FlatRate Moving

Save yourself hours of stress, confusion, and wasted time — do not hire FlatRate Moving. From the very first interaction, this company demonstrated an astounding level of incompetence and disorganization that borders on negligence.

I hired FlatRate to manage a move from Louisville, KY to Asheville, NC, and every phase of the process — from scheduling to delivery — was a complete mess. There was no single point of contact. The job was passed around to multiple people, none of whom had a grasp on even the most basic logistics like pickup times or delivery locations. At one point, your own team couldn’t even tell me where my belongings were in the system.

Communication was abysmal. There were no updates, no automated systems, no proactive outreach. Then — nearly two weeks after pickup — I received a text message at 10:44 PM on a Sunday night, informing me that the movers would be arriving the next morning, unannounced. No warning. No courtesy call. Just a sudden drop-in, as though this level of chaos is normal for your operation.

To make matters worse, the driver spoke only Russian — no English, no Spanish — which made it impossible to communicate basic instructions or clarify anything on-site. How is a logistics company sending drivers on cross-state deliveries with no shared language and no translator or liaison?

This entire experience has been unacceptable. You are running a national moving company with all the professionalism of a fly-by-night Craigslist operation. I would strongly discourage anyone from trusting your team with their possessions — or their time.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $2600

We moved from Manhattan to Queens and Flatrate's representative suggested we use their "ELITE" service as we had some precious things to move, result?.. they damaged artwork and totally cracked the lid of my 1896 Beckstein Grand Piano in HALF, two years later we're still in court trying to get them to pay what is due. The word "sheisters" comes to mind! Did I mention we also took out insurance? The offered us $1500 (and told us we should pay the first $500) for nearly $6000 worth of damage!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000

We recently moved to NYC from CT and opted to use Flat Rate. They literally damaged every piece of furniture. They broke our dining room table, king sized headboard, coffee table, hutch, night tables and both dressers. Their policy is to make restitution based on the weight of what was damaged. We were compensated approximately 300 dollars for thousands of dollars in damage. Do not use this company. Hire some guys hanging out at the local [EDIT]. I have moved a number of times in the last 10 years and have never had anything like this.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2000

My wife and I moved from New York to San Francisco and used Flatrate Moving to transfer all of our belongings.

Upon delivery, we discovered that our items suffered extensive damage due to gross negligence in packing (see images for subpar packing of kitchen items, etc) and handling. Most notably, the screen of our 60’ Samsung was damaged due to pressure being put directly on the LCD screen itself during packing or transport. Our shoes and various similar articles were left exposed and crammed into closet drawers during transport. We are aware that nothing should be left in drawers during transport. The company extensively violated this policy which resulted in damages. Armchairs worth around $1,200 were delivered shattered into many pieces. Kitchen appliances and dining ware were dumped without protection into boxes. Naturally, cups, glasses [EDIT] were shattered.
Note that we did purchase extra and full coverage protection for situations like these. However, Flatrate Moving has failed to delivery in this regard as well.

We notified Flatrate Moving. They scheduled an appointment with appraiser for a few weeks later. One day before our inspection was to occur, the appraiser called to cancel. This was yet another experience in the unprofessional and unreliable service provided by Flatrate Moving. Our appraisal was delayed another few weeks. It is now 2 months after our move and Flatrate Moving has still not reimbursed us. As a matter-of-fact, they have offered to settle for about one-quarter the cost of our total claim. How did they arrive at this inadequate amount? Flatrate Moving suggested we can replace a 60’ Samsung High Def TV for $399.99 for example. They also suggested we replace the $1,200 armchairs for $127. At no point in my life (even on Black Friday) have I found a deal even close to these suggested replacement values.

Some other examples of Flatrate Moving’s unprofessionalism and overall sketchy business practice are below. I have email documentation of dates and correspondences.

1. Claims Department promised to address claims by end of specific week. They actually addressed it a month later. This has happened twice already.
2. I called 3 times to speak to upper management – one [NAME EDIT] I believe. 3 times I was promised a return call. I still have not been called. Upper management provides no transparency.
3. I called Flatrate Moving’s legal department twice to ask for arbitration documents (they are required to provide arbitration). I emailed this department 3 times as well. I still have not heard back from them. They have thus far refused to provide any information regarding such arbitration.
4. The salesperson we dealt with – [NAME EDIT] – has since disappeared and has offered to resolution.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Flat Service cost: $5500

I found FlatRate Movers in a Google search for my move from NYC to California. I called multiple companies and FlatRate had the cheapest rates by a long shot (red flag?), and seemed to have good reviews, so I booked them. I was not shipping any large furniture items, only some boxes of clothes and a flat screen TV, a glass dinner table, and a large floor mirror. I got a delivery slot of about 2 weeks and was told it would likely arrive in the beginning of the slot. My items arrived on the last day of the slot. Fine, no big deal. Once all my items were brought in, we found the TV had been shattered, the mirror was in pieces and the dining table legs and base were twisted and broken. The driver apologized and called HQ and took photos of my items. The total of damages was $500. Weeks later I got back about $175 for all this trouble. It is my fault that I only paid for the basic insurance but how did all 3 of my fragile items break? My clothing boxes were all ripped up too but thankfully clothing is not as fragile. Lastly, I got an email to review my experience and the website would not even let me rate them anything below 4 stars. I am disgusted with this service and company and this may be the only time I've ever written a bad review for anything. I suggest you all reconsider any long distance move with this company.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $1250

When I arranged this move with the coordinator in NY - who, by the way, was efficient and a pleasure to work with - I told her there were some large and/or oddly shaped items I didn't know how to pack properly. After giving her a complete list of those items, we agreed that the movers would see to them on the day of the move. Everything seemed to go perfectly, and I couldn't have been happier. Until my belongings arrived in Chicago, and I found that the only item of furniture I'd moved - a 3-drawer wood file cabinet, which had survived some 20 years without so much as a scratch - was destroyed, as were 2 cast iron kettlebells and 3 other items. I can't even begin to imagine the kind of force and abuse it took to shatter the outer layer of the kettlebells! It boggles the mind. When all was said and done, my claim was calculated by weight, not value, and I was informed I'd receive $120 for more than $500 in damages. This despite the fact that EVERYTHING THAT WAS DAMAGED HAD BEEN PACKED BY FLATRATE'S MOVERS! When a company does not hold itself accountable for its own employees' negligence, my suggestion is LOOK ELSEWHERE. My biggest mistake in this whole experience - other than hiring Flatrate, of course - was tipping the movers BEFORE I'd unpacked. Had I not done so, I would have at least saved the cost of replacing the items they destroyed. Live and learn.

Service cost: $2700

I recently moved cross country with Flatrate, from Brooklyn, NY, to Portland, OR. Yesterday, I started unpacking boxes and many items of jewelry were missing from my boxes. Someone went through two boxes (marked Bedroom/my name--a big mistake) and methodically took everything they thought looked valuable. They had time to open each box and hastily toss everything back inside. One box was even retaped.

I just don't understand how this is acceptable. Damaging things in a move, even losing a box or an item once in a while, sure--it happens. But Flatrate, YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE STEALING your customers' belongings. No business should ever stand for that.

I am waiting to find out what Flatrate is going to do about this. I will be happy to revise this review if they rectify the situation, but this theft overshadows everything else.

Service cost: $5200

Used Flatrate to move from NJ to FL on a family recommendation. The night before our move we updated the inventory list and the estimate jumped by almost double. Because they did not send someone to the house like other companies, the rate was not guaranteed if the number of boxes rose as we got closer to our move out date. They sent a truck that was too small for the move out and we wound up leaving items or packing our personal cars with the items that did not fit in the truck. Our last mattress was wrapped in plastic and placed between the truck and the lift gate outside in the rain because there was no more room. Stored with them and they delivered to Florida about a month later. Items came off the truck tightly wrapped on pallets with no care taken for boxes marked fragile, glass, or the weight of items. Crew could not stop apologizing for the damage and condition of our belongings and boxes. Thankfully we did not take much furniture with us. They lost my daughter's bicycle, ripped the wheels off a heavy duty tool chest, crushed fragile boxes, and the move-in crew deeply scratched 10 new floor boards we just installed a week earlier. They dragged a treadmill and desk around gouging the floors through the wear layer. We submitted a claim within 2 days with photos and a full explanation. Claims department told me I could use my flooring contractor, but that no claim would be approved until their own contractor verified the damage. We had to wait another week for their furniture restoration company to come and verify the flooring damage and the contractor spent 5 minutes in our home, looked and said the would try to touch up as best as possible vs replace. Never even asked the brand of the flooring. Claim was settled for 50 cents on the dollar as they only covered us for .60/lb based on damaged and lost items. So my daughter's $400 bike was covered at 0.60/lb. The flooring estimate from their contractor was to touch up and fill the scratches rather than replace the boards as needed so their estimate was half of the actual cost. Per their instruction, I appealed my claim and also called their contractor for a copy of the estimate. Contractor would not provide a copy and confirmed they would not be replacing floor boards and were not a flooring company. Just furniture repair. After several attempts to explain and appeal this to Flatrate Executives, my appeal was denied and I was told to expect the original settlement check. The cost of Flatrate versus Mayflower and Allied was within a few hundred dollars at the end of the day and actually cost me more after the damage and claims process. We move every 5 years and this was by far the worst move ever. Don't try to save on the front-end as you may wind up paying more after they deliver. Will be posting photos as well. They have since deleted all of the customer posts on their [EDIT] page unless they were singing praises. I can't even imagine if we had moved more valuable items. The crews moving in and out were all hard-working and nice people. Accidents happen and they were very apologetic. Even they expected their home office would take care of things. Sad to say, but expect 50 cents on the dollar at best.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6500

Do not use this company for long distance moves. I moved from NYC to Chicago in June 2017 and was charged $1500 for the move (30 boxes and 4 big pieces of furniture - wooden chair, bed, dresser and nightstand). The 3 of the 4 pieces of furniture (which were the only things packed by FlatRate) arrived completely destroyed. I filed a claim as I figured it was a disgruntled employee. After multiple emails and phone calls, I was given $250 for my "troubles". I had to purchase a new bed, dresser and chair. If I knew they were going to be so careless with my items, I would have sold them in NYC and not paid them to move the big items! There are a lot of better companies out there that might be a little bit more expensive but will treat your stuff with respect.

Move size: Studio flat Service cost: $1500