When I married my husband, I owned a single-wide mobile home. I knew I was moving into his condo. I had already given away my bed and some other large pieces of furniture. I chose Two Men and a Truck because I assumed they were local, I would get a better price than a chain, and also because I believe in spending money in my community.
A SUPERVISOR came out to give me a written estimate. It came to about $467; this was to move the rest of my worldly goods from Melbourne to Satellite Beach (13 miles). It was a small fainting sofa, a small bachelor's chest, a large desk, a huge armoire, washing machine, a few small bookcases, my dining room set, a small cabinet, and scads of boxes. The supervisor did tell me that sometimes the estimate could be a little "off." I told him I needed to know HOW MUCH "off, " as I had a very limited budget to work with. He put it in writing, NOT TO EXCEED $500.00.
The movers came three days later. Suddenly my bill came to over $1,000. I said, "no, that's not correct. I have a written estimate from your supervisor." The two men told me the estimate didn't mean anything; that by law, they had to charge me three times what the estimate was. I said that didn't make sense, especially since the supervisor had written, "not to exceed $500." and this was the same amount of stuff he had written the estimate on. They kept insisting that if I wanted them to move me, it would cost $1,200. I invited them to leave my domicile.
I then called the office, who then gave me a story about how the estimate had to be rewritten, and they came up with a figure somewhere between the original $467 and the new $1,200. I said, "Sure, come on out."
I then called a dear (unemployed) friend and said, "If I give you $300 and rent the truck, can you get a couple of your friends to move me? Like, today?" Bless his heart; he said yes.
When Two Men and a Truck finally showed up... I guess they thought they'd give me time to get nervous about if they were even going to show... They were treated to the sight of FOUR men and a truck, and boxes and furniture going in. They asked me what was going on.
I said, "well, here's a truck, and here's four of my dearest friends putting my stuff into it... I guess it's called MOVING." They slunk away.
What I have learned since then... This is very common practice for these people. Also, in Melbourne will do whatever you need in your move. They will help you pack; they will unload. Apparently this is something fairly new, but it seems to be nationwide, because I told them at some point we are moving to Tennessee, and they said, "no problem." Yes, it costs money. But you can control how much you're going to spend, and they honor their own estimates!
Lynda
Satellite Beach, Florida
U.S.A.
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