DC Pro Moving And Storage Inc

Review: My husband and I contracted with DC Pro Movers to move from a 1-bedroom apartment in DC to a house in [redacted] in the fall of 2013. When the movers arrived, they said they truck they had brought was too small to move our items. This should not have been an issue, as our estimate stipulates we were moving a 1-bedroom apartment. The movers then called the company to see if a larger truck could be sent, but it was already being used. This resulted in the movers needing to make 2 trips between our apartment in DC to our new home in Maryland. I reiterated to the movers that the condo we were moving out of has strict rules of when you can use the loading dock and freight elevator and that we had to be finished with the move by 6 p.m. at the very latest. They said this wouldn't be a problem. It was a problem. The movers were not moving quickly at all, and my husband and I ended up helping them move items to the truck (really defeating the entire purpose of hiring movers in the first place).

Once we finally had the first round of items packed up, my husband and I threw some other boxes in our cars to drive them out to the house to aid in getting as much stuff out there in one trip as we could. As I am pulling into the driveway of the house, the movers call to inform me they are taking a lunch. I remind them that we need to be out of the condo by 6 p.m. About 45 minutes later, they arrive with the truck.

Again, we help unload the truck because we are worried about time. Finally, with about half of the truck unloaded the movers say there should be enough room for the rest of our things. We head back to DC for the final trip. Again, they continue to move slowly so we barely make the cutoff time of 6 p.m. (Let me add the moving process began in the morning.) Additionally, they were constantly wrapping items in bubble wrap that didn't need to be--such as an easy chair or wooden dining room chairs. We kept telling them to move things as they are--we don't need any more packing help. If it's not wrapped, we chose not to and we will assume the risks.

At the time, I didn't know why they were being so meticulous and wanting to wrap all of our items. Well, when I was handed a bill I found out why--they can charge us extra for "packing materials." Additionally, they also took some of our boxes and combined them into larger boxes--charging for those boxes as well. Unfortunately, we didn't notice the extra boxing until days later when we were unpacking since we had to do a fair share of moving our own boxes we couldn't supervise the movers the entire time to stop this. I really find this to be a huge issue because we did not agree to packing materials and I would have said we didn't need any had we actually been asked.

It was about 8 p.m. by the time everything was unloaded from the truck. My husband and I spoke with a manager at DC Pro Movers and he knocked about $100 off our bill for the inconvenience of the truck size. But it didn't help much. Our original estimate for the move was $316. I expected that there would be some additional charges for time so we assumed maybe $600 max. Our bill was over $1,000.

There is no transparency to the charges this business tries to put upon consumers. For comparison's sake, my husband and I had professional movers in 2012 move a 2-bedroom apartment in [redacted] to a 1-bedroom apartment in DC and that was $1200. This move was only 9 miles away.

Please look elsewhere for movers. If the estimate seems low, do not be sucked in. I didn't even have a [redacted] account until today--and I made it just to finally write this review to warn others.Desired Settlement: I would like to see $500 back from this company. They charged us unfairly and did not come prepared to adequately perform the service they were contracted to perform.

Business

Response:

My

husband and I contracted with DC Pro Movers to move from a 1-bedroom

apartment in DC to a house in [redacted] in the fall of 2013. When

the movers arrived, they said they truck they had brought was too small

to move our items. This should not have been an issue, as our estimate

stipulates we were moving a 1-bedroom apartment. The movers then called

the company to see if a larger truck could be sent, but it was already

being used. This resulted in the movers needing to make 2 trips between

our apartment in DC to our new home in Maryland. I reiterated to the

movers that the condo we were moving out of has strict rules of when you

can use the loading dock and freight elevator and that we had to be

finished with the move by 6 p.m. at the very latest. They said this

wouldn't be a problem. It was a problem. The movers were not moving

quickly at all, and my husband and I ended up helping them move items to

the truck (really defeating the entire purpose of hiring movers in the

first place).

Once we finally had the first round of items packed up, my husband and I

threw some other boxes in our cars to drive them out to the house to

aid in getting as much stuff out there in one trip as we could. As I am

pulling into the driveway of the house, the movers call to inform me

they are taking a lunch. I remind them that we need to be out of the

condo by 6 p.m. About 45 minutes later, they arrive with the truck.

Again, we help unload the truck because we are worried about time.

Finally, with about half of the truck unloaded the movers say there

should be enough room for the rest of our things. We head back to DC for

the final trip. Again, they continue to move slowly so we barely make

the cutoff time of 6 p.m. (Let me add the moving process began in the

morning.) Additionally, they were constantly wrapping items in bubble

wrap that didn't need to be--such as an easy chair or wooden dining room

chairs. We kept telling them to move things as they are--we don't need

any more packing help. If it's not wrapped, we chose not to and we will

assume the risks.

