I'm overdue to write on behalf of Ben's moving. These are pros. Jon, the owner is responsive and dependable. Hi team of movers are super nice guys and a pleasure to work with. They offer flexible storage options and will transport your stuff to your final destination. One reason I chose them versus other bids I got was that Jon was able to offer me a 30 foot shipping container for storage where most other places would have been 7/or8 8x8 wood vaults. Highly recommended! read more

Oh man what an ordeal. First I should say that the guys who did the move were hard working, very pleasant and didn't just sit around. However, three things were broken during the move. A $40 glass table was smashed. My $350 lawn mower battery/charger were left outside in a bucket outside which, when I woke up, was half filled with water as it had rained that night. Finally, when I went to plug in my 70 inch tv a few days later, the screen was completely smashed inside rendering it useless. Guess which one they compensated me for? Yeah, the $40 glass. I was asked to provide security camera footage to prove that the guys left the bucket. Even if I had one, which I don't, it certainly wouldn't be set up on MOVING DAY! Then I was told because I can't prove it was them who messed up my TV and because the workers magically can't remember placing the bucket outside, there was nothing they could do. I hired them for 11 hours which is not cheap. Look, things happen and I get it. But when a company won't stand behind their service, without question my recommendation is to run and don't look back. I think the thing that bothered me the most was the suggestion by them that the TV was probably broken before the move. Zero integrity... read more

Bens moving and storage was recommended to me many years ago by a highly respected real estate company in Berkeley. I used him several times and was very pleased with the service The last time I needed him, I asked him to recommend a storage company as I was going to move in with my mother to help her. He then told me he had a storage warehouse but that I would not be able to access my things. That was fine. As it turned out, I sent him $190.00 a month for about 12 years! I was never told to get my things. Fast forward to now. I called to have my belongings delivered to me and found out Ben had died and his son Jon was running the company. He showed up with his truck and crew and about 1/3 of my things were missing, my bed , stereo system, chairs, side tables and at least 4 irreplaceable and expensive pieces of artwork, plus a Chinese cabinet. Jon knew nothing about it he said. Needless to say I was very upset. We finally agreed on a payment of $1,000.00 which was really very little but I didn't want to get ugly. At any rate he kept telling me he had sent me a check when he hadn't and the last time I called him he hung up on me. I have not decided where to go with this. However, I would advise people to not use his services. read more

My experience with this company and the owner was and continues to be very negative. He came to my home and I showed him everything I needed to move upon the sale of my house. In the meantime, I disposed of a lot of furniture so by the time moving day came there was quite a lot less that needed to be moved. First off, he showed up with a couple guys who started moving my belongings. He left after about an hour, way before they were done. By the time we got to the patios and the garage it was apparent that the truck he brought was too small. He was long gone and I was dealing with his workers on a very stressful day. I had to leave many of my belongings and all the stuff in the garage. He charged me $4500. It cost me another $1000 to get the rest of my belongings out of the garage before the close of escrow. I'm talking my grandma's antiques and family photos I moved 500 miles away. It was a stressful nightmare. I asked his workers to advise Jon of what happened and to have him please call me. He didn't. When I contacted him, he apologized and agreed to send me a check for $500 to help defray my costs of his mistake. He never sent it in spite of many promises to do so. I see on Yelp that this is a continuing situation with him: he brings too small a truck and then promises a reimbursement which never comes. Not a nice person. BUYER BEWARE. read more

Working with Ben's Moving was a great experience. His people were professional and extremely competent in handling our art and valuable furniture. They were also quick and a pleasure to work with. Jon communicated with me every step of the way. I would definitely recommend them. read more

I wasn't so sure about these guys at first, but they're a jovial, hardworking bunch; and the guy in charge was an expert at estimating whether things would fit in particular places and making sure they did after he had given us his word that they would. Watching him organize different-shaped things was like watching the Tetris equivalent of garden chess. The move took a little bit longer than we expected, but they didn't charge us more, and by the end of the day, I was glad that we had chosen Ben's Moving. If I'm going to spend a lot of time working with strangers, I'll take funny over efficient any day. read more

Great service and priced right! I would high recommend Ben's Moving. I had them pack for me as well. All my valuables made it safely to my new residence. Thanks again for a fantastic crew! read more

Ben's Moving got 34 years of our life packed and moved in two days. The packers spent a long long day getting us ready fo go, wrapping and organizing things. On the second day they loaded the truck in San Francisco, drove to El Cerrito, and got everything into the rooms where we wanted them. The price was very reasonable. We tipped the movers - and we recommend you do too. They deserve it. I have never seen people work so hard. Basically, they took no breaks in a fifteen-hour job, 9:30 in the morning until after midnight. read more

