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DO NOT BOOK THIS COMPANY!
We booked to have our furniture picked up for a move from NSW to QLD on the 22nd of December through backloads.com.au (and through research since found out they were previously Cobb & Co, they also go by Interstate Taxi Trucks and Regal Removals) and were told by 2 people at the company that our furniture would arrive on the 24th (the same day as us). I actually questioned this, with it being Christmas eve, but they told us the trucks were going up to QLD anyway because it's back-loading.
We were told once our furniture was packed onto the truck that our stuff would not be arriving until the 13th of January.
At this point we had packed everything we own, all of clothes, our fridge, our washing machine, everything.
I called the company to find out why the dates had changed but could not get an answer from anyone as the manager was always "busy".
I called many times over the following days to find out why it was going to take so long for our stuff to be delivered, with no answer from anyone.
It is now the 25th of January and we STILL do not have our furniture, despite having paid almost $2000 for our stuff to be delivered, because they would not deliver without full payment being made, even though I was wary of this after being dodged around by them and reading all the horrible reviews about them not delivering furniture.
I wish, I wish I had done my research beforehand, but we were in a rush around Christmas time to book everything.
The manager I spoke to was EXTREMELY rude and told me all of this was "normal" and the fact we have been over $1000 out of pocket having to buy air mattress, renting a fridge and washing machine (buying ice to keep stuff cold until we could do that), $30 a go at the laundromat, a few different t-shirts and such for the kids as they had no clothes, school shoes we should not have had to buy so they could start school, living day by day on groceries until we got a fridge, and many, many other costs, were "normal moving costs".
I'm sorry but they are NOT normal moving costs. No one should have to go more then a month without furniture. In this household I have myself, my sick mother, and 4 children that have had to sleep on cheap, dodgy air mattresses every night. Everyone is suffering, particularly my mother who finds it hard to get up and down off the floor. My mothers medication all went off because it had to be stored in a fridge.
When I spoke to the "manager" he spoke over the top of me and eventually hang up on me, even though I was not rude at all and simply, at this point, just wanting my stuff delivered. I tried to deal with it over email after this, explaining how out of pocket we have been put, but to no avail.
My mother spoke to him today and he did the same thing, except told her she was DUMB for packing all her belongings before he hang up.
He told her WE could not be trusted, she asked why, and he said because we have complained and we need to "tread lightly" about how much more we complain. He then told my mum he had half a mind to charge us for storage and repacking costs, even though it is THEIR fault our stuff is in storage!
My mother ended up in tears through the insults he threw at her.
I was told that the managers name was Sam James, but to be honest, I do believe it is a fake name.
There are 4 children in this house, 2 who have to go to school while sleeping on the floor. The other 2 are also both students, and so am I, who again have to sleep on the floor but also packed our study material and have not been able to complete assignments because of this.
On top of everything else, the house has become a stressful environment because nobody has their things, their is boredom, frustration, everyone is sore from being on the floor all the time, we are struggling financially because of all the excess costs, and many other stresses this has caused us.
I am greatly, greatly concerned about WHEN our stuff will be delivered, and also what kind of condition it will be in when it gets here, as many of the reviews I have read have mentioned their stuff being damaged. Their insurance was so overpriced, for example $200 for a minimum just to cover the TV, so we could not afford that, but at the time I trusted that they were experienced removalists. Now I am not so trusting and am very scared, not only because they are dodgy but because I have complained to them.
Something needs to be done to stop this company abusing its' customers like this. People need to be warned not to use this company because I have never, ever dealt with anyone like them. They will not even tell us where our furniture is, only that it is in storage somewhere in Canberra!
I do believe this company has been investigated before under Cobb and Co, and since changed their name. Everyone I have spoken to is rude, and the manager is the lowest form of life, and they need to be stopped before they rip off anymore families. I am doing everything I can at the moment to get our stuff up here, but to be honest, it's not looking good.
Please, DO NOT book this company, for your own sake!
If ANYONE else wants to contact me, or is currently going through anything legal with this company please contact me on [protected]@hotmail.com
UPDATE!