At the time, I didn't know why they were being so meticulous and wanting

to wrap all of our items. Well, when I was handed a bill I found out

why--they can charge us extra for "packing materials." Additionally,

they also took some of our boxes and combined them into larger

boxes--charging for those boxes as well. Unfortunately, we didn't notice

the extra boxing until days later when we were unpacking since we had

to do a fair share of moving our own boxes we couldn't supervise the

movers the entire time to stop this. I really find this to be a huge

issue because we did not agree to packing materials and I would have

said we didn't need any had we actually been asked.

It was about 8 p.m. by the time everything was unloaded from the truck.

My husband and I spoke with a manager at DC Pro Movers and he knocked

about $100 off our bill for the inconvenience of the truck size. But it

didn't help much. Our original estimate for the move was $316. I

expected that there would be some additional charges for time so we

assumed maybe $600 max. Our bill was over $1,000.

There is no transparency to the charges this business tries to put upon

consumers. For comparison's sake, my husband and I had professional

movers in 2012 move a 2-bedroom apartment in [redacted] to a 1-bedroom

apartment in DC and that was $1200. This move was only 9 miles away.

Please look elsewhere for movers. If the estimate seems low, do not be

sucked in. I didn't even have a Yelp account until today--and I made it

just to finally write this review to warn others.To whom it may concern,I apologize for any inconveniences that you feel DC Pro Movers has caused. I want to begin by saying that a one bedroom home (especially apartment) does not normally require a large truck. If you visit any moving truck website you will see that the recommended size truck for a 1 bedroom apartment is about a 10-14' truck. If you look at the document attached you will see a screen shot from the [redacted] company's rental truck website where they recommend a 10' for a one bedroom apartment. However, we sent [redacted] a 16' truck, which should be more than enough for a 1 bedroom house- 2 bedroom. If that wasn't enough and we didn't have a larger truck available, then making a second trip is our only option. The next size truck is a 24' truck- that's used for a 3-4 bedroom home. No moving company would send a 24' truck to a 1 bedroom apartment unless the customer felt like it was needed. Without [redacted] informing us we wouldn't have known that she has the amount of stuff to fill up a 24' truck. Had we known this information before, we would have sent you an estimate with 3 movers for 5-6 hours, with a 24' truck. I apologize if you felt that the movers didn't work as fast as they could have- I wish you would have called us about that on the day of the move. We would have spoken to the movers to ensure that they're working their fastest. Regarding lunch, they shouldn't bill you for that time but the movers do need to take a lunch break to eat- they're working non stop from the morning so they definitely need to eat something. You mentioned that the movers wrapped a lot of things. Please note that our contract clearly states what has to be wrapped for the move. We have a strict policy which is explained to every customer at the time of reserving. It even says in the middle of the estimate (where the prices are located) "Packing supplies not included (see below for details)". We can't include the supplies in the estimate because we don't know what supplies and how much you will need. We attach a packing supplies price list and allow you to purchase any supplies from another retailer prior to the move. Our main concern is that your belongings are very well taken care of.The main thing I want to stress and reiterate is that if you had the amount of stuff to fill up a a 24' moving truck then you don't have a standard 1 bedroom apartment. If you notice, the estimate says "The average duration for a move is as follows: One bedroom 3-5 hours". Your estimate was for 3 hours and 1 hour travel time- that's within the standard range for a 1 bedroom home. Had we known you had a large amount of stuff then we would have sent more men and quoted you more accurately. At the end of the move the movers gave you a discount of over $100. The best that we can do at this time would be to refund you an additional $100. The movers worked a long 11 hours that day- between the gas, labor, supplies and additional expenses, your move costs DC Pro Movers a lot more than expected as well. Please keep that in mind. Thank you,DC Pro Movers

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. However, I would like to know what the process is for DC ProMovers to send me the $100 they are offering and how the Revdex.com ensures the business actually does this.

Regards,

Review: On July 1, 2013 I made a last-minute arrangement for moving services based on the original moving company NOT SHOWING UP as scheduled -- DC PRO seemed to understand the urgency and, through a series of emailed communications (followed up by phone conversations) we scheduled a move to take place on July 2, 2013. Preliminary emailed estimates offered 3 movers at $85 per hour, but it was decided during a phone conversation that two movers would suffice since there wasn’t a lot to be moved. DC Pro also provided a verbal guarantee that their movers would arrive the next day by 8:00 am. I returned an electronically signed contract on July 1 (copy available) agreeing to 2 movers at $75 per hour who would arrive between 8:00 – 9:00 am to load, transport and unload specified items. These items were described to consist of a large 3-piece sectional sofa, a disassembled desk, an outdoor patio set (table disassembled) and grill, a mini fridge (empty) and a number of pre-packed boxes, along with some other small pieces of miscellaneous furniture (i.e., an empty 2-drawer file cabinet, a 2-shelf bookcase, a 6-shelf bookcase and a glass-top coffee table). The majority of the furniture (including mattresses, mirrors, computers and tv’s), fragile items, kitchen items (including furniture, dishes, cookware, appliances and food) and hanging clothing had already been moved. On the morning of the move, the movers called several times between 8:36 am and 10:32 am to advise that they would be late, stating first that there were issues with the truck and later that they were tied up in traffic. When they arrived at 10:55 (in what appeared to be a rental truck) there were 3 movers rather than the 2 agreed upon and I was told that I needed to sign their new contract for 3 movers (which showed a hand-written rate that was actually higher than the company advertised) – they argued that since they were late (due to being tired from not finishing a job in VA until 10 pm the previous night) it would be to my benefit to have 3 movers get the job done faster -- at this point I felt that I had no choice (we were already 2 days late getting out of the rented home) so I signed and initialed several pages of documents that were required to be signed prior to beginning the job. I was not offered copies of any of these pages (but was able to obtain them after sending several email requests over next few days following the move). The contract I signed online the prior evening indicated that the company would use 'free' blankets to protect furniture but that sofas, mattresses, tv's and mirrors would require special protection – these ‘special protection’ packing materials were designated as items that needed to be purchased in addition to the expenses of loading/unloading – BUT since we had already moved all mattresses, tv's and mirrors the day before, I assumed the 'special protection' would only apply to the sofa and the glass top of a coffee table. I was aware that 'packing materials' were not included in the estimate but since the majority of our items were already packed in boxes which did not require any additional packing and/or protecting, I assumed the boxes would simply be loaded on the truck and the other small pieces of furniture would be loaded and then covered with a "free" blanket as is typically done when furniture is being moved. The online contract stated that generally a 1 bedroom house would take approximately 3-5 hours for 2 movers -- since all bedroom and kitchen/dining room furniture had already been moved, I assumed we would fall into the smallest category of a 1-BR house; i.e., the only actual heavy furniture (requiring more than one person to carry) was in the living room and on the patio. The movers made no attempt to perform quickly and actually took about 10 minutes just standing around talking before they even started working. I did NOT stay in the room with them and did NOT watch everything they were doing -- they represented themselves as a professional moving company and I trusted they would perform that way. Three full hours later they finally finished loading the items, and not only had they blanketed items such as bookcases and desk parts, but they placed them between flat cardboard boxes and then covered them in bubble wrap with massive amounts of tape to hold the bubble wrap on! (pictures are available) It was my understanding that those small furniture items would be placed in the truck and covered with a 'FREE' protective blankets -- placing items in flattened cardboard boxes for which I was charged $9 - $14 each (and which they can easily reuse) was simply a tactic to make the move take more time and cost more money -- it was totally unnecessary and clearly was an unethical and deceitful technique! The majority of the household items had already been moved before DC Pro arrived and, altho the truck held a lot of items, most of those items were previously packed boxes that had been re-boxed and/or re-taped by the movers! Likewise, they put sealed bags inside boxes – at no point did they indicate they would be re-boxing any items. They made no attempt to communicate with me about what they were doing or to seek my consent to needlessly utilize supplies to re-pack items. I could easily have transported bagged items in another vehicle, rather than pay for them to be placed in boxes costing $9-$14 each if they were unable to transport them, but there was no indication that bagged items were a problem OR that the boxes we had already packed were not transportable as they were. When they finally finished loading, I pointed out to them the huge gash in the wall and the damage done to the banister and the carpet (pictures are available), but the only response I got was a snicker and that they would tell their supervisor that I thought they did it! When they left the starting location, they informed me they would be stopping for lunch before they proceeded to the ending location! Since my daughter was at the ending location, I didn't accompany the movers, but when my daughter informed me that the move (estimated at less than $500 for 2 men to work 5 hours -- plus the fee for the REQUIRED packing materials -- which to my understanding would include only the 'special protection' for the sofa and glass table top) was $1163 I could not understand. If this is a professional company who provides estimates all the time, it doesn't seem possible that they could