This has got to be one of the most unprofessional companies I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. DO NOT USE BACKLOADS.COM. It is honestly not worth the hassle and you actually don't save any money. Not only that, this company has been investigated by Consumer Affairs in Victoria for unfair terms in consumer contracts.
My problem started when we booked backloads.com to pick up a sofa we had purchased in Melbourne to deliver to Sydney. We were told it would cost $356 and would take between 1 to 3 days. After we had paid this fee they then called and said we were misquoted and that the actual cost was going to be $479. All this to move one modular sofa from metropolitan Melbourne to metropolitan Syndey.
Unfortunately my flatmate was eager to receive the sofa so we decided to pay the extra money as it would guarantee that we would receive it on time. Our sofa was picked up Wed 21 Jan 09 and was supposed to be delivered Fri 23 Jan 09. It is now Thurs 29 Jan 09 and there is still no sign of it.
Needless to say our multiple calls to the company were deftly fielded by the company's receptionist who is clueless or actually is. Every single time I called she said the line to the department I needed to speak was engaged and that she could try sending them an email. Pretty ridiculous considering I must have called at least 10 times in one day at various times and that I clearly don't have access to her email account.
I even went so far as to say "can you get someone to call me" but that was met with "I can't promise they'll call". Instead, I was informed I would receive an sms to my mobile the day before the sofa was due to arrive. Considering it was supposed to arrive last week, somehow I believe this system is not working.
I then finally received the mysterious sms yesterday to say the sofa will arrive today between 1.30pm and 3.30pm. By 4.00pm when there was no sign of it, I call the receptionist again only to be told that its not unusual for them to be an hour late - try 5 days late. It is now 6.10pm and there is still no sign of this sofa, no call from the driver and I've come to the realisation that I have wasted another 1/2 day of work waiting for this sofa.
So far there is no end to this story - I just hope I don't have to call the police and report the sofa as stolen.
0
I rang backloads.com on Wednesday 6th Feb 2008 to have my furniture picked up from Campbelltown NSW going to Qld. they gave me a quote and said my goods will be picked up on Friday morning (8th).
Friday morning i called the company as advised by one of the staff members to get a rough estimate of the time that they would be arriving.
i was told the driver would be there between 2pm-4pm and would call me an hour before.
i was then advised that the operations team would call me in a few hours to say where the driver was at.
1pm came and i had heard nothing so i gave backloads a callback. they said there had been a delay and the driver would not be there until between 3-5pm. 5pm arrived and again nothing.
i rang the company again and they told me that that he will definately be there between 6-6:30. as my stuff was stored at my ex house i needed to make sure someone was going to be there.
i went to his house at 6pm and waited until 9pm and nothing. I was told the company closed at 6:30pm, so from 5:45pm to 6:30pm i was calling to see where the driver was and could i get in contact with him direct. Guess what??? the company was closed.
I never recieved a call from the driver.
Saturday 9th Feb i called the company and they didn't know what happened so they would give a call back. I asked to speak to someone higher up then Kevin (the guy) who answered the phone.
Jeff the operations Manager rang and said i could have the drivers number to see what time he would arrive to pick my stuff up as he was in the dark as much as me.
i stated i do not want the drivers number as this is apalling customer service and how they did not even have the decency to call me why would i want to use them.
I proceeded to tell him i want the job cancelled and i would arrange another removalist, he offered me a discount and told me the driver would be there between 2-4pm. i laughed as this was the same line i heard yesterday.
Heaven knows what would of happened to my stuff if i got them to pick it up.
i cancelled the job and rang another removalist company.
5 minutes later Cobb & co called me as they are the drivers that were picking my stuff up and told me he heard i cancelled. He mentioned that he was only given the job on the 8th Feb and he would try his best to get there to collect my goods.
i said i have cancelled the job and he offered me to go private with him and he charge me $200 less than original price. I asked him what time he could pick my stuff up for curiosity sake and he said 7pm. i laughed and said forget it.
I ask anyone who is moving, use someone else to collect your stuff. This company is shonky.
0
I have had a bad experience with a company trading as Cobb and Co who I believe also trade under other names including backloads.com
I moved from Brisbane to Sydney in March 07
In short, I booked online having spoken first to a customer service consultant at Cobb and Co who gave me the impression that nothing was a problem, the dates I wanted were fine, (they could probably deliver earlier than I requested), I would recieve text messages before the truck arrived to pick up and deliver and I could pay by AMEX (which I checked twice because the website only said Visa or Mastercard)
I booked online (again noting payment by AMEX) and eveything seemed fine. Two days before the intended pick up date I recieved a call to say that the truck was booked for 8am on Thursday Morning and I could expect delivery in Sydney the next day. Wow, what great service!
On the day of intended pick-up, I did not recieve a text as advertised, and concerned that I should have heard something, I rang the company. I was told that they didn't know what had caused the delay and would contact the driver and get back to me. Later, at about 10am I got a call from the truck driver to say that he was coming from Caloundra (one and a half hours away) because he had been told by Cobb and Co to go there first to pick up a lounge suite.
The truck didn't turn up until almost One O'Clock. The "removal crew" consisted of an old man who looked about 65 and a skinny kid of about 17. One looked like he wouldn't work in an iron lung, the other looked like he might have an iron lung.
The Driver told me he had only been allocated the job the day before. A day after Cobb and Co had called and confirmed all the details.
The truck was not loaded until approx 6pm and consequently when the rental agent turned up to inspect the property so we could have our bond refunded, there was still furniture to be removed and cleaning not done so he could not do the inspection.
We almost did not get all of our furniture on because of the other lounge the driver had been told to pick up. We offered our credit card details and were advised that 'the company' will fix that up.
We had been quoted for 50 m3. I doubt the truck was that big and the extra furniture made it a very tight squeeze. Things that should have been wrapped better had to have a single blanket here and there to keep the size down.
The next day I arrived in Sydney expecting the driver to arrive about lunchtime as originally advised.
I didn't hear anything by noon, and again no text, so I rang. The lounge that had been picked up had to be delivered in Newcastle so he was going there first, should be in Sydney by about 3pm.
I rang the driver at about 2:30 to see how it was going, and the story was that the traffic was bad and he had trouble finding the address in Newcastle. Then nobody was home so he spent an hour and a half waiting while the company tried to contact the reciever of the lounge. Might be in Sydney by 4:30 or 5:00.
I called again about an hour later to check up and was told by the driver he had been going too long and wouldn't get to Sydney until late. We had no beds, linen, utensils - nothing having been assured that we would have delivery in Sydney by lunchtime on Saturday. I have 4 children and faced with the prospect of spending the night on the floor of the house we had rented (which I was assured by the agent had been cleaned but to look at it you wouldn't know) I rang Cobb and Co to express my dissappointment that they hadn't delivered anything they promised. No texts, no updates, late pickup, late delivery, I had to keep calling the driver's mobile for updates and it was them who had sent him via Newcastle.
I spoke to the girl who answered and the minute I mentioned that I was unhappy she asked me to hold, after a minute or so on hold a male answered and said "Cameron Speaking".
1