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Worst moving experience of my entire life - they asked for bribes, broke our stuff, and charged an exorbitant amounts avoid at all costs.
6 years ago
Lawyer Up FlatRate does not care about you or your possessions, they are unresponsive and rude, they miscommunicate, their storage facilities are disastrous, they completely disregard you and your attempts to contact them, they misplace items and even breach contract, the list goes on. I hired FlatRate to move me out of my 1 bedroom NYC apartment and into a storage facility while I resettled 3 hours north of the city. My plan was to leave my items in storage for the summer while I decided where to settle permanently. From the very beginning, my communication with Jose Buzzi the sale representative in charge of my move plan was incoherent. He botched my move plan and his responses to my emails were not even on par with the topic at hand. I tried to take matters with his boss Dejon Reid whom sent one email then disappeared to leave me in the hands of the very incompetent rep Jose. I was appeased by an apology but again the saga continued. I requested a custom wooden crate for a 6'x3' 200lb mirrored headboard valued at $2080. Every time the move plan was sent to me it stated cardboard crate. I sent numerous emails to correct this and was responded to over and over to disregard where it said cardboard and assured it would be wooden. I expressed this was important to me and a valued item and that this item would break due to its weight if not in wood. I agreed to pay the additional fee and was crystal clear. On the day of the move I noticed no custom crate and was alerted by the movers that it said cardboard and there was no crate made nor no carpenters available. My apprehensions were validated. The move was the 31st of May and my lease was expired that night. Upon calling FlateRate I was brushed aside put on hold for upwards of 30 minutes at a time and simply told tough were busy and no one can come to finish your move for at least 3 days. This forced me to negotiate with my leasing company to allow me to extend my lease for a few days. I moved on uneasy but hopeful being that they were a large scale moving company and they would make good. They DID NOT. On August 18th I visited the storage facility. I was horrified by the state of the facility. Filthy and peoples belongings strewn allover the warehouse floors. I was immediately uneasy. When I was taken to my storage unit I saw boxes crushed under other items and $600 suede dining room chairs stacked with the cushions face down on the feet of the legs causing puncture marks in the leather. I could not believe this. The custom crate was not there and thus began the search. This also marks the beginning of a series of email threads and attempts at contact where I was thoroughly ignored. It took me storming into their manhattan sales office on August 25th before Brian Nalty the customer service rep contacted me. He never heard of my case or my name which surprised me since I already had a folder of emails and countless calls to FlatRate about my issues regarding communication, state fo my items, and the lost mirror. He assured me he'd take up my case and help then went radio silent until I was alerted by him on September 3rd that my item is lost and to file a claim. He and Dejon have not responded since to any email or VM concerning the issue. Actually I have not spoken to anyone I've tried to reach other than the operators answering the main lines. They send me to the same VM's that go unanswered. 25 days after I filed my claim I was sent an email stating, based on their calculations, they were offering me $252 for my $2080 mirror (that I provided all documentation proving value complete with pictures and the webpages form ABC Carpet where the mirror is still available for sale) Its an insult and a disgrace and its suspect. What is not to stop them from "losing" peoples belongings and paying them pennies on the dollar. They are shady and unprofessional to say the least and I wouldn't go near them even if it was the last resort. read more
6 years ago
Unresponsive customer service and claims team. Reported lost and damaged items after my move two months ago and cannot get a response from flatrate. No one is responding to my emails or voicemails. I was a repeat customer and will not be working with them or referring them again. Do not use their unreliable services. read more
8 years ago
Overall, it was a good experience. Moving is a huge pain in the butt, and nothing really negates that. When I initially called, like a lot of other reviewers, they quoted me $1200 for the morning shift, and then brought the price down to $550 for the afternoon 1 - 3 PM shift. For 50% of the price, I confirmed. I gave them the breakdown of what I had. When all was packed and done, I ended up having a few extra boxes. I was a moving from a walk up to a walk up and when the movers first arrived, one of them gave me attitude and made me feel like he was doing me a huge favor moving my stuff (I'm paying for the service!). He also tried to give me a hard time for the few extra boxes I had (I ended up moving my own microwave and taking a bunch of things a car). When we got to the new place, he softened up. It wasn't a great experience, but based on other reviewers, it could have been much worse. read more
8 years ago
This place is the worst. They make absolutely no effort to make your quote accurate. I wish I knew this in advanced. I was asked specifically what "large furniture and boxes" I had. I answered and said that I have two closets of clothes being bagged with garbage bags and an unpacked kitchen. The movers that arrived told me that the quote would be DOUBLED to move exactly what I mentioned on the phone / quote call. The attitude is "take it or leave it". I obviously couldn't "leave it" because my lease was up. We were moving a small studio and ALL IN including the back and forth on price with the movers and company the movers were done in 2 hours. I think that speaks to how little we were moving. I also drove ahead of the truck that made about a 30 min detour while I waited in my new, empty apartment. So all in 1 hour of moving time. I'll edit this later with more detail but I feel obligated to warn future movers that this company will make an already expensive and stressful process much worse. read more
8 years ago
Before I begin, the 1 star is simply there because MOST of my stuff got moved from its original location to my new residence. This was by far the most stressful part of moving and I wouldn't recommend anyone using Flat Rate as a moving service. PERIOD. Look elsewhere right now...GO! 1. The movers were late. They were supposed to arrive between 9 and 10 but arrived almost an hour later. It wouldn't have been an issue but I had a window with my furniture delivery that I had to catch. That window was from 2-5, so imagine how late they must have been if I couldn't make it. The guy told me from the start that he was just here "to move a dresser", it was his day off and he was hungover. Apparently, he was doing his boss and myself a "favor" by coming in. I'm sorry but favors don't cost over $1,000.00. 2. I called the company several times months before my move and even sent an email confirming the items that we discussed because I'm anal and I wanted to be sure that everything was in place. So, the movers arrived, asked what they were moving and I pointed it out. They were moving very few items; I wasn't even occupying a whole apartment. After walking around he told me that due to the amount of stuff I had that it would cost me an extra $400.00 to move all of my stuff. I told him I don't understand why and he responded that most of my items weren't on the list. My vanity which is tiny, he told me should be considered a small dresser and my actual dresser is too big. I sent them the dimensions right from the Raymour site! The vanity is literally just a mirror no drawers or anything. On top of that, I told them the mirror doesn't come off and he got an attitude like "if it breaks that not my problem"....actually it is. I wasn't saying it to be an asshole, I was just letting them know that it wasn't made like that. You would have to take the whole thing apart to get the mirror off. I know because I fucking built it! 3. I accepted that I couldn't move everything and cried because I don't know how I'm going to move the rest of my belongings. I literally scraped all my money together for this move. Clearly, I had to pick and choose because they didn't want to take more than half of my stuff. After seeing that I was upset one of the men said "between me and you how much can you give me? I'll take the rest for you." Are you kidding me? So not only are you trying to get cash but you're also acknowledging you have space and don't want to help me out even after all that I did to make sure this went right. 4. After calling the actual company several times because I needed my stuff gone, the mover tried to take a picture of an entire living room set saying that is what I was trying to add. I had to take the picture myself so that whoever he was going back to would understand. When I told him he was taking pictures of the wrong items he said I could explain it myself. Excuse me? 5. I paid for my tv to be unmounted and then remounted in my new home. I told the mover what the wall at the new location was made of and he assured me that it could be done. So he took down my tv with no issues, which is the only thing that went decently. 6. I get to my new apartment and walk straight into the bedroom because at this point the cable man is here for his window of 2-5 as well. I discuss the wall with the movers and he says "no problem". I shit you not, as soon as he walks out of my door dispatch calls and tells me the movers are not comfortable mounting my tv and do not have the right tools but that they would refund me for my inconvenience. Now I am livid, a grown man couldn't tell me he didn't want to put my tv up? After we just spent 10 minutes in that very room discussing it! 7. My furniture people were able to accommodate me since I go there so much and came back. This was annoying because now the movers are distracted by the furniture people, not because they were in each other's way, but because of the World Cup. So engulfed in his conversation they built my bedroom set back in the bedroom and put everything else in the middle of my living room. 8. Last but certainly not least, the man asks to use my bathroom. I hear the water running forever and turns out he was taking a shit. I haven't even used the bathroom in my own house yet! I had to bleach the toilet seat because there was shit residue on the seat like someone doesn't wipe their ass well regularly. I was disgusted and after all of this, I STILL have to move more stuff. Because I have a tiny car and not an SUV stuff that would fit in a truck doesn't fit in my car. I was credited $50 and 10% off my next move. I appreciate the efforts but hell no! Unless a manager is physically going to go to my old house, grab the rest of my items and move them to my new home free of charge. I don't wanna hear anything. P.S. my television is sitting on my vanity stool and my leather dresser is scratched! read more
5 years ago
STAY AWAY FROM THESE GUYS! Overall, we had a terrible experience with flatrate. Moving out of our small Brooklyn apartment took 13 hours. Several pieces of furniture were severely damaged and the company has been unresponsive in terms of making repairs. One example of many - they dragged a fabric couch across the sidewalk and tore the corner fabric on the back of the couch. Additionally, several pieces of less than 8-month old wood furniture were nicked and dinged. This was new furniture that now looks used and abused. Their customer service people were terrible - dodging our phone calls, unresponsive to email. The team that moved out of our storage unit and into our new house was great, but at that point the damage had been done by the first crew. read more
I recently moved from Long Island to Manhattan, and decided on FlatRate movers after researching a bunch of moving companies and options. The experience was pleasant right from my first phone call. Bernard was great with customer service, as were the two guys who showed up on moving day, right on time. Josh and David were polite, enthusiastic, friendly, and packed everything with care and in a timely manner. A customer service representative called in the middle of the day to make sure everything was going well. Although there were a few setbacks on my end regarding the move, and the company took the changes well and worked with me to make things happen according to my schedule. This was my first experience moving on my own, and FlatRate made it a painless process. Thank you! read more
12 years ago
5 stars!!! I cannot say enough good things about this service. From my moving consultant Lewis, to the movers Ahmed and Miguel that moved me out of my apartment yesterday it was the most seamless and uncomplicated move of my life. This service is a 360° operation. I spent 30,minutes describing my apartment size, contents, and location on the phone with my moving consultant, and he promptly and efficiently sent me a moving plan with a FLAT FEE...not an estimate. Everything you need to move was included. The best part....the fee was 50% less than other estimates. There are absolutely NO HIDDEN FEES. If it takes the movers 5 hours or 24 hours to execute the move the fee is the same. If the moving truck gets a ticket, the company incurs the expense. It is not passed along to the customer. Driving time, fuel, tolls, you name it are all included in the moving fee. The day of my move the drivers showed up promptly at the time of my appointment. They were polite, prepared, and respectful to me and my neighbors. These two men worked efficiently with a laser beam focus and packed and moved me out of my apartment in record time considering the fact that I had accumulated a massive amount of stuff in my small apartment. It was difficult for me to leave the city I love above all others, but this was the best moving experience of my life. Thank you Flat Rate Movers for making a difficult life event much more palatable. read more
7 years ago
I had used FlatRate in the past with good results...but I guess that's because nothing broke. This last move, they broke a $3000 dining table. I submitted a claim as instructed, waited 21 business days (the form says it takes between 14 and 21) with no word. I contacted them and was told they were waiting for something from operations. Later that day I received a new email asking me to submit the claim. I spoke to someone, very nice, who said I didn't have to resubmit the claim and would hear back the next day. It's now 26 business days and still no answer. Will update as we go along, in the meantime, I would suggest looking at other moving options UPDATE: I was finally given a resolution. They're paying me $0.60/lb. Because it was such an expensive piece of furniture and because they took so long I was expecting them to do better. Clearly they just took a long time to do the bare minimum. I would still suggest other movers read more
6 years ago
EDIT: Some success! They finally decided to respond to me! Looks like the only way to get their attention is to either file a BBB complaint or post on yelp/social media. They still are messing around with the refund amount it seems like, but at least there's some communication happening? PLEASE CALL ME BACK! I've left 3 voicemails this week and others throughout the last 6!!! months. You've already approved my complaint on the BBB website but have not refunded me my money. For others looking for moving and storage services, RUN AWAY! This is not worth the hassle or risk! They will say all the right things to you when you are talking to their sales people BUT BE WARNED! Write everything down! Record all phone calls! This is not a company that you should do business with. The story here is that they promised me two months of free storage and a certain rate. Low and behold, not only did they not give me the two free months but they increased my storage price without telling me! After not being able to reach them, I filed a BBB complaint (which, by the way, their website lies about. They do not have a A+ rating on BBB, not even close. They are not a BBB Accredited business. Look at the complaints there). They tried to make every excuse under the sun, first telling me that they never promised me two free months and they have no record of it. Fortunately, I saved all my communications with them. They finally agreed to the two free months but never actually refunded my money. Then, with regards to overcharging me, they told me that's what I agreed to. I had never seen that number in my life. Then they said when I changed what I'm storing that increased the price by 20%, even though i DECREASED what I was storing! Once I pointed out that I never signed anything agreeing to the increase (which is nonsensical in the first place!) they send me a made up, unsigned contract trying to tell me that's what I agreed to. What!? I pointed out I never signed up for that and they then changed the story again saying the amount of stuff, which i quantified when I signed the paper work and was accurate, was more than they expected so they increased the price WITHOUT TELLING ME. They finally agreed that all of this is nonsensical and blamed the movers for not telling me of the increase but never refunded me! Additionally, their contract software is broken (not sure if it's to purposely scam people or not)! When they change the contract, they change it in place so all your historical emails show the new updated contract and not the one you originally signed. This is shady as it gets. PRINT EVERYTHING. Complain to the BBB if/when they try to scam you. And when they undoubtably try to ignore your messages, post on here and social media. read more
