Mayflower Moving & Storage, Mayflower Moving and Storage, Mayflower gave good estimate of $475.00 for very small move, including free use of pads and wardrobe boxes. Movers billed me $1,499. $800.00 for "materials" - 12 boxes, tape & few sheets of paper. Santa Clara, California

Needed to move my 93-year-old fixed-income dad from one facility to another, very small 2-room move, approx. 2 miles away.  Used online request for quotes, Mayflower Moving and Storage came in with lowest quote of $475.00 which included free use of pads and wardrobe boxes.  I verified that charges for gas was only from pickup to dropoff locations and explained I had need of only a few boxes, almost everything was prepacked. 

Because of the low quote and well-known company name, I selected the Mayflower group.  The movers arrived on time and began packing, but much to my consternation, began wrapping old furniture in plastic.  I asked where the free pads were.  They just shrugged and indicated they didn't have any.  I told them to not use anything then if they didn't have free pads. 

Despite showing them that only a few items needed to be boxed, the movers put the self-packed boxes into big Mayflower boxes, then surrounded boxes with huge amounts of tape, completely beyond what was needed.  Photo is of their over-taped box filled with our already packed boxes.  I emptied the wardrobe boxes at location and sent them back with the movers, but later found out I had been charged as if I had kept them. 

The bill presented me after moving showed same amount as estimate for the movers and truck, but was completely outrageous for materials and gas.  I was charged $98.00 for approx. 2 mile distance.  Worst overcharge was for materials:  approximately $800.00 for a dozen medium to large sized boxes, few rolls of tape and few dozen sheets of brown paper.  Total was $1,499.00 - waaaaay over $475.00 estimate.

I contacted the company several times asking for an explanation of the charges for materials, and even got them to admit I had been charged for the free items.  But never received a response back when I asked for a refund for excess materials charges.