Knowing a little about the history of a Company always helps when it comes time to make a decision as to whether to use them or not.
1-800-Got-Junk has an interesting start to it. It all began with two Vancouver students who needed a way to pay for the upcoming College year. As one of them was going through a McDonald’s drive through the idea came to him after seeing a beat-up truck filled with junk. A week later, he started a Company called “The Rubbish Boys.” This goes back to 1989, and through time it progressed into 1-800-Got-Junk.
The mandate of the Company was set way back when it was decided that collecting junk had to have a more professional feel to it. Which meant:
This was the vision the owners had for the business, so did it come to pass?
The mandate for the Company was a solid one and what you most likely would want and expect when it comes to removing the junk from your home or business. So is the company delivering on the mandate they set for themselves?
However, it is important to keep in mind that
1-800-Got-Junk is a franchise. So something negative about one of these companies may not be applicable to another one in a different area. Also, there are different BBB sites in different regions. This means the complaints can vary greatly according to the region.On-Time Service
Overall this doesn’t seem to be a big complaint, but it does rise occasionally.
The Price
This is the big one and the one where most of the complaints that exist are in this area. Some of the common pricing complaints are:
Overall out of fourteen reviews listed on one BBB site, the Company was given a one star rating. Keep in mind that the business has been accredited with that BBB since 2012.
There are a lot of reasons why people would want to rely on a company like 1-800-Got-Junk. Such as:
Back in 2010 1-800-Got-Junk volunteered for an environmental audit for both the United States and Canada. During the time span of the audit, it was determined that more than 60% of the junk collected didn’t end up in landfill sites. The audit apparently revealed that 40% of the junk collected during that period went for recycling. 16% was used for energy conversion, and 4.5% was reused. As far as now in 2019, it is not known what the figures are.
If you aren’t too keen on trying 1-800-Got-Junk because of some of the bad reviews, then what are your alternatives?
First, it will depend on where you live as the company provides its services in Canada, United States, and Australia. The general options will be:
Take the items to the dump yourself
First, you will need a proper vehicle for hauling the junk. An average pickup truck is can handle about a half ton of junk. If you have a lot of junk of different sizes, it may mean making several trips.
Renting a Dumpster
Another alternative is to rent a dumpster
With both of these choices also keep in mind that you are doing all the work yourself of loading the truck or the dumpster.
Hiring A Handyman
There is always the option to hire a handyman to remove the junk for you. If you do then you may want to run a background check.
Hiring Junk Removal Services
Although 1-800-Got-Junk is classed as being the biggest in the world, they do have some competition.
The work gets done for you. The pricing is based on truck volume. According to the company, the truckload can range from 1/8th of a truckload all the way up to a full truckload. They state that the price quoted is all inclusive. It will vary because of gas prices, disposal fees, and the area in which a customer lives.
The about us story for College H.U.N.K.S has some close similarities to 1-800-Got-Junk. Such as two college students starting out with a cargo van. It was started in 2005 and boomed in 2007. It too has franchises across the United States and Canada. They offer a combination of services of junk removing and moving services.
For a Company that has been in business as long as 1800-Got-Junk even with the complaints that have been noted they have to be doing a lot of things right.
1-800-Got-Junk has some positive aspects to them, and they cover a huge number of locations. To be sure you are making the right choice, there are some tips for doing your research:
Like what you read? Then please share with your family and friends.
Share Your Experiences that you have had with 1-800-Got-Junk
If you have problems with saving money and keeping track of your spending habits then…
When you are looking for space-saving multi-purpose shelving products, you may want to purchase the…
Today's innovative advanced technologies have created many conveniences. The ability to read on the go…
Experiencing the luxury of owning a wireless speaker is a favorite of many people. The…
Home decor is a very individual and personal choice. A new product like Chasing Paper…
Keeping track of events and goals may be difficult for some people. Purchasing a product…
View Comments
Ok heres the real deal . and folks there are no real deals , even on black friday
Here's the part that is just obnoxious in my book- when I called today a nice woman told me a round about price, of course starting at their lowest 65- she maxed at 600 - I told her how much I had after a basement flood
when the truck arrived the guy said ( 3 young men came) "you'll need the whole truck , we start at 775." As I was walking away he said, "how much do you want to pay ??"
Its not even the money as much as feeling once again scammed , where people attempt to rope u in w/ false price points. Consumers beware and business owners please open your eyes when dealing with customers from the get go. We're not dumb , we shop around and will bypass a business like yours as I just did.
Total RIP-off! Quoted $500. Ended up paying $1700. Said they would donate furniture and household items in good condition. They broke the furniture to pieces before removing. Left a mess to clean up and holes in the wall.
When they arrived their truck was a lot smaller than I anticipated and I was quoted a price for a full load ($598.00). I asked how much they would take for just a few of the larger items (a stove, bed, tv, 2 large mirrors and 2 dressers) and one of the guys said let me call my manager. He came back and told me $318.00 or $400.00 for the full load. I went with the full load option (when done, the load was sticking out the top of the truck so it really was full) and it took them close to 2 hours to complete. They charged me exactly the quoted price and only requested that I give them good feedback on Google which I did while they were still present. Great job. (Lee's Summit, MO)
DISHONEST BAIT AND SWITCH CHEATERS – BEWARE!