So after being promised MULTIPLE times our furniture would be delivered Friday, and calling yesterday to confirm and being told it was on track, I called today to make sure. I was told it will be here tomorrow (Saturday)!
I was then told No one ever told me it would be delivered Friday (a lie!), I even have an email!
He told me if I call again, they would delay our furniture EVEN MORE! I was then hung up on.
This company is the f**king WORST! I have NEVER, EVER dealt with anyone like them!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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Yes these guys are terrible, I just had a run in with the manager there, he sounds exactly like the one you describe. He hung up on me also, and questioned my intelligence several times.
They failed to deliver my mattress, so for the past 8 weeks I have been sleeping on the couch. Despite in excess of 20 messages left, this manager only accepted my call when I involved consumer protection. I don't think I have ever been spoken to by anyone like this man spoke to me - And I work with homeless teenagers. Completely disrespectful.
When he finally accepted my call after 8 weeks of attemps, the first thing I said to him was, Gday mate I was hoping you could help me with this problem... He then spoke over the top of me and said i'm not your mate dont call me that... unbelieveable
Agreed! This company is unreliable, rude and borderline criminal. They totally ripped us off and then refused to refund us. Because their phone number diverts to a variety of companies and they never respond to emails, it is impossible to have conflicts resolved without getting the Fair Trade Commission involved. No one seemed to note down any information from conversations so you had to start from scratch every time you spoke to them and they behaved like the problems were your fault. I know the cheap prices seem tempting but trust me, it's not worth the months of frustration afterwards trying to chase up your goods or money.
I think they should be deregistered and investigated for fraudulent practices. The most abysmal group it has been our displeasure to contract. All as stated by others is true. DO NOT USE BACKLOADS.COM!
It's funny how this sort of thing can stay on the internet, costing us potential business, without anyone being punished for it. It's disgusting.
Let me tell you exactly what happened with this particular customer.
They called us on the 21st of December, desperate to get a truck to collect their goods from the Wollongong area. They had called numerous companies who advised them that nothing could be done until the new year.
When they called us, we said that we could get a truck out there to collect the goods, on the 22nd of December, but we would not be able to deliver before the new year. They agreed an thanked us profusely.
However the woman who had booked the job did not relay to her husband that the goods would not be delivered before Chrismast. The husband then went on to pack items into boxes that they would need before the new year. The husband got quite upset with the wife, which lead to the wife calling us and abusing us telling us they needed those goods in QLD before Christmas! Funny that none of this is mentioned on their rant!
Also, the quotation clearly stated that the terms of the removal are that payment is made on pickup. They did not pay for their removal when our guys collected the goods. When we called them wanting to deliver their goods in the 1st week of January, they told us that they did not have the money to pay for the removal! We told them that we are unable to deliver the goods without payment being made. So then they told us that we would have to store the goods AT OUR EXPENSE until they had the money to pay!
Towards the end of January, after numerous abusive phone calls from this woman, they finally contact us to say they had the money to pay for the removal. Not the storage and redelivery charges that we had incurred, just the original removal price. We lost $800 doing that job. We would have been within our right to hold the goods until they had the full amount payable, but we showed some compassion and let them off $800.
AND THIS IS WHAT WE GET FOR THAT?
Whats more bizarre is that the manager of a company would feel the need to go out on complaints board and defend their business. It also shows that you are aware of the public's negative experiences/dislike for your business given the fact that you are scouring the internet looking for backload.com complaints (and there are many).
Given your track record of being an arrogant ### I have no doubt that your account of this transaction is somewhat exaggerated...
Yep totally agree
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY !
I cancelled my order after they neglected to picking up my goods 3 times and after putting my as a 'priority'. The phone staff had no idea whether my stuff had been picked up or not and i had to phone my flatmates to find out. No apology no notice of a missed pick up or explanation.
backloads.com similar nightmare reviews. Just glad they didn't get a hold of my stuff.
http://www.ausgamers.com/forums/general/thread.php/2760087
http://www.shipping-international.com/companies/backloads.html
I am so glad I changed removalists at the last minute. After booking on the monday amd calling to confirm delivery time for thursday between 4 and 6pm, I waited until 5 before calling and was told that the times had been changed to friday between 1and 3. I had already booked transport for 12 midday and told them as such and was told an email woukd be sent to the manager, Sam, who wasnt in and expect a call at 8.30 am friday. At 9am friday I called and got a hold of him and he said the truck WOULD be there between 1 and 3 and that they would compensate me $100 for my ruined transport arrangements even though I had to book another night in a motel in addition to not having my ticket refunded and having to book another one. Sam said to call him at 1.30 if the truck had not arrived, which it had not and i did, only to be unable to get a hold of him numerous times. At 2.30 Igot a hold of him and he offered no explaination and hung up on me. Now i will admit that by this time Iwas VERY angry and swore twice, neither times at or directed towards him. I rang back immediatly and he answered and told me that Ishouldnt be complaining so much and that he had a mind to not take my delivery order. At this point I hung up and called SHIRE FAMILY REMOVALS(i put this in caps as they were extremely helpful) who organised the same trip, same price and were there within 1 hour of calling.
These people are absolutely disgusting. I payed 2000 for my move from VIC to QLD. They arrived 2 days late picking all my furniture up and then they were instructed to meet me at a particular time on a particular date so I can be there to meet them, they agreed and said it wouldnt be a problem. I then get a call from their "manager" (who by the way is a slimey little weed who talks over the top of you and hung up on me after telling me to "get stuffed c**t) at 6:30am saying that they cannot meet me at my address in QLD because they would have to wait around to meet me at the time they agreed on in the first place! Then they dumped all my stuff into a storage facility 45 mins away from my new home and left because "I was costing them money"! I then had to pay a further 300 dollars to get the storage facility to drop all my furniture to my new home. These people are vile criminals who should be shutdown. This greasy little ### who hides behind the safety of a phone line slinging insults and being pig arrogant toward his customers should be taken down by the OFA. Upon more research into this idiot, I have found out that he portrays himself as a solicitor(without the quals) and has represented himself in court on several occasions with people he has ripped off in the past. He keeps changing trading names so people will be none the wiser to his dodgy dealings. What a creep. DO NOT USE Backloads.com.au, from the drivers to the slimey "manager" they are ###.
Booked a fridge to be moved with plenty of notice. Day of pick-up arrived, called to confirm, said they were coming. Waited and waited. Called at 4pm, and was told they were coming the next day. No attempt to contact me and let me know. Same thing happened that day... Called, confirmed, no show. Said they'd come in 2 days time (the last possible day I could have them come before owner of fridge going OS) and same thing happened. Called, confirmed (they even sent a phoney text with pickup time) and again they were a no show. Again had to ring, was lied to (the driver had a "family death") and they said they'd see what they could do... Ie nothing. Staff on the phone were cold, indifferent and even hung up on me at one point. No apology, no attempt to do what they'd been contracted to do. THANK GOD I selected the cash payment option! The local company handling the furniture storage for us ended up being able to help us out with 30min notice, and for half the price of backloads.com! This company said that they refused to deal with backloads.com, and didn't know anyone reputable who did. Ring your local company first!
Booked a fridge to be moved with plenty of notice. Day of pick-up arrived, called to confirm, said they were coming. Waited and waited. Called at 4pm, and was told they were coming the next day. No attempt to contact me and let me know. Same thing happened that day... Called, confirmed, no show. Said they'd come in 2 days time (the last possible day I could have them come before owner of fridge going OS) and same thing happened. Called, confirmed (they even sent a phoney text with pickup time) and again they were a no show. Again had to ring, was lied to (the driver had a "family death") and they said they'd see what they could do... Ie nothing. Staff on the phone were cold, indifferent and even hung up on me at one point. No apology, no attempt to do what they'd been contracted to do. THANK GOD I selected the cash payment option! The local company handling the furniture storage for us ended up being able to help us out with 30min notice, and for half the price of backloads.com! This company said that they refused to deal with backloads.com, and didn't know anyone reputable who did. Ring your local company first!
