Move Central

Actually NO STARS!

My son was totally scammed by this company. Quoted a low hourly price over the phone with NO MENTION of the 3-hour minimum charge. The flat rate for time used was quoted verbally 3x with no mention of the 3-hour minimum charge. Once the furniture was moved in, movers showed him the agreed-upon rate x3 = over $600 dollars and refused to leave the property until paid. BEWARE you actually see the contract 3x total before giving them your credit card number.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $600

Oh where to begin.

Don’t trust your "estimate" for your move. They quoted me a time of 4-6 hours. We ended up at 7.5 hours. Pretty close. The final bill was $1000 more than the "estimate" that was given to me by the sales guy.

When I questioned this with their support after the move, and why my estimate was so far off, I was told "sometimes you take your car in for a tire, and it ends up being the engine, so your bill is higher". Actual quote. Not kidding.

They damaged a lot of my furniture in ways that aren't repairable, including a 1-off hand made guitar. The waiver you sign says you get "60 cents a pound" as compensation.

More than $6000 worth of my property was damaged beyond repair. My settlement? $250. They bumped it to $300 "for my trouble". Great job guys. Really appreciate that. Can you sense the sarcasm?

The salesmen aren't going to even mention to you that you have the option for a 3rd party insurance company to properly value your items. Do yourself a favor and do that. These guys aren't going to be helpful at all.

I've moved countless times. I've never dealt with a company more frustrating than this. I don't recommend them at all. If you do use them, protect yourself with your own insurance. They couldn't care less about your property, just what California says is legal. To put it bluntly, they aren't legally required to pay more damages by the state, so they won't. Even in special circumstances like a handmade guitar with a $1000 paint job, or a priceless hand-carved jewelry box.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2000

My wife had a great experience with our move. The guys that took care of us were very polite and extremely hard working. They are very professional and arrive in uniforms with their own truck. They called us to confirm the day before and again the day of the move. They were able to come earlier than the time we scheduled which was fantastic for us. They carefully wrapped all of our furniture in blankets and nothing was damaged. They were very respectful of our home when the unloaded for us and put everything in place very quickly. I highly recommend them and would definitely call them again should I need to move.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2950

WE HIRED THIS MOVING COMPANY BUT IT WASN'T THE BEST CHOICE. THEY PRICE GOUGE. FOR A 1 BEDROOM SET & SOME BOXES MOVE, THEY TOOK 16-HOURS CAUSING THEM TO CHARGE FOR OVER-TIME & DOUBLE OVER-TIME. PLEASE, PLEASE READ YOUR CONTRACT CAREFULLY, BECAUSE THEY GOT US GOOD.

HERE IS THE EMAIL WE SENT TO THEM EXPLAINING OUR COMPLAINTS, THEY CAUSED A LOT OF EXTRA WORK & ISSUES WITH THE FURNITURE:

Good morning Rodny, we hope that you’re doing well. Please accept this email correspondence & information on you Move Central client, Michelle McGee (copied on this email correspondence). As requested, here is our Move Central claim:

On Wednesday, November 29, 2023, we contacted Move Central at (323) 800-2230 because we were interested in receiving an estimate for a moving service. We had contacted 4 or 5 different moving companies within the Los Angeles area. While I was on the phone, I was asked many questions such as move from (Playa Vista), move to (Murrieta/Perris), date of move, how many movers, etc. When it comes to the how many movers question, I responded with “let’s start with 3 & go from there”. After my call was completed, I received a Move Central estimate from Leo Escobedo. I was quoted $139.00 an hour if paying cash & $159.00 an hour if paying with credit card. I communicated this information to Michelle McGee.

As Michelle was deciding on her move date, she asked that I send over all the estimates that I had received. After she reviewed all the estimates received, she chose to work with Move Central because your company seemed competitive in the pricing. She than contacted Move Central & began the process of booking her move. Once she received the move contract/agreement, she was pressured to sign immediately because the agreed move date was approaching.

