USA Logistics Moving

We got totally scammed and an absolute nightmare. Price of interstate move more than doubled ($11,000 to $23,000) once the truck was loaded. We signed, as our house was sold and we had to be out the next day. Once we finally got our stuff, so much was broken and downright missing. Expensive toolbox full of SnapOn tools gone: magically never was listed on the manifest. Claim process a nightmare, never did get the meager cheque promised. Was told 6 months, now being told the arbitration company has to pay, arbitration company says USA Logistics has to pay. Round and round it goes. CROOKS!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $23490

I've never had to write a review like this, for any thing or any service. I feel that it is very important for me to take the time to write this one, as anyone even thinking about speaking to the companies involved with this move should run in the opposite direction, and fast.

We booked our move originally through United State Moving Services, a veteran owned company (I am a disable veteran myself, so this was definitely a plus for me personally). So, they are the "broker" for the move. The initial pickup of our belongings was serviced through USA Logistics, and the Drop-off company was through Ackermann Express (apparently sub-contracted through USA Logistics).

When we booked our move from Arizona to Arkansas, the representatives name that booked our move through United States Moving Services was Sam Gaines. We had to do a VERY detailed call where we listed just about every single item for our move. We were a two-location pickup, with one location being our 10x20 storage unit, and the second our two bedroom apartment. Sam was very adamant that he quoted us "overboard" with an "absolutely full top to bottom" storage unit, and then everything in our apartment as well (down to the laundry basket)... a few days prior to the move, we had a scheduled "quality assurance" call with a Michael Cooper, who then advised that we increase our total qubic feet for the move "just to be extra safe". So, this was an additional $2400.00 on top of what we paid originally.

I'll try to make this as summarized as possible, but it's important to make everyone aware of how this scam works, because it absolutely is a scam. Well, when the pickup company arrived, they started at our storage unit. Here's the kicker, when we were done with the storage unit, we were already at the capacity for our move. Here's another kicker, our storage unit wasn't even 60% full. So, the company loaded everything up, the day before my family is supposed to drive across the country, and by the time the apartment was loaded, we were over $6800.00 over according to their equation for cubic feet. They said we either pay them, or they would unload everything in our apartment parking lot. We didn't have a choice. We paid. We ended up having to throw away much of our furniture and other things like chairs and shelving just to be able to afford the move.

Finally, the delivery company gets to our home a few days later, and says they can't get their truck to our home, so we have to pay another $1300.00 for a "shuttle service" using a smaller truck. They (without our knowledge) cross-loaded all of our belongings to a HUGE tractor trailer that wouldn't be able to fit into most neighborhoods, when Michael Cooper assured us we were booking a "whole 35ft box truck just for our move"...

When the movers unloaded our items, it was horrible. They damaged our brand new home, put our furniture back together incorrectly, and stacked boxes clearly labeled FRAGILE UPSIDE DOWN. We have photos of literally everything.

In conclusion, no less than 80% of our furniture and fragile belongings were smashed. We are working on a claim right now, and trying to find an attorney. We paid over 13K for this move, and they have completely taken us to the ringer. Words can't do it justice. These people are the worst kind of people, without shame or morals of any kind as a company. We are praying that we can get some sort of justice... don't risk working with anyone involved. I'm going to be sharing this review everywhere possible, and making a video as well.

Thanks for reading.

To the companies involved, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $13000

I am so glad that my move is over, from Irvine CA to AZ during tough weather. These guys are very professional. The foreman Ben, assured me my chandelier would arrive safe. This item has been passed down through generations and it is a very emotional piece to our family. My heart was relieved when they unwrap my furniture and saw that even the baby grand piano was in perfect condition. When that chandelier came out of that crate they made for it. I immediately tipped the guys, it was my only real concern and the crew took care of me.

