Empire Moving Group LLC

BEWARE - DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! They are not accredited with the BBB, contract out your move then claim no responsibility for anything the “carrier” does. Their customer service is extremely condescending and rude. Their sales guy pulled a bait and switch on me - his name was Chris - he fast talked me with a low price, saying I could change things if needed and that ended up being completely false. There are so many hidden things in these contracts and they company does not care if you are treated badly. I truly cannot believe they are even in business. I am truly terrified to find out what my delivery will even be like in the coming weeks. They should be ashamed of themselves. If I could give them zero stars I would.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

*******BEWARE - this company acts as the middlemen or BROKERS for another moving company–All Points Moving in NJ.*******

This was my first time hiring a moving company for such a long-distance move; however, I was told lies to make a sale while dealing with a “middleman” company.

I worked with Chris beginning early December 2021 for a long-distance move from NY to TX. Chris advised Empire Moving Group/his company were the “direct movers” and to not “communicate with another other moving company”; however, the two days before my pickup date, I was contacted by a representative with All Points Moving regarding when the truck would arrive to my home. All Points Moving had all my information and the exact contract I discussed with Empire Moving Group. After getting off the phone, I attempted several times to contact Chris to gather further understanding of the situation; he never returned my calls nor has even called to check on the status of my move in any capacity.

I would never recommend this company as they only tell lies to their prospective and current clients. They absolutely ruined my moving experience.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $3200

We will start with the fact that they aren’t a moving company, they subcontract. Please feel free to contact me before hiring these clowns. 702-888-4705. They subcontract every step of the way too (more on that later). [NAME EDIT] quoted me at $2800 for my move of the furniture I told him we would put on the truck and 20 boxes. I asked him about the some fine print in the contract about the moving company being able to change the price and he promised me that the price would not change unless we added items to the move, also told me the price would come down if we removed things. Moving Day and we ended up removing 4 items because we decided we didn’t want them. The movers show up and tell us we have more stuff than they thought and that they knew nothing about the 20 boxes. We have to pay an additional $1370 for the additional space. They actually did a good job wrapping up and protecting our valuable furniture. We get moved to our new location and call Empire to give them the exact address and inform them we are ready for delivery. Couple days later I get a call from the movers informing me they’re going to load the truck but need my address, so I give it to them. Couple more days go by and I get a call that the truck is loaded but they need an address, agin I give it to them and they tell me my delivery will be in 3-4 days. Fourth day I get a call and they tell me 2-3 days. Second day they call and say they’ll be here the next day between 8 and 10. 10:30 the next day I call them to make sure they meant AM, driver tells me she’s in town just waiting for her helpers to meet her so she can come to my house (this is a “professional” moving company, why is her team not with her?). Then calls me again saying she needs my address (4th time!). Finally an overweight woman in her 40s shows up with one guy and the first thing she tells me is she can’t park right in front of my place so they’ll have to charge me for a “long haul” of my furniture. I told her no, you’ll park right in front, after watching this woman struggle to park the truck in a very large space, she also almost hit my neighbors car, I realized she had no clue what she was doing. Finally she gets out and tells me she can’t open the truck if I don’t pay her the remaining balance in cash, money order, or Venmo. Can’t even make sure she has all of my stuff on the truck. So I did it, recorded it as well so I had some sort of evidence. Then she looks at my house and says “oh, you have stairs, that’s going to cost $150 extra.” I told her the contract says one flight of stairs are free, also that [NAME EDIT] from Empire promised me, and emailed me the promise, that if there was a charge for stairs he would waive it. She said that didn’t matter, they don’t work for Empire. Then I told her the contract not only said one flight was free but that additional flights are $75. She said because I have so much stuff the price is doubled. I should point out that I moved from a one bedroom. I had one bedroom and living room furniture plus 19 boxes. I paid the $150 just to get this nightmare to end. Her and this other guy took my mattress into the house and asked where it went, my wife told them the master bedroom, the woman sighed (she was exhausted already) and carried it there. Then she sat in the truck and got on her phone. For the next 30 minutes only the guy was carrying small things into the house. Finally another guy shows up and starts helping. I asked the guy if he works for them and he said no, they contacted his boss and hired him for the day. I asked him about who he normally works for and was unable to verify any of the information he gave me. Pretty sure they found this guy on Craigslist or a temp agency. Really professional company here. After they unloaded and started to leave I asked if they were going to reassemble the furniture that was disassembled by their “company” in the first place and she said no, they didn’t disassemble so they can’t reassemble. I informed her it was in the contract so if they’re not going to do it then they need to give me some money back. She decided to reassemble. Half way through reassembling one item she told us she was late for her next delivery, we wouldn’t get money back for them not finishing the job and she left. We started reassembling our stuff, found that our desk was missing pieces, the screws for the legs on one of our TVs were missing and our bar stools looked like they were used in a WWE cage match. These things weren’t noticed earlier because they were wrapped and taped. That’s my fault for not checking everything thoroughly while they were still here. We called Empire to tell them about the issues and problems along the way, we were told they will look into it and get back to us but considering they screwed us from the start and every step of the way I’m sure they have loopholes buried in their contract to protect them from everything because this an awful company and should all be in jail.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4200