4 years ago
I wish I could give them less than one star. The different coverage options weren't explained, and they broke my 1,200-dollar sofa that is only a year old. The person assigned to me was super attentive until there was a problem and I asked to file a claim. The movers were smoking the whole time. Even inside the back of the truck with some of our stuff in it, and I don't smoke, I had asthma, but they were nice, so I didn't say anything until after I saw that for my completely unusable 1,200 sofa they're giving me 150 dollars. read more
8 years ago
The packing and move went smoothly. This was all until I realized that the movers who packed my boxes packed my stuff into the most expensive boxes. It took over two weeks and plenty of unpleasant phone calls to receive my refund back. After all of this was settled I just received a notice that I owe them over $600 in storage fees when my contracted states two months of free storage and I did not even store my stuff for two months! The email states they sent it to collections so now I have to deal with getting this reversed somehow. This is also the first I had heard of owing money and I had been on the phone with this company so many time and having them look at my account to get my refund. Why would they refund me $500 and then bill me stating I owe them $600? Avoid the hassle and avoid this AWFUL company. The movers were kind but the administrative side of this company is PAINFUL. read more
5 years ago
We had two movers (Simms and Rahgev) that were great. They executed a multi-stop move that picked up my stuff at a storage unit in the Bronx and my roommate's things at a 4 story walk-up in Manhattan before dropping it all off at our new apartment in Brooklyn. They were very nice and hard working. If you use these movers, definitely ask for these guys by name. read more
10 years ago
I recently did a cross-country move from New York City to San Francisco. After receiving a few quotes, FlatRate had a pretty competitive rate to move me so I decided to go with them. I worked with Adam Robb and he was really wonderful. He responded very quickly to every question I had and was extremely helpful and courteous throughout the entire process. I packed all my stuff/furniture by myself and setup my own inventory list with what was in each box. I think you have to keep in mind that everything gets stacked and shifted in storage and in transit so just be mindful of fragile items! However, when the team came to pack up everything they also created a labeling system and numbered each of my boxes....which was amazing! I paid a little extra to make sure that I had coverage with my stuff because I had recently purchased newer furniture etc. Although I moved at the height of summer/move-in time, my boxes finally arrived and I was happy to say, nothing was damaged. They did misplace one of my mirrors and had to deliver it a day later but it was in perfect shape. Some of the boxes were a bit smashed up but I had properly bubbled wrapped all delicate items. On the California end, Daniel and Omar were great. They setup my headboard and were very efficient with all my stuff. They really worked hard. I cannot say enough good things about this move and I've moved at least 5 times in the last decade. I tipped +20% (split each way). read more
3 years ago
I've used Flat Rate for several moves in Manhattan. Every time, you can count on attrition- there's always a box or two missing when they retrieve your possessions from storage. Last time, my kitchen knife-block (with expensive knives), a box of my jackets and hooded sweatshirts, and tailored dress shirts were all missing. Be careful with these guys. read more
2 years ago
I would give them zero stars if I could. I had used them a couple of times and found them to be expensive but I was always in a hurry so I went with them. this time I spoke with the same lady I had used. I emailed her what I planned to move and kept asking her to make sure they brought a big enough truck. I even sent her some photos of the cages I had in order not to confuse her. they have me a 1-3 PM window and they showed up at 301 PM. this is a move from Brooklyn to Manhattan and they planned to do it through rush hour. they brought a nice size truck and then said that I had too much stuff. the lady did not put down that I had two bedrooms. it went in and on for around one hour. they informed me that this was too big of a move and that it would take too long And that it was getting late. I now have overstated my lease and the rental group is charging me twice the daily rate until I get out. Do not use them ever read more
8 years ago
My husband and I moved this past weekend from Queens to Brooklyn, and needless to say we were feeling pretty stressed for a bunch of reasons. After my husband called and got a quote, the rep even offered to lower the cost a bit if we booked with them within 24 hours, which I thought was rather nice of them. I admit it was a bit more expensive than we hoped, but it's a set price for your items, and they're really worth it! On the day of, they showed up an hour early (in this case that worked out really well for us), and Pablo and Mohammed were so kind, quick, and professional. They really made sure everything was secure, took their time with the more delicate items, and kept us updated about the whole process. They even offered to take a few extra things, so that we didn't have to carry it with us in the Uber we were taking to our new home. At our new apartment, they asked us which rooms to put all of the boxes, and even made sure where the furniture should be, so that we wouldn't have to move it ourselves. You could tell they were really concerned with our satisfaction, and were just so incredibly friendly, and fantastic. These are some really hard working guys, and I highly recommend them. Please remember that they are doing a difficult job, so treat them with respect, and please tip them well! We had so many issues with our new apartment on the first day, and just having these two amazing guys help us took a huge chunk of stress out of our day. Thank you so much, Mohammed and Pablo! If we ever move to another apartment in NY, I will definitely contact them again. read more
6 years ago
FlatRate's customer service is abysmal. They're responsive until you book with them, and then they don't pick up the phone, and either the voicemail is full and you can't leave a message or no one returns the message. In addition, FlatRate movers were late for my move and a friend's move and did not wear masks during my move. Getting a partial refund from FlatRate required multiple calls. There are lots of moving companies -- choose a different one. read more
4 years ago
Moved our apartment with Flatrate. Sales person was great, price was reasonable and we thought we are off to a great experience. Movers were nice guys but totally messed up. They lost one of our chairs, damaged an antique table, as well as damage to some other furniture. Damage was over $500! They gave us 150 and after we appealed gave us another 75. Crazy, how do you lose a chair when you move door to door. Poor customer service and did not own up to damage. read more
8 years ago
WOW.. Just WOW!!! Flatrate is amazing They just left my house after a long day of moving from my apartment in Queens to my new home in New Jersey. This was one of the best decisions I ever made since buying a house. I was so stressed this whole week prior to my move and I was anxious around this day as I've lived these past weeks surrounded by boxes and an 8 month old crawling in little spots. Lets Rewind 5 weeks ago: I met Jeff who came in to view our place and see my place and I told him what we are moving and he had it all in via his tablet and gave me a flat rate estimate the next day. No other moving company offered this! Each one wanted to tell them over the phone on what I have and then they gave me a made up quote. Moving Day - Which was today and the team arrived at 9am. Edo, Daryl and Fernando were the 3 best guys I can ask for. The moment they arrived we were greeted with respect and courtesy. They came in as strangers and after a very long day (traffic getting to NJ) these guys stayed and made sure everything was perfect. Never once did they complain or shrug. They were willing to help us with our needs, They were very delicate with our possessions and treated everything as fragile. The moment they arrived to my new home, they began to assemble my daughters room first knowing she needed to sleep. TOTAL CLASS!!!! After a long day, some great laughs, These 3 guys came to my apartment as strangers and they left my home as family. THANK YOU!!!! read more
6 years ago
Flat Rate are thieves. Their movers stole some of my items during a pandemic move. They asked all kinds of questions that I now realize were designed to figure out whether they could get away with the theft, for example: "is this stuff going into storage?" Yes. "Will it be moved again before it's unpacked?" Yes. So they assumed that my belongings would have been handled by another moving company before I ever unpacked them, and they figured they could steal from me and plausibly deny responsibility. So valuable items with price tags still attached never made it to the destination, while less OBVIOUSLY valuable items made it fine. They took what they could see was valuable. I contacted Flat Rate's insurance department, who stonewalled and delayed even after I provided photos, receipts, and documentation. Then they agreed to a settlement that represented about .10 on the dollar, and promised to send a check. The check never arrived. These people are thieves, and they don't take responsibility for the theft. Also, they packed things like amateurs and broke our wedding china. Do you care at all about your belongings? Do you prefer them not to be stolen and broken? Avoid Flat Rate Moving at all costs. Not recommended. read more
6 years ago
I moved with FlatRate in mid-August 2020. I submitted a claim in early September due to some furniture damage. After an initial "We have received your claim; please allow 7-10 business days for processing," it has been a nightmare that is so disrespectful and inconsiderate. I have reached out to FlatRate many times since then - all but one of my emails and calls remains unreturned and that one only because another FlatRate employee kindly reached out to Claims on my part. Today, it has been 27 business days since my last email to FlatRate and 68 BUSINESS DAYS since I submitted my claim. This is such bad business and especially in New York, you can do so much better. First and last time I'll use FlatRate. They should be ashamed of themselves for how they treat their customers. read more
6 years ago
Worst experience ever! Moved from Manhattan to Miami, paid a stupid amount of money for a 1 bedroom and den + insurance. My items arrived broken and damaged. The lack of response and customer service once you pay them is atrocious!! Accidents happen but how a company reacts to it shows true value and exceptional service. FlatRate lacks both and much more. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! read more
10 years ago
As a single woman it's more stressful to move and I've learned after 5 moves within the city that Flatrate is the most reliable, hassle-free and professional guys to work with. I don't know how Flatrate compares with other companies for pricing and I don't particularly think the sales people on the phone are that accommodating but the actual movers make up for it in my opinion who are the most important in this scenario. If you're good with the price they quote you then ask for Henry, Pablo and Booker when you schedule your move. I highly recommend them. My friends all use this company for local and long distance moves and it takes the stress of moving away. I had used Oz Moving one time and they stretched their hourly rate as much as they can to get as much money out of you. I hated Oz Moving. read more
6 years ago
Do not use FlatRate Moving. They completely destroyed all of my lamps, snapped off dresser legs, and broke a box of dishes. I emailed them photos of the damage immediately after the move and they proceeded to call me multiple times a day claiming that they "couldn't see the damage", when the photo clearly showed a dresser with no leg and boxes full of shattered glass. I submitted claims paperwork for the damage. Now they will not respond to any emails. Every phone call goes to an answering machine and my messages are never returned. O'Brian Dunkley and Bernard Smith are the two employees that have misled me throughout this entire process. They will lie and avoid you whenever possible. This was the worst moving experience of my entire life and I regret choosing FlatRate Moving. read more
6 years ago
I've had an awful experience trying to communicate with this company. They are charging me twice the amount of my quoted price for storage without my approval and did not honor giving my first month free as they told me, charging my card immediately after my move. I flagged it to my relocation consultant, and have followed up multiple times via email and phone with no response. I am extremely frustrated with the customer experience to resolve this situation. read more
6 years ago
Do NOT trust these guys!!! I had multiple issues with them that are still not resolved. 1. I paid for FaceTime services on moving day. They were supposed to FaceTime me the entire time and did not. 2. I paid for them to move a bunch of stuff, including an AC unit, 2 shelves, plants, a mirror, and some lights. Those items did not show up at my new apartment. Where are my items?? 3. They called my roommate a b!tch for not signing a form saying that all my items showed up to my new apartment. read more
3 years ago
Moving with FlatRate was a breeze - they were quick and responsive, and booking was super easy. Day of, my movers showed up early but didn't knock until it was actually time for the arrival slot, which was much appreciated! They both worked very hard and were fast, careful, and professional and had everything completed far earlier than I would have expected. Would absolutely use again in NYC. read more
5 years ago
Horrible customer service. Hired them to pack my house and received a lot of broken items. Refund policy was not clearly explained to me and ended up being ridiculous. Do yourself a favor and not use them. read more
6 years ago
We use this company for our moving in Aventura 4 months ago , and they damaged and broke the dinning table , I did make the claim the next day to their CLAIMS dept in New York , claim # 3420765 , and so far after 4 months still not respond from FLATRATE MOVING ; I did call several times , send several emails, did call claims dept , they never did return a phone call, and said that they did send a check and case close !!! ; so far no check arrive , and nothing happens ; the manager in Miami Stefan , said that he will fix the table , took the table form the apt and never heard from him !!, try to reach him by text , email , phone calls , the same not respond at all !!!, so I think they don't care about the customer at all and we made the mistake to use this company again !! , very bad with the clients !! , are not professionals like they said !!! read more
6 years ago
We want to share our level of dissatisfaction with the storage and final segment of our move arrangements with FlatRate. Initially, Larry Petrakakos, Senior Relocation Consultant, was very accommodating and responsive. At the end, not so. Our "move" was three pronged: -a move out of Manhattan In March -storage of our furnishings, separated and clearly labeled into two groupings -delivery of one portion to a location TBD in Manhattan in the second half of June and a second delivery TBD to Greenwich or Westchester. When it came time to firm up the move out of storage, we were given a very high quote, which was contrary to what was estimated at the time we made our initial arrangements. The quote was higher than the initial move out! We were told it was because June is a very busy month and prices are higher at that time (never told that at the beginning of our negotiations) and if we wait till after July 4 the price would be substantially lower. Unfortunately waiting was completely inconvenient for many reasons and unacceptable. In an effort to mitigate the exorbitant price quote and get the necessary belongings to the new Manhattan location, we went to the storage unit to move some of the items out ourselves. What we found was two rooms of storage completely unorganized with no way to find or retrieve what we came for. A complete mess. This is not what we signed up for. We didn't have the luxury of time or energy to deal with this mess and as a result at move in time in Manhattan we were without our belongings. NOT GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICE. In the meantime, we retained another moving service to clear out all of our belongings from the storage facility at a fraction of FlatRates price. We've paid for three months of storage at $310/month. We are very dissatisfied customers whose needs were not met. When voicing our concerns to Larry, he suggested we document our dissatisfaction with hopes of some compensation (Larry said he was sure something would be worked out) which he forwarded to customer service. After not hearing from customer service, I called and left several messages. NO ONE has had the decency to respond. Salt in the wound. Moving is stressful enough. FlatRate increased the stress a thousand fold. FIND ANOTHER MOVING COMPANY read more
8 years ago
The movers were fantastic: on time, professional, polite, and careful with our items. They had the unexpected task of disassembling our day bed to fit it through our apartment unit's door, and they performed this with no complaints. They subsequently reassembled the daybed in the living room. Really impressive work. Of course, they carefully wrapped up all furniture also :) I leave one star out because the correspondence with the prep team leading up to the move was subpar. They were slow to respond, rarely answered their phones, and incorrectly completed our item inventory a couple of times after we had relayed what we were packing. They were fine in the end but their communication issues didn't help with the stress factor leading up to the move. All in all, a really great moving company if you want professional, reliable movers on the day of the job. read more
8 years ago
These guys were super organized and so professional! Not only do they have everything automated - ie. the contract was online with all the details, the truck can be tracked online, etc. But they have such great support for anything you need - the followup and sales rep is very helpful. Furthermore, the movers were unbelievable - they were so prepared, knowledgeable, cordial, FAST!, and so helpful. Most importantly, everything was delivered without anything broken! I am a very satisfied customer and would recommend them 100 times over! (Special shout out to my awesome movers Juan and Abdu!) read more
8 years ago
Ernesto 9241 did an absolutely amazing job. I could not have been happier with the service that him and his team provided. They came on time. They packed my apartment quickly and efficiently. They crated everything and were super careful. They were extremely very hard-working. I have nothing but great things to say about my experience with this company. I highly recommend them for any type of move. Best to move I have ever had and down. Ask For Ernesto. They were so trustworthy. I left my apt when they were loading, And again when unloading. SO GOOD. Thank you. I didn't have to do a thing. HIGHLY RECCOMEND. read more
6 years ago
I called them to arrange a move and they were very helpful and gave me a price and then booked the move. They then turned me over to an account representative to handle my account who two weeks later gave me my contract to sign which was $700 more than the original estimate and the first guy Dejon wouldn't return my calls. These people are not up front about things and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. read more
8 years ago
Ernesto ID# 9241, these guys rock!As I was seeing them packing/moving my stuff professionally,I said to my self,I should stop shopping too much and stop moving,lol. They do take care of each item especially my industrial sewing machine was wrapped so tight and nice,and a few art pieces that I own are in odd shape and sizes. Thanks a ton! read more
5 years ago
This was the worst moving experience I've ever had. I paid to have them pack me on one day and move me in the next day. They did not send enough men so the job was not completed on time. I called the company twice during the day to say that we were not going to finish and they still did not send anyone else to help. The truck they sent was too small so I had to load my car and one of the movers had to walk a box from one apartment to the new one. Luckily, I was only moving ten blocks away. I ended up having to hire porters in my apartment building to finish the job. This is the absolute worse moving company. Do not use them. read more
6 years ago
DO NOT USE THEIR SERVICE! Used them 5/1 to move from Mott Haven to West Harlem, literally the same street, just west. Only had a tv, full sized frame + mattress, queen futon + mattress. Paid for moving, breakdown and reassembly. Asked the 3 movers how long they would need, they said 45 mins. They came 2 hours later, dropped off my stuff, then said they had to go and to contact FlatRate for a discount. I asked what they were talking about and they just said "we have to go, you paid for reassembly so call FlatRate for some sort of refund." They then proceeded to leave and as I was left there at 5 in the afternoon (after having spent all day driving back and forth to move my other stuff), I tried calling them to ask where the screws, bolts, etc were and I watched from my window as the mover sat in the moving truck, pulled out his phone to see my incoming call, then take off in the moving truck after the call went to voice mail. Fast forward to later in the day, I tried rebuilding my futon to find out one of the major bearings that holds up the futon is gone, a pin is missing, along with a few washers - so that's trash. Fast forward to midnight, I'm just starting to build my bed so I can get some rest, to find out the movers forgot to give me the wooden planks that hold the mattress up - so couldn't even sleep in my bed that night. Fast forward to Saturday and call customer service to no avail. Finally contact the dispatcher JR (I appreciate you man, sorry I had to unload on you) who takes time out of his day to find the wooden planks for my frame and bring it to me after work - he basically did everything customer service was supposed to do and is the only reason FlatRate even gets 1 star. As for customer service, they are of no use. Brian Nalty, their head of customer service is of no use. I get a message from him on Tuesday, 3 days after my move stating they called me the day after - but you didn't leave a message? And also I'm Passed out from assembling all the big furniture you lost parts to and didn't reassemble. Brian also sends me an email stating they "tried" to contact me several times and are going to refund me partly for the inconvenience. $100 refund. My question is, what's the value of reassembling the furniture? What about the inconvenience of not having all my stuff delivered to me or the fact that I now have to take time to find the replacement part and if I can't find that part, now I have to try to sell or throw away a 150+ piece of furniture just sitting on my floor. That's the stuff you're not thinking about Brian, and that's why your customer service is trash. And on top of all this, you've yet to contact me back after I left you three messages. Save yourself a headache, AVOID USING THIS COMPANY! read more
6 years ago
Let me start off by saying that the one star meant for the actual movers who moved my property. They were excellent, attentive and respectful. Thank you gentleman. Now as for the corporate side of the company, specifically Adam Relocation Consultant. I made a reservation on 7/19/20 for a move and the Inventory was: 14 boxes, a TV 32-45 inches, 2 full beds, 1 queen size bed, 2 bed frames, "1 commercial bin" which I never listed. Total price was suppose to be $1,000.00. The move was 7/20/20 but I had to downsize the inventory, I spoke with Adam over the phone and he advised me that I can make the adjustment the day of the move -problem was the morning of the move they already charged my credit card $1,000.00 without making the adjustment. Morning of 7/20/20 I informed the foreman of the new inventory and he told me Adam had to make the adjustment. I spoke with Adam about the downsizing, only the boxes from 14 to 3 and he advised me it will only be about a 50 dollar difference. Afternoon of 7/21/20 still have not heard from Adam after numerous calls and messages to his line. I definitely DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SERVICE TO ANYONE. Look for something local, a mom and pop shop and not a big company such as FlatRate since I got Flat raped. read more
8 years ago
Ernesto ID 9241 Overall a very stress free experience. The team was timely and friendly. They were knowledgeable and experienced professionals. I felt completely comfortable with how my belongings were handled. Would def use FlateRate again and would recommend to friends. Made the move from the UWS to Brooklyn a breeze. read more
More info about FlatRate Moving
New York, NY 10010
Kips Bay
Directions
Visit Website
https://www.flatrate.com
Payment methods
Does FlatRate Moving take credit cards?
Yes, FlatRate Moving takes credit cards.
Outdoor Amenities
Does FlatRate Moving have parking?
Yes, FlatRate Moving has parking options. Private Lot Parking, Street Parking
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Review Highlights - FlatRate Moving
“They were both extremely experienced as evidenced by their efficient and careful packing of our things.”
Mentioned in 30 reviews
Why does Yelp recommend reviews?
2,044 reviews that are not currently recommended
The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.
8 years ago
Update 2: The company made everything right yesterday and finished the move, so I am updating to 2 stars. I will update once I receive payment, should be about 2 weeks. Thank you for correcting this situation! Update: If you have a bad experience with this company, leave a bad Yelp review--it is the only way they will contact you. I received a call from customer service directly after posting, and they were very nice and helpful. They are giving me a partial refund and sending over another truck to finish the move this evening. I agreed to update my Yelp review, and I have removed names. Original review: FlatRate Moving is a SCAM--they did not complete my move, lied, and will not return my calls! This whole move has been a disaster, and the movers lied to my face. The company will not return my calls, nor will the lead mover. I spent $1360 to move one bedroom from Queens to the Bronx, and an additional $300 in tips, and for that amount of payment they won't even dignify me with a call for incomplete service. I'm sure if the move goes well, it's great--but if it doesn't, THEY WILL NOT RETURN YOUR CALLS. First I called on Friday during business hours to update my inventory, as I decided to leave some of the furniture behind, and I had mistakenly told them that it was 4 flights when it was really 2; so I wanted to update this information, but I could not get a hold of anyone. Saturday morning, May 26th, for some reason my card was not going through, so they asked me to go to the bank and get a cashier's check. My lead mover's manager told him he was not permitted to move until I returned. I apologized for the inconvenience and pointed out the things that needed to be moved, which was very clear and all was listed on the inventory. At this point I was happy with the service and not concerned. Then the lead mover called me while I was at the bank and said that he trusted me and would meet me at the new apartment. Had he waited as he was legally instructed by his manager none of this would have happened. My roommate called me when they were getting ready to leave and said that they hadn't packed everything. The lead mover told me that it was just the futon which they were unable to move, and I figured that I didn't care about it. No big deal. So I met them at the new apartment, they were very careful with my things and efficient, so I tipped them each $100. I noticed that some boxes were missing, but they said they had everything and were not able to return. It turns out they WERE able to return, because he said, "We made a big mistake and forgot your bed frame, so we need to go back for it." Great. I'm still happy at this point. I reminded them of a large box (that was with the other boxes) in the living room, a mirror, and 5 boxes in the closet. They said they would make sure they got them. They came back with the one large box and told me that they had already packed the boxes from the closet. I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I returned to my apartment the next day to finish cleaning and found an entire van's worth of boxes that they had not moved, plus a very small nightstand that they had moved out of the bedroom but not to the truck, and a small bookshelf that I had clearly asked them to move and was clearly in the inventory. I called the lead mover and the company and left multiple messages (again during business hours), but nobody returned my calls. Finally I started texting the lead mover and threatening to make formal complaints, at which point he was motivated to call me back and told me he would return the following evening (yesterday, Monday) at 6:00 with his own van to complete the move. Great. I can understand a mistake and was grateful he was willing to correct it. He said he'd call on the way over. So I show up early and wait until 7:30, called and texted multiple times, but he was a no show--he didn't even call to cancel. At this point I have an entire van's worth of furniture and boxes that were not moved, the company will not return my calls, I don't have a car, and I am out $1660 for moving from a one-bedroom to a one-bedroom, both within NYC. Fortunately I have a friend with a van, and I am going to pay him $100 plus dinner to help me finish moving tomorrow evening after work. In summary the company did not complete the job, lied, was then a no-show, and will not return my calls. I can understand if they were to call me back and apologize and give me a partial reimbursement (or better, finish the job), but for the amount I paid and no phone call? Totally unprofessional. BIG SCAM, save your money and go elsewhere. At this point I do not expect anything from them because they are liars who do not follow through on their word. Stay away! I lost a lot of money! This was not an innocent mistake, because my roommates SHOWED them the remaining boxes and they refused to pack them. read more
11 years ago
This is my 57th review and I pride myself on being fair and even handed. While I have not always been delighted with the services I have received, I have never called a company deplorable nor would I do so lightly. I was having my apt painted and floors redone and needed to have my furniture removed for the duration, hence my call to Flat Rate. I carefully planned the timing of the painters, flooring install and the movers; (even allotting a few days of "wiggle room" just in case) as I was having people over for both Passover and Easter. The first group of movers picked up my items to bring them to Flat Rates' warehouse in NJ. A little over a week later, they were to be returned. The second group of movers arrived and were almost finished when I was advised that there was "a problem." The mover asked me to accompany him to my lobby where I found my very expensive side buffet, upside down with the back leg and adjoining area smashed to pieces. He admitted that this was his fault, and that this actually occurred days prior as they were loading my furniture from their warehouse into the truck. I asked why someone from Flat Rate didn't call me prior to delivery? The mover indicated he was instructed to deliver it broken, and to advise me to file a clam. This was the first red flag- Flat Rate was aware that their men damaged my furniture and yet, fir some inexplicable reason felt no obligation to advise me of same. I called their customer service dept immediately and incorrectly assumed they would be as concerned as I was. Their response "oh, sorry - can you please just take some pics, fill out the form and send it back to us." I filled out the form, included photos, a receipt which clearly shows the cost of the piece.They also ask for the weight of the piece which I think is absurd. Not sure about all of you, but I just can't for the life of me remember when was the last time I weighed a piece of my furniture. Clearly another red flag. Saying I was devastated about the damage that Flat Rate caused would be an understatement. Just to clarify, if this were a piece of furniture I purchased from Crate & Barrel, sure I would be upset, but we are talking about a piece of furniture that was bought as an investment and was over $6,900. Since I was aware of the value, I opted for their insurance which valued my property at $10,000. I then receive an ambiguous email from their Customer Service Dept - I say ambiguous as it was signed "customer service" which indicated that I needed to contact their vendor, All Furniture Services, so they can assess the damage. All Furniture arrives three days later, the guy tells me how great he is, and that he can "fix it" Fix it? Even if All Furniture were miracle workers and could "fix it" the piece would no longer have the same value. To add insult to injury, I needed to call 20 people and tell them to find alternative arrangements for the holidays - so another big thank you to Flat Rate from my friends & family whose holiday plans were cancelled the day before. I then receive an email to advise that my claim is "now closed" and they would like to offer me $250.00 as a "courtesy compensation" So Flat Rate just damaged a $6,900 piece of furniture, and their idea of settling my claim is to offer me $250.00? They also advise that I can have it repaired by All Furniture Services for $450.00. As per Flat Rate, I have a $500.00 deductible so while they state that they will repair or replace any damaged furniture, in actuality you are the one who pays for the repair. I am far from obtuse so what am I missing here? I am now sitting with the broken piece of furniture in my kitchen (where their men promptly "dumped" it) although it belongs in my living room. My apt looks as if I just moved in instead of having just been redone. And while the damage was due to Flat Rate's negligence, they have now washed their hands of the matter and feel that an offer of a $250.00 check will cover my inconvenience ( It cost more than $250. to have the piece professional cleaned). Inconvenience doesn't even begin to describe what I have been through and again, all due to Flat Rates' negligence. They have decided to wash their hands of the matter, I on the other hand have not. My next call was again to their customer service, to ask for a name/ email address for someone on their management team. Nope sorry - we cannot provide that information. As someone who works in management for one of the largest privately owned companies in the U.S., we have no issue providing contact info for anyone on our Executive Management Team. Why - because any company with integrity actually wants to hear from their customers -whether for a compliment or a complaint. That is what good companies do. That is what ethics, integrity and good business practices are all about. Clearly Flat Rate h read more
11 years ago
This is my 57th review and I pride myself on being fair and even handed. While I have not always been delighted with the services I have received, I have never called a company deplorable nor would I do so lightly. I was having my apt painted and floors redone and needed to have my furniture removed for the duration, hence my call to Flat Rate. I carefully planned the timing of the painters, flooring install and the movers; (even allotting a few days of "wiggle room" just in case) as I was having people over for both Passover and Easter. The first group of movers picked up my items to bring them to Flat Rates' warehouse in NJ. A little over a week later, they were to be returned. The second group of movers arrived and were almost finished when I was advised that there was "a problem." The mover asked me to accompany him to my lobby where I found my very expensive side buffet, upside down with the back leg and adjoining area smashed to pieces. He admitted that this was his fault, and that this actually occurred days prior as they were loading my furniture from their warehouse into the truck. I asked why someone from Flat Rate didn't call me prior to delivery? The mover indicated he was instructed to deliver it broken, and to advise me to file a clam. This was the first red flag- Flat Rate was aware that their men damaged my furniture and yet, fir some inexplicable reason felt no obligation to advise me of same. I called their customer service dept immediately and incorrectly assumed they would be as concerned as I was. Their response "oh, sorry - can you please just take some pics, fill out the form and send it back to us." I filled out the form, included photos, a receipt which clearly shows the cost of the piece.They also ask for the weight of the piece which I think is absurd. Not sure about all of you, but I just can't for the life of me remember when was the last time I weighed a piece of my furniture. Clearly another red flag. Saying I was devastated about the damage that Flat Rate caused would be an understatement. Just to clarify, if this were a piece of furniture I purchased from Crate & Barrel, sure I would be upset, but we are talking about a piece of furniture that was bought as an investment and was over $6,900. Since I was aware of the value, I opted for their insurance which valued my property at $10,000. I then receive an ambiguous email from their Customer Service Dept - I say ambiguous as it was signed "customer service" which indicated that I needed to contact their vendor, All Furniture Services, so they can assess the damage. All Furniture arrives three days later, the guy tells me how great he is, and that he can "fix it" Fix it? Even if All Furniture were miracle workers and could "fix it" the piece would no longer have the same value. To add insult to injury, I needed to call 20 people and tell them to find alternative arrangements for the holidays - so another big thank you to Flat Rate from my friends & family whose holiday plans were cancelled the day before. I then receive an email to advise that my claim is "now closed" and they would like to offer me $250.00 as a "courtesy compensation" So Flat Rate just damaged a $6,900 piece of furniture, and their idea of settling my claim is to offer me $250.00? They also advise that I can have it repaired by All Furniture Services for $450.00. As per Flat Rate, I have a $500.00 deductible so while they state that they will repair or replace any damaged furniture, in actuality you are the one who pays for the repair. I am far from obtuse so what am I missing here? I am now sitting with the broken piece of furniture in my kitchen (where their men promptly "dumped" it) although it belongs in my living room. My apt looks as if I just moved in instead of having just been redone. And while the damage was due to Flat Rate's negligence, they have now washed their hands of the matter and feel that an offer of a $250.00 check will cover my inconvenience ( It cost more than $250. to have the piece professional cleaned). Inconvenience doesn't even begin to describe what I have been through and again, all due to Flat Rates' negligence. They have decided to wash their hands of the matter, I on the other hand have not. My next call was again to their customer service, to ask for a name/ email address for someone on their management team. Nope sorry - we cannot provide that information. As someone who works in management for one of the largest privately owned companies in the U.S., we have no issue providing contact info for anyone on our Executive Management Team. Why - because any company with integrity actually wants to hear from their customers -whether for a compliment or a complaint. That is what good companies do. That is what ethics, integrity and good business practices are all about. Clearly Flat Rate h read more
11 years ago
This is my 57th review and I pride myself on being fair and even handed. While I have not always been delighted with the services I have received, I have never called a company deplorable nor would I do so lightly. I was having my apt painted and floors redone and needed to have my furniture removed for the duration, hence my call to Flat Rate. I carefully planned the timing of the painters, flooring install and the movers; (even allotting a few days of "wiggle room" just in case) as I was having people over for both Passover and Easter. The first group of movers picked up my items to bring them to Flat Rates' warehouse in NJ. A little over a week later, they were to be returned. The second group of movers arrived and were almost finished when I was advised that there was "a problem." The mover asked me to accompany him to my lobby where I found my very expensive side buffet, upside down with the back leg and adjoining area smashed to pieces. He admitted that this was his fault, and that this actually occurred days prior as they were loading my furniture from their warehouse into the truck. I asked why someone from Flat Rate didn't call me prior to delivery? The mover indicated he was instructed to deliver it broken, and to advise me to file a clam. This was the first red flag- Flat Rate was aware that their men damaged my furniture and yet, fir some inexplicable reason felt no obligation to advise me of same. I called their customer service dept immediately and incorrectly assumed they would be as concerned as I was. Their response "oh, sorry - can you please just take some pics, fill out the form and send it back to us." I filled out the form, included photos, a receipt which clearly shows the cost of the piece.They also ask for the weight of the piece which I think is absurd. Not sure about all of you, but I just can't for the life of me remember when was the last time I weighed a piece of my furniture. Clearly another red flag. Saying I was devastated about the damage that Flat Rate caused would be an understatement. Just to clarify, if this were a piece of furniture I purchased from Crate & Barrel, sure I would be upset, but we are talking about a piece of furniture that was bought as an investment and was over $6,900. Since I was aware of the value, I opted for their insurance which valued my property at $10,000. I then receive an ambiguous email from their Customer Service Dept - I say ambiguous as it was signed "customer service" which indicated that I needed to contact their vendor, All Furniture Services, so they can assess the damage. All Furniture arrives three days later, the guy tells me how great he is, and that he can "fix it" Fix it? Even if All Furniture were miracle workers and could "fix it" the piece would no longer have the same value. To add insult to injury, I needed to call 20 people and tell them to find alternative arrangements for the holidays - so another big thank you to Flat Rate from my friends & family whose holiday plans were cancelled the day before. I then receive an email to advise that my claim is "now closed" and they would like to offer me $250.00 as a "courtesy compensation" So Flat Rate just damaged a $6,900 piece of furniture, and their idea of settling my claim is to offer me $250.00? They also advise that I can have it repaired by All Furniture Services for $450.00. As per Flat Rate, I have a $500.00 deductible so while they state that they will repair or replace any damaged furniture, in actuality you are the one who pays for the repair. I am far from obtuse so what am I missing here? I am now sitting with the broken piece of furniture in my kitchen (where their men promptly "dumped" it) although it belongs in my living room. My apt looks as if I just moved in instead of having just been redone. And while the damage was due to Flat Rate's negligence, they have now washed their hands of the matter and feel that an offer of a $250.00 check will cover my inconvenience ( It cost more than $250. to have the piece professional cleaned). Inconvenience doesn't even begin to describe what I have been through and again, all due to Flat Rates' negligence. They have decided to wash their hands of the matter, I on the other hand have not. My next call was again to their customer service, to ask for a name/ email address for someone on their management team. Nope sorry - we cannot provide that information. As someone who works in management for one of the largest privately owned companies in the U.S., we have no issue providing contact info for anyone on our Executive Management Team. Why - because any company with integrity actually wants to hear from their customers -whether for a compliment or a complaint. That is what good companies do. That is what ethics, integrity and good business practices are all about. Clearly Flat Rate h read more
11 years ago
This is my 57th review and I pride myself on being fair and even handed. While I have not always been delighted with the services I have received, I have never called a company deplorable nor would I do so lightly. I was having my apt painted and floors redone and needed to have my furniture removed for the duration, hence my call to Flat Rate. I carefully planned the timing of the painters, flooring install and the movers; (even allotting a few days of "wiggle room" just in case) as I was having people over for both Passover and Easter. The first group of movers picked up my items to bring them to Flat Rates' warehouse in NJ. A little over a week later, they were to be returned. The second group of movers arrived and were almost finished when I was advised that there was "a problem." The mover asked me to accompany him to my lobby where I found my very expensive side buffet, upside down with the back leg and adjoining area smashed to pieces. He admitted that this was his fault, and that this actually occurred days prior as they were loading my furniture from their warehouse into the truck. I asked why someone from Flat Rate didn't call me prior to delivery? The mover indicated he was instructed to deliver it broken, and to advise me to file a clam. This was the first red flag- Flat Rate was aware that their men damaged my furniture and yet, fir some inexplicable reason felt no obligation to advise me of same. I called their customer service dept immediately and incorrectly assumed they would be as concerned as I was. Their response "oh, sorry - can you please just take some pics, fill out the form and send it back to us." I filled out the form, included photos, a receipt which clearly shows the cost of the piece.They also ask for the weight of the piece which I think is absurd. Not sure about all of you, but I just can't for the life of me remember when was the last time I weighed a piece of my furniture. Clearly another red flag. Saying I was devastated about the damage that Flat Rate caused would be an understatement. Just to clarify, if this were a piece of furniture I purchased from Crate & Barrel, sure I would be upset, but we are talking about a piece of furniture that was bought as an investment and was over $6,900. Since I was aware of the value, I opted for their insurance which valued my property at $10,000. I then receive an ambiguous email from their Customer Service Dept - I say ambiguous as it was signed "customer service" which indicated that I needed to contact their vendor, All Furniture Services, so they can assess the damage. All Furniture arrives three days later, the guy tells me how great he is, and that he can "fix it" Fix it? Even if All Furniture were miracle workers and could "fix it" the piece would no longer have the same value. To add insult to injury, I needed to call 20 people and tell them to find alternative arrangements for the holidays - so another big thank you to Flat Rate from my friends & family whose holiday plans were cancelled the day before. I then receive an email to advise that my claim is "now closed" and they would like to offer me $250.00 as a "courtesy compensation" So Flat Rate just damaged a $6,900 piece of furniture, and their idea of settling my claim is to offer me $250.00? They also advise that I can have it repaired by All Furniture Services for $450.00. As per Flat Rate, I have a $500.00 deductible so while they state that they will repair or replace any damaged furniture, in actuality you are the one who pays for the repair. I am far from obtuse so what am I missing here? I am now sitting with the broken piece of furniture in my kitchen (where their men promptly "dumped" it) although it belongs in my living room. My apt looks as if I just moved in instead of having just been redone. And while the damage was due to Flat Rate's negligence, they have now washed their hands of the matter and feel that an offer of a $250.00 check will cover my inconvenience ( It cost more than $250. to have the piece professional cleaned). Inconvenience doesn't even begin to describe what I have been through and again, all due to Flat Rates' negligence. They have decided to wash their hands of the matter, I on the other hand have not. My next call was again to their customer service, to ask for a name/ email address for someone on their management team. Nope sorry - we cannot provide that information. As someone who works in management for one of the largest privately owned companies in the U.S., we have no issue providing contact info for anyone on our Executive Management Team. Why - because any company with integrity actually wants to hear from their customers -whether for a compliment or a complaint. That is what good companies do. That is what ethics, integrity and good business practices are all about. Clearly Flat Rate h read more
16 years ago
EDIT (March 6): I spoke to Vicky, head of customer service at Flatrate Movers, this week. She saw my yelp review and called me to get more details. I was impressed by the proactive response and her interest in my experience. She assured me that what I described below is not the normal experience, and they have spoken with the movers to remediate the situation. I'm happy now to recommend Flatrate to others, b/c clearly customer satisfaction is their priority. (March 2) We wanted an up-front amount to budget for moving costs, so flatrate seemed ideal. Plus, we investigated 3 other companies and all the quotes seemed to be in the same ballpark. Flatrate got the edge for excellent sales service in assuring us *everything* was included such disassembly & reassembly, extra packing and padding for all the furniture and breakables, and taxes + tolls + expenses. Plus, I thought they might be motivated to work efficiently since there was no hourly rate. I was quoted $950 for *everything* and was told that 4 guys would show up, and it would take around 4-5 hours. We had a 1-br apt on the 2nd floor, and we moved to a 3rd floor walk-up apt. Basic inventory includes bed, 2 dressers, large 8ft ikea wardrobe, couch, 2 desks, 4 chairs, dining table, 2 elfa storage units, 4 bookshelves, 3 large clay planters and @ 30 boxes of stuff. Couple of things to note here: - we told the sales rep that we were moving to a 3rd floor walk-up - we initially forgot to include the 3 clay planters in our inventory list, and we emailed the sales rep 4 days prior to the move to be sure and include these So on the day of the move, we were ready with all the boxes packed and labeled. Our arrival window was 1-3pm and the moving truck arrived at 3pm with 3 movers, apologizing for the delay b/c of problems with the previous move. The foreman was clearly ready to get going since they work on commission and not an hourly rate, as he explained to us several times that day. However, one guy had to sit in the truck the whole time so we only had 2 guys to pack up our apt. The planters were the first thing the foreman complained about - "it's not my responsibility... if anything happens to them, it's not my responsibility b/c that's not on my inventory sheet. That is going to cost you extra." We discussed this for a few minutes, and decided that since we did email the sales rep about the planters, we would be ok for insurance purposes. They moved the planters but didn't add anything to the cost. The movers got everything into the truck in about 2 hours, except for the large ikea wardrobe. That was the next complaint from the foreman... "it's not my responsibility." According to the foreman, he felt like the wardrobe was too risky to move and it would likely break and it wasn't his responsibility, as he kept repeating. We did remind him that it was included in the quote - the disassembly and reassembly in fact - but he was adamant it wasn't his responsibility. Since he was so sure it would not survive the trip, we decided to leave the wardrobe to the next tenant. In hindsight, I guess he wanted to leave it b/c it would take too long to handle and he was in a hurry to finish for the day. So we left the wardrobe - the largest piece of furniture, and likely a chunk of the price quoted. When we arrived at the new apt building, the foreman balked at the walk-up. Apparently, he was not told that the stairs were double flights instead of a straight flight of stairs. We didn't know we had to explain the stairs to the sales rep when we got the quote, but we told him it was a 3rd floor walk-up and it was written on the foreman's papers as a 3rd floor walk-up. The foreman kept balking - "this will cost you extra, someone will have to pay us for this, it takes extra time." So he called flatrate headquarters and talked to them for a while, and then handed the phone to us. We explained that we said 3rd floor walk-up but we didn't know we had to give details about the flights. A few minutes after that call, another rep from flatrate called us again. After much discussion, we were told that sales would have to call us later in the week to discuss how this might impact our final price. We were very upset to hear this since we had left the largest piece of furniture back in the old apartment, with no complaint about getting a refund, and we had been accurate in describing everything in our move. Sales never asked for details like how many stairs are in each flight, etc. That said, the movers worked very hard to get everything upstairs in 2 hours. They finished the day around 8.30pm, so it was about 4 hrs of work and 1.5 hr of transit time. We tipped them 17% on the original cost even though the large wardrobe was left behind. The foreman then took a box of cookies on the counter without even asking me if he could have any - cheeky! read more
8 years ago
We used FlatRate Moving to move our things from a home in Colorado and our home in NYC to our new place in Philadelphia. To put it simply, everything about this move was completely unprofessional and mismanaged. We could not be more disappointed in the lack of service and the aggravation caused at every turn and it ended with our furniture (worth $7k) being delivered broken and a refund of $450 for move that cost just shy of $10k. We submitted a claim and an appeal to the verdict with all information documented with pictures and explanations in powerpoint. Bottom line, a move is stressful enough so you need to work with experienced professionals you can trust. I highly recommend avoiding FlatRate. Here is an outline of our experience: 1) COLORADO PICK UP: After flying from NYC to Colorado explicitly for the confirmed October 27 pickup, the van didn't show in the first few hours of the window. We called FlatRate and were told A) there was no pickup scheduled for that day despite the fact that we had confirmation emails not only from a FlatRate employee but also their automated system and B) the pickup would have to be scheduled later in the week on a day we were no longer in Colorado. After spending time talking with 2 different people at FlatRate, a supervisor told us that the automated system had sent us a pickup confirmation in error and that was a common mistake. He said, "We don't know why it does that, but it does. I'm sorry." This still didn't make any sense to us because despite any malfunction of an automated system, we had written confirmation from our sales rep we had been working with. Additionally, FlatRate had already charged our credit card the day before which only happens when the pickup is confirmed. After making it clear that we were unable to come back on any other day and supervise the items being packed, the supervisor made arrangements for a truck to execute pick up that day. Our whole day was spent re-organizing the move for the planned date and then waiting for the truck to show up. A fundamental error such as the pick up day and window being incorrect (after a human and automated confirmation) is absolutely unacceptable, especially when you live out of state and are taking the time to fly in specifically for the move. 2) PHILADELPHIA DELIVERY: On the receiving end in Philadelphia, the Colorado shipment also proved problematic. We emailed our sales rep and Dejon Reid (VP of Sales!) multiple times to coordinate the delivery date and received confirmation for Nov 19-20. I reached out to both gentlemen on Nov 8 and again on Nov 13 to advise them that the Philadelphia Police Department was only able to give us a parking permit for the delivery truck on Nov 19 so that is the date we needed to lock in. We never heard back from either. On Nov 14 we received an email from an employee saying that our shipment was enroute and there were no delays. On Nov 16 we received an email from the Long Distance Department confirming the shipment was still enroute and the current estimated delivery window was Nov 17-20. With no further information and no response from our sales rep or the VP of Sale about locking in Nov 19, we were forced to call FlatRate on Nov 18. The representative said, "I don't have Nov 19 confirmed and will inform you once we have a date available" implying we had no prior communication with FlatRate about the delivery date whatsoever. We were frustrated beyond belief: how was there no record of the Nov 19-20 window that the VP and the sales rep confirmed and now we were being told there was actually no date on the books at all? We explained the entire situation to the representative who had to escalate our situation only to come back and confirm Nov 19 an hour and half later. I understand that it is difficult for FlatRate to confirm exact dates and times but it should be noted that on Oct 31 the sales rep confirmed a delivery date of Nov 17th via email; so, if he could do it once, why could it not be confirmed again two days LATER than the original planned date and if it couldn't be confirmed why wasn't that communicated to us? Also, we were extremely disappointed that we were emailing with a VP at their company who never responded to our emails after Nov 8 and let our move fall through the cracks to again be dealt with by us, the end customers. 3) CLAIM PROCESS: The claim process was just as bad as the rest of this experience. Filing the claim and then waiting 2 months for FlatRate to tell us they would give us $450 for the $7k worth of items that were damaged was insulting. We then filed an appeal. We were continually told they were still looking into it every time we followed up. Months later still no answer. This is customer service at its worse. If you do decide to use FlatRate, please make sure to get the highest insurance possible. read more
12 years ago
Rating between 2 - 3 stars was debatable. Flat Rate was referred to me by one of my graduate school classmates that had success moving from NYC to MIA. Unfortunately, my experience was not as smooth. I believe generally they are 4/5-star, but my experience was the outlier which I feel no other person, especially someone not covered by corporate expense should endure. On a positive note, the email or phone responsive of the Flat Rate office team is great as is the speed in which items are packed/unpacked, loaded/unloaded by the on-site movers. Also, the paperwork is well laid out. However, the negative is a lack of organization to pack/unpack boxed contents; as well as my move was scheduled against my preferred timing, leading to both inconvenience and inefficiency of delivery plus some of my furniture arrived with damages and all furniture had dust. Also at the end of the first 3-month storage period, I was notified my monthly storage fee would double. I had to refute such gouging and eventually I agreed to a more a nominal increase, but an increase all the same which I found unscrupulous as nothing in original contract said rates could change. It was agreed to in writing and verbally that I would be alerted 48 hours before delivery. Instead not only was it only 24 hour notice, Flat Rate Long Distance decided to proceed with the move on a date when I had tight availability and that my building management could only assign 2 hours use of elevator even though we both requested the day after which was free availability. The movers were there a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Given the poor scheduling, I had to take a conference call so I was preoccupied for the first 2 1/2 hours of the move. For what remained, it was difficult to direct the movers due to the missed time and so many items being in my apartment that were brought up to adhere to the 2 hour elevator limit. Also, due to the poor packing of my boxes, and being that I have so many items, it was difficult to properly place items for two reasons, first, the boxes were not detailed in labeling. For instance, books in boxes were labeled to the correct room, but there was no labeling of which shelf, and left to right, based on how it was setup before packing it up. Therefore, without me overseeing, the books were unpacked and haphazardly placed on shelf, mostly back to front. This created aimless work for the movers and extra work for me in completely reorganizing. Second, all furniture had dirt which led me to question were my items not stored wrapped; the dust was caked on. I received no heads up beforehand that this may be the condition they arrive in to prep so unpacking was futile as all furniture had to be thoroughly wiped and sanitized. Given the dust, why would Flat Rate not recommend that I cancel unpacking given their expertise of what condition lengthy stored items might arrive in? Also, many boxes had a mix of items just thrown in without regard for the protection or delicacy of the items, i.e. shoes with lingerie, kitchen items with linens, light fixtures with hair products. I have a lot of things and this move wasn't easy on both ends, however, my contract wasn't just for transporting items, but also fees for packing and unpacking. Including $500 cash tip for the movers on both ends, I absolutely feel jilted. To add insult to injury, a handful of furniture items were delivered scratched with gashes in the wood that were not there prior and two pieces off hinge. Additionally, right after my pickup, I reached out to my booker that the movers left two picture hangings on wall that I specifically asked to be packed; to this date I've received no response, apology or compensation. My Dirt Devil vacuum and Black & Decker drill are missing; as well as the moving blanket I borrowed from a friend seems to have been accidentally taken during unpack. The only thing that got me through the delivery was how great the foreman was. I really wish the packing had been done better so that they could have unpacked better and helped me more because they had such great attitudes. Unfortunately, I had to release them as it was futile due to hapless packing and dirt on the furniture. Plus what they were unpacking actually was creating work. Moving is a strain enough as it is, even more so as a single woman, and without a company covering long distance and the long storage expenses. I am hoping that Flat Rate does the right thing with reparations for the claim and photo documentation I submit. Should you select Flat Rate, please be proactive to ensure you do endure the damages and occurrences I had. Photos are posted to show above. read more
11 years ago
Rating between 2 - 3 stars was debatable. Flat Rate was referred to me by one of my graduate school classmates that had success moving from NYC to MIA. Unfortunately, my experience was not as smooth. I believe generally they are 4/5-star, but my experience was the outlier which I feel no other person, especially someone not covered by corporate expense should endure. On a positive note, the email or phone responsive of the Flat Rate office team is great as is the speed in which items are packed/unpacked, loaded/unloaded by the on-site movers. Also, the paperwork is well laid out. However, the negative is a lack of organization to pack/unpack boxed contents; as well as my move was scheduled against my preferred timing, leading to both inconvenience and inefficiency of delivery plus some of my furniture arrived with damages and all furniture had dust. Also at the end of the first 3-month storage period, I was notified my monthly storage fee would double. I had to refute such gouging and eventually I agreed to a more a nominal increase, but an increase all the same which I found unscrupulous as nothing in original contract said rates could change. It was agreed to in writing and verbally that I would be alerted 48 hours before delivery. Instead not only was it only 24 hour notice, Flat Rate Long Distance decided to proceed with the move on a date when I had tight availability and that my building management could only assign 2 hours use of elevator even though we both requested the day after which was free availability. The movers were there a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Given the poor scheduling, I had to take a conference call so I was preoccupied for the first 2 1/2 hours of the move. For what remained, it was difficult to direct the movers due to the missed time and so many items being in my apartment that were brought up to adhere to the 2 hour elevator limit. Also, due to the poor packing of my boxes, and being that I have so many items, it was difficult to properly place items for two reasons, first, the boxes were not detailed in labeling. For instance, books in boxes were labeled to the correct room, but there was no labeling of which shelf, and left to right, based on how it was setup before packing it up. Therefore, without me overseeing, the books were unpacked and haphazardly placed on shelf, mostly back to front. This created aimless work for the movers and extra work for me in completely reorganizing. Second, all furniture had dirt which led me to question were my items not stored wrapped; the dust was caked on. I received no heads up beforehand that this may be the condition they arrive in to prep so unpacking was futile as all furniture had to be thoroughly wiped and sanitized. Given the dust, why would Flat Rate not recommend that I cancel unpacking given their expertise of what condition lengthy stored items might arrive in? Also, many boxes had a mix of items just thrown in without regard for the protection or delicacy of the items, i.e. shoes with lingerie, kitchen items with linens, light fixtures with hair products. I have a lot of things and this move wasn't easy on both ends, however, my contract wasn't just for transporting items, but also fees for packing and unpacking. Including $500 cash tip for the movers on both ends, I absolutely feel jilted. To add insult to injury, a handful of furniture items were delivered scratched with gashes in the wood that were not there prior and two pieces off hinge. Additionally, right after my pickup, I reached out to my booker that the movers left two picture hangings on wall that I specifically asked to be packed; to this date I've received no response, apology or compensation. My Dirt Devil vacuum and Black & Decker drill are missing; as well as the moving blanket I borrowed from a friend seems to have been accidentally taken during unpack. The only thing that got me through the delivery was how great the foreman was. I really wish the packing had been done better so that they could have unpacked better and helped me more because they had such great attitudes. Unfortunately, I had to release them as it was futile due to hapless packing and dirt on the furniture. Plus what they were unpacking actually was creating work. Moving is a strain enough as it is, even more so as a single woman, and without a company covering long distance and the long storage expenses. I am hoping that Flat Rate does the right thing with reparations for the claim and photo documentation I submit. Should you select Flat Rate, please be proactive to ensure you do endure the damages and occurrences I had. Photos are posted to show above. read more
12 years ago
Rating between 2 - 3 stars was debatable. Flat Rate was referred to me by one of my graduate school classmates that had success moving from NYC to MIA. Unfortunately, my experience was not as smooth. I believe generally they are 4/5-star, but my experience was the outlier which I feel no other person, especially someone not covered by corporate expense should endure. On a positive note, the email or phone responsive of the Flat Rate office team is great as is the speed in which items are packed/unpacked, loaded/unloaded by the on-site movers. Also, the paperwork is well laid out. However, the negative is a lack of organization to pack/unpack boxed contents; as well as my move was scheduled against my preferred timing, leading to both inconvenience and inefficiency of delivery plus some of my furniture arrived with damages and all furniture had dust. Also at the end of the first 3-month storage period, I was notified my monthly storage fee would double. I had to refute such gouging and eventually I agreed to a more a nominal increase, but an increase all the same which I found unscrupulous as nothing in original contract said rates could change. It was agreed to in writing and verbally that I would be alerted 48 hours before delivery. Instead not only was it only 24 hour notice, Flat Rate Long Distance decided to proceed with the move on a date when I had tight availability and that my building management could only assign 2 hours use of elevator even though we both requested the day after which was free availability. The movers were there a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Given the poor scheduling, I had to take a conference call so I was preoccupied for the first 2 1/2 hours of the move. For what remained, it was difficult to direct the movers due to the missed time and so many items being in my apartment that were brought up to adhere to the 2 hour elevator limit. Also, due to the poor packing of my boxes, and being that I have so many items, it was difficult to properly place items for two reasons, first, the boxes were not detailed in labeling. For instance, books in boxes were labeled to the correct room, but there was no labeling of which shelf, and left to right, based on how it was setup before packing it up. Therefore, without me overseeing, the books were unpacked and haphazardly placed on shelf, mostly back to front. This created aimless work for the movers and extra work for me in completely reorganizing. Second, all furniture had dirt which led me to question were my items not stored wrapped; the dust was caked on. I received no heads up beforehand that this may be the condition they arrive in to prep so unpacking was futile as all furniture had to be thoroughly wiped and sanitized. Given the dust, why would Flat Rate not recommend that I cancel unpacking given their expertise of what condition lengthy stored items might arrive in? Also, many boxes had a mix of items just thrown in without regard for the protection or delicacy of the items, i.e. shoes with lingerie, kitchen items with linens, light fixtures with hair products. I have a lot of things and this move wasn't easy on both ends, however, my contract wasn't just for transporting items, but also fees for packing and unpacking. Including $500 cash tip for the movers on both ends, I absolutely feel jilted. To add insult to injury, a handful of furniture items were delivered scratched with gashes in the wood that were not there prior and two pieces off hinge. Additionally, right after my pickup, I reached out to my booker that the movers left two picture hangings on wall that I specifically asked to be packed; to this date I've received no response, apology or compensation. My Dirt Devil vacuum and Black & Decker drill are missing; as well as the moving blanket I borrowed from a friend seems to have been accidentally taken during unpack. The only thing that got me through the delivery was how great the foreman was. I really wish the packing had been done better so that they could have unpacked better and helped me more because they had such great attitudes. Unfortunately, I had to release them as it was futile due to hapless packing and dirt on the furniture. Plus what they were unpacking actually was creating work. Moving is a strain enough as it is, even more so as a single woman, and without a company covering long distance and the long storage expenses. I am hoping that Flat Rate does the right thing with reparations for the claim and photo documentation I submit. Should you select Flat Rate, please be proactive to ensure you do endure the damages and occurrences I had. Photos are posted to show above. read more
11 years ago
Rating between 2 - 3 stars was debatable. Flat Rate was referred to me by one of my graduate school classmates that had success moving from NYC to MIA. Unfortunately, my experience was not as smooth. I believe generally they are 4/5-star, but my experience was the outlier which I feel no other person, especially someone not covered by corporate expense should endure. On a positive note, the email or phone responsive of the Flat Rate office team is great as is the speed in which items are packed/unpacked, loaded/unloaded by the on-site movers. Also, the paperwork is well laid out. However, the negative is a lack of organization to pack/unpack boxed contents; as well as my move was scheduled against my preferred timing, leading to both inconvenience and inefficiency of delivery plus some of my furniture arrived with damages and all furniture had dust. Also at the end of the first 3-month storage period, I was notified my monthly storage fee would double. I had to refute such gouging and eventually I agreed to a more a nominal increase, but an increase all the same which I found unscrupulous as nothing in original contract said rates could change. It was agreed to in writing and verbally that I would be alerted 48 hours before delivery. Instead not only was it only 24 hour notice, Flat Rate Long Distance decided to proceed with the move on a date when I had tight availability and that my building management could only assign 2 hours use of elevator even though we both requested the day after which was free availability. The movers were there a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Given the poor scheduling, I had to take a conference call so I was preoccupied for the first 2 1/2 hours of the move. For what remained, it was difficult to direct the movers due to the missed time and so many items being in my apartment that were brought up to adhere to the 2 hour elevator limit. Also, due to the poor packing of my boxes, and being that I have so many items, it was difficult to properly place items for two reasons, first, the boxes were not detailed in labeling. For instance, books in boxes were labeled to the correct room, but there was no labeling of which shelf, and left to right, based on how it was setup before packing it up. Therefore, without me overseeing, the books were unpacked and haphazardly placed on shelf, mostly back to front. This created aimless work for the movers and extra work for me in completely reorganizing. Second, all furniture had dirt which led me to question were my items not stored wrapped; the dust was caked on. I received no heads up beforehand that this may be the condition they arrive in to prep so unpacking was futile as all furniture had to be thoroughly wiped and sanitized. Given the dust, why would Flat Rate not recommend that I cancel unpacking given their expertise of what condition lengthy stored items might arrive in? Also, many boxes had a mix of items just thrown in without regard for the protection or delicacy of the items, i.e. shoes with lingerie, kitchen items with linens, light fixtures with hair products. I have a lot of things and this move wasn't easy on both ends, however, my contract wasn't just for transporting items, but also fees for packing and unpacking. Including $500 cash tip for the movers on both ends, I absolutely feel jilted. To add insult to injury, a handful of furniture items were delivered scratched with gashes in the wood that were not there prior and two pieces off hinge. Additionally, right after my pickup, I reached out to my booker that the movers left two picture hangings on wall that I specifically asked to be packed; to this date I've received no response, apology or compensation. My Dirt Devil vacuum and Black & Decker drill are missing; as well as the moving blanket I borrowed from a friend seems to have been accidentally taken during unpack. The only thing that got me through the delivery was how great the foreman was. I really wish the packing had been done better so that they could have unpacked better and helped me more because they had such great attitudes. Unfortunately, I had to release them as it was futile due to hapless packing and dirt on the furniture. Plus what they were unpacking actually was creating work. Moving is a strain enough as it is, even more so as a single woman, and without a company covering long distance and the long storage expenses. I am hoping that Flat Rate does the right thing with reparations for the claim and photo documentation I submit. Should you select Flat Rate, please be proactive to ensure you do endure the damages and occurrences I had. Photos are posted to show above. read more
11 years ago
Rating between 2 - 3 stars was debatable. Flat Rate was referred to me by one of my graduate school classmates that had success moving from NYC to MIA. Unfortunately, my experience was not as smooth. I believe generally they are 4/5-star, but my experience was the outlier which I feel no other person, especially someone not covered by corporate expense should endure. On a positive note, the email or phone responsive of the Flat Rate office team is great as is the speed in which items are packed/unpacked, loaded/unloaded by the on-site movers. Also, the paperwork is well laid out. However, the negative is a lack of organization to pack/unpack boxed contents; as well as my move was scheduled against my preferred timing, leading to both inconvenience and inefficiency of delivery plus some of my furniture arrived with damages and all furniture had dust. Also at the end of the first 3-month storage period, I was notified my monthly storage fee would double. I had to refute such gouging and eventually I agreed to a more a nominal increase, but an increase all the same which I found unscrupulous as nothing in original contract said rates could change. It was agreed to in writing and verbally that I would be alerted 48 hours before delivery. Instead not only was it only 24 hour notice, Flat Rate Long Distance decided to proceed with the move on a date when I had tight availability and that my building management could only assign 2 hours use of elevator even though we both requested the day after which was free availability. The movers were there a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Given the poor scheduling, I had to take a conference call so I was preoccupied for the first 2 1/2 hours of the move. For what remained, it was difficult to direct the movers due to the missed time and so many items being in my apartment that were brought up to adhere to the 2 hour elevator limit. Also, due to the poor packing of my boxes, and being that I have so many items, it was difficult to properly place items for two reasons, first, the boxes were not detailed in labeling. For instance, books in boxes were labeled to the correct room, but there was no labeling of which shelf, and left to right, based on how it was setup before packing it up. Therefore, without me overseeing, the books were unpacked and haphazardly placed on shelf, mostly back to front. This created aimless work for the movers and extra work for me in completely reorganizing. Second, all furniture had dirt which led me to question were my items not stored wrapped; the dust was caked on. I received no heads up beforehand that this may be the condition they arrive in to prep so unpacking was futile as all furniture had to be thoroughly wiped and sanitized. Given the dust, why would Flat Rate not recommend that I cancel unpacking given their expertise of what condition lengthy stored items might arrive in? Also, many boxes had a mix of items just thrown in without regard for the protection or delicacy of the items, i.e. shoes with lingerie, kitchen items with linens, light fixtures with hair products. I have a lot of things and this move wasn't easy on both ends, however, my contract wasn't just for transporting items, but also fees for packing and unpacking. Including $500 cash tip for the movers on both ends, I absolutely feel jilted. To add insult to injury, a handful of furniture items were delivered scratched with gashes in the wood that were not there prior and two pieces off hinge. Additionally, right after my pickup, I reached out to my booker that the movers left two picture hangings on wall that I specifically asked to be packed; to this date I've received no response, apology or compensation. My Dirt Devil vacuum and Black & Decker drill are missing; as well as the moving blanket I borrowed from a friend seems to have been accidentally taken during unpack. The only thing that got me through the delivery was how great the foreman was. I really wish the packing had been done better so that they could have unpacked better and helped me more because they had such great attitudes. Unfortunately, I had to release them as it was futile due to hapless packing and dirt on the furniture. Plus what they were unpacking actually was creating work. Moving is a strain enough as it is, even more so as a single woman, and without a company covering long distance and the long storage expenses. I am hoping that Flat Rate does the right thing with reparations for the claim and photo documentation I submit. Should you select Flat Rate, please be proactive to ensure you do endure the damages and occurrences I had. Photos are posted to show above. read more
11 years ago
Rating between 2 - 3 stars was debatable. Flat Rate was referred to me by one of my graduate school classmates that had success moving from NYC to MIA. Unfortunately, my experience was not as smooth. I believe generally they are 4/5-star, but my experience was the outlier which I feel no other person, especially someone not covered by corporate expense should endure. On a positive note, the email or phone responsive of the Flat Rate office team is great as is the speed in which items are packed/unpacked, loaded/unloaded by the on-site movers. Also, the paperwork is well laid out. However, the negative is a lack of organization to pack/unpack boxed contents; as well as my move was scheduled against my preferred timing, leading to both inconvenience and inefficiency of delivery plus some of my furniture arrived with damages and all furniture had dust. Also at the end of the first 3-month storage period, I was notified my monthly storage fee would double. I had to refute such gouging and eventually I agreed to a more a nominal increase, but an increase all the same which I found unscrupulous as nothing in original contract said rates could change. It was agreed to in writing and verbally that I would be alerted 48 hours before delivery. Instead not only was it only 24 hour notice, Flat Rate Long Distance decided to proceed with the move on a date when I had tight availability and that my building management could only assign 2 hours use of elevator even though we both requested the day after which was free availability. The movers were there a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Given the poor scheduling, I had to take a conference call so I was preoccupied for the first 2 1/2 hours of the move. For what remained, it was difficult to direct the movers due to the missed time and so many items being in my apartment that were brought up to adhere to the 2 hour elevator limit. Also, due to the poor packing of my boxes, and being that I have so many items, it was difficult to properly place items for two reasons, first, the boxes were not detailed in labeling. For instance, books in boxes were labeled to the correct room, but there was no labeling of which shelf, and left to right, based on how it was setup before packing it up. Therefore, without me overseeing, the books were unpacked and haphazardly placed on shelf, mostly back to front. This created aimless work for the movers and extra work for me in completely reorganizing. Second, all furniture had dirt which led me to question were my items not stored wrapped; the dust was caked on. I received no heads up beforehand that this may be the condition they arrive in to prep so unpacking was futile as all furniture had to be thoroughly wiped and sanitized. Given the dust, why would Flat Rate not recommend that I cancel unpacking given their expertise of what condition lengthy stored items might arrive in? Also, many boxes had a mix of items just thrown in without regard for the protection or delicacy of the items, i.e. shoes with lingerie, kitchen items with linens, light fixtures with hair products. I have a lot of things and this move wasn't easy on both ends, however, my contract wasn't just for transporting items, but also fees for packing and unpacking. Including $500 cash tip for the movers on both ends, I absolutely feel jilted. To add insult to injury, a handful of furniture items were delivered scratched with gashes in the wood that were not there prior and two pieces off hinge. Additionally, right after my pickup, I reached out to my booker that the movers left two picture hangings on wall that I specifically asked to be packed; to this date I've received no response, apology or compensation. My Dirt Devil vacuum and Black & Decker drill are missing; as well as the moving blanket I borrowed from a friend seems to have been accidentally taken during unpack. The only thing that got me through the delivery was how great the foreman was. I really wish the packing had been done better so that they could have unpacked better and helped me more because they had such great attitudes. Unfortunately, I had to release them as it was futile due to hapless packing and dirt on the furniture. Plus what they were unpacking actually was creating work. Moving is a strain enough as it is, even more so as a single woman, and without a company covering long distance and the long storage expenses. I am hoping that Flat Rate does the right thing with reparations for the claim and photo documentation I submit. Should you select Flat Rate, please be proactive to ensure you do endure the damages and occurrences I had. Photos are posted to show above. read more
11 years ago
Rating between 2 - 3 stars was debatable. Flat Rate was referred to me by one of my graduate school classmates that had success moving from NYC to MIA. Unfortunately, my experience was not as smooth. I believe generally they are 4/5-star, but my experience was the outlier which I feel no other person, especially someone not covered by corporate expense should endure. On a positive note, the email or phone responsive of the Flat Rate office team is great as is the speed in which items are packed/unpacked, loaded/unloaded by the on-site movers. Also, the paperwork is well laid out. However, the negative is a lack of organization to pack/unpack boxed contents; as well as my move was scheduled against my preferred timing, leading to both inconvenience and inefficiency of delivery plus some of my furniture arrived with damages and all furniture had dust. Also at the end of the first 3-month storage period, I was notified my monthly storage fee would double. I had to refute such gouging and eventually I agreed to a more a nominal increase, but an increase all the same which I found unscrupulous as nothing in original contract said rates could change. It was agreed to in writing and verbally that I would be alerted 48 hours before delivery. Instead not only was it only 24 hour notice, Flat Rate Long Distance decided to proceed with the move on a date when I had tight availability and that my building management could only assign 2 hours use of elevator even though we both requested the day after which was free availability. The movers were there a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Given the poor scheduling, I had to take a conference call so I was preoccupied for the first 2 1/2 hours of the move. For what remained, it was difficult to direct the movers due to the missed time and so many items being in my apartment that were brought up to adhere to the 2 hour elevator limit. Also, due to the poor packing of my boxes, and being that I have so many items, it was difficult to properly place items for two reasons, first, the boxes were not detailed in labeling. For instance, books in boxes were labeled to the correct room, but there was no labeling of which shelf, and left to right, based on how it was setup before packing it up. Therefore, without me overseeing, the books were unpacked and haphazardly placed on shelf, mostly back to front. This created aimless work for the movers and extra work for me in completely reorganizing. Second, all furniture had dirt which led me to question were my items not stored wrapped; the dust was caked on. I received no heads up beforehand that this may be the condition they arrive in to prep so unpacking was futile as all furniture had to be thoroughly wiped and sanitized. Given the dust, why would Flat Rate not recommend that I cancel unpacking given their expertise of what condition lengthy stored items might arrive in? Also, many boxes had a mix of items just thrown in without regard for the protection or delicacy of the items, i.e. shoes with lingerie, kitchen items with linens, light fixtures with hair products. I have a lot of things and this move wasn't easy on both ends, however, my contract wasn't just for transporting items, but also fees for packing and unpacking. Including $500 cash tip for the movers on both ends, I absolutely feel jilted. To add insult to injury, a handful of furniture items were delivered scratched with gashes in the wood that were not there prior and two pieces off hinge. Additionally, right after my pickup, I reached out to my booker that the movers left two picture hangings on wall that I specifically asked to be packed; to this date I've received no response, apology or compensation. My Dirt Devil vacuum and Black & Decker drill are missing; as well as the moving blanket I borrowed from a friend seems to have been accidentally taken during unpack. The only thing that got me through the delivery was how great the foreman was. I really wish the packing had been done better so that they could have unpacked better and helped me more because they had such great attitudes. Unfortunately, I had to release them as it was futile due to hapless packing and dirt on the furniture. Plus what they were unpacking actually was creating work. Moving is a strain enough as it is, even more so as a single woman, and without a company covering long distance and the long storage expenses. I am hoping that Flat Rate does the right thing with reparations for the claim and photo documentation I submit. Should you select Flat Rate, please be proactive to ensure you do endure the damages and occurrences I had. Photos are posted to show above. read more
12 years ago
Rating between 2 - 3 stars was debatable. Flat Rate was referred to me by one of my graduate school classmates that had success moving from NYC to MIA. Unfortunately, my experience was not as smooth. I believe generally they are 4/5-star, but my experience was the outlier which I feel no other person, especially someone not covered by corporate expense should endure. On a positive note, the email or phone responsive of the Flat Rate office team is great as is the speed in which items are packed/unpacked, loaded/unloaded by the on-site movers. Also, the paperwork is well laid out. However, the negative is a lack of organization to pack/unpack boxed contents; as well as my move was scheduled against my preferred timing, leading to both inconvenience and inefficiency of delivery plus some of my furniture arrived with damages and all furniture had dust. Also at the end of the first 3-month storage period, I was notified my monthly storage fee would double. I had to refute such gouging and eventually I agreed to a more a nominal increase, but an increase all the same which I found unscrupulous as nothing in original contract said rates could change. It was agreed to in writing and verbally that I would be alerted 48 hours before delivery. Instead not only was it only 24 hour notice, Flat Rate Long Distance decided to proceed with the move on a date when I had tight availability and that my building management could only assign 2 hours use of elevator even though we both requested the day after which was free availability. The movers were there a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes. Given the poor scheduling, I had to take a conference call so I was preoccupied for the first 2 1/2 hours of the move. For what remained, it was difficult to direct the movers due to the missed time and so many items being in my apartment that were brought up to adhere to the 2 hour elevator limit. Also, due to the poor packing of my boxes, and being that I have so many items, it was difficult to properly place items for two reasons, first, the boxes were not detailed in labeling. For instance, books in boxes were labeled to the correct room, but there was no labeling of which shelf, and left to right, based on how it was setup before packing it up. Therefore, without me overseeing, the books were unpacked and haphazardly placed on shelf, mostly back to front. This created aimless work for the movers and extra work for me in completely reorganizing. Second, all furniture had dirt which led me to question were my items not stored wrapped; the dust was caked on. I received no heads up beforehand that this may be the condition they arrive in to prep so unpacking was futile as all furniture had to be thoroughly wiped and sanitized. Given the dust, why would Flat Rate not recommend that I cancel unpacking given their expertise of what condition lengthy stored items might arrive in? Also, many boxes had a mix of items just thrown in without regard for the protection or delicacy of the items, i.e. shoes with lingerie, kitchen items with linens, light fixtures with hair products. I have a lot of things and this move wasn't easy on both ends, however, my contract wasn't just for transporting items, but also fees for packing and unpacking. Including $500 cash tip for the movers on both ends, I absolutely feel jilted. To add insult to injury, a handful of furniture items were delivered scratched with gashes in the wood that were not there prior and two pieces off hinge. Additionally, right after my pickup, I reached out to my booker that the movers left two picture hangings on wall that I specifically asked to be packed; to this date I've received no response, apology or compensation. My Dirt Devil vacuum and Black & Decker drill are missing; as well as the moving blanket I borrowed from a friend seems to have been accidentally taken during unpack. The only thing that got me through the delivery was how great the foreman was. I really wish the packing had been done better so that they could have unpacked better and helped me more because they had such great attitudes. Unfortunately, I had to release them as it was futile due to hapless packing and dirt on the furniture. Plus what they were unpacking actually was creating work. Moving is a strain enough as it is, even more so as a single woman, and without a company covering long distance and the long storage expenses. I am hoping that Flat Rate does the right thing with reparations for the claim and photo documentation I submit. Should you select Flat Rate, please be proactive to ensure you do endure the damages and occurrences I had. Photos are posted to show above. read more
11 years ago
This is my 57th review and I pride myself on being fair and even handed. While I have not always been delighted with the services I have received, I have never called a company deplorable- nor would I do so lightly. I was having my apt painted and floors redone so needed to have my furniture removed, hence my call to Flat Rate. I carefully planned the timing of the painters, flooring install, and the movers (even allotting a few days"wiggle room") as I was having people over for Passover and Easter. The first group of movers pick up my furniture to bring to Flat Rates' warehouse in NJ. A little over a week later, they were to be returned. The second group of movers arrive and were almost finished, when I was advised that there was "a problem." I accompany him to my lobby where I find my very expensive side buffet, upside down with the back leg and adjoining area smashed to pieces. He admitted this was his fault and that it occurred days before when loading my furniture from the warehouse into the truck. I asked why someone from Flat Rate didn't call me prior to delivery? He was instructed to deliver it broken, and to advise me to file a clam. This was the first red flag- Flat Rate was aware they damaged my furniture and yet, for some inexplicable reason, felt no obligation to let me know beforehand? I called customer service immediately and assumed they would be as concerned as I was. I assumed incorrectly - their response was "oh, sorry -fill out the form and send it back to us". I filled out the form, included photos, and a receipt which shows the cost of the piece.They also ask for the weight - which is absurd. Not sure about all of you, but I can't for the life of me remember when I weighed a piece of my furniture. Clearly another red flag. Saying I was devastated about the damage that Flat Rate caused would be an gross understatement. Just to clarify, if this were a piece from Crate & Barrel, sure I would be upset, but we are talking about a piece that was bought as an investment, and over $6,900. Since I was aware of the value, I opted for their insurance which was to cove me for $10,000. I receive an ambiguous email from their Customer Service Dept - I say ambiguous as it was signed "customer service" (no actual name of a person to follow-up with). They tell me to contact "their vendor" All Furniture Services so they can come and assess the damage. AFS arrives three days later - the guy tells me how great he is, and that he can "fix it" Fix it? Even if AFS were miracle workers and could "fix it", the piece would no longer have the same value. To add insult to injury, I needed to call 20 people to tell them to find alternative arrangements for the holidays as I now have a large piece of furniture sitting in my kitchen, and my kitchen furniture in my living room, so clearly I cannot have people over- another big thank you to Flat Rate from my friends & family whose holiday plans were cancelled the day before! I then receive an email to advise that my claim is now "closed". They have graciously decided to offer me $250.00 as a "courtesy". So Flat Rate just damaged a $6,900 piece of furniture, and their idea of settling my claim is to offer me $250.00? They said I can have it repaired by AFS for $450.00. As per Flat Rate, I have a $500.00 deductible so while they state that they will "repair or replace any damaged furniture", in actuality, you are the one who pays for the repair. I am far from obtuse so what am I missing here? I still have the broken piece of furniture in my kitchen (where their men promptly dumped it) and my apartment looks as though I just moved-in, instead of just being redone. Flat Rate is not disputing that the caused the damage - so the big question is why would any reputable company not take responsibility and offer to replace the piece? They are under the misconception that an offer of $250. will cover my inconvenience Inconvenience doesn't even begin to describe what I have been through - all due to Flat Rates' negligence. They have decided to wash their hands of the matter, I on the other hand have not. I called Customer Service to ask for the name/email address for someone on their management team. Nope sorry - "we cannot provide that information" I work in management for one of the largest privately owned companies in the U.S. We gladly provide contact info for anyone in our company. Why? - because any company with integrity actually WANTS to hear from their customers -whether for a compliment or complaint. That is what good companies do. That is what ethics and good business practices are all about. Clearly Flat Rate has none. read more
11 years ago
