ComplaintsforBig Blue Moving, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  06/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I scheduled a move for 2/18/23 and provided detailed information as to what was involved which was based on a move 10 months earlier. I asked for four men. They insisted they could do it with two. I was quoted $950. At the end of the service, I was charged $1605.67. The movers were apologetic and said that they see this happen all the time with customers. I tried discussing this several times with the company. The first two attempts to understand the charge were met with "we gave you an estimate not a quote." The third time, the owner responded, apologizing and offering a 10% reimbursement. I had suggested that I be reimbursed 1/2 of the amount over the $950. He then changed the amount to $50, and then stated he would not give me anything. I went on the local mom's ******** page to share my experience, and the owner then joined the mom's page to tell everyone he would give them $50 off their next move if they mentioned my post. (The administrator kicked him out of the group immediately for his harassing comments). At this point, I feel the owner, Nathan T*******, should be held accountable. Providing an estimate that is almost half of what I was actually charged is theft. Then the demeaning way he communicated with me, and joining a woman's ******** page to continue to taunt me by offering others money based on my negative experience, is unacceptable. Instead of half of the difference of the overage from the estimate I initially requested, I feel I deserve a complete refund. I have some e-mail communication if desired.

  Business response

  06/28/2023

  *** ******* did in fact schedule a move with our company. She called to schedule on February 7th for a move date of February 18th. With only an 11 day notice we could not accommodate a 4-man crew at our 9am time frame and would have to schedule in an afternoon time slot. She was questioned about the details of her move and our management determined she would likely be fine with a 2 man (1 truck) crew. She was advised however if she would like us to send 4 we would absolutely do so, they would just have to be staggered on their arrival times as they may finish their morning jobs at different times. She agreed to these terms and requested the 4 man crew. Upon booking she received our standard confirmation email which is attached and shows it was delivered at 12:25pm on February 7th per the attached email confirmation log. This email was then opened 3 separate times prior to her move date, which is also shown in the attachment. The confirmation email explicitly states at the bottom...

  "The estimated job time is only a rough estimate based on industry averages. These estimates are based on customers being well prepared and packed, average access from our truck to your home, average amounts of furniture per square footage of home, prior knowledge of specialty items and a few other variables. If you are interested in having us pack some or all of your home to save time and money on move day please contact our office to schedule a packing crew. Not being prepared, abnormally long walks, larger than average amounts of furniture and surprise difficult items can add time to the clock."

  Furthermore, *** ******* signed a contract on move day that explicitly states "The customer agrees to pay Big Blue Moving upon completion of their work at a rate of $ 170.00 /hr and a one-time destination/truck fee of $50.00. (There were 2 of these contracts, one for each of the staggered crews) In addition, our contracts state "This contract is legally binding and your signature is evidence that you understand and accept the terms outlined by this agreement." Both contracts are also attached for your review.

  Our movers do not see this happen all the time as evident by the thousands of 5 star reviews we have online. In fact our estimates have been found to be within 10 minutes of actual job times when studied and averaged over a 3 month period. However, there are occasions where the actual job times come in UNDER or OVER the estimated time. We do the best we can with the information provided over the phone. This is why we repeatedly explain that our estimates are just ball-park estimations based on industry averages. This was clearly explained on the phone call at the time of booking, in the attached confirmation email, and on or website. We simply charge by the hour, prorate to the minute, and guarantee our crews are going to be working as hard as possible to get the job done. The crew *** ******* had for her move must have been working hard for her based on the comment she left at the bottom of the first contract.

  Once the job was completed all of *** ******* belongings fit into 1 of the 2 trucks, further illustrating that a single 2-man 1-truck crew could have been sufficient for this size job just as we explained over the phone. *** ******* called our office with her concerns about the total. She was in fact advised that we provide "estimates" not "quotes" as well as the difference between the two. She stated that had we sent her a 4-man crew from the start (instead of staggered) this wouldn't have happened, which is incorrect. Since we charge by the man-hour it is irrelevant how many movers you have on your move when calculating the total bill. More movers is a higher hourly rate but the move gets completed in less time producing the same total as a smaller crew taking longer to complete the move.

