Our move was arranged in late March and supposedly estimated using "winter rates" that would be honored even if the move happened in July. This move did finally begin in July and involved one household (an estate) with parts being moved to three different locations.
On the day of pick up, the Orion crew was 5 hours late and could not finish in one day as earlier promised. The original estimate was based on a full and complete list of items to be moved to each location and was estimated at $4507. Orion said they would weigh the truck after loading to determine the weight to determine the final price. The loading crew eyeballed the items and demanded a $6000 payment as they began loading and said there would be more due at each destination. After arranging this nearly four months earlier, was I going to say "Just get out of my house" and begin looking for another mover.
The first delivery was to be made on July 17, but the truck did not show up on 7/17,18 or 19. The delivery crew called three or four more times to arrange a delivery date but never showed up at any arranged date until Aug 30. This caused several days of lost work time just waiting on the truck. At last, the items were not delivered by Orion as promised but by another mover who did not even reassemble the furniture (another promise Orion made).
The second group of items was delivered in mid August by yet another moving company who was not advised by Orion that a shuttle truck would be needed because the 18 wheeler could not approach the house. The price of local rental trucks in that area is about $40/day, but this arrangement charged $400. The delivery driver wanted a local helper to be arranged by the customer and demanded cash before unloading the truck. Orion had promised me that I could pay by credit card upon delivery. Have you ever tried to get cash (almost $1700) in a very small town on a weekend? On top of that, several pieces of furniture were damaged by having the packing blankets wrapped too tightly so they made fabric impressions in the furniture finish.
The third group of items was delivered on Aug 23 but again not by Orion as originally promised. Damage was evident on several pieces but catastrophic damage to a curio cabinet was beyond belief. At least this time I knew to have a lot of cash on hand, otherwise no telling where my things would end up.
After getting my deposit, Orion often would not answer the phone. I assume they use caller ID to avoid irate customers.in particular, they would not answer on the days of delivery. They would not even answer when the delivery driver used his cell phone to request needed information.
In summary, Orion's original estimate of $4507 ballooned to $9005. They never weighed the truck to determine the actual weight of the load. They subcontracted every delivery after promising they never subcontract. They did not inform the subcontractors that a shuttle would be needed in one case and that my deposit had already been applied to the final cost of one of the loads. They damaged several pieces of furniture and are probably now colluding with their insurer to avoid paying. They caused no end of frustration so consequently I'll never move with "professionals" again. Finally, Orion's estimates are fraudulent so never believe them. They lie about subcontracting and about how the price of the move is determined. Now they're fighting my complaints to the BBB and the Federal authorities so I have resolved to spread the word about them.
0 comments