Available Movers & Storage

I recently saw an ad on Amazon Local for 2 hours of moving and an hour of travel from available movers and storage for $99.  I thought it was a great deal but as they say some things are too good to be true.
I called them and they kept telling me that though this is a really good deal it isn't going to work for me.  They kept pushing what a normal rate would be.  I added up all the costs and even paying an extra hour it was still less than their normal rate.  When I told them I was hesitant to use the promotion because I was afraid I was going to be nickel-ed and dimed - they agreed with me that they would be nervous as well..? I should have hung up then.
I decided I wanted to book through the promotion (thankfully I had not purchased it yet) and just try to make sure I was aware of all of the costs.  When I tried to go forward with this they then literally gave me every excuse why it didn't apply to me.  First it was oh- this isn't listed on the promotion but it doesn't apply to the beginning and end of the month.. ok.  Then I said let's change the date, because I luckily have some flexibility.  We changed it to earlier in the month and then the excuse they came up with is since my building that I'm moving out of asks you to reserve a two hour time slot the promotion isn't valid..?  They said its generally like the cable guy- you might have to wait all day for them.
I hung up at this point.  Their promotion is a scam and they are only doing it to get calls for their normal rate.  DO NOT USE THEM- they are clearly scam artists!

Service cost: $480

These guys should have had the decency to wear a mask when they robbed me.  I put a deposit down for a certain date and had a cleaners scheduled to come based on this date.  They showed up 4 days late.  I had to pay the cleaning company for just showing up and than again when they actually cleaned.  Halfway through the move they transfered my stuff to another moving company.  The new company showed up 7 days late.  The move was promised to take 14 days.  It took 21 days.  They day they showed up I wasn't there so they charnged me a $300 storage fee.    Run away from this company.  .

Service cost: $4100

I've made a few long distance moves now, state to state, and this is my first and last time using Available Movers. The company is the WORST I have experienced as far as communication, professionalism, and just plain doing their job. It's not rocket-science, you pick up items, drive them, and drop them off. The fact that they cannot keep track of customer's belongings is RIDICULOUS. Someone needs to teach them how to itemize items on a packing slip and you should check every little box and item you have on your list before the movers drive away with your money. Their inventory list is worthless so make sure you write your own and check off each from your own list when they deliver.  3 items were undelivered and now I have to continue dealing with this horrible company through the claim process as no one, of course, can tell me where my three missing items are. Customer service doesn't get back to you. They are NOT open always. I don't know why it says that on this Facebook page. They don't answer the phone on Sundays and they transfer you to customer service to deal with you (whom don't give you any answers either). They are only helpful, pleasant, and responsive when they are trying to make the sale and take your deposit to secure the move. I used a GREAT company, completely reliable and professional a couple of years ago but they wanted to charge me DOUBLE of what Available Movers quoted me. Unfortunately, I made the decision to save half the money by using Available Movers and now I have HALF a dining room table set. WORST MOVING COMPANY EVER. I DO NOT RECOMMEND AVAILABLE USERS. 1 star is being generous.

Service cost: $2070

I moved from Connecticut to Washington State and I am extremely disappointed with Available Movers. Unless they offer any sort of compensation, I will spread the word to all my contacts to NEVER use Available Movers. An objective review: Pros: 1. Very professional movers. They were courteous and efficient. Cons: 1. False estimates. I provided all the articles I was moving and the estimates came out to $7800. When the movers came and loaded, the charge increased to $18000 even though the number / size of my articles DID NOT CHANGE from what I had provided initially. 2. Delivery estimate was way off. I understand it's difficult to have an exact estimate and the contract indicates a long window of delivery. That being said, the representative I had spoken to indicated that a typical move should take no more than 14 days. It took 32 days. I had to pay for an extra month on my rental home in Washington, pay for a motel for 2 weeks plus food. If I had received a more accurate estimate, I would have had my stuff picked up earlier so that it would be delivered for my target date. 3. Dispatcher is impossible to reach. I had to call several times each day to find out where my stuff was to get a better understanding of the delivery date. Not only is the dispatcher very difficult to reach, she is unable to provide a good estimate of the delivery date.  4. They delivered my antique claw foot coffee tables with a broken legs, my winter coats were packed with my dirty vaccum cleaner, broken antiques:  stained glass lamp shade.  Naturally when I looked at their receipt every one of my items was listed as damaged and scratched so there was no recourse to file a claim.   My video camera, antique chair from my grandmother, stereograph and all the pictures were stolen. These people are crooks and once they have your items on their trucks you are a prisoner.  When the my furniture was finally delivered I was told the van couldn't fit into the driveway and that I had to pay 1000.00 to get a uhaul truck to unload my items from the moving van to the uhaul and then to the house. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

