How to File a Complaint Against a Moving Company: 6 Effective Steps

We used Mayflower/United to move from Texas to Colorado. Two months later, we are still waiting on the delivery of a $4,000 mattress. There has been limited communication from the company’s representative on the plans for the delivery of the mattress. I do not recommend this company. We are currently considering the nightmare of having to seek legal counsel to recover our property.

Just got done with a Wheaton interstate move. We sent them a detailed list of items to be moved and it did not change. The weight estimate was 60% short and the cost was 40% over the estimate and they are still trying to bill extra. Actual movers were great but they were subcontracted. Would not use wheaton again and don’t trust any estimate from them unless they send someone to do it directly.

I am utterly disgusted with how Cross Country Long Distance Movers (US DOT No. 2626333, MC-937654, Tel No. 1-877-888-0708) treated me and handled my long distance move from Atlanta, GA to Sacramento, CA. I will never recommend this company to anyone moving, as they are grossly incompetent and should never call themselves professional movers. I am seeking compensation for the following: not honoring the terms of our contract, having movers show up late, not receiving our items not until well after the guaranteed delivery date, reimbursement for the $350.00 shuttle that never showed up for the delivery and damages to our items.

I contacted Cross Country Long Distance Movers back in mid-April 2017 to obtain a quote. My “Senior Relocation Consultant”, Matthew Chevalier, was assigned to help me with obtaining a quote and the logistics of my move. I received a quote from Matthew for an all-inclusive move, which consisted of the movers packing up our 2-bedroom apartment in its entirety and shipping our things to Sacramento, CA. We were quoted $6,143.93 for the move and it was a great deal, since the quotes we received from this company and other companies to simply move us out (and we pack) was around the same price. My husband and I felt good about the quote and the stellar reviews about Cross Country Long Distance Movers Long Distance Movers online. We settled on 6/24/17 as our move out date. From April up until our move out date, I was in constant communication with Matthew, and he was quick to respond to me. Matthew always reiterated that it was his job to worry about the logistics of the move. We simply were to let the movers in and not lift a finger since we paid for the all-inclusive service. We felt confident that we were in good hands.

A few days before 6/24/17, we received a call from Matthew. He called to tell us that they could not honor our 6/24/17 move out date. That was my first red flag and I wished I would have found another company. He said there was some “logistical problems” with the 24th and we needed to have the move occur on the 23rd or 25th. We had the house cleaner coming in on the 25th to do a move out cleaning, so that would not work. We weren’t ready for the 23rd because out of town family was staying with us. Nonetheless, we agreed to have the movers come on this date now since we had no choice. Matthew said he would credit us $300 off the move, now bringing the total price to $5,843.93. He also said the movers would arrive between 2:00pm – 4:00pm that day.

On 6/23/17, we were ready for the move. I had a cashier’s check to pay the movers when they arrived. I figured the movers would arrive ASAP since it was hot that day. We waited and waited and waited, and the movers never arrived during the agreed time. At 4:30PM, I called Matthew because I wanted to know what was going on. His phone went straight to voicemail, so I emailed him. About 10 minutes later, he apologizes and says he’s checking on it. However, I never heard back from Matthew with an update as to why the movers were late. Around 5:15PM, the moving foreman called and said they were enroute and would arrive shortly.

Three movers arrived at 5:30PM, so I as very agitated they were late. I expected them to get started right away, since they were several hours late. They however were hungry, and wanted some food! I told them there was a sandwich shop and fast food down the street, which they could eat quickly and get to work. The movers did not want any of those options and asked if there was a Chinese Restaurant nearby. The closest Chinese Restaurant was about 15 minutes away. They gave me $50 and asked if I could buy them some food. This was very unprofessional. I wanted to stay with my belongings to make sure they were packing up our apartment properly. I asked my husband and mom to watch the movers so I could buy their Chinese food. However, as a paying customer, I shouldn’t have to buy movers I paid for to move us out any food. They should’ve showed up, prepared to work.

