First Choice Relocation

First Choice Relocation is clearly trying to take advantage of an elderly woman who lives alone (she is 83 years old). She never signed a contract with First Choice Relocation, and was not aware of any additional fees which may be incurred. First Choice Relocation's deal was with State Farm. First Choice Relocation is holding our personal items hostage, AND charging us $175 per day we do not pay their extortion. This is a classic BAIT AND SWITCH – they bid low to get the contract with State Farm, and then jacked up the price 244% once they had our personal items.

Don't be fooled by any good reviews. We had a TERRIBLE moving experience with First Choice Relocation. Warning, this review may be a little long. (A) We were scheduled as the first move of the day, and were told to expect the movers between 8:30 and 9:00 am for a job that should take about 4-5 hours. The team of movers contacted us at 8 am the morning of the move to let us know they would be on the way soon; however, they did not arrive at our house in Broken Arrow (from Jenks) until 9:40am. (B) In addition to taking frequent smoke breaks, the team of movers took an extraordinarily long (1hr 17min) lunch break. I called the office when the movers didn't return after 1 hour, and Macy had to call them to get them to return to the house to finish the job. As of 2pm, the movers had only completed a total of 3 hours of actual work. (C) When the movers returned from their lengthy lunch break, the first guy to walk into our house was someone whom I had never seen before. He wasn't a part of the crew who arrived in the morning, and he apparently replaced the "team lead" while they were gone to lunch. In fact, he claimed to be the "team lead's brother" and would finish the job on his behalf. (D) The crew didn't bring any of their own tools to job. When it came time to do things like take refrigerator doors/handles off, they had to borrow my tools. That was a first for me. (E) We had MAJOR PROBLEMS with the packing job. At 6pm -- more than 8 hours after they began -- we finally had to tell them to stop packing because they were just throwing things in to the back of a trailer. (I'll try to attach images.) We had to travel back to town a week later in order to load another trailer and finish the job. DAMAGED ITEMS: - I have a ceramic smoker on a wooden cabinet on casters that I have moved in the past without incident. I provided specific instructions up front to handle with care; however, the movers forgot to load it on the 26' truck (where they could roll it up a ramp) and instead loaded it on a small 10' trailer where it jostled around during the drive. In addition, they knocked one of the feet loose from the grill while loading it, but neglected to tell me. As a result, my $800 smoker arrive at our new home with a huge crack in the base. - They did not pad, nor wrap, our brand new (2 months old) Maytag washer and dryer. The dryer arrived at our new home with several scratches on the front. (We provided 60 moving pads, which was more than enough for the job.) - They packed our upright piano near the very end of the truck instead of loading it on near the front and did not handle with care nor properly pad it. It arrived at our new home with a deep gouge and multiple scratches on the side. - They neglected to wrap nor pad my large craftsman tool chests (with drawers). Fortunately, they weren't damaged; however, they should have been wrapped. The packing job was haphazard. There were huge holes where nothing was packed. I have pictures that show a tower of boxes tipped over before we even left the house. I'll try to include images that show how bad it was. (F) When I first notified First Choice about the problems, they responded positively and offered to pay to replace and/or repair the damaged items mentioned above. They asked me to provide some proof of the value, which seemed reasonable to me. However, once I provided them with the documentation, they essentially ghosted me. Since providing the information they requested, I have called five times, left 2 or 3 voicemails, and sent 4 or 5 emails, but they refuse to acknowledge or respond to any of my messages. I have moved many times, but until now, I have never received service this poor from any moving company. Hire First Choice Relocation at your own risk.

It went very well. The movers were friendly and handled the china cabinet with care.