This company is a scam. They should be ashamed under NO circumstance should this company be used or delt with in any way. They are criminals and the staff are probably all criminals too. They lie, avoid your questions, delay and evade you. They are also know as interstate.com.au.
I'm going to bring these F*****S down!
I have had a terrible experience with this company.
long story short, they provided me with a quote to move furniture from Cairns back to Melbourne,
The price seemed reasonable so i went ahead and booked the job (bearing in mind they were one of few companies who told me they could pick up on a Saturday)
I gave them my credit card details and booked in the job for a saturday collection...
They never turned up, then i couldnt get in contact with them, when i finally did they told me that they could only pick it up on a wednesday between 1pm -3pm which i previously had conversations with them about Saturday was the only day they could pick up as it was at a friends house in Cairns and i was in Melbourne, they worked during the week and were unable to leave the house unlocked (understanable). I asked to speak to the manager at this point to which i was told he does not take calls, after calling each day for 3 days I finally got put through to the manager who was extremely rude, told me he was cancelling my job and not giving my money back and then hung up on me. I called straight back and said " you just hung up on me and told me i wasn't getting my money back" to which he replied, "yes thats right, and dont call here again" and again hung up on me.
I was furious, contacted the bank to try and stop the payment to which they advised unfortunately had already gone through, however they could put through an investigation but it was best to speak to consumer affairns.
I called consumer affairs and opened a case and also told my boss at work what had happened (as i work for a logistics company and thought he may know some people who could help) he called backloads.com, spoke to the manager who promised him that the money would be refunded. I then recieved a phone call from consumer affairs who advised the same result.
Consumer affairs told me to get in touch with them if i hadnt recieved the money by the end of the week, which i hadn't.
I have been speaking to conusmer affairs everyday for the past 2 weeks who ensure me that each time they call this company about the refund that backloads promise them it has already been processed.
Today i was at my wits end...it has been 2 weeks since they said they processed the refund and i still have not recieved anything,
Once again i contacted consumer affairs, they called backloads only to be told the manager is away sick and that they are not giving me my money back they will only give me 50% as i was the one who cancelled the order. (Bull s**t)
Consumer affairs have now advised me to take this to the tribunal and try to reclaim my money there.
I am absolutely appaled at this company and am thankful that they never actually picked up my goods which are worth well over $5000. However they have gotten away with almost $600 of my money. (which may not seem that much but to me is a great deal)
Homo Habilus discovers his opposable thumbs and says what ?
my experience same as yours:
I have had a terrible experience with this company.
long story short, they provided me with a quote to move furniture from Cairns back to Melbourne,
The price seemed reasonable so i went ahead and booked the job (bearing in mind they were one of few companies who told me they could pick up on a Saturday)
I gave them my credit card details and booked in the job for a saturday collection...
They never turned up, then i couldnt get in contact with them
HAPPENED TODAY - NO PHONE CALLS, NO EMAILS, NO TEXTS, NO WAY OF CONTACTING THEM
I am moving to Qld to care for my father who is dying of cancer
DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY.Booked for a move on a Saturday and paid upfront. Saturday came and no backloads.com. Called and called - apparently they shut at midday on Saturdays. Emailed, called some more ... nothing. Called Sunday - unable to contact. Sunday night a response to my email: The truck broke down on Saturday. We can come between midday and 1pm on Monday. That's it! No apology. First thing Monday I call. No explanation. No apology. Will the truck definitely come today? Yes? Midday arrives - no truck. Start calling every 30 minutes. Eventually the truck arrives at 3.30pm. Truck driver tells me backloads.com DO NOT HAVE ANY TRUCKS - THEY ARE SIMPLY AGENTS. Also tells me the owner poses as a solicitor and the company once traded as Cobb & Co. My goods were supposed to arrive in Brisbane 2 to 6 days later. TWO WEEKS LATER my goods arrive. No explanation. No apology. No communication whatsoever. All staff members I spoke with and communicated with were smart arsed, half baked idiots posing as professional people. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY.
after reading all these stories, can anyone confirm whether or not anyone actually received their goods at the end of all this?
Hi,
I would like to make a formal complaint about the breach of the service terms and conditions caused when organising my move from North Perth, Perth to Southbank, Melbourne.