Usually I am ok and expecting damages in this industry but these guys honestly did a flawless job. I would recommend USA Logistics to anyone with sentimental values.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3400

I called these guys to get an estimate. First mistake. Always have them come out to see what you have. This is their scam. They give you a low bid based on the # of rooms you have. Then when they come out they will always have an excuse. Whether it is your furniture is heavier than expected or bigger than expected, you underestimated your squat footage (whether you did or not) or too many boxes, even if you have the correct count. My move was estimated at around $6000. Even though the contract said “ final” estimate, they claimed it was just an estimate. The move ended up costing me $17,000. They have you in a bind because they start moving your furniture to the outside. By the time you know what they are going to charge, your furniture is outside, you are frazzled about the scam and they will leave with your deposit and leave your furniture outside if you won’t agree to their “new” price. In the end, every piece of my furniture was either scratched or broken, except one. Don’t let the name “USA Logistics” fool you. According to their accents, the owners appear to be Russian. THESE GUYS ARE SCAMMERS!

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $17200

We contacted Navistar for a move in November, thinking that they were an actual moving company, and not just brokers. Navistar then quoted us a price of $6,123 based upon the amount of furniture and boxes that we were expected to move.

On the day of the move (11/11/2022), the driver asked us when we would like them to deliver our things. We said we wanted them delivered in three days (11/14/2022). We were told that this was doable. They began disassembling our furniture and carrying out moving boxes onto the street in front of our house. When most of our boxes and furniture were on the street, he changed the moving cost from $6,123 to $19,000! He also said that he “wasn’t going to nickel-and-dime” us for extra charges, and that he gave us a discount from what should have been $22,000. We were obviously shocked and at a loss for words. But he said that unless we agreed to the new price of $19,000, that he couldn’t continue and could not load our items onto the truck. He tried is make us feel better by saying that the brokers do this all the time (give a low estimate) to get the business and that he is stuck being the “bad guy” who has to revise the moving cost. He also said that, due to the amount of boxes we had, we were fortunate that he brought a bigger 35 foot truck instead of the normal 26 foot truck. We felt that we did not have a choice and told him to continue.

We arrived at our destination location on 11/13/22 and waited for the confirmation call regarding the delivery time. Since we did not hear from them by 2 pm on 11/14/22, we called Navistar. They checked with a “dispatcher” and said that the delivery will not take place on 11/15/22 as promised, but that it could be later on the week, possibly 11/17 or 11/18. So we then called the actual movers, USA Logistics, at 323-244-4399 which was the phone number listed on the revised contract. We found out that the phone was no longer in service. We then called their toll free # 833-252-5903 which was answered by someone who said to call back on 11/18, and that by law, they had up to 21 business days to make the delivery. Finally, we also called the driver who actually drove and supervised the loading of the truck. He did not pick up and so we left him a message to ask about the delivery date that was promised.

At this point, we got deeply concerned and suspicious about all the events that had happened. We then started looking at reviews of USA Logistics on the internet and discovered that they had very, very bad reviews. Thankfully, one of the reviewers (a previous customer/victim of USA Logistics) had a very detailed plan as to what action steps we could take. Based upon the recommendation of that reviewer, we contacted Michael Garcia, an attorney who specializes in interstate moving company cases. His number is 877-299-0550 and he is based out of San Diego, California. He was incredibly helpful, and with his assistance, we filed a complaint against USA Logistics with the Department of Transportation (DOT). From this point forward, with an attorney and the federal investigator looking into our situation, things moved very quickly. Within one day, the movers agreed to honor the initial estimate of $6,123 and completed the move on 11/18/22. Our situation would not have resolved so quickly without the help from the previous reviewer, Michael Garcia, J.D., and the DOT federal investigator.

The aftermath:

It turns out that the “35 foot truck” was a lie to convince us that the three-fold increase in moving cost was justified. When the items finally arrived at our destination location, they were in a 26 foot truck with room to spare (the truck also had another shipment as well!)

We are grateful to the reviewer whose detailed review and suggestions helped us. We are also grateful to Michael Garcia who made it possible to end this nightmare scenario.

