First Call Movers Liars and Thieves Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 Who in their right mind would hire this company? They are obviously scum. I think the CEO needs to hang for his crimes...

First Call Movers claimed if Theresa had worked with them they would have resolved the issue. We tried that to no avail, only rude insulting response. If they stood by their work as they claim this report would not be here nor would First Call Movers have over 30 reports against them with the BBB. They are not a good company to do business with in my opinion and they did not come as they had advertised to my parents. The BBB even suggested they make it clear they are a broker.

Funny, I thought they would come up with something more substantial that, Im rubber and youre glue. First Call MOVERS, not a moving company and lets make sure that everyone knows this as to prevent this poor company that does thousands of moves from getting any more upset as they sit on the money they have received through misdirection.

Their frustration comes from dealing with a person who does not respond as wished by their tactics and realizing their game is up. The either have to be more upfront and straight forward or accept they can not handle their business.

To paraphrase Gandhi, Decency  consists not in bluff, bravado or loneliness. It consists in daring to do the right thing and facing consequences whether it is in matters social, political or other. It consists in deeds not words.

Here we have a tactic of repeated attempts at humiliation to discredit the authors and clients of all the complaints. Violence is the use of intimidation or humiliation to force ones will upon another or a group. We no longer refer to this as violence, but bullying.  I am not intimidated nor am I humiliated so the tactic does not work

My parents and the other people injured by the tactics of this company are not merely shippers. In most cases they are elderly people if you look at the complaints. Either way, they are people.

So lets do this again.

First Call MOVERS  We again apologize for Bob's obvious frustration resulting from the problems caused by the shipper's failure to read and comply with the terms in the estimate agreement.

I am not frustrated at all folks, just simply exposing a company for what they are. Many states have good Samaritan laws. While what Fist Call Movers has done may not be criminal it is immoral and a company best to be avoided

The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.  Edmund Burke.

This is where I am coming from. The reason I continue We can't eradicate evil, we can only evict it, force it to move across town. Tom Robbins.

I hope this deals with the frustration debate. I have been working with victims for years. I lead by example or at least try to.

Okay, now lets deal with the tactics used in the offset responsibility:Trying to depersonalize the shippers.

1. My elderly father who is on oxygen and cant walk through the 1000sq ft home he lives in without it.
2. My elderly mother who was struck by a tractor trailer and still showed on time despite the movers being days late. (in violation of the moving agreement)

Deflection:

1. Claiming no responsibility and ignoring the fact their representative misrepresented what they CLAIM is written in their estimate agreement.First Call MOVERS:  The price increased because the shipper added items at pick-up, modifying their inventory without giving us advance notice.

This is a bold faced lie and I challenge First Call MOVERS to back up their statement with witness accounts and without attempting to dehumanize the two elderly folks who had to wait for the movers to show up late despite the estimate agreement.

There were 4 fewer boxes and several tools left behind as well as an antique bicycle that has been in my family for over 75 years. This is a comp[any moving families, not blind freight. Memories and cherished things that can not be replaced. Think of this condescension and total lack of concern prior to the use of this company. If you are comfortable with the tone and explanation they use herein, by all means use them.

I will also have to answer the phone call issue again, but yeah, we all tried to call.

1. To try to get some extra time due to an accident that sent my parents off the highway by a tractor trailer that left the car just drivable.

2. Then latter when the movers were several days late. They were told if they were late it would cost more.

With the thousands of moves booked they claim they never miss a call. Hogwash, I tried to call and my parents tried to call. My mothers cell phone is not unlimited so every call is logged. The bill reflects the multiple calls. I keep logs of my calls as a habit for my company and my anti-Child Abuse campaign I work for.

As previously stated, there were FEWER items in the final move. I made that %100 clear and the more First Call Movers claim that to be incorrect, the more they show their willingness to mislead potential new clients.

First Call MOVERS :We know this because the moving company provides us with a copy of the paperwork signed by the shipper at pick-up and delivery, including the modified inventory list.

The list signed had fewer items than were shipped. There is no explanation as to why money was demanded prior to shipping. In fact, one would think since fewer items were shipped the price would go down. 

 First Call MOVERS :Bob's statement that he was unable to contact us is 100% incorrect
My statement I was unable to contact them is %100 correct and I would like to see proof to the contrary aside from the word of people who told me on the phone, Our truck will be there Our truck, not the movers truck.

I was also reassured it would not exceed the estimate period. That is a fact and unless there is proof to the contrary of this it would be nice to see First Call MOVERS be more honest.First Call MOVERS : we are easily available by phone during all business hours as well as Saturday, and we diligently return all voicemail messages we receive after hours and on Sunday.

Simply not true. I dont need to refer to a piece of paper or a third party as the owner of First Call MOVERS does as I was a first hand witness. Hearsay is worthless.

First Call MOVERS , We must also point out again that the estimate clearly discloses our role as a broker (in bold print!). Of the thousands of moves we book, fewer than 1% result in a complaint and in almost every complaint, the shipper has failed to review and abide by the terms and instructions in the estimate agreement.

If the BBB found this to be fact, then there they would not be listed as unaccredited.

In three years with an estimated customer count of 14.4 trillion, yes trillion with a T there were 975 complaints. 2 million employees that is 1/100000000th of a percent. They have an A rating with people who have little to no skills and get paid minimum wage.

There are multiple Moving  Brokers out there with no complaints if you must use a moving broker. They are mostly for people who can not afford to take time off work and make large amounts of money.

I will not post the name of the company I used to work for as I would not want to put their name on this site. We worked through a broker in Woodland Hills CA. They have been in business since the early 80s. While I worked for them we did no receive a single complaint and they have had an A rating with the BBB since their opening.

We dealt with the pickiest of people with furniture worth more than the average familys home. We never left a scratch or mar and in the years I worked there never left without a large tip. If there were any conflicts of any sort the customer service turned it around and made it a positive moment making the customer feel safe again.

In Cases of misunderstanding they also did not try to hide behind a piece of paper realizing that reputation is all you have when there are thousands out there who can do the same job.

First Call MOVERS , Our sales representatives are careful to remind each customer to fully review the estimate agreement before signing.

Again, this is not true. If it were they would not need to work on it. Who says they need to work on it? First Call MOVERS in an agreement with the BBB on the BBB website. That is unless the BBB is %100 incorrect as well.

There are multiple other issues. As I stated I worked for a company that worked with a broker. Neither we nor they denied it. They were the Moving company and we were the Movers. When we would load a truck and send a driver off alone to a destination, the broker made sure there were helpers on the other end. There would always be at least two of us on each end, usually 4 or five depending on the move, never one. When the driver showed up in Florida with my parents truck he showed over a week past when expected and alone. The driver had to put an add on sites online in order to obtain helpers. After he was here.

There is no excuse for any of this. Humility would have gotten them a long way. Never even was as little as an apology offered, just rudeness and the least professional tone I have heard from any company I can ever remember dealing with. In fact they dont even take responsibility with the BBB for their action, they blame the movers. This should be a clue to movers as well to avoid this company.

Again, I am not frustrated, First Call MOVERS are. Much like the lies of a politician infuriates the politician when someone has the audacity to question their integrity.

There are grounds for what I am saying that have nothing to do with anger or frustration.

If a company continues to do business in bad faith as I believe First Call MOVERS demonstrates here, then why should I stand idle and allow this to happen to someone elses parents, or wife, or brother, or sister or friend? They would prefer I turn a blind eye along with everyone else. I could no more do that than I could hold the door for a bank robber.

I would suggest to First Call MOVERS they change the way they do business if they do not like complaints. 31 complaints with the BBB and 50 others on the net in less than 6 months means either they are doing something wrong or they have the worst customers on the planet.

Might be a wakeup call.

We again apologize for Bob's obvious frustration resulting from the problems caused by the shipper's failure to read and comply with the terms in the estimate agreement. The price increased because the shipper added items at pick-up, modifying their inventory without giving us advance notice. We know this because the moving company provides us with a copy of the paperwork signed by the shipper at pick-up and delivery, including the modified inventory list. Bob's statement that he was unable to contact us is 100% incorrect -

we are easily available by phone during all business hours as well as Saturday, and we diligently return all voicemail messages we receive after hours and on Sunday. We must also point out again that the estimate clearly discloses our role as a broker (in bold print!). Of the thousands of moves we book, fewer than 1% result in a complaint and in almost every complaint, the shipper has failed to review and abide by the terms and instructions in the estimate agreement. Our sales representatives are careful to remind each customer to fully review the estimate agreement before signing.

Let's see, after a review of my statement I don't see where I said a word about fine print so Bob's statements were not, "incorrect" as stated. In fact I made not mention of the contract at all, that I will reserve for another time. What I hade refference too was the discussion I had on the phone with their representative when we saw the one page breakdown on my mothers e-mail. I spoke with a man who told me that it would not exceed the extimate unless my parents added more frieght than was quoted. Here is another lie from these con artists. Not only did my parents not exceed the esimate which included 20 boxes, they removed items.

