Best Interstate Moving and Storage

I am incredibly disappointed with this company, and would never recommend them to anyone. I hired BIMS after having a better initial customer service experience with them than I had with other moving companies. However, I saw their true colors after they stuck me with an unethical carrier (Ocean Moving and Storage), and then avoided all communication with me when I tried to get more information from them to resolve the situation.
I was initially given an estimate of ~$5,500 based on an estimated weight of 6,237 lb. When the carrier arrived (4 hours late), they tried to get me to sign a new estimate based on volume (not weight); this new estimate was over $3,000 more than BIMS initial estimate. I followed the instructions on my signed BIMS estimate, and called them to help me work through the carrier's new estimate. The carrier ended up driving away while I was on the phone with BIMS, and BIMS promised to send me a new carrier. They ended up sending the same carrier back 1 week later, and instead of standing by their policy of basing charges on weight estimates only, I was told that I would need to either sign the carrier's higher volume estimate or have my move cancelled. I had already had to extend my lease and alter my travel plans (in the midst of finishing a residency program and studying for boards), so I signed the higher estimate so that I could complete the move, after being reassured by BIMS that they would make sure my final charges were based on the actual weight of my shipment.
However, my items were never weighed, and my charges were based on the carrier's subjective volume estimate only. When I expressed my concerns about the subjectivity of the charges, BIMS told me that "hypothetically," my items could have weighed more than the initial estimate if they had been officially weighed, so the charges were justified.
I was always okay with paying based on the true weight of my shipment, and I fully understood that the initial weight estimate (based only on a verbal inventory, I was never given the option of their beloved video/photo inventory) may have been off by a few hundred pounds. However, I ended up paying $3,500 extra (65% increase over the initial estimate) for a "hypothetical" weight of 11,500 lb (almost double the initial estimate)! Even if my items weighed that much (which they do not), this means that BIMS estimate process is horribly inaccurate.
Overall, however, my largest disappointment is with the level of customer service during and after the move - what happened to the great customer service that led me to hire them? They did a complete 180 and began blaming me, accusing me of everything from lying on my phone inventory to telling the carrier to leave on the initial pick-up day. Ethical companies with nothing to hide do not behave this way.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9190

I would never recommend this company. In fact, I would recommend not using them. I read online reviews of BEST and most were raving about them. However, after I gave them our deposit they were non-responsive. They advised the company they contracted our move to that we could not purchase full coverage insurance with our move (vs. using a third-party) which was incorrect. AND they cancelled our move the day prior without even notifying us. Thank goodness for the great team at the contracted moving company. They were fantastic. BEST however is the worst and did zero to earn a penny they made from our move.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $2200

Moving out of state can be a stressful experience and BIMS seemed to understand that. They were in good contact throughout the process. In particular, I was impressed with Sheena, Jason, and Tina. I regularly called for updates on the move and they were always responsive. But what made me give this company 5 stars, despite not getting the best price, was their calling twice to make sure I was happy with the company they subcontracted (Rayan Van lines). I will write another positive review for Rayan too.

If I could share one bit of advice for other people moving out of state, I would say to have realistic expectations going in. Always assume that no matter who the company is, expect the unexpected, charges could go up, items can be lost/damaged, the delivery date might be off. Then, when all goes reasonably well, you will be prepared and satisfied. I will use this company again.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3100

Hassle-free and worry-free moving at its best! The folks at Best Interstate Moving and Storage were awesome to work with. They were always accommodating and never pushy! Everyone I spoke to at BIMS understood that finding the right movers was a big job and they were very nice despite the multiple times I called to get more info before booking.

BIMS has an incredibly transparent pricing system. Their customer service was fabulous and the option to book a full pack move (in case we needed it) and have per box costs deducted (in full), when I was able to pack some of them before moving day, was such a relief. Also the free month of storage on either end of the move erased all our worries about timing. All we needed to think about was sorting and cleaning, moving across country, finishing school and caring for two children all the while.

I called four OTHER COMPANIES and each one came in more expensive AND each tried to rush me into booking saying “the price will change tomorrow”. At first other companies’ prices seemed cheaper, but check it out and ASK lots of questions. Other companies’ costs are not transparent and you might be very surprised by the final bill upon arrival.

