Five College Movers
reviews and complaints

DO NOT USE!

There was some damage caused by the move. A new couch was scraped in two locations exposing the wood frame and a hardwood floor was scratched in two locations. The total cost to repair the floor and replace the couch was just over $2,400, which I had to pay out of pocket.

I filed a damage claim with Five College Movers and was ignored for over 6 weeks. It took repeated calls and emails in order to get a response. Ultimately, I started calling them using *67, as that was the only way they would answer my calls. The owner, Patrick M, could not have been more rude and even hung up on me! I was shocked at how poor their customer service is. In the end, they gave me $300. This company is pathetic.

Movers tried two times to move a piece of furniture. They gave up the first time, saying they needed an extra person. They came back without an extra person and damaged my old piece and my 1816 stairway. I complained to C, who said the owner, *** would call me. I was crying and expected him to say sorry a lot and make plans to fix the damage. Instead, he attacked me. He said things like - "I'm embarrassed for you and your family. You are a total piece of trash. Don't ever contact us again." He hung up. He was the one who called ME. I was, and still am, shocked. He sent a "stop and don't do it" email and tried to take money from my bank account. My bank told me, saying he was "taking more and more, again and again, taking any amount he can get." I had to close my debit card. I promise you, I was very nice with everyone involved, which makes this nightmare even more confusing. My old piece is damaged. I couldn't move. I planned a move with a new company, but they can't come for a couple of weeks. I talked to my lawyer. It was that bad.

I had this company move my house across the city. My old house was 940 sq ft. They removed the items from my house on 7/22 and delivered them to my new house on 7/23. I had to help the guys move items from my old house to save time. They laid down in my driveway until I provided a tip, then they got up and left. They dropped my dresser off the front steps, damaging it, and tore my couch. I submitted a claim for both. My wife met with the owner via Skype and he told her immediately that it was not a pleasure to meet with her. He said he has a 98% satisfaction rate and she was the cause of the 2% of people wasting his time. The company also tipped themselves $400 and when asked, I was told that I approved it, which I did NOT. I did get the $400 back. I have called several times regarding the damage but have not been able to get a call back.

On Sunday, May 22nd, I hired Five College Movers to help me with my move. Unfortunately, I experienced some issues during the process. Firstly, they accidentally broke my porch railing while moving the refrigerator. Additionally, they bent one of the blades on my ceiling fan, which now doesn't work properly. They also dented the upper corner of my fridge and somehow caused my slider door to come off track when they removed and put it back on. Lastly, they somehow caused my washer to start dripping, resulting in standing water in my old rental home.

Due to these problems, I decided to put a hold on the bill, which was initially quoted at $1460. However, they had already taken $490 from me. I tried reaching out to the claims people for the past three days, but unfortunately, they ignored my attempts to contact them. Finally, tonight, Paul called me back, but instead of providing assistance, he started threatening me. He yelled at me, refused to explain the claims process, and even hung up on me while I was trying to speak. It was a very unpleasant experience.

I had hoped to discuss with them why they couldn't assess the amount of damage first and deduct it from my bill. Furthermore, the move took much longer than the initially quoted three hours, stretching to seven hours instead. This resulted in additional costs, which I wouldn't have minded if I didn't have multiple things that needed fixing. To make matters worse, the receipt indicates that I have already paid, adding to my confusion and frustration.

Overall, I am extremely disappointed and unsure of what to do next.

I signed a contract with Five College Movers (FCM) on 11/16 and paid a $149 deposit using my credit card. They were supposed to move my belongings from X *** XXXXX to *** XXXXX. FCM loaded two trucks on 12/18 from 7 *** FCM unloaded two trucks on 12/22 at *** FCM charged $7583.25 to my credit card on 12/24. I received two invoices - #7120 dated 12/18 for $4175.75 and #7140 dated 12/22 for $7583.25 ($7140 is the total that includes #7120) - after multiple requests to them for the invoices. After reviewing the invoices, I found several charges that were not in line with the contract. Here are the details:

- FCM charged $200/truck/day for Storage in Truck (SIT) instead of $150/truck/day. This is a total excessive charge of $400 for two trucks for 4 days.
- FCM charged $150 for an additional truck, which is a fraudulent charge.
- FCM did not provide the 10% discount of $703.
- There were $250 damages.