During the move, I noticed the foreman was skilled and knew what he was doing. His partner was also pretty good. But the last guy I could tell was not a professional mover, and more like an apprentice. He was all over the place and needed guidance for the other guys as to how to coordinate the move. Since I had to buy their Chinese food dinner, I couldn’t watch this guy like how I would like to. I was concerned about his abilities to pack up our home. I suspect he was the culprit in how our things were packed, which I will describe in detail later.
The moving lasted well into the night and our apartment complex doesn’t allow moving in or out past 10:00PM. The movers however didn’t finish until 12:30AM. After the move, the movers said that Matthew would be in contact with us about when our things would be delivered. We also received an illegible move inventory. We couldn’t discern what was written on this document, as the handwriting was atrocious. Other companies we’ve used in the past to move us would provide us with an electronic inventory, that described in detail how many/what type of boxes were used, what was packed in each box, etc. I guess this “professional” company never heard of such a thing.

Later that morning, we received an email from Matthew with a guaranteed delivery date to occur between 6/25/17 – 7/17/17. The email also said we could contact Matthew at any time to obtain an update on our delivery date. We arranged to have our things delivered to a storage facility in Sacramento, CA. We paid an additional $350.00 to have a smaller shuttle that could drive comfortably in the storage facility deliver our things. We went on vacation for a few weeks and each week we emailed asking for an update on when our things would be delivered. Matthew could never give me an update and even told me at one point they didn’t know where our items were. I was extremely concerned that they were lost in transit, since I could never get an update.

June 17th came and went. Our things still were not delivered. By this time, we were seeking the $50 a day payment Cross Country Long Distance Movers would pay us, since our delivery was late. I also asked my mom to receive our things at the storage facility since we were out of the country. We coordinated this with Matthew and I even signed a Power of Attorney so there would be no legal issues. We all agreed that moving communications would go through my mom, since I was abroad. My mom even contacted Matthew and could not get a status update from him as to when our things would be delivered. This was ridiculous as our Senior Relocation Consultant assigned to help us was dropping the ball ever since they took our payment.

Finally, on 7/20/17, another gentleman who was tasked with delivering our things to the storage facility called me and left me a message saying he’ll be at the storage facility on 7/21/17. He needed me to call him back so we could discuss delivery. Ok that’s great but I’m still out of the country. I’m clueless as to why Matthew did not relay to this mover that he should contact my mom. I told the driver to speak to my mom about the moving logistics since I was out of the country. My mom texted later saying he would deliver our things on Saturday, 7/22/17. This was past our delivery window, but my husband and I were just ready to be done with this move. We were heading home from our trip abroad on 7/23/17 and both starting new jobs on 7/24/17. At least we would have time to get some clothes out of storage before work started.

On 7/22/17, I was waiting all day to get an update on the move from my mom. Finally, I received a call from my mom. She called to tell me that the mover could not commit to the 7/22/17 date! He now needed to complete the move on Sunday, 7/23/17. I asked my mom how can he do that, we’re flying back to Sacramento on that day, and the storage facility has limited hours on Sundays. I was livid to say the least. I called and emailed Matthew to express my concerns. Naturally, ever since Matthew and Cross County Long Distance Movers got our money, he would not answer or email me back in a reasonable amount of time now. Hours after I contacted Matthew he gave a lame apology about how all these mishaps never happened to their company, and said he would route this up to his manager, Amanda Rey.
On 7/23/17, the day we were flying back to Sacramento my mom called me livid as the mover arrived to the storage facility in an 18-wheeler truck. We had already paid Cross Country Long Distance Movers an additional $350.00 to use a smaller shuttle several weeks prior, since an 18-wheeler truck couldn’t fit in the storage facility. At this point, Cross Country Long Distance Movers was a complete joke of a moving company to me. At the amount I paid for the move, I could’ve saved my money by packing up the apartment myself and U-hauling my stuff in less than a week. There was no professionalism with Cross Country Long Distance Movers whatsoever. Dealing with them was my worst nightmare.