  *** ******* quickly discounted our logical explanation and continued to call/email with threats of bad reviews if we did not refund money. Across all 30+ moving companies in our network is a no tolerance policy for bullying or blackmailing companies into refunds. From the experience of tens of thousands of moves we know that customers that take this route will not be satisfied. However, in an attempt to still produce a happy customer out of this I did offer a 10% courtesy discount off of the move, something we were not legally or contractually obligated to do. As expected, this was not enough and *** ******* demanded more. We refused and have since removed that offer from the table.

  *** ******* then began to leave bad reviews for our company across many online platforms. Since we have MANY supporters in the area that are part of these various platforms it was brought to our attention rather quickly. The ******** group *** ******* mentions above did receive a response from me personally. It was quite lengthy, explaining the details and inaccuracies of her accusations as well as offering a $50.00 discount for anyone that books a move and mentions the post. This was in effort to show the readers we do not have any problem discounting moves. The problem lies when customers attempt to blackmail our small local business with threats of reviews and complaints to the BBB, we do not tolerate this. I have actually been commended multiple times by other moms in that group for the poise and professionalism of my response. To say I was "taunting" or "harassing" *** ******* is simply untrue. I was well within my right, legally and ethically, to respond to her accusations in the manner I did to protect our business. The ******** group actually deleted *** ******* post in it's entirety after the uproar of comments and and reporting to administrators it caused by our supporters stating the accusations were not true.

  As stated above, and evident now, customers that begin their complaint with threats have been found to be ones we simply cannot make happy. They are out to get something for nothing, just like this. We have already made an attempt to satisfy this customer. There is nothing more we can do.

  Regards,

  Nathan T*******

   

  Customer response

  07/02/2023

  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, reasons for rejection are included below. I have attached the e-mails sent between Mr. T******* and I (I'm sorry that the correspondence begins on the last page of the document). In the initial email, when I refer to contacting him the third and final time, that includes two prior phone calls I made to his company. The first time, I was told by Levi, (the man who had the initial phone call with me to book the appt), that he would have to speak with Mr. T******* and would get back with me that afternoon. A week and a half after not hearing back, I called again. This time, Levi just repeatedly said, "I'm sorry there's nothing we can do." 

  In regards to Mr. T********* allegations that I bullied him, I am sorry that he felt so threatened by a single mom, over e-mail, who reminded him of the protocol that can be taken in situations of unethical business practice. All of his online reviews though, probably are fake ones or people he has "bullied" to do so - as I'm neglecting to share several other things about my move at the request of the movers due to their obvious fear of their boss. Since I'm such a "bully," Mr. T******* might want to include a body guard for his four movers that are in a single woman's home, sitting at her kitchen table at 9:00 at night, waiting to be paid almost twice what she was expecting. It seems Mr. T******* is the one who feels he is above accountability. 

  The only ******** post I made regarding this situation (I don't know where he gets his dramatic accusations about numerous posts) was removed, because I contacted the administrator, expressing concern of Mr. T********* mental health that he would join a women's page that day, just to pursue his condescending tone and mocking what he did to me by offering others $50 off. I even received personal messages from other women expressing their concern that someone this aggressive knows my address. 

  Mr. T******* offered me an estimate based on his own employee admitting "I didn't think she knew what she was talking about," had his staff out there for 6 hours (which probably would have gone a lot quicker had they not all already moved a home, and had to continuously take breaks to have diarrhea in whatever bathroom available due to being hungover), had a manager answer my phone call the day of the move with "I'm not going to give you any monetary compensation for this" - what business person greets a customer with this before the customer even speaks? - refused to return my call even though I stated on the contract that I was not in agreement to the payment but had to pay in order for the men to leave my home, then correspond to me with such a disrespectful tone and pursued harassment on a mom's ******** page.  I was told the move would be $950, it ended up being over $1500. My initial suggestion of splitting the difference of the overcharge, by receiving a refund of $275, I felt was more than gracious. At this point, I think Mr. T********* attitude and actions speak for themselves in regards to the dishonest and unethical ways he conducts his business. 

  Thank you so much for all you do to promote transparency in how businesses conduct themselves. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ********* *******
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 5/31/31, we hired Big Blue to move our home contents to our new home in **********, ****. I was referred to Big Blue by a friend whose experience was positive. As advertised, the crew was on-time, professional, and did a great job. Unfortunately when moving a furniture piece into our home, the equipment used left some large visible grease stains on our new carpet. The crew was apologetic and fully acknowledged and accepted responsibility for this mishap. The problem now is Big Blues response to our claim. Firstly, it took them 3 working days to respond to our claim. Secondly (and reason for this complaint) is that they have informed us it will take up to 6 weeks for them to response with a resolution. This time-frame is unacceptable!

