Fresh Start Relocation Inc

JUST DONT DO IT!! If you want to save your time, money, stress and getting CURSED out by the OWNER, just run!! The positive reviews are all fake. They give you a reasonable quote and at the offload point they will DOUBLE it, claiming its for a transportation surcharge of 18% of the TOTAL along with other fees and taxes on top of the increased rate. They don't send you a full contract in your initial estimate, so you won't see it until you sign the papers when the movers come to take your stuff. NO WHERE in the contract has the 18% surcharge, so they can say and charge you anything at the end of the day. Paid $600 more than the initial quote. TERRIBLEE customer service. Bobbi the manager screamed at us and the owner Shawn Thompson cursed us out and told us to "f*cking listen, or we'll just bring your sh*t back to our warehouse" and "go get a tutor so you can learn to read". RUNNNNN as fast as you can! They need to be shut down

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1100

Pick up was good except rushed thru paperwork and did not explain anything. Took right at a month to get our belongings. We called at least once a week to get updates jusr being told they had 30 days from our requested time to deliver. Once it arrived we had damage and also one box someone had urinated in. What kind of company has people that urinates on a customers property. We filed claim and was told recieved and would get back to us. We are still waiting. We sent an email recently asking about claim and they are now saying they did not recieve our paperwork. We were given a quote to move and of course it was more however we knew that was a given. I have worked in the transporation business for over 25 years and in my opinion this is a fly by night company. Their equipment when delivered was rough looking had duc tape on front bumper of the tractor and trailer was very outdated as well. I have worked with many moving companies in my years in the business and they would not be still in business if they ran it like these folks do. One last thing when I called the office to complain on the time for delivery I was told she was the only one in the office and she was doing everything. So that should speak volumes of how this company is ran. If you want to save yourself use a big company like Atlas or United and stay away from this company. You might pay a little more but in the end it will cause you less headaches and stress. I could go on with more but I believe you get the point. I hope we get reimbursed for our urinated and damage property but I am not hild my breathe.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3300

Overall I had a great experience with this company. From the first guy that I spoke to the customer service person that I dealt with, everyone has been very helpful. I received a quote and when the guys came to load it did increase a bit because of packing but I was aware that it would. They loaded everything in a few hours did a great job. I was ready for delivery a week after they picked me up and I got my stuff 10 days later. This worked out well also. The delivery crew was good and put everything where I asked them to. So, all in all the move was great. From Freddy my pick up guy to Anna my Customer Service person everyone was great. I will recommend them to anyone that is moving.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6500

The salesperson, Steve, let me know that the total amount owed would not change as long as everything on the list was accurate. However, the things I told him to put on the list he did not put down correctly. He purposefully left off items and marked items as small instead of large to get me the cheapest quote possible. He told me that "a lot of companies will show up and change the total on you and demand half upfront before they will move your stuff, we don't do that”. This is exactly what they did! When they showed up with their list things were not marked the way I told them to the salesperson on the phone. I understand that mistakes can be made but when I tried to call Steve back he said "let me check with the manager”

I never received a callback from Steve and I've tried to contact him multiple times by calling texting and emailing and I have not heard anything back from him.

I tipped the movers and the guy in charge of the movers $200 to split evenly between the three of them. I told one of the movers that I gave the manager $200 to split evenly. The mover said that the manager only gave them $50 each and then kept $100 for himself. When I told the manager to split it evenly he ignored me got in his truck and they left.

All of my furniture was picked up on 27 March 2020. I let the moving company know I wanted my stuff to arrive on April 1 or second which they agreed to. It is now April 9, 2020, I have not received a phone call from them or any word of where my stuff is or when it will be delivered. When you put your phone number out there do you have your stuff moved you get a lot of phone calls for companies trying to gauge your business. I had a very upfront conversation about my standards as of when I needed my stuff by because I was starting a new job and I needed things for work. Part of me choosing fresh start relocators was based on the fact that they agreed to the terms of when I needed my furniture delivered.

Fresh start relocators said whatever they need to say to get me to sign the contract and they have been changing things every step of the way and finding new ways to charge me more money while taking more time to deliver my stuff.

The most frustrating part of all of this is that my company agreed to pay for this move. So it didn't matter to me what the total was. But they still lied on the moving sheet to make my total low because they were trying to get my business over all of the other companies that were calling me with lower totals. But now that my company already sent the money for the move anything extra that fresh start charges me comes out of my pocket directly.

Next time I will just move myself.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $99999

Interesting story, I sold my house and called Fresh Start Relocation. After spending some time on the phone with the sales person, we agreed to a 2200 move, a free month of storage. I provided a down payment. The day of my move 1 man and a truck pulled up. The gentleman was"shocked" by the number of boxes, and there were definitely more then mentioned in my estimate. However, I ended up not moving my couch, a chaise lounge and several tables. He was quite abrupt, said I had too much stuff and gave me an estimate of 5300$$. Over doubled my estimate. I called my sales person, she suddenly was rude and unhelpful. So I did say, get the F out of my house. I was pretty angry, so I admit to cursing. I had to scurry and find someone else. I did, the estimate the new mover provide, after viewing my stuff and counting everything, $2200 and they have HONORED it. Smaller company, but much more honest. My question for FSR is , How was one elderly man going to move my stuff? I believe he knew his job was to give me an inflated estimate, and he did his job. If I had accepted the inflated estimate, may be more movers would show up. Unfortunately, this company underestimated how much I needed them. I have 65 boxes, most of them small to medium in size; a recliner (small) 2 TVs a lamp, a queen mattress and frame, an armoire and a night stand, 2 tables (small) that are used as desks. The lack of professionalism, the lack of foresight (If you have local people, then send them out to do an estimate) was unbelievable in this day of Customer Service COUNTS. I will get moved, but if I save one person from dealing with this firm I have done my job.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5300

This company begs for your business when you file a change of address with the post office. The initial contract has up to 30 business days to deliver, despite what the sales rep tells you. The average time is 3 weeks until you get your stuff. We were promised a 5-7 business day delivery since they have trucks on the road every day. The pick up was prompt so I was hopeful. The sales person made every excuse why my items were taking longer than 7 days. Then they stopped answering my calls. Our pick up was on Nov 15, and a Nov 16 day we could accept our items. It's now December 14 and we just got our items: some contents smashed and broken. When you do get your stuff, the items have been moved multiple times so boxes are smashed or cracked and content is broken.

