Coastal Moving Inc., Coastal Moving, www.sdcoastalmoving.com Deceptive Marketing Tactics: Classic BAIT & SWITCH Moving Company San Diego California

We made contact with the company based on a personal referral.  Our referral had just finished hiring them approximately 2 months prior to our hire date and our situation sounded similar in nature, moving in town, short distance, moving from a similar size apartment to another similar size apartment.  Oh yea we actually compared notes on how much furniture and stuff our referral had compared to what we have.  They even told us what they paid for the moving.  So based on this information we thought, hey even if it's a hundred more bucks, it's worth it.  At least I don't have to do the move myself.

The initial phone call seem to go okay with an exception, that should have tripped our scam-o-meter.  Our first indication of a problem: the company refused to do an on-site evaluation including a written estimate, they said "it is an in town move, so we don't do an onsite evaluation or a written estimate".  The manager of the company asked for the square footage of the apartment.  Solely based on that information, just the square footage, he recommended, one truck and two movers.  He made mentioned that they have a three hour minimum. Based on the day we requested the move, he only offered an afternoon window, a four hour window.  From noon to 4pm.  

Second mistake, why can't we have movers show up in the morning?  Because they are moving someone else. Usually a big move, that will take most of the day.  So the movers we were hiring, showed up at 4:30pm and exhausted. They started walking around and asking if certain items were to be moved. Yes all items need to be moved.  Boxes were already pack and tape, items just needed to be moved out of the apartment (no stairs on the move out and less than 35 yards to the truck).  

They started, and the movers were moving very slow, due to the fact they just finished a big move.  The head mover then told my wife that if we wanted him and his team member to be there until 3 am the next day that she better call and request two more movers.  Really?  Why didn't the manager Ryan Johns tell this to my wife on the phone.  Oh because he told me on the phone after the fact that it is illegal for him to make any suggestions of how long it will take to move someone's home.  That's right Ryan Johns would be arrested if he said, "Hey I don't know how long it will take to move your home, all I will say is that we have a 3 hour minimum."  'It is illegal for me to say anything else.  Oh yea and no other moving company offers an onsite evaluation or a written estimate for in town moves.  

Summary: This is a classic bait and switch, lead you into a "we have a three hour minimum", this is an in town move, based on the square footage you told me over the phone, we recommended that you get two movers and one truck.  Then when they show up to the job, the lead mover, makes the threat that you will need to hire two more movers or you will spend another 11 hours trying to move you out of your 11 hundred square foot apartment. The final price was doublewhat we had expected. Oh yea and the reason why the referral got such a great deal, my guess is it's beacuse they are the leasing agent for a brand new apartment complex that has 400 plus units that need to be moved into!  I guess they were hoping to get those referrals!