Royal Relocation

TERRIBLE! Charge by weight and cubic spaceMade my estimate double what was discussed Was charged extra fees at time of the delivery Cash onlyNo cashiers check

Horrible! Horrible! Horrible! DO NOT use this company! We were shopping moving companies for moving a storage unit from California to Montana and they gave us the best price so we decided to book with them despite the already terrible reviewsI even asked the lady named Diana about the reviews and wanted to verify that we would not experience what other customers stated they didShe assured me that I made a good choice and you can't please everyoneSo we went with the bookingWe had to purchase plane tickets for the time of the move to fly down and supervise the loading of our storage unit before being transportedAfter we arrived two days before the move we called to let them know we were there and they said they would call us the next day (day before the move) to arrange the time they would be thereSo they called the next day and stated that they would no longer be able to perform the move on the original day but had to move it to two days later! Mind you we booked this day over month in advanceShe claimed there was a inspection that was mandatory and "oh well"After trying to understand the situation and trying to see if there was something else we can do because our flight was scheduled to leave before they could do the move I was yelled at and disrespected saying it wasn't their problemI could not even get one word out when trying to talk because she just kept yellingThen she said they would not perform the move at all for usThey put us in a terrible situation! Please beware of this company! I wanted to go against my better judgment because the price was greatBut do yourself a favor and just skip these guysDon't end up in the situation we did

TERRIBLE!

Charge by weight and cubic space. Made my estimate double what was discussed.
Was charged extra fees at time of the delivery.
Cash only. No cashiers check.

Horrible! Horrible! Horrible! DO NOT use this company! We were shopping moving companies for moving a storage unit from California to Montana and they gave us the best price so we decided to book with them despite the already terrible reviews. I even asked the lady named Diana about the reviews and wanted to verify that we would not experience what other customers stated they did. She assured me that I made a good choice and you can't please everyone. So we went with the booking. We had to purchase plane tickets for the time of the move to fly down and supervise the loading of our storage unit before being transported.. After we arrived two days before the move we called to let them know we were there and they said they would call us the next day (day before the move) to arrange the time they would be there. So they called the next day and stated that they would no longer be able to perform the move on the original day but had to move it to two days later! Mind you we booked this day over 1 month in advance. She claimed there was a inspection that was mandatory and "oh well". After trying to understand the situation and trying to see if there was something else we can do because our flight was scheduled to leave before they could do the move I was yelled at and disrespected saying it wasn't their problem. I could not even get one word out when trying to talk because she just kept yelling. Then she said they would not perform the move at all for us. They put us in a terrible situation! Please beware of this company! I wanted to go against my better judgment because the price was great. But do yourself a favor and just skip these guys. Don't end up in the situation we did.

Working with this company (now named South Coast Van Lines) turned an already stressful experience (moving from CA to MO) into an absolute nightmare.

In brief: We have never had such a bad experience with any kind of company ever before. The cost increased by 1,000$ on the day of pick-up for no scientific reason (see #2 below), and we waited an agonizing 1.5 months before our stuff was finally delivered to our new home (see #3 below). We do not recommend this company to anyone, and it is our hope that this review will help others to avoid the emotional turmoil that we went through.

Here are the details about our terrible experience:

1. We received a call less than 24 hours before the scheduled pick-up date that they won't be able to pick up until the day after because their "trucks are being inspected." They then show up on that later date with a Budget rental van. ---If only the problems had stopped there...

2. Our estimate (dated 2 days before pick-up) was for 2,800$. We are told that this estimate is based on estimated cubic volume and/or estimated weight. When they arrive for pick up, the foreman scans our belongings for 5 minutes and tells us it will be 3,800$. This sudden increase is based on nothing scientific. We are later told that this increase is justified because we had more items than what we disclosed on our most recent estimate. Aside from the fact that we were never under the impression that it was number of items that mattered (and never mind the fact that the foreman had absolutely zero idea of exactly how many items we had when he quoted us an additional 1,000$), the number of items we had only increased because they counted many of our belongings as multiple items. A keyboard, disclosed as one item on our estimate, became 4 items because the movers disassembled it and counted each piece as a separate item; several bookshelves, which we disclosed as one item each, each became 2 items because they removed the shelves and counted these as separate items; a papasan chair, which we disclosed as one item, became three items (cushion, cushion frame, and stand); our queen bed frame, which we disclosed as two items (headboard and footboard), became 5 items because they counted the side boards and hardware for the bottom of the bed as separate items; and so on. We are also told that part of the reason for the increase was because they had to crate four of our items because they contained glass. "Crating" for this company is simply wrapping in a blanket (a service we were told was included in our estimate) and then taking a cardboard box and tearing it to fit around the item---hardly a service meriting an additional 1,000$.

3. When we signed with this company, we were told our items would arrive at our destination ~7-14 days after the pick-up date. We worked really hard with the agent to arrange a pick-up date that would minimize the amount of time we are without our belongings at our new home. HOWEVER, the contract we were forced to sign the day of pick-up indicates that delivery is *2-21 business days from the first available date of delivery*. Not only is this an absurd delivery window (why would I be happy with a delivery window that doesn't even start until 2 days after I say I am ready to receive my stuff?), but they were somehow not even able to stick to this delivery window. It took them 32 BUSINESS DAYS (that is, 46 calendar days) to deliver our belongings to us. We were in a completely empty apartment in a brand new city for 1.5 MONTHS before they managed to get us our belongings. All they provided as compensation for this egregious delay was 20$/day (AFTER the expiration of the 21 business day delivery window)---which amounted to a discount of only 320$.

4. They subcontracted out our job to a company, Oleg Van Lines, with a horrendous reputation on Revdex.com and Yelp (---a reputation our own experience proved to be very well-deserved). They never informed us of this, before or after it happened because "it's not their policy" (we only found out because we got a mysterious call from someone "from the trucking company" with an update on our belongings, and we had to ask him what company he worked for). The fact that our belongings could change hands to a different company without our knowledge is astounding. It baffles me that they don't inform their customers of this simply as a matter of professional courtesy. ---But, professional courtesy really isn't the strong suit of this company, as my next point below indicates.

5. Our conversations over phone, email, and text with this company were infuriating. We heard every excuse in the book from them: family emergencies, email servers going down, emails that they supposedly sent but we never received (--that just doesn't happen these days!), texts that they supposedly sent but we never received (--also, never happens!), trucks being inspected, trucks breaking down, drivers being delayed.....