The sequence of events:
1) I received a quote for my move on the 23rd April 2014 with a pick-up date of 27th April 2014.
2) 24th April 2014 I received a reconfirmation of the move with a pick-up date of 27th April 2014.
3) 25th April 2014 I received an invoice for the 27th April 2014 move.
At NO point in did I receive any feedback or correspondence from Backloads that the move could not occur on the 27th April 2014. I made the booking online and there was no information stated on the website that did not mention otherwise. I requested a preferred pick-up time of 9am to 12noon on this day.
I stayed at home all day on the 27th April 2014 and waited for a call. I tried to call Backloads during the day every couple of hours but there was no response or message on the phone as to why my phone call was continually dialling.
On the 28th April 2014 I was booked to catch a flight at 1pm to Melbourne. I called Backloads at 8.30am AEST and asked why and when the move would occur. There was no indication of time after repeated requests. I called every hour on the hour to get updates.
As the Backload customer service staff were not able to give me an indication of the time of arrival Backload customer service staff suggested I move all my personal effects into one room inside my house or to an unlocked garage and then place a key in a hidden location to give the removal staff access. I did not feel comfortable nor risk the security of my house or garage as I shared my house with 3 other people.
I had no other choice but to move all my personal effects to an outside room to make it easier for the removalists. This caused significant inconvenience for myself as I needed to carry several boxes outside which I would not need to do if the removalists had arrived at the confirmed day and time.
Luckily I had a friend that was on their rostered-day-off and they were able to assist in supervising the move. They sacrificed their free time to supervise the move which I greatly appreciated.
Due to the ability for me to book, confirm and pay for a move on a specified date and time I believe that I should be compensated for the inconvenience, time wasted and stress caused due to:
1) My time spent on the 27th April all day at home with no communication.
2) My time and effort to move my personal effects to the outside room.
3) My friends time to supervise the move.
Also at no point in time did I receive an apology for the incompetence and lack of communication from a manager or senior staff member. I had agreed to all the terms and conditions provided. However Backloads did not adhere to all the obligations and service requirements that were stated in their terms and conditions. This is a clear breach of the service agreement that I had entered.
DO NOT USE THEM!
I feel horrible after reading all of these reviews. I wish I did a research before using them. I paid the services but they never came to pick up my boxes on the booking date, not even gave explanation or apologies. I tried to speak to them patiently to re-book the next day, still never came. They event stopped emailing me back for my questions. I had to keep calling them only to hear ' we will contact you soon'... They never returned my calls. I already paid and can't do anything but just have to wait for them as if they were doing me a favour, not providing a paid service. Only when I realized I am dealing with the worst removal company ever, I started looking up for reviews and found this site. What can I do now? Can I start calling consumer protection or anything I can do to get back my money and use another company?
Gosh I wish we'd read these reviews! Booked in job, abused by the manager Sam, same story and over and over! Told it was our fault, talked over by Sam and told he was busy, not their fault! Want to cancel my pick up, as it's not going to happen now for 3 days, but was told by Sam I would lose 50% of the booking cost! This company is UNBELIEVABLE! WHY DID I NOT READ THESE REVIEWS!
I agree with you all, similar experience.
Here's a copy of the email I sent the company..
I am extremely disappointed with the service provided to be regarding the above booking.
I expressed my need for pick-up no later than Friday as I was leaving Victoria early Saturday morning and the property's lease was expiring on Friday. This was promised to me and I waited at the pickup address on Friday afternoon. I called the office at approximately 4:30 pm on Friday enquiring about the whereabouts of the truck. I was promised a call back from staff. I then received a text message (not even a phone call) saying the pickup had been delayed until the following day. I called the office back immediately and explained the situation, that I was leaving town and the lease was expiring, and I had been guaranteed pickup that day, and the staff advised me I needed to arrange for someone else to be present at the property the following morning and there was no possibility of pickup that day.
