MWAV PH LLC

Have never felt the need to leave a review before, but changed my mind for this one after attempting to come to a reasonable resolution with my experience using Man with a Van.

Short version: Crew was scheduled for 12-2pm on a Saturday. Arrived at 5pm. Poorly handled the cargo and caused damage to the walls at the destination with a drawn out move. Repeated attempts to speak on the phone and via email to come to a resolution met with frustration and hostility. Card was charged anyway.

Long version: Mistakes happen, jobs run late, crews get tired. I understand and was prepared to make sure I did everything on my end to make sure this process went as smoothly as possible: parking permit for a busy street on Saturday afternoon and reserved freight elevator for the destination. Due to the crew showing up at 5pm for a 12-2pm window, those efforts were meaningless and a lot of time was wasted looking for parking and taking multiple elevator trips.

A crew of 3 guys showed up exhausted from their day. I know because they were frustrated and made it apparent to me immediately that it wasn’t their fault that they were late and they were going from a job in Brooklyn to Jersey to Philly now before having to head back at the end of the night. I get it and that sucks. I offered water, helped move, whatever I could do.

On a first glance assessment, one of them estimated a half hour for the first part of the job. I was in a studio apt with 15 boxes and a queen mattress along with some smaller furniture, nothing over 50lbs. They played tetris in their truck with no blankets or mats for the furniture and a complete disregard for boxes labeled fragile. Only one guy ever moved anything at a time. Another took a shit immediately upon arrival and I don’t even want to think about how he cleaned up because there was no toilet paper or towels available. And if you’re concerned about COVID, masks were pulled down to the chin after the first five minutes.

At the destination, the crew somehow managed to put a hole in the hallway with a moving cart. The hallways are wide and I still don’t understand how that happened. I haven’t unpacked fully but am continuing to find minor damage. Honestly, the worst part of this experience was not the moving crew. If anything I felt bad for these guys that were clearly exhausted and I tipped them for the full time, despite my issue with how long it took them. The worst part of this move was dealing with Paul.

Paul’s a busy guy. You can tell because he loves telling you that he’s a busy guy. After not responding to an internet quote submission, I called to schedule my move. He put me on hold, asked who I was, repeated incorrect information he had just told me minutes earlier, etc. If you’re wondering why I didn’t just give up on this company immediately, it’s because I had a completely different experience just a year ago. Same cargo, different crew, job was over in under an hour. Five-star experience and I was really hoping this would be similar. Instead I got Paul.

The total move took 2 hours with a 15 minute travel time. I was charged $140/hr with a $40 travel surcharge. Total charged was $320, but forgot to mention there was a $5 deposit made days earlier that for some reason wasn’t taken out of the final charge after all, so $325. This doesn’t include the cost of a parking permit, having to reschedule cleaners due to the massive delay, and whatever the cost of fixing the property at my new residence.

Paul refused to speak on the phone and wanted me to email him. Never heard anything back on the night of the move. Woke up Monday to find a charge on my card despite assurances that I wouldn’t be charged for the job until we had talked. Called back, was told to “call the cops (?) or do what you have to do because I’m busy and I just can’t”.

This was just my experience with a specific crew, I didn’t even catch their names but they said they were from Brooklyn. I’m sure the time of day and who you get makes all the difference. Unfortunately it seems like you’re stuck with Paul. Avoid if you value your time and belongings.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $325