Northern Moving Systems

Do not use this company. They are not movers. They do not own moving trucks nor do they employ any moving men. This is only a website. I paid them over $5000 to move my one bedroom loft less than two miles. They did over $20,000 in damage and stole over $20,000 in silver. My insurance covered the damages but not the theft. I was awarded a judgement in a St. Louis small claims court for $5000 for the theft but they will not pay. The men they sent to my home were not professional movers.

They have absolutely no integrity. M.J.Wright

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5050

We have moved several time over the years without issue. This was a terrible experience. The sales guy Mike spoke to us about their white glove service, quoted a good price to us and we agreed. He looked at our house in our real estate listing and went through each room with him. He said he had quoted moves for a number of years and felt good about the quote. Half way through the move, Mike called us back demanding we pay an additional $10K or they would stop moving now. We agreed, by the time we got to Florida, the move price was upped another $9K. When we finally received our stuff, there was no bill of lading, at least a quarter of our items were missing. Our items were broken, damaged and dirty! It was so bad that the guys who picked it up and delivered to us took pictures and also thought we had been overcharged for storage. Before you hire s company, go to the better business bureau and read the complaints and reviews.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $25000

TLDR:

Move from San Francisco Bay Area to Chicago. Loaded our stuff on 4/26. We were told our goods will get there around May 10th at the latest by Norther. Received our goods on 6/4. Surprise and hidden costs along the way when it’s really too late to do anything. Quote includes no liability insurance. They damaged many large item and many smaller items due to poor handling, loading, and storing. They ruined our new walls and floors while moving in (see attached pics). We’ve hired a lawyer. That should say it all. They tried to prevent us from writing a review by offering us $600, but we declined so we could warn others. AVOID THIS COMPANY LIKE THE PLAGUE. See PDF for email correspondence. Feel free to contact me for more details/questions.

Company with deceptive business practices and untrustworthy consultants, with an abysmal customer service team. Do not trust them with your life's possessions. You will most likely not see it for weeks, nor have the insurance on it, AND still be paying an equivalent amount of money that you would've otherwise paid a more trustworthy company. AND be treated like garbage by both Northern and whatever horrible 2-star BBB rated moving company they decide to contract.

Specific Details:

1. Incredibly deceptive consultants - they will low ball your estimate to get you through the door. Our consultant Dean refused to do an in-person tour or even a video tour. They put the onus on you to report every single item you have, so they can claim ignorance and raise your price at the last minute (our estimate went from $6000 to almost $14k). Your quote DOES NOT include liability protection.

2. Northern isn’t really a moving company, they’re just middlemen who contract it to a 3rd party company. We got Moveon Moving (BBB rating 2.7 out of 5) - a company who showed up with the full liability protection crossed off even though the federal law requires them to offer it; they showed up 2 hours late to do a full service pack/load of a 2000 feet home with a garage that is supposed to take 2 days to pack/load. Thank goodness we had time and had already packed 90% of goods. Instead of packing on Friday 4/23 and loading on Saturday 4/24, they packed/loaded Friday and Saturday and had to come back Monday to take the rest with a different truck.

3. After the experience with the loaders, reached out to Northern with detailed list of issues and they refused to respond. They finally got a lawyer who offered us $600 as compensation, but we had to sign a disclosure saying we weren't going to write any negative reviews. This is probably why this company has much better ratings than it should. We told them thanks but no thanks.

4. Then the fun started: our goods sat in a warehouse until END OF MAY. We lived in an empty house with a 10-month old, meaning no crib or baby gear. In late May, they finally gave us a delivery date of 6/4 . They tell us they have to charge us extra $1200 for a shuttle. We asked about the shuttle before loading, and both the Northern rep and the MoveOn said that they looked at our address on GPS and it looks like our complex should accommodate a shuttle. We emailed them when we learned this. MoveOn first said it’s their policy that big trucks don’t go in the city and then they quickly changed their story when we asked why we weren't told of this BEFORE. Now the story became oh, it’s because your complex doesn’t allow it. Our total cost went from an estimated 6k to nearly $14,000.

5. Day of the move: the driver parks about 20-30 minutes away from our residence to load a smaller truck. They driver told us he’s the only one from MoveOn, the rest of the team was hired from a Facebook group. Basically, amateurs and not professional movers – and it showed. They gouged our wall badly, put some large dings by the stairs. The wood floor was damaged due to not using any protection. They get the first load unloaded, then drive 40 minute round trip with a new load.At approximately 8pm, driver tells us that he and the hired helpers had to leave. Driver had to drive back with a different load the next day. So we learned the real reason for the shuttle: so the big rig could get loaded with a new load while our stuff got unloaded at the same time! Again, realize that this was a full service move – meaning they were suppose to unload, move boxes/furniture into the correct room, and unpack boxes if we requested. None of that happened.

6. We are exploring legal options to recover our money.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $14000

This was a disaster Northern subcontracted move three times failed to deliver all house hold goods did not give me promised refunds Dudu not deliver all goods forgot to take some items just left them at old house I am still missing some very personal items. I have contacted Northern on many occasions but to no avail. Still missing items and promised refunds talked to their chief resolution manager Dave Lee. He refuses to call me back. I am disabled and need th promised refunds

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $13165

During quarantine, I was very nervous about moving to different neighborhoods in Chicago, but Northern Moving Systems took away all my worries and hesitations. Even though the website is a little outdated, I can assure you that the quality and service are top tier, and more reasonable than the “minimalist” moving services. The movers showed up within the arrival time frame and were able to park where it would be easiest to move out. I had already staged and labeled everything before the moved, but they were quick and careful with all of my furniture. They took spark my couch and folded it up for an easier move and made sure to have any and all parts. They drove to the my new rental and brought in all the furniture with care and efficiency. They even places it in the spots I wanted them too in different rooms so I wouldn’t have to push it around by myself later. I trusted them with it all to run a quick errand while they were moving my things in. They were very kind and safe, especially during the quarantine and I couldn’t be happier with how the move went. I will refer the movers to any and everyone, no matter how big or small the move!!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6594