Public Moving Services

I have never written a negative review for any company before this. Infact I rarely spend time to write any reviews. But since this was an extreme experience, I feel compelled to write a review. Please bear with me. This post is not to discourage you from engaging Public Moving Services but just to make you aware of the possibilities and urge you to prepare and plan accordingly. My experience can be an exception and you might have a different experience. That said, I highly suspect that the other reviews are posted by company's social media team.

I got a new job in Dallas and decided to move from Virginia. I talked to Alex from the sales team and he seemed very helpful. I was to start my job on 31st July and wanted to settle into my new house before that. I have a travelling job and so wanted to make sure my furniture in delivered well before 31st July. Alex was very helpful and recommended that for July 26th delivery, I should send the goods well in advance so I moved up my pickup date to 18th July. I took multiple confirmations from Alex that my furniture would reach before 26th. There was some confusion in the quotation about charges for packing material and so I inquired about that with Alex. After getting assurance that I would not be charged extra for packing material, I gave an advance payment and closed the deal. I also got a good deal from them for moving my car and made advance payment for that as well.

Fast forward to pickup day. The team shows up and demands extra money for packing material. Upon protest I get the response that they do not care what my discussion was with sales team and they go by their procedure. The front man of the pickup team was a reasonable guy and we agreed that we should talk to the sales team to clarify any miscommunication. The sales team does not pick up my calls and does not reply to voice mails. After waiting for some time, I gave up and decided to pay the extra fees. The team was very efficient and packed my house under 90 mins.

For car pickup, the driver does not show up. I wait for a few days calling the company daily. 5 days after the pickup day I get a call that driver is arriving for pickup. I had left Virginia by then to be present for furniture delivery in Dallas. My wife who was still in town was supposed to manage the car pickup. The driver who is 5 days late was impatient enough to tell my wife that she needs to give the car immediately and he can not wait till lunch time. She had to leave the meeting in the office to give the car.

Though painful, I was relieved that pickup is complete. Now that they have my car, they email me an updated quote increasing the price. This was not discussed even at the time of pickup. Next day they send another quote increasing the price again. The driver with car arrived in Dallas (8 days after original delivery date) and told me he does not know about the original quote and would not deliver the car unless I pay full updated price in cash. He was equally impatient this time. I valued my car more than I valued few hundred extra bucks, so decided to give in to the hostage situation and pay up.

About the furniture, 18 days (August 13th) after the promised delivery date, I am still waiting for my furniture. I have been living in an empty house and calling the office daily. The only response I received so far is "We have not scheduled the delivery yet and would let you know when we do"

I could never talk to Alex after the advance payment. I am buying new furniture now since I have lost all hope. Though I do not expect the service to change drastically now, to be fair, I will update the review based on what happens next.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3200

Public Moving Services had high reviews online which was the reason I chose them. I obtained an in apartment quote from another moving company and used that inventory quote to shop around. Public was the most economical in that they promised a quicker delivery time. Up until move day they were great-then I was handed off to another department. On move day the foreman (subcontracted) came in and looked through my apartment at my inventory and said nothing about his thoughts on overages. I opted for them to pack my stuff. 11 hours later at 10:30 at night with 95% of my inventory loaded, they presented me with a new estimate that was more than double my original binding estimate. I told them I wasn't signing the form until I could speak with someone else at the company. They refused and told me they would unload all of my things onto the street unless I signed the new estimate. So I signed it under duress. It also included $450 for 'long carry' and $75 for elevator fees, which should have been included in my original estimate since I made sure they were aware of it before I signed on. I called the next day and was given a small discount. Angela led me to believe my new estimate was for $7499 from the $9800 revision. I did not receive an invoice. The next day my company wired a large amount to them (the original estimate) at which time I received an invoice. It was for $8600! She had used my original deposit to 'discount' my revised estimate. I called and was yelled at and hung up on. Angela refused to assist me and also refused to let me speak with anyone else. The next day I had the same issue with two other people on the phone. Ridiculous. When I asked them why my binding estimate did not turn into a non-binding estimate when I had to sign a new estimate I was told, "no sir, you are wrong, we specifically place everyone in BINDING NOT TO EXCEED estimates. It is different in the eyes of regulations." Unacceptable. On top of that, I am unpacking and have come across upwards of $500 worth of damage and found the complete lack of respect for my things.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9500

AVOID THIS COMPANY!! IF YOU DON'T AVOID BE PREPARED TO HAVE AN EXPERIENCE LIKE OTHERS WHO GOT OVERCHARGED.

People at public moving services have mastered the moving company tricks. They have created a great contract paperwork that will trap you no matter how careful you are. Also they know you don't live in same state as them and it takes time and effort to fight through a lawyer in their state. They will just ignore you once your items are picked up. Like most of victim reviewers said they don't even allow to speak with a human being.

I am also a victim of overcharge of approx. $4000. They will threaten either on day of pickup or day of delivery with extra money. They will not allow to discuss with original guys who signed the contract. Here are some tips on how to avoid these guys.

Let us start with company address on the website.

It is listed as 7706 Waterford Square Dr, Unit 1221 Charlotte, NC 28226. If you check it on google maps it looks like a condo address. Anyone before signing with this company if you checked this it should alert you right away whether it is a genuine company or not.

Now to the contract.

When it says you cannot cancel 21 days prior to day of pick up that should alert you as many genuine companies do not do that.

In the credit card authorization form it's return if you cancel you have to go through claims department . By the way there is no telephone number for claims only emails if you are lucky. so that should alert you something fishy going on. How many companies in USA do not allow a phone call for refunds??

Contract paperwork demands to sign prior to the start of packing process. There are good chances you will leave some empty spots in the paperwork but it will have your signature. so they go back tot he truck after pickup and fill the blanks with whatever they like. Example they will write packing charges as $3000 when you had none. They will add additional cubic feet when you had none. Now at delivery you will see a paper that you signed but not the same amount. If not paid you get threatened of storage charges so you would naturally pay the driver. So what do we call this forging a document or theft or fraud or fraud??

Now for claims as I said previously there is no phone number where you can call and explain the billing dispute. That should alert you something fishy here.

Now what are your options at end of the move if you still hire them.

Go to local cops or go to lawyer or Go to FBI to report?? . even if you do that they will close the current company and open a new one.

So never go unless someone recommends you or have a local mover look at your items and provide an estimate so atleast you know where they are located and how genuine they are.

I am even wondering if this review website is genuine as I don't see posts before April 201?? so not sure how long this post will stay.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $10000

The BBB lists the company at their Charlotte, NC address as "Your Movintg Company, LLC."
Mover failed to pickup when promised; did not use a large enough truck; has failed to deliver part of the shipment. Binding Estimate issued based on 800 cf. or a 26' van. Owner disputed this as being far too low. Mover agent insisted on their values.
Packers were to arrive on 22-23 may 2017 and truck was to be loaded on 24 May for temporary storage. Movers were unable to meet above dates due to breakdowns and moving crew issues. Movers were not able to load everything in the 26' truck, on 24 May, which was sent to storage warehouse. Second truck showed up at mid-day on 25 May and finished loading late in the day, requiring my wife and I to carry many items out to the garage and driveway so our scheduled cleaning crew could make the house ready for closing.
The second crew started off slow and had to rush to stay ahead of the cleaning crew, who had been scheduled to work in the afternoon. The result was sloppy packing, with items thrown in boxes with no regard to weight or fragility, and ultimately many broken pieces of glass and ceramics. Several antique furniture pieces were heavily damaged as well. No time was available to note room origins of boxes.
In Alabama our house closed on 23 June, and I had requested delivery on 24 June 2017. Delivery at Foley, AL, was originally promised for 4 days after closing, 27-29 June, but the load was delayed. Then we were promised delivery on 4 July, a National Holiday. Finally, delivery was scheduled for 6 July, but the driver could not make it and delivery took place on 7 July, with a crew of 2 men. No BOL document was provided at final delivery, as the driver only had a picture of the pages on his cell phone. Since my printer was not accessible, no hard copy was available on which to note exceptions. Therefore, I did not sign the summary sheet presented by the driver. I did pay all documented charges in advance of offload, for full delivery, as required by contract with mover.
When the van was empty, the following items were missing: 1. Gas lawnmower + 2 empty gas jugs 2. Cast iron beige oval glass-top patio table 3. Two tall solid cherry wood bookcases from office 4. Large solid cherry desk and 3-piece credenza from office 5. Various tools, including post hole digger, tree trimmer, edger, wide shop broom 6. One tall wrought iron chair from set of 2 from garage 7. Two exterior, plastic chaise longues + 2 lawn chairs from patio 8. Craftsman workbench awith wood top from basement 9. Tile inserts for a square cast iron table (garage) 10. White wicker rocker from garage 11. Raleigh men's 3-speed bicycle from garage 12. Two Small green cabinets from kitchen 13. 25 ft folding aluminum ladder from garage. Other items may also be in the missing group, which should have been in the second day pickup at origin.
I have attempted to communicate with mover through two comprehensive emails to and many phone calls over a three month period, requesting information about the missing items and expected delivery date. On each occasion I was able to connect with someone (no left messages were ever returned) I was told that Public was attempting to arrange suitable delivery. They never acknowledged that they still had the items, and never provided a delivery date, thereby violating their own BOL contract provisions. The BBB lists Mr. Alexei Pistun as the POC for the company, based in Charlotte, NC.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $14650

I write this as I am still waiting in an empty house, for my items to arrive. I wish I could give one rating to the men who came and packed up my stuff, and another to the company, as the movers themselves were very professional, nice and a pleasure to work with. The company, however, has been one of the worst I have ever had the displeasure of working with.

One thing to know about this company is that regardless of what they tell you regarding details of your move, it is fact the fine print in your contract that matters to them, not what they have spoken to you about regarding your specific move.

- I was told VERBATIM on many occasions the the movers would be picking up my items on Sunday. I planned everything around this, including when I would be moving out, turning off utilities, etc. I even confirmed this date with Public Moving Services rep Veronica, via email, the Friday before. She informed me she had in fact received confirmation of this date by her supervisor, Emma. On Saturday evening I get a call letting me know they will be using the 'backup date' of Monday to pick up my items. BACKUP DATE? I never heard a word about this. After moving mountains, I was able to get my apartment to let me stay another day, as well as have other people help me out in my new location and attend to existing appointments and drop offs I had set up. During this confusion I was more than kind and understanding -- as they were quick to remind me, I had in fact signed a contract that included the possibility of a backup date, in the fine print.

- When I spoke with Veronica about setting up my move, obviously one of my questions was about how long it would take for my items to get to me. She let me know, after looking up my addresses, that it would be 2-3 days. This is something she later confirmed again over the phone. However, when I spoke with the movers, they let me know this was not correct and told me they would need to get a confirmed date and would let me know half-way through the packing process. OK, fine. Half-way through the packing process, I brought this up again and the foreman, Alex, called in to the office and let me know it would be on the following Saturday (5 days after pick up). Ok, fine. At the end of the packing, I confirmed this again with Alex, who let me know it was 100% confirmed.

- Saturday came and went with no arrival of my items. I emailed Veronica, called the office, etc. etc. The only responses I received were from Veronica who let me know she had 'nothing yet' regarding the time they would be coming on Saturday. Obviously they would not be coming at all..

- Sunday passed -- Monday I called Customer Service and spoke with Ellie Williams - she was borderline abusive in her tone and clearly set on being of ZERO assistance. She let me know that per the contract that yes, I did in fact sign, it can take up to 18 BUSINESS DAYS FOR MY ITEMS TO ARRIVE! What?! Having something in a contract does not mean you should tell your customers something that is inaccurate and/or leave them completely out of the loop when it comes to changes arising with the move! She refused to let me speak to anyone else, put me through to a bogus voicemail when I tried to leave a message for Emma, and told me that while she would not give me a timeframe, she would let me know about the update from the driver by this afternoon.

- Well, this afternoon I have spent no less than 3 hours on hold with this company, and on the 2 occasions that I made it to the front of the queue, I was picked up and hung up on. I am in SHOCK. It is now 5pm and no word from Ellie.

RUN RUN RUN from this company. They have zero regard for their customers and have no problem with telling someone what they want to hear in order to get a sale. Oh, and I should mention that I was quoted at $4k and the move cost $7k.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7000

This was a horrible moving service experience! Please stay away from this company! They have competitive ratings, however their customer service is non existent and even though I paid for them to move, pack, unpack, and re-assemble furniture, I received less than half of those services. They did a reasonable job at loading, but after that it went all down hill. The truck driver wanted to charge more since he didn't want to drive down our new residential street with his big rig and then wanted to charge us over $1,000.00 to put it in a smaller vehicle and come back later. Then after my husband convinced him that he could make it, which he was able to, then found out it was only him. There were not other moving guys with him to help him unload. He called the "other" guy and that guy said he wasn't coming due to bad weather. So, I had to have my parents pick up my kids and watch them while my husband and I unloaded and unwrap all of our stuff with the one guy. Some of our stuff was broken too. To top things off I have been trying for over a month now to speak with an actual person and finally when I did get someone (a manager) she said I would have to do a claim that would take 2 to 3 months to even be reviewed! She said that since I had already everything in full I could not do anything else but do a claim. I would not have been able to have gotten my stuff off of the truck if I didn't pay the man. So, her noting this was just crazy to say the least. I have a 7 year old and a 18 month old. Plus work form home. I had to have my stuff and not wait over a month to speak with a representative before getting my stuff. I am very disappointed since I paid extra for something I did not even get. Stay away from this company!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000

So where do I start.. My family and I moved from New York City to New Orleans. Originally picking up our stuff on the 30th of June, we were told that our stuff was going to get to our new home July 5th. Comes July 5th and of course we have to call because they don't even have the decency to call us, they tell us that its an 18 day window FROM the 5th. I asked why they didn't let us know about this when we first did all the paperwork.. anyway 18 days pass by and still no sign of furniture anywhere. We call again. Now they tell us that its a 21 day window.. so we wait a few more days. We call again (mind you every time we call we spend 2+ hours on hold and a lot of the time they hang up, making us wait all over again) and now they tell us its a 21 day window excluding weekends. At this point I am super aggravated and just not in the mood to listen to any of their excuses. So I call once more on 8/3/17 which marks day 21 since the 5th of July. After holding on the phone for an hour and a half, the lady (Emma) tells me that our shipment is still in their warehouse.. in MARYLAND. You mean to tell me over a month has passed and our stuff hasn't even left the tri-state area? LOL what a joke. I told her okay, we are going to pick up our stuff our selves because clearly you people cannot do your job. She then proceeds to tell me that we can't go to the warehouse, that they would have to move our stuff to a storage unit for which we would also have to pay for. She also said that I would still have to pay because they picked up all of the stuff. I let her know we were not paying them for a job they didn't do. Not only that. After they picked up our stuff they added an additional $1000 in fees that god knows where it came from. So here we are.. sitting in an empty house. Today is now 8/7/17 and still NO FURNITURE.

I would honestly give no stars if I could, because clearly these people are incompetent and cannot do their job. I let the lady on the phone know that I was going to get a lawyer because there is no way in h** that we are paying for such crappy service.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3500

RUN!!

This company is awful and I wouldn't even advise my worst enemy to use them. From picking up to getting our things it's been a nightmare. They two guys showed up to pick everything up and pack the large items. However only one man did all the work while the other disappeared. They did not take an unloaded shotgun even though it clearly states that it should have been taken. We called the customer service and we are supposed to be compensated for the cost to ship it. Still nothing.

They delivered 4 days late. I called everyday asking where my things were and on the 4th day they said the driver has been trying to contact me.. tough to believe that was the case with no missed calls or voicemails. The driver cussed me out on the phone and refused to deliver our items into our apartment. We had to rent a Penske truck and move in by ourselves, which is wonderful since I paid to not do it myself.

Things are missing, damaged, and ruined. Don't use this company. Their customer service is awful it took a week and 4 phone calls to receive a claims form and all of the service reps act like their moving mountains to do their job. It's insulting.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3400

We used this company to move from Kentucky to California. Our things were picked up on August 3rd. Today is Sept 5 and we don't even have a delivery date. They don't even have an estimate on when our things may come. The customer service person keep saying they have 30 business days per the contract..

very bad service. Takes 15 mins to get somebody on the phone.Expensive too. why pay money to people who have no respect or commitment to customers. Do not recommend at all.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3100