FCM owes me a total refund of $1503.

6/1 Contacted Five College Movers, paid a $149 deposit for help on 6/30 to finish packing my house and load all belongings into an Estes container for a military move from MA to CA. Mentioned our big TVs and a Sleep Number bed that needed to be semi disassembled and properly stored flat because it had memory foam, air chambers, etc. They said it wouldn't be a problem. They charged me $3,258.99 and said I'd get an itemized receipt by email (contract section 2 item 14) - which I never got - and would like to review. 10/20 and 10/21 Submitted three claims: an infant/toddler crib mattress; a 42" LG TV; and our Sleep Number bed. 11/6 Emailed follow-up on all three claims 11/12 Phone call follow-up told I'd have to speak with Patrick and the person who answered the phone couldn't help me. 11/12 Emailed follow-up on all three claims Saturday 11/13 Email from Patrick to set up a time to talk. Responded within an hour that I can make anytime between 9am-12pm PST or 3-7 pm PST work. Monday 11/15 554am PST Received an email to call Patrick anytime after 9am PST and the number for the Northampton, MA office. 917am PST I called the number provided and left a voicemail. I followed up with an email saying that I called. 1220pm PST second call attempt - Patrick is in a zoom call, but they will let him know to call me back and confirmed my phone number. So just to be thorough, I replied to our email chain that once again I called. Received an email response saying, "And I will call you back when I get a chance! Thank you." 42-43 business days out from submission and 27 business days from last contact from the company. Can't get a response whether by phone or email and am told that only Patrick (owner) can help. Urgent attention required as I'm 37 weeks pregnant now and will be temporarily unavailable once I go into labor.

I hired Five College Movers ("FCM") to move me from Northampton, MA to Troy, NY on September 28. During the move, FCM damaged my coffee table. They broke off a piece of glass from one insert and chipped a glass corner on the other insert. FCM told me about the damage right away and showed it to me. They also filled out a Damage Form. On September 28, I got two emails from FCM at 10:24 A.M. and 10:28 A.M. Each email talked about one damaged glass insert. They explained their process for fixing the problem. First, I had to complete my part of the Damage Claim Form. Then, within 14 business days, FCM would send me an email with a summary and resolution of the claim. I sent in my part of the form on September 30, at 9:00 P.M. FCM confirmed they got it by email. But I didn't hear anything from them within 14 business days, so I emailed them on October 22 to check. They replied the same day, saying they told their team and hoped they would get back to me soon. But they didn't follow up. So on October 28, I emailed them again. They replied on the 28th and asked if I was available for a call on the 29th. I said yes and suggested a time between 11 A.M. and 1 P.M. But they didn't call or follow up. I attached my part of the Damage Claim Form and the emails I exchanged with FCM as proof. Finally, on November 2 at 1:30 P.M., I called them and left a voicemail asking them to call me back and fix the problem. But they never called me back. That's why I'm sending this complaint and evidence to ComplaintsBoard.com, hoping they can help resolve this issue.

Overall service was not good. They charged me too much because the movers were inexperienced. They didn't load the furniture directly onto the truck, instead they put it in the yard which took more time. The movers didn't know how to efficiently load the truck. They wrapped the couch in plastic, but they took off the cushions before wrapping it. As a result, the plastic ripped when they put the couch into storage and stacked other items on top. This wasted storage space. It took them 45 minutes to take apart a queen bed, even though I had previously moved it by just taking off the headboard and moving it in two pieces. This was a waste of time. When they were storing the couch, they tried to put it upright on its arm. I asked them to reposition it to avoid damaging the furniture frame. They also tried to fold the area rugs in the middle, but I asked them to lay them flat to avoid permanent creases. They put both mattresses in plastic bags even though they were already covered in plastic mattress protectors. They charged me $240 for materials, but I don't understand why it was so expensive. They also charged me a 3% credit card fee without offering any other payment options. They told me they needed to take my credit card information and I had to give it to the mover. They charged me for an additional 45 minutes of hourly rate, which I think is unfair considering how inefficient they were at packing the truck. We finished unpacking at 11:10 am, but then we had to wait 15 more minutes for the mover to calculate the charges. They charged me for this time and rounded it up to 11:30 am. I received a text from the company asking for feedback and I told them I was disappointed and would call on Monday to discuss. I left a voicemail on Monday expressing my disappointment and asking to speak with a manager. It's now Thursday and I still haven't heard back from the company.