I spoke to several staff members that afternoon, not one apologised for the inconvenience, lack of communication, change in plans, or offered any alternative solution for the problem. They simply advised they would be at the pickup address between 8 and 11am the following morning (Saturday), most likely between 8 and 9am. I arranged for a friend to help out and also the real estate to allow me to be in the property an extra day, all of which was very difficult at 5:30pm on a Friday. I called back and gave the company my friend's contact details and was advised the driver would call shortly before arriving.
On Saturday morning, I called your office to get an estimate of pickup time so as to least inconvenience my kind friend. Of course no one answered, and multiple attempts later it was clear the office was unstaffed. I was not advised of any phone numbers of the truck drivers. Between the hours of 8 and 11, as advised pickup time would be, my friend nor I failed to receive any communication. I finally received a phone call at 3pm from the driver saying he was on his way (despite supposedly having my friend's details as the primary number, he did not have them). I explained the situation and that I had received no communication from the company. He was very apologetic and advised me the were never planning on doing pickups on Friday! In the meantime I had arranged an alternative removalist as I did not have any faith in your company and did not want to pay you for the atrocious service.
I understand circumstances can change but it is not hard to communicate with your customer, apologise for the inconvenience, and work with them to find a solution for the problem. Also, I note your extensive terms and conditions stating customers must be nearby and contactable by phone at all times and will be billed if they delay your schedule. Where is the reciprocal responsibility? Compliments only to the driver who sounded like he has been in this situation too many times before.
I will be leaving negative reviews online and sending a copy of this complaint to the consumer ombudsman. You should not be allowed to operate a business with such utter disdain and disrespect for your customers.
I absolutely agree. I had the worst ever service experience possible from this company... I would recommend no one to use this company ever - even though they seem cheaper.
Overall, they stuffed up the pick up date (which we had confirmed several times); never once called us when they promised repeatedly; and our stuff arrived banged up and dirty... as well as they delivered someone elses stuff with ours by mistake... details below...
We were moving from Perth to Sydney and booked waaaaayyy in advance and were promised our stuff would be picked up on a certain date. After confirming this day several times, the day arrived (our last day in the apartment) and we rang them to check how far away they would be and were told our stuff couldn't be picked up today.
They had not tried to contact us and could not have cared less. They had made no attempt to contact us to late us know.
We were leaving the state that day and so were forced to leave our stuff in a neighbours garage - it was pouring rain of course - and just hope our stuff would be picked up.
It took them a few days but eventually they did pick it up. Of course they didn't let us know and we must have called them at least 20 times over the course of things and they never once called me back or communicated in any way. They repeatedly told us they would ring us back, as well as ring on the day of delivery (which - suprise - they didn't.
Weeks and weeks past and eventually they just rocked up in the morning without calling ahead. Along with our stuff - which was dirty and banged up - They also delivered some of the wrong stuff and had to come back later to get it.
This company is completely incompetent and I recommend no one use them as moving is stressful enough without these guys making it worse.
Some of the staff we spoke to were ok, but the majority of them were rude and complete wankers. They couldn't have cared less about stuffing up and had no plans to communicate ever. They treated us like we were somehow the ones at fault and were complete jerks.
Do not give them your money.
Yes this company is atrocious! I can't believe they had the nerve to come on here an defend their shonky practices. No care or support... liars and bad business!
SHOCKING EXPERIENCE FOR ME. I dealt with David the Owner who is an absolute train wreck of a guy. Zero customer care and no accountability whatsoever. Promised delivery in 3 days and at day 10 - nothing, not even a courtesy call. HORRIFIC.
I believe all that has been described with regard to the negative experiences in dealing with BackLoad Removals and Transport. I have also posted other reviews ( http://www.productreview.com.au/p/back-load-removals-and-transport.html ) regarding my experience, their company business structure and their actions. These people have built their business around loopholes in law, to not be accountable to the consumer for refunds, damages and misconduct. They have several outstanding failure to pay legal orders against their name which they have no intention to rectify, DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLE for risk of losing your valued property items. Please share this and other site reviews (regarding these people) however you can to warn other consumers of their level of poor service.
Yep! Absolute disgrace of a company! Had two of my items damaged back in January and still have had no compensarion. NIGHTMARE of a company to deal with.