Complaint Review: Special Ops Moving

Worst moving company ever! As soon as they got here, I caught the scent of weed. It is legal here in Colorado, but that is totally unprofessional! I have no idea how long it has been since these guys may have smoked. They sent two skinny guys to move my 1000lbs gun safe from my garage down to my basement. Neither one bothered to introduce themselves. Being a military family, we have moved a lot. Never have we seen movers even attempt this safe with fewer than three men. I asked if there were only two of them and if they could move a safe this size. They assured me they could. I showed one of them the route through the house and down the steps to the storage room where we wanted the safe to be placed. He said it was no problem. I asked if they would prefer to go in through the front to avoid the steps from the garage into the house; they said no.

The hydraulic lift was straining with the weight just trying to get it up to the two small steps from the garage into the house. They padded nothing (not the safe, not my doors, not my railings), and they struggled for nearly 20 minutes just getting it into the house, dropping it once and damaging the threshold of the door between the house and the garage. They stopped at the top of the basement steps to discuss how to handle getting it down the stairs. I asked if they had someone else who could help because I had never seen it moved with less than three people and that was on a flat surface. They discussed and said it would take too long to get someone else out here and that they would rather come back than wait, but finally decided they could do it themselves. They never asked me what I'd prefer, as though it is acceptable to leave that item in the middle of my family room. 

Then these two guys began moving the safe down the basement steps without measuring. They got it stuck in the stairwell and couldn't get it down or up. They actually asked me if they could leave it there and take care of it "possibly tomorrow." Holy cow! They rested the safe by a corner up against my wall leaving a deep gouge and one of the guys put a hole in my wall with his elbow trying to brace the safe from below. Thank goodness I took down the pictures on that wall before they started. I called the main number for the company, no answer. I called the manager's emergency line and there was no answer. I left a voicemail and got no return call. Finally, the movers called to get help and nobody answered for them either. The manager and owner, Mike, finally called them back and spoke to me on one of the mover's phones. Mike never once apologized or offered a way to fix anything.

He wouldn't listen to me talk about how many times we have seen this thing get moved in the past, and he completely refused to acknowledge that his movers should have measured my stairwell first to ensure that they had enough room to maneuver the safe AND the dolly. He kept telling me how his movers are the best in the business and have moved three safes this size already this week, but they can't move walls. Again, I told him that if they had measured, they would have known it wouldn't work with their dolly before they got a safe STUCK in my stairwell. He asked me if I am a moving professional because they know how to move things. Unbelievable from a guy whose employees got my safe stuck. I was livid and told him that I hoped he had insurance before handing the phone back. Finally, the manager said he would send another person over to help get this thing unstuck and back in my garage.

For anyone who cares about veteran owned businesses as my husband and I do since we are both retired Army veterans, this business is NOT owned by a veteran. The current owner bought it from a veteran and clearly has no idea what quiet professionalism means.

The final straw: they never asked me to sign the contract before starting the work. After the damage, they asked me to sign a form that said they are not responsible for doors and walls. I asked them to wait until I could speak to my attorney. Instead, they took the contract and drove off. I called my bank because I wanted to know if I could stop payment on the deposit. While I was on the phone with the bank, the manager actually had the nerve to charge my card for the remaining contract amount even though they never completed the job as promised. The safe is back in my garage where it started. I was told that I would be asked to pay the remaining balance when work was completed and that I could pay with check or credit card. I was NOT asked to pay once the safe was moved back to my garage where it started and I did NOT authorize any further payments on my credit card. Manager/owner used credit card number from deposit and charged without my consent.

I attempted to contact the manager/owner directly after getting off the phone with my bank. He did not answer and I left a voicemail that I was angry and would dispute the credit card charges if he didn't contact me like a professional business owner to discuss. He has not returned my call. I have lodged complaints with the BBB and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, which regulates moving companies here in Colorado.

Comments overheard by me and my children while they were here... "This is f***ed up. We shouldn't have done it." "It is hard to keep from laughing; she is really mad." "We can't get it out with just the two of us and it won't go around the corner." "I don't wait to wait for somebody else to show up, let's just do this. You think we can?" "My shoes are sliding all over, I can't hold onto this." "We put a hole is this lady's wall and I can't get behind the safe now. I'm not about to get crushed." There were more; it is all unbelievably unprofessional.

UPDATE: This company states that the customer is responsible for telling them what will or will not fit somewhere, not their crew. They further stated that they don't use the materials to protect property that they say they do on their website if it will get in the way. Of course, they didn't bring those materials out and attempt to use them. I find it ironic that the crew could supposedly look and determine if padding and floor coverings will prevent maneuvering in my home, but they can't look at a stairwell to determine if they can fit in there with their equipment. The registered agent for the business continues to make excuses for their actions and state that it is my fault that I didn't know the safe wouldn't maneuver in my stairwell. How could I possibly know this ahead of time? How could they not need to measure to make a determination before starting work? If they need to know such things in advance, then why don't they ask when you tell them stairs are involved? They have no answers to that. They are unprofessional on every front. I do find it somewhat humorous and definitely telling that they sent the same response to the BBB that they sent to me, except in the BBB response they actually added the words, "We apologize for the negative experience." It is too bad that they couldn't be bothered to apologize to me or take any responsibility for what happened.