I'm going to let the email trail between myself and Metro Movers describe my experience on this one.

Initial quote:
"Dear Ben,

Thank you for the opportunity to assess your relocation requirements, we take pleasure in providing a quotation for our services. Attached, please find our Removals Documentation Booklet that includes our standard Terms & Conditions of Removal, Our Guarantee and our Public Liability Certificate.

Details regarding optional insurance will be provided in a subsequent email.

Relocation details -

Name:
Ben

Telephone:
Email
Moving From:
___, South Melbourne, VIC
Moving To:
___, South Melbourne, VIC
Relocation Date:
Thursday 8th August 2013, with a suggested start time between 7-8 am or to suite with your move

Relocation Price:
Balcony Hoist
$199 per hour for 3 men and a truck. Price includes GST and is charged from and back to our Port Melbourne depot.

There is a 2 hour minimum and charged in 15 minute increments thereafter.

$66 Once off surcharge

Payment Methods:
Cash, EFTPOS, Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Diners Club on completion of the relocation.

Please note that American Express and Diners Club incur a 2% surcharge.

Our services relating to this relocation include:

• The relocation of household furniture and personal effects from a 2 bedroom apartment with 2 flights of stairs to your new double storey townhouse in South Melbourne. As discussed on the phone you have a large and heavy dining table that will need to be hoisted over the balcony, there will be a once off surcharge of $66 as noted above.

• We provide a fully equipped furniture truck complete with furniture blankets and pads, flat straps, trolleys and shrink wrap. All furniture items are snugly wrapped in furniture pads and blankets and strapped down in the truck with flat straps for best safety and protection.

• Complimentary portable wardrobes, plasma crates, and mattress/couch covers can be provided for use on the day of your move. Please let us know if you would like this service.

• Where necessary, all furniture items can be dismantled for safe transport. These items can be reassembled at your new home.

• Specific furniture items can be plastic wrapped prior to lifting for added protection during loading and unloading. Please advise your removals team on the day if you require this service.

• At your new home, all boxes and furniture can be placed in the appropriate rooms and arranged to your satisfaction.

• Please have your pre-packing completed prior to commencement of your move. Pre-packing is denoted as all small items to be packed into moving boxes and sealed closed with packing tape. Please see the attached Box and Packing Materials price list for your requirements.

MetroMovers has over 25 years experience in moving furniture and personal effects and we know that moving house can be a very stressful experience. When you move to a new home, we understand that you are not just moving your possessions - your life is changing and adjusting to your new environment. We aim to make this transition as smooth and stress free as possible and offer our services with the confidence that they will meet your approval.

Our consultants are ready to assist you with any question you may have about preparing for your move. Please do not hesitate to call us on 1300 138 960 or send us an email to [email protected].

Kind Regards,

Customer Service"

My email to them after the move:
"Hi

Everything went well with the move yesterday and Rich, Josh and Dane were all very careful which we appreciated but I was shocked with the final bill ($867) considering the amount of furniture that was required to be moved and the distance between dwellings (less than 1km). So I wanted to give you some feedback:

1) one of the reasons I used Metro was because you had a depot at Port Melbourne. It is literally only 5 minutes away from the two properties I was moving between in South Melbourne so I thought I was reducing my depot-to-depot cost by using you. No one explained to me that travel time is charged in 15 minute increments with a minimum 15 minute block both ways. I was happy to pay one block but two?!? That's $100 for travelling from Port Melbourne to South Melbourne and back.

2) it was never explained to me that a 'hoist' is not a physical piece of equipment but rather an external lift. It also says below that a hoist is a once off surcharge. I was made aware by Josh after two tables had been hoisted over the balcony that each one cost $66. I was only charged for one but more on that below.

3) between leaving my old house and getting to the new place, Josh bought himself a coffee from a cafe immediately beneath my apartment. When I'm paying by the quarter hour, I would've thought he'd have bought himself that AFTER moving me in. In addition to this waste of time, the boys took a wrong turn when all they had to do was make a right turn at the first intersection to get to my new house. They explained it later as 'the GPS told us to go another way' which I find really hard to believe. It must have taken them 15 minutes to get to my new property - another $50. When I brought up the coffee and this wrong turn later, Josh said "we've only charged you for one hoist when we should've charged you for two". Isn't the hoist a once off surcharge?

As I said, in terms of physically moving us, they did a great job - Dane is as strong as an ox! - but for the reasons I've mentioned above, the overall cost of the move has really left a bad taste in my mouth.

I originally got the recommendation to use Metro from a website called WOMO.com.au. Pending your response I will be providing a review of my experience yesterday to the same website.

Thanks

BenM"

Their response:
"Dear Ben,

Thank you for your email and for your feedback as to some concerns that you have experienced during your relocation with Metromovers.

Regarding the term “hoist”, this is a verb for the method used by which we lift or hoist items over the balcony by means of straps and hoisting/lifting techniques. When used as a noun, a hoist or lift apparatus refers to mechanical devices such as forklifts or Scissor lifts or rough terrain scissor lift or cherry pickers, to name but a few. These apparatus are not standard residential relocations equipment but can be arranged for use at an additional cost with the most suitable apparatus to be determined depending on the height of the balcony as well as the access and location of the place for the apparatus to be set down. .

Your relocation was booked as a 2 bedroom apartment with 2 flights of stairs to a double story townhouse with balcony hoists/lifts to the 2nd floor balcony. The total duration of the move, including travel to and from Port Melbourne depot point was 4 hours. This is a highly efficient duration for the scope of your move. As you have mentioned, you were very happy with the care showed by the team members.

