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| - $6500 and They Thrashed Our Stuff
We were moving from Tempe to Sacramento, and chose Ace due to a good consultation with the sales person. They weren't the lowest priced bid, but worked hard to be competitive and gain our business.
On moving day, the driver saw immediately that the load size had been underestimated and he would need a 2nd truck. He called it in at 9:30 am. By the time the truck was filled at 3:30, no one had responded. He had to go back across town in afternoon traffic to weigh the truck and either unload it or find another truck. While waiting the extra 2 hours, the new owners showed up demanding to know when we would be out. Not really a pleasant experience.
After coming back with a second truck, that truck's driver accidentally knocked over and shattered our outdoor glass table for 6. That was just the start.
I met the driver the next day to sign off the paperwork, and he had repacked the truck so everything fit into 1. So, all our stuff was handled for a 2nd time.
We ended up having to store the load at their San Jose facility for almost a month due to house closing and remodeling issues. They wanted to charge $2700 for the month. I researched a local storage facility and local movers and determined that would cost about $1200. At the threat of losing business, Ace decided to match that price. After already paying $5600 for the move they tried to rip me for an extra $1500.
So, our things were offloaded in San Jose and then reloaded 3 weeks later for delivery. At this point, they were loaded/unloaded 4 times.
The first thing off the truck on delivery day was a smashed lamp that cost $800, followed shortly by a bench with a leg broken off, another lamp with a smashed glass shade, some outdoor flower pots that were cracked, a ladder shelf with the bottom shelf broken off, and various other damaged items. Several boxes were partially crushed. We had multiple plastic tubs full of Christmas stuff that all had packing tape wound around them. The tape was gone on all but one of the tubs.
We were also missing 4 boxes but couldn't really prove it because the numbered stickers on the boxes did not correspond with the numbering system on the paperwork, so we could not say exactly which boxes were missing or what was in them.
The San Jose crew claimed no responsibility at all, saying that it happened during packing in Phoenix.
The insurance claim process went ok. I sent a detailed account of what was damaged (along with pictures). They sent a claims adjuster out. He filed a report and got authorization to repair what was fixable. (Did a good job.)
They called today with the final settlement offer, and I'll be paid within 2 weeks.
It pissed me off that they denied some of the broken items because they didn't pack them. So, it's OK if they drop, play catch with, or sit on your boxes for lunch, but if they didn't pack it they're not responsible for it.
There are a lot of moving companies out there. Think very carefully before choosing this one.
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