My mom had to wait for the mover to go rent a U-Haul himself, unload our things from his 18-wheeler into the U-Haul, and put our stuff in the storage unit. This is also during 100-degree heat. Absurd! The mover said Matthew never told him we paid the $350.00 for the smaller shuttle either. So not only was Matthew not communicating with us, he wasn’t communicating with this mover delivering out things.
During this time, I had to cut our last few hours of our vacation short and make endless calls to Matthew, Amanda and anyone I could reach at Cross County Long Distance Movers. Naturally, none of these stooges answered my calls or emails. My mom updated me several hours later, as she was hot and tired from supervising the move. She said the mover barely finished the job. Also, she was concerned that the storage facility would charge us since the mover finished the job after the storage facility was closed for the day. Our storage facility will charge you a set amount for late moving. We had to wait to speak with the manager about this. My mom also informed me that the mover left some of our furniture on the truck too, and he didn’t realize it until he was in Nevada! He would have to mail us our things now. This whole experience was some sick joke.

We went to the storage facility first thing on 7/24/17. There still was no word from Matthew or Amanda. We spoke to the storage facility manager about the late moving, and the manager said he would not charge us. We were lucky in this regard. We went to the storage unit to get out clothes and to add insult to injury, we discovered the crappy job the Atlanta movers did packing us up. Boxes were not labeled properly or not labeled at all. For instance, boxes labeled “Office” had towels, toiletries, and coats in it. Or boxes labeled “Kitchen” had video games, paper, and clothes in there. Also, wardrobe boxes just had our things thrown in there. So my husband’s business suit, tuxedos, and my designer dresses were literally thrown in the box. The movers never bothered to hang up our clothes on the wardrobe box rack. Shoes, pillows, blankets, kitchen appliances, my husband’s boxing gear, etc. were just thrown on top of our expensive clothes. There was no order to the packing. A 3 year old could have done better.

My husband executive desk had pieces broken off, our new front load washing machine had a dent, and boxes were not taped, or not taped properly. This job was pure slop! This was not our first time doing a long distance move, so were no strangers to moving. But this was the first time a professional company ruined every aspect of our move. So not only did they not honor our move out date; have movers show up hours late to move us out; could not properly communicate to us where in the United States our things were and when they would be delivered; not honor the delivery date; not honor the $350 shuttle we paid for; and literally threw our items in boxes that we worked hard for like it was garbage.

I spoke with Amanda Rey about this and received an insincere apology from her. I also found out she is not Matthew’s supervisor as he initially told me. Amanda just works in customer service. I told Amanda this was ridiculous and I could’ve done a much better job than what I paid them for. I was seeking compensation for the following: not honoring the terms of our contract, having movers show up late, not receiving our items not until well after the guaranteed delivery date, reimbursement for the $350.00 shuttle that never showed up for the delivery and damages to our items. Amanda had the nerve to say that the $350.00 shuttle fee might not be reimbursed to me because the driver did get a shuttle. Excuse me, the driver did not show up in a shuttle. The driver didn’t even know about the shuttle, because Matthew never told him! My mom told the driver and showed him the receipt confirming we paid for the shuttle. Our contract with Cross Country Long Distance Movers was to have a shuttle show up to the storage facility. The driver arrived in an 18-wheeler. The driver had to pay for the shuttle (aka U-Haul) out of his own money. So what happened to the $350.00 we paid? It lined Cross Country Long Distance Movers pockets for services they didn’t render.

I couldn’t believe the gall of Amanda. I even told her the driver left some of our furniture on his truck and discovered this when he was in Nevada. We had to wait to receive these furniture pieced from him via mail.
Amanda just emailed me a claim form, told me to go through our boxes and fill the claim form indicating the damages. She would work hard to make sure the compensation was fair. I told her that I could not move around all of our things in the storage facility myself, because I was having surgery with a long healing timeframe. Additionally my husband works irregular hours as an ER physician, so soliciting his help would take extra time. I would need some time to fill out the claim form. I spoke with her and her associate, Nick, who is equally rude and uncaring about how we were treated as customers. Nick said they would give me until January 2018 to submit the claim form then hung up in my face.

I am in the process of filling out the claim form, but since we still are not moved into a home yet, I’m concerned that once everything if fully unpacked, we’ll discover more damage to our belongings. Once I submit a claim form, I cannot go back to Cross Country Long Distance Movers to file an additional claim. I don’t appreciate how Cross Country Long Distance Movers ridiculed us during this whole process. We paid over $6,100 for this move and we treated like garbage. They bumbled our move to the point of gross inefficiency.

Moving is already stressful enough. Cross Country Long Distance Movers added additional stress to this situation and handled each step unprofessionally. I am writing this formal complaint so others can learn from this and never use Cross Country Long Distance Movers for their short or long distance move.

Please don’t ever use Integrated Moving Solutions out of New Jersey, they have an F on the BBB and i still used them for my move from New Hampshire to Florida. It was the worst, they picked up late and delivered days late and to top it all off some of my stuff was delivered in pieces!! Worst company ever… Don’t use them and you can never get anyone on the phone just voicemail and they wont respond!!

Learned the hard way that when Coleman Allied in Shawnee, KS says they are A+ accredited with the Better Business Bureau, that just means they pay the BBB membership annual fee AND respond to every compliant. I was sick reading the horror stories, just like we experienced and Coleman Allied (a partner of North American and the insurance carrier Eagle, which covers both)…hundreds of complaints and thousands of dollars in loss/damage…and the response is “not our fault”…yet they have the A+ because they responded. Very disappointed. 10 days late in delivery, and someone told us the reason we were getting 3 different stories WHEN we could reach customer service, dispatch, warehouse or sales rep, was so they could disclaim liability (weather or broken truck/mechanical issue outside of their control) when our furniture was sitting in a warehouse. Refused the reimbursement they promised due to the delay (said we could not prove it was their fault) and when they said food reimbursement, that does not count grocery store items (where we bought the food for the family for the 10 day delay). Promised delivery every single day so could not take a OTR route in order to be home….lost wages. Absolutely unethical business practices, but they still continue to be in business. It is a shame. Read the BBB complaints.

Please do not use Expert Van Line…I used them for a move from IL to CO…it costed more than estimated; I am still missing a 46″ flatscreen television, jewelry, amkeup & colognes, an expensive comforter; broken headboard, lamp and other items; missing 6 boxes of belongings. They made an offer to resolve, but it doesn’t even cover the cost of the tv. If I ever have to move again, best bet is to do it myself and hire my own workers, at least I’ll be able to keep up with all my household goods.

Please don’t use DIRECT VAN LINES of New Jersey! My husband and I are still waiting for delivery from Massachusetts to San Diego. First delivery date was March 7th. We arrived in San Diego March 7th and was told by the movers that they would be here before we got there. Direct Van Lines is so unprofessional and rude. BBB gave them a D+ rating.
Also New Frontier Van Lines whom substracked Direct Van Lines has a BBB C rating. Report these movers to Local Police, file a complaint with your local Attorney General, and also file a
complaint with FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration)

I had the trouble of getting all my stuff back. I used Top Rate Movers, And I lost all my tee shirts, shoes of mine and my husband and did not get all my boxes back. When i called this morning they said they do not have it in their storage units. It is all marked wit yellow tickets with numbers on them. Was it stolen? Mean while we have lost important stuff. Paid a lot of money to move from Georgia to Pennsylvania. Had a company called World Green Movers and the same thing. They tried to keep my motor cycle when I paid for full delivery, Got it back but cost me more money. I think they are all thieves. Now I have to fight Top Rate Movers. What a name, Top Rate.

I booked a move with Trans United Van Lines to make a move from Florida to Arizona, They wanted $1050 down and I asked for a clause in the contract to cancel the move contract should the sale of my house not go through. The buyer backed out so I have been trying to get my money back now for a month. TRANS UNITED VAN LINES is one of worst to deal with period. Never trust them. This is a company out of Pacoima Ca., I contracted with a Miami Fl. office.

Do not use Patriot Moving Group. They gave me my first over the phone estimate. Then three days before the move we did another over the phone detailed estimate which was pretty much the same as the first estimate except I had sold some things so my inventory list went down. However the new estimate went up by $800 because as they said I had more cubic feet than first discussed. Time was running out so I went with them. Then the movers showed up three days later and told me I had more cubic feet than what was entered on the list so I would have to pay another $800. I figured it was an over site because it was approximately the same charge but no. They told me I didn’t have to sign but they would not be able to move my things. The new owners were moving in the next day so I had no choice. After complaining to Patriot Moving Group, they said I used more space in the truck than we had discussed. My cost went from $3500 to $5100. I am filing a complaint. They are big time scammers.

Thanks for sharing such an Informative post!!

Hi, I was initially planning to move to Delaware and contacted American Moving Experts. Initially, they were nice and provided me with the quotes, and also asked me to pay the deposit of around 800 USD. After some time I had to move to Tampa instead of Delaware and I contacted them if they can help me to relocate to Tampa instead of Delaware. They were very rude and told me they don’t provide interstate service from (Sanford) to Tampa. I told them if they can’t provide service, I have to find another mover and asked for my deposit back. I asked them they can keep whatever administrative charges occurred they can keep it with them and provide me the remaining. They were very hesitant to give the single penny back and after some time they gave me an option to give me back 250 out of 800. I denied the offer. Now, I moved to Tampa with another mover and I never used their services but still, they want to keep all the money with them.
Please let me know what actions can I take to get my money back.

To say this was the worst experience I have had with any business is an understatement. I used a horrible company called Final Destination Moving and Storage. I scheduled my move for October 2022 back in March 2022. I was told that pricing is determined by cubic feet, mileage, and time of the year. I confirmed my moving date numerous times throughout the summer months for October 26, 2022. I needed this date since my lease ended on the 26th and was buying a house in Wyoming on the 28th of October. It wasn’t until the day before my scheduled move that I was informed of a “backup moving date.” The 11 people I spoke to about moving dates, sales, quotes, etc., failed to mention this to me. The lady on the phone said “well you can use another moving company if this doesn’t work for you” knowing that all of my money to this point was non-refundable. Also, a week prior to your move quality assurance gives you a call to finalize your inventory and update the goods you are shipping. I had a length, width, and height for every item that we were taking and ended up adding 7 items to my original list, this cost me over $1,500 additional. The customer service in almost every interaction was poor. From hanging up on me to disrespecting me, including the customer service manager (a real gem), I was treated poorly. This company treats people, and myself a veteran, piss poorly on purpose since all of the money is non-refundable. Every time you speak to someone from the company there is new or different information that is dramatically different. Now that we are a day late for my pick up the items from our “final” inventory were far shorter than the amount of things we had. How is this possible? The movers that showed up from USA Moving said this company under-quotes customers all of the time. How far was Final Destination off even with me giving them exact dimensions for every item? 1,000 cubic feet. They were off by 1,000 cubic feet. Not 20 cubic feet, or even 100… no, they were off by 1,000 cubic feet. This was even after my wife and I threw away items in front of the movers, many of them were special items and some things from our kids. Meanwhile, our stuff is on the truck already loaded, and they tell us the 1,000 cubic feet difference will be an extra $5,000. My family and I are closing on a house the next day, moving across the country, and this $6,500 curveball happens the week before with quality assurance being $1,500 extra and a $5,000 bombshell the day of the move. I looked at Uhaul, Penske, and Budget Truck. Guess how many trucks are available at the size I needed in San Diego, CA at the time I needed it? None. They had us right where they wanted us, left to pay these hostage fees to move our stuff. No other moving company could help us in a days notice, we were scheduled and paid since March with this company and they failed us at every step of the way. We had to get creative with how to come up with these funds and still be able to close on our house. Fast forward to the delivery day, numerous items were broken. Antique chests, multiple boxes of glassware that was wrapped and protected so heavily that it was clear the boxes were dropped (or delivered like in Ace Ventura), our grill, they lost a wheel on our office chair, some of the boxes were dropped off upside down (it was hard to keep track of all of them because everything was happening so fast). Afterward I had many conversations with supervisors at the company, Stacy and Holly primarily. What they continue to relay is that “the price you were given was just an estimate and you signed the paperwork.” I understand that it’s an estimate and that I signed it, but being off by 1,000 cubic feet costing me a curveball of $6,500 the week prior and of my move is not right. Not to mention the horrible customer service, and delivering my stuff broken. This company is a scam because of the non-refundable business model they choose to go with. No information is given about your moving day or time until the day before, the final price isn’t given to you until the move is over. BBB complaint went unresolved. The company’s supervisors Stacy and Holly were horrible at returning phone calls, keeping me updated with anything.

