Solomon & Sons Relocation Services

The two loading and packing exercises were done on different days and in different weeks. We liked the crew that we had for the first one a lot and we requested them for the next time, which was set for about 10 days later. We had two guys from that crew turn up on the second lift but the others couldn't do it and the superintendent was pre-arranged. But they were very good, too. Solomon's reps also followed up. They said they'd understand if we wanted to make changes since it was a stressful time. It was a 7,500 square foot worth of furniture accumulated over a lifetime and it had a lot of artwork which we wanted to be handled carefully. They did everything the way we'd expect it to be done. They came on time, worked well over 12 hours, and worked in the dark to get things in. They worked through a rainstorm, so that held them up a bit. But they did the big lift all in one day and I can't praise them enough.

In fact, I'd use them again if the occasion arose. You get what you pay for in life, so I wasn't fazed by the fact that they were a little more expensive because they've been approachable at every point in the exercise. I'm very OCD, so I was bothering them with phone calls. At one point of the second lift, which was the big one, my wife got very anxious for the first hour and kept interrupting the guys. They showed nothing but the utmost patience. I had to tell to her in the end to please calm down, go off, and have a cup of coffee. Then she came back later on and apologized. They told her that she didn't do anything wrong, which was great. I was very happy with the young and strong crew that we had. Normally, you’d get one or two who would slouch in these things. But all six of them worked nonstop all day, with no breaks.

I paid Solomon & Sons 4,300 upfront, figuring that was all I owed them. When the guys showed up, I found out I owe another 3,900. I'm still perturbed over the fact I had to pay them anything more because of the fact that all of a sudden, it was my fault for not calculating how much stuff I had right. They're good people but there's a screw up in the system. They should’ve eaten those fees because the screw up should have been their fault. They should’ve had someone come to me and say, “Let's take a look at everything you have. Send us picture.” But nobody's willing to go and look at the houses, unless they're local. These people were in Miami, and it was 10 hours away. I was in North Georgia.

Right now, I'm waiting and trying to find out when my stuff’s going to be here. I got a text saying, hopefully, Saturday. That's got me perturbed too. I am sleeping on a couch. I'm 100% disabled vet. My body hurts everyday. Now, I've knots on my back and shoulders from sleeping on a couch.

My rates were a lot higher because we didn't directly work with Solomon & Sons. It was because they did not come up in the Google search in one of the top rated companies. And for somebody with little to no experience, if they had better advertisements out there or something that pops up on top, I would have them directly. But Solomon themselves was amazing. I found out about them later on and they kept me up to date. And as soon as I had that question as to where my shipment was, they had contacted me. They were very clear about the number of steps, charges or packaging. They went over and beyond as well. They helped me move the fridge that wasn't even supposed to be there. Because they had to put the new fridge in. But the old fridge was still there and I struggled with it alone. So, it was very kind of them to finish the whole job. I appreciate that.

My other issue was between sales folks and New Leaf because that's who I talked to. The moving team came in and they were professional. They said, "No, we can't use that box or that box." I understood and had no complaint. The box was squashed or old and sagging so they had to repack it. I had a couple of paintings they had to totally bubble wrap and pack in like a mirror box. But then they said they had to blanket wrap every chair and sofa then wrap it with cellophane then scotch tape so the blanket stays down.

We had a dining room table, glass top, with a base, and four chairs. They had to wrap each chair in a blanket, wind it with scotch tape to make sure the blanket stayed on. The base of the table and all those things had to be blanketed. They padded and they taped it. Had I known that, I would have maybe not taken some things. I would have sold them or I would have been more prepared. If that service was free, that would have been terrific. But when I was hit with a bill for $1,400, I was not really happy not being told this by the sales side. The only way we move things is we wrap them. I'm learning that the trucking game is, "Worry about it later because we inflate our estimate and we won't get the job."

Other than that, the crew was polite and fast. They weren't screwing around wasting time. I'm thankful for that. When I was given to sign and agree to what they had collected in the remainder of the move, there was almost a $1,000 charge because it was being transferred from Florida to LA. In LA, a 18-wheeler semi can't be on a residential street so they got a shuttle. That's by LA law. It would have been nice if their salesperson had a chart and had the brains to look at it and say, "By the way, I'm sorry. But in Oklahoma, we could pull right up in front of your house, but we can't do that in LA. That's going to be an extra $950.'" It was the move from hell. There was nothing we could do.

The actual movers were pretty good. They showed up on time at the location. These are guys that have been doing it for a little while. They had all sorts of handy tricks for figuring out how to get things in and out. They were very meticulous and there were definitely steps taken that I appreciated. These were things that I wouldn't necessarily have done for myself. It was high quality of service from someone who was an experienced mover.

The movers were a pair consisting of an older guy and a younger guy. They worked together prior but they weren't necessarily together. That old guy put care and effort into the wrapping my stuff. I'm used to the situation where I get into my new places and there are a couple of broken items and things. This is one of the first professional movers that I've had that treated my stuff better than I treat it when I move it myself.

Once I got into my place, it was like, "Okay, guys, this goes here, here, here." I stepped out to make a phone call and when I came back, half the things was already done. It was generally a positive experience with those guys. They were very careful with the moving, helping me with getting everything in, and getting the layout that I wanted it. They were were in and out, no muss, no fuss, pretty quickly.

Then the day of the move came and Richard the moving crew supervisor told us a lot of things were not included in the contract and if we didn't agree to another $3000 they would have to leave, we were outraged but couldn't say no since our closing was two days later. After back and forth with others in the company we recouped some of our $ but not without a lot of frustration and loss of sleep. The day of the delivery to our new home they sent very inexperienced young man that could barely lift our stuff out of the truck they were not very careful and even dropped one load, luckily it was nothing of expensive but they did break the bins the items were in. I know now how horrible things are in the moving business and quite frankly there should be better laws enforced, they are a license to steal.

Fast forward a few weeks when the driver showed up on the move date. He told me he wouldn't be delivering my items for TWELVE days (at the earliest)! This was so far out of left field I couldn't believe it. The drivers ended up waiting around for hours while I went back and forth with Customer Service only to be told there was nothing they could do. On top of it all, I was going to be on vacation the day they said they could deliver. Since they gave me zero solutions, and I had to move, I bought a new plane ticket (my expense) for a day later and shortened my vacation.

The move took so long with only two men, and at the end, he said he had bad news and that my charge was going to be FIFTY PERCENT more than the estimate (THEIR estimate with accurate information). When I asked what would happen if I didn't agree, he said they would take 40% of the items back off the truck. When I asked how often this happens with Solomon and Sons, he said the estimate has been too low on EVERY job he has ever done except ONE!

Upon delivery (TWELVE days later), the driver said the truck wouldn't fit, and they had to offload to a different truck for another $750 charge (even though Matt claimed he researched all this before the move, and there wouldn't be a charge). Again, just apologies. I also watched my dining room table fall to the ground because they had leaned it on its side. This is by far my most expensive piece of furniture and the piece I had literally told them was the only one I truly cared about. Huge gash on the top. Tons of boxes were crushed, dishes broken, tables broken, missing items, and EVERY lamp was broken. Every one.

When the move was over, I called Matt to get some resolution to some of these issues. After promising to get back to me twice with no response, I gave up and was just thankful this nightmare was over. I am in the process of filing a claim, and I will update my review after I see if there is appropriate resolution on that front. Moves can be tough, but don't make yours a nightmare like I did. Please know what you're getting into before you sign with Solomon & Sons Relocation Services. NOTE: I have moved with professional moving companies four times (all brokers by the way)....one local move and three interstate moves. Twice I was charged more than the estimate, but it was reasonable. I have never filed a claim or left a bad review.