Came back after a relaxing break to a house that looks like it has been hit by a hurricane. ?? Thank god, I have finally managed to clear the mess and make it look like my home.
I have never posted a public post before but am doing so after a harrowing experience with Agarwal Packers and Movers. Please do not use them EVER! They charge an arm and a leg- which we were okay with paying, since it was a stressful and busy time, and we thought that using them would be stress free. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
Agarwal Packers and Movers were meant to pack and move our stuff in 3 days(which could have been done in two had they worked efficiently) instead of the two that we had requested.
I took the Friday off from work since the packers were to arrive at 8.30 a.m. We live in a Housing Society which has rules about the use of the service lift. The lifts can be used from 9- 11 am, and then 1- 6 p.m. This had of course, been communicated by us to Agarwal Packers and Movers.
2 packers(instead of the promised 6) arrived at 11.45 am(NO SUPERVISOR, AS PROMISED) and were not allowed by the guards to bring up the packing materials to our apartment, till I cajoled, begged and bullied them to allow them. The Packers started work at 12.30 pm and worked till 1.30 pm- after which they broke off for lunch. Of course, all complaints to Agarwal Packers and Movers fell on deaf ears. The manager refused to take my calls. To be fair, the Packers were hardworking men and they worked till 7 pm, that day.
Saturday- One would have thought that after the previous day’s fiasco they would be shame-faced and make amends, but though the packers arrived on time at 8.30 a.m., the packing material, which was to have been sent at 8 a.m., arrived in the afternoon, so the packers were not able to do much in the morning session. They sent a third packer. There were some items which were still to be packed which the packers said would be completed the next day while some of the packed items would be moved to the new apartment.
Sunday- The packers arrived at 8.30 a.m.- once again, the packing material did not arrive. A supervisor arrived, who was completely useless. The packed items could not be moved between 9-11 am, as promised since no movers were sent. Around 1.30 p.m. some 7-8 people came to the house, saw the items that were to be moved and walked away. The packers said that the company did not have their movers free so they were trying to hire outsiders. however, these people felt that they were being paid too little so they walked away. At 3 p.m., the supervisor told us that they would not be able to move our stuff that day. All our stuff was already packed. He hinted that we could sleep on the mattresses on the floor(the absolute cheek of that man!). When I ranted and raved and gave him a piece of my mind, he offered to move our beds and our kitchen items. When we reached the new house, the fridge did not work. The movers placed it on its back and broke some gas pipe. Also, this should not be done as the oil flowed into the cooling tubes, and broke down completely. I had to throw all my meats- chicken, pork, mutton, and other frozen food which had been kept in a cooler, in ice. We got the fridge repaired- cost us Rs.7, 200/-. Ultimately, we could not use the beds that night since the movers transported the bed and mattress but forgot to transport the bedsheets, pillows and pillow covers. Luckily, we could spend the night at our friends’s place.
Monday- I had to take leave from work(again). Once again, no one was there till 10.40 a.m., twenty minutes before the building’s service lift services are unavailable till 1 p.m. Shifting started at 1 p.m. and the movers loaded the truck. We wanted to claim the money for the fridge repair from the movers and packers but once the truck reached the new building complex(right next to the old), APML held us hostage and refused to unload and move our stuff to the apartment until we had paid the amount in full. They offered to pay a paltry Rs. 1200/- for the fridge repair, which we declined(We aren’t beggars, we just wanted our bill to be reimbursed). For two hours, till we could get hold of the APML managers and pay the entire amount, the movers just sat around. Only after we had made payment did the unloading and unpacking begin- which meant that it went on till late in the evening. The only saving grace was the two packers from day 1. Unfortunately, I do not remember their names.
I am obviously never going to use Agarwal Packers and Movers again, and I advise people against using them. I am shocked at how unprofessional they are and how little they care about keeping their word.