Movers On Demand Van Lines

I hate the idea of writing a negative review, but I honestly feel it’s my duty to warn you away from these people. The move itself was okay, but they did manage to break my dresser. When I pointed this out, I was told, «But it’s just cheap IKEA furniture, that happens.» This was the third time it had been moved, and it had never gotten so much as a dent before. Turns out it’s just a question of how careful the movers are…
A second problem during the move would come to plague me for the next 6 months. Instead of following me from San Francisco to Adams Point in Oakland, they inexplicably left the freeway and took a turn through downtown during traffic time. This added 45 minutes, unnecessarily, to the drive time (I waited for them, on my front steps, for 45 minutes), and of course they charged me for it. When I asked where they’d been, I was told that trucks aren’t allowed on I-​580. This is only true, though, after the Grand Ave exit, and my exit was before that. In other words, because they a) didn’t follow me and b) didn’t know the laws regarding truck restrictions on Oakland freeways, I paid an extra $ 100. I was unable to discuss this with them on the day, because I didn’t learn about their misunderstanding of the freeways until I’d lived in Oakland for a week, where there are signs all over saying that the truck restriction kicks in only after Grand Ave.
Now the real fun begins. Over the next 6 months, I attempted to contact their office to ask for a refund of the excess drive-​time charges that had accrued due to the drivers’ mistake. When I finally got somebody on the phone, Ben, he said he would pull my record and call me back. That never happened, and a month went by. I just spoke with Ben again today and explained the problem in detail while he looked at my account. I have voicemails from the drivers to prove the truth of their mistake, and Ben’s own incorrect impression of the driving restrictions on I-​580 (he, too, believed that the restriction on trucks applied to the whole freeway, and this is not accurate) was added evidence that this company just doesn’t know the law.
At the end of our conversation, he said, and I quote: «There’s no way you’re going to get a refund, because my boss just doesn’t care. He lives in Texas and just wants his money.»
And the icing on the cake? The jocular, homophobic remarks from one of the movers while I was signing the papers after the move. Perhaps he thought this was appropriate because I’m a straight guy, but I did not find it appropriate or acceptable at all.
This company does not care about you or fairness. Do not give them your business.

Do not use this company. Everything everyone else has stated is true they are scam artists. When I initially booked with this company, they quoted my listed items and assured me that it would only take 3 hours and even if it went over it would only be an extra hour at the very most. I was fine with this and set up my appointment. Unfortunately, there was an emergency and I had to go out of town the same weekend I was moving. So I had my boyfriend take over the move and sadly some information ended up being lost in translation because he didn’t know that we had a set price and was hugely ripped off.
The worst of the experience:
1. They showed up 3 hours late
2. They worked very slowly and took several breaks (most of which were in my bathroom)
3. They scratched the walls of both my new apartment and my old one.
4. After 10 minutes of being there they asked rudely, «So, are you going to give me some water or what?»
5. They took over 6 hours
6. They complained about what they had to carry and made faces when they had to carry heavier items… seriously.
7. They claimed to not charge for mileage, packing supplies etc and yet they did.
I feel strongly that they took advantage of my boyfriend because they saw an opportunity to scam someone who might not have all the facts. Once I found out what happened, I called and questioned them about being overcharged, I have been given the run around so much I have realized that I must chalk it up to a tough lesson learned.

This place is the biggest rip off ever. Before they told me the price of any packing materials, they started «moving» my things. Once they got to the Prices of the materials, I told them to stop, I did not authorize any of this. They had used of $ 500 worth of boxes. It was 11 boxes. They refused to take any back because they were already used. When I finally unpacked the boxes, they pack my own boxes into their boxes. In fact I had 2 empty boxes they packed into their $ 46 box along with my shred pile. So basically I paid for them to pack my empty boxes and garbage into their truck. All before even signing the contract. Had I thought about it then, I should have told them to get off my property right then an there or I’d call the cops. NEVER EVER go with these guys. In fact, I’m reporting them to the BBB.

So I found there posting on craigslist and contacted them. I set up to meet them to move my toolbox Saturday at 3pm. It was only about a 2 mile move. I got to the shop at 2:30 and got all my stuff ready to move. 3:00 came and went with no truck. At about 3:45 I called and they said that they were in the city on another move and will call me a half hour before they were to arrive. 4:30 came and still no call. I had planed to drop my box off and be done by 5 when the new shop I was going to work at was to close. Around 4:45 i called and they told me they would call me a half hour before they got there. I asked if they had any idea of when they might be there and was told 6:30 or 7. I couldn’t have my new boss wait around that long so I told them not to worry about it. Now I have to figure out how to move my 3,000lb tool box on my own by 8am Monday. I don’t know if they just didn’t want to deal with such a small move or they just cant manage there time well but in any case they totally screwed me and my new workplace that had scheduled work for me Monday morning. I guess i’ll check Unilocal next time before I hire someone.

It’s always a chance you take when you call movers because I’ve experienced and heard too many horror stories… well, this time I lived it… not as bad as it could have been, but it’s something you need to know about.
I spoke with Ben, who asked what the price was that I saw on craigslist, which I should have cut that in half since it was so random, then he offered 5% off more because I’m a Costco member. It was clear from the craigslist ad that dollars begin counting an hourly rate 2 men to pack/​load/​move/​unload my few items beginning at their arrival at my door until the unloading is done the way I wanted. Well, they arrived over 1 hour late, did a good job protecting my furniture, drove 65 miles, then the scam began. Looking back, I should have seen them eyeing the leather couches at loading. To make a long story short: As soon as we arrived at our destination, 1 man came into our home, started calculating all these random numbers, claiming there was driving and gas involved, taxes, etc coming out to almost triple the amount we expected to pay and that if we had a problem with that he’d keep out couches. All this before they even unloaded anything. Oh, yes, an important point is this part of the scam — he says to clear it up with Ben, but Ben was conveniently not available through 30 minutes of trying to reach him. My immediate response was I’ll call the police and don’t BS me. Keep the couch and watch the sirens behind you. So instead of me deducting their 1 hour late time (i was going to be fair and deduct ½ hour), we both left hours later (he just stood there waiting for me to change my mind!) we paid him what Ben & I orignially agreed uopn and said goodbye. Through all this, they did do a good job protecting and moving the furniture. We felt jipped and he made us feel like we jipped him. Sorry this is so long.