Complaint Review: First Priority Movers - Pasadena Texas

My experience with First Priority Movers was one of the worst Ive ever had with any business in my life. I enlisted them to move my belonging from Dallas, TX to San Jose, CA. You can probably gauge their business by their homepage. As of my writing this review, 10/3/11, there is a video on their website that seems to show why you shouldnt consider their Better Business Bureau rating as reason for concern. I caution you to research their business thoroughly, as their practices seem to be aimed at getting the most money from you in any way possible.

I was contacted by First Priority Movers through a website which sent my information out to different moving companies so that I could get the best price. But let it be known that best price in this business means nothing and, as always, you get what you paid for.

I worked with Chris at ext. 106 on my move. I was promised a door to door move with an estimated 361 sq. ft. costing $1050. For the items I had, this was much cheaper than anyone had quoted me previously. Along with that, the verbal promise that my move would take 3-5 business days, as well as a written guarantee (which I will touch on later) that the move would take at maximum 14 days (the text actually says to MOST states) had me excited that I had found such a great deal. I couldnt have known how wrong I actually was.

On the day of the move, 9/12/11, I was not completely ready and had not been contacted about the time I should be expecting the movers to arrive. I called First Priority as soon as they opened, only to find out that I was not in the pickup schedule in Dallas, but was somehow in their delivery forecast in San Jose. The dispatcher/owner, Jacob (I have been told by multiple First Priority employees that he is the owner, yet he denies it and says another man, Jason, is the owner. However, I have a voicemail where Jason called me, where he described himself as the dispatcher), made haste to get someone to me as fast as possible. That turned out to be around 8 hours later. Though the one mover who actually spoke to me was quite friendly, neither was uniformed and had, by their own admission, been on the road for a long while before they got to me, with the obvious result being men smelling as me do when they havent had time to catch up on a good shower. I honestly felt the situation was questionable at first, but I try not to get caught up into the outward appearance of things.

When the movers arrived, without any true measurements being taken, or any weighing being done, I was told that I had much more than the estimated square footage and that my move would cost around $1800. First Priority charges you $2.88 for all costs estimated, but $4.20 for any square footage that they find additional once they arrive. I couldnt understand how they even calculated the figure and I was completely against the overage, but was in a bind and knew my stuff needed to get moving that night. I spoke with the Jacob who said I had to at least pay the 60% of the total move cost for the job to be done and the items would be checked later for their true size. I figured since the 60% was basically what I was initially told my move would cost, I wouldnt have to pay much more, if not anything additional once things got squared away. Trust is key, and I would later find out that I should not have trusted this company with my belongings. Once I was reading through my contract, I saw the limited liability insurance that was available and requested the additional insurance. The mover didnt know how to handle that, so Jacob was called to get answers. Jacob told me that I didnt need the additional insurance because my stuff was going to stay on the same truck and would be headed to California as soon as they movers arrived. My girlfriend and I questioned this, as the mover had already told us during conversation that they still had to go to Louisiana before dropping our property in Houston. They figured theyd be there in maybe two days, completely shooting holes in the guarantee of 3-5 days to San Jose, or Jacobs claim that it would stay on the same truck.

The actual process of moving my home, a total of less than 50 items, was not completed until almost midnight. I wont blame them for the fact that they had no supplies to complete their own wrapping of my couch, tables, and bed (supposedly part of the complete move) which led to me having to leave to buy the needed supplies, at which time I was involved in a hit and run accident in the vehicle I was driving to California, but I just wish that theyd taken the time to get what was needed.

Through the next three weeks, I called Jacob and Chris multiple times to try to get the situation with what I considered an overcharge handled. I was constantly referred to Jacob by anyone that I spoke to, including another representative who answered the operator line. In all four instances I spoke with Jacob, he said he needed to look at my paperwork and he would call me back. I never received any follow up calls from any of the contact I had with Jacob. As well, I had still not been updated on the location of my belongings.

The entire company shut down on Rosh Hashanah, which, while I was upset that I had been uninformed and basically ignored throughout my move, I was understanding of. I was contacted by the delivery driver, Eugene, on 10/1/11, and told that they would be in my area the next day. They made sure to make me aware of my balance, which I responded that it was still supposedly being handled between myself and Jacob.

The movers arrived promptly the next morning on 10/2/11. When I met them, I found that they were not First Priority Movers, but Summit Van Lines, who had been subcontracted to complete my move because of an issue that I was not made aware of. I contacted Jacob, who, with much rudeness, arguing, hanging up in my face, and turning off his phone so that I could not call, told me he was not doing anything about the delays or the overage and that if I didnt pay the balance he would take everything to storage in Los Angeles and I would have to pay to get it back to San Jose. Furthermore, if I didnt pay in 30 days he threatened to sell everything I owned at auction. Somewhere along the line, he graciously (I use that term somewhat sarcastically) gave me a discount, leaving my remaining balance at only $600. He also offered to lock up my items overnight, as it was Sunday and neither the bank nor post office was open for me to withdraw that amount of funds (they only accept cash or postal money order at pickup). However, after 4 hours of arguing, and eventual police involvement, and me reluctantly agreeing to store the items overnight, I was told by the delivery driver that Summit would charge me an additional $500 to deliver the next day, which Jacob then told me that there was nothing he could do regarding that charge. I had to go to multiple stores and get cash back from purchases to get enough money from my account to satisfy the remaining balance. Once I got the money, I was then told that if the movers had to go up any stairs, or elevators, or move the items more than 75 feet from the truck, I would have to pay an additional amount. The end result was the movers moving everything into the lobby of my apartments and myself and my girlfriend carrying all of our belongings to our apartment (once ALL of the boxes were moved by me, the movers did help get the bed, couch, washer, and dryer, into my apartment, as well as assembling the bed pieces).

Though I am sure I was hostile with the movers because of all of the issues with Jacob, I eventually apologized to them, as well as they to me, for the entire fiasco. One of the delivery guys told me that this was a bad move and that his company would never do the things that [First Priority Movers] does. He said he, would never run a business the way that [First Priority Movers] does, and that they are trying to cheat you. I understood he was only doing his job, but was pretty bitter about the entire situation.

In the end, four boxes were found to be missing, including almost every pair of shoes I own that is suitable for work, as well as all of my girlfriends purses, and other assorted clothing, as well as a leg of our coffee table being broken prior to delivery. Wish me luck on getting that covered through their insurance. I would strongly recommend not using this company. Its not worth the hassle. The money upfront I thought Id save is in no way equal to the money down the line, unprofessionalism, or uncertainty I was faced with. Do yourself a favor and stay away!