Top Rate Moving

Top Rate Moving provided excellent service on both sides of the move. Although the individuals were different on each end of my move, they did a very good job. Throughout the actual loading and unloading process, they confirmed and reconfirmed that I was happy with the job they were doing.

Separately, I want to offer a special thanks to Ashlie (Dispatch) for working with me on a scheduling my delivery. Ashlie helped resolve concerns I initially had and did a great job following through and following up on what needed to get done to ensure a smooth delivery.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6300

If there was an option for zero stars, I would give it. I was unfortunately swindled because this company was booked by a moving company I originally signed up with, Assurance Van Lines. They were supposed to move my things from Chicago, IL to Washington, D.C. These movers showed up two hours late, demanded that my dad, who met them to open up the storage warehouse where I was keeping my belongings, pay them a 10% tip. Then they added on extra fees saying I was "over inventory" and they didn't have enough room on their truck. My dad didn't pay them because he didn't have extra cash and they refused to accept a credit card payment to make up the difference. So they ended up taking my things to a storage facility in Carol Stream, IL without my knowledge or permission and demanded that I pay them nearly $1200 to release my property. I had actually been telling them to take my stuff off the truck but they refused and made it seem like my things were on their way to DC, but in actuality, they essentially held my belongings hostage. They kept my things for a week and I was on the phone with them and with customer service reps at Assurance for that long. I spoke several times with Ashlie Elizabeth Landry, who is listed as the company's business manager as well as Eli Shalem (a/k/a Ely Ruas), who is listed as the company's owner. They, along with the Assurance reps, were extremely rude and belligerent with me and would not give me any straight answers. Finally, someone who identified herself as "Lisa" called me and told me they would send someone to open the storage unit a week after they first took my things. This happened after I filed a complaint with both the Better Business Bureau and with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and had gone to a lawyer.

I am usually good at identifying scams, but the bait and switch of thinking I was signing with one company and then having to deal with a third party I had no idea about had me fooled.

So, reminders: Always pay with a credit card, never cash, wire transfers, or money orders. When you pay with a card, there is a record of the transaction and you can dispute the charges later. Make sure to deal with a locally based company or if you are dealing with a state to state move, like I did, make sure to use nationally based chains like Mayflower. If you are privileged enough to have your own vehicle and are also able-bodied and can lift and pack your own furniture, renting a U-Haul and driving yourself is another good option. You can also always ship your items to your new address once you have it and fly over.

But using this company? That would be a terrible option. They are unprofessional, lack basic courtesy, and engage in deceptive business practices. As a matter of fact, Eli Shalem used to own several other moving companies which all closed down because he was running this exact kind of scam on other people. He keeps closing down and restarting under new names. My hope is that enough people will see what he is doing and get him shut down for good. This is borderline criminal behavior.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2157

I hired Top Rate Moving and they recently moved my things. They gave me a quote for just over 850 SF. I had moved my things in a 17ft truck getting there (which was 800 CF) and I had only been there a year and not bought any new large items and got rid of things when we packed. So I figured that would be a fair estimate. Of course when they showed up (9pm which was 8 hours late) they said we had over the number of boxes and said it was 1100 sf. They said we had 20 extra boxes. I figured it was because they had tagged a box of stevia as a box etc. So I figured that it was going to work itself out when they put it in the truck. Well of course they still said we were over on CF. A this point it was 1 am so I just said fine figuring I would catch it on the other end. They also charged us $86 to purchase 1 BOX. They then took 3 weeks to deliver our things from GA to PA!! When they finally get it here I checked all of the boxes as they came in. Surprise surprise I was missing 20 boxes and it was numbers 1-20 in order. Its impossible to lose 20 boxes in order and we don't have anything missing. Also the driver that delivered it also said that it was exactly 800 CF. They clearly committed fraud. Of course calls and emails to the owner have gone unanswered. Do yourself a favor and stay far away from Top Rae Moving.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3200

Never ever go with top rate movers! They have had my belongings for two months and still haven't delivered everything. For some crazy reason, they only delivered a fraction of my possessions after TWO WHOLE months. I am honestly worried I am never going to get all of my stuff back. The workers there seem to be very incompetent and rude. I get the sense they are incredibly sketchy. Different people at the company are telling us that we owe different amounts. We got almost no notice before the delivery. We were lied to many times. The list goes on and on. As strongly as possible I would urge you never to do business with these people.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

I hired these movers several weeks ago and it's been almost two weeks since they picked up my stuff. They lied and said my stuff would be at my place by last Saturday just so they could get my money. Now I've heard nothing from them and there's no word on where my stuff is. Last I called the lady on the phone told me she has "no idea" where my stuff is. If these idiots don't return my stuff soon all in tact then I will sue them.

Don't fall for this scam.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2000

They lost my $600 smart TV. Then they lied about the estimated time for delivery. I called them repeatedly and they did not give me any idea of when I would receive my stuff. They charged me $50 extra to wrap the night stand with duct tape for safety and it was broken at delivery. There were some items missing from the night stand as well. After weeks of waiting, finally the driver called me just one hour before delivering my items; when I told him that I was at work, he literally threatened to leave my stuff on the street unattended or cost me $500 for every extra hour that I needed storage!
They will not reimburse for the lost items
I would not recommend this service to anyone.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1600

The actual moving guys seemed to know what they were doing. No one else did. I was told I'd get my stuff by July 2nd (4 days after they picked it up) and it didn't arrive for another 2 weeks. They probably lied to get the business, as they were contracted through Assurance Van Lines. The Assurance folks (who I realize may have been the ones lying to get the business, but they did drop the price a lot, so I'm guessing it was actually Top Rate Moving lying to them) said Top Rate Moving had a convenient route scheduled from Lexington to Kansas City and their dispatcher really wanted my business because my route was directly on the way. Then, Top Rate Moving, after picking up my stuff in Kentucky, turned around and shipped my stuff East to Georgia, held it in a warehouse and then shipped it West to me in Missouri — ridiculous. Plus, they lost my table and damaged my underbed drawers. For weeks, they couldn't give me any idea of when I'd get my stuff, until I got a call the day before from the driver. All of this actually did mess with real-life travel plans too, and I still don't have a kitchen table, more than a month after they picked up my stuff — they just lost it. If they just didn't lose my table, I wouldn't have even written this review, despite all the other things here.

The only redeeming thing is the guys who actually picked up and dropped off my stuff were on their game, very attentive and had a mix of an experienced guy (fluent in English) and two really hardworking newer guys (not fluent, but worked hard to communicate with me despite that, which I greatly appreciated). I suspect the offloading and reloading at their Georgia warehouse was not done by these guys, causing the damage and the loss of my table. They do pick up their phone for customer service, but their hours are limited only to work-day during the week, so not very convenient if you work. They also put you on hold forever and a day after you call in. The biggest issue is when they do pick up, they still don't have any way to solve your problem and can't provide any information.

I seriously never write negative reviews like this, but this experience has been sufficiently awful for me to do so. If they fully reimburse me for the table or deliver it to me, I'll post a better review or update this one. Still, if you have the choice, don't use Top Rate Moving and don't book through Assurance Van Lines either.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1900

Everything but the initial sales pitch was a mess or a blatant lie.

They told me they'd pick up my things on Friday, but that that date may change as the pick up date got closer, which I understand. At the beginning of the week they said pick up would be on Saturday. That seemed reasonable to me. Then Friday afternoon, a driver called and said he was on his way to pick up my things. I thought it was a simple miscommunication and it wasn't too difficult to get out of work and get my things picked up. No harm, no foul, I thought. It turns out that these last minute changes and "miscommunications" are indicative of the way this business runs.

Trying to get my things delivered was a nightmare. Three weeks after pick up, I called and asked at dispatch when I could expect my things and was met with some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced. At first, I just thought the women answering the phone must be busy or stressed out and that's why they had such a sullen and combative attitude. They made it seem like asking "when can I expect my stuff?" was an audacious question that didn't deserve an answer.

I called on Monday and asked when I could expect my stuff and was told "this weekend" and that "someone would give me a call two days before delivery."

On Wednesday I missed a call, but no message was left.

Thursday I called to follow up and was told that delivery would be Friday between 1:00-5:00PM. I expressed that this would be difficult for me to arrange one day in advance, given my work schedule. Ashley, who apparently is in some management position, informed me that "no one ever has these problems" and that an alternative delivery time would cost "thousands of dollars." After I asked several times what alternative solutions there are because getting out of work was not possible, Ashely informed me that she didn't actually know how much it would cost and she'd have to look into it.

In the end, I asked my landlord if he could let the movers in and also looked into TaskRabbit to have someone wait for delivery. Ashley insisted I didn't need to hire someone for the whole delivery window but was either incapable or unwilling to articulate what part of the delivery window would be sufficient. Ashley said I could call back Friday morning and get a better sense of when my things would be delivered.

When I called on Friday morning (the day of my alleged delivery), a different woman picked up the phone and told me she couldn't actually confirm that my things were on the way. I mentioned that a driver had never called me and in response she said it was likely delivery wouldn't happen Friday. This woman recommended I call back at 10:00AM to reach Ashley. I called back at 10:00AM as instructed and was told that they had "already told me everything there is to know" and that Ashley would actually come in at 11:00AM.

I don't know why I was in such a hurry to get in touch with Ashley. She is was incredibly rude, unhelpful, and aggressive. If I ran a company, I would not employ her, let alone promote her to a management position. If you enjoy being condescended to and hate having your problems solved, or even heard, she's your model employee.

Luckily, Ashely's late start time wasn't that relevant because before 11:00AM the driver called me and gave me an estimated arrival time of 3:00PM. He said he was doing a delivery in Maryland at 1:00PM and would head to DC immediately afterward. I asked my neighbor to be available to let the movers in.

At 1:00PM the driver informed me that he would be there at 5:00PM because his delivery in Maryland was at 3:00PM. I asked my neighbor if 5:00PM would work.

At 4:00PM the driver said he had just arrived in Maryland would get to DC before 8:00PM.

At 6:00PM the driver said he was not going to come today and he would come the following day between 9:00-10:00AM.

The next morning at 9:00AM the driver says he'll be there between 10:00-10:30AM. At 10:30AM he says he'll be here at 11:00. He just had to do a small job first.

I booked an appointment for 11:00AM on Saturday because I mistakenly thought that when someone tells you they'll deliver something between 1:00-5:00PM on Friday, they don't actually mean "sometime after 11:00AM on Saturday." I wish my job had deadlines like this.

I (eventually) got my stuff. In the 20 minutes the movers were at my house, they set off someone's car alarm, one of the guys asked me how much my apartment cost, if I live with a man, and what make my laptop is. Right at the end he abruptly instructed me to give a tip to his partner. I did not want to give a tip because I was not happy with the service I received. It was awkward.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $1495