Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/15/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I signed a contract with Don Farr Moving for 2 movers at $140/hour. Three men showed up to the move and I assumed they were training someone. I even went t0 the ATM to get cash for an additional tip. When I received my invoice, I was charged $180/hour for the move and was also charged for shrink wrap that was not used. I called and emailed and it took 2 days for me to get someone on the phone. They explained that they decided my move was bigger than I was quoted and took it upon themselves to send an extra person. They said I should've asked him to leave if I didn't want his help. We went round and round as I tried to understand how a third person helps move furniture (at no point were 3 men moving furniture at one time). I argued that if there was a change to my contract, I should've been notified ahead of time and to expect me to ask a worker to leave is very unprofessional. I was credited the $60 for shrink wrap that was never used and an additional $40. In my mind, this is not a substantial reimbursement considering what I paid was hundreds more than my quote. We had the men do some internal moving for us as well, but again I was under the assumption that we were paying $140/hour, not $180/hour. Had I known, I would've been more strategic and honestly would've gone with a different company because the rate were lower. Happy to provide all of my communication with them on this issue.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/16/2023

  Thanks for reaching out to us in regard to your move. While I understand your confusion, our system tries to do its best to explain to the customer the process and hopefully make the move go as smoothly as possible. This move was set up for relocate 17 items in which you signed an agreement prior to the relocation for an estimated price based on the that information for a quote of $655 to $795 dollars. As you mentioned the quote was based on and hourly cost.

  When our crew arrived at 9 AM they reviewed the jobsite and it appeared to be more than  what was told to us by you prior to the relocation. They agreed the 3rd guy was necessary and presented your husband a contract in which he signed and agreed to the 3 man rate of $180.00 an hour. Included is the signed agreement, prior to the move.  The operations manager sent an extra man looking at the property via Zillow and both origin and pickup showed very nice houses with multiple floors $300k-$400K homes. This was not just a simple 17 item relocation. Also, you will notice the 3rd man was included at a discounted rate for that as the hourly rate was $70 per man however this crewmember was only billed at a rate of $40 an hour. 
  

  At 11:37 in the morning the crew would have been finished and the job would have been within the estimated price, however your husband now instructed to have the men move items to the basement. The crew leader contacted the operations manager and instructed them to help out the customer despite this being out of the original contract as well. 

  Our system also shows that you sent us a text message at 11:43:

  
  "Hi Diane! When I scheduled the move, I didn't realize my husband was planning to ask the movers to help move some things to the basement in the house where my stuff is going. Then I just assumed since we were paying by the hour we could have them do it. I'm not there, but I think we may have upset them by asking. Can you please let me know if there's anything I need to do. Sorry for the confusion!
  
  SMSMay 31, 2023, 11:43 AM"

  We then responded via text we spoke to the crew and they were going to be helpful. The crew then worked for an additional 1.5 hours and had your husband sign them out at 1 PM even notating that the crew was "Great!" in the notes. 

  As you mentioned you reached out to the office to express your concerns that you believe the crew did not use the $40 shrink wrap and without question we agreed to refund you. 

  You also expressed concerns that a 3rd guy was sent and we explained that this was presented to your husband prior to the move, and you were not there. We agreed that additional services were provided. We also stated that if the 3rd guy was not wanted, we could have dispatched him to a different job site as that was always an option. We believe that having the additional labor not only made the move faster but honestly made the move less time and less cost because the original rate was $70 per man and this was a discounted amount. The move ended up taking 5.5 hours with 3 men and that price would have been closer to 7 hours with 2 men most likely especially with moving the extra items to the basement as we both agreed upon.  However, in an effort to amicably resolve the matter we refunded the extra 1.5 hours that you requested the extra work to be done for the third guy. That totaled $60. 

  Long and short that is how the $100 refund was provided with-in a week of the move. Our team jumped immediately on this matter to help keep the customer happy. 

  The contract is always only as good as the information provided. As the expert we have found ways to help have success and keep the customers happy, moves smooth and typically within budget. If the additional items and moving internal were not added to the move, then the total cost would have stayed within the estimated price regardless of 2 or 3 men. However, if you order additional food or desert at a restaurant then the $10 meal deal is now going to cost you more. We have tried in many emails as you have included to explain this and ultimately the comment your husband made on how the guys worked was "Great". Also, if you would have reviewed the contract with your husband as well prior to the move then none of this would be an issue currently. 

  We hope that with the involvement of the BBB this helps you understand that extra will always cost extra and we did our best to still help discount your relocation as much as possible. We wish you nothing but the best at your new home and still consider us again in the future. 

   

  Included is contract from move date with time stamps and signatures. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/16/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. Again, we thought we were paying $140/hour, which is the agreement that we signed. Had we been informed of the $180, we would've gone elsewhere or moved the boxes ourselves. I don't believe that the hourly rate can be changed without a confirmation from the customer. Like I said when we spoke, we weren't looking to get anyone in trouble but 3 movers was completely unnecessary and it was not at all helpful to have a third person move the furniture to our garage.  Had the change of plans been communicated to us, we would've been more strategic. To expect us to turn away one of the workers you sent to our home is completely unreasonable. We think it's completely unfair, unprofessional, and unreasonable to change the agreement with communicating this to us, even when I spoke with the office manager just days before our move.
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** ******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/20/2023

  Thanks for responding to our response we want to make sure we are very clear about the contract and the agreement. 
  

  The contract and agreement was for our company to relocate 17 items. This information was provided to us by the customer. In exchange for relocating the 17 items the estimated cost was $655.86 - $795.86. The guys moved more than 17 items; the information provided to us was incorrect. Even though there were more than 17 items the crew was able to complete the move within the estimated cost. 
  

  Our crew was then asked to do even more additional work. As a matter of fact, we have a date and time stamped text message from you 11:30 where you told us you that did not know about this when setting up the contract. Your husband wanted additional work to be performed and you knew that there would be an additional cost. 
  At this point not only did the customer not disclose to us an accurate list of items to be moved but now added additional scope of work.
  
  The customer claims that they were unaware of the 3-man $180 rate however the consignee agreed to this prior to the relocation as signed date and time stamped by the customer's husband. He was also aware additional service was being requested.  
  Our goal is always to try to work with the customers to complete the job underestimate and within the scope. However, when the scope changes that makes it very complicated.

  The additional crew member worked 3 hours when the original job was completed before additional work was requested in the home by the husband. At that point (approx 11 AM), the wife was billed $120 for his time(3 hours times $40 rate). We met halfway and refunded $60 of it already (plus an additional $40 for shrink wrap) a couple days after the move. In order to amicably resolve this matter, we will refund an additional $60 for that time (now totaling $120) and will be processed to the credit card used for purchase. However, the husband of the customer would be responsible for the other 1.5 hours he requested the guys to work as he signed the contract and was aware of the hourly rate. Again, the customers husband agreed to this in writing at the beginning of the day and was aware of the hourly charge when he requested the additional service. 

  We hope with this additional refund this satisfies this matter and puts it to a close.