Michael's Moving & Storage — Attraction in Boston

We used Michael's Moving and Storage's long distance moving service back in 2023, moving from Los Angeles to Dallas. This was our first long distance move ever and to say we were anxious about the whole ordeal is an understatement. Michael's made the entire process smooth and easy to navigate. I have researched cross country movers extensively and picked Michael's.

No moving company is perfect and all of the ones I researched (Allied, Colonial, JK, northAmerican, Two Men, etc. etc. etc.) had issues with being late, damaged furniture(s) or missing items, but Michael's have exceeded our expectations after all was said and done.

Their online portal and inventory system makes quotation a breeze and the quote came very close to what we were charged. I booked a moving contract with Michael's and paid a $500 deposit about 6 months before our move and I continuously updated our inventory list as our move-out day approached. More importantly, if you have any concerns, you can call their hotline and someone is always there to exist you (including paying any balance over the phone). Their online messaging system accessible through their portal is also on point and I usually get my questions answered the same day or within 24 hours.

On move-out day, the movers arrived early and got done moving boxes and furnitures out of our 3 bedroom 1,550 square feet home in Los Angeles in about 4 hours, which included 60+ boxes of varying sizes, washer, drier, disassembling our king bed and our son's twin sized Corvette bed. If you ran out of boxes or decide on your moving day to have certain items packaged up by Michael's crew, no problem. They have all the packaging supplies on hand to accommodate you on the spot.

The entire move took about 2½, weeks from start to finish - Los Angeles to Dallas, which was within the timeframe that Michael's promised. Delivery took half the time of pick-up, only 2½, hours total, which included reassembling our son's Corvette twin bed (but not our King bed.- we decided to replace it). Our stuff sat in a storage warehouse in Irvine, CA for about 2 weeks before it started crossing state lines.

Michael's team leaders (both pick up and drop off) are very efficient and communicates well. The movers are equally efficient and hardworking (we gave them each a very generous tip).

Out of over 60 boxes, we only had 2 gone missing. But that's okay because they contained mostly old cookware that we were planning on replacing anyways. Most importantly, nothing broke inside boxes that were labeled as "fragile, handle with care."

We packed as many valuables, especially irreplaceable valuables and important documents as much as we can in our cars for the drive to Texas, but those that did not make the cut (such as BluRays, video game consoles and video games), we placed an AirTag in their boxes and had Michael's deliver them and they all arrived.

I knocked off one star because we did place a label on every single box with our destination address and our moving contract #, including a phone number and an email but no one ever contacted us regarding any of our 2 missing boxes.

The total cost to move was very reasonable and competitive. I was quoted by various van lines with worse reviews at upwards to $15k! Michael's charged us a little over ⅓ of that.

Pro-tip 1: I can't emphasize this enough but always move personal items of value and irreplaceable items yourself.

Pro-tip 2: Box and pack everything yourself if you want to save a considerable amount of $$$.

Pro-tip 3: We used ToteScan to mark each and every one of our moving boxes with an individualized QR code label that contains an itemization (and picture)...

Recently moved from Boston to Chicago. Heard good words about Michael's from a friend who used them before. Unfortunately I did not get the same experience as my friend did. Admittedly before the move, they were attentive, seemed friendly and easy to work with. That was why I decided to go with them. But it was an absolute flip after they picked up my furniture. It is nearly impossible to get a better estimate when the furniture would arrive. But what turned this experience sour was when the driver and her team asked for more money at delivery. Talked to Michael's on phone at the time and they convinced me to pay the driver per their request, and Michael's would work something out for me later. I took their words, but the "work something out" never happened. I previously agreed to pay to the extra $75 for the additional half a flight (because of a garden unit before getting to the first floor). The driver added another $150. If it was pre-agreed, I would be ok. I just found had to swallow that they kept changing at the last minutes, when I literally have no choices. Basically I was cornered.

And then when they unpacked my furniture, at least 4 pieces of furniture were broken including a working desk, a shelf. Particularly the desk, it was so avoidable, they did not take the legs down, and instead they just wrapped the whole desk as is. And the leg was torn at the end. The legs were held by 4 screws and could be easily undone. The two beds they assembled was installed incorrectly, the supporting rod fell out the first night. And there were at least two screws gone missing, they just randomly put a different screw that did not fit and hanged there loosely. I have to redo the two bed myself and found those two missing screws on the floors. I mentioned all these to Michael's, I got nothing, but told me that they will submit the claim with insurance company.

I purchased an additional $300 dollar insurance to cover for any accidents. The insurance claim they put me through was beyond unpleasant. Only after 40 days after I submitted all the evidences they requested, suddenly I got an email saying they would now look in my claim and it may take up to another 45-60 days. Maybe month later. I got a letter, saying they judged my claim would be $375 but there is a $250 deductible so the payout is 125. Not once anyone talked the deductible when I asked about the insurance (it was purchased via Michael's as well), and when I asked to submit the claim. Why bother, $125 is not even enough to replace the desk that in my mind totally responsible by the movers. Again and again I felt being pushed aside as soon as they got the money. Not a good...

BEWARE! Manager Bryan seemed very attentive at first. But once he had our stuff, we felt completely scammed. We were moving our 2 bedroom apartment from Ma to Fl. We were quoted for around $4,900. He offered $5/cubic foot if we booked that day. Once they packed our stuff they added about 500 cubic feet and charged an additional $2,500. They added 3 couches that we didn’t have to their inventory. When we addressed this, Bryan stated, well when we packed it, there was 1400 feet. We can’t control how poorly they packed it? They added extra inventory to void the “discount” they had promise. Additionally, they added a fake parking ticket of $100. When we asked to see the ticket, they did not have it. Nor did the police. They said they could not put our 3 mirrors in blankets and charged us $300 to put them in boxes. Extra hidden fees. Zero transparency. When we questioned Bryan about the additionally fake furniture, he said, “hire movers to get your stuff from us.” great guy... But it gets better.

They said they can get our stuff delivered in 4-15 days. LIES. 21 days by law. Our stuff was late. Beyond the 15 days. We called multiple times to see where our stuff was and there was no answer. After radiosilence, we contacted the business bureau because we were led to believe our stuff was being held hostage. Bryan said, since you contacted the bureau we will not deliver your stuff. But hey, at least he finally responded. When we asked for an additional copy of the contract, they refused to give to us.

Even better. They left all of their trash. They also said they don’t subcontract. Well they do! We had 4 people not from the company, role up and deliver our stuff. Pretty sure it was just task rabbit. And they were smoking on our property.

We filed a claim because they put a hole in our ceiling and we have not heard back.

When the driver arrived he demanded cash even though the contract said cash or banker’s check.

LIES, NO TRANSPARENCY, STEAL! and I'm pretty sure these other reviews are AI. We have moved 3 times with Lexel and I would give 10/10. Zero...