guardian moving storage inc

DoD needs to revoke contracts to this company. They don’t follow their own standards. Their note says customer will be provided an AM or PM time frame, none was provided. Staff has no information an does not follow up. Staff pushes customers to ‘quality control’ who falsely poses as DoD representative. Finally items were damaged by ‘Direct Movers’ the company this company subcontracts out. One example attached. Unsatisfactory any way you add this up.

I’d go lower than one star if I could..The move was a disaster… I was quoted like $1900 and ended up paying $5k plus. They subcontracted to United Speed Movers in NJ who broke some of my stuff. They were days late, and alleged the truck starter went and rescheduled numerous times… finally moving my stuff at 9:00 at night. They dragged boxes in and made a mess.. telling me at one point they could not get my queen mattress/box spring up the stairs. It was a cluster…. They charged me for wardrobe boxes and numerous up charges. They are very persistent, and The lead guy making the initial contact was very friendly and understanding, so you think this is the company you’re dealing with, but then they pass it off to the guys that screw you. Do not use Guardian Van Lines and their subsidiary United speed movers …you’ll spend months getting things repaired.

I would give negative stars if I could. Do not use this company! This company packed my property in 2018 and stored it for four years. This is by far the worst moving and storage company I experienced in 20 years of active military service and six moves that totaled 14 separate shipments from different moving companies. The movers were scheduled for one full day of packing and then one full day of loading. The company requested to pack and pick the same day. I obliged because I was assured, they would bring enough personnel to complete the job. On the day of the move, the movers did not arrive until approximately 1:30pm. However, they were required to be at my home by 8:00 am. I announced my disagreement regarding the late arrival to the lead mover and told him he needed to pack today and then pick tomorrow. He instructed me that if they did not pack and pick before they left, they would not be back the next day. The movers were rushed the rest of the afternoon and mishandled my possessions. For example, the movers stood my Sofa up on the floor, on end, and forced it through the front doorway. They did not have the required new/unused bed boxes and reused old boxes on my mattresses and box spring. They did not properly pack my garage items. They did not wrap them in paper or properly box the items before loading them on the truck. Without properly packaging my garage items, the contents were visible and susceptible to theft. Lastly, most of my furniture was less than two years old and in excellent condition. However, on the inventory sheet, on nearly every item, the packer marked my furniture scratched on all sides. This type of dishonesty is designed to prevent the company from reimbursing damages they cause to my possessions. When I reviewed the sheet and told the lead mover I would not sign, he said he would not re-write the inventory sheet and if I did not sign, he would unload and leave. When I received my property after four years of storage, the entire personal property shipment was covered in mold. At some point there was at least several inches of water in the warehouse where my belongings were stored. There was visible water damage to boxes and paper coverings. Many of the boxes were received in dented and smashed condition. It is also apparent that at some point my property was exposed to extreme temperatures. Plastic pieces were melted and discolored, melted coatings on metal, paint blistered, photos stuck to glass frames, etc. The delivery driver (A separate contracted owner and operator) told me the warehouse where he picked up my household goods was dilapidated and not climate controlled. He also told me the warehouse attendant was nonchalant and only cared about leaving the warehouse at 2:00pm on the Friday of pickup. The warehouse attendant signed all paperwork without reviewing or questioning. My experience only solidifies many other complaints about this moving company. This company does not care about the property it is moving or storing. I am certain the only reason they are still in business is government contracts because I would never use this company for a personally financed move. I am thoroughly disgusted with The Guardian Moving and Storage Company, Inc. located in Baltimore, Maryland and do not recommend anyone use this company. I particularly do not recommend the Department of Defense use this company in the future for personnel property shipment or storage.

Sadly, I would give this moving company 0 stars if I could. This was my first military move and my husband facilitated it for me as I was away for training. Communication prior to moving day wasn't too bad, but the day of the movers were several hours late. When I called to find out where they were it was only at this point was I told their truck broke down. The fact that they didn't call immediately was bad enough; however, then after rescheduling for the next day the movers showed by late again. My goods were not packed and preserved well at all- once I unpacked everything I had several broken bowls/dishes and 7-8 damaged pieces of furniture. When I got home from training I actually broke down in tears, that's how badly some of my favorite belongings were treated. I was also told the movers would unpack my belongings...not put things away, but just take things out of boxes, put them safely on countertops, and then take the boxes and packing materials away. This did not happen. The movers ended up leaving us with everything in boxes. When I called the company to clarify where the miscommunication was I was informed that the movers did not unpack because my husband didn't specifically ask for it. I didn't think my husband needed to ask for a service that we were told ahead of time was automatically done. Even stranger, many of my military friends who moved around the same time all had their belongings unpacked and packing supplies taken away. Guardian made this experience so stressful on my family. Next time I move for military duty if using this company was my only option I would 100% pay to hire my own movers. I am now going to begin the process of filing claims for my broken/damaged furniture, but given how they have handled our move I highly doubt getting my claims taken care of will be a pleasant process either.

They did a good job moving us. We could have been more prepared when they arrived, but despite our clutter, they packed everything quickly and safely and moved it with a lot of care. Seemed very honest! We even had to change the date of the move, and they were easy to contact by phone and reschedule with.