Friendly Movers

Upon receiving Mr [redacted] response, we have again reviewed his shipping documents, emails trails and interview the employees in question; our foreman DO NOT tell customers when and how to receive their delivery, they are not part of our dispatch department and have no knowledge of van lines schedules & availability, but they are polite enough to offer opinion when they are being asked for itAlso, even if Mr [redacted] meant to set 9/as his “First day available for delivery” as he is claiming in his complaint, he received his shipment on 10/15/still within the business days window that we we’re allowed under the signed Bill of Lading to deliver his itemsWe are also respectfully reject his claims that we were unable to provide him with information about his shipment, that he was hanged up on, and that we did not responded to his emailsHis shipment was in our storage facilities from the day it was picked up until we have loaded it onto the delivering van line [redacted] on 10/6, and then it was in their care until delivering on 10/Also, we DO NOT hang up on customers no matter how unpleasant the conversation may be and we reply to all emails that warrant a replyAs for his damage claim: Mr [redacted] received his Shipment on 10/15/2017, the following day he called our office to advise that he believe some of his items were damaged, that same day 10/16/we’ve emailed him a claim form for him to fill so we can start with processing his claim as soon as possible, (copy of the email and his response is included) We’re sincerely would like to arrive to a satisfactory conclusion for Mr [redacted] complaints, but it is a bit unreasonable to assume that we can process his claim in days without even receiving the actual documentWe ‘ll await the receiving of his claim and process it according to the DOT regulations and the Valuation he has chosen to release his shipment to

Dear [redacted] ,I have attached a copy of your final bill for your review as well as a copy of your estimate The charge of $is the warehouse handling fee for loading your items from the storage onto the truck not for packing/ repackingOn the estimate that was sent to you it does state that your estimate includes loading at origin and standard unloading at the destinationOccupying storage for more than days will incur a reload fee and it is based on the size of your shipment, because this labor was not included in your estimateAlso you were not charged $for Storage, my apologies; it was written in the wrong spot that is actually the fuel surcharge, which was always 10% of your moveMsHawking I do sincerely apologize for any miscommunication or any discrepanciesThank You,Managementwhy here

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Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
I never agree to dismantle the bikeI received a call to advise me that they were removing the tires onlyIt was not the tires that this company removed but instead took by bike apart and did not properly packed itPlease keep in mind that this is a "professional moving company"They should have known how to pack and ship a bike properlyWorst experience ever and terrible customer services
Regards,
*** ***

The following letter and settlement check has been sent to *** *** ***,We’re disturbed and disappointed that you have chosen to complain to the Revdex.com without giving us the opportunity to resolve this matter; we have just completed your move hours ago and were still investigating
the claims you’ve emailed usThe managers also spoke with your wife and we were definitely not going to ignore your claim.I first want to sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that may have caused you and your familyI cannot stress enough that we do not want to minimize our issues, but reading your complaint we must point out some inaccuracies with your claimThe movers showed up at 10am 1-hours later than the estimated time of arrivalThis was due to trying to find a weight station for the truck. We are a Maryland based company and we are not too familiar with weight stations in Virginia, as a result we did use google to find weight stations in the areaThe driver was given weight stations and unbeknownst to us one of the stations was a private facility and the other station was closedSince we were already running behind the drivers drove straight to your location to get your move startedWhen you called in and we spoke, I did mention to you that the truck had left the weight station but I was unaware that they actually did not get a chance to get it weighed. As far as disassembling and reassembling, my understanding from interviewing the crew is that they did have tools and they performed it all except for a crib that required an Allen key which they did not have so you had to disassemble it yourself Our insurance liability coverage does not allow us to reassemble items we did not disassemble, because if something were to happen our insurance would not cover it. The hours in the morning that you are claiming because we were late were not charged for, your contract shows that the labor charges started at am; therefore we are not able to reimburse you for being late the labor time started when we actually arrived to your locationGoing over the timeline they had left Woodbridge at around 2pm, Ethan received a call from them at 7:when they were at your home in Virginia Beach letting him know they couldn’t find a weight station; total of hours, however they did take longer to arrive to the house in because of trying to find a weight station as well as a heavy truck does not move as fast as your carConsequently we will take responsibility for not having a specific location and willing to reimburse you an hour and a half of your time. Travel time is not the distance between your pick up and your destination, that is considered labor, because your items are on the truck, we technically are handling your items and its part of your labor hoursTravel time is the time it takes from us to get to your pick up location and driving our truck back to our office from Virginia BeachTravel time is a standard flat feeIn your case travel time was hours and you were charged for 5, therefore we will refund you an additional hour.In a matter of good will we will discount hrs for looking for weight station and hour of travel time for a total of $[($98per hour x hours) -discount 5%)]We are including our company check in the amount of $as full and final settlement for your inconvenience claim.Again we regret any inconvenience this may have caused you and your family

