Korean Job Discussion Forums

hogwonguy1979 · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: the racoon den

had some movers move us down the hill in hbc and now am wondering if we got ripped off. they came to our old apt about a week before the move and quoted me (i'm 99% sure of this) 180k and that included packing and unpacking since mrs hogwonguy had to work on the day of the move we thought it would be ok we also were moving a fridge washing machine etc. Had my office asst verify this and gave them a deposit. they wouldnt give me a copy of the quote form for some reason

moving day comes and all is going well until its time to settle up we had about 60% of the stuff already packed, then he says its 680k, i'm like wtf??? called my office assistant and she says "thats what i told you 680k" i'm like no way but I pay them by that time I had cable and internet people in, my wife was going nuts and i needed everybody to stfu

so today i go into my office and have the asst call the movers and tell them i want to see a copy of the original est. my asst tells me the reason they didnt give me a copy was "it was all in korean and you wouldnt understand it" uh i think i could figure out a "1" and a "6" and she hemmed and hawed about getting a copy. told her the mrs wanted to see it, she calls them back and says it will be 2 hours until we get the fax, well no fax and my asst tells me "tomorrow"

i'm not sure whether or not to think did I make a mistake in reading the # on the estimate or mishearing her on the phone that day or is my asst in cahoots with them given my lack of korean. i bet splitting the extra 500k would mean a nice chunk of change for her.

advice people? I'm going to the seoul global center tomorrow

JongnoGuru · Joined: 25 May 2004 Location: peeing on your doorstep

I don't know how much you had to move, but I've not seen 180k in this millennium. Anyway, 680k doesn't sound too outrageous to me, but the problem isn't the fee -- the problem is, where's the printed estimate??

Don't move without one.

Harpeau · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Location: Coquitlam, BC

Man, that really sucks! I'm so sorry to hear that. I would venture to guess that the office assistant slept through her English numbers course and got it screwed up, or that they jacked up the price afterwards.

Were they express movers? Get a copy of the paper ASAP. The first price sounds very low, whereas the actual price seems a bit high. Our Express movers charged 500,000 won with our last move.

Remember, if there is air-con installation, it's an extra 50-100,000 won or so. A couple of questions: how many movers were there? How long did it take them to pack up and load the truck? What floor? (Those lift trucks are an additional charge, remember). How long did it take for them to unpack and put everything in its place?

Best of luck with getting justice. All the best! Keep us posted.

seoulsucker · Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 7:37 am Post subject:

That sounds outrageous.

I had 3 trucks, 3 guys, including a full wipe down of both places, and a stop at the GF's place to pick up her stuff for around 400,000 from Hongdae to Kyungnidan.

moosehead · Joined: 05 May 2007

man with a van

or call van (like call taxi)

daichi-dong to HBC - 1 way, 1 trip - 40,000 won negotiated before, I tipped 10,000 won

polonius · Joined: 05 Jun 2004

bassexpander · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

My wife says we paid 550,000 to move halfway across Seoul, but she said, "That's a good deal for full service." She said 700,000 to 800,000 is more normal. We had one truck, by the way, and it was too small, so they brought a 2nd a few hours later.

She also said that it doesn't matter if they just have to travel a short distance or not -- the high cost is associated with the packing and unloading.

hogwonguy1979 · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: the racoon den

had 4 workers and 2 trucks, wiped down the old place and new place, took around 4 1/2 hours

still working on the estimate

Hyeon Een · Joined: 24 Jun 2005

Doesn't sound outrageous for 'full service'.

Last time I moved I was quoted 50k for a guy with a truck who I would help. I thought this price was outrageously low. It took me and him and the wife and the landlord at each place about 4 or 5 hours.

When It came time to pay the guy wanted 150k instead of the original quote. It seemed more than reasonable to me. I wish I'd gone the full service route actually.. I have a lot of stuff. (Oven, large refrigerator, large bed, cupboards.. etc. etc.)

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

Our last big move involved a 5 ton truck and 3 guys plus packing/cleaning ajumma. Old apt to new apt was about 40km. 22nd floor to 18th floor. Lots of stuff. They worked hard from 7:30am to 5pm. Full service. My wife and I didn't lift a finger. Quite a big move in other words.

I think it was less than 700,000.

A local move from villa to villa using just a bongo truck shouldn't be more than 400,000, I'd say.