Ideal Moving & Storage

Ideal gave me a 2 consecutive day window for my move. The dates were quickly approaching and …no call from Ideal. I started calling them and they could not seem to tell me which day the movers were coming. I had to be present on the day of the move so I could get them into my storage unit facility.
I only had boxes of personal items, no furniture and nothing larger than a large sized packing box.
The dates came and went, no movers, no phone call, no messages left for me on my phone.
I started calling, looking for any information. They finally gave me a date some days later.
While sitting outside of my storage facility gates, waiting for them to show, the movers called me and told me they were on their way. When I asked where they were exactly, they told me that they were approximately 7 hours drive time away. It was already 6 p.m. and the storage facility closed out its gate locks at 10 p.m. I told the movers that there was no way they could get to me and gather my goods before we were locked out of the facility. So then they told me they would be there by the next morning by 8 a.m.
At 8 a.m. the next morning I was waiting outside of the gates, again, and again—no movers.
I called the company to complain and told them to cancel my contract. They proceeded to tell me that I would now be subject to a cancellation penalty fee. I told them that they had already broken the contract by not showing up on the dates I had requested for the move, as well as the second attempt and now I’m still sitting at the storage facility waiting for someone to show up for their third attempt.
Finally at about 8:35 a.m. they roll in. Actually it was one "moving" guy and another guy who only stood around for the next 2 hours tallying up the costs and additional charges on his calculator.
There were costs the number of steps between their truck and my storage unit, extra packing materials, extra boxes that they chose for some of my separate things, as well as an additional uncharge for additional small sized boxes.
This went on for hours.
The plan was for them to move my items to a storage facility and hold it for a period of 2 weeks, then later deliver to my new address.
When the calculator guy was quickly taking me through the sign off pages, he took his pen and crossed one whole section of the contract and told me, “this does not apply to you, so don’t worry about it”. Right next to this column he had me sign to assure that I would have some recourse for damaged or lost goods. Only later did I find out that the crossed off section would have allowed me to claim the full value of my damaged and lost goods, instead of the section I was asked to sign, which allowed me to claim something like 6 cents per pound of lost or damaged goods!
Once I was at my new location the date for the movers to deliver my things came…and went. I started calling them and they couldn’t tell me when they would be coming.
Two weeks after the expected and agreed date, I got a call one morning and it was the movers, telling me that they were on their way and would be at my address by 3 p.m. that day.
They then told me that they could only accept cash for the final payment. I had to dash out to the bank and get the money so I could pay them. So 3 p.m. comes,…and goes,…then it gets later and later,…
At 10 p.m. they finally arrive.
When they opened the back of the truck I stood there looking in side and immediately knew that not all my boxes were in that truck. In addition to this I observed that my boxes were not secured in any way and were strewn all over the back of the truck, splayed out all over the floor of the truck. I told them that I didn’t think that they had all of my goods, but they told me that they picked up my stuff at a pod facility in Los Angeles and this was all that was in it. All of the boxes were incredibly filthy, broken into, busted open and some were literally crushed. I even had some boxes marked fragile that were totally annihilated. I did not want these bug-infested, filthy boxes inside my house so I had them stack up everything in my garage. I had a total tally of the number of boxes that were originally picked up and I estimated that there were at least 10 boxes missing. I was missing dishware, glassware, clothing, some stuff from my garage, electronics, and other personal items.
When I started opening the boxes I found broken and shattered pottery, damaged housewares items that were completely destroyed and unusable, items oozing out of the boxes that were crushed open. It looked like they had run a steamroller over my things. That, or threw them down from some high level on top of each other.
When I went to initiate a claim was when I found out about the section that was crossed off in my contract for the amazing amount of 6 cents per point of damaged/missing goods. The claims process also wanted photos of everything, purchase receipts, etc. This company should be put out of business.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $2000

These Guys saved my life.   I had just moved to NYC and the roommate situation I got myself into did not work out.   They came last minute moved me out in a bind.   I almost did not book because of a bad review here on yelp.  But I am glade I did.  Thank Jacob and the crew!

I'll say it again!   I had just moved to NYC and the roommate situation I got myself into did not work out.   They came last minute moved me out in a bind.   I almost did not book because of a bad review here on yelp.  But I am glade I did.  Thank Jacob and the crew.

Service cost: $1200

I loved being able to talk thru the process over the phone. It was very well explained how and what was needed. They also went over the cost and options to make me comfortable about what I needed to pay for. I had to call back a few times for questions and they always answered the phone. They also called me to confirm the appointment as well as what I needed. They seemed genuinely concerned that they get my move right and that they show up with what we needed. They did exactly as promised. They were courteous and friendly.

Service cost: $8702

These 2 gentlemen were the absolute dream movers. They were fast, efficient, extremely polite and professional. They took the best care of my furniture and items and I am so amazed how very strong they each were. They could move my heavy(and I mean all of my furniture was large and heavy) each alone without requiring each other's help on almost all my pieces. I apologize for my heavy safe they had to move but they handled it extremely well. My brother and I really enjoyed their being there even though they were so busy and working the whole time. They made us both fell so comfortable and confident they were taking care of us. That is what Customer Service is all about! You really should do all you can to hang onto these 2 men!! .

Service cost: $3765

I was referred to Ideal by a friend and you lived up to the recommendation she provided! I needed a fast turnaround time on booking the move due to the other moving company that I had booked not following through on providing an estimate and scheduling. Your office provided an estimate within a few hours and was able to schedule the move just a few days in advance. The moving crew was on time, professional, and efficient. They loaded and unloaded my stuff carefully. Moving a long distance is stressful but I am glad I didn't have to worry about transporting my stuff - it just magically got done, and was done well. Thanks to the entire team working on my move - I'll definitely recommend Ideal Moving to others in the future, and will use you again when I move again.

Service cost: $5974

BAIT & SWITCH SCAM - This company practices a all to common moving Bait & Switch scam.  They are very nice and professional at first and promise a good price, delivery times, and services.  Once you have hired them and they have your stuff they start adding fees, have late delivery times, and deliver damaged/missing goods.  The people who talk to you at the beginning refuse to take phone calls after the service is purchased and no one in the office responds to inquiries into fees or missing goods. Ideal added fees to my bills of lading after I signed into a number on the day of pick up and refused to delivery my goods unless I paid the "fee" they added without my consent or knowledge. Overall I ended up paying 35% more even though I shipped LESS items than on my estimate.  They refuse to answer any phone calls or emails and I am still waiting on 1 large box. I would encourage anyone who has dealt with them to report them to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (Interstate moves only, unfortunately).  Eight men in NJ were recently arrested for running a moving company that has identical practices.  The more complaints to the FMCSA the more likely serious action will be taken.

Service cost: $3100

Scam!!
Got a quote over the phone for $2,000 for a move from California to Texas, with a detailed list of my stuff, but when the movers came they looked around and said I have more than what's on the list. They were going to charge me $5,700 instead!! He kept saying that I have 380 cft more than what's on the estimate, but when I wanted a detailed explanation, he couldn't tell me clearly. I recalculated what I went over, and it was barely 100cft. (Mosely because they got the measurement wrong from the beginning)
They will double the rate per cft if they find any small things that's not on the list. I wanted to cancel the move because it was completely different from what was on the contract, but they threatened me that they would charge $800 (deposit+ $500 cancellation fee).
Worst experience ever.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5700

I’ve moved probably 10 times in my adult life and my experience with Ideal Moving was by far the worst and most stressful.

When I chose Ideal Moving they were going to cost me roughly $500 more than renting a UHaul but I thought the extra expense would save me stress and effort. I completed my estimate and scheduling over the phone about six weeks before my move. I didn’t know exactly how many boxes I’d have since I hadn’t packed yet but I was assured that we had over estimated enough per my square footage that any overage would be minimal. I scheduled my delivery for a two-day window as instructed, was told they’d give me 48 hours’ notice as to which day they were coming, and that was it.

I got 24 hours’ notice. When they arrived at my apartment they pulled out the ‘inventory’ we had casually constructed over the phone (the one that was supposed to leave room for any overages) and to my surprise, anything that was not explicitly listed out on the form ended up costing me extra - over $1500 of overages to bring my vacuum, a small table, a few extra boxes. By the end my moving costs are doubled.

I asked the movers and then called my sales rep to confirm that would be *NO ADDITIONAL COSTS* for this move and was assured there wouldn’t be so I signed off on the papers and the movers drove off. Last time I ever saw my mattress, but I’ll get there.

My delivery was scheduled for Aug 30/Sept 1. I called about ten days out to confirm dates/times and there was a new surprise..! Apparently somewhere in the paperwork (but never once mentioned in 5-6 conversations with various employees) is a clause that they had a 21 day window after my scheduled delivery to deliver. I called. A bunch of times. Talked to several people. Nobody could help me or even tell me when my delivery would be.

In Boston, btw, you’re supposed to secure a street permit for a large truck delivery but that’s impossible to do without a date.

I digress.

Despite giving me zero information about when I could anticipate a delivery, they informed me I would be charged $1500 for a shuttle, plus $95/flight of stairs. Again, another added cost. I proceeded to spend three weeks sleeping on the floor waiting to hear when I’d be getting a delivery.

After going back and forth with them for weeks trying to schedule a day or time when I didn’t already have commitments, I came out of a meeting close to 5pm to see I had a missed call. I called them back and they informed me I needed to be home to receive my delivery between 2-3 pm THE NEXT DAY. I had important meetings all afternoon but they told me they’d charge me another $1500 to reschedule and that never in their ten plus years of business had they ever had anyone expect a delivery to be worked around their schedule. They called me back at 6:30pm to tell me my delivery time had been updated to 9am-noon.

My street was closed off for a three day festival the day of delivery. A street vendor was kind enough to allow us to block his section for a bit but I was told that if we incurred any tickets or had to move the truck I would be paying for it.

They got everything up the stairs after I counted out the final $1200 cash but turns out my mattress never made it out of California and after calling for days I was finally informed it was nowhere to be found and I had to file a claim for lost goods. They have *FOUR MONTHS* to review and get back to me.

NEVER. EVER. USE. THIS. COMPANY.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $4000

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WRITING ANY REVIEW. BELIEVE ME THEY ARE CHEATERS.
1- THEY RUN THE COMPANY WITH MULTIPLE NAMES. YOU WILL GET THE CALL FROM ONE NAME, YOU WILL GET THE HIGHER ESTIMATE AND THEN OTHER PERSON FROM THE SAME GROUP BUT WITH DIFFERENT COMPANY NAME WILL SEND YOU LESSER ESTIMATE TO TRAP YOU.
2-ON THE DAY OF PICKUP THEY WILL SHOW AS EVERY THING IS FINE TILL THE ITEMS ARE NOT LOADED IN TO THE TRUCK AND THEN ONE PERSON WILL SHOW YOU THE BILL THAT WILL BE ALMOST DOUBLE AND WILL ASK FOR CASH ONLY. AND TO UNLOAD THE ITEMS HE WOULD ASK $200/HOUR AND THAT IS TO PUT YOUR ITEMS ON THE ROAD.
3-THEY DON'T HAVE ANY TRUCK. THEY ARE BROKERS AND WORK WITH OTHER COMPANIES. THEY OPERATE WITH DIFFERENT NAMES LIKE IDEAL MOVING, PREMIERE RELOCATION ETC.
4-WHILE GIVING THE ESTIMATE THEY WOULD SAY 12-13 DAYS FOR DELIVERY AND AFTER SHIPPING THEY WOULD NOT TALK TO YOU EVEN AFTER CALLING THEM SEVERAL TIMES. AND THEN FINALLY ONE PERSON WILL TELL YOU THAT IT WILL TAKE 21 CALENDAR DAYS. ON THE OTHER DAY CALENDAR DAYS WILL BE CONVERTED TO BUSINESS DAYS AND WAIT AND WAIT AND WAIT..STILL I AM WAITING. PICKUP DATE WAS 08/04 AND CURRENT DATE IS 08/24 AND NO NEWS.

I HAVE MENTIONED MY NUMBER IN TITLE(732 789 9826 ) .. IN CASE YOU WANT TO CHECK WITH ME OR WANT TO FIGHT AGAINST THE CHEATERS WITH ME IF YOU ARE ALREADY TRAPPED.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3500