Although we called from Canada, Jon replies right away and set up the day next day. He helped my son to move out things from his room and cleaned it, including the fridge and microwave. Great service, would recommend! read more

This is an update to my original review, which was one star. I'm changing this to a three star "A-OK" review. I am happy to say that I did finally receive reimbursement for the broken fixture cover along with some extra money for the long wait. I'd also like to add a few thoughts about what I did like about the service, to balance my original review, which focused only on the negative. 1. When I initially contacted John about the possibility of using the company for our move, he scheduled a visit to my home to survey the move. I was very anxious about moving ten years of belongings for a family of 5 and John talked me through the steps and was quite reassuring and helpful. I liked the personal service and being able to meet the guy in charge before the move. 2. I was given a bid that was very reasonable and honored when we finally did move several months later. 3. The moving crew was friendly and good with our kids, allowing them to run around inside the truck and check things out. Also, I should note, with respect to my original complaint that they didn't send a big enough truck, that John really didn't know about how much stuff we had stored in our attic. We hadn't realized either. Once all of that was moved out and boxed, it seemed an enormous amount, and may have been the reason that the truck John sent wasn't big enough for everything. Finally, it's my understanding that during moves with moving companies, items get broken and that I should not be shocked or dismayed that not every item came through in perfect condition. I appreciate that John quickly had our rocking chair and piano music holder repaired and with very good workmanship. So really that just leaves the latch on the bookcase, which is a minor issue and the outdoor cedar table. John did offer to have his wood repair guy take the table to his shop to repair it. I opted against this because it just felt like too much of a hassle, and I decided to live with the scratches with knowledge that I'll probably re-finish it at some point in the future anyway. So, in the end, I can fairly say that the guys moved a huge amount of stuff with a reasonable outcome. I do still wish the crew would have been more up front with me about having broken some items, but I do understand, as John said, "they get nervous and panic and don't want to say anything." It takes a lot for even the most refined of us to openly admit our mistakes to someone's face, right? read more

I used Ben's Moving and Trucking for my recent Emeryville to Oakland move - on recommendation from my real estate agent. Very professional. These guys know how to do it right! My only complaint is that the job took considerably longer than the estimate I was initially given. read more

If you need to move, call Ben's Moving & Trucking (BMT Movers) in Berkeley. They have successfully and carefully moved me, my family and friends dozens of times. They're fair, flexiible, thoughtful. We're lucky to have found them. read more

The movers were super friendly, professional, fast, clean and extremely cautious with our belongings. They literally bubble wrapped all the furniture to avoid scratches. They disassemble some items so they shipped better. I was impressed and highly recommend Bens moving services for your relocation needs. read more

While the guys did a decent job moving our belongings, Jon completely underestimated the size of the truck needed. In the middle of packing up our belongs, he said, "not everything is going to fit in the truck" or something to that affect. Instead of immediately rectifying the situation with another truck, he hemmed and hawed and then finally begrudgingly went to pick up a second truck and it still wasn't big enough. This all after he came to our house twice to survey the amount of stuff we had. Zero stars. read more

Ben's crew did a very good job on our move from Oakland to Richmond, we got three guys and a big truck for a 2BR apartment to 3BR house which was just about right. Price was competitive and they worked fast. No problems. read more

I asked them to move my 1BR apartment. They sounded professional on the phone. On the day of move, they called me in the morning and told me they'd come between 2pm and 3pm. It passed 3pm and they didn't show up or call me. I called them and left a message. Someone called me back and told me that they'd come around 4:30pm. That'd conflict with my schedule and I had to cancel this move. They may be good at moving but not to be on time or not try to keep the customer updated is not my idea of being professional. read more

Don't use Ben's Moving and Trucking! I've moved 5 times in 6 years and had always used Delancey Street. They weren't available that day and I ended up using this company. I didn't realize just how good Delancey was till I used them. The movers weren't careful and dropped my boxes, chipped my furnitures, gauged my doorframes, among other things. I'm still finding marks on my furniture months later that I know was due to the move. At the end, they were in a hurry to leave and left their boxes behind. Totally unprofessional. The worst part was, what typically takes Delancey 2.5 hours to do, they took 5-6 hours. My total bill was almost double for what I typically pay. They didn't keep accurate time like Delancey did. I will never ever use another moving company again. read more

terrible!!! They send two people to move a three bedrooms house.We moved three bocks away, it took forever, 8 hours exactly with everything already packed when they arrived in the morning ( 40 minutes late), my husband had to help around. For $1500 you expect more professional movers. They didn't put the label boxes int the right room .I asked them to move a dresser to an other wall the guy got upset, so much attitude it was really bad to deal with incompetent people. After 8 hours and the movers gone, my husband and I had to move boxes around to the right room ( the name of the room was label on the boxes!!!). they left mark and damage door in the other house so we lost $500 on our deposit, I have two furnitures that missing support so I have to put paper under to make stable again. save yourself trouble and frustration choose an other company, it is my best advice. read more