estimate 5 hours for 2 men to complete a job and then bill 7 hours for 3 men PLUS charge over $400 for unnecessary supplies! Although the sofa was large, the only other items from the second floor included a desk (disassembled), 4 patio chairs, a patio table (disassembled) and a grill -- everything else was on the first level and ready to be placed inside the truck -- at least half of those items were in the garage and only 20 feet from where the truck was parked – the remainder of the items were in a first-floor room. One person working alone could probably have loaded the majority of these items while the other two carried the other items from the second floor. This company totally misrepresented itself as professional and overcharged me not only for the materials but for the time spent loading and unloading! The bill (which was also NOT provided at the conclusion of services, but obtained after several email requests following the move) showed 7 hours of moving services, plus an hour of travel time and $402 for supplies. When the movers asked for $1163 I told my daughter NOT to pay it until I spoke to the company. This resulted in the movers immediately reducing the bill to $1,000 and the outcome of the angry phone call I made to the company was a further reduction to $930. However, this is still way over the amount that should have been charged! SEVEN HOURS of moving time – charged at a rate (1) higher than advertised by the company and (2) higher than the rate on the original contract PLUS a fuel charge higher than the amount on the original contract PLUS charges for supplies that were completely unnecessary!!! The movers refused to provide a copy of the new contract to my daughter on the receiving end but she felt she had no choice except to pay the amount being requested. Additionally, when questioned by her about the damage to the old location, the response was that they were not liable for it. The charge to fix the damage (to two walls, the banister and the carpet) will be billed by the landlord and now the moving company has no liability for it? This is ludicrous! I think this company's business practices and ethics need to be investigated -- they did not adhere to their part of the contract (i.e., a guarantee of arrival of TWO movers by 9:00 AM and the provision of 'PROFESSIONAL' moving services) and they fabricated a bill which was way more than their services required! Most importantly, my daughter was informed by a phone call from the company (shortly after the movers left) that if she pursued a complaint against their company, they would charge her credit card for the full amount of the original bill. Obviously the company has her credit card information, as well as mine, so this is considered a viable threat!Desired Settlement: (1) This company should provide a refund for the extra time they charged to unnecessarily wrap items in cardboard and bubble wrap (instead of covering them in their advertised 'free' moving blankets) and for needlessly taping, sealing and re-boxing already-packed and sealed boxes; (2) their bill should be at the rate for TWO movers as agreed in the original contract I signed to schedule their services; (3) they should eliminate the excessive cost of the unnecessary packing supplies; (4) they should pay for any damages billed by the landlord at the old location (i.e., amount deducted from the refunded security deposit) and (5) they should be thoroughly investigated for both business and ethical practices (because they blatantly charged for unnecessary services AND because they threatened to charge additional fees to my daughter’s credit card if she pursued this complaint). A fair bill for the services we received (AFTER the company showed up 2 hours late and forced me to sign a new -- and changed -- contract) should include 4 hours of moving time at the rate for 2 movers, 1 hour of travel time, 5% fuel charge (as specified on the electronic contract I signed) and a reduction of the unnecessary supplies (e.g., decrease 78 square feet of bubble wrap @ $1 each and 27 rolls of tape @ $3 each by half -- to 39 square feet of bubble wrap and 13 rolls of tape -- and eliminate all other unnecessary supplies (e.g., 13 china boxes @ $9 each, 4 wardrobe boxes @ $14 each, and 5 plastic covers @ $14 each – I actually have no idea what the plastic covers are or why or how they were used!) This would reduce the total bill to a fair amount of 4 hours X 2 movers @ $75/hour ($300) plus 1 hour of travel time @ $75 per hour ($75) plus 5% fuel charge ($18.75) plus 39 square feet of bubble wrap X $1 ($39) plus 13 rolls of tape X $3 ($39) for a total of $300 + $75 + $18.75 + $39 + $39 = $471.75 (When an itemized list of damages and costs for repairs is provided by the landlord, we can provide a copy of it and request a separate refund, otherwise we would accept a full refund of $500. This would reduce the bill to a fair amount for the services we received and help to cover the cost of the damages caused by the movers. It would not, however, settle the issue of the unprofessional business ethics that have clearly been demonstrated by the company's blatantly deceitful work practices nor does it address the threat made to my daughter -- the customer!)

Business

Response:

Review: This company is the definition of underhanded. They give you an estimate and the estimate is not even close to what they actually charge you. They get to your new residence to unload and then hit you with a bill that is double what they had quoted you and they refuse to unload the truck until you agree to pay the bill. I would never use this company again, everything seems great until you actually use them. [redacted], the manager/owner, is rude disrespectful and whenever you ask questions about the bill would just keep saying the same thing over and over and over again "look at this estimate it says there can be other fees." The movers got lost for an hour, more than likely eating lunch and they billed me for that hour saying that they couldn't put my new address in their GPS, so I had to go meet them at a cross street so they could find my new house. The entire experience became extremely stressful at the end of the day which is the exact opposite of why I had chosen to use a moving compay in the first placeDesired Settlement: I would like the original quote of $750 to be honored. They jumped the quote up to $1389 and then dropped it down to $1275.

Business

Response: