Best Interstate Moving and Storage

About a month ago we contacted BIM about an upcoming move from Central Texas to Washington State. Josh assured us we were confirmed for a move with pickup dates June 26, 27, or 28 and said we'd get a firm date 10 days out. The week prior to our move no one had contacted us so my husband called and was told that the dispatcher had not made the schedule yet and we'd get a confirmed pick up date 24-48 hours out. The 25 of June, my husband called again. He was told that the lady he needed to speak with was on the phone but would call him back. He asked if they were sure they had his name and phone number. The reply was a yes. Hours went by so he called them back. Once again he was told the lady was not available but would return his call. At 4:30 on CDT, she called to tell him that BIM does not service the areas we requested and they would NOT be moving us!
BIM sat on a $2100+ deposit for a month with no intention of ever moving us. We aren't sure how anyone at BIM was able to quote us a rate if they don't service either location. BIM is highly unethical at best and at worst liars. We have three days to find someone else and we have that amount of time because we called them. They were never forthcoming.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6000

I used BIM to relocate my things in my one bedroom, 4 floor walk-up apartment in New York City to downtown Austin. BIM was very forthcoming with the information regarding the costs but with anything of this caliber of investment I ask A LOT of questions and follow up regularly. My Customer service manger, Paula, was a PRO. She was patient, lovely, and advocated for me. The movers (in both cities) were very professional!. Although I was nervous relocating my valuable and unique possessions across the country, I had a great experience and would recommend Best Interstate moving.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

My experience with this company was nothing short of terrible. The movers were rude and unprofessional. When I questioned what they were saying as it wasn’t consistent with what the phone rep told me, they stated “You’re not dealing with Best Interstate, you’re dealing with us.” Worst of all, my new queen-sized mattress, a shelving unit and the legs to a mid-century vintage table (which movers insisted upon removing) were all lost and never delivered. The movers said they would call or text with the weight receipt - they didn’t and they never responded to my calls or texts either.

The Best Interstate rep was also very unprofessional. He said he’d call with confirmation of pick-up date and never did..I had to repeatedly call to eventually learn the movers would be there in.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3100

It literally makes me nauseous even saying their name as being the “best” after such a horrific experience that I’ve had with them) I had also contacted 4 other companies for quotes on moving across the country. I opted to go with this awful company whose price came back in the middle of the 5 quotes I had. It appeared that they had great customer service and care, based on my conversations with Frank Castillo, he’s worse than a used car sales person. Unfortunately what I experienced after the moment of signing my contract and moving forward was a terrible experience and the biggest regret in choosing Best Interstate & Moving. The quote was done via video recordings of my home from their website. After it was submitted, Frank and I spoke on the phone and watch the videos together going over each room in great detail. I explained to him that some of my items were extremely heavy including a cherry wood armoire. Doing this inventory video did make me kind of nervous however, when the weight and the quotes were close to the others I received, I didn’t think anything about it. About 10 days later I got a phone call saying that my furniture was going to be delivered, I was told that I would need an additional $980 at time of delivery - Oh, and it can only be cash. As they were bringing things into my home, there were boxes that were drenched wet and the boxes were falling apart, my bed which had been fully wrapped was ripped with black markings all over, there were glass top pieces for some of my furniture that were broken & shattered. There were some things that they were bringing in and I told them that they were not mine, they argued with me and said they were. I only had a U-Haul boxes and these were a different brand. I told them they were not mine, they belong to someone else. They took those things back to the truck after arguing with me about it. When it was all said and done, I had to help one of the guys move some of my things in because he could barely carry anything alone including boxes that I could carry by myself. Even my new neighbor made a comment that I shouldn’t have to be helping these guys that were hired to bring my belongings into my house. I was noticing many things were damaged and I was bringing it to his attention, I started crying because it was a mess. I called best interstate and again, asked to speak to Frank who of course was not available. I spoke with a lady on the phone who directed me to Stephanie and I let her know that it was a nightmare and that I was missing a huge Cherry wood Armoire, I was missing two brand new bikes and I went on to tell her about my damaged items. I was sobbing. She told me that there would be a claim that I could complete but in the meantime they would look for my missing furniture back in the warehouse in Arizona. I have never heard back from Best interstate or Cisco who I emailed as directed by Stephanie and let them know about my missing items and my terrible experience. I also did as I was told and made a claim for my missing items. I received the claim back today saying that nothing would be covered because I signed that I had received everything in good condition. This is an absolute lie which I am sending back to the company and dispute again - I had written on the contract that I did not receive everything and that I received many damaged items. I had told Best interstate that I would wait to leave a review so that I could see how they would resolve this. It has been over three months and I have never heard back from anyone. Not only did they charge me almost $1000 extra prior to giving me my things, but they lost and damaged my items. They are the worst company that I have ever dealt with in my life, they do not care about the customer. They pressure you to sign a contract and from there you do not hear from them. I am so disheartened that I trusted and believed that I was working with a good company. Such negligence has been done on their part and they have taken no responsibility for it. What a terrible lesson learned this was for me and shame on this company for not standing behind what Frank Castillo gives as his sales pitch. I just want my things back, they mean something to me. I also want a reimbursement for the extra money that I had to pay. It is their responsibility to give an accurate quote for what things should be. That is their job!! The worst part of it is, the cherry wood armoire was the heaviest thing that I owned. It was large and it was very very heavy. How does a company lose such a large and heavy piece of furniture? I just want them to make this right.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6300