We recently used Ben's Moving to move us from our temporary apartment to our new house. Our team, Kosmo and Royal, were very professional, efficient and friendly. It was obvious that they both took a lot of pride in their work and enjoyed working for Ben's Moving. We will use Ben's services again in the future! read more

Ben's Moving and Trucking helped make moving day bearable! Quick responsiveness in setting up the date and time, flexibility so I could make a change, and the two movers, Efrain and Kevin, were friendly, accommodating and quick! Thank you, thank you! read more

We used Ben's to move from a 16 story apartment house in Piedmont to an apartment house on San Pablo in Albany, with two stops in between to drop off and pick up additional furniture. The conditions were brutal: the apartment house in Piedmont had only one working elevator, available for limited times during the day. The streets for the two stopovers were busy and narrow, and it was Saturday around noon. Nonetheless, the movers performed cheerfully and efficiently. We also appreciated their flexibility when we decided to added other items to the moving list at the last minute: a huge old couch to be delivered at one place, and two huge chairs to be picked up at another. We would definitely use this company again! read more

I was moved by Ben's moving today... it's all done now and I was really impressed how careful,cooperative and professional they were..it made the whole moving thing much easier....Ben's people are the people to call ....glad I did.....alex w. read more

Oscar and Tim with Ben's Moving and Trucking -- two strong and nice guys-- moved my stuff out of a second floor apartment with no elevator. It took a little longer than estimated, but was worth every penny. They worked efficiently and were careful -- nothing broke. I don't have a car so planned to bike to my new home, but they offered to take me and my bike in the truck, which was appreciated because I was exhausted from packing. At my new place they set the boxes and furniture exactly where I wanted them, and that made it simple to unpack. It was the easiest move I've ever had. read more

They were ok .(Didn't move a very heavy desk and left it in the house. The new Buyers were not happy and we had to scramble to have it removed for an additional 100.00. Pretty accommodating considering we had a ton of stuff, and didn't know if it would all fit. They had to move things around a bit. All in all, OK. Nothing broken and reasonable by comparison. Hard workers. read more

Bens moving did a great job they packed and moved my 1 bedroom apt all in one Day and was cheaper then the estimate the crew was friendly and hard working They placed the furniture and boxes exactly where we asked they even put our beds back together and helped hang our curtains this was a great moving experience and would highly recommend them read more

This company does not stand by its work. I had three things go wrong. 1.Table was dented. Man came to fix it but made light colored spots in areas around. I now use a table cloth all the time. 2. Antique glass lamp shade was broken by a man who said he was very tired from working a second job. He apologized. John, the owner agreed to settle for $400 and said he would send a check. He never did and he refuses to answer my calls. I finally said in September that I would stop calling him. He did not respond to this either. 3. My queen sized bed frame was put together wrong and it broke. The man said he wasn't responsible because of the material out of which the headboard was made. That bed has come apart before and been put together without a problem. This man never wanted to even try to put it together. He raised it off the ground in such a way that I saw it break. Then, instead of putting the parts back in the garage as suggested, he took them away in his truck. Now there is nothing I can do to repair it. When I called John, about this, he said he knew nothing about it. He refuses to be involved. In short, do not trust these people to stand behind their work. They seem friendly and helpful until something goes wrong read more

I have used Ben's repeatedly over the years, and have always been satisfied. I recently had them perform a full house move where they brought boxes, packed up my entire house, moved the boxes, and unpacked them in my new house in all the right places...w/in 48 hrs! I was blown away. I will absolutely use them again, and have recommended them to friends and family members who have also been equally satisfied. read more

I'm vacillating between 2 and 3 stars... guess I'll be nice and go with 3 stars. The movers were great -- cool guys who did a very difficult move (down 70 stairs in the rain) pretty quickly & efficiently. What WASN'T quick or efficient was the promised repair/replacement of 2 pieces of furniture that were badly damaged in the move. It took 2 months to get our damaged credenza "repaired" -- and the "repair" was a joke. After the move, there were chunks of wood missing from both sides of the kickboard on the bottom of the credenza. At first Ben (who is a nice guy despite this review) said that he'd have his "wood guy" repair the kickboard. Well, judging by the result of the repair, his wood guy is a toddler on hard drugs experimenting with a bottle of Elmers. Anyway, even Ben recognized that the repair wasn't acceptable - so he just put the credenza back together sans the kickboard and called it a day... or 2 months. All in all, not the end of the world - but a frustrating experience. I was constantly having to call to get a status, and when I got a call back (I will say, usually pretty quickly) it was only to hear one excuse after another. This isn't a scathing review - I'd just suggest that if you go with these guys and are having them move something delicate - make sure they wrap and pad it real good. read more

I've moved three times in the past three years, each time using Ben's Moving & Trucking. Great firm. Hard-working crews and good value. This is a very good company. And when I move again, I'll use them again. read more

Ben and Jon, Thank you so much for a wonderful move! From Ben's visit and advice through Jon's estimate and Adam and Efram's efficient, calm, friendly, patient, easy delivery, it went completely smoothly and left me happy! I sure appreciate you! Cory read more

Ben's is a long time local moving company in Berkeley now run by son Jon. His crew did a good job moving my tenants and putting things exactly where they needed to be. read more

Recently hired this service for my Oakland to Berkeley move and was charged double for their "travel time" -- something I wasn't told about when the reservation was made. They left for Berkeley before me, I left a few minutes after following the same route they said they'd take. It took me less than 30 minutes, they took an hour (counting as two hours), adding another $120.00 to the bill. read more

Ben's Moving and Trucking was responsive and went the extra mile by moving me all day in the pouring rain! Tim and Alfaro moved me and my household stuff as well as things from storage! It is about 3 miles from my old house to my new one. They were on time, were exceedingly careful, broke NOTHING. They moved over 50 plants, pots and pot stands as well. They were soaked from the rain yet worked steadily, did not take breaks or even use the restroom! It took about 6 hours and the charge was only $960. Ben, Tim and Alfaro were totally professional, courteous and answered all questions asked of them. I am sold on this family-owned and operated local moving company, I would not hesitate to recommend them to someone considering moving. read more

We used them twice - once from Berkeley to El Cerrito and from El Cerrito to Napa. Our real estate agent recommended them, too. They were very reasonable, showed up on time and finished the moved when promised. Their crew were friendly, but also hard-working and professional. read more

We engaged Ben's based on a recommendation from a realtor. After seeing the reviews here, I had my doubts, but we had a perfectly satisfactory experience. No damage, hard-working and friendly crew who respected our belongings and our brand-new hardwood floors, took less time than we thought it might, and an excellent price. Enthusiastic recommendation. read more

Yesterday my sister and husband moved from Oakland to Walnut Creek. Jonathan and his wonderful crew showed up right on time and did a fabulous job. I have never seen such careful wrapping of protective materials around furniture and securing it. The entire crew was friendly and helpful. Both my sister and I have moved many times and neither of us has ever seen anything coming close to the wonderful experience we had with this move. read more

We were referred to Ben's moving by our realtor. We were moving on a very short notice. Although our move was local, we had delicate items to pack and some bulky items as well . what we loved about the company was that Ben himself came to our house to give a realistic estimate and that the company is locally and family owned. Ben's son and two wonderful assistants did the move. We had great confidence in the company because it was obvious as they started moving our belongings that they used care and respect. They were not rushing to another job and yet they did the move in a time efficient manner at a reasonable cost. We highly recommend them for their personal caring, price, professionalism and reliability and we would use them again on our next move read more

This was the WORST mover ever!! After looking at what was to be moved, and giving me an estimate, the actual cost was DOUBLE the estimate; and took 2 whole days instead of one. Also, the crew damaged several places in the house, and I was told by John that they would pay for repair. Surprise! I never heard from them after I submitted the bill... read more

The crew were friendly and helpful, but insisted, against my cautions, that they could get my [ less than 1-year old ] refrigerator into the house without removing its doors. Short version: they scratched paint off the fridge in a few spots, down to the metal, and there are streaks from where it picked up paint from scraping against the doors of the house. When they realized they WOULD need to remove the doors, they did not have the tool needed, and I had to drive to a hardware store to buy one for $20, while they waited for my return (with the clock ticking at $170 per hour). After the guys left, I discovered small chips (where the wood was nicked and paint removed) in a couple of decorative shelves for CDs, and one drawer of my desk. I called the owner the next day. He came over, inspected the damage, and promised to send someone, or come himself, the next week. He never came. After waiting a couple weeks, I phoned him and he said he'd been ill and had forgotten, and was now calling "from the truck", and asked that I call back and leave a message with my name, address, and phone number, and he'd take care of everything ASAP. I never heard back from him, and that's after 3 phone calls. If there was a good reason for this, like a family emergency, I'd understand. After 2 months, it seems more likely to me that despite the crew being friendly and helpful, they just weren't sufficiently careful. As for the owner's ethic of customer service (again, unless there's some mitigating reason), I find it appalling. I would never again give this company my business. read more