07-24-2019 I emailed Mr. Haynes to discuss facts about the job he did for us. I have not received a reply. First, I want to say the crew was respectful and I appreciated that. Prior to the day of the bid which was done on 01-09-2019 I had only spoken with the owner (Gary Haynes). I had asked many questions because I wanted to make sure things were done in the approved manner. I was very fearful of items being broken and bedbugs picked up from a moving truck. Mr. Haynes assured me his crew was accustomed to moving many items including antiques. And they knew what to look for regarding bed bug infestation. Those are moves they turn down. 01-09-2019 Kelly came to our home in Tulsa, OK, to give a bid for loading, transporting, and off-loading our belongings to a small town in West TN. As I remember it--I was expecting Mr. Haynes rather than another person to bid the job. Cost $5,195.92. Mr. Haynes and Kelly were well aware some of our possessions would be dropped off at the home where we'd be living. The remainder would be off-loaded into storage. 01-22-2019 the crew loaded our possessions in Tulsa, OK. It began to rain in the afternoon. The crew appeared to really hurry at that point. Kelly arrived during this time. I did not realize until later he had underbid the job and was nervous when he got to our home late that day because it was taking too long. He accused me of adding tools to the garage. I had not and told him so. We had intended on leaving behind just a few items for the new owners. But instead, because I was continually being told we were running out of room on the truck, I left behind many, many possessions, including large pieces, which I didn't intend to leave. I was instructed twice to do a walk through to see what else needed to go. WELL, considering there was no more room on the truck and the crew wasn't offering to get another one and I was totally exhausted, I just looked at 3 chairs, coffee table, 2 end tables, white cabinet, a small baker's rack, in-the-wall ironing board-still in the box, large wall mirror, 8 cases of canning jars, dolly, rolling Rubbermaid commercial mop bucket with wringer, & rolling hamper. Also, outside the push mower had to be left behind. . After the truck had gone I realized the entire contents of the small shed in the back yard was left behind. At one point the crew prepared my curio cabinet to load. Because of the delicate Queen Anne style legs I asked specifically, 'don't you need to lift the weight up off the legs to protect them?' 'No' they said, it'll be fine. Well it isn't. I was told from the beginning not to worry about the move. As it turned out there was plenty to worry about. It was an enormously stressful day. I was overwhelmed. My husband who is a transplant patient is dependent on an Oxygen Concentrator. He kept saying to me - tell them to get a bigger truck. I did not. I should have. 01-23-2019 they transported our possessions to TN dropping off some things at the home where we'd be living. 01-24-2019 they off-loaded the remainder at the storage facility. 01-24-2019 I sent an email to Mr. Haynes and asked, "...since most of our things will be in storage for up to 1 year (which he had been told from the beginning) and I can't examine them until I unpack, what if I find something broken?" Also, I asked, "Should I have signed something when the job finished?" His email back to me stated: "Please give me a call when you have the time." 02-15-2019 I called Mr. Haynes. I told him when Kelly came to bid the job I showed him the few pieces we were leaving behind. Everything else would go with us. Our home was a 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, 2 car garage (full of items), 1 large shed full, 1 small shed full, large grill, JD lawn tractor, and a push mower. Mr. Haynes and I discussed how things had taken place regarding our move. He said, 'at the end of the day it is the homeowner's responsibility to walk through and say what else needs to go'. Again, I said, well I was being told we were running out of room on the truck. And then - there was just no more room. What were my options? During our conversation I was told, Kelly had learned from our job, unfortunately for us. I said 'at the end of the day you are running a business and I believe the crew should have seen the problem and told us they can get another truck.' I forgot to ask about damages that resulted from the move. And Mr. Haynes did not speak about it. 07-19-2019 I, along with my best friend Mary, went to the storage facility to carefully observe as all items were moved to a climate controlled inside entry unit that had become available. The climate controlled outside entry unit where the First Choice crew had off-loaded our possessions was not cooling properly. My friend and I watched every piece being moved. In, approximately, the middle of the unit was my curio cabinet. The 2 men (not First Choice) moving items at the storage facility reached for my curio cabinet...it started leaning. The reason, one leg was completely broken off. Apparently, it had just been placed back under the cabinet when it was off-loaded. Another leg was badly broken but still connected. These legs are irreplaceable. I was so upset I did not examine the front two legs. Pictures were immediately taken and attached to an email sent to Mr. Haynes. 07-24-2019 I emailed Mr. Haynes. I asked (other than the damaged curio cabinet that I have seen) since our things will be in storage for up to 1 year and I can't examine them until I unpack...how will this whole situation be handled by your company? I have not received a reply. Because Mr. Haynes rescues animals/dogs I wanted to overlook as much as possible. I believe all animal lovers feel the same. But, he must be responsible, address problems, and pay for any damages which occurred during the initial loading, transporting, and off-loading of a customer's possessions.

The move was very smooth. Kelly and Adrian arrived on time and immediately went to work. They took care in moving all the furniture. The job was completed in under three hours. I was very satisfied with the experience.