Service cost: $18000

STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY! **READ BELOW** I cannot stress that enough to anyone who reads these reviews.   My experience with this company was extremely unprofessional and deplorable.  Read the complaints on the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org/new-york-city/Business-Reviews/movers/available-movers-storage-inc-in-astoria-ny-85833/complaints)  to learn the truth about how this company operates. For more proof - don't just look at the recommended Yelp reviews - look at the 46 reviews Yelp says are "not recommended" (http://www.yelp.com/not_recommended_reviews/uxsBgCgbMUo6JVEkxqLZMg) that is where you find the truth. All the ratings and you'll see the 1 star reviews have a common theme as far as feeling scammed.   Long story short - I was quoted for a specific amount of time - told that I would only be charged for what I use.  I ended up fighting with the dispatcher who was trying to charge me for 8 hours when the guys had only used 4.  I overheard him fighting with the moving men at the job for not over charging me.  Told him "that is how we do things" "you know we make sure we over charge them" (Yeah that's how loud they were arguing).  When they got off the phone the moving guys pretty much confirmed what I read in these 1 star reviews on Yelp and the BBB - that Sam the owner is a crook who purposely tells them to add square footage to pump up the price and instructs them to make sure they get they go over the estimate by doing whatever it takes.  This company is horrible and doesn't deserve folks hard earned money.  Do yourselves a favor and STAY AWAY.

Service cost: $1400

So I've used Available Movers Twice.  Back in January they moved my stuff from my apartment to my storage unit.  The guys were awesome and I had no issues.2 weeks ago I called again to have them move the storage and an additional pick up into my new place.  They arrived with a truck that was over half full.  I spoke with Sam the owner about it and he said "Everything should fit".  I explained that it clearly wouldn't and I stated that the storage would barely fit, let alone everything else.  This lead to the move taking many extra hours as the truck had to be packed perfectly to fit the storage contents.  Then we had to drop off everything and go to the next location.  I kept Sam updated all day with the delays and what was going on and he told me he'd make good on it.  At the end of the day (8 hours of moving that was estimated at 4.5 and previously done in 3.5) Sam offered to take of 30 minutes of time.  When I spoke him about it he said "You don't think the guys should be paid for an hour of work?"  I said "How dare you take the money away from the workers, you're the one who sent a half full truck, take responsibility".  He told me not to tell him how to run his business.  I tipped the guys well because I do believe he actually stiffs his workers on the hours.  Sam has no integrity and you should not use his company.

Service cost: $1023

I’m writing this as a disappointment with Available Movers Company. Moving from New York to Florida or moving out of state is not easy. Customer service and communication before and during the move was good and prompt. The movers came to pick up our furniture and boxes right on the date and time established. The staff picking up our belongings was courteous and took the time to wrap and what I thought “protect” our furniture properly. Everything in New York was done well, and we were very satisfied with Available Movers services then. Problems started 10 days later when we agreed with the company to deliver our belongings. Available Movers utilizes third party services/movers to deliver belongings out-of-state. This third party never called us the day before delivery, like they did prior to picking up our belongings in NY. They called us the day of the delivery and said they would show up later that day to make the delivery. It seems like Available Movers and this third party company called “Wallace” in Florida had no communication whatsoever. The caller had an attitude and said they would charge me to bring our belongings to a second floor, when it was already stated on my contract with Available Movers that the first flight of stairs was included. They also wanted to charge me because an 18-wheeler would not fit into my apartment complex and they needed a shuttle to deliver our belongings. However, our furniture was just a one bedroom apartment and I did not see the need for an 18-wheeler for just that.  Then, they never showed up the same day they called, but meanwhile we were waiting all day for them. They called at 10pm that day saying that they were too far and that they will come the day after AND THAT THEY WOULD CHARGE ADDITIONALLY because of the next delivery. Completely unprofessional because we were available for them ALL DAY, but they never showed up. We completely refused to pay extra due to their incompetence. They were arguing with my husband over the phone multiple times. They showed up the next day, ALSO LATE and with an unprofessional attitude. They brought up our belongings and the biggest disappointment was to see many furniture items broken and unusable.  And whatever was not broken, was damaged or had defects that were not there prior to our move out-of-state. They left furniture all over the place and they did not accommodate it as the contract established. They left moving garbage all over my new home. My husband had to pick up part of the furniture 2 miles away from our home because they forgot to bring it all. My husband FELT INTIMIDATED BY THE STAFF and that is the reason he did it without arguing. On top of that they asked for a tip, were they serious? COMPLETELY UNPROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE AND MEDIOCRE-AT-BEST SERVICES. We ended up paying additionally for second floor and for the shuttle. We never received a receipt for these extra services, so maybe they kept the cash since we did not tip them.  I was not expecting everything to be perfect, maybe minor loses. But for the price we paid, we were better off buying all our furniture and belongings new.  I am very dissatisfied with Available Movers services.

Service cost: $1700

These folks do what movers do, which is to underestimate weight and cubic feet and then increase the price after they take your belongings, even though inventory is actually a little less than estimate is based.  Because I refused to pay additional undocumented charges they are holding my belongings hostage and refusing to deliver.  I filed a BBB complaint 14 days ago and they haven't responded at all.  I filed an additional complaint today with the FMCSA.

In summary: 1) They only showed up on the day they confirmed because I demanded it but showed up well outside of the confirmed time window and kept me and my neighbors up until 4:30 in the morning to complete the move. 2) They have increased the price when it really should have lowered since there were items on the inventory not included in the move. They haven't documented anything to justify additional charges  3) They misquoted the insurance coverage and are either unable or unwilling to provide evidence of coverage. 4) They have threatened me with late fees when it is they who failed to collect payment at pick up.  5) They are currently holding my belongings hostage and refusing to deliver because I haven't agreed to pay additional unsubstantiated costs.

Service cost: $4500

The sales person gave us a reasonable rate and promised us if we had less cubic feet than estimated, we would be charged less. We were also told our things would be delivered in 7-10 days. We got rid of a lot of things after obtaining a quote and took a lot of things in our car. The foreman and pick up would not take into account the things we didn't move on the truck. So we were over charged for the cubic footage and consequently the fuel surcharge. The foreman also told us we could NOT have a delivery date that was less than 7 days after pick up of our things. Although we called 48 hours after pick up as directed, dispatch could not give us a delivery date. When we tried to contact them after that, they hung up on us, were rude, or promised to call us back, but never did. Our first alleged delivery on July 24 or 25 was delayed because the moving truck broke down. They didn't tell us until I called them. We were supposed to leave town and had to delay our departure because we thought our stuff was coming. They then told us they would deliver on July 30 or 31. We left town knowing it would be a short trip because we'd have to be back in a few days. July 30 came and still no call from dispatch as to a delivery date. I called again to see if there would be a delivery. The manager did not return my phone calls and wouldn't take my call until I called from a different phone the next day. I was told that our things weren't put on the truck it was supposed to go on and that they would deliver on August 3 or 4.  The movers called to say they would deliver between 8-10am on August 4, but didn't show up until 11:30.  We had a few broken items, a few scratched and damaged things and our bikes need adjusting. Nobody in dispatch was helpful and the manager was happy to say anything they thought would make you feel better. It was more condescending and annoying than anything.  Terrible moving company! We would rather have moved things ourself--and that's saying something.