DO NOT USE EMPIRE MOVING GROUP! I hired Empire Moving group to move my son's belongs from California to Florida. The Sales representative, Kyle Clark, gave me a very low quote of $1670.72. He claimed the reason for this low rate was because it would be a shared truck with other people's items also moving from California to Florida. I agreed to the contract and gave them an initial deposit of $680.00 paid by a bank wire transfer. Kyle claimed he would help me personally through every stage of the move and made me feel like I could trust him. I found out soon after that, the number he gave me, which he claimed was his personal cell phone was fake. And I never reached or spoke to him personally again after that. About a week before the move, a representative from Empire called me and asked if I had any items I needed to add prior to the move. I added a few more items and also requested a second stop in Florida. The estimate was adjusted and I was charged an extra $200 up front. I was told that a company called Map Express logistics would be the trucking company providing the actual move and I would need to have a cashiers check made out to them in the amount of $695 when they came to pick up the items to be moved. When the movers arrived at my son's apartment in California, the movers showed up in a Budget Rental truck. No company logo was seen on anything they came with. I did not get the names of anyone that I dealt with in California. The man came into the apartment and looked around then stated that I had 3x the amount of items and cubic feet listed on my binding agreement. This statement was absolutely false. He claimed that the truck was not big enough to take all my items and then put it with other people's items also going on the same truck. He said he would need to call his company and see what he could do. He made a call and then came back and told me I would need to pay an extra $4200 on the spot in addition to the $695, and in addition to any amount I owed Empire. I told the man that he was incorrect and that I counted all the items, bought the exact box size that I was told to get and that I would not be paying more than what I was quoted. We went back and forth and he went outside a few more times to make phone calls. The next thing I knew, a woman with a thick accent called me claiming to represent Empire, told me that I better pay the difference or they wouldn't move me. The woman was actually yelling at me, telling me that it was my fault, and the Empire agreement was just an "estimate" not a binding agreement. Finally, the men left without moving me. It was November 27,2020, the lease was up December 1, 2020. All services to the apartment were being shut off in the apartment on December 30,2020 and we had nowhere to go and had no back up plan. No to mention, Los Angeles had just ordered a stay at home mandate that was starting on November 30, 2020. I contacted Empire to tell them what happened. They showed zero sympathy, and told me they would find me another mover, but it would take a few days. They did not care that the lease was up, and that were forced to stay at a hotel. I called Empire the next day, which was a Saturday and could not get through to anyone. They do not have an answering service working, the message just kept circling. I called several times that day and finally ended up having to hire U Haul to move my son's belongings. On Monday, December 30, 2020, I contacted Empire though email requesting a refund for services not rendered, they refused, saying that the deposit was non-refundable, even though they did not complete the move. They also stated that I refused their services when they offered to find another mover for me. This was a lie. Bottom line. This is not a moving company. They are a broker. They do not care about their customers, they take your money and then don't do the job.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2270

My background: 12 years military, 6 prior cross country moves, second move involving non-government contracted movers.

I chose to hire movers myself vice using those provided by the military in hopes of preserving several nice pieces of furniture/antiques. I received quotes from several other carriers, none of which asked me more than the number/types of rooms I had. Then I spoke with Daniel at Empire. He spent an hour with me on the phone detailing every large item I needed moved and talking through smaller things (books, china, etc) that would need to be packed. He was very nice, professional, and helpful. The quote from Empire came back at $12000, $1500 more than the other quotes I'd received. But given how thorough Daniel had been, I chose to move forward with Empire assuming the others would cost that much when all was said and done anyway. Daniel also told me that the owners were Marines and offered me a large discount for my service. I paid a large down-payment and all went well until the move itself. My house was under contract with a quickly approaching closing date.

*Note: All quotes from Empire were sent via a link that was not able to be downloaded and was not accessible afterward.

I was provided a window of a few days that the move would take place in and the day prior to that window opening, I received a call from Brittany at Empire. She stated that, after reviewing my estimate from Daniel, the price would need to increase by $2000. I questioned this since I had just informed them they would not be moving a full size couch which was already included in the estimate. She insisted that the price needed to go up to ensure space on the truck. She also told me that they had their best crew lined up for me, but they wouldn't arrive until a day after my initial move window. I was not pleased so she offered "financial compensation" for the trouble (which I never received).

