Moshe Tip Top

I hate to see that so many people's reviews of this mover reflect the same experience I had with them several years ago.

Damaged items, inflated costs, refusal to make good. I had an excessive amount of damage to my furniture (and it arrived FILTHY having been in their storage for 30 days). When I asked the manager to look at it he replied, in an email, that he thought I was complaining about good furniture getting damaged and that all my furniture was crap anyway. Most of our furniture is Ethan Allen, maybe not the most expensive stuff in the world but a long way from crap. At least it was before they got their hands on it.

I never did get any resolution or reimbursement from the company for the damage. Eventually, I paid a furniture repair person $1,700 myself to make the repairs.

Do yourself a favor and STAY AWAY from these folks.

My husband and I have used flat rate 3 prior times in NY and service was great. This 4th time was in the DC location and wow. We were charged over $1,000 for a easy 1-bedroom (700 sq ft) move, without much packing needed to be done. They sent 4 guys over, whom were caught taking smoke breaks and eating breaks. Two of our items were damaged, one of which is my mid-modern century 6 drawer dresser. When we called Cheryl or Laurent ("the manager"), and when they actually picked up the phone, we were shocked at how we were treated. It was a waste of time to speak with Cheryl. With Laurent, we called back the second day, and he had hung up on us after we explained our case.

I guess Flat Rate in DC does not meet the same standards as Flat Rate in NY. We wish we knew before we selected these unprofessional movers.

PS: there is no transparency with how they price your move, once they give you a 1st quote, and you try to knock some items off the list, the quote only goes down by a few bucks; they know you are hooked since your big move date is fast approaching.

PPS: agreed with the other reviewer that they've tried to change their Yelp name to avoid these terrible reviews.

DO NOT USE THEM!

They showed up 4 hours late for my move, after giving me the run around on the phone all morning. The two movers that came and actually did the work were great, friendly and moved quickly. The man that runs the company is awful. He lied to me on the phone several times and when quoted me a price of $284, then decided that the final price would be $500 for moving my furniture that was already padded and wrapped from a storage unit to my new home. For no reason. Just avoid them at all costs.

3 movers, moving a zero-bedroom apartment w/ every thing packed, and no major furniture 10 blocks cost me $675 and took 4.5 hours.

The only furniture I had was a bed, that I had already taken apart.

Charged me $185 for one box and to tape up some mirrors.

I would avoid this place at all costs. Though they have the cheapest per-hour price, they will find every way to get money out of you.

Seriously -- no couches, dining room table or anything -- ended up costing me twice as much as all other estimates.

Be very careful!!! I scheduled to move with Flat Rate Movers as they had put ads on everyone's door at the apt I was moving from. The scheduler was super nice and scheduled for 6AM on a sunday to beat the heat (and because I had a 12:45pm volunteer engagement). The call from the moving team came at 6:07am saying they were going to be late. At 7:10 I called and left a message at their dispatch to inquire as to their time of arrival reminding them I had scheduled events. At 7:30 I got a call back from someone who said they would "hold my stuff" til afterward.

Timeliness is crucial for busy professionals. At 8:00am I canceled the scheduled move after reading the ratings here on Yelp.com. I will also demand my $100 non-refundable deposit back as they were unable to hold up their end of the bargain! For $120 an hour you better be on time or willing to make some concessions if your late!

Use a your own peril. We were told when movers arrived that amount anticipated was much larger and that second truck was needed doubled the price. I was told before they would start to work I needed to go to bank and get it think $200 per mover, greater amount for man in charge before they could start moving. This was an incredibly difficult move for us. We were moving to be a support system for our 32yo daughter and family as she had just been dx w breast cancer. Most of our furniture arrived damaged and apx 10 days after move I recieved a drunken phone call at about 7 am by the head mover HEY BABY GOT ANY WORK FOR ME ..COME ON BABY I KNOW YOU DO. owners response why did you give them money in advance and no explanation for drunk phone call. use at your own peril

Unfortunately, it is not possible to give less than 1 star because that is what this company deserves. Using Flat Rate Movers made the moving experience miserable. We hired them to move boxes and furniture from Atlanta to Northern Virginia. Despite confirming their early morning arrival time, more than once, the movers finally arrived four hours late on moving day. We tried calling the office repeatedly when the movers still had not arrived, but no one answered the phone. Their late arrival set our entire day back. First we were told that our original driver had car trouble. Once they arrived, the head of the team informed us that the company had overbooked themselves.

