Jmr Express

I hired JMR movers for a move from Montreal - Chicago, because they provided me with the lowest quote. After searching their website, and talking to a representative (Vijai), everything pointed to the legitimacy of the company. I felt confident with my choice, and went ahead and booked a moving date.

At first, Vijai was very pleasant to deal with. He supplied me with a quote, and scheduled a pick-up date/time very efficiently. It was not until after all of my personal belongings were taken away in a truck did my seemingly never-ending nightmare begin.

My pick-up date and time (April 25) were scheduled a week in advance - the movers showed up about an hour late, but they were very fast and efficient, and courteous. I felt very confident that I had made the right choice. When they were finished, they provided me with an itemized list of every article that had been picked up, and told me that Vijai would soon supply me with an updated report of my exact shipping poundage, and my final total owed to the company.... this is the last I heard from the company for over two months.

My delivery in Chicago was scheduled for ANYTIME BETWEEN AUGUST 15 and SEPTEMBER 1. I was having my items stored by JMR over the summer months. Since my delivery was not due for quite some time, I was not overly concerned that I had not yet heard from Vijai.

On June 28, I received an e-mail from Vijai (the first correspondence I had since my pick-up on April 25), that stated: "My driver Paul is in Chicago and is trying to deliver to you... can you please call him on his cell?" ---- I was completely dumb-struck!! Not only was my delivery not scheduled to arrive for nearly two more months, I was not even in Chicago!!! I immediately called Vijai, but there was no answer: I left messages, but never heard back from him. I was eventually able to contact the dispatcher, but he was not able to provide me with any additional information. When I contacted the driver, I explained my situation: though he was far from sympathetic, he agreed that it was a mistake made by the company, and that he would have my items shipped back to Montreal, to await my scheduled delivery time.

Additionally: when I spoke to the driver, he informed me of my balance due to the company.... it was HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS more than my estimation. Not only had I not been informed of the change in price, I was also not informed in advance of the driver's intention to deliver my goods. Meaning: with absolutely NO warning or consultation, the driver showed up in Chicago expecting me to drop EVERYTHING, allow him to delivery my goods, and be paid far above what my original quote was.... and all without ANY prior communication!!!!

I left messages for Vijai, but did not hear back from him until July 4, when he wrote me an e-mail saying this: "So it looks like everything is back to normal over here and your goods are safe and stored back in our warehouse. Can you please let me know when would be the preferred dates for your delivery in August to make sure that I don’t send your shipment at a bad time." <--- please note the LACK OF APOLOGY.

On July 13 I wrote an e-mail inquiring about the final delivery date, and requesting an updated copy on my invoice with the exact poundage and cost of my move.

On July 23 Vijai wrote to me to confirm that my delivery date of Aug 15 - Sept 1 would not be a problem. He did NOT include the updated invoice that I requested.

On July 25, I sent another e-mail requesting my invoice. I also confirmed my telephone number, and delivery address. This e-mail went completely ignored and unanswered.

On August 18, I wrote another e-mail, requesting an ETA for my delivery.

On August 22, Vijai wrote to me and said: "It looks like the truck should be delivering your goods by the end of next week…the driver will contact you prior to arriving.". Again, the requested invoice was not included in this message. Though I was disappointed that my delivery would not be made until the following week, our agreement was Aug 15 - Sept 1, and the end of the following week was Aug 31.

On Aug 31, I wrote: "It is Friday, the 31st of August - can I assume that my delivery will be made today? Please check on my delivery status and get back to me ASAP." I instantly received an automated response message, stating the Vijai was on Vacation, and would not be back in the office until September 9. Confused and concerned, I called the office directly. I spent the next several hours talking to different people, and waiting for returned phone calls. Finally in the late afternoon, a man at JMR informed me that my delivery had been OUTSOURCED TO A DIFFERENT COMPANY, and it would not be delivered until the FOLLOWING WEEK. I was completely shocked - not only had Vijai NOT kept me updated about the status of my delivery, he did not inform me that my personal belongings were now in the care of a DIFFERENT company altogether!!!! I felt extremely violated, and there was no one in the office willing or able to speak with me, or sort out the situation. I was given a contact number of the other moving company who would now be delivering my goods, and that was it. Everyone I spoke to on the phone that day was extremely rude and unprofessional, and completely unconcerned that I was left totally in the dark of the whole situation.