North American Movers, LLC had packers in my home that robbed me of fine jewelry. They won’t return any of my inquiries. The moving industry needs a good overhaul!!! No communication as I moved across country, then charged me an enormous amount after unloading. AND this was on a Sunday when banks and post offices were closed. Horrible situations.

I cannot even give one star to this company. I strongly advise against working with these two moving companies. The Royal Palm Moving Company charged me over the phone a total of $1588 (for 300 cubic feet) and asked for a $500 deposit without disclosing that it was non-refundable. This occurred on 1/26/2024. Four days before my moving day on 3/5/2024, they informed me that my belongings required more truck space (424 cubic feet), so they charged me an additional $2479.04 and requested an extra $300 as a second deposit. When I tried to cancel my contract, I discovered they wouldn’t refund my initial $500 deposit and instead charged me again, alleging my items needed more space without sending an inspector beforehand.
On my moving day (3/9/2024), they subcontracted another company, G & M Moving and Storage Corp, to pack and load my items onto the truck. The movers placed my items in separate boxes to occupy more truck space, even though they could have used fewer boxes. They used specialized, expensive boxes without consulting me. I was left with no choice but to pay whatever they demanded on moving day. If I wanted to cancel due to the high price, I would have lost my $800 deposit that I had already paid, and I couldn’t find another moving company at that time.
Additionally, they failed to deliver my belongings on time and showed little concern despite charging exorbitant fees and knowing the urgency of needing my items. My questions are:
1. Why didn’t they send someone to estimate the total price beforehand?
2. Why did they send another company without informing me? I had not contracted with this second company; my contract was with Royal Palm Moving. When I complained to Royal Palm Moving, they ignored my calls multiple times and eventually stated that my belongings took up more truck space. If their movers chose to pack my items separately to create more space and then charged me more, that is not my problem. It is their trick.
Finally, the manager of Royal Palm Moving only provided me with the phone number of G & M Moving and Storage Corp and suggested I deal with them directly. He showed a lack of concern for customer problems. Both companies charged me $5000, even though the initial quote was $1588. I want to inform both Royal Palm Executive Interstate Movers and G & M Moving and Storage Corp that customers are dissatisfied with the way they handled this situation. This is the only assistance I am requesting from the FMCSA. You need to stop these kinds of companies to play with customers. I filed a complaint with Better Business Bureau.”
Today is March 18 and they have not brought my stuff yet…..I have to go to work. I have life. What kind of help you can do for me. Writing a complaint does not work for me at this time.