  Business response

  06/06/2023

  Big Blue Moving Claims Department is currently working on scheduling a carpet cleaner to stop by this customer's home and clean the affected area. His move was 6 days ago and scheduling a repair takes a little time, especially when it is outside of our local area. The email he received from our Claims Department is a generic email customers receive when a claim is submitted. In SOME cases this process could take up to 6 weeks. However, for a minor damage such as this (even outside of our local area) it can usually be resolved in 1-2 weeks...if that long. We are currently in contact with this customer to schedule the carpet cleaning.

  On a side note, our crew reported to claims this grease came from the bottom of a piece of furniture that was moved into the house from an unfinished section of their old home. Based on the pictures submitted from the customer it is our belief this is true due to the location and direction the stain is going. If the stain was from a dolly it would be in line with the stairs not horizontal to them. Furthermore there would be stains all the way up the stairs. The pictures suggest an item was sat at the bottom to reposition before being picked back up and carried to its final destination. This is a normal procedure in the moving industry.

  It is not the responsibility of our moving company to ensure the bottoms of furniture pieces are clean! Nonetheless, we will send a carpet cleaning company out to resolve the issue in an effort to salvage a satisfied customer.

  Customer response

  06/07/2023

  Good afternoon, 

  This mishap has been resolved by Big Blue to our satisfaction. However I do need to respond to there determination as to why this happened. To begin, the piece of furniture came from the finished portion of our basement, not the unfinished as Big Blue Stated. Also, the underside of the dolly is what caused the stains. This was acknowledged by the moving crew once we pointed it out. In addition, I had specifically stated that a moving blanket be placed over the carpet, which was not done. 
  I would lastly like to add that the carpet cleaner sent my Big Blue asked how the stain happened. We recapped the scenario and was told this piece was moved incorrectly. He had been a “mover” in prior employment and added that a dolly should have never been used in this scenario. 
  As mentioned earlier, we understand “hiccups” happened in this industry. We were pleased with the movers and their job performance. We would have no hesitation in recommending Big Blue to others. However the facts in this scenario needed to be corrected. Also, the biggest frustration with Big Blue was dealing with the “customer care” department. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/13/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Move date September 17 from 840 am until 530 pm. Promised to be moved with no damage and leave the house as it was found. The company damaged a my stairwell which was fixed 2 weeks after occurring. However, the company damaged furniture that the handyman could not fix and no reimbursement was given. The handyman even stated that it appeared the movers had gotten very lazy during the move. An employee even stated to us that day that he dropped and broke a container and the company did not even offer to reimburse us. Also, the customer service representative was very rude.

  Business response

  10/14/2021

  BBB and Mrs ******,

   

  We apologize your move with us did not go as smoothly as we both had hoped.

  We had never promised your move would be completed with no damage. This is impossible for a moving company to predict as accidents happen from time to time in the moving industry. This is why we have a claims department to rectify any damages should they occur. The damage to the walls of your stairwell was fixed 6 days after we received the initial claim via email on 9-22-21 even after we had advised you it could take up to 6 weeks for the claim to be fully processed. It takes time to organize and schedule repair technicians but I am glad we could get to you so quickly. The 2.5 hour repair ticket is attached to this response for reference. At $50.00 per hour we paid $125.00 to have this repair completed even though we were legally and contractually obligated to only pay up to $60.00 per the contract you selected on move day. 

   

  As we advised to you via email, any items the repair technician could not repair would be listed on his report. At that time our claims department would further evaluate the items and take the necessary steps toward reimbursement or replacement. 1 day after this report was turned in to our claims department we received the email shown below from you. This email states "I don't need any further communication with you". Our claims department assumed this meant you did not want to have any more contact with our business and closed the claim. We would be happy to reopen the claim and finish the process for the bunk bed and the plastic storage bin that was cracked. We just though we were doing what you were requesting. 

   

  The statements from our repair technician are hearsay. I do not believe he said anything negative about our company. Especially on such a minor and easily rectified damage claim. 