20 boxes went down to 16 and my father left behind a bycycle from the 1930s we retsored together when I was a kid. They had to leave things behind when the movers came, 2 days late. Why? Because they demanded more money for the extra weight. What extra weight? The difference from what they were quoted and what they weighed on their truck with their scales. The owner of First Call Movers can say nothing to the contrary as they were not there. In fact, no one from First Call Movers were there. When the movers showed it was the first time my parents had heard a word about First Call Movers being a "Broker". 

Here they go again with the lies as they say, "Bob is also incorrect when he writes "They were taken for extra money because they had 'scales' on the truck."  The price increased because, like Threesa, Bob's parents added items at pick-up without providing us with advance notice".  

We have another example of the tactics of a con artist as they try to rationalize despite not having any possible way of knowing what happened as no one from First Call Movers were there and as stated before there were fewer items. They do make a fair statement after this though if it were not for one little problem. Let's look.

FIRST CALL OWNER: "The estimate agreement addresses this situation in detail and instructs shippers to notify us of any modifications to their inventory in advance of pick-up, which Bob's parents failed to do. " 

Okay, fair enough, call if there is a change, but wait... Not only did my parents try to get hold of First Call for three days ahead of time with no luck, so did I. I know with all the moves they do it may not be fresh in their head, but it was very fresh in mine.

My parents were afraid to miss the movers as they werte held up by an accident where a tractor trailer side swipped their car. Sticks out fresh in my head a call like that. So gotta call them on another lie here folks. They called and there was no ansewer.

We were all wondering if they had lost all their money all together at this point.Let's move on...

FIRST CALL MOVERS OWNER:"The moving company gave Bob's parents a revised non-binding estimate where the final price would be based on the actual weight of the items. "  

Yes this did happen when they picked up the frieght which was less freight than originally agreed upon. Here we catch yet another lie though. Didn't they say earlier they had no scales on the truck? How would they know the actual weight? They refused to move the freight prior to getting paid.

My father is on oxygen and the movers were days late. They had been struck by a truck. They had to return to their home in Florida. They felt helpless.

So what do they do with great pride? Here, where they proudly have their got ya moment.  "Bob's parents agreed and signed the revised estimate before the moving company loaded their items on the truck." 

So proud they are they got an elderly couple to cough up the cash in a bad time. Then again paper is not %100 iron clad. I guess if it were it would be iron. People sue Karate Instructors all the time for getting hurt durring training despit the waivers they sign. Hospitals get sued every day for improper care and malpractice despit waivers. Builders get sued for things beyond their control and off contract. Here we have a seperate case, but aside from any "case" we have a forum to expose the truth to prevent further damage to anyone else.

We have the 25+ reports to the BBB.We have this site that after 30 reviews gives them 28 1 star ratings and 2 5 star.

(((link redacted)))

After 15 reviews at the following site they got 2 stars as 

(((link redacted)))

Here is where I went wrong with the tripple B. There have been 30 complaints.

http://www.bbb.org/south-east-florida/business-reviews/moving-brokers/first-call-movers-in-fort-lauderdale-fl-90056072/complaints

I must say though, it is an interesting tactic to blame your customers for their dissatisfaction. Im

sure this will not be the last I hear, but I've dealt with bigger than these clowns. I am sure they will come back with more microbs of truth souronded by deflection. I'm sure in their crowd they appear quite witty. The truth is  I have yet to disclose the entire fiasco, I will wait to post a blog and my own report as well as the BBB and the like, but you can see the dishonesty and misdirection used herein by "First Call Movers".

The name alone implies they are A MOVING COMPANY. First Call Moving would still imply, but to a lesser degree, a moving company. That could be considered an honest mistake.

Then there is the statement of fact to things the owner could not have know because no one from their company was present. No one in the company could have known. We also have the movers claiming that all brokers are rip offs as all they truely do is make phone calls.

I am incorrect nowhere. My statements were correct. I can live with myself. The only thing 1 regret is taking theword of First Call Movers.

The lesson here is obvious, do not trust anything that comes out of their mouth. I would say only believe what you have in writing, but you can not even believe that. Believe what you see above, a company that does not give a damn once the check clears and that will tell you whatever they must in order to get a check. Unprofessional, unethical and low class to boot.

I understand this may be a repeated statement, but it looked as though it had not been posted so I tried again.