Service cost: $3300

      In May I needed to make a move from New Hampshire to Miami.  This move was an experience from hell.    I picked “Available Movers” because it appeared they were the most reasonably priced mover listed and boy was this a mistake.  When I called, I spoke to a very convincing sweet talking salesgirl, Diane, who reassured me she would stay with me during the entire move and that I could always call her if there were any questions or problems.  After submitting my charge card, my son, out of curiosity, got online and found the company had some very scary reviews.  There were reports of overcharges, truck drivers who wouldn’t release furniture until being tipped exorbitantly, furniture being mishandled and broken or lost, as well as being stored in transit till they could fill trucks and bedbug infestations. When I called and expressed my apprehension   and tried to cancel, Diane launched into a sales pitch, explaining that they had had some bad apples as far as truckers, but they recently purged and screened out all questionable drivers and had taken care of facility problems.  She assured me because of the timing of my move, it would most certainly be door to door and I would have nothing to worry about.  I fell for it.   When the truck arrived 8 hours late (the first of many trucks as it turned out, this being only an initial smaller truck to make a transfer to a larger truck) to pick up my belongings which  had  been meticulously packed and boxed over the past week, I was told I was over the footage I had agreed to: an arbitrary 200 or so feet over the reserved linear square footage of the main truck How they arrived at this amount, I don’t know, seeing that this was just a small transit truck they were going to transfer the load from to a larger truck. We had purposely overestimated the amount of room we might need to get a worst case scenario price.      Then there was the shrink wrap I was charged for.  After agreeing, when asked, to plastic wrap the one plush chair, five men set to and shrink-wrapped everything in sight, which had not been agreed to.  When the bill was tallied up, it was close to $1700 more than what was quoted to me over the phone and on line.  When we asked about some mysterious boxing charge of $40 for boxing one item, it turned out they had boxed and wrapped an empty $5 cardboard file box. I got them to wave that. Then there was an obligatory tip of 20% of the whole price that was actually printed on the contract, which had to be paid in cash. Otherwise it was implied they would not take the move.  When I said I only had $120 in cash, the trucker said “OK I'll give you a discount and take the tip from the price.”   My son directed the loading as I had a priceless inlaid Italian secretary antique desk and chair and a few other valuable pieces. I did not take extra insurance as I was assured this would probably be door to door at this time of year and not to worry.    Back in Miami, almost a month later and after worried calls, I was told that my things had been stored in a facility in Astoria and that the truck driver was on his way.    After another week, I got a call from the truck driver that his truck had broken down three times and he had had to change trucks.  He said he had passed by and there was not enough room for his truck to enter my condo complex. He had to go get another truck.  He finally showed up in a beat up U-Haul.    After transporting   furniture and boxes up to my apartment along with three items that belonged to someone else, the truck driver turned and said, “that’s it, we’re all done”, I pointed out the three things that weren’t mine and that my antique desk was missing  and he replied “Oh yeah, that must still be in the truck.  Let me go get it.”  After about a half hour with no sign of the movers, I went downstairs to check on what was going on. I found them furiously trying to glue my now splintered and destroyed antique Italian inlaid desk back together with gorilla glue, of all things, and stood there in shock as I watched one of the movers smash a drawer into my desk with his fist in a slot where it didn't fit. The furniture arrived completely unwrapped and the priceless inlaid Italian desk was shattered now covered in giant wads of white glue.  Both legs had been broken off.  One was splintered and beyond all repair.  The chair had a leg wrenched loose and chips and dings all over the seat and in the end, I was charged for the U-Haul truck rental.   That night I sat down to watch TV in the arm chair that had arrived in the move and began to itch all over.   I felt as if I was being bitten from head to toe.  This was the beginning of the horror I wouldn’t wish on anyone, bedbugs, which imprisoned me from making contact with anyone for fear of passing them on, for months and some other mysterious creature that was embedding itself under my skin. The treatments for the bedbugs ended up costing me over $3500 to get rid of them.   The bed bugs are gone at last, but six months later I am still fighting this other bug. There is no question that these bugs are dated from the move and were delivered to me in that chair and in my boxes.     When I sent pictures of the damage and proof of the bed bugs I was told I was only entitled to $72 compensation for the weight of my desk at $.60 a pound.  The papers for my damages claim were approved and went to “Available Moving” August 13.   It is now December 21st and I have yet to see a check. I have called numerous times.  There are always excuses and apologies, but no check.  Diane, who was supposed to stay with me during the entire move and I could always call if there were any questions or problems, became entirely unreachable the moment the first problem arose.   All I can say is, avoid this company like the plague                  .