I called the OTHER company, and a very curt woman informed my that my delivery would be made on either Wednesday or Thursday of the following week, and there was nothing she could do to speed up the delivery - apparently she was doing Vijai a favour by taking on my shipment.

Realizing that there was nothing more that I could do that day, I wrote Vijai one more e-mail, expressing my EXTREME dissatisfaction with him and his service. I asked that he call me personally as SOON as he was back in the office, and I requested (for a THIRD time), my updated invoice. It is now September 17, and this e-mail has still yet to be answered....

NOW I was dealing with a totally different company. Expecting my delivery on Wednesday or Thursday, I called to confirm. I left messages, that also went unanswered!!!! I finally was able to get ahold of someone, and they told me that actually my delivery would be made on Friday. I informed them that I was leaving town on Saturday, so the delivery absolutely HAD to be made on Friday, in order for me to be there to accept it. SURPRISE: it was not made on Friday. Despite my unavailability on Saturday, the company wanted to deliver it on Saturday. Finally I was able to convince them that it would simply NOT be possible, so they agreed to deliver it on Sunday. I was then asked to pay for my delivery. Not only was I to pay my balance owed to JMR (again, this is HUNDREDS of dollars above my originally quote), but this new company also required a 3% surcharge on the total cost!!!! I was outraged, and refused to pay the additional cost, as I had not hired THAT company in the first place. I paid only the amount owed to JMR, and my delivery was (finally!) confirmed for Sunday September 9, 10am.

Sunday September 9, 8am - I receive a call from the driver saying that he is outside, and ready to deliver. Though he is two hours early, I am just glad that he is there. I buzz him in, and it's not working... I call him, and ask him to make sure he's at the right door..... HE WAS AT THE WRONG ADDRESS, ON THE WRONG SIDE OF TOWN!!!!! SO..... despite me CONFIRMING my address with Vijai at JMR in JULY, he supplied the outsourced company with the wrong address for delivery!!!!! I was extremely upset, but spoke to the driver and gave him the CORRECT address and supplied him with directions.

It took the driver almost an hour and a half to finally arrive, but he eventually got here. The only problem: he was alone!!! It took him three hours, but he carried every single box and piece of furniture up by himself, because I was not allowed to help him, and his hired man never showed up (perhaps because he, too, was given the WRONG ADDRESS??!).

I was very glad to have my belongings, but the condition of my boxes was absolutely appalling. Every box was very badly damaged, though VERY surprisingly, only a few items were destroyed. I have to say that the driver/mover from this other company (Action Moving) was EXTREMELY professional and careful, and I would recommend HIM in a heartbeat.

Today is September 17. Though I am VERY happy to FINALLY have my belongings, I have still yet to receive any sort of correspondence or explanation from Vijai, or anyone else on his behalf from JMR movers. I will be writing him AGAIN today to request his call, and also to request a final copy of my invoice.

This was an absolute nightmare of a situation: JMR movers were impossible to contact, and completely unwilling to give any kind of support in this situation. Everyone that I talked to on the phone made it seem like I had no business being upset with the 'service' that I was receiving. Because of my work, I move about every 2 years. I will certainly NEVER hire this company again, and I will make sure to tell everyone that I know to STAY FAR AWAY FROM JMR!!!! The extra hundred bucks you'll spend with the other guys will FAR outweigh the disastrous consequences of hiring a company like this one.

Moral of the story: STAY FAR AWAY FROM JMR MOVERS!!!! They are not worth the aggravation. Since my troubles with this company, I have come to find out (from my dear friend Google) that MANY people have had similar experiences with this company. I am surprised that they are even in business at all.

UPDATE** I have requested a refund of my deposit as compensation for this unbelievable thread of events. I have yet to receive a response......