By JB
I recently hired El Cheapo movers in Toronto. The move was from a bachelor apartment in one building, to a one-bedroom in the bulding next door. I booked a month in advance. The company assured me the movers would arrive between 2-4 PM. By 3:45 I had not received a call, so I phoned the office. A receptionist took my name and number. 30 minutes later I received a call back. The move did not start until 4:45, and took until 10PM!!! It was far more expensive than anticipated, and the movers themselves admitted, after being paid, that in order to get good service, you must request to be the first move of the day. They said they were too tired. There was also damage to several objects, and when I sent a complaint to the company the next day, they never responded. Do not hire this company - or if you do, insist on being the first move of their work day.
Toronto says...
I used El Cheapo to move from a 2-bdrm to a house, and we had a good experience. We made it as easy as possible for the movers, moved all the boxes of things out ourselves the day before, and brought as much furniture down to the lobby as possible. In the end, it took 1 trip at just over 3 hours, under $400. Nothing was damaged except the walls, which took some bashing on the big furniture - there’s even a hole in the wall in the basement now. But at the end of the day, drywall is pretty easy to fix. Credit where it’s due, our two guys tried every possible way to fit our enormous couch down the basement stairs (never even occured to me it wouldn’t fit), and were at it for 20 minutes before admitting defeat. Very pleasant, good-natured, no goofing around, no lunch breaks. We were probably the first move of the day (I seem to remember around 9:45am on a Thursday), and it’s true that they do wear down over the day - well of course they do, it’s heavy work! We tipped them $60 for being so nice and making our first house move easy, and in all honesty, it was probably easy partly because we were more than willing to chip in, bringing items down and lining them up next to the van - being well-prepared doesn’t waste their time or yours, so they appreciate it. A few bottles of water go a long way too! Attitude is everything.
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Grace says...
El Cheapo Movers is the worst moving company in Toronto,
I’ve been using them, and recommending them for a few years. However, the begging of the month I used them and them and they have totally fallen apart. They showed up in a rental truck. One of the guys was actually very personable and seemed to know what he was doing, the other looked like he was on drugs. I watched him let go of my grandmothers’ nightstand while carrying it, totally smashing it. My brand new hardwood floors were gauged beyond belief. And virtually every piece of furniture I had was scratched. At the end of the move, after pointing out the destruction, the ‘good’ mover confided to me that they are no longer the company the once where. The owner has no part in the business. They make it a common practice to screw over all their core reliable movers, and instead hire ANYONE they can get at the end of the month in order to cut costs. Horrible business practice! Now, I would have gone out of my way to rand about them like this if this if it was an one-off event, but in the last few months nearly everyone whom I recommended them to had a similar experience. Very disappointing. And not even close to cheap!
Daisy says...
El Cheapo = El Sucko. Agree 120%. Hired them for my move in downtown Toronto. Took them much longer than anticipated (note: I moved across the street) and they managed to break my TV along the way. Would NEVER recommend to anybody. No one deserves to be treated like that. Very poor and slow in dealing with complaints.
al says...
I also had a poor experience with these hacks. Not only did they send a smaller truck than promised “and” arrive three hours late, they broke our antique armoire and glass table. Then they tried to leave my belongings on my front porch. I was really nice to them up until that point. The moment I became verbally aggressive the dynamic changed completely. Suddenly they really cared about my move. It took close to one year and a letter from my lawyer to finally get them to pay for the damage. As a sidebar, the 3 movers complained openly about how much they hated working for the company.
Fireman Movers is the way to go.
j says...
Moving companies have a similar problem:
Low pay and demanding physical labor means a steep staff turnover, meaning they hire people just to fill trucks and the best people get used the most so they end up tired and behind schedule.
I watched a bunch of people who work here in Vancouver for “Budget City Movers” and the complaints are legion on Craigslist: Busted stuff, late for the job and over-charged.
And the staff they hire! I see them show up for work at a local storage place where they keep their vehicles and you never saw such a collection of people except possibly at a parole office. The local storage company has their flyers on their counter right in the office area.
Do your part however: Get stuff organized in boxes and in the groups you want. You pay them by the hour. If that means they are packing your stuff, they’ll do that.
Fletcher says...
Check out this moving company in Brampton , named Moving Titan.great customer service and i believe it is female owned.
Jacob says...
They didn’t show up! Fail. I filled out their on-line form, then spoke with them on the phone, then emailed again to confirm. Day of the move, nobody showed up! I called and emailed, but nobody responded. Ended up having to call a bunch of friends to help move all my stuff in the minivan. Then the next day and later I called to ask what happened. Nobody called me back! Eventually I reached someone and they promised to look into it, but they never called me back. Brutal.
John B. says...
Yep , El Cheapo used to be good like back in the mid 2000’s.
Used them a few times, no problems. Last time in 2011 forget it.
Not a good move at all.
Looks like the job market has picked up since then and they can’t hire good people.
I have since gone by referrals from friends.
Moved recently this past January and I tried out one company, Abba Movers in Etobicoke. Family owned , small op with 3 huge trucks. I figured with the smaller company they could concentrate on better customer satisfaction.
I was right and they did ok by me and I am one hard guy to please.
They have a website but I have no idea what it is, I went through the Toronto Yellow pages to find them.
Anyhow give them a try, I think their number is 416-242-6662 or 416-242-6666.
John B.