This is my 57th review and I pride myself on being fair and even handed. While I have not always been delighted with the services I have received, I have never called a company deplorable- nor would I do so lightly. I was having my apt painted and floors redone so needed to have my furniture removed, hence my call to Flat Rate. I carefully planned the timing of the painters, flooring install, and the movers (even allotting a few days"wiggle room") as I was having people over for Passover and Easter. The first group of movers pick up my furniture to bring to Flat Rates' warehouse in NJ. A little over a week later, they were to be returned. The second group of movers arrive and were almost finished, when I was advised that there was "a problem." I accompany him to my lobby where I find my very expensive side buffet, upside down with the back leg and adjoining area smashed to pieces. He admitted this was his fault and that it occurred days before when loading my furniture from the warehouse into the truck. I asked why someone from Flat Rate didn't call me prior to delivery? He was instructed to deliver it broken, and to advise me to file a clam. This was the first red flag- Flat Rate was aware they damaged my furniture and yet, for some inexplicable reason, felt no obligation to let me know beforehand? I called customer service immediately and assumed they would be as concerned as I was. I assumed incorrectly - their response was "oh, sorry -fill out the form and send it back to us". I filled out the form, included photos, and a receipt which shows the cost of the piece.They also ask for the weight - which is absurd. Not sure about all of you, but I can't for the life of me remember when I weighed a piece of my furniture. Clearly another red flag. Saying I was devastated about the damage that Flat Rate caused would be an gross understatement. Just to clarify, if this were a piece from Crate & Barrel, sure I would be upset, but we are talking about a piece that was bought as an investment, and over $6,900. Since I was aware of the value, I opted for their insurance which was to cove me for $10,000. I receive an ambiguous email from their Customer Service Dept - I say ambiguous as it was signed "customer service" (no actual name of a person to follow-up with). They tell me to contact "their vendor" All Furniture Services so they can come and assess the damage. AFS arrives three days later - the guy tells me how great he is, and that he can "fix it" Fix it? Even if AFS were miracle workers and could "fix it", the piece would no longer have the same value. To add insult to injury, I needed to call 20 people to tell them to find alternative arrangements for the holidays as I now have a large piece of furniture sitting in my kitchen, and my kitchen furniture in my living room, so clearly I cannot have people over- another big thank you to Flat Rate from my friends & family whose holiday plans were cancelled the day before! I then receive an email to advise that my claim is now "closed". They have graciously decided to offer me $250.00 as a "courtesy". So Flat Rate just damaged a $6,900 piece of furniture, and their idea of settling my claim is to offer me $250.00? They said I can have it repaired by AFS for $450.00. As per Flat Rate, I have a $500.00 deductible so while they state that they will "repair or replace any damaged furniture", in actuality, you are the one who pays for the repair. I am far from obtuse so what am I missing here? I still have the broken piece of furniture in my kitchen (where their men promptly dumped it) and my apartment looks as though I just moved-in, instead of just being redone. Flat Rate is not disputing that the caused the damage - so the big question is why would any reputable company not take responsibility and offer to replace the piece? They are under the misconception that an offer of $250. will cover my inconvenience Inconvenience doesn't even begin to describe what I have been through - all due to Flat Rates' negligence. They have decided to wash their hands of the matter, I on the other hand have not. I called Customer Service to ask for the name/email address for someone on their management team. Nope sorry - "we cannot provide that information" I work in management for one of the largest privately owned companies in the U.S. We gladly provide contact info for anyone in our company. Why? - because any company with integrity actually WANTS to hear from their customers -whether for a compliment or complaint. That is what good companies do. That is what ethics and good business practices are all about. Clearly Flat Rate has none. read more
11 years ago
This is my 57th review and I pride myself on being fair and even handed. While I have not always been delighted with the services I have received, I have never called a company deplorable- nor would I do so lightly. I was having my apt painted and floors redone so needed to have my furniture removed, hence my call to Flat Rate. I carefully planned the timing of the painters, flooring install, and the movers (even allotting a few days"wiggle room") as I was having people over for Passover and Easter. The first group of movers pick up my furniture to bring to Flat Rates' warehouse in NJ. A little over a week later, they were to be returned. The second group of movers arrive and were almost finished, when I was advised that there was "a problem." I accompany him to my lobby where I find my very expensive side buffet, upside down with the back leg and adjoining area smashed to pieces. He admitted this was his fault and that it occurred days before when loading my furniture from the warehouse into the truck. I asked why someone from Flat Rate didn't call me prior to delivery? He was instructed to deliver it broken, and to advise me to file a clam. This was the first red flag- Flat Rate was aware they damaged my furniture and yet, for some inexplicable reason, felt no obligation to let me know beforehand? I called customer service immediately and assumed they would be as concerned as I was. I assumed incorrectly - their response was "oh, sorry -fill out the form and send it back to us". I filled out the form, included photos, and a receipt which shows the cost of the piece.They also ask for the weight - which is absurd. Not sure about all of you, but I can't for the life of me remember when I weighed a piece of my furniture. Clearly another red flag. Saying I was devastated about the damage that Flat Rate caused would be an gross understatement. Just to clarify, if this were a piece from Crate & Barrel, sure I would be upset, but we are talking about a piece that was bought as an investment, and over $6,900. Since I was aware of the value, I opted for their insurance which was to cove me for $10,000. I receive an ambiguous email from their Customer Service Dept - I say ambiguous as it was signed "customer service" (no actual name of a person to follow-up with). They tell me to contact "their vendor" All Furniture Services so they can come and assess the damage. AFS arrives three days later - the guy tells me how great he is, and that he can "fix it" Fix it? Even if AFS were miracle workers and could "fix it", the piece would no longer have the same value. To add insult to injury, I needed to call 20 people to tell them to find alternative arrangements for the holidays as I now have a large piece of furniture sitting in my kitchen, and my kitchen furniture in my living room, so clearly I cannot have people over- another big thank you to Flat Rate from my friends & family whose holiday plans were cancelled the day before! I then receive an email to advise that my claim is now "closed". They have graciously decided to offer me $250.00 as a "courtesy". So Flat Rate just damaged a $6,900 piece of furniture, and their idea of settling my claim is to offer me $250.00? They said I can have it repaired by AFS for $450.00. As per Flat Rate, I have a $500.00 deductible so while they state that they will "repair or replace any damaged furniture", in actuality, you are the one who pays for the repair. I am far from obtuse so what am I missing here? I still have the broken piece of furniture in my kitchen (where their men promptly dumped it) and my apartment looks as though I just moved-in, instead of just being redone. Flat Rate is not disputing that the caused the damage - so the big question is why would any reputable company not take responsibility and offer to replace the piece? They are under the misconception that an offer of $250. will cover my inconvenience Inconvenience doesn't even begin to describe what I have been through - all due to Flat Rates' negligence. They have decided to wash their hands of the matter, I on the other hand have not. I called Customer Service to ask for the name/email address for someone on their management team. Nope sorry - "we cannot provide that information" I work in management for one of the largest privately owned companies in the U.S. We gladly provide contact info for anyone in our company. Why? - because any company with integrity actually WANTS to hear from their customers -whether for a compliment or complaint. That is what good companies do. That is what ethics and good business practices are all about. Clearly Flat Rate has none. read more
11 years ago
This is my 57th review and I pride myself on being fair and even handed. While I have not always been delighted with the services I have received, I have never called a company deplorable- nor would I do so lightly. I was having my apt painted and floors redone so needed to have my furniture removed, hence my call to Flat Rate. I carefully planned the timing of the painters, flooring install, and the movers (even allotting a few days"wiggle room") as I was having people over for Passover and Easter. The first group of movers pick up my furniture to bring to Flat Rates' warehouse in NJ. A little over a week later, they were to be returned. The second group of movers arrive and were almost finished, when I was advised that there was "a problem." I accompany him to my lobby where I find my very expensive side buffet, upside down with the back leg and adjoining area smashed to pieces. He admitted this was his fault and that it occurred days before when loading my furniture from the warehouse into the truck. I asked why someone from Flat Rate didn't call me prior to delivery? He was instructed to deliver it broken, and to advise me to file a clam. This was the first red flag- Flat Rate was aware they damaged my furniture and yet, for some inexplicable reason, felt no obligation to let me know beforehand? I called customer service immediately and assumed they would be as concerned as I was. I assumed incorrectly - their response was "oh, sorry -fill out the form and send it back to us". I filled out the form, included photos, and a receipt which shows the cost of the piece.They also ask for the weight - which is absurd. Not sure about all of you, but I can't for the life of me remember when I weighed a piece of my furniture. Clearly another red flag. Saying I was devastated about the damage that Flat Rate caused would be an gross understatement. Just to clarify, if this were a piece from Crate & Barrel, sure I would be upset, but we are talking about a piece that was bought as an investment, and over $6,900. Since I was aware of the value, I opted for their insurance which was to cove me for $10,000. I receive an ambiguous email from their Customer Service Dept - I say ambiguous as it was signed "customer service" (no actual name of a person to follow-up with). They tell me to contact "their vendor" All Furniture Services so they can come and assess the damage. AFS arrives three days later - the guy tells me how great he is, and that he can "fix it" Fix it? Even if AFS were miracle workers and could "fix it", the piece would no longer have the same value. To add insult to injury, I needed to call 20 people to tell them to find alternative arrangements for the holidays as I now have a large piece of furniture sitting in my kitchen, and my kitchen furniture in my living room, so clearly I cannot have people over- another big thank you to Flat Rate from my friends & family whose holiday plans were cancelled the day before! I then receive an email to advise that my claim is now "closed". They have graciously decided to offer me $250.00 as a "courtesy". So Flat Rate just damaged a $6,900 piece of furniture, and their idea of settling my claim is to offer me $250.00? They said I can have it repaired by AFS for $450.00. As per Flat Rate, I have a $500.00 deductible so while they state that they will "repair or replace any damaged furniture", in actuality, you are the one who pays for the repair. I am far from obtuse so what am I missing here? I still have the broken piece of furniture in my kitchen (where their men promptly dumped it) and my apartment looks as though I just moved-in, instead of just being redone. Flat Rate is not disputing that the caused the damage - so the big question is why would any reputable company not take responsibility and offer to replace the piece? They are under the misconception that an offer of $250. will cover my inconvenience Inconvenience doesn't even begin to describe what I have been through - all due to Flat Rates' negligence. They have decided to wash their hands of the matter, I on the other hand have not. I called Customer Service to ask for the name/email address for someone on their management team. Nope sorry - "we cannot provide that information" I work in management for one of the largest privately owned companies in the U.S. We gladly provide contact info for anyone in our company. Why? - because any company with integrity actually WANTS to hear from their customers -whether for a compliment or complaint. That is what good companies do. That is what ethics and good business practices are all about. Clearly Flat Rate has none. read more
11 years ago
This is my 57th review and I pride myself on being fair and even handed. While I have not always been delighted with the services I have received, I have never called a company deplorable- nor would I do so lightly. I was having my apt painted and floors redone so needed to have my furniture removed, hence my call to Flat Rate. I carefully planned the timing of the painters, flooring install, and the movers (even allotting a few days"wiggle room") as I was having people over for Passover and Easter. The first group of movers pick up my furniture to bring to Flat Rates' warehouse in NJ. A little over a week later, they were to be returned. The second group of movers arrive and were almost finished, when I was advised that there was "a problem." I accompany him to my lobby where I find my very expensive side buffet, upside down with the back leg and adjoining area smashed to pieces. He admitted this was his fault and that it occurred days before when loading my furniture from the warehouse into the truck. I asked why someone from Flat Rate didn't call me prior to delivery? He was instructed to deliver it broken, and to advise me to file a clam. This was the first red flag- Flat Rate was aware they damaged my furniture and yet, for some inexplicable reason, felt no obligation to let me know beforehand? I called customer service immediately and assumed they would be as concerned as I was. I assumed incorrectly - their response was "oh, sorry -fill out the form and send it back to us". I filled out the form, included photos, and a receipt which shows the cost of the piece.They also ask for the weight - which is absurd. Not sure about all of you, but I can't for the life of me remember when I weighed a piece of my furniture. Clearly another red flag. Saying I was devastated about the damage that Flat Rate caused would be an gross understatement. Just to clarify, if this were a piece from Crate & Barrel, sure I would be upset, but we are talking about a piece that was bought as an investment, and over $6,900. Since I was aware of the value, I opted for their insurance which was to cove me for $10,000. I receive an ambiguous email from their Customer Service Dept - I say ambiguous as it was signed "customer service" (no actual name of a person to follow-up with). They tell me to contact "their vendor" All Furniture Services so they can come and assess the damage. AFS arrives three days later - the guy tells me how great he is, and that he can "fix it" Fix it? Even if AFS were miracle workers and could "fix it", the piece would no longer have the same value. To add insult to injury, I needed to call 20 people to tell them to find alternative arrangements for the holidays as I now have a large piece of furniture sitting in my kitchen, and my kitchen furniture in my living room, so clearly I cannot have people over- another big thank you to Flat Rate from my friends & family whose holiday plans were cancelled the day before! I then receive an email to advise that my claim is now "closed". They have graciously decided to offer me $250.00 as a "courtesy". So Flat Rate just damaged a $6,900 piece of furniture, and their idea of settling my claim is to offer me $250.00? They said I can have it repaired by AFS for $450.00. As per Flat Rate, I have a $500.00 deductible so while they state that they will "repair or replace any damaged furniture", in actuality, you are the one who pays for the repair. I am far from obtuse so what am I missing here? I still have the broken piece of furniture in my kitchen (where their men promptly dumped it) and my apartment looks as though I just moved-in, instead of just being redone. Flat Rate is not disputing that the caused the damage - so the big question is why would any reputable company not take responsibility and offer to replace the piece? They are under the misconception that an offer of $250. will cover my inconvenience Inconvenience doesn't even begin to describe what I have been through - all due to Flat Rates' negligence. They have decided to wash their hands of the matter, I on the other hand have not. I called Customer Service to ask for the name/email address for someone on their management team. Nope sorry - "we cannot provide that information" I work in management for one of the largest privately owned companies in the U.S. We gladly provide contact info for anyone in our company. Why? - because any company with integrity actually WANTS to hear from their customers -whether for a compliment or complaint. That is what good companies do. That is what ethics and good business practices are all about. Clearly Flat Rate has none. read more





