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Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
I have integrity and I find Friendly Movers comments insulting. I moved on the same day as the shipment was picked up, so I put the 19th as the date that I was ready to receive me items. Whether that was feasible or not, that was the first day I was available to take the shipment. The foreman did indeed ask me to change the date as he stated that they couldn't deliver on the same day. That's fine, but I was still able on my end to receive shipment. He told me I had to change the date. Again, you can see this plain as day on the contract. In terms of "proactive" communication, there was very little. I was hung up on several times by the manager and that is the truth. Give me a lie detector and I'll prove it! The communication from Tyra and the manager was inconsistent and as mentioned previously, and I was calling and emailing all the time. They told me several times they tried to contact the driver to see where my shipment was. They never could "get a hold of him". They provided the wrong dates of the delivery of my shipment and I had to track down the third party shipper out of Chicago on my own. They were very helpful and contradicted the little communication Friendly Movers was providing me on delivery date. I have submitted my claim to Friendly Movers twice as they said they never received the first one. I have proof from my sent files that they did receive it the first time, but I'm not sure why they didn't get it. I first filed the claim with Trya and she mentioned that she didn't handle this. Instead of forwarding to the appropriate team members, she sent me a bad/invalid email address for another department. I had to track down the right email myself.I've sent the claim paperwork, along with pictures of the damaged goods and the items that didn't make the delivery. If you look at the bill of lading, you'll notice that it's all scribbled on a white sheet of paper, not a proper bill of lading document.
Regards,
*** ***

We were very disturbed to hear that bike did not arrived in a satisfactory conditionWe had hoped to ship the bike in a specialty box via Van Lines truck, but regretfully were unable to do it in a timely matter that would have satisfied *** ***, therefore at *** *** insistence we had to dismantle the bike, re package to fit *** requirementWe’ve attached our claim form and would like to encourage *** *** to fill it and send it back to us so she can be compensated in accordance to the DOT regulation, our published tariff and the Valuation level that she had chosen to release her shipment toWe again like to apologize to *** *** for any inconvenience we may have caused

I recently used Friendly Movers to move my home of eight yearsI had a great experience with themThey were courteous and promptThe movers were extremely hard working and willing to go the extra mileI highly recommend this moving company

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I called repeated for an itemized cost and at no time was a warehouse charge discussed.  At the initial meeting a warehouse charge was not discussed either, I asked about additional cost for storage and was told that all I had to pay was $450 per month with the 1st month being free.  I accept all other explanations EXCEPT the $587 which was NEVER communicated.
Regards,
[redacted]

When [redacted] spoke with a representative with Friendly movers she has given us a list of 15 items to be shipped to Orlando FL (copy attached) the total estimated volume of the items she has listed was 372 cf. since there were no boxes listed on her list we’ve added 122 cf to the estimated...