If you want a sub-par middle man, these are your people; that's all they are. We had to move from California to North Carolina within 3 weeks. I decided to go with Best Interstate because of the “raving” reviews. Throughout the entire process, we were lied to by them. Tthey did not let us know that another company would be handling the moving process until after I had paid the initial down payment. They gave us a 3 day window of when the movers would arrive, telling us they would give us a 24 hour notice of when they’d arrive. They were supposed to arrive between Monday and Wednesday. On the Wednesday before, I get a call from a different moving company (the one they hired I later learned) saying they’d be there Monday. Ok. On Friday, I get a call from Best Interstate that they still didn’t know when in the window the movers would arrive. I called back on Sunday to see if they had any more info; they did not because they couldn’t get in touch with the dispatchers, but they assured me that it would be Tuesday or Wednesday. I had already left by Monday, but my husband stayed behind to oversee the moving. They arrived Monday, and he wasn’t ready. The movers had to come back Tuesday so that he could get everything ready for them. So they came back the next day and packed everything. I thought everything went well; my husband seemed to think so.

Fast forward to Sunday; I get a call on Sunday saying they’ll be there Monday morning. Well, they didn’t arrive until about Monday at 5 PM. They started unpacking the truck and asking us where to put things. We had hired them to box everything, as well as take apart the furniture and put it back together. So they started to put the furniture back together, except for the two beds because they couldn’t find the legs (they were at the top of a box) and the coffee and end tables (they didn’t have a screwdriver). Not only that, they had broken one of the two glass tops for the coffee table because they poorly wrapped them (keep in mind, I had moved these things cross country multiple times myself; it’s really not that hard to move 2’x2’ pieces of glass). Some other glass objects had gotten broken because of poor packing. They also managed to lose a toolbox that somehow didn’t get inventorized (which my husband DID NOT have to sign off on). Part of the problem is that the company that delivered is not the same company that packed and picked up our stuff, so they had no clue.

I was already unhappy and only got even more displeased when I contacted the insurers they used. The movers who packed our stuff told my husband everything would be insured; what he failed to mention was that everything was insured BY WEIGHT, NOT VALUE. So that piece of glass that weighs 5 pounds but costs $150 to replace? I got $1.50. The drop leaf that would cost over a hundred to repair? $3. The toolbox that had about $200 worth of tools? NOTHING because it wasn’t inventorized. See, I was told by Best Interstate that my stuff would be insured; what he failed to mention was that it was not fully insured, and what he failed to mention after that was that they offer full coverage.

Avoid this company if you can. They’re literally just a middle man, and they’re not even good at being a middle man.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9786

The guys where on time and courteous. My biggest complaint is that they really didn't take care of items while packing and kind of manhandled some of our delicate furnishings! One small antique desk had a leg completely broken in two. Another entertainment center was dropped and broke a door into 3 pieces and a leg was also broken completely in two. The guys moving us in where a little more careful and did a fine job. Any way I probably wouldn't recommend your co. because it just wasn't anything to write home about. On our move from Colorado to Texas we moved more and not one item was damaged and it cost less also. So shop around.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8000

Having been away on overseas assignments for the majority of my military career it just made sense to keep my household goods in storage during that timeframe. Fast forward 21-years.. I've retired and have a stateside residence that I can now call a "home". Best-Interstate-Moving+Storage was contacted to assist with the process of transporting my items from a location on the Eastcoast to my new location in Texas. They did so in a timely, professional manner. Thanks for your support.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7000

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

To be honest, I would say I have a mix feeling about this relocate experience. I am very satisfied that all my stuff was in good condition and nothing's lost. But I did feel frustrated sometimes when communicated with Best Interstate. I think part of the reason is that they are using a contracted mover and this may cause a longer communicating time.

However, I am very pleased with Kelsey's help. She is responsible and efficient, and almost the most helpful customer service I have encountered.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000

My family and I used BIMS to move from Illinois to Texas. They GROSSLY misquoted the weight of our move. I would understand having to pay for what the items weigh, but they were so assured that their video software would be close to accurate, and it wasn't. I anticipated having to pay a difference - maybe $500 more or maybe even less, but when the movers came they informed us that it would be over $3000 more than was quoted. But what could we do? We couldn't NOT move - the house was sold and our stuff was packed and ready to go. When I reached out to BIMS to try and settle the dispute over this ridiculous inaccuracy they informed me that they were unable to offer any assistance because of the weight inaccuracy.

They did offer me compensation for another problem we had, but I couldn't in good conscience accept the money they offered me in exchange for my agreeing to not defame them in anyway. I just couldn't stand by after the terrible service I received. Because of their massively inaccurate estimate I had to postpone my move by 5 days. I had to provide 5 extra days of meals eaten out because we were supposed to moved out already (and I had already cleaned out the fridge/pantry so there was nothing in our home to eat). We also ended up having lodging expenses. The movers they contracted the first time that left because the estimate was so off ended up being dishonest and NO ONE from BIMS ever contacted us to see if things had happened like they were supposed to. I was assured by the movers that they would be back in 2 days, but when they didn't show and I contacted them they insisted they knew nothing about it. Foolishly I assumed BIMS had any further contact with them, and they were absolutely a mess to deal with trying to reschedule everything. It was only after HOURS on the phone with them that we were able to get our scheduled move back on track. We were supposed to moved on a Saturday, and they were unable to get us a a different truck until Wednesday.

Once the move was complete (items delivered) I spent days trying to get a hold of BIMS representatives to try and reach an agreement about compensation. I was continually passed from employee to employee, told again and again that someone would call me back, but they never day. They gave me some line about not being able to reach me, but my phone was ringing through for everyone else just fine. I later read that other disgruntled customers experienced that same lie about not being reachable. At the pinnacle of our dispute I was rudely spoken to, repeatedly blamed for their short comings, and eventually hung up on. I let them know I had every intention of letting as many people as I could know not to use their services. So please, save your money, your time, and your sanity - use ANYBODY ELSE. I cannot overstate how much financial and emotional stress using BIMS cost us.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9800

Such a disappointing experience. Waited 6 months to write the review in hopes of seeing things differently. In short most of what they promised they didn't follow through on.
Promised a set cost for packing for the whole house, with the cost being pro-rated based on how many boxes I packed only to have the movers tell me that was not how it was going to work.
I was promised that our stuff would get there between 7 days and 14 days and no longer than 21 days, and the move took well over a month.
The company never knew where our stuff was during that time. People always assured me they understood the concerns and would make sure my concerns were addressed, but they weren't
I told them I wanted to make sure that the amount was settled before the truck came, and they agreed. We didn't settle until after the truck came and the driver was threatening to leave. The cost was 4K over estimate. I can't believe how much stuff was lost, and once I paid this company never returned my calls.
Lesson learned I made a bad decision, please don't repeat my mistake, I would recommend you not use this group.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $13000

March 6th, 2019: As of this day, Best Interstate Moving and Storage (Broker) has felt it best to disassociate themselves with me as a customer. I regrettably admit that in extreme frustration I hung up a call with Stephanie Little (Manager). Regardless of my apology, Best Interstate now chooses to ignore me as a customer and their misguided advice they gave me all the way up to 03-01-2019. They do not or will not respond to my email or calls.

As of March 5th, 2019, this is my attempt in determining and documenting liability for my packing and move that took place on 03-08-2018. I have made some regrettable choices in regards to this whole transportation transaction with the following parties: Best Interstate Moving and Storage (Broker).

On March 4th, 2019, I was informed by carrier hired by Best Interstate that my household goods were in New York at an unknown storage facility. The reason that they are there is that in July of 2018, carrier dispatch called me stating they were in New York to deliver. This was extremely supersizing as I had no permanent address in New York.

Best Interstate has the responsibility to ensure customers are informed of poor service and complaints regarding partner carriers. The issue is that I was not informed of questionable practices of Best Interstate until after the contract was initiated.

1) I was never notified of their arrival or intention to deliver.
2) I spoke with the driver the evening they called and the driver indicated that he had another delivery and that my household goods were thrown on the truck last minute.
3) I spoke with Dispatch Manager, and they indicated that there was no issues and said to ignore the call.
4) My household goods are still in New York to date. (03-06-2019)

In many conversations with Best Interstate staff and managers, they informed that the carrier had some serious operational concerns, to include, deceptive practices such as keeping household goods hostage of other customers and household goods being damaged in their care. I have come to the realization that Best Interstate has attributed to my goods being taken hostage.

I would imagine that this complaint or review will simply go unnoticed and forgotten about as Best Interstate disregards their responsibility and not holding up to claims on the website.

I have made formal complaints with the Department of Transportation and it can be assumed that no assistance will be given from that.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4100