Moving & Storage Solutions, Inc.

Though Moving & Storage's ads suggest expertise in 'Elder Care,' its owner Dave had no clue or training whatsoever in how to engage with disabled seniors. During the estimate, I asked for packing and moving as I have arthritis in both hands which are undergoing surgery, evidence by the casts on them. Strangely, I then felt the need to add that I'd suffered a stroke two years ago and am constantly plagued by dizziness, making it impossible to carry anything downstairs.
As a result during Covid over two years, bags of recyclables accumulated in my hallway, due to the shutdown of community resources and in-home services. Feeling guilty, I emphasized I'd be tipping his workers and offered him $1,000 extra for not being able to help.
But guilt wasn't the problem: The problem was Dave didn't care about any kind of disability, and ended up writing an email while clearly intoxicated one night around midnight two months later. He berated me for 'acting like a victim' and said the fact that I could not find help removing bags of recyclables showed why no one wanted to help me—forgetting our two-year Covid pandemic. He repeated that in all his 26 years, he'd never encountered anyone, implying all seniors, who couldn't help move.
How do stroke victims usually move? Should I call a hospital instead of a moving company?
I called attention to his ad about Elder Care, and clarified his assertion of acting like a victim by pointing out that indeed, beyond suffering a stroke, I had now been a victim of his discriminatory behavior, having lost two months rent at TWO places while waiting two months for his assistance. I asked him to refer me to anyone with a truck, which he of course could not do due to his monopoly of being the only currently active company in Bellingham with a truck. Instead he sent names of companies that he knew were not available, the same names he'd mentioned in June when he suddenly declined to honor our signed agreement—saying I had signed it but he had not, which was strange to hear. I reminded him of this in my reply to his drunk-dailing message at midnight, and he answered the next day concurring that indeed he had not checked the availability of the other companies (and therefore had not included phone numbers). Perhaps still hungover, he used one or two more words to dismiss himself with no further backtalk.
This man has a conscience or he wouldn't have emailed me drunk. I might've successfully played on that by encouraging him to grab the situation and do it right—but I am not in condition to expend my last years attending to a brat. I merely wanted to accept the opportunity to move to a senior housing facility, which I'd just been awarded after four years of waiting. Instead, I suffered an entire summer without ventilation or AC, which can be fatal to stroke victims. This was explained to him from Day One as the reason I needed to move in early June. My feet have been swollen for a month now, and with the heatwave I've had to stay in my cooler bedroom and sleep, unable to drive, forcing me to have food delivered. He did this without regret, saying only that he had a 'feeling' and decided to decline the signed agreement the morning after the estimate. So...two months later, drunk, he dumped his 'feelings' on me by calling me a victim of everything—with, of course, spelling errors and muddled reasoning.
Try waiting 26 more years before relying on this company, especially if anything hinders your ability to move. 'Elder Care' apparently refers to a planet Dave thinks he's on, not the reality of moving seniors on Earth. I think he's only 27, in fact, and his site says 'in business seven years.' Where his '26 years' comes from, I can't fathom, but it highlights his immaturity and inability to grasp his own advertised falsehoods. Money did not persuade him, so spare yourself a second stroke. I hear they're usually the last one we have, and he pushed me to the edge of my tolerance. Good luck finding a full-service company active anywhere near Bellingham. You may end up like me...in the Twilight Zone.

As movers, they are at best average. They rescheduled us twice, at my request, with no issues. The people who pack and load actually work for them and are generally untrained or poorly trained folks. We found stuff packed in ways that'd guarantee it'd break, and it did. Call the office enough times, and you’ll realize they are all related or have worked at the company for over a dozen years, rare in an industry where the person you talk to today is replaced by someone else tomorrow. They were prompt, and did an average job. Cost-wise they are about average or a bit better than most.

The one downside is their financial opacity. They won’t break down their bills. Instead you get a lump sum offer and have to take it or walk. For example, we bought our own moving blankets to use. My past experience with moving, and being quite allergic to some animals, is that I really do not want all the boxes in my new freshly cleaned house to be covered in pet dander someone else's pet left on the blankets. Weeks of itching and wheezing are not fun. I got charged for five sets of paper pads used to supplement my blankets. Only three were used. After talking to Dave, the head honcho, he said he reimburse me for supplies not used. Never happened.

Dave strikes me as the kind of guy who is trying to keep a small Mom and Pop business afloat, and I’d guess he has to be careful spending money on his folks or giving money back. My gut says if you need to recover funds for a damaged load, or something else that is their responsibility, Dave may be difficult. So plusses, on-time, do what they say, and moderately efficient. The downsides, well, Dave, I’m still waiting for my money and you need to train/supervise your packers better.

I have never used a moving company and this was the best experience they helped me all the way through. Moving was a breeze with them and very inexpensive! Had extra boxes for me that I was able to pack and unpack so they can take these huge boxes. Didn’t have to take anything out the drawers they got it all!. They were also able to move my moving day last minute a long distance move. I also set up the whole thing over the phone. I am so happy with this company I could cry! Shout out to Josh and Morgan and whoever else was on the phone cause she saved me a panic attack!