Their website claims they provide a "really flat rate" and "NO surprise costs," but that is an absolute lie. We were given a quote way in advance (after filling out a detailed inventory sheet) and when the movers arrived (late) they doubled the price of the quote for several additional boxes. They claimed that the reason the new amount was so high was because we doubled our quote but that is not true. It was an obvious bait and switch. The company gave what one of their employees later called a "b.s." quote in order to secure our business but skyrocketed the price once we were already almost completely packed up.

We tried to fight the overpriced move AND the tardiness of the movers for days but were constantly given the run around. No one answered the phone and when they did, no one could resolve the problem. Although the customer service was great before the move, once they took our belongings, it was impossible to get ahold of anyone. We had to call every day in an attempt to make progress with our complaint or locate the moving truck. Ultimately, we were offered a very small discount in exchange for not reporting them to any social media sites or better business bureaus. Obviously, we declined. This is definitely a situation where you get what you pay for. Do yourself a favor and pay a little more for a reputable and recognized moving company. You will regret hiring Flat Rate Movers.

I have moved a lot, and I have never had an experience as awful as this.

Initially, everything seemed fine, but when my items arrived (2 weeks later I might add), the boxes were stacked so haphazardly that many broke. The worst part, however, is that my $3,000 chair was missing. The moving company was hard to get in touch with, unhelpful, and settled essentially for the "whoopsie!" defense. Despite it likely being stolen and a felony crime, the company would not take my phone calls and refused to take any meaningful action besides referring me to their inadequate claims department.

These movers take your stuff on one truck, store it in a warehouse, load it up onto another bigger truck to drive it cross country, and finally put it on another smaller truck to be delivered. Each step involves a contracted out mover--not someone employed only by Flat Rate. Though this keeps the price down, there are too many variables and too many unknowns dealing with your precious items. My recommendation: pay the extra money and use literally ANYONE else.

Flatrate movers did a terrible job. I moved from San Francisco to D.C. They were supposed to pick up our goods from storage and deliver to our condo in DC. they lost goods because they put it in storage without our consent. They didn't use a state of the art climate controlled truck, but an old Penske truck which broke down on the way. They didn't protect the floors and did over $18,000 worth of damage. They left over a dozen pieces blanketed, furniture crated, and didn't assemble the didning table, the cocktail table, and the bed was a disaster. We had a JW Marriott mattress which they didn't put in a mattress box, and it arrived filthy with the cover torn. When they assembled it the first night it collapsed, because they had lost the slats and didn't tighten the screws in he frame. Avoid this company we have had to hire a lawyer. Worst move of the over 20 I have had.

Flat Rate Movers was engaged by the buyer of a used refrigerator we sold, to pick up that refrigerator from our home and deliver it to the buyer's home. Despite our instructions to the contrary the mover dragged the refrigerator across a recently refinished hardwood floor. Frozen wheel(s) on the refrigerator cut through the finish and gouged the wood. Despite his promise to repair the damage or send someone to repair it, he has not done so. Now he claims he was never here. When we wrote to the principal he responded by telephoning and screaming at us.

Be very careful - these guys seem to operate under at least a half dozen names that were found by a court to be deliberately confusing, using various addresses in DC and Rockville. The names include:

Flat Rate Moving
Flat Rate Moving & Storage, Inc.
Flat Rate Moving and Storage, Inc.
Moshe Tip Top, Inc
Quality Movers, Inc.
Tip Top Movers

The company name may be confused with another, reportedly highly regard, company similarly named. This company was sued in Federal Court for trademark infringement, unfair competition, and cybersquatting by FlatRate Movers, Ltd. (d/b/a FlatRate Moving). The court ordered that Flat Rate Movers "be enjoined from using FLAT RATE MOVERS, FLAT RATE MOVING, or any other confusingly similar words, in connection with moving and storage services, which includes ending the use of any Internet domain names that incorporate the word FLATRATE in connection with moving and storage services." Details may be seen at http://www.leagle.com/decision/In%20FDCO%2020150423B04/FLAT%20RATE%20MOVERS%20v.%20FLATRATE%20MOVING%20&%20STORAGE

The Flat rate name was on the truck they used here and on a T-shirt worn by Mr. Aloush when he was here.

While Flat Rate Movers has apparently disregarded the court order and continues using the confusing names you may be able to spot them using the names of the principals of the company. They are: Mr. Eli Alosh, Mr. Moshe Alush, Mr. Isaac Zayt. Spelling of their names may vary from company to company.

BBB reports these phone numbers are linked to them as well:

(301) 803-7049(Phone)
(301) 230-9248(Phone)
(718) 708-2760(Phone)
(301) 984-3780(Phone)
(800) 417-6554(Phone)
(336) 299-4468(Phone)
(301) 591-4198(Phone)