Brittany then informed me that if I didn't pay the $2000 cash immediately (while she waited on the phone), I would lose my scheduled move entirely. Given the deposit and impending closing date, my only option was to pay the amount and hope movers actually arrived.

The movers arrived as promised and walked through the house (during this time, one of them named Tibor who had never served in the military claimed to have given me the discount that Daniel said was from the Marine owners - I don't know exactly what lie was told but it was clear there were too many for even them to keep track of). They started moving/disassembling furniture and then Tibor informed me that the price was going to increase again. To $18000.

I objected, but he warned me that they could leave without moving me and take the money I already paid ($4500 deposit + $2000 increase) or I could accept the $18000 total and let them move me. If I didn't accept $18000, he was very cautionary that I could end up paying $25K+ for the move. What they did was not illegal because nothing was placed on the truck when this transpired. But I was in a corner (with the money I'd already paid them and the sale of my house) and they new it.

The movers that unloaded my goods in TN were excellent and were shocked at how poorly everything was packed by the "best crew" in MD. Multiple antiques were damaged, books were literally thrown into boxes, and a hole was punched through the top of my china cabinet. All other factors aside, it was the worst move damage-wise I experienced even with all of my military moves included.

This is the first time in my life I've ever been fooled like this or "taken" for money. It's embarrassing and sickening and I tried to forget it. But I hope this will serve as a cautionary tale for anyone looking to move. You cannot trust Empire Moving Group. They are not incompetent, they are aggressively manipulative and strive to take as much money as possible. Please do not use this company.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $18000

Do not use this company for any reason! I had my wife initially call them to get a quote on moving us from Rochester NY to Florida. “Billy” talked her through the estimate by using our real estate listing and looking at the pictures and estimated that we would need 905 cubit feet of space for an estimate of $5,100 dollars of which we had to give them a non-refundable deposit of $1,800. He pressured my wife to sign the estimate, which she did and forwarded me the document for my review. I reviewed it and immediately called “Billy” and he assured me he had gone over everything with my wife and the “Binding Estimate” would be very close to what we would be actually charged. He said the rate per cubit foot would not change nor would the bulky item charges because he included everything in the estimate. He assured me another person would call me 3 days prior to shipping to go over everything and make sure what we were shipping matched his estimate. Well prior to the 3 day window, I measured and took pictures of everything we were shipping because his estimate was nowhere near what we were actually shipping. When “Suzy” called to go over everything I sent her a detailed spreadsheet listing every box with dimensions along with photos of everything else along with dimensions. She then recalculated our new estimate to be $8,200 and would need an additional non-refundable deposit of $1,449. Now keep in mind this is 3 days before my closing on my house. Because they really screwed up the original estimate she waived additional bulky item fees and also raised our “discount” from $500 to $750. Now we wait for the movers. The movers were supposed to be there at 9:00 AM and showed up at 2:30 PM. They called several times to tell me they were 1 hour away but could never tell me where they were. When they finally arrived, they determined that we weren’t charged enough for the bulky items and they contacted their boss because they are subcontractors to Empire Moving Group. Empire Moving Group finally calls me and says they need to get $900 more for bulky items and when I tell them that Suzy already waived those fees they say sorry but you have to pay more. I ask to talk to Suzy and they say no. I ask to talk to a supervisor and they say “I am the supervisor”. I tell them I’m not willing to pay it and they say “you will forfeit your deposit and send the movers away and they hung up the phone on me” They know they got you and you have no choice. The mover proceed to load their truck and now they claim they cannot load everything in 1400 cubit feet. It’s going to take the whole truck and they cannot not ship my 2 motorcycles nor can they take a lot of the furniture we sent photos of. They recalculate my new price to be based on 2100 cubit feet of space totaling over $12,000. They also will not unload your stuff until you pay them cash in full. The movers (subcontractors) finally leave at 8:30 PM and head back to Philadelphia where they unload my stuff into their warehouse. They loaded our house on October 26th and we finally received it on November 14th. The driver told me if you do not call them you will not get your stuff delivered. In addition to us on his truck he had 2 deliveries that were picked up from May. As we were the last load on the truck we were the first to come off. The top of the trailer has marking for the total cubit feet used to any point on the truck. Our load consumed 1500 cubit feet and we were charge for 2100. In addition we were charged for “bulky items” that they didn’t even ship. This company and all the associated subcontractors are screwing everyone. Empire Moving Group is so crooked you could screw them into the ground! Buyer Beware! I could go on forever but suffice it to say, DO NOT CONSIDER THESE GUYS! I would love for them to call me to review my review!

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12