1st Move Removalist

If you want a smooth, worry-free move, look elsewhere! – Do not use them! We moved from Victoria to Queensland, and using 1st Move has been a stressful and highly disappointing experience. Ella from 1st Move told me that they do no subcontract jobs and have their own staff/team. This was one of the selling points that attracted us to them. However, on the day of the move, I was talking to one of the… Read more

removalists who said this was his first time moving furniture. The removalist was wearing pyjamas, clearly someone working for cash.

I can't say I liked their payment structure. They were not the cheapest, as we had significantly lower quotes through other platforms like Mooval. Once I found they wanted full payment on pick up and not delivery, I decided to go with another company. They must have really wanted my business as they "spoke with management" and allowed me to pay a $2000 payment up front and the balance when they arrived in QLD for delivery.

Next, the delivery date. I was told it would take 2-3 days to deliver my new house. The uplift was booked for Wednesday the 15th, and I was told delivery would be Friday/Saturday. We had air mattresses packed that we purchased and planned to sleep on until our furniture arrived.

On the day the furniture was loaded on the truck, I asked the driver to confirm the delivery date, and he said Thursday Afternoon / Friday Morning. The date was now brought forward one day, so we decided to do a one-night stopover in NSW, effectively driving from Melbourne to QLD in 2 days. To make sure we arrived on time, my family and I left the early morning of the 16th and arrived at our accommodation in northern NSW at midnight. The next morning, at approximately 8-9am, I got a voicemail from the driver telling me that he was two hours away from our new home. They were arriving a lot earlier than what they had told us.

I was 6 hours away, and I did not want them to sit around waiting for me, so I texted back, saying if they wanted, they could move the furniture on the back deck until I arrived. During our drive up, I started to receive phone calls asking for the final balance. I had to make the ETF payment from different bank accounts accounts, and I missed $1000 on my balance.

Their accounts person rang me and said I had missed $1000. I apologised and was about to make the last payment when he said, "Can you please finalise the missing payment as the guys have completed the job?" Hang on a minute. Do you plan to dump all my furniture on my back deck and just leave because you arrived earlier? I told him to go speak with his drivers, and I have been given different dates and times. I planned to arrive around the earliest time they communicated with me (Thursday afternoon).

From here on in, they got nasty, demanding full payment and said if they had to wait until my arrival, I would be charged overage. How is it overage when they arrived earlier than what they advised me? Luckily, I left a set of keys with the real estate agent in QLD. I told them to pick up the keys as the real estate agent was a 5 min drive from my new house. They were reluctant. I said I would not pay the balance until the furniture was in my home. I asked them, "How would you feel you feel if you were driving interstate to your new home with your family and the removalists arrived 6 hours earlier then left all of your furniture in your backyard?" There was no acknowledgement of this or sympathy, simply pay the final bill. After a heated conversation, they picked up the keys and moved the majority of the furniture into the house. I then paid the balance.

Unfortunately, the pattern of broken promises and disregard for our belongings only continued as we began unpacking. I noticed the rear door frame was damaged. I knew it was them as this house was rented, and I had comprehensive photos from the real estate agent when the tenants left. I figured this was normal with removalists, so I did not raise it. Next, the bottom of my couch was damaged, but once again, I thought, who would kick up a stink over damaged fabric on the bottom of a couch?

The final straw came when I unpacked our TV—a 55” Polaroid 4K model—only to find it severely damaged, with noticeable cracks in the center of the screen that appeared to have been caused by something pressing against it during transit. I reached out to Ella, expecting 1st Move to honor their commitment to responsibility. In our initial phone conversations, I was explicitly assured by Ella that 1st Move takes full responsibility for any damages that occur during the move and that they would offer compensation for any damaged items. Again, this was a primary reason I chose them over other companies.

However, once I reported the damage, their response took a turn. Ella insisted the TV must have been damaged outside of their control, disregarding the evidence of the extensive protective wrapping I used and the video I had of the unpacking process. Their response was dismissive, with Ella suggesting that since I packed the TV myself (with two large protective layers of foam and bubble wrap), they took no responsibility. This was in stark contrast to the original assurance that they would handle damages regardless. Even after I offered videos and photos taken during unpacking to confirm the TV's condition, they refused to accept any responsibility, shifting the burden back to me and citing lack of “before” photos of the TV’s pristine condition prior to the move.

Overall, 1st Move’s poor communication, lack of transparency, and unwillingness to take responsibility made an already challenging interstate move even more stressful. I strongly recommend looking elsewhere if you value your belongings and peace of mind.

Removalist job 9th October – Fantastic service by the company. they were very cooperative and got me booked in with no hassle. It was very cheap too. They did the job very well, took care of all my things and the boys are very hardworking and fast.