Regarding the fact that Josh took some minutes to buy himself a cup of coffee and that the time in between locations was extended somewhat due to a wrong turn, I am very happy to offer you a refund for this lost time, detailed as follows:

Josh as 3rd man at $50 p/h less 10 minutes = $9

Wrong turn extending the drive time between suburbs from 5 minutes to 15 minutes at 10 minutes lost time x $199 = $34

Total refund due= $43.

As a measure of goodwill, Metromovers is offering a further 15 minute refund of $50.

Please provide your bank account details such as our compensation offer of $93 can be directly transferred to your account.

Regards"

My next email to them:
Hi

Thanks for getting back to me. My relocation may have been booked as a 2 bedroom apartment but my partner and I had already transported over all of the small items ourselves. The only furniture left in the apartment was the large items too bulky to put in my car. In addition, I assisted with both the loading and unloading of the truck and the new residence was only 1 kilometre away from the old one. So I'm not surprised you think 4 hours was highly efficient - this wasn't a 'normal' move.

Given these factors, I still think $774 is a lot of money to pay but I appreciate your offer and accept it. My bank details are:

Can I recommend being a little more clear regarding your terms whenever dealing with future customers. Explain what type of hoist you're offering (noun or verb), why a hoist requires 3 men, why there is a $66 surcharge for it (I'm still unclear on why I paid extra for a hoist (verb) when I was already paying $200 an hour), and explain that travel to and from a depot is charged at a minimum of $50 each way.

Kind regards

Ben"

Their final response:
"Hi Ben,

Thank you for your acceptance of our offer. Please be assured that this amount will be transferred to your account by Friday.

Your feedback is appreciated and has been acknowledged as useful in reiterating certain aspects of the quoting process so as to avoid any confusion.

Regarding the need for 3 men for a hoist; this is due to OH & S requirements as stipulated by requirements in our industry. The surcharge is for the associated risk element that accompanies this activity.

On behalf of Metromovers, I wish you the very best of happiness in your new home.

Kind regards"

The $93 refund was in my account the following Monday. All in all I think they did provide a quality service (although there was some damage to the table that they hoisted over the balcony) but boy did I pay for it. I'd use them again but would certainly recommend getting a fixed quote up front.

Hope this has been useful.

Approximate cost: $200

They were on time, with two quiet and quick workers (no idle chatter). I moved only a suburb away in Sydney, and it took 5 hours from start to finish to pack up two bedroom home and move it (lifts at both ends). It was a greater overall cost than other companies, but they didn't break anything and they worked well, so i'm happy.

Approximate cost: $150

I recently relocated with MetroMovers from Clayton to Essendon West. I found the sales staff to be efficient and friendly. I was quite anxious on the actual day of my move but the removals team put my mind at rest straight away. They arrived on time and were most professional. Everything arrived in one piece and I can honestly say that I would have no hesitation in recommending them or using them again.

Excellent staff, very careful to look after my furniture, very efficient, could not ask for more. Thanks Richie J, Dane and Marc. Of course Mat as well, last but not the least. You all help us turn the stressful day become so smooth and perfect. Thankyou very much. We have no hestitate to recommend to anyone.
Kind regards,
Maria and Wayne

I have used Metro Movers on three occasions now as well as recommended them to any of my friends in need of a removalist. Having moved a few times in Canberra and then Melbourne I was immediately impressed with the professional approach of the staff, even the simple fact that they were all in smart uniforms and not looking like they had just got out of jail. The initial quoting process was smooth and the trucks arrived on time. The staff were all very polite and well mannered and being very fit I thought they moved my furniture more quickly than other companies had done in the past.

These people were professional and friendly from start to finish. The move was quick and efficient with no issues or breakages.

Approximate cost: $200

My wife and I recently moved house and booked Metro Movers to assist with both the packing and moving.
Ian, Dane and Paul were excellent and I would not hesitate to recommend Metro Movers to friends or family based on their careful, courteous and efficient approach to moving our belongings.

Many thanks guys for your hardwork, you made the move a lot less stressful

Kind Regards

Ben & Alice

MetroMovers handled our (complex) house move - two pick up locations and two drop off locations - really well. We needed two trucks and the four men, Rich, Scott, Tom and Dane were hardworking and cheerful throughout a very long day. No breakages and everything ended up in the right place, which was quite an achievement! We will be using them again and I recommend them.

Metro Movers moved us from Greensborough to Frankston on 11/7/13.

I could not fault the pre-move information and sales experience, very friendly and knowledgeable staff that replied to queries very quickly.

Tom and Dane completed the actual move for us, they arrived on time and worked hard to get our gear into the truck in a timely manner. They were waiting for us at the new property and un-loaded again in a timely manner. My wife and I felt Tom and Dane took care with all our goods and wrapped our couches and mattresses to protect while in transit.

I would not hesitate to recommend them and would certainly use them again in the future if the need arose. A great job all round, very satisfied.

Approximate cost: $146

My partner and I moved from a small apartment to an inner suburb house. It was particularly difficult due to the lift arrangement. We had Richard W and Kyle, they were friendly and professional. Turned up on time, well organised, one of the easiest move I've had. Special thanks to Richard W, top job. Although the price per hour is not the cheapest, but overall price is excellent as the guys worked fast and efficiently.

Approximate cost: $149