were totally unorganized & unprofessional. There was no staging and they seemed to wander in circles. For example I watched one mover taking one tiny wicker basket down the hallway, onto the elevator, out to the truck, back into the building, up the elevator, down the hallway and back to our apartment only to take another tiny item back down the hall...down the elevator...etc. At 1:00 p.m. they were not even close to finishing the apartment and had not touched the garage. They informed us that they could not move our pictures, glass items or television as per our quote. At that point I told them it was taking far too long and I thought they should skip the garage but they insisted that it was part of our quote and they would get it done. By this time I had to leave and come to the new apartment (a 20 minute drive) because I was having my telephone installed. I waited here for my furniture to arrive for FIVE HOURS and have no idea what they were doing during that time. I tried calling their office numerous times but got no answer. I had to pay extra to keep our dogs at the kennel during this time. When they finally arrived, one of the young kids that was moving the items into the apartment was humming about how wonderful his paycheck would be with all the overtime he was getting, and was acting totally unprofessional. They unloaded things randomly, putting boxes where furniture should go. I requested that the boxes be put into the rooms that were labeled upon them and that the furniture be placed against the walls but was told that whatever was coming off the truck next would be placed first--right in the way of the furniture. None of our furniture was shrink-wrapped. They did not move the television, wall hangings or glass items; they told me that special packaging needed to be requested for these items, but I did request the packaging during our quote when [redacted] visited our home. They finished unloaded at approximately 7:45 p.m. and gave us a bill for $1640. This did NOT include the 10X20 storage unit that I requested--I was told that our items were in a 10X10 unit (I don't know where) and were stacked "from floor to ceiling." I told the man who wrote up the bill that I was quoted $800 and that's what I would pay him. He said he was "too tired to argue and someone would contact me" and he took my check. The following day my husband had to hire an independent laborer to finish moving the items out of the apartment. (We moved the TV ourselves.) We finally got our bed, which was piled in the living room, put together at 10:30 that night. Many items arrived broken or damaged. I have been calling them every single day leaving messages for [redacted] to call me, but to this date nobody has returned my calls. I don't know where our storage unit is or the condition of the items in it, and a hope chest that my late husband built by hand is among the missing items. Nobody will return my calls; it has been two weeks. What should I do?Desired Settlement: I would appreciate a return phone call to let us know where our stored items are, why I did not receive the storage unit that was promised to me (on [redacted]), why they took double the time to move us (and billed us for double our quote), why they insisted on doing the garage last which tripled their driving time, why they charged us an extra hour and ten minutes on the bill when they arrived late, why our furniture was not shrink-wrapped, why they did not complete the job, who is responsible for the extra money I had to pay to board my dogs for the extra time, and who is responsible for the extra money we had to pay when we hired someone else to complete their job, and why I wasted two weeks calling their company trying to get some answers with no return phone call. Why was this move the biggest nightmare of my life?

Business

Response:

Consumer Response /* (-5, 8, 2013/06/04) */

Consumer indicated they have not heard from the company

Consumer Response /* (-5, 9, 2013/06/04) */

I am growing concerned that Admiral Moving & Storage is going to sell my belongings because more than 30 days have passed since they were placed in their storage unit. I still have not received a bill or statement, and my husband is continuing to attempt to contact them by telephone with NO RESPONSE.

Business Response /* (1000, 14, 2013/06/28) */

Contact Name and Title: [redacted], President

Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX

Contact Email: [redacted].com

Thank you for sending the letter dated 6/25/2013 in regards to [redacted] relocation that was done on 4/27/13. 1. Although [redacted] did go out and review the job it was our impression that this would be a move ready scenario, it is my understanding that there were lots of loose tools and items that needed to be packed, which took a lot more time. 2. Our office should have dealt with this in a more timely basis which I apologize for, as I stated we are a very reputable company with an outstanding track record. 3. We did try to reach out to the [redacted]'s with a letter and invoice and it was returned. 4. All local moves are predicated on an hourly basis it is for the reason of the uncertainty that we face on move day. In closing, I believe I am a reasonable business person and can work out the details with the [redacted]'s I would have them call my office and set-up an appointment and I will meet with them after the first week of July.

Review: My husband and I have had a self storage unit with Admiral at the [redacted] location for over 20 years. On Wednesday, 9/2 at 5:15 p.m. we went to the unit. The facility was suppose to be open until 6:00 p.m, however, at 5:45 p.m. when we got ready to leave the facility, the gates were locked and were unable to leave. We were unable to reach anyone at the main office so we called the [redacted] Police Department and explained that we were locked in the storage facility. The dispatcher was able to reach the owner and said someone would be there within 15 minutes. A police officer came over and stayed on site while we waited. At 6:35p.m. the father of the young man who was responsible for locking up the facility arrived and said that his son, who had the key, was on his way. Finally at 6:45, the young man arrived and we were set free from our involuntary lockup. Although both men were very apologetic about the incident, we wanted to make sure that the owner was made aware of this so it never happened again. The following day my husband called the office, however, the owner was not available. On Tuesday, 9/8 I called the office and asked to speak with the owner. After being put on hold for about 5 minutes, a gentlemen came to the phone. I explained that I was upset about the incident and wanted to speak with the owner. He asked for my number and said the owner would call me back.

Admiral Moving and Storage had demonstrated a lack of concern as well as very poor customer service in the way in which they have handled this situation. To date I have still not received a phone call from the owner. My husband and I will be moving our belongings out of this location and won't be recommending them.