Delivery: The lies from the sales/customer service ladies about the bogus delivery date aside, the delivery was a disaster. The driver was confrontational in the beginning but when he dropped our boxes and they smashed, he was a nicer. The delivery driver would not come through our gate - too tight of a turn he said - (note: our other moving company had no problem). The delivery driver requires that you sign papers prior to unloading despite the forms indicate a warning not to do this. (Again, this is not a professional tactic.) Luckily we have a trailer so we had to help load from the street. The delivery guy handed us the boxes from his truck. While unloading from the moving truck, the delivery guy dropped 5 boxes inside the truck, right in front of us! Content spilled everywhere and broke. I had my cell phone and took pictures documenting the spill inside the moving truck, and I took pictures of the smashed moving boxes and broken plastic moving bins and content in the truck.

In sum, I thought I would support a local business so I gave them a chance. The reviews are mixed but when you look at the positive reviews they are from one time reviewers who are friends or work for the company (debi, phyllis ann). The negative reviews are from actual customers and the stories are all the same. Avoid this unethical company at all costs. They give you a low estimate and pile on bogus charges (fraud), or they will add some additional charges such as stairs, need to repack and rewrap contents and charge for moving tape.....

If you use these people, read the FMCSA website on the protect your move, hostage move and fraud information. Another red flag with this company is that upon closer review of the website, no employees are listed. I had to go to the Broward County business site to find information on this company, including the USDOT. The company business address isn't even for FreshStart but a storage company. The president, Lior Ainuz, has two other moving businesses so even though we used FreshStart, his other business truck showed up. There are multiple complaints on the Broward County BBB site, and other moving sites about his companies.

Sign with a professional, and reliable moving company. I usually pride myself on due diligence but I completely failed on this due to being in a rush. Lesson learned, items broken.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $1680

Quoted a price if$2200 and when we certified that we had more items was told not to worry they'd put everything on truck. Didn't explain it would ending up costing us double. We're quoted a 7-10 days delivery and it arrived today. A month later. Some items broken. Also wasn't even the company lovers but someone they contracted out at the last minute. This person refused to unload truck because of elevator unless we paid them $175. You're stuck paying if you want your stuff. Horrible jorrible company. DO NOT USE! Frauds!! Try did this to a 73 year old lady moving from Ohio to Georgia. So imagine what they would do to you!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5500

They asked if they could move me a day early due to the bad weather moving in.This was during the polar vortex freeze and ice and snow.I hurried up to get the final things packed. I left immediately after to drive south. I gave them a move in date and thought things would be fine.I had a few questions and try to call my representative and left messages. I tried calling the company and couldn’t get through.I figured it was because it was a weekend. Monday I finally got a hold of my representative and was told my furniture was still in Ohio and due to the weather they couldn’t tell me when I would get my furniture.A week later I received a call that they were leaving Ohio and hoped to be here on Monday.I was very worried since I paid all the costs already instead of the balance due on arrival.The guys both loading in Ohio and unpacking here were wonderful and so helpful.They need a raise.my only complaint is I gave a tip in my payment to the company and was told the company doesn’t pass it along.Lesson learned I guess.There was a lot of unfortunate circumstances but all in all the move was a great one.Thank you all.My estimate was exactly what I was told

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2000

I moved from Lima, Ohio to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and chose Fresh Start Relocation due to their plcompetitive price and how thorough they were with the services they provided. On the day of the move 3 guys showed up and got to work immediately. They were very efficient and gentle with my fragile furniture. Once they arrived in Fort Lauderdale they put together everything and placed it exactly where I needed it! No damages and well worth the price! I highly recommend using them for their services if you want a quality move.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1965

OMG! Hiring Fresh Start Moving & Storage was a HUGE mistake!! My move was from Clermont, FL to Tavares, FL & I’ll keep it simple. Shawn absolutely misrepresented the fees on the phone! When presented with the new pricing (while my items were held hostage on the moving truck), I repeatedly asked him too explain my sudden $201 increase in costs (I was seriously confused) he said he’d explain once more, then he was going to hang up!!! How rude, disrespectful and different from the gregarious salesman who talked me into disregarding the awful reviews I saw online...I was stunned!!! Don’t be fooled or charmed!! Ask about the $100 surcharge! Be sure to ask what your “estimated travel charges”, Fuel, Tax & Mileage will be!! If you have a small move, there is a 3 hour min., so don’t fall for the 2 hour min + 1 hour travel line! Admittedly, everything is in the contract, but you’ll believe the promises you were told and sadly sign thinking it reflects the conversation you’d had...YOU’LL BE WRONG!

Trust the reviews! I hate to write negative reviews. However this was just too much! Find an upfront, professional, transparent, respectful, moving company!!! If you are in a situation that calls for relocation, you don’t need the additional stress that WILL accompany your move if you hire Fresh Start Moving & Storage. I was a fool that DID NOT LISTEN to those before me!! YOU DON’T WANT TO MAKE THAT SAME MISTAKE! If you don’t listen, PLEASE say in your misery filled review that you should have listened to “J” & my sympathies in advance:\

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $450