Carty Moving & Storage

I found this company off craigslist to move some items from Emeryville to Oakland. I spoke with tommy and honestly he was one of the angriest man I have ever come in contact with over the phone. He asked me specifically what was in the boxes I needed moving and I explained very clearly it was a broken down bed from Ikea. He continued to get more angry with every passing second that he though I wasn’t answering his question. He also told me to go «fuck myself» which I have proof of this in a text message. Very unprofessional. A hot head is an understatement

I highly recommend this company to anyone moving in the Bay Area. I recently moved from San Francisco to Oakland and had an excellent experience. First of all, the guy who helped me has the strength of 10 men. He would go to pick up one very heavy box that I could not lift myself and I would say, «Oh no, be careful!» To which he would reply that he got it, stack another heavy box on top of that one, and then effortlessly disappear down the winding, narrow staircase.
I was also impressed that they were willing to work with me on one day’s notice. I called the phone number on a Saturday afternoon and left a voicemail to see if I could get some help moving the next morning. Super last minute! Bad Jessica. But they returned my call (the ONLY company to return my many voice messages I left that Saturday afternoon) and were able to send one guy out to help out. Yay!
Can I also give Carty Moving a shout out for giving me a straight-​up quote over the phone and sticking to it.

Carty Moving & Storage is a reasonably priced company, and Tommy Carty knows how to move quickly and carefully. We’ve hired them to help us move twice. The first time was to move from the Inner Richmond to Potrero Hill, the second time was from Potrero to San Mateo. Both times they were efficient, reasonably priced and professional. When I emailed them through their website Tommy Carty responded in just a few hours. For both moves we asked them to pack the kitchen. They came in the day before the move and quickly wrapped and boxed everything so it was ready to go. Unpacking wrapped items may not be so fun, but I’ve never had anything broken! But really, what I like best about Carty Moving & Storage is that both times I felt like we had fun moving. When have you EVER been able to say that about a move? One of the Irish movers literally whistled (and sang) while he worked!

This is the third time we’ve used Carty movers. They did a fabulous job, yet again. They’ve never once broken a single item. They didn’t scuff or bang up our walls at all. And they’re such nice people to work with. Their also very trustworthy. Thank you, Tommy and crew. You guys made our move so easy.

I had a smooth, hassle free move with Carty Moving & Storage. I was able to choose the day and time that suited me and Tommy easily accommodated a short-​notice call. They performed a small miracle getting my couch through the door. I highly recommend them.
Colette

We hired Carty to load our stuff into a moving truck in SF (Soma) for moving out to NY.
Service was excellent. Frank and Morgan were our two movers, and Thomas was present in the beginning to assess how much furniture we had in case a third person was needed (did not end up needing a third mover). They were professional, courteous, and efficient.
They packed everything in very well — NOTHING broke on our move to NY.
Only reason I give it a four is due to some slight miscommunication on Carty’s side where they emailed us the day before the move saying they had no confirmation from us (even though we had confirmed via email and over the phone) so they were assuming that we weren’t hiring them anymore. That was very scary considering it was the day before the move, but we got it quickly sorted out.

Tommy from Cardy’s was able to fit my move in the very next day, and when I offhandedly mentioned that earlier was better for me, he called me that night when another client rescheduled and was at my house at 8AM the next morning. They were so helpful and fast, it was all done in less than 2 hours – really fantastic, I will be recommending them to everyone!

I hired Carty a second time and was considerably less pleased with their performance. These guys are great for a small apartment move in-​town but less than ideal for bigger moves. The biggest issue was that the total bill ended up almost 2x his original estimate. Tommy’s explanation was that there was unexpected traffic on the Bay Bridge and more furniture than he anticipated. All of that is fair enough (he has to pay his guys after-​all) but I felt as though the delay was in-​part attributable to the fact that his guys were pretty young and seemed a bit unexperienced.

Used these guys twice. first time I lived on the third floor with some major furniture, had a very full garage a few blocks from our apartment with loads of awkward shaped stuff (many bikes) and they moved it all like it was nothing.
The second time was a move from SF to Sonoma County. Again several places to load. The SF place was on a very steep hill with a neighbor who was super territorial about his sidewalk. Tommy and his crew handled it all cool as cucumbers. Loaded and unloaded super efficiently. All our stuff arrived safe and sound. Pricewise inline with others if not a bit less and super nice, no nonsense folks.

Used Carty for moving out an apartment in San Francisco. They were on time, efficient, and extremely good at packing everything into the storage locker, saving me the cost and expense of getting two lockers.
Hey Unilocal!why did you filter my review? I really used Carty and I really liked their services. Please unfiltered my review :(

I have used Carty Moving & Storage twice. Tommy’s rates are reasonable and was only relativley a little bit late both times but he moved quickly once he arrived. So I decided to once again book them as my movers. I had been a loyal customer.
However, I booked him for the 3^rd time he failed to show up. After I sent him email confirmations of time, date and location of pickup. So I wait, wait and wait and no movers the day of my move. Tommy finally answers and tells me there was a mixed-​up of the date of my move. I have written confirmation of my time and move.
He apologized for the mix-​up but the apology does nothing in regards to moving my boxes and belongings into my new place. I took time off work for this move. I’m very disappointed in the lack of service and professionalism with this move.
I recommend to get a company that may costs a bit more but will save you the time and hassle of trying to locate them. I do not recommend Carty & Moving Storage.

Used them twice and will continue to use them. Very professional, took care of the boxing for me, and costed less than I was quoted. Doesn’t get any better than that.

Tommy has an Irish accent, blonde/​brown hair, and at the time, was sporting a buzz cut. He was assisted by a young fellow who looked to be no more than his teens with brown hair, tall and thin. Both wore green shirts and jeans. If I never did business with the guy, I’d have no reason to post this review.
Tommy – Here’s some food for thought. Instead of skulking the Unilocal reviews and harrassing the Unilocalers, why not focus on improving your service so that people won’t feel so inclined to write negative reviews? Now please leave me alone!

I had a moving company cancel on me last minute on the morning of my move, 30 minutes before their scheduled arrival time!!!
I frantically called the top list of 4.5−5 star reviews on Unilocal to see if anyone could help within an hour. Needless to say, I was lucky to discover Carty Moving & Storage! They came to the rescue! They showed up at my place within an hour, wrapped everything and moved the house with ease. They did not scratch one piece of furniture, or hit a wall. They made my move a pleasant experience, now imagine that!
Thank you! Thank you!

I had a very good experience using Carty Moving for a move at the end of June and I thought I’d share my experience.
1. Mr. Carty (Tommy) and I exchanged emails ahead of time and he gave me an accurate estimate of how much the entire move would cost. It was a straight forward transaction with no hassle.
Tip: Make sure you ask about the price with and without insurance.
2. Mr. Carty and one of his employees arrived ahead of time and quickly got to work.
3. They did a great job in packaging everything. I was most worried about my TV. But there was no reason for concern. They did a phenomenal job of wrapping it up and making sure it wasn’t damaged! Everything arrived at my new apartment in excellent condition. And they put everything exactly where I wanted it.
4. Mr. Carty was a professional and was really easy to work with.
Overall, it was my pleasure using Carty Moving for my move.

The Saga of CARTY MOVING & STORAGE CONTINUES
Earlier, posted a copy of a BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU COMPLAINT that I filed. Since Thomas Carty, owner of CARTY MOVING refused to answer their inquiries, The BBB closed the case.
D O N O T U S E C A R T Y M O V I N G ~ EVER,
YOU ARE W A R N ED THAT TOMMY CARTY is UNTRUSTWORTHY
In June 2011, the matter was turned over to the PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION.
Yesterday I received a call from one of their agents stating that Mr. carty sent him a note telling him that CARTY MOVING N E V E R E V E R
MOVED my HOUSEHOLD GOODS.
DOES THIS MAN MAINLINE, SNORT or SMOKE some really dangerous stuff???
Why would someone tell a BIG LIE to a Government Agency that could revoke his license?
I sent in all our communications to to the PUC shortly after I hung up. These communications were via eMail and with his eMail address, all his responses.
My attorney told me to take photos of my home and belongings before I moved. Mysteriously my expensive Canon camera disappeared along with two pair of expensive sunglasses. I have no proof of who took thm, but I have my own thoughts. Now I have no proof of what I had and the condition of my belongings.
People like Tommy Carty make me ILL.

These guys were really amazing.
They arrived on short notice, were very careful with everything and were nice, fast and professional.
Glad I found them on Unilocal.I recommend them highly.

I have moved a lot in the past 5 years and these guys are the best moving company I have dealt with to date. Very easy to work with, on time and good pricing. I actually called Sat morning on the off chance they could squeeze in a one room move that afternoon and they made it happen!
I highly recommend Carty moving and will definitely use them again.

I would have posted a review earlier, but I just joined Unilocal.
I used Carty in the past almost 2 years ago and they were amazing. Came to help me on a Sunday at the last minute, worked quickly and efficiently, and even came in under their 2 hour minimum, despite me moving to the other side of the city.
Because of that great experience, I didn’t hesitate to call them when it was time to make another move at the end of April– this time only half the distance of the last move.
When I called to get a quote, I was told it would take about 3 hours to pick up my things, drive to my roommate’s, pick up his things, bring them all back over to the new place, and unload the truck. We didn’t really have all that much stuff (which was all preboxed and packed close to our respective front doors for quick loading.)
The guys were friendly enough, but at both my and my roommate’s place, they took personal phone calls and moved really slowly, lacking the sense of urgency I had been so impressed with the time before.
After waiting at the new apartment for them to arrive, my roommate called to tell me they were going to take a 30 minute LUNCH BREAK (they were already into the 4 hour mark at this point, well over their quoted time) before coming back to finish. They pulled in front of the new apartment, and 55 minutes later, showed back up.
They started unloading, placing boxes without paying attention to which room they were labeled. In the end, they only took off 30 minutes from the bill for their 55 minute break, and charged for close to 6 hours of work, making my fee over $ 200 more than the original quote. How frustrating!
The experience ended with me chasing the leader out before he drove away because he put my bed together wrong, and having to argue with him to fix it.
Personal opinion? It all depends on which guys you get helping you out– hope you get the good ones!

If I could give Carty Moving and Storage negative stars I would. In a previous review I outlined how I used Carty to move last September and how they overcharged me for that move by aprox. $ 515 on my family credit card. Despite multiple emails and phone calls over a six month period, it took me posting a negative Unilocal review to get the situation remedied.
In the end, Tommy Carty refunded $ 345 of the $ 515 overcharge. Because I never got a quote in writing from this company –which I had used three previous times to this instance with stellar and affordable service– he didn’t see fit to honor what his employee told me over the phone (three hours at $ 150/​hr for a whopping total of $ 450, plus bridge toll and drive time). Fine. My family and I were just so tired of dealing with it we said «fuck it, we’ll take that and consider the matter concluded.»
After my Mom received a check from Carty I updated my Unilocal review from one star to three star and said that while I had had a bad experience, Tommy Carty and crew had done the right thing in the end.
Apparently that isn’t good enough for Tommy Carty. Starting three days ago I started to get emails from him, harassing me and bullying me about the details of my Unilocal review. I went back and forth with him a few times and told him to stop contacting me, that our business was concluded and that I was entitled to my opinion of his business practices.
He has responded with increasingly nasty emails — threatening me with legal action over this review. I quote:
From an email yesterday (⁴⁄₁₅) at 1:53pm:
«and in fact if I take that paper work to the PUC you might just end up paying back the money I refunded you, its happened before, believe me,»
From an email yesterday (⁴⁄₁₅) at 2:16pm:
«the move actually did take 6 hours if you add up all the drive time between each location as per PUC rules,
and I did not threaten you with repaying, you need to read things more carefully, but be careful I might just do that»
From an email Friday (⁴⁄₁₆) at 7:22am:
«It looks like I’m not getting through to you,
maybe I should take it to the PUC,
so you will need to get your paperwork in order and, because you and your 5 witnesses will have to show up for a hearing and when they rule in my favor I will be coming after you for slander and lost revenue due to the lies you posted on Unilocal,
your making life very difficult for yourself,
and don’t worry the PUC deal with this kind of stuff every day and know very well that that job could not have been done in 3 hours,
see you in court,
Tommy»
Yesterday morning I sent Tommy an email that simply said «Do not contact me.» This is the response I got:
From an email today (⁴⁄₁₇) at 6:49am:
«Sorry Kate,
I didn’t get chance to read your emails, too busy looking after my sober customers, have a drink for your self and then sit down at your computer a decide who’s life your going to fuck with you sad individual,
have another drink first tho, go on you know you need one.»
THEN LESS THAN THREE MINUTES LATER:
«have have a drink there Kate, you’ll feel better, go on have a drink»
This guy is a fucking WACK JOB and he’s actually starting to scare me. I’m in Chicago for business, but when I get back to Oakland I’m seriously considering filing a police report.
I don’t know when stating my opinion of poor service given became considered slander… Be forewarned, Unilocalers — if you use Carty Moving and Storage and have a negative experience with them, be aware that if you Unilocal about it you’ll be bullied and threatened by this company’s owner until you change your review.
Personally, he can try to take me to court if he wants to – it’s not actionable — and, I’ve already filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau about his practices asking them to intercede and get him to stop contacting me. I’m about to email Nish or someone at Unilocal to ask them to help me out, too.