Rockville - Washington DC Branch

This was the worst moving experience of our lives, and we're afraid the review below will not do our nightmare justice. However, we cannot let another person or family use them without knowing of what we experienced: non-responsive customer service, shoddy packing, late delivery, and numerous broken items. The reason we chose FlatRate Moving was because of the reviews and they were referred by another moving company. Let me also say, the initial call to discuss our family's needs was professional and thorough, and I felt good about their communication. That would be the beginning and end of any positive experiences with FlatRate. Delayed delivery: Our nightmare began as soon as our items were packed up from the home we were leaving. We confirmed a delivery window of 7/7-7/16, and we had to be available within 24 hours (in a long distance move) which we confirmed we would, and made ourselves flexible. I called the long distance moving line and spoke with an operator on 7/5 to see if they had any idea to when it would be delivered, and they told me "definitely at the end of the window but to call back in a few days with more of an update." I called on 7/9 and the operator said the exact same thing. I continued to call every 1 to 2 days only to receive the same answer. They also said I would receive an email 4 days out with a status update, and that never happened. On Saturday, July 15th I made yet another call (without one form of communication from anyone) to an operator who told me "your things will definitely not be there by tomorrow, the last day of your window, and because it is Saturday I do not have any further information for you." I will have someone call you first thing Monday morning. We moved from CA to DC, and because of this delay, we had to get a hotel room for 2 additional nights. Let me reiterate, I never received ANY form of communication regarding this delay or an update for that matter. On Monday morning I received a call from Adam who called himself our moving manager. I was never told we had a moving manager named Adam, nor had Adam ever reached out to me. Adam said our moving truck would be there the following day, 7/18 at 8am. I expressed my frustrations with Adam, and he told me he would tell someone "who could compensate for my frustrations and hotel nights" and have them call me. A follow-up call promised all expenses would be covered. Broken contract: The following day, our movers arrived on time and were very nice -- but we later learned they were wholly disconnected from FlatRate; FlatRate hires local movers to move you out -- a driver to move your stuff -- and local movers at your destination to unpack you. However, halfway through the day, they told me they were not being paid by FlatRate to unpack us. We had no idea this was the case, and per the contract sent to us, it included unpacking. Also, the home we left was 100% packed up by the moving team. The contract also said that they would dispose of all boxes. they didn't and we were left with 25+ unpacked boxes. The contract also said they would put all items in the correct rooms. The problem with that is that the original movers had mislabeled most boxes and did not organize the items (i.e. glassware with baby blankets and computer screens with clothing.) It was a mess, and there was no way for the movers to put boxes in correct rooms. At the end of the move in, the main mover said to me, "sorry for the mess, but this is not our fault." Destruction of items: The other big issue, were the items destroyed during the move. When they packed us, there were several items that were very fragile, and they put them in special crates. One of these items was the marble top to our dining room table. When the movers were delivering this, they pulled it out of the crate and it was cracked down the entire middle. Shelving, a dresser and many other items were also damaged. We are currently in the process of filing a claim for this. Lastly, I called Adam and the claims department several times throughout our move in day. I was in tears asking to speak with anyone who could offer me some help through the process. I was even willing to pay the contract movers to have them stay and unpack. Finally, the COO David Giampietro, called me back. I went through everything with him. He asked me what he could do to help. I asked him if he could send someone over to pick up the 25+ boxes that I was going to have to empty. He said they don't offer this. I asked him if there were more movers to come back and help, and he said if we were in NYC he could but not in DC. I was at a loss. He told me he would call me back the following day to let me know if he had any movers he could have come by. Despite several calls a week to David I have yet to hear back. Don't be fooled by the name, FlatRate, the true cost is too much time, too much money, and unnecessary tears.

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The good and bad about Flat Rate Moving was just that, the flat rate.  I've heard horror stories about many moving companies and I believe the bickering over time often can be an issue.  These guys did not screw around and got right to work and were a great team.  The bad thing about Flat Rate is they charge by the item (versus time) so each thing can drive up the cost.  However, I had forgotten abut a couple items and they did not charge me for loading the items, which they could have.  The 4 movers were personable and courteous.  I was also surprised and happy they were able to do this on a holiday.  None of the guys complaiined and took great care of the furniture.  The cost covered 3 bedrooms, living room and dining room.  No boxes, only furniture.  Everything went into a storage unit.  I felt the price was decent for the work they did. 

The crew showed up on time and ready to go to work.  They are professionals and know what they are doing and worked well together as a team.  The crew themselves were great, although the foreman had a bit of an attitude.  They rushed the job, though, and in the process managed to damage a few pieces of furniture (dents and scrapes in dining room table, dented leg of another table, destroyed a lampshade, chipped the edge of a glass table).  The foreman made light of it.

And the basic insurance coverage is not very good (my fault for not reading the contract more carefully, although the relocation specialist could have given me a heads up about the low insurance. The damage was simply because they didn't take their time in moving and loading the truck.  It was all very avoidable.

When we got to the new house, we asked them to slow down and to be very careful with the wall and carpeting and wood floors as we had just had it all redone.  They did slow down and were very respectful of our belongings and our house. 

Again, the crew was a great bunch of guys....the foreman left a bit to be desired. We would use them again, but would ask them to slow down from the beginning and take their time to avoid damage.

Their pricing is VERY reasonable, and they are prompt and the estimating process is VERY easy. So overall, we were satisfied, and would use them again, but with the speed caveat noted above.  The quality rating of C is due to the damaged goods.  The rating of B under professionalism is due to the foreman's demeanor.