Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/18/2023

  Type:Product 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.

  South Hills Movers opened boxes I had packed and redistributed my belongings. In addition numerous family heirlooms and personal possessions disappeared. Repeated calls were ignored. No accountability given as to what happened to the many items that never appeared Or why well packed boxes were opened and redistributed haphazardly. After one phone call. and a scathing review, I have never received an explanation, an apology or an update. My insurance company has recommended that I just let it go. I cannot. I continue to realize the disappearance of belongings. I didn’t invoice. I had used SHM before wo incident. More than anything I’d like answers and accountability. I’m sure my items are sitting somewhere in their facility. Please advise.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/27/2023

  South Hills Movers has been in contact with the customer. We appreciate this customer giving us an opportunity to make things right. We have conducted a thorough search of our warehouse and did not locate any of the items that are missing. We offered the customer the option to proceed with a claim for the missing items however, the customer did not want to pursue that. Instead, the customer asked that our company make a donation to the food bank in her name. We are honored to do this on behalf of the customer and were inspired by this suggestion. We thank the customer for the courteous and candid way they communicated with our company.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/18/2022

  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.

  We paid South Hills Movers $9179.28 to move us from Pittsburgh, PA to Germantown, WI. This amount included $798 (100,000 Repl Value $0 De) for extra insurance above the basic coverage. The experience was very disappointing and included not honoring initially promised delivery dates, sending less people to pack and unpack, packing people only working approximately 1 & half days instead of 2 resulting in hasty packing & some furniture not packed onto moving truck, & tired movers when unpacking leading to damage in our new home in Wisconsin. Claim # ********** was filed by us on 2-9-2022. We sent photos of the broken / damaged items during the move (total amount $3721), along with photos of the 2 entertainment centers (total amount $2640) that were not transported due to lack of space in the moving truck) even though moving quote included these 2 units. The South Hills Movers packers communicated that another home was added to the moving truck last minute and that is why there was less space on the moving truck. During delivery unpacking, the hardwood floor was scratched & was acknowledged by South Hills Movers. There were supposed to be 3 people delivering our household goods in Wisconsin but only 2 folks were there and it took them over 10 hours to deliver as they were a person short. A wall was also damaged in one of the upstairs bedrooms and a professional quote in the amount of $601.92 was sent 3-29-2022 for the floor / wall damage. The claims adjuster almost completely denied the claim for damages and inability to move the entertainment centers (offered a pittance amount of $310), & initially ignored the damage to the new home but later agreed to mail us this $610.92 (we agreed to this amount) + $310 (we DID NOT agree to this & were shocked that the extra insurance did not cover anything) for a total of $911.92. No check has been received. We can provide more details of what we have gone thru but only had 2000 words for this submission!!

  Business Response

  Date: 10/28/2022

  Following our receipt of the BBB complaint notice, South Hills Movers (SHM) contacted the customer again in order to follow-up on the initial settlement offer we presented on 4/29/2022. Up to this point, we had not received any reply to our initial offer. We have increased our goodwill offer to the customer in an attempt to settle the complaint. If the customer agrees to the new amount, we will issue a check next week.
  
  After speaking with employees involved and researching previous email exchanges, SHM would like to explain our position more clearly.
  
  Mr. ****** was presented with an estimate of $10,266.06 to move his household goods with the dates of pack and load between 8/10 and 8/12 with delivery between 8/18 and 8/23.  The final cost of the move was $9,179.28.  The dates that SHM performed the work were the dates that were provided to the customer and agreed to by the customer in writing in advance of the service. A copy of the signed document is also attached.  Their final charges for our services were $1,086.78 lower than our estimate.
  
  SHM was contracted to pack (3) dish barrels, (1) mirror carton, (2) queen mattresses, (2) single mattresses, (2) double mattresses and (2) 3.0 cartons for a total of (12) cartons.  The customer had elected to pack themselves which required (103) cartons.  This packing should have been completed in advance of the South Hills Movers crew arrival. This customer packing was not completed, and our crew alerted the office immediately upon arrival that the home was not ready to be moved.  As a result, the South Hills Move crew was severely restricted and hampered by this and unable to perform the loading service as per normal.
  
  In order to keep the move on schedule and to reduce the customer’s stress regarding the work they had not completed, SHM agreed to pack the glass shelves in the china cabinet, glass top on the end table and the glass top on the coffee table at no charge to the customer.  We also agreed to pad wrap the dresser mirrors at no charge. The resulting cost of $216.57 was not passed on to Mr. ******.
  
  The (2) entertainment centers in question were discussed with the driver prior to being loaded onto our truck. The driver advised the customer that the design and type of construction of these pieces would likely result in further damage and that SHM would not be responsible or liable in that event. The reason for this is that various types of ready to assemble, manufactured wood, particle board, engineered wood, and pressed wood furniture has a higher susceptibility (inherent vice) to damage. Mr. ****** chose to not have the pieces moved and asked the crew to move these item to the curb for refuse pickup. The labor cost of $78.80 to take these (2) pieces to the curb was not passed along to Mr. ****** as another courtesy.  Additionally, the weight of the (2) pieces was not included in the weight of the shipment that was moved to Wisconsin and there were no charges included in the move cast for these items. Had Mr. ****** wanted the pieces moved, we could have certainly dispatched another truck to retrieve the items and they would have been moved to Wisconsin as part of the regular move cost already quoted.
  
  The items noted for damage that were contained in packed-by-owner (PBO) cartons are typically excluded from carrier liability because we have no control over the quality of the packing performed by the customer. If there was no damage noted to the boxes at the time of delivery, then the quality of the packing is deemed to be the cause. In addition, any furniture piece that are claimed for damages are compared to the descripted inventory that is performed before the items are moved. Any damages noted as pre-existing would be excluded from the carrier’s liability.
  
  The goodwill offer for the items in question and the offer for the wall and floor damage (which the driver disputes and explains that he did so with Mr. ******) is final.  An offer to pay the customer for the floor and wall damage in the amount of $610.00 was made on 4/29/22.  We did not receive acceptance of the offer therefore the check was never sent. 
  
  South Hills Movers submitted an increased settlement offer on 10/28/2022, bringing our total goodwill offer $810.00 in addition of the $610.00. We are now awaiting a response from the customer.