Chico and the Men Moving and Storage

Let me start this with: I have nothing to gain from this review and all of this information is fact not my opinion of the sequence of events or interactions. I felt this review needed to be written after learning that another one of my friends who contracted with these guys had a very similar experience to mine.

Im a resident physician and needed movers to move my stuff for fellowship from New Orleans, LA to Winston Salem, NC.

Originally my wife and I contracted with North Star Van lines, which turned into Chico and the Men, and a $1000 extra after our original quote.

I should've known this was going to be a disaster from the very beginning when I was told that part of the move would need to be paid in cash. What business with any sort of reputation does anything like that but someone who is planning to do something wrong.

We had been guaranteed a delivery date based on my schedule and moving almost 1000 miles across the country. Anyway, Chicos team promptly told me they had 21 days to deliver my stuff based on their contract. This turned into a disaster and after many strongly worded emails and phone calls it was agreed that it would be delivered as scheduled. This didn't happen.

On top of that, my 55" tv showed up at my new house 24 hours later than the agreed on date, 10 days after all my stuff had been picked up, broken and with ants with their kingdom and eggs in some of my clothing boxes.

At the time of arrival I wasn't mad. I just assumed we would go through the process to get the tv replaced and clean the clothes with the ants..life goes on right and it was just a tv, a $1200 tv when I bought it but still just a tv.

Fast forward to the phone call to discuss the issue.

Yes, I had neglected to pay the extra non refundable $950 for total replacement insurance after the original $1500 quote had experienced a $1000 price hike and turned into final price of $2600. Which as a resident is my entire take home salary for a month.

I believed based on the way the insurance was explained to me we were covered for more than $10,000 worth of damage. Needless to say, I was wrong.

Chico was very prompt and deliberate about reminding me of this. Almost yelling ( in defiance- sorry this is my opinion) at me about my failure to opt for the extra $1000 worth of insurance, as if it would have insured my things wouldn't have shown up in the shape they did had I paid the extra $1000.

What I found out:
We were covered for $0.60/pound per item. Anyway, a 55" flat screen LG smart tv with 3D capability isn't worth anything at $0.60/pound. However, eventually during our conversation he said he would give me $40 for it. I told him he could keep his $40.

Moses/Chico never apologized for the delayed delivery or for the broken tv. Instead he blamed me for the tv being broken and had no explanation for how there could possibly be ants in the boxes with my clothes. I assured him, just as I hadn't packed a broken tv, that I hadn't packed the ants with my clothes.

Im certainly not a professional mover but Im also not an idiot. The tv was packed in a 55" TV box in styrofoam as it would come from Best buy like it did when it was purchased and delivered to my house.

Chico went on and on stating that he didn't pack the tv and didn't know if the tv was broken before it was packed and it wasn't his responsibility.

I had packed the tv the night before the movers came because it was clearly outlined in the contract all of our things other than furniture needed to be packed and ready to move or additional charges would apply.

He went on to say, yelling into the phone:
"If I had packed it, it would not have broken if it was dropped from 5 feet! We did not break your tv"

At this point I became pretty aggravated. I had given the guy all the benefit of the doubt that he would do the right thing. Ultimately he told me if I wanted to hire a lawyer I could because he knew where all the paperwork was and what had been signed.

These are the facts of my experience. I have yet to be reimbursed any amount for the tv and its been almost a month since my move.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2600

I was very pleasantly surprised on how well they listened to my concerns, packed all of our belongings and left me extra boxes and tape to pack items they cannot move. At our new location they arrived on time, unpacked all of our belongings, assembled and placed furniture exactly where we asked. Before they left, Mosses asked to walk through the house with us to make sure everything was here, not damaged and placed where we wanted it to be.

They did a very good job, they were always professional and polite. Without hesitation I would use Chico and The Men again and I would highly recommend their services to my family and my friends.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7000

Moving truck foreman argued and threatened and Customer service rep, Natalie misrepresented our moving items on the moving list given to truck foreman
Several items for moving were misrepresented on the item list provided to the trucking foreman by the Customer service rep (Natalie). For example, over the phone I told the Natalie we had a China cabinet, the list stated "cabinet" the moving forman stated that our china cabinet was not a cabinet and was not on the list. He argued with me throughout the day about other items on the list. He stated the twin beds listed meant mattresses and not the actual beds, etc etc. He also did not fill up the allotted space on the truck and stated our room was used up. When I questioned him about it his exact words were "Do you really want to argue with the person who is going to be alone with all of your stuff later?". This was stated in front of all of his men and my children all heard it as well. We ended up leaving nearly 1/2 of the items we needed to take. This was on Wednesday June 14th. Today is Friday 7/13 and have been in constant contact with the company to try to find out when the truck will be delivered to the new address. We are being told they have not found a driver or our load wouldn't fit, there are many excuses being given. We signed the contract on May 31st with the company it listed the pick-up date of 6/14 and were told our items would be delivered to the new address within 7-14 days. It has now been 30 days since the pickup and we cannot get an answer as to when our items will be delivered to the new address. We are being told different excuses and reasons for the delay.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

I cannot recommend this moving company enough. Moses and his crew are on time, efficient, polite and incredibly nice. They are a pleasure to work with!

I called Chico and The Men at the last minute because the mover I verbally contracted with was being a little shady and not giving me a definite commitment. Seeing I was moving in three days -- and moving a house that I had lived in for over ten years -- I was nervous about this nebulous commitment. I called Moses, told him my situation, and he was kind enough to rearrange his schedule for my emergency. Four men showed up on time this past Saturday and finished the job in about six hours. Nothing was broken or scratched. And, best of all, there was not an ounce of drama.

I should add that Chico and the Men have very reasonable and fair moving rates. I loved working with them so much that I called Moses to see if one of his guys could come back the following day to help me assemble a few chairs I had purchased (why does everything need to be assembled nowadays?) and helped me remove flattened boxes to the dumpster (of course I paid him, but again, very, very reasonable). I am very grateful to Moses and his team. They are truly the best!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1000

Please please please do not use this moving company. My sister has been dealing with them since April. It was complete and horrible service from beginning and now she is still dealing with them. They tried to charge her double for services b/c of their lack of working. Held her things hostage b/c a bad review was written for them and only agreed to release her items if we took the review down. Badgered them until late hours of the night until it was taken down. after receiving their belongings after waiting for over a week only to find multiple broken items including a brand new dryer and several wedding gifts. After filing complaints and claims they have a greed to pay $67.00 for over a $1,000.00 worth of damage. Please do yourself a favor and find someone else.

Service cost: $2000