Complaint Review: The Other Side Movers - Stroudsburg, Linden PA, NJ

Do not trust this company for one second! I submitted a request for a moving quote online and received several emails/phone calls from various companies. Once call I received was from Alexis at "The Other Side Movers." I need to mention first and foremost DO NOT confuse this with The Other Side Movers out of Utah!! When I was told the company name I immediately looked them up online to check reviews etc and I thougth this had to be the same company. IT IS NOT!! The company out of Utah has all fantastic 5 star reviews. If you want to read some review of what you can expect from this company out of Stroudsburg, PA, look up Precision Relocation. They recently changed their name, and according to the DOT their legal name is A Class Moving Inc, dba The Other Side Movers. Check the DOT number, its the same for all 3 names, and so are the addresses. Main address is in Stroudsburg PA and they have a warehouse in Linden, NJ. 

I made  a BIG rookie mistake by not going about my move in a totally different way and I really hope I can stop other people from making the same mistake!

Alexis went through my inventory with me and provided me with a quote.She told me it was 900 and something cu ft but rounded it up to 1000, $4500 that included a full pack and move from NH to FL. I was in the process of selling my house so between the time I was given a quote and my actual move day, there were several items in the original quote that were not going I decided to sell some stuff and my washer and dryer ended up staying with the house. 

The day the truck showed up I was a little confused because they didnt look like the company I thought I was dealing with. I thought maybe they contract out work during the busy season so I didn't think too much of it. Thinking back now I want to vomit thinking about these scumbags in my house touching my things, probably laughing to themselves. 

Since I was closing on my house the next day, I figured I would go in and clean the rooms as they were emptied. I had packed a lot of personal things such as clothes/shoes etc that I just didnt want strangers touching. 

They packed just about everything in the house, disassembled and wrapped furniture, before "Chris" or "Kris" told me that I had more stuff than quoted and I would be over the 1000 cu ft. I was kind of shocked since I had gotten rid of a lot of things. When I asked by how much he said probably around 1500 cu ft. I was not very happy and just adds stress to an already stressful situation. He called his boss "Jospeph" on speaker and told him I had more stuff than what was quoted. Knowing what I know now, this phone call probably expected and rehearsed. Had I known to look up Precision Relocation I would have seen what has happened to others and NEVER would have hired them!! I told Joseph that I was confused how I was so much more when I got rid of stuff since the quote. He told me it probabl wouldnt be 1500 but maybe closer to 1300. Mistake #1, never hire a moving company that doesn't come out and do a physical appraisal. 

I started thinking of more stuff to get rid of or not take with me to keep the cost down as much as possible. I left behind my nice Weber grill, my xmas tree I bought new last year and my plastic shelving units I had all broke down. I even ended up giving my sons table saw to a friend. 

Even after all that when the truck was packed, I was told it was 1627 cu ft!!! I wanted to die. How does this happen?? They require you to pay them 75% with a check , so I wrote them a check, and the balance of $1700 was supposed to be due on delivery cash or postal money order only. I had the 1750 in hand after I arrived to FL but I made a phone call to Joseph and told him of my experience at my house. They left trash all over my yard consisting of empty water bottles, plastic bags, empty tape spools etc. I had a bag of clementine oranges on my counter for our road trip and they ate all but one, wrapped the peels up in a wad of their packing paper and left them in a small basket I had. (not sure why it wasnt packed) They left random things out that were supposed to be packed and even left a good size basket on top of the pile of stuff I needed to pack in the car. The also packed things they were told not to like things set aside in the bathroom since my son and I were planning on sleeping on an air mattress that night. They packed our toothbrushes, the wet towels we used that morning and the other things I had together and said do not pack these things on this shelf. We were forced to stay in a hotel that night since we had nothing. 

Joseph agreed to cut my balance in half, leaving me due $875. I was satisfied with that at the time. 

When Alexis did the quote with me she said it would probably be closer to 5 days for me to get my stuff. Since we are initially staying at my parents most of my things were going in storage. 5 days turned into 20. I was told on pick up day "up to 14 days." When the 14 days were approaching I started calling asking when my stuff was coming. I was told several different answers several different times. Another mistake. They arent supposed to give you a as soon as possible answer. 

When the truck finally arrived at the storage on day 20,my jaw hit the ground when they opened the back of the truck. I instantly knew that was not all my stuff. The first indication was i had 2 kayaks and they werent there. I asked where the rest of my stuff was but "they didnt know." Apparently they were subcontracted out. Something else that they are not supposed to do. They are supposed to provide names and contact for anyone helping in the transport of your stuff. I called Joseph and asked where my stuff was. He said it was coming on a different truck at a different time, but he couldnt tell me when. Of course I was FURIOUS! I told him I wasnt paying him any more money until I had the rest of my stuff. He said I could pay when I got my stuff. I called the local Sheriffs office to come down just so  I had a report and a witness. As they were unloading I saw several of my boxes crushed and severly damaged. 

After returning home I received a call from "Tim" who is supposedly a partner in the business. He asked me about calling the Sheriff and wasnt happy I did that. Tim is rude and arrogant and likes to talk over you. Needless to say Tim and I had a few hostile conversations on the phone. 

At the advice of the Sheriff, I emailed the company and outlined EVERYTHING. I knew at this point who they really were and did not want them getting away with what they had done to another victim, and i didnt even know where the rest of my stuff was or the condition. I threatened a lawyer and to file complaints against them with the FMCSA. Tim called me again furious about this. He told me when they showed up with my stuff I now owed the 1750 because he wasnt going to give me a discount if I was going to go after them. I told him to keep my stuff then it wasnt worth it. He then told me that he would accept the 875 if I agreed to sign  a release and have it notarized that I wouldn't file and complaints, post reviews on any social media etc. I was not comfortable not only giving away my right to get what I was due, but to also potentially save someone else from this happening to them. He said well then pay the 1750. I told him it might be worth it. He sweetened the deal. Made it now 500. I thougth about it , and replayed the reviews I had read in my mind knowing all those poor people never got anything out of them so I decided since I already knew things were broken maybe i should just take the 500 and not give them any more money. They also said they would take pics of my stuff in their storage in NJ because I didnt feel comfortable sending this form to them without knowing if Id get my stuff. The pics they showed me i coudl see my kayaks and some other things we were missing. I asked him where our power tools were. We had a band saw, miter saw and a pressure washer I couldnt see. He said they were probably just not visible in the picture. I didnt like that answer so he said he would have the driver take pics of them. When I spoke to him later he said he didnt realize my stuff was already loaded. 

The form that was emailed to me by Stacy had like 5 fields to fill out and the only one she got right was my name. It was a terrible copy and I questioned it and told them I didnt think a notary would sign it the way it was. After a couple emails and texts to Tim, no one responded to me. It wasnt until late the next afternoon but by then I had already used my lunch time and couldnt go back out to a notary. Tim asked Stacy why she sent it like that and she said she didnt. (LOL) I received a new form and was supposed to get it notarized the next day. I was told that my belongings would show up by Sunday. The driver called me that night and said he would be there in the morning between 8 and 10.  I showed up without the notarized form, but would keep my word and send it to them if i got all my stuff. The driver told me he wouldnt unload my stuff until I gave him the 500. I said let me see whats in the truck first. They opened the truck and i asked where my tools were. No one knew. We dont have any tools. I was fuming. These saws were my sons xmas presents. He had taken a liking to woodworking and him and i did many household projects together with them. He again asked me for the money. I asked him to write me a receipt and he said he didnt like my attitude. . really?? I said how would you feel if this was your stuff? He said its not my stuff and I dont care about your stuff. All a bunch of rude uneducated people that get through life ripping people off. Hopefully they are all legal. 

He walked off and called the office and ended up coming back with it written on the paper that I paid 500 and was missing a few items and signed it. This guy was Eddie. At this point I did not want to give them any release of anything. They never asked for it and I sure as heck wasnt offering it. They unloaded the truck into the parking lot and I told them to just leave it and my son and i would bring it into the storage. I just wanted them gone.

It cost me $5500, $1000 over my original quote, oh and after its all in my storage, including my kayaks, its closer to the 1000 cu ft. Some of my boxes had been gone through, repacked or retaped and lord knows what else is missing i dont know about yet. My son lost his xmas presents, about 700 to replace and i lost my pressure washer, about 300 to replace. We had some smaller saws and drills that should have been packed so who knows if they are gone too. These guys are nothing but thieves.