Simple Moving Labor

I rented a Penske truck and needed movers to load and unload it. Simple Moving Labor is recommended on the Penske site so I thought they would be reputable. Their website assures that all movers are experienced and professional. When I was contacted to confirm my reservation with them the representative again assured me that the movers were experienced in all aspects of moving furniture. With that assurance, I agreed to sign their contract which states that they are not responsible for any damage!
Everything was being moved out of storage, so they did not have to take apart furniture, most pieces were already wrapped in padding and there were no appliances or heavy, unusual pieces.
What should have taken 2 men 2 hours took 5 hours and cost over $600. Several pieces were scratched deeply and had big nicks out of the corners. Two pieces were actually broken. The cost to repair the two broken pieces was $250 and SML has offered $35 as a settlement. Stay away from these people. They take no responsibility for not providing experienced movers.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $610

First off I paid for "professional movers" so I didn't have to worry about helping as I had other things to do.  They were unable to pack 3 rooms into a 26ft truck.  I had to stop what I was doing and help them unload 1/2 the truck and then pack the front half again so there whould be enough room for everything.  I personally was able to take what they had as a full truck with no more room for the rest on my belongings and make it to a 1/2 full truck with more then enough room to fit everything else.  These poor kids they sent me had no reasonable packing system to load.  Its not rocket science.  Neither of the "professional movers" knew how to push the button on the dolly and turn it into a 4 wheel cart.  They were unable to pack the truck in 3 hours due to them standing around scratching their heads as to how they are going to fit everything then having to unpack it and re-pack it with my help.  I could have bought pizza and beer for my friends and could have gotten it done quicker, better and would have cost me under $100.  I called to inform them of the issue and was told someone would get back with me.  That never happened!  I posted a blog on their site about the sevices similar to this blog and it was removed within 24hrs hmmm.  All and all don't be fooled by this company there are nothing more then a below average comapny with below average services.  I drove the truck myself so technically there was no pickup or delivery time.  However they were on time for the load.  I have not decided yet if I am going to pay them another $380 to unload me.

Service cost: $760

I took a new job that required me to move from South Carolina to Arkansas.  My budget was fixed so I tried to do the contracting myself.  I hired Simple Moving Labor (simplemovinglabor.com) to load the truck and to unload it.  While loading the truck, they broke some one of a kind art work and punched a hole in a leather recliner.  They didn't bother to mention it when they did it, they just continured loading. I tried to file a claim with them and was rejected.  I was told all claims for broken items must be done before the movers leave your premises.  That is impossible when I would not even know it was broken until it is unloaded.  The "professional" movers they sent were far from professional.  I would NEVER use this company again.  Now I'm stuck with a $1000 recliner with a hole in it's arm, and two shattered one of a kind pieces of Indian art. Also, the "professionals" places light boxes on the bottom of much heavier boxes crushing the ligher boxes.  At least these were just clothing and a trip to the cleaners for several hundred dollars fixed this problem. Please avoid SimpleMovingLabor.com at all cost if you want your possesions to arrive in the condition they left your old home in. The only thing good I can say about the move is the people from UPack.com who provided the truck to me at a very resonable cost.  Actually the cost of the truck and the driving it 750 miles was less than the cost of UHaul equipment I used when I first moved to South Carolina.

Service cost: $1100

What SML does not tell you is that your helpers are day laborers from a temp service. One looked like a junkie. He tried to convince me to lie on the paperwork and pay him cash. These "helpers" do not follow simple instructions. Unless you are willing to provide 100% supervision of how each thing is loaded, do not use this service. Our furniture was damaged due to not being draped with moving pads. They only did when they were being watched. They broke a buffett door while moving it. They did not tell us. The unloaders discovered it. Our total damages exceed 5000.00. Go with a lic. Mover. You will not regret it.

Service cost: $600

Simple Moving Labor (SML) representative were very helpful and in contact regularly prior to the load day. The load time was confirmed twice and was scheduled for noon. On the load day I was contacted by SML and the load time (crew arrival) was delayed twice. And, they did not meet their second showtime either. A SML representative contacted me twice about delays prior to the last time adjustment and then SML did not follow up after the second delay as they said they would. Loaders arrived at 3:30 and rushed. Thankfully, it was a simple move with mainly boxes.

Service cost: $350

This company is great for anyone needing help moving. However the local moving company they send can make the experience vary. My movers were not on time. They were taking their time loading the truck. One was working hard while the other seemed to be watching him half the time. I helped them load the truck, as it seemed they were milking the clock. Some of the items were crushed and furniture got scuffed and chipped. I told them to use all of the furniture pads and they didn't. A large vase and stained glass terrarium shattered from how they packed it in the truck. All fragile items were labeled. They were courteous and friendly. One of the movers complained that he hasn't gotten a raise in 12 years. He seemed to be fishing for a tip. I gave him a minimal tip. I didn't think that was professional.

Service cost: $540

We hired professional movers hoping to avoid any issues.  About 4 hours overtime, truck loaded.  They did not use all the materials supplied.  What I packed arrived in good condition and unbroken.  Furniture loaded by professional movers arrived in terrible condition.  Mirrors broken, curio cabinet glass broken, every piece of furniture arrived with some type of damage.  Refrigerator scratched down to metal, table tops looked as though they had slid across the floor.  washer, 6 month old, damaged, everything and I mean everything had some type of damage.  Obviously, if the truck had never moved, maybe one or two items would have been damaged but that is a little silly.  I will never do this again, next time I will hire a real professional moving company.  I did not read the reviews and that was my mistake!  As for claim, yes, I filed one but because the truck was driven, I received nothing.  How fair is that?  Well, the young men at the unload, were definitely professional in every aspect of the job.  As for the "professionals" for the load, that was in name only, sad to say.  The service cost listed is for the load only, no complaints for the unload.

Service cost: $1075

After requesting a third man be added to our loading crew, the young man stood around for more than half the time listening to music. The other two fellows appeared to be working hard and diligent with èffort and sincerity.
Upon arrival, my wife and I were unloading the truck ourselves finding that boxes we had labeled as FRAGILE were on the Bottom of stacks with many of them crushed or damaged. Some of the furniture was gouged or roughed up because the ample supply of furniture pads we provided were not put to use where critically needed for protection.
We were behind our deadline to get the truck returned, so the last thing I had patience or energy for was to take pictures and document damage for lengthy, detailed claim process.
The company did return a small portion of my bill for the third person not being helpful.
Overall we were very disappointed in the effort and business .

Service cost: $549

We used this company 4 times in 1 month and they BOMBED 3 of 4. Damaged our wood furniture on 1st move. 2nd move was the only good one with a great crew who immediately showed us how the first crew loaded the truck wrong and damaged our furniture. 3rd move we had paid for a 3 man crew and got 2 man crew that didn't speak or understand English other than to say we only got a 2 man crew - they were useless as they couldn't understand a word my husband said. He motioned them to follow him and he walked them to their car and waved goodbye to them - this was after he told them to leave and they had no idea what he was saying and just kept smiling at him and nodding yes. I called to ask for another crew and was told we would be billed regardless because they showed up and although not fluent they could communicate - SERIOUSLY? My husband and I ended up loading the truck on our own. 4th move we paid for 3 man crew that was supposed to arrive between 8-9am - they never showed - called company 10 plus times and got a different story each time - was told 15 mins away for 5 plus hours - a 2 man crew showed up almost 7 hours late - my husband and I had unloaded the 16 ft truck on our own except 7 heavy items I couldn't lift. So frustrating and disappointing after driving from the west coast to the east coast. The company did offer us a discount which included the penske voucher (how does that even count?) we got but after driving for 4 days and having to unload the truck on our own to get it returned on time and being lied to the discount doesn't really help or make up for all the problems. I wasn't satisfied after talking to 2 different supervisors there but not sure anything will make up for all of the frustration, stress and problems they created and caused. I called Penske who referred them for our move and told them they should really review their vendors better. We should have learned the 3rd time but not knowing anyone where we were going and being told the company wanted the opportunity to make up for the 3rd move I foolishly talked my husband into it and went with them. We are done and will not use them again - I learned my lesson - if you do take the chance and use them I highly recommend you make sure you have a back up plan in place so you don't get stuck like we did.

Service cost: $729