FlatRate Moving

When relocating from London to the U.S., I felt that it would be useful if not essential that I hire a company who would have good contact and communication with the local company in the city I was moving to on the other side of the world. I spoke to Svetlana in the Flat Rate London office and she explained that Flat Rate International would be handling my belongings from the moment they are wrapped and loaded in London to when they are unpacked in Denver. Steve in the Denver office handled everything perfectly so that all I needed to worry about when I arrived was finding my favorite wine shops and restaurants.

I came to Unilocal to leave a review for FlatRate in London and I have to say my experience was very different than the reviews I saw posted. I recently moved back to the states from the UK and after having a very very bad previous experience with another company when I was transferred to the UK for 2 years, I prepared myself for damages and late deliveries but hoped for the best. I was THRILLED when my container arrived and not only was it a few days earlier than expected, not one single item was damaged. I worked with Elena Grapa and from beginning to end she was professional, prompt and patient in returning my calls and emails with my endless annoying array of questions. The crew that picked up my stuff was on time and a great bunch of guys. Id go so far as to say they were even fun to work with and because of my previous experience I hovered and watched them closely, they didn’t seem to mind at all. I definitely recommend FlatRate in London.

I hate moving, let me just say it again, I hate moving! The concept of boxing up all your worldly possessions, tossing it on the back of a truck and praying it all gets there in one piece. Then there’s the backache, the cuts on your hands from boxes, the pain in your teeth from ripping tape and let’s not forget, watching your mate drop your TV down the stairs. Am I being dramatic? Of course I am, because it’s awful. So this time I decided to treat myself to hiring a moving company and took the time to do some research, call around and get a few quotes. I settled on FlatRate London and I have to tell you, I couldn’t be happier. They were customer service oriented, friendly, helpful and above all else, really very nice people. I had stomach pains up until my move day just imagining the numerous scenarios on how things would go wrong. Their lead mover (wish I could remember his name), obviously sensed my distress and went out of his way to make sure I had a great experience. Not a scratch or dent on my furniture and more than anything, the sense of relief I felt for hiring an excellent moving company made the money well worth it. I would happily recommend this to anyone moving in London.

If I could give them a zero I would as well! It is the worst experience and I have moved house many, many times. I moved London to Belfast and the London operation is basically run by a total liar (Onkar Sharma). They promise you pick up and delivery to suit your needs– and then, after you pay, the bait and switch goes into full effect.
Suddenly the agreed dates don’t work out, things are missing, one box missed the boat, and there is nothing you can do as you have already paid and your things are in transit and you just have to deal with it. Basically 17 boxes came in 3 deliveries at 3 times on 2 different days– one box being weeks late. The earliest delivery was over a week later than agreed and the entire thing was a joke. I am now pursuing a refund that was agreed to– and suddenly Onkar is unavailable via phone or email and no one else can handle things.
Needless to say if you can avoid this shark of a firm you should, too bad what appears to be an ok US operation franchised to such a horrible set of people in the UK!

If ZERO was an option that’s what they’d get!
I wrote a review back in summer about our NIGHTMARE move from London to Seattle. How FlatRate UK picked up our life on April 15^th and how, after being quoted 4 – 6 weeks, end of June came and we STILL had no furniture, kitchenware, bedding, beds!
Because Dominique in their NY office was being so helpful and promised a BIG compensation when we finally got our possessions 12 weeks LATER. Because they couldn’t get our delivery on a day we were both home, we ended up having me come back early from a trip and receive the delivery alone. The delivery men were wonderful.
The promise of a part-​refund for breach of contract, due to their own staff’s fault, went very quiet the minute we received our shipment. There was talk of $ 400 (on a $ 5K+ bill is a joke), which we have never seen.
We have since been in touch about our compensation with FlatRate’s the Managing Partner Mike Kessler on a monthly basis. They have been ignoring us since OCTOBER!
I was happy in summer, when it felt like the company was showing remorse for their British branch MISSING THE BOAT (literally) and looking into a compensation, to remove my irate review. But this is beyond a joke, and it’s frustrating there is no authority this can be reported to.
This is simply the WORST customer service I have ever experienced. PLEASE get in touch with your US offices, I don’t expect this kind of consumer experience out of the UK with Trading Standards clearly being breached!