Imperial Moving and Storage

This was my first time using a moving company and Imperial Moving was recommended to me by a coworker. The movers were amazing. They disassembled what was necessary and wrapped everything perfectly. James was one of the foremen and he communicated the process to me along the way. He also made sure to check each piece was loaded into the truck correctly. They made me feel like my belongings were their belongings with the level of care and overall expertise. James and the other foreman Sergio were clearly seasoned moving professionals and I’d highly recommend their service. Tip: speak to their client relationship department first to ensure you get their more seasoned movers-or ask for James!

Move size: Studio Service cost: $796

We recently used Imperial Moving for our move from the UES to Weehawken, NJ.  I was extremely disappointed with our experience.  While they ultimately completed the job and moved our furniture and contents, it was definitely not done without damage and headaches.  Knowing that their initial quote over the phone would be a low-ball offer, we requested an on-site visit to get a more accurate quote.  After a representative visited us, we were given a more realistic quote that we were satisfied with.  However, come moving day, it seemed our sales agent Anthony, did not communicate half of what the representative saw at our on-site visit.  The movers didn't even know we had stairs at our new location even though I repeatedly told the sales agent we did.  Throughout the move they said they would have to charge us additional for this and for that which ultimately was going to add hundreds of dollars to our initial quote.  After some debate we settled on an increase of $150 over our initial quote.  This was done mostly because we felt bad that the actual movers (who are doing the back-breaking work) weren't notified about certain characteristics of our new property.  Now I don't know if this is standard moving practice, but we had five movers taking furniture/contents out of the old apartment and only three on the other side for the move in.  Maybe this is a tactic to increase the overall time it takes to complete the move therefore giving them a reason to charge us more?  However, what I was most disappointed with was the un-repairable damage done to a piece of our furniture.  This was a dresser that was in the family for years and the huge chunks of wood that were chipped off will never allow it to be restored to its initial condition.  Their insurance policy is the standard commercial "$.30/lb” so even if we said the dresser weighs 200 lbs, the most we would receive would be $60.  After submitting a claim to their support team and leaving several messages, I finally heard back from them seven days later with an offer of $100 in hopes this would mitigate our concern over the damaged furniture. But what I found truly offensive, was attached to that $100, was a stipulation that we have to sign a contract agreeing not to leave any bad feedback on any social media outlets.  Basically, they offered us an extra $40 as hush money to sweep our experience under the rug.  This alone is why I am writing this review and I will make it a point to tell anyone I can about how this company treats you as a customer.

Service cost: $1155

Warning –this moving company is a complete scam. They are dishonest and try to trick you into paying cash for undeclared charges. My movers showed up today towards the latter end of their time slot and everything started out fine. However, when trying to disassemble my bed, one of the movers struggled a bit with a screw on the bed because the screw head had been worn down. He came to me and told me he’d likely have to leave the entire bed frame behind. I went and found a wrench for them (why didn’t they have this when doing a move??) and helped remove the screw myself. Before leaving my apartment, the movers took payment from me for the agreed amount of $500 in credit card. However, they also told me I owed them the amount for tolls to NJ, in CASH. When I asked how much this would amount to, the mover told me $60!! He made a call to his “friend” at the company asking whether I could pay in credit, and I was told it had to be cash. I was not aware that tolls could be this high since in my experience driving to-from NJ, I would have expected it to be about $20. I now know that trucks are much pricier, but I think it’s only fair that amounts this high be disclosed prior to signing the contract instead of being left to a surprise. Luckily, I had the cash on hand and paid them $60. They did not provide me a receipt. They asked if I would pay gratuity and I said twice that it would be paid at the destination. I was having my furniture shipped to my elderly mother’s home in NJ. To be safe, I called up the moving company and explained to them the situation with the tolls and that I was surprised that an amount this large was demanded upfront in cash. They told me that tolls to NJ are typically about $50 and that I’d get an invoice after the trip. I informed the representative that I had paid $60 and that I was not given a receipt. The representative told me that he would speak with the movers. I said I’d just subtract the $10 form the tip I planned to give the movers. When the movers got to my mother’s home, they struggled once again to assemble the furniture. They tried to force a small 4-person table through the door even though I requested at the origin for them to remove the legs. My mother had to provide them a screwdriver to get it through her front door and after removing the legs they did not put it back together.  Finally, they demanded another $10 in tolls saying what I had given them was not enough. Since when do tolls to NJ cost $70?!? They continued to harass my elderly mother for the $10 and refused to leave the house until she signed a piece of paper saying we owed them $10 when once again there was NO WAY for us to verify their claims on the toll quantities.  My mother signed the form and provided a meager tip to get them to leave the house.   In my 4 years in NYC, I have moved many times and this was by far the WORST experience I had with any moving company. I highly advise that all customers steer clear of Imperial movers. Take your business elsewhere. When researching my move, I had found 4 companies around /- $20 of the price I paid, some of whom included tolls. Had I known about Imperial and their “toll” chargers, I would have taken my business elsewhere.  Now I feel obliged to warn others and spare them of these frustrations and fraudulent charges. .

Service cost: $590

They quoted me a 4 hr estimate for a standard 1 bedroom move and they ended up taking 8 hours for no reason. Since they charge by the hour, the incentive is to take as long as possible and overcharge you.

They get their customers by providing a reasonable price/time estimate, and on the day of the move, once I was already stuck with this service, the team of 3 men they sent worked so inefficiently that the move took 8 hours instead of 4! 2 of the 3 men were mostly standing by the truck talking the whole time while waiting for the third one to slowly disassemble my furniture and to wrap it on his own, which created a huge bottleneck. The other 2 would then proceed to move/load it only once an item was available. On top of that, they basically damaged almost every single furniture piece they moved: my pull out couch does not pull out anymore, they damaged coffee table, tv stand, and cabinet etc And nothing says unprofessional more than damaging my tv screen, which is clearly a fragile item!

I complained to the company about the lazy, inefficient job they did, and they completely ignored it. I was supposed to pay around $820 but instead it cost $1815 for no reason! Plus all the damages I have to cover.

Also, none of the 3 workers wore masks despite the pandemic and although we prompted them to!

I deeply regret having used them, I would strongly suggest you stay away. Either complete the move yourself or hire a company that does not use a bait and switch and provides a reliable quote!

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1815

After almost 3 weeks of extensive research and looking at pictures of other clients I chose Imperial Moving to make my move from New Jersey to Florida based on their Google rating and also the price.

I dealt with everything with Sarah, I sent my inventory with all possible details, including numbers of boxes, measurements of all my furniture and what I needed to disassemble and assemble.

She gave me the price, and 4 days before I confirmed everything with her, I double checked the price, the schedule times and most important, the usual tip recommended for the movers, which was 20% of the half of the total amount on the pick-up day, and the same rule, on the delivery day.

On the day of the pick-up (07/16/2021) I took all possible precautions, placing protectors on the floor and handles. The mover team (total of 3) leaded by Totay, arrived on time and did everything with agility and care with my furniture, and protecting all of my belongs, even adding additional care with my boxes. Nice and respectful team.

Delivery was scheduled for 14 business days, but arrived on 07/24/2021 well ahead of schedule.

Another team made my delivery here in Florida. I booked the freight elevator for a period of 3 hours and they complained about the fixed hours scheduled for the elevator. It made me feel a little uncomfortable because the building where I live has rules and I can't keep the elevator reserved for me full time. In the end, my building administration authorized me to use the elevator out from my scheduled time with the condition that if someone started to use the elevador, the company would have to wait. Booked time from 10:30am to 13:30pm. They arrived at 12:50pm and they had to wait someone to load/unload some stuffs. The mover team was also done very carefully and quickly by the crew (3 in total) and they were fast and kind.

To have a good experience is important to:

Make sure you understand what is expected in terms of tips from each move company you are quoting prices. I suggest you to add it as costs of your move.

Pack your belongs properly: Boxes will be smashed and your belongs will get broken if YOU don’t protected them when you packed it to allow boxes to be stacked. You have 50% responsibility here.

Beware of everything that can increase the price. The only way to avoid surprises is to checking/understanding all factors that increase the price, such as number of steps in a stairway, parking distance, wrong numbers in the inventory.

Details My move was for a room with a total of 18 large boxes and furniture, total of 35 items, cost was U$ 2670. + tip + toll.

The moving-in process is stressful, you have to worry about everything, but at the end, my belongings arrived perfect.

I recommend Imperial Moving and their teams (NJ/Florida) that worked in my moving journey, also Sarah which assisted me extremely, providing me quick answers by email/phone.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2670