Stewart Moving and Storage

Coming from a local real estate agent.. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

Not only did we receive AWEFUL service.. we were charged $600 more than the original estimate, to add insult to injury! Will detail issues with them below:

-We had numerous experiences walking into rooms and seeing the movers sitting and looking at their phones, watching videos, talking to friends/family (not what you want to see when being charged by the hour)... One of the employees has since told me that "some of our crews are just lazy." Can confirm.

-Our kitchen table was damaged and no attempt at rebuilding, the primary bed wasn't rebuilt, and our Ikea dresser is still in 50 pieces w no initial attempt to put it back together.

-We were never informed by the estimator that they would not put boxes in our pull-down attic at the final destination, which has left us with TONS of boxes we now have to deal with ourselves.

-There seemed to be a great loss of morale around 9:30/10pm when they couldn't get ahold of their boss for something they needed (apparently had already gone to sleep), which seemed to slow progress even more at the end.

-Multiple items were left at the original location (7 large tubs of clothes & a desk). NO walkthrough with us before leaving. Intead, they just informed us that they were done and left for the next destination without double checking with us that they'd gotten everything.

-When the crew left the original destination, my wife stayed back and continued to clean and sweep and load up her car and our 6 wk old baby for another 30-45 minutes, and then passed your crew at a gas station (not even at a gas pump... just in the parking lot) on her way to meet them at the final destination - and she still arrived 15-20 minutes before the crew did. The crew told me the delay had something to do with a "family emergency".

The customer service person, John, is a complete jerk.. good luck getting anywhere with him! So much regret using Stewart Moving & Storage.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2800

WORST MOVING EXPERIENCE we've ever experienced in all our years of moving, and we sustained significant damage to our valuable possessions as a result of negligence and incompetence. Starting with the very late crew, things went downhill rapidly. Attempts to communicate with the office by phone were a total fail, as we encountered one problem after another. The crew was not notified by office staff that we had an antique baby grand piano that required special handling, and that created an emergency situation. A local piano company was called in, and they didn't have the right equipment either. Although the piano was later packed properly in the Stewart warehouse, during the transition the piano was dropped, severely mishandled, traveled on a truck with very little protection, and subsequently damaged virtually beyond repair. The sound board was cracked in 2 places, the casing was gouged and chipped, and the legs were inadequately packaged, and sustained damage. When they loaded the shipping container for overseas shipment, they did not inspect the container by closing the door and looking for light coming through - our container had a hole in it, and our shipment was destroyed by water ingress, mold, and mildew.
Our goods were already carefully packed and labelled by us, and the crew repacked things to consolidate. In doing so they failed to label or re-label the boxes, and made no effort to keep vital pieces together such as TV remotes, power cables, nuts/bolts/screws to furniture that we had taped to the back of the item to keep them together. We are still searching through the jumble of boxes trying to find essential parts and pieces.
Clothing was taken out of the sturdy wardrobe boxes with hanging bars, and jammed into flimsy little flat cardboard boxes that fell apart and were soaked by water. We disposed of a mountain of evening gowns, suits, leather jackets, dress shirts, shoes, and purses that were destroyed by mold and mildew. Linens, a leather chair, documents, electronics, photographs, rugs, everything ruined by water and mold. Had a degree of care been taken to prepare our goods for travel across water, it wouldn't matter if a leak occurred or not, our goods would be safe.
One of the crew members was new, and he didn't even have basic skills in packing or handling goods. No evidence of any training or experience whatsoever. If the boxes were labelled at all, it was a pitiful attempt to write words in English that no one could comprehend. Much of what we received had no inventory sticker or labelling at all.
The Irish crew that unpacked our unfortunate shipment felt so bad for us that the crew supervisor issued a formal report documenting the substandard packing, and the poor condition in which our goods were received. This was shared with Stewart Moving and the primary company we contracted with, Shumacher Logistics. No one contacted us to apologize for the fiasco that resulted, even after I sent pictures to show the severe damage.
We sold our home and most of our belongings to move to Europe, and kept only the most valuable and important things to bring with us. We trusted that our goods would be handled in a professional way for the $10,000 we paid, and what we got instead was an amateur job and a lot of run-around and excuses. We would have fared better to put everything in a rowboat and row it across the ocean ourselves, given the magnitude of damage that occurred at the hands of the "professionals."
To add insult to injury, basic communications functions at Stewart were non-working, including phones, email server, and the tablet with our inventory. They never did get that to work, and I had to take a picture of each screen with my phone as my official record of the shipment.
Today I posted negative reviews and photos on their Facebook page along with all the other negative reviews and horror stories: they DELETED EVERY CUSTOMER'S NEGATIVE COMMENTS and blocked me from their page. Instead of dealing with the negative experiences like a professional company, they are hiding behind only happy comments like cowards. What kind of organization handles complaints in that manner? They are a disgrace.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $10000

I've moved eight times in 15 years, and I'm always skeptical of moving companies. I've had moving companies damage my stuff, not show up on time, poorly communicate about pricing, or just engage in unethical practices. Stewart Moving was COMPLETELY AMAZING start to finish.

I called and spoke to a representative who said they would send out a specialist to give us a custom quote; none of the other companies that I called offered that service. Kassie came out and walked us through what the price would be and how we could potentially save money with things we could do ourselves in preparation for the move.

From that point, Amanda coordinated the move with me perfectly, answering all of my questions and ensuring that I was aware of all updates. On the move day itself, the team came on time and finished in only five hours. Joe, Francisco, Desmond, and Alex were very efficient, friendly, and were careful with our things. I made sure to tip them well (tip your movers!) because they were the BEST moving team I have ever had. I will be using this company exclusively in the future for any other moves that I need to make. Stewart moving is one of the best vendors I have ever worked with!

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $860

My experience with Stewart Moving and Storage started off very well. The sales rep. was very nice and assured me that his company was going to handle my move with extreme care.

It all went downhill after that..first they showed up at 7:00 to load the first day, I was told they would be there at 8:30-10:00.

Then on the final loading day, the driver moved my stainless steel fridge without a pad and scratched the hardwood floor. When I confronted him about it he lied and said he took the fridge out the opposite direction of the scratches and that they were there before. I assumed he amended his paperwork to show the damage, as he had taken pictures as well. He didn't and then lied to claim manager to say the scratches were pre-existing. I have two people writing statements saying they were not there prior. The claims manager denied the claim and would not reconsider because the driver did not amend his paperwork and continued to lie.

Next, a third party was not hired to pack and unpack my grandfather's clock. The driver did this duty, now my clock's not working, and again the claim was denied saying that I can't prove that the clock was working in the first place.

Another issue is the driver taking the handles off of my fridge and then losing the screws. I have been without handles on my fridge for 5 weeks. While in the process of removing the handles the front of the fridge now has a 6" scratch and dent.

Many items were cross packed, and mismarked making it very difficult to find anything.

Oh, one more thing. I went to move a box marked dishes, it was stacked on top of another box. I picked it up and nearly dropped it on my foot. When I opened the box I found 2 layers of canned good at the bottom of the box with numerous heavy dishes on top.

Find another company to move you.

Service cost: $8783

Hired Stewart Moving & Storage (SMS), Jacksonville, FL to move me from Florida to Virginia in October 2016. I stressed to the salesman, Gregg Merritt, that because I'm disabled and live alone, even though it was expensive, I had no choice but to include the "packing" and "unpacking" options. I live in pain and spend most days in bed, so having to be up and about for long periods would be a stresser. Merritt told me that my move should be about 4-5 hours. When my items arrived in VA, ONLY THE TRUCK DRIVER ARRIVED to deliver my 4200 lb of items. Part of the move process that the leader of the move team in Florida did in his paperwork was keeping note of the box numbers and it's contents. Because the SMS driver was alone, I had to do the box confirmation log. It took the truck driver--the only person they sent--9 hours and I had to stay out of bed, in pain, and because of the paperwork I had to process, I could not take my pain medication. In addition, no one showed up to unpack, so my items stayed in boxes. When I did open them, I found broken lamps in boxes with shoes, my clothes crushed under shoes and artwork. In tall garment boxes, none of my clothes were hung up!! They had been taken off hangers and thrown into the boxes, all wrinkled and crushed, including leather and sequined garments and handbags. I called Merritt who said he would have the office send me a refund check for pack/unpack. I never received it. December 2016 supervisor S. Cordero wrote in an email that he was sorry for all of the problems in move, I should submit paperwork and my claims would be processed "expeditiously." Today SMS claims that I was never charged for pack/unpack, that I owe them money, they never promised more than one staff in VA. (How can they admit that?) I contend why did Cordero not state in his Dec. email, 2 full months after my move and more than enough time to review my contract, that I didn't pay for "pack/unpack?" In fact, he says I will be compensated. If I didn't pay or I owed them anything, that statement would have been made right away? I contend how can I all of a sudden now owe SMS money when they industry policy is they won't take items off the truck until my contract was paid in full?!! Finally, where is the money they owe me for the same work I had no choice but to do on my delivery in VA, that was the same task done by the SMS team leader in FL?? SMS will not answer any of these questions, but throws up smoke with cagey accounting discounts they claim I received--which are all untrue.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3700

They will promise 1 day to pack, 1 to load. Show up 2-4 hours late all 4 days (yep) with a truck that's too small on day 2, and act surprised when it's full on day 3.

They WILL NOT crate your sensitive items, as per their contract (with extra fees).

They will unload your items at their warehouse, move it around, damage and lose items.

They will load onto another truck and make this crew search for your items.

You will be missing items, that are listed on THEIR inventory.

They will break items due to poor packing, then tell you that 'that item wasn't listed in any box' well, neither was every peice of silverware, so..

They will write you an insult of a check.

The furniture repair contractor will lie to you for them to reduce Stewart's liability.

IF you complain enough, you will get a second insult of a check.

We only received 1 of 2 boxes of family heirloom crystal, listed right on their pack lists. The list goes on and on. 20 (!!) line items on our initial claim, they repaired 6, stiffed us on the rest.

This company survives on Gov't moves, and doesn't pay out insurance losses, uncle Sam does. So why should they care or try.

These people are con-artists and theives.

Avoid at all costs.

Grew up as an Army brat, joined The Corps, married a Sailor. 12+ moves in my lifetime, without a doubt the absolute worst of my life.

Don't let their cutesy response here fool you into thinking they care. They absolutely do not.

T_seekins at h0tmail if you want details, pics and conversation details.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $10000