Complete disregard for personal property, unnecessary damage ensued. I contacted Five College Movers on November 24 to schedule a move for December 17. I was contacted by Phil due to a snow storm predicted for 12.17 on 12.13 about the impending weather. He suggested moving the date to the following week and I countered with the 16, 18, or 19th. on the 14th Pat called me to confirm 12.17, saying the storm would just delay the start of the move from 8am to 10am. I agreed to the new start time. The movers showed up at 12:30. I was contracted for three guys, and four showed up, which I was charged for. The started the move and put a hole in the hallway. We arrived at the new location and no protection was used to protect floors. As the move progressed I saw the door was damaged. I told the team lead that this was happening and he didn't respond. I then reached out to Phil and Pat. Pat called me and I told him about the damage and mishandling I was seeing and it was unacceptable. He responded that I should be thankful they were moving me. When I called the next day to find out how to report damage, my calls were not answered, but I received an email with a link. I submitted 14 claims on 12.27.20 and received auto responses my claims were received. They read it could take up to 15 business days to hear from them. On January 25 I sent an email to follow up on the claims without response. Problems with the move included: garbage from furniture wrapping was left (they charge a garbage removal fee); missing bed hardware (fell apart when I went to make the bed); broken bookshelf, custom island not put back together correctly; box spring cover destroyed; door molding broken; door banged and chipped; curio cabinet left in wrapping and had cracked glass; a recliner had a hole in upholstery; a second recliner had the foot support chipped; jewelry armoire chipped; mattress wet/dirty from being dropped. None of this was disclosed and I discovered most of the damage while I was unpacking.

I had a lot of questions about what I was charged for my move. The final price ended up being twice as much as what I was originally quoted. The owner refused to communicate with me over the phone or through email. I was initially quoted $1440.00 for my entire move, which included one night of storage on the truck. This price was supposed to include a 10 percent discount for the entire move. The owner of Five College Movers, Patrick, seemed really friendly and the process seemed easy, so I booked my move from my West Hartford Ct home for June 29. They told me that the travel time would be calculated from the Windsor Ct office. The move out went smoothly, but when they showed me the price I owed on an iPhone, it was almost the entire $1440. Additionally, when I asked about the travel calculation, they told me it was being calculated from the Northampton office and that I needed to talk to the owner to change it. I had to keep my belongings on the truck for several days, and they told me I would be charged $150.00 per night, which I agreed to. However, when I received the invoice #6369, I noticed that I was charged $250.00 per night for two nights, which were labeled as "weekend/holiday". They never told me about the price difference. The move into my new home in Newington Ct on 7/6 didn't go smoothly. The movers ended up scratching the new wood floors and breaking a foot off of an antique desk. The final bill was given to me on an iPhone and it wasn't itemized. When I tried to ask why the price was so high, the person in charge told me to talk to the office staff. I immediately asked for an invoice so I could review the charges, but I never received one. I called the office on 7/17/200 to ask about this. The owner said he sent it to me, but I didn't receive it, so he sent it again. When I finally got to review the invoice #6412, I noticed that I wasn't given the 10 percent discount for the move. I also saw that I was charged $185.00 for miscellaneous supplies, even though no supplies were used for the move-in. I gave $200.00 as a tip to the movers, but for some reason, it showed up as $185.00. When I asked about the damage claims, he said he never received them. He then sent me new claim forms, which I promptly sent back. The owner then emailed me several derogatory comments about how I wasn't trying and that I needed to "make an effort." He claimed that the forms weren't complete, even though I filled them out as best as I could and sent him photos via text. I'm not very good with computers, so I didn't know how to attach files. I sent an email on 7/22 outlining my concerns about the bill. Since I didn't receive a response by 7/28, I called the office again to try and discuss the charges on the bill. But as soon as the owner realized it was me calling, he said, "I don't have time to talk" and hung up.