The movers did their job professionally, were polite, didn't break anything, and got the job done. I did have a problem with the price I was charged compared to the price I was quoted. That was somewhat resolved by the owner. Beware of what you are quoted and what you are charged--additional fees and charges. I've moved about 20 times, and this was the first time this ever happened to me. It was a 6 mile move. Besides the small overcharge, the job was performed well and the owner did address my overcharge concern.

My movers were amazing! Not one thing was scratched or broken. They were completely professional.

Excellent prompt service at a reasonable price! Thank you!

Three man crew did a great job protecting and moving our household appliances and furniture across town to our new home. They protected the doorways where items were moved through and removed doors were clearance was a problem. It was a hot and humid day but they stayed hydrated and wasted no time during the move. Very professional and polite. I have recommended them on the Nextdoor app on several occasions already. We would hire them again.

These are the best professionals. They treated my things as if they were their own items. They didn’t take breaks and keep moving to hit my moving deadlines. I highly recommend this company.

I would hire again. However as with my experience with moving companies, the guys aren't as efficient with moving and loading. I normally would rent a Uhaul and enlist family and friends to move, but I needed this done on the day after Thanksgiving and didn't want to bother anyone.

Very smooth. The movers were great and very professional. They handled everything as if it were their own items. They even took an old bed frame and mattress to Goodwill for me.

They put everything where we asked them to. I thought they did an excellent job. I was very happy.

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Went pretty well until the end when the new drywall was scuffed up in two places as well as the ceiling. Then the wooden legs on my couch were scrapped up on the wood floors - both the legs on the couch and the wood floor was slightly damaged.

The guys were very professional, courteous. I was very pleased with the way everything worked out!! Would certainly call them back for help, and would give a two thumbs up, five star recommendation!!!

I have used movers a lot over the years and First Choice is by far the best moving company I have ever used. They are a family-oriented business and they are so nice and careful and bend over backwards to provide good service. I highly recommend them to my friends. Recently, I needed about 2 hours of moving services, but needed part of the move done first, and they helped me out and sent someone out to take care of the first part of the move the very next day and then sent them back for the rest of the move later. Top, top quality company and people! Couldn't trust these people more!

All went very well.

They did a great job. We had a coupon from Angie's List that was prepaid for the services I requested.

The First Choice crew arrived promptly as scheduled, and got me loaded up quickly, carefully, and professionally. They had to back down a 550ft twisty, up and down gravel driveway to get to my house, and than had to negotiate stairs for most of my furniture and boxed up stuff. One item was missed that I wouldn't have had room for in my car after I picked up the pet carrier from the vet, so someone came out to the motel where I was staying that evening, to collect it. The unloading in Denver went very smoothly and quickly also, and they placed all the furniture where I asked them to. Stairs again, and corners to negotiate. I felt sorry for the driver - having driven the 700 miles the day before, he had to turn around and drive back the same day they moved me in - he must have been exhausted when he got back, that's a miserable drive! NO BREAKAGE OR DAMAGE at all. I have already recommended First Choice to someone in Tulsa who is expecting to move in the near future, and will be happy to do so again if I hear of anyone else who needs a reliable moving company. One note - if you plan to get boxes from them, be sure and call first, the owners also run an animal rescue, so are not always available in the office. Good people.

Excellent movers, Willis and his partner were top notch. Very careful and professional.

Nick and Clayton did a fabulous job. Those young men worked so hard, and it was over ten hours of work. They were very careful with our belongings and very courteous despite surely being exhausted. This was our second experience with First Choice Relocation, and they're batting 1000!

Smooth move

I would have rated this lower if it wasn't for the movers themselves being so professional and courteous. They were an hour late and told me they didn't have me correctly on the schedule, thought they were coming out for an estimate. The two guys were extremely nice, professional, moved as fast as they could but were safe and my items were all wrapped and moved with caution. I would definitely use these 2 movers again. I bought the 4 hour deal on Angie's List, it ended up taking 8 hours, so I had to pay $100/hour extra but that's fine and average I believe.

I used First Choice Relocation to move from an apartment to a house and also to empty a big storage pod, the 2 gentlemen (Kelly and Clayton) came on time and they were friendly and hard working. They didn’t waste any time and they were very effecinet. The move went very well, and I am very satisfied with their service.