However, upon unpacking and unloading our items, we found that most of furniture was damaged to some extent, that some were in such bad shape that they were unusable. Many of our tables and chairs had broken legs, and bookcases had cracks. Many of our boxes labeled “FRAGILE” were not handled with care, and many of our cutlery and china items were broken. We also discovered that our nearly new refrigerator was broken and that we need to have that replaced. We have moved many times in the past 30 years, but this was the worst experience that we have encountered. Our suggestion to others considering an interstate move is to, instead of using an interstate moving company, consider U-pack or PODS. This way you are in charge of packing and moving, and not at the mercy of a moving company who could take advantage of trusting customers.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6123

I experienced the same problem with other commenters. I was contacted told one quote by a moving coming venture vans in Palm Beach FL. The day of my move USA logistics shows up and tell me by quote went from 2400 to 4100 for a tiny one bedroom mind you had had only a few furniture items and 30 box of most was my six years toys. I had to be out of my apt so I had to give them my cc. However, they only wanted money orders. I explained that I only had the money for the 1900 payment not the new 2400 payment they requested. They took the cc. During this time I attempted to call venture vans but no one answered or returned my call. Let me add 60% of my items were still outside when they came to me with the new cost.

I also confirmed with Juan the driver that I was getting my items stored until I got a final address to where my items would be moving. Juan say yes and said the monthly rate is 120 a month.

Over the course of a month I was in contact with Katherine and Ashley at venture van lines. Who continued to confined my items were safe In a their storage in LA. On July 24 I received a called from a trucker and callls from Brenda and Caroline from USA logistics. They were nasty and over three day threatening to auction my items. They demanded payment with a money orders however I didn’t have it b/c i wasnt aware they were coming. With my back against the wall in fear and under distress I gave my cc and iD information. I then got call from a supervisor I think LOU. Who threaten to take my items unless I emailed them my CC and ID. They sent an electronic form, but wanted it printed and not submitted. This was a horrible experience like no other. I’m in contact with the police and my CC company. I was told there companies are the cartel and use this as money laundering. I’m fear for my life to be honest. Please do not use these companies.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4100

This has been the worst moving experience I have ever had to deal with. I highly recommend you DO NOT hire this company to assist with your move. I hired USA Logistics to do a full packing service and transport of my items from California to Texas. Upon pick up, I knew I was going to have issues. The driver in charge of the move began by doing a five-minute walk through of my home, from which he determined my price would be several thousand dollars over my estimated price, however I had LESS furniture than my estimate indicated. I was beyond surprised because I had a walk-through completed by a competing company that uses the same inventory software and confirmed their estimate was accurate.

After several minutes of back and forth, the lowest price I was able to negotiate was still over $1k more than my estimate. The driver told me that he would leave my items in my garage if I didn't "agree to this price and stop wasting his time." At this point, I needed my items moved and didn't have time to hire a different moving company. I also felt if I didn't de-escalate the situation, the movers would intentionally damage my items. I was pressured into agreeing to a price I did not feel comfortable with. I reluctantly agreed, but spoke with a supervisor shortly after who gave conflicting information and stated he disagreed with the way my move was handled and would have upper management contact me first thing on Monday to resolve the issue.

During the week my items were in transit, I called the office, the emergency line, and sent emails to any contacts at the company that I could find. Nobody returned my calls or emails, and the few times I did reach someone on the phone they told me they would have a supervisor contact me back, which never happened.

When my items were finally delivered, the majority of my furniture was broken and damaged beyond repair. My bed frame was broken in half, my large screen TV shattered, and numerous other items broken and scratched. Even the driver of this truck said he was appalled with the way my items were handled and that unloading the truck made him never want to work for this company again.

Robert, the supervisor, continued to promise me a partial refund of my money. However, when I would call to follow up on the status, he would never answer my calls or return my messages. I finally posted an honest review of the grievances they caused me and he reached out to me right away. Robert stated that he had planned to issue me a refund check, but was unable to do so unless I deleted anything I posted online about their company. He even sent me a photo of the check he refused to mail me. Needless to say, this is a crooked business that will try to bribe you whenever it benefits them, but as soon as they have their money they could not care less about the customer.

It has been a nightmare dealing with this company and I would not wish it upon anyone. If you care about your items or your sanity, hire someone else to handle your move.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5200