She was never informed of any overtime or double overtime fees by any Move Central representatives.

On the date (Wednesday, December 27, 2023) of her move, it was already a stressful day but working with Move Central was more stressful. Below, you will find the complaints/issues & pictures that we are claiming:

1st complaint/issue: A very important art piece of hers was not wrapped correctly & was left exposed causing it to be damaged.

2nd complaint/issue: Movers didn’t use gloves when moving her white/beige bed headboard & footboard causing them to get dirty (edges were already dirty but hand prints are shown).

3rd complaint/issue: Movers lost approximately 16 screws belonging to the bed. They confirmed that they lost the bed screws & apologized. They decided to put the bed back together using the remaining screws & skipping holes that should have been filled with screws. This is a hazard because Michelle can fall through her bed at any time. Now she must find a way to purchase the exact screws needed to complete her bed from Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. This is taking time away from her work schedule.

4th complaint/issue: Movers lost credenza shelf pins & credenza floor leg. Items such as these can’t be found. Michelle has contacted Crate & Barel to ask for replacements but that hasn’t been completed. Her time is very valuable & now she must contact different companies to replace items lost.

5th complaint/issue: When we received the initial estimate, we asked for 3 movers, but we were only sent 2 movers. This caused the move time to be longer than planned. Her move only consisted of a full bedroom set, clothing, & other small items yet it took from 8:00AM to 5:00PM or 6:00PM. Had we been sent 3 movers, this would have helped with the move being completed sooner, than later. This shortage caused the move to go into overtime & double overtime fees. This isn’t fair to Michelle.

6th complaint/issue: Movers damaged a wood storage furniture piece.

7th complaint/issue: Michelle felt pressured when the movers arrived at her new home in Perris because the driver stated, “I am not/can’t unload the move unless I receive full payment”. As a single woman, she did what asked & felt very uncomfortable after that interaction. She paid $250.00 for the deposit & she paid $3,000.00 in cash (only owed $2,877.50) at the end of the move. She left the remainder of the $3,000.00 for the drivers because he stated, “Do I have to give you money back?”.

As you can see, this entire move didn’t go as she should have gone. We hire moving companies to complete our moves, so we don’t have to deal with the stress or craziness.

We are asking that Michelle is being reimbursed for the following:

4-Hours – Overtime Labor Exceeding 8-hours in the amount of $556.00, for being understaffed

4-Hours – Double Time Labor Exceeding 12-hours in the amount $278.00, for being understaffed

Truck & Fuel in the amount of $189.00

Grand Total to be reimbursed: $1,023.00

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $3250

Horrible company. The worker show up smelling like alcohol, in the rain with no covers, no moving equipments for a rainy day move. I asked the company to reschedule but they refused unless I paid another 250$. Had to stop the move halfway due to the workers not feeling safe due to the rain and broken equipment. The head office refused to help, they asked for another deposit and 3 hrs min to finish the job next day. Broke stuff, shattered glass all over the stairs, a lawsuit and dispute coming their way. Absolute nightmare