   

  Again, I am sorry your move did not go as planned. To us, this is a very minor claim that can easily be rectified. If you would like us to reopen your claim and send you a reimbursement check for the plastic storage tote and bunk bed please let us know. This was going to be the next step anyway at the time we received this email requesting no further contact! 

   

  BBB, please let us know if you require any further documentation on this matter.

   

  From: ***** ****** <******************>
  Date: Fri, Oct 1, 2021 at 9:34 AM
  Subject: Re: Moving problems for 1101 Carpenters Trace
  To: Big Blue Customer Care <[email protected]>
  
  
  As expected, your handy man was unable to fix divets in my furniture and I suspect that you are not going to make amends on your part. It is very dis heartening to hire a loving company and pay those individuals when they treated or belongs like garbage. I have always taught my children and been taught myself to leave others belongs better than what you found them. I am highly frustrated with you and your loving company as well as your snarky attitude towards me. I will never be using your company ever again and I will make my complaints now on your review as well as BBB. I know things happen when you move but to have to paint a whole stair well over again and have multiple things broken and damaged is just absolutely absurd. I don't need any further communication with you or any more snarky comments. I hope you take a page from your handyman's book about customer service and how to be polite even if you don't agree with a customer. By the way the handyman even said it looked like your guys just got sloppy and didn't care anymore. 
  
  
  Have a blessed day,
  ***** ******

  Customer response

  10/14/2021

  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, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  Also, is attached an attack I received on a Google review which I was asked to leave. It was also no resolved quickly and not with much push back. You break and damage something of someone's it expected to be replaced or refunded for such damage. The whole intercation with this company has been highly unprofessional and not about customer satisfaction at all. And yes my walls were painted and repaired however they do not look like they did prior to your moving company scrapping, marking, and literally rubbing bodies all over the wall.
  
  Regards,
  
  
  ***** ******
  
  

  Business response

  10/15/2021

  Mrs. ****** and BBB,

   

  I see where our marketing/claims department has made a mistake on your name in the response to your review submitted on Google. I have brought this to their attention and they have made the necessary changes. Our apologies for that. Beyond that the rest of their response appears to be accurate to me. Please let us know if you would like us to reopen the claim and proceed with what we are legally and contractually obligated to do.

   

  BBB, we will be more than happy to submit the full email string between our company and Mrs. ****** as well as the recorded phone calls between us showing our representatives were nothing but professional during these conversations. Even one phone call in particular where Mrs. ****** was cussing at one of my booking managers who has no part whatsoever in this matter. I will not let my employees be treated this way and our company will not be taken advantage of. Our contracts and legal obligations are set by the state and our insurance company. Certain guidelines must be followed once a damage claim is received. These processes take some time. Our claims department worked on this claim as normal until the point Mrs. ****** suddenly advised us by email she wished to have no further contact with our company. At this point the claim was closed before a bunk bed and a plastic storage tote could be processed. We would be more than happy to reopen this claim and finalize it.

  Since this is what we would consider a "minor" damage claim we are somewhat baffled how it has came to this point. If our claims department was simply allowed (by Mrs. ******) to do their jobs this would have been settled before reaching BBB. This leads us to believe she is after more than we are contractually obligated to pay. We do go above and beyond frequently as evidenced by the repair bill for the wall damage submitted in this thread. However, after the way our business and employees have been treated in this matter we are only willing to settle on an amount which is dictated by the signed contract from the day services were rendered from this point on. Please let us know if you require and further documentation and how to submit it. I am unable to attach the full email string due to it's size or audio files to this thread.

   

  Regards,

  Nathan T*******

  Big Blue Moving - Managing Partner

  Customer response

  10/15/2021

  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, reasons for rejection are included below. At this point I feel very unsafe communicating with this company any further not only due to the racist and sexist comment of purposefully calling me "Karen" but the general tone and demeanor the company has used with me since my original complaint. This is not about money or damage any longer it is about treating a customer with respect and making sure a customer never fears for their safety or humanity. At no time have I or did I degrade this company. I have stated clear facts of what happened and even left multiple other issues out. I do NOT want their money, I want to make sure that no other future customer fears for their safety or is degraded the way this company has continually degraded and put my safety at risk.

  
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ******
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