volume and sent her an estimated cost of $1862.50 for a shipment of 500cf (we’ve actually over estimated her shipment and not under estimated as she’s claiming) When the moving crew, the foreman proceeds with a visual survey prior to loading as required by the DOT and advised her that she had greatly under reported the items to be shipped and estimated the shipment to be around 1000 cf. (signed revised estimate is attached) Naturally [redacted] got upset and call our office to complaint about the cost discrepancy where she was told that it is the shipper responsibility to provide the movers with an accurate inventory list. But because of the drastic change in volume (there were actually 98 items listed on the shipment inventory list as compare to 15 items she had listed on the estimate request [copy attached]) and to retain her customer goodwill and in an effort of reconciliation we did agree to lower her overload (500cf) rate by $0.25/cf instead of raising it by $0.25 – 0.50 per CF as is customary in the industry, we’ve also allowed her 2 months of storage free, providing customer service above and beyond of what was required of us.. Once [redacted] was ready to receive her shipment she gave us a call and let us know. The day she set as first day available for delivery (August 31st) was around the time that Hurricane Irma hit Florida. Unfortunately, this did affect some shipments to Florida and we did have a little difficulty getting it to her. Although we had a minor setback we were still able to deliver her items September 19th within the legal time frame of her request. Her items did make it to Florida unfortunately a bike was left behind. Once we were contacted about the bike we have made efforts to get it to her the best way we could. First, we’ve tried to send it with other Vanlines to piggy back on vanlines going in that direction, but shipping to Florida after the Hurricane has been difficult and we weren't too successful. Then we tried to ship the box via [redacted] to but unfortunately the box was too large and outside of their requirements for shipment. As of today [redacted]’s bike has been shipped to her and she will be receiving it shortly. Also, if as mentioned in her complaint, [redacted] items suffered damages, we encourage her to file a damage claim so she may be compensated accordingly.

Dear [redacted],I have attached a copy of your final bill for your review as well as a copy of your estimate.  The charge of $587 is the warehouse handling fee for loading your items from the storage onto the truck not for packing/ repacking. On the estimate that was sent to you it does state that your estimate includes loading at origin and standard unloading at the destination. Occupying storage for more than 30 days will incur a reload fee and it is based on the size of your shipment, because this labor was not included in your estimate. Also you were not charged $822.50 for Storage, my apologies; it was written in the wrong spot that is actually the fuel surcharge, which was always 10% of your move. Ms. Hawking I do sincerely apologize for any miscommunication or any discrepancies. Thank You,Managementwhy here...

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is partially satisfactory to me. 
The major issue that the business has accepted responsibility for is that the truck was not weighed empty as was their impression from the driver and also passed on to me. This was a military move and the NAVY requires the vehicles weighed on the  same day as the move 7/25  which was explained prior to making the reservation a week in advance. This should have given ample time to locate a northern Virginia weigh station or truck stop. Because of their miscommunication my family might not be reimbursed for the claim and be out of $1900. This flaw of not having the truck weighed empty until the following afternoon on 7/26 now has my family in limbo because it was not done in accordance to the military instruction. Being a MD based company is not a good reason for not completing the original contract as desired since it is advertised as serving the DC/MD/VA area. I have submitted the weigh tickets that were supplied to me for compensation with the Navy, but they are requiring the company to supply a written statement confirming that due to their part in the move, a weigh empty ticket was not completed on 7/25 but they certify that the weigh empty slip on 7/26 was the same truck that was provided during the move. I would like to thank the company for getting back to me and have not had an issue with them in the past when I have moved. The same crib and dresser that required our tools and dissembling and  putting together we're not provided during our last move in April of 2015 so I'm not sure why they didn't have a tool to take it apart again. I waited a week for someone to reach out to me at least with an update but am pleased they have reached out to partially accepted responsibility for the errors.Please send the 2.5 hrs of reimbursement to the new address that you have on file and also a letter for the Navy ensuring that the truck was the same truck from the move and brief explanation that was given above.[redacted] Virginia beach, VA [redacted]
Regards,
[redacted]