Service cost: $2600

I hired Available Movers for a move on February, 18, 2012. I was given the price of $740 and was told they would be at my previous address between 9AM and 11AM. Three movers arrived at 12:30. They proceeded to take apart all of my furniture; furniture that was moved into the residence by movers in one piece. They spent four hours taking apart my furniture, despite my protests to please stop and load the items into the truck as is. When they arrived at my current residence, they began to unload the furniture and left my flat screen television, wine refrigerator and electric fireplace on the truck. They then charged me an excess of $1000, which I refused to pay until I spoke with management, being it was is such an excess of the initial price I was given. We agreed to $700 (I had already paid $100 as a deposit), for a total of $800, still an excess of the price I was given, and they would bill me the remained so I could dispute it.



I gave the movers my bank debit card and they informed me that it was declined and demanded to run it again. I contacted my bank and was informed that the debit had gone through and $700 had been debited from my account. Despite the fact that I went online to get a statement to show the movers and put the movers on the phone with the bank, they continued to demand that I give authorization to run an additional $700. I argued with the supervisor for approximately an hour while the other two movers attempted to put my furniture back together. The supervisor told me that he would be leaving with my television, wine refrigerator and fireplace until the issue was resolved. I immediately informed him that if he did not unload my items, I would be contacting the police so that they could verify proof of payment. Upon informing the supervisor I would call the police, he unloaded the remainder of my belongings.



The movers were never able to put my furniture back together and they specifically damaged my couch while attempting to put it back together. The supervisor demanded that we review all the belongings once they were in the house, prior to them being put back together, or he could not unload the remainder of our belongings. Therefore, the paperwork that we received states "no damages". I have photos of the damaged furniture since the movers attempted to put the furniture back together.



This experience lasted approximately nine hours and was extremely traumatic for me. These men attempted to leave with my belongings, charge me twice for services that were not rendered appropriately and damaged some very expensive furniture. Furthermore, the lead mover was rude and would not listen to my direction regarding furniture that I had moved before. When I called to speak to the manager the following Monday, I was told to file a claim online regarding the furniture and he completely disregarded the attempts to overcharge and the attempts to leave with our belongings. In my opionion, this is no way to conduct business.

Service cost: $1040

Available Movers has got to the absolute worst moving company. Available Movers Lies about the pricing to get you to use them. Available Movers uses a bait and switch technique AND gouges you once they show up in your driveway. Once they load the truck they present you with paperwork that essentially says we have 21 business days to deliver your belongings after Available Movers gives you a date to pick up the belonging to be there on time. Even after calling Available Movers Office, speaking with the OWNER I was assured that this language is on everyone's paperwork but I was guaranteed a November 18th delivery. Available Movers called and asked if we could take delivery early, I had the lease changed on the apartment and they never put the furniture on the truck to Utah. I was supposed to move my son today into his apartment in Utah. Available Movers arrived on site on November 3rd to pick up the furniture. Available Movers project manager is a liar and a cheat. He made us spend 3X the quoted price. Available Movers even though they gave us a delivery date lied and never contacted us to tell us that our delivery date was not going to be reached despite our calls to they offices EVERYDAY. Available Movers was reached yesterday, the 17th and they told us our belongings will not be there for another week and a half. December. We had to cancel $1,000 plane tickets we were supposed to use today, I took a week off of work, we will miss Thanksgiving with our son, and now I have to put my son up in a hotel until the furniture arrives because I cannot go to Utah twice. Available Movers barely speaks English, they are perfect liars and AVAILABLE MOVERS SHOULD NEVER BE TRUSTED. I FILED A COMPLAINT AGAINST AVAILABLE MOVERS WITH THE NEW YORK AUTHORITIES. THEY ARE NOW HOLDING OUR FURNITURE IN A LOCATION AND WON'T DISCLOSE WHERE IT IS. They are a fraudulent company and Available Movers SHOULD NEVER BE TRUSTED.