We had used this company once before and were very satisfied. When we needed them a second time, we didn’t hesitate to call. Huge difference between the first and second calls. We will NEVER use this dishonest company again! We were told explicitly that the maximum charge for a full truckload of stuff is $598. We were assured that as long as we could fit everything in one truck, the price would never go over $598. This was true only the first time. Also, their website states the same. The second time, we informed them ahead of time what we were having them take out (mostly some wood). We told them we estimated about half a truck load. They assured us it was no problem. We figured a half load would run right around $300. When the truck showed up, it was already way more than half full, with several items sticking up over the top of the truck. They were not able to get all of our stuff in the truck. All of a sudden, we were being charged with an extra “weight” fee of SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS. The driver said they didn’t have enough room, so we had to pay for an extra trip. He said it cost more to take wood. Wood is exactly what they took the first time, but all of a sudden, because the company planned the trip very poorly, and had to make two trips, WE were being penalized. What should have run around $300 for us, ended up costing $836!!! This company CHEATED us out of $536.00. BAIT AND SWITCH tactics are dishonest. The driver called his boss. His boss said to make sure the company made money off of us. The driver actually told us that. If we had had the luxury of telling this dishonest company to get lost, we would have; however, our home was going on the market the following week, and this was the time we had scheduled for the final clean-up before photos were to be taken. They had us over a barrel. We paid $836 for a $300 job. Since the company refused to honor their original bid, the least we can do is let others know the shabby, unconscionable way in which we were treated, and maybe we can spare someone else the unbelievably expensive nightmare they put us through. Stay away from 1-800-Got Junk!
I give 5 stars and an enthusiastic thumbs-up to 1-800-Got. Junk and Evan and Alex. Fair pricing, friendly and fast service. An excellent outfit. Highly recommended.
Excellent work! John and Jon were a pleasure to deal with and made my life so much easier.They not only haul off everything you have to haul but they take it from whatever room in your house. Attic, basement & garage. That alone is worth the money. Not only that but they sweep up afterwards. Well done and I would ask for John and Jon again.
I will say that they do as advertised by being on time but I was quoted a price at 200 to 250 and when they were done they changed the price to 319 I gave them 320 cash and was told that they don't have change that's wrong and I know that they go by how much space is used on the truck but when you take 6 4x8 pieces of plywood and load them at a angle on the side of the truck they will take up more space than on the floor I feel like I was taken advantage of because I am elderly and they didn't stick to what was originally quoted I will never use them again
Super disappointing at both the local and corporate levels. They arrived and said that taking everything we had would cost $500. I was at work. My parents were shocked, but knew I was in a bind to get rid of junk for an open house. They quoted $119 on the phone after asking what we had in the driveway for pick up. My parents agreed to pay them the middle rate of $199 to take *some* of the junk. Ultimately, they took a dog bed, cat bed, a lightweight foam core insulation board, a tupperware bin of concrete and two cast iron radiators. The latter could have earned me $150 on Craig's List, so I would have preferred they had taken a stack of lumber or other junk (insulation, construction waste, etc.) instead. They left us with almost as much to haul away as we started with. They told my parents to go inside while they loaded up -- my parents thought they were just off the hook. Parents trusted them -- then paid the bill ... then saw how little they took. Then they asked us to display their sign at the end of the driveway to advertise for them.
When I got home and saw what they left us with (almost everything!), I was shocked and upset. I immediately called 1-800-Got-Junk and the customer service rep had a bad attitude. He talked over me and didn't want to hear what I had to tell him. He said someone from corporate would call me within 48 hours. (No call.) 5 days later, I called back. A nice woman said someone would call; sorry about that! (No call.) 4 days later, I called again. Nice woman said she would ask them to come from office and talk to me, but no one was in yet -- only an hour into their work day. But someone would call within 48 hours. (Still no call.) Today - I'm writing this review because I'm fed up and clearly they are not having anyone call me.
Our resolution: My dad and I borrowed a neighbor's truck and loaded up the rest of the junk, hauled it to the Chittenden Solid Waste District Williston Transfer Station. We unloaded almost 900+ lbs of waste -- no fuss, no muss, no sorting. We paid ... wait for it ... $64. They said GOT-JUNK also dumps there. But I'm sure they didn't dump those radiators, because -- $$$ -- cha*ching!
My issues: misleading quote, sending my parents away while they "cherry picked" what they loaded (light, minimal), failure to respect the customer with a return phone call (after 3 calls to customer service) and overpricing.
If you're in Chittendon County (Vermont) and you have junk to haul, ask a friendly neighbor if you can borrow their truck; recruit a neighbor kid to help you load; enjoy a drive to Williston; save a lot of money! I-800-GOT-JUNK-SERVICE -- why yes, they do.
From reading a number of these comments I have concluded:
Anybody can become a 800-got-junk franchise, so you may get good folks who do a good job or you may get crooks who will try to rip you off in various ways.
Don't believe the sales video, which shows carefully loaded junk to fill every bit of the truck. I had service today, they were nice enough guys but they didn't load well and there was lots of wasted space. Now I'm taking the rest to the dump myself.