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Although Bob is incorrect, we appreciate his feedback and the opportunity to respond.  The greatest understanding of the value to be gained from the services we offer comes from a thorough review of our estimate agreement which is made available to all customers before they decide to use our services.  The estimate agreement has no small print and is written in clear, unambiguous language.  From reading Bob's review, it is obvious that he did not review the agreement signed by his parents.  For example, Bob wrote "They never tell you they are a 'broker' until after the fact."  Bob is incorrect.  The estimate agreement identifies our role as a moving broker in bold print and includes all Federally-required disclosures.

Bob is also incorrect when he writes "They were taken for extra money because they had 'scales' on the truck."  The price increased because, like Threesa, Bob's parents added items at pick-up without providing us with advance notice.  The estimate agreement addresses this situation in detail and instructs shippers to notify us of any modifications to their inventory in advance of pick-up, which Bob's parents failed to do.  The moving company gave Bob's parents a revised non-binding estimate where the final price would be based on the actual weight of the items.  Bob's parents agreed and signed the revised estimate before the moving company loaded their items on the truck.

In almost every complaint we receive, the customer failed to review the estimate agreement.  When the customer reviews and abides by the instructions in the estimate agreement, there are no problems and no surprises at pick-up. 

Theresa was %100 on the money. My elderly parents hired first call movers. They never tell you they are a "broker" until after the fact. My parents too were, " that the binding estimate would not be exceeded if our pieces and items were the same." They did claim to be movers. I was told on the phone my parents must have misunderstood. I then told them the reiterated to me themselves. They were late with us as well. Here is where our story differs. My folks did not turn them away after hearing First Call were brokers. They were taken for extra money because they had "scales" on the truch. First call said they had to go through weight scales by the state. How did they know the weight of my parents frieght prior to loading and going through scales. They insisted on payment ahead of time. These people should be avoided at all socts. I fully intend to give and entire account asap, but I felt the short story here might help others as the reports against them through the BBB, more than 25, and the total fraud we experienced is going to require a few days of proper scribe as these arrogant fools believe they can continue to opperate through intimidation and misdirection. They are not only unprofessional and ignorant, but very self impressed. The woman or man I spoke with did not like me raising my voice so I could be heard trying to finish a though. She felt it was rude to interupt her attempts at no allouing me to finish a sentence. I guess she needs to go back to the trailer park, but whatever you do avoid First Call Movers like the plague.

In regard to Threesa's move, once First Call Movers became aware of the issues reported we worked diligently to resolve the problems. In particular, this matter demonstrates how a moving broker, such as First Call Movers, can step in as an advocate for consumers in an effort to help resolve disputes between moving companies and consumers. First Call Movers is happy it was able to mediate the dispute between Threesa and her moving company. In response to Threesa's complaint, the moving company was willing to give her a discount on the proposed cost of her move in addition to free packing materials. Threesa did not accept the moving companys generous offer and cancelled the move. We recently spoke with Threesa about her complaint. She kindly listened to our explanation and provided us with valuable feedback. We hope our conversation helps resolve any problem she has with First Call Movers.

Threesa added many items at pick-up without giving us advance notice then cancelled her move because she did not want to pay more than the price stated on the original estimate. The estimate agreement signed by Threesa provided explicit, detailed instructions to contact us in advance if she is adding items at pick-up. The estimate also clearly discloses that the moving company has the right to increase the total price for additional items. Furthermore, the estimate agreement also clearly discloses our role as a moving broker (in large bold print!).

Threesa's complaint states, we were going to transport the extra ourselves.  Our investigation indicates otherwise.  We contacted the moving company who explained that when they arrived at pick-up, Threesa expected them to transport everything, including the additional items, at a flat-rate price. The estimate agreement that Threesa signed gave her substantial advance notice to the contrary.

We did not refuse to move Threesa as she alleges. The mover arrived at pick-up and was ready to provide the requested transportation. It was Threesa who rejected the mover's revised estimate made necessary by Threesa's adding items at pick-up without giving us advance notice. We offered to find another mover for Threesa but she refused. If Threesa had worked with us and complied with the instructions she agreed to by signing the estimate agreement then there would have been no surprises at pick-up.

As a broker, First Call Movers advocates for their consumers and steps in to help resolve disputes between consumers and the moving companies. First Call Movers requires all moving companies servicing their customers to follow all federal regulations and adhere to consumer safeguard policies which exceed the legal regulations. We strive to exceed the customers expectations and continually aim to give our clients the highest level of service possible. We stand behind our work and take pride in operating in the most ethical manner.

To see the many positive reviews we have received, please visit our website at First Call Movers testimonials.