Service cost: $3000

The only problem we had was in the timleness in the picking up of the goods.  The contract was that it would be picked up on July 24th because we had to be out of the condo by noon on the 25th.  On the 23rd, they called and told us they would be there at 1:00 on the 25th.  I told them that the contract was for the 24th and that we had to be out by noon on the 25th.  They told us they couldn't be there on the 24th, but would be there by 9:00 on the 25th.  They showed up at 1:00 on the 25th.  Luckily for us the closing had been postponed, otherwise we would have had big problems! The movers themselves were amazing and did an amazing job!

Service cost: $2100

I made a horrible mistake by hiring these guys. I would not recommend available movers to any one. Since beginning of hiring they made false promises, I did not receive my stuff for 31 days and when ever I contacted them they were very harsh over the phone and did not provide any meaningful info. The dispatch center would never pick up the phone really helpless after paying $6000. I actually am thinking to proceed legally mainly because have the worst service and the way they respond to phone calls.

Service cost: $6000

I moved from New York to Chicago and I am extremely disappointed with Available Movers. Unless they offer any sort of compensation, I will spread the word to all my contacts to NEVER use Available Movers.
An objective review:
Pros:
1. Very professional movers. They were courteous and efficient.
Cons:
1. False estimates. I provided all the articles I was moving and the estimates came out to $1500. When the movers came and loaded, the charge increased to $2000 even though the number / size of my articles DID NOT CHANGE from what I had provided initially.
2. Delivery estimate was way off. I understand it's difficult to have an exact estimate and the contract indicates a long window of delivery. That being said, the representative I had spoken to indicated that a typical move should take no more than 6 days. It took 10 days. I had to change my flight, costing me $200 change fee plus the difference in fare. If I had received a more accurate estimate, I would have had my stuff picked up earlier so that it would be delivered for my target date.
3. Dispatcher is impossible to reach. I had to call several times each day to find out where my stuff was to get a better understanding of the delivery date. Not only is the dispatcher very difficult to reach, he is unable to provide a good estimate of the delivery date.
4. They delivered my coffee table with a broken leg. Instead of offering any sort of compensation, the movers said everything will be fine if I just use wood glue. WOOD GLUE, SERIOUSLY?
Again, I am extremely disappointed in this service.

Service cost: $2000

This company is a scam and will cheat you out of your money.

I called available movers to move my 4 bedroom home from New Jersey into a storage facility in the Bronx while my new home was being renovated. Over the phone "Sam" quoted me $1350. The movers were supposed to arrive at 11a.m. However, they did not get there and begin until 12 and when they got there they took their sweet time. By the time everything was done it was 10p.m. at night. My storage facility closes at 7p.m so available movers said if they weren't able to finish by then, clearly they made sure of that, they would house my belongings in their storage facility, one month, for free. That was fine with me until after they charged me $250 for the storage. When Robert Gillmoore aka "Rob" finished the job the move was priced at $1665, for additional hours. I tried to pay him cash but he couldn't provide a cash receipt and kept insisting that the invoice, which stated that the $1665 was my BALANCE, was the receipt. I, obviously, wasn't going for that. So, I attempted to pay with my card but he said he would have to handle this tomorrow because he was "tired". The next day I was informed of my new balance of $1965 for "additional hours" including unloading, which they probably never did. See these moving companies claim they are storing your items but really just leave it in the truck. I called the company to understand my bill, they couldn't give me a breakdown and REFUSED to give me a location to speak to someone regarding this matter. They then proceeded to BLOCK MY PHONE NUMBER FROM CALLING THEIR OFFICE. I eventually got in touch with "Rob" who now said I owe $2100, then $2300, and THE ENDING PRICE ENDED UP AT $2795 PLUS MY $200 DEPOSIT TOTALING AT $2995! For a 10 hour move that was the price I was charged! Furthermore, they informed me I would not get my belongings unless I paid that amount upfront in cash or money order.