Upon receiving Mr. [redacted] response, we have again reviewed his shipping documents, emails trails and interview the employees in question; our foreman DO NOT tell customers when and how to receive their delivery, they are not part of our dispatch department and have no knowledge of van lines schedules & availability, but they are polite enough to offer opinion when they are being asked for it. Also, even if Mr. [redacted] meant to set 9/19 as his “First day available for delivery” as he is claiming in his complaint, he received his shipment on 10/15/2017 still within the 21 business days window that we we’re allowed under the signed Bill of Lading to deliver his items. We are also respectfully reject his claims that we were unable to provide him with information about his shipment, that he was hanged up on, and that we did not responded to his emails. His shipment was in our storage facilities from the day it was picked up until we have loaded it onto the delivering van line [redacted] on 10/6, and then it was in their care until delivering on 10/15. Also, we DO NOT hang up on customers no matter how unpleasant the conversation may be and we reply to all emails that warrant a reply. As for his damage claim: Mr. [redacted] received his Shipment on 10/15/2017, the following day he called our office to advise that he believe some of his items were damaged, that same day 10/16/2017 we’ve emailed him a claim form for him to fill so we can start with processing his claim as soon as possible, (copy of the email and his response is included) We’re sincerely would like to arrive to a satisfactory conclusion for Mr. [redacted] complaints, but it is a bit unreasonable to assume that we can process his claim in 2 days without even receiving the actual document. We ‘ll await the receiving of his claim and process it according to the DOT regulations and the Valuation he has chosen to release his shipment to.

I have moved many times in the past due to my career and I can honestly say that Friendly Movers is one of the better moving companies I have experienced. I was impressed by the attention to detail displayed both during booking and during the move. This made everything run smoothly, and although they came towards the latter part of their window of time, they still made it technically on time. Would highly recommend!

Review: My wife and I arranged for this company to arrive at our home in [redacted] City and move us to [redacted] on July 30th at 2pm. The 3 gentlemen who arrived were very nice and were loading up their truck with our belongings. At 6:26pm we received a phone call that the truck has broken down and they are waiting for someone to help get the truck started. At 7:19pm we called for an update and the movers on the truck advised they are still waiting for mechanic. We requested to speak to a supervisor about the problem. (Our new home didn’t have electricity so didn’t want the movers going into a dark home. If the truck did not break down, there was still plenty of light from the sun.)We received a call from their dispatcher who began in a loud stern voice that this was our fault for scheduling the move so late in the day and it’s our fault for not having adequate lighting. He was advised due to the truck breaking down it would be too late in the evening and if the truck did not break down, there would have been adequate lighting. At 7:48pm the movers on the truck advised they are still waiting for mechanic. Called again at 8pm requesting to speak to supervisor. I was then hung up on. The supervisor did eventually call at approximately 8:10pm. ([redacted]) I explained to him the situation and on how rude and disrespectful his dispatcher has been. He began getting very loud and rude on the phone as well. And again stating it was our fault to have the move at 2pm. We also asked if they can keep our belongings overnight so the movers are not delivering in the dark for their safety. He stated he would not be able to do that and again it was our fault. We told them to still deliver then. We used lighting from the neighbor how supplied lights and power cords from their house. Because of the later delivery and minimum lighting, the movers couldn’t put together any of the furniture that is stated they would take apart and put back together. Furniture was damaged and some things were just put in the rooms as fast as they could. The movers arrived at our home at 8:45pm and left at 10:45pm. The customer service from dispatcher and manager was extremely inappropriate and rude. My wife and I were yelled at and blame was put on us.Desired Settlement: We are looking for a full refund for damages to furniture and the complete disrespect and inexcusable communication from the manager and dispatcher. The customer service was terrible.

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted],

I have moved many times in the past due to my career and I can honestly say that Friendly Movers is one of the better moving companies I have experienced. I was impressed by the attention to detail displayed both during booking and during the move. This made everything run smoothly, and although they came towards the latter part of their window of time, they still made it technically on time. Would highly recommend!

I chose Friendly Movers in part because they offered the lowest rate per cubic foot, and I assumed that the estimate I received would be lower than the actual volume (and it went up by about 150cf). I think the end result was probably fair, becuase I forget to include some things (and other companies, which offered even lower over-the-phone estimates, presumably would have upped the volume). The team that packed up my apartment was very good (I was very happy I used the full-pack option, as it didn't add that much money), and so was the team that unloaded. Items were carefully packed and inventoried, and absolutely nothing was damaged or lost. The only frustration I had was that, becuase I moved in January, there weren't any other loads to share with, and after sleeping on an air mattress for a week, I paid an extra $400 for a customized delivery (a reasonable price I happily would have paid up front). Bottom line: I found Teresa friendly and responsive, and the team did good work. I would use them again.