Business

Response:

In regards to [redacted]'s complaint, [redacted] has been a customer to Admiral Self-Stor for over 21 years. We value her loyalty and business over these years. Regrettably on September 2nd, the gates were locked without a thorough drive through of the facility and unfortunately [redacted] was locked in. This was a regrettable incident and we are truly sorry it happened. We were able to get someone to the facility within 45 minutes to let [redacted] and her husband out and at that time, people affiliated with my organization (not employees) were very apologetic and actually gave [redacted] $10.00 as a good faith gesture and stated "iced coffees are on me". As this happened over Labor Day weekend I also took additional days of vacation and was not notified of this incident until Wednesday, September 9th, when I returned back to work. [redacted] wrote this prior to me having the opportunity to call her to resolve this matter prior to her going to the Revdex.com. I did leave a message at [redacted]'s work on Wednesday the 9th and she never responded. This is truly an isolated incident as in thirty three years of being in the self-store business I can only recall one other time someone was locked in behind the gates. I am going to offer [redacted] one month of free storage for her inconvenience and if she chooses to reach out to me once again a sincere apology. Regards,Mark M[redacted]President Admiral Moving & Storage

Review: On August 23, 2013, Admiral Moving and Storage in South Windsor, CT moved us from a house in [redacted] to a house in [redacted]. We hired them because they had an A+ rating from the Revdex.com and we wanted professional movers as to insure our belongings would arrive in the condition they were in when they picked them up. While the movers were unloading our furniture, we noticed that our leather sofa was scratched in two places and a coffee table was scratched in multiple places. Before we paid them, we pointed this out to the mover who was in charge and he was very apologetic, made note of the damage and told us they would be in touch to schedule a repairman to come out to repair the damage. He then told us if they were unable to repair it, they would replace it. After hearing nothing from them for a week, I called the office. They said they didn't know anything about the damage and that I needed to file an online claim. So, I did that, twice, with no response. I called back a few days later and spoke to someone who said he would put a note on the owner's desk. Waited a few more days and heard nothing. On September 13, I called and asked to speak with the owner and was told he was not in. I gave my name and reason for calling and was told that a letter and check had been mailed that day. I asked how that could be since they had not sent anyone out to look at my furniture. She said she did not know and that an explanation letter was included with the check. I received the letter on September 14 with a check for $100. The letter stated that at the time of my relocation, I selected sixty cents per pound per article as your insurance coverage. I did no such thing. Different levels of insurance were never explained or offered. If that were the case, why did the driver tell me they would fix it or replace it? I hired them because I wanted my items insured. I could have called some friends and family with no insurance, if that were the case.Desired Settlement: I would like my furniture repaired to the condition it was in when they picked it up or replacement, as they promised.

Business

Response:

I personally spoke to [redacted] yesterday in regards to some of the issues that she had during her relocation. We came to a mutual decision that I would personally deal with the table and sofa that had damage while we were doing her relocation. The biggest problem that we had, was that I was on vacation and my staff tried to deal with this not knowing that [redacted] and I were brought together by a mutual friend and recommendation. I believe that [redacted] and I are on good terms and there should be no issues.

THank you,

Admiral Moving & Storage, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted]. At this time, this is all true. They have picked up the damaged table for repair. However, I have not seen the table, yet. Also, they have not yet made an appointment for the sofa. So, I am working with the owner to resolve this issue. I would not like to close this complaint, until we have an opportunity to see the outcome of the repairs.

Sincerely,

Review: We recently completed a relocation from Ct. to [redacted]. After collecting 3 bids from 3 different companies we selected admiral moving and storage [redacted]. For work reasons we have relocated several different times and felt pretty experienced in making a choice of movers. In addition to our household goods we had a storage room where we kept things for the new house. We told all 3 contractors the same thing, we were going to have a tag sale and and our intent was to sell most of the furniture. We actually sold or donated more items than we originally intended.When offered the opportunity to see what was in the storage facility the amiral rep. just wanted to know the size which we told him. Before selecting admiral in an email I asked him what his history was with estimated cost vs. actual---his response "no more than 5%". The result in our case 50%!! I believe they did not do an honest job of estimating and when the moving van came to start packing, the driver had no knowledge that we had items in a storage facility. This resulted in in our shipment being split and delivered separately. It has been a month and we still have missing boxes.I would not with good conscience recommend this company.Desired Settlement: I believe a fair settlement would be to split the difference between the estimated cost ($8k)and the actual cost ($12k).

Business

Response:

We apologize for any confusion or misunderstanding that has occurred in regard to how the transportation charges apply to Mr. [redacted]'s shipment. Under non-binding terms the carrier is obligated to collect for actual tonnage hauled and services rendered.

The estimate was based on the information provided to us at the time the request for a quote was made. Unfortunately, the information was not sufficient to provide a more accurate quote due the unknowns, i.e. the item's actual weights. Our quote indicated that the shipment should be appoximately 13,349 pounds but it actually came in at 18,280 pounds.

Although we are entitled to full reimbursement of the non-binding charges as audited on this shipment and in the interest of customer relations, we are willing to offer Mr. [redacted] a customer service gesture of $1,000 to resolve this complaint. Once we are advised that this is a satisfactory resolution we will ask [redacted] Headquarters to ensure that the allowance is processed and the payment is forwarded.

Regards,

Partner

Admiral Moving & Storage

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is unsatisfactory to me

but due to personal reasons I accept it and will never do business with the individual or a corporation that has no integrity

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

On Thu, Nov 14, 2013 at 1:05 AM, [redacted] wrote:

I have not receivied a check or any acknowledgement that I will be paid

please confirm within 24 hrs

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

From: [redacted]

Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2013 12:09 PM

To: [redacted]

Subject: Re: case [redacted]

Thanks for following up

We received notification from [redacted]. (by using [redacted] to sell our house they offer "concierge service" to handle the move and any issues--- since they were nonresponsive I filed the claim with Revdex.com) they agredd to $1,500.00 rebate for the moving charge which we received as a credit on our charge card and reimbursed us for all lost/broken items.

Thank you again