I am a college student. They had my home. I had no clothes, so I was forced to buy new clothing that winter in NY as they ignored my calls and upped my price for 2 weeks. I even had to re-buy my college books. They refused to give me the location of my belongings so I couldn't even go pick up my jackets, books, or anything. THIS IS AN ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ACT. Movers do not have the authority to withhold your belongings and demand inflated prices.

I was defeated and payed the $2965 to get my belongings. However, even that was a process. Rob met me at my storage facility, empty handed demanding the payment. I asked, of course, to see my stuff first; yet he didn't even bring it with him. So, I called the police and he tried fleeing the scene. I needed my things desperately, so in my desperation I stood in front of his car to stop him from leaving. He then TAPPED ME REPEATEDLY WITH HIS CAR, I JUMPED ON THE FRONT OF THE CAR FEARING MY LIFE AND HE DROVE TWO BLOCKS DOWN WITH ME, THIS 110 POUND 21 YEAR OLD WOMAN, CLINGING TO HIS CAR. I was able to flag the police down at the stop light, but they did nothing to help me. They said I shouldn't have stood in front if his car, and since there weren't any injuries I couldn't press charges. Those police are ignorant because I, as a citizen, have the right to do a citizens arrest for 15 minutes. For example, if someone robs you, you have the legal right to detain them for 15 mins until the police arrive.

After a few minutes the police let him go, advising me to take him to small claims court as if that'd really help me get my home back. They didn't even bother looking at the video footage of the incident and immediately labeled it a civil case. They were nice and compassionate towards my situation, but unfortunately no help.

I stood there praying rob would come back with my belongings worth over $50,000 (Raymour & Flannigan furniture, many shoes, clothes, jackets, jewelry, 4 flat screen TV's, etc.) Surprisingly Rob came with the truck, I paid my $2795 balance (on top of the $200 balance) and got my belongings.

He unloaded my things, refusing to put it in my storage and saying that to do that it would be an extra charge. They broke a floor mirror, floor lamp, table lamp, and damaged my king bed headboard. Yet, I was just glad to get my things.

I am now going to take them to court to sue them and I would advise anyone whose gone through this to do the same because this type of operation is neither right legally nor morally.

It would also help to make this a class action law suit, so if anyone has had this issue with them feel free to corroborate with me. I can be reached via email at ariel.wong120@gmail.com.

P.S. That address: 1443 28th Ave, Astoria NY 11102 is not even their headquarters. It's actually a residential building.

If you're looking to move do your research, don't trust online companies like available movers. Try to find someone in your area or ask friends for recommendations. Don't become another victim to these moving scams.

Service cost: $2965

Our initial move was horrid; including leaving our belongings (which we paid to store) behind and charging us to return for them to complete the job to which they didn't show up twice when we paid to reserve a freight elevator, were on a deadline to vacate and paused our daily business..  Customer service was just as bad, with an agent on the phone becoming so volatile, someone had to step in and remove them from the call.  Once in storage we could not get our items released to any other moving company, they would not return our calls and stated to reserve 3 weeks in advance, find a moving company with a 5 million dollar insurance policy (when NYC only requires 1m) and pay a $250.00 fee.  We were forced to use Available again, or forfeit our items -- which took 2 months to confirm (all the while delaying the return of our property and incurring us rent charges).  Even if a company had existed with more than triple the required insurance, they conveyed a very clear feeling that if we were not to use them, there would not be anything to retreive.  When our things were delivered, we were told they would be reassembled.  Unfortunately, they conveniently lost the box of all of our parts and connectors to about 8k in cubicles and the mover admittedly said the box of pieces that should be with it was gone, and he didn't know how to reassemble them.  They also refused to furnish us a quote, saying it was impossible to guesstimate.  No other company, including available during the initial move had this issue. Both occasions our managment fed, and tipped the movers who then had an excuse to leave the job incomplete.  We then called customer care to find out what we were supposed to do with thousands of dollars in furniture which could not be reassembled and were assured that they could reccommend a friend to put them together, for an additional $600.00.  Sounds like a great business plan, to lose important pieces and then make a personal referral for a solution, I wonder what his cut is.  All in all, they received a lot of our money, and time, and provided nothing but a headache.  I shoudl probably also mention that although they charged our credit card monthly for storage, they also continued to submit bills to our AP department requesting checks.  We continued to refuse them and call the mistake to their attention but apparently they feel they should be paid twice, monthly.  We should have known the week we called when they were the only company with openings, there was a reason why.