Thank you Best Interstate we will call you in the future and recommend you to everyone needing to move!

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $12000

We were given originally a quote of $6100 for moving long distance. This was then revised to $3400 after we gave them information on lower shipping weight from a different company. We didn't ask for a price match however we were assured this would be the true shipping weight and cost.
Our final shipping costs after the movers had placed our items in their truck was $6100.00
We called to find out why the large discrepancy. The service representative said "there is nothing I can do for you" after explaining why we believed this was a misleading quote.
This company being a broker also has no control over when the moving companies they hire will deliver your items. they cover themselves with a per diem of 21 days. We were given multiple excuses for delays in shipping by the moving company.
I have a friend who also had a terrible experience with this company. They hook you in with lower quotes. Just be aware of what you pay for.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6100

Best is a broker that hires local movers in your origin area that you've never heard of nor would you hire directly. Once you hire Best, YOU deal with the transportation company and pay them directly. If there is a problem, as with me, it will fall on deaf ears if you contact Best. Transitional Express from NJ is the moving company hired by Best to move me from NJ to Ohio. The delivery was missing several boxes and large pieces of furniture. Be wary of the several positive reviews for Best. MyMovingReviews has stopped taking reviews for Traditional because they found out that several positive reviews were generated from one computer using the same IP address. Stay with the pros and do your homework.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3500

We selected BIMS after reading some positive reviews online. We started by receiving some quotes from other moving companies, but ultimately settled on this broker.

Having done a cross country move before, our relationship with BIMS started as business as usual with no red flags. BIMS uses an "AI" to provide you your non-binding estimate of your shipping weight. You take videos of your house and submit through their app. With this system, BIMS provided my family a reasonable quote. As with most brokers, BIMS structures their contracts so that you pay in three parts: booking, pickup, and delivery. Once we paid BIMS our initial booking portion everything started falling apart.

According to automatic email responses, our service representative unexpectedly went on leave. BIMS failed to assign us a new representative and we could not get through to any representative who would help us despite calling numerous times. First, we were told that we should expect a call in the next day hearing from our newly assigned representative. We never received that call. We tried to reach out to BIMS time and time again, but had to rely on declaring ourselves frustrated and demanding escalation to management to be routed to someone who could help us, albeit clearly reluctantly.

As of the night before the move BIMS did not even bother to call us, as promised, to let us know when the movers would be on their way. Instead, we heard from the movers the day before the move. The movers did show up at the time and on the day that they told us. The next week we played the phone game with BIMS again in order to receive our total weight. It took nine days to receive our weight and therefore final rate (again, your estimate is non-binding).

We were quoted $0.73 per pound for our move at 6,305 lbs ($4602.65). Once we received our final weight we were shocked to find it at 8,880 lbs ($6482.40). This is a difference of 2,575 lbs ($1879.75). I understand that the estimate provided to us would not be exact; I fully expected to be plus or minus a couple hundred dollars on the estimate. The estimate is clearly egregious, and its hard to find how it could have been performed in good faith. I have filed a BBB complaint against BIMS, claiming negligent estimation practices.

We have since had our goods delivered (by Cal Van Lines). While the delivery occurred within the time frame provided, we found ourselves subject to a litany of additional fees and are generally displeased with the condition of our goods and the service provided. The following sums up our experience with the company that BIMS contracted us out to (Cal Van Lines):

- hired-in local movers that did not protect our floors nor walls
- movers did not take safety precautions when laying the few mats they did, resulting in injury
- delivery of clearly damaged furniture and goods (that was not brought to our attention)
- numerous pieces of furniture left our residence fully assembled and were then disassembled in the warehouse without updating the inventory, leaving your wondering whether you truly received all your goods
- delivery of expensive furniture that could not be reassembled upon delivery without hours of labor (items were delivered to us in more pieces than initially received from the manufacturer after being disassembled in warehouse)
- improperly reassembled bicycles
- lazily reassembled lamps

For this reason I warn everyone PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. Do not trust them with your money nor your goods.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9239