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $680

Move Central is horrible! Do not use this company. We chose them as they came highly recommended, but our experience was beyond terrible. We moved from CA to ID. The estimator came to the house and did his job, seemed like a nice enough young guy. I spoke with the main office afterwards and placed a deposit to secure the date. The day before the move, the packers came out and did their work. Again, things seemed to be going smoothly. However, some of the furniture was not packed that day. The following day, the movers arrived and finished packing the furniture. With most moves, an inventory is done. We did not get an inventory from the packers. The boxes didn’t have stickers or anything indicating what was in the boxes. When the moving crew arrived, the supervisor had to leave due to a family emergency. There was nobody sent to replace him. One of the movers was selected to be the supervisor, so in essence there was no supervision. The first thing that was said by lead was that the job was underestimated and that we would be charged for an additional truck, $3300 per truck, we had two there. By the way, one was a rental tuck as the Move Central truck had broken down, reassuring…. They managed to put our things into the two trucks and left. After leaving, they left a large amount of trash, unused boxes and other packing materials in the driveway. I ended up having to clean up the mess. It was also raining, so that made the job that much more fun. Unbeknownst to us, the movers had damaged the water valves the washer had been attached to. That damage was found several days later when we had an inspection done on the house as part of the sale. Move Central refused to acknowledge they caused the damage, although no other people had moved the washer prior and it was working and not leaking. Additionally, one of the movers had stuffed a towel around the valves to either hide the leak they had caused or soak up the water. We paid for that repair later, and again, Move Central would not pay for the damage caused by their employee(s). Two days later, the movers pulled into the driveway at our new home. The first thing I saw when the door was opened on the truck was my bandsaw leaning over into our refrigerator. Both were damaged extensively. The fridge was about three-year-old and did not have one scratch on it. Now, three out of the four doors had dents and dings all over them, and the sides as well. No moving blankets had been used at all on the fridge or a lot of the other furniture. The same “lead” apologized and said he would take full responsibility. Well, to this day nobody at Move Central has taken responsibility for any of the damage done to our things or the damage at our previous home. We had a two-month-old washer and dryer. Those items came off the truck looking as though they had been through a war. They were scratched and dented and had not been wrapped in anything other than plastic wrap. No moving blankets. Several calls were made to the corporate office that day. The day ended with the crew refusing to put together the dining room table, which they had disassembled. Another call to the office and they were told to go buy hardware if they needed to. The lead’s excuse for not putting the table together? “We don’t know where the hardware is.” Remember, no inventory was done. We found several pieces of furniture, which I made, had been damaged. There was a cut in an oil painting, $3500, the list just went on. Easily, over 100 items were damaged. A brand new $1000 rolling tool box was all dented and scratched up. I hope nobody uses this company ever again and they go the way of the Dodo.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $13000

I’m typically very fair and very lenient when it comes to giving bad reviews because I understand how damaging they can be. However, this 1 star is justified as it took these guys 12.5 hours at $175 per hour (over priced, going rate is $125 for 3 guys) for less furniture than it took the last guys 5 hours to do.

5 beds, 3 dressers, 4 night stands, coffee table, 4 end tables, mini fridge and 22 boxes.

Took them 12.5 hours, $2,300 and on top of it their truck broke down. I had spent an hour going to get the parts and fixing the truck to get them mobile again.

12.5 hrs at a premium (and had damages) for less furniture than the other movers did in 5 hrs.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $2300

DO NOT USE MOVE CENTRAL MOVING AND STORAGE. THEY ARE SCAMMERS!!!!!!

THEY STOLE MONEY FROM OUR ACCOUNT AND CHARGED US $5,000 MORE THAN WHAT WAS QUOTED!!

THEY DAMAGED OUR WALLS, FLOORS AND FURNITURE!!!!

We used Move Central Moving and Storage for our move last week. Before the move there should have been a visual physical inspection for an accurate quote but this company chose not to do one. We scheduled a virtual walkthrough with their team but no one called us and it did not happen. We were quoted $3,085 for our move.

At the end of our 13 hour move, when ready to pay over the phone, it was told to us that the cost was actually over $8,000.00 which is $5,000 more than we were quoted.

I agreed to pay for the extra 3 hours of labor and offered multiple times to pay in cash for the mutually agreed to expenses and the company refused to accept payment. Since I was promised a cash rate, I expect the cash rate to be honored. I was told that it was late at night on Sunday and a manager was not available. I was told they would either call me in a few minutes or in the morning. I did not receive a call from the company. On Tuesday I became award of a pending charge for $7,808.25 in addition to the $250 deposit the total charged was $8,058.25. They charged our card despite knowing we were in dispute and did not agree to that payment!!!!

I was told before the move that packaging materials could be used if requested. When the crew arrived we were not asked. We were told that they would use materials. The quantity of packaging materials was excessive, and they over charged for those materials significantly. We were charged $2,382.00 for packing materials!! This is basically bubble wrap and packing paper, as we had already boxed our items.

Not only were we overcharged but this company damaged many of our items!!! We have large dents in our walls, scratches on our hardwood floors, a ripped umbrella cover, and a broken dresser leg. Also two dressers had legs removed, misplaced, and now they can’t be found!!!

We have not been contacted with a resolution or compensation for these numerous problems. We will be contacting the Better Business Bureau, and will take legal action if this is not corrected!!!!!!

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8000

I hired Move Central to do my cross-country move, and it's been a nightmare. They sent a rep, Christian, to do a walk-through of my home and provide an estimate, which was just over $10k. My husband and I hired them, and on moving day they sent three loaders and a project manager, estimating that the job would take 3 hours. The movers were constantly on breaks, had no idea what they were supposed to be moving, and the project manager slept in the cab of his truck. They could not fit everything in the truck, and this process took over 8 hours. We had to throw away a bunch of stuff that wouldn't fit and ship a palette of about 1000 pounds of other items. The next morning, we received a phone callas we were trying to leave our home in CA for Ohio stating that the truck was overweight and they needed to charge us an extra $9k. The sales rep said he could get us a "discount" down to $6k. My husband told him to write up the quote and we'd look at it. Fast forward to move in day in Ohio. Only half of our stuff has arrived, most of the furniture damaged in some way. They offered us $350 for the damages that they caused, which I would estimate were at least $2,000 worth. The two guys they contracted to load in said there was supposed to be a third, but the project manager again was asleep in the cab and refused to help. My husband helped unload the truck. On this date, I began calling MoveCentral to try to determine what items they still have and to dispute the extra $6k charge. The estimate should NEVER be this far off. I have yet to receive an updated bill of lading; the bill of lading they have sent me repeatedly has items on it that were left in California or disposed of. Whenever I call customer service, I get the run around and am either passed off or hung up on. My next move will be to file formal complaints. This behavior is egregious, the company is in violation of several laws, and they fraudulently represented how much the move was going to cost in order to get the business. They are now holding my belongings hostage and demanding more money. I have not been provided with evidence of any weight assessments. Such a disappointment in a hugely stressful time.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $18866

UPDATE: Please note this is the ONLY negative review I've ever left.

First off the email provided by Angel doesn't work and bounced back. 2nd he responded to one message and then ghosted us.

This company responded and offered a $500 refund. They lost our subwoofer, free weights, pots/pans, and more. In addition they damaged our brand new dresser that was over $1k AND scratched/put holes in the walls of our new house.

After 3 weeks of back and forth, $500 refund is what they offered. What a joke.

Unfortunately we will have to move forward with outside counsel and file a claim with the state attorney general to resolve this situation. They lost our stuff. They damaged our stuff. They put holes in our wall. Now we are forced to spend time and effort in making things right. Do not use this company under any circumstances. If you have questions or want me to verify any of this feel free to shoot me a message.

Do not use this company.

I've never written anything BUT 5 star reviews and hate to leave a negative review however our experience was horrible.

Feel bad because the movers were all nice guys. Unfortunately we're missing multiple items and no one is taking us seriously. The kicker... despite LOSING multiple items, the charged priced was OVER DOUBLE the quote. Doesn't stop there... damaged the walls while moving into a freshly painted house. Put a couple holes in the dry wall. Damaged the trim. Dented our brand new dresser. See the photos below. Despite sharing this with the company, no solutions or help provided. Do yourself a favor and find another moving company.

Items lost...

$600 Tv subwoofer (some how the soundbar made it)

Plates/bowls

Blankets

Tried calling and each time it's... you'll have to call customer service. Can't get a hold of anyone on the customer service line.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000