Service cost: $2000

Do yourself a favor and call another company! I had sent in an itemized list of what needed to be moved more than a month before the move was to take place from Illinois to Indiana. I called two days before the move and I'm so glad that I did! The rep at the company said that the had no record of me and that I wasn't on the schedule for that Saturday! The person was very reassuring and said that they would be able to accommodate me, for which I was very grateful since I was scheduled to move on a Saturday in July. This individual also explained that I would have an empty truck and three people to move my belongings.
Saturday dawned bright and sunny. The movers called and said that they would be at my house at noon. They showed up at 11 am before I had an opportunity to take a shower (we both forgot about the one-hour time change between New York and Chicago). There were only two men and a partially full truck. I was "allotted" 2000 cubes, which isn't that much space when you are trying to move the belongings from 30 years. The two movers were courteous, worked hard and seemed to do a decent job taking apart furniture, wrapping up my belongings, and packing them snugly in the truck. The men took two one-hour breaks for lunch and for dinner. We weren't finished packing up the truck until 11:30 that night. The men said that it was too late for them to deliver my furniture until the next day and that they were going to find a cheap hotel somewhere to sleep. I gave them some money to pay for an overnight stay. (They claimed the next day that they slept in the truck.) They would deliver my belongings the next day to my new home.I slept on the floor in my old house that night with my dogs to keep me warm.

The next day (Sunday), the movers didn't show up until noon again. They asked me for payment before they would unload my belongings. I pulled out my credit card and they said that final delivery had to be in cash or a postal money order and that it stated so on the contract that I had signed. I told them that I had never received a contract, much less signed anything, and that I didn't have that much cash available and didn't know where to get it on a Sunday. They gave me the final total, which was double what the guy on the phone had verbally "quoted" me. I called my parents, who didn't know where I could get that kind of money on a Sunday. My stepmother said that she could pay it on a credit card, to which I explained their policy. She replied that they could either take a credit card that day or else come back on Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week to get cash. I explained the dilemma to the mover, who called his boss and explained the situation. The boss agreed to let us use a credit card but then called back and charged us an additional 4% to cover the fee that the credit card company would charge him. Now the final cost was much more than double the verbal quote given to me. The men unpacked my belongings in front of some friends of mine, while I went back to my previous house to retrieve my dogs and some last-minute things. When I returned, the movers had already unpacked and left. I received a call later from one of them that they had broken a glass shelf on my bakers rack. I couldn't be reimbursed for it because they had never listed the bakers rack on the inventory list at all! I found all kinds of scratches on my beautiful cherry wood dining room table, they "forgot" the marble base to my coffee table although it was listed on the inventory sheet that I originally sent to the company, and they assembled the bunk bed/futon backwards and they had to take it apart and put it back together the correct way. Worst of all, they "lost" all of the connecting plugs and cables to my 55" Samsung television, which I didn't discover until a month later when I was having my cable hooked up (the cable guy couldn't even plug the TV into the wall outlet because the power cord was missing).

Please don't be fooled by this company. I have no doubt at all that I would never have seen my belongings again if we hadn't worked out a payment arrangement for double the cost and an extra 4%.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6100