Smooth Move People

Dishonest and Rude.

Dishonest and Rude
I hired Smooth Move People to pack and move my household items less than two miles. The owner, Greg Rivelli, quoted packing/moving labor costs, then demanded more than double that “estimate” after the move. His employees caused more than $1,000 of damage to my property, then he blamed me for not supervising his crew as they loaded the truck. It was more than 10 months before Greg arranged to repair my broken washer and dryer.

The “Estimate.”
When I first contacted Smooth Move People, I asked Greg how much packing and moving would cost. He asked me how large my home was and whether it was furnished sparsely, average or more than average. After answering his questions, Greg told me that the job would require two men one day to pack, and two men one day to move. He asked me to move all clothing, electronics, artwork and glass table tops. Prior to moving day, I moved those items AND a medium sized U-Haul truck full of property. This significantly reduced the job that Greg’s crew had to do.
Two men showed up on packing day, but quit early when they ran out of boxes. (Greg had assured me that they always brought extra boxes to avoid this problem) The next day, two men showed up in one truck which was completely disabled when the front axle broke. Another truck arrived a few hours later. One of the men told me that a third man was coming to help with the move, and that I would not be charged for his time. At 11:30 pm, the man in charge of the move told me that they had not finished moving all my property. He showed me a cellphone picture of my garage full of items, and told me that it would take another three hours to complete the move. (I moved those items myself at a later date). Then, he asked me to pay the Bill of Lading which charged me for their meal break time and the time spent waiting when their truck broke down. When I objected, he reluctantly reduced the charges by two hours. More importantly, he told me that Greg regularly underestimates moving services when a customer calls, then blames his employees when the customer complains.
A few weeks later, Greg demanded that I pay the full bill PLUS labor for the third man called to help on moving day. Including these demands, total labor charges for the job would’ve been $2,352. Total labor charges based on Greg’s “estimate” were only $1,160. I later learned what Greg already knew, that a moving estimate is not binding unless the mover has examined the contents of your home.


Damages
Many items were damaged during the move, but my main concern was getting my washer and dryer repaired. (Both units required expensive control boards).At first, Greg admitted that the appliances were damaged because his men overloaded the truck. But later, he blamed me for not preventing his men from overloading the truck. (I didn’t know that was my job). Six days after the move, I hand delivered a repair estimate for $842 to Greg and asked him to promptly OK the repairs. He refused. Greg insisted that he could find cheaper parts and have his handyman install them. He was angry and frustrated that I would not agree to install the parts myself. Greg would only agree to professional installation if I would cover all labor costs over $100. It took Greg more than 10 months to obtain the parts and arrange for the repairs. And, the washer control board is not under warrantee because of Greg’s decision to go cheap. I had to constantly email Greg asking for progress reports. His replies were angry and incoherent. Several times, he promised to deliver the parts, then failed to do so. I complained to ODOT, but they were no help at all.
No, this was not a “smooth move.” Greg lowballed the “estimate.’ Then, his crew left my house a dirty mess and damaged my property. Finally, I had to endure Greg’s excuses and hysterics for ten months while my washer and dryer were broken. I was overcharged AND had to pay for damage that I didn’t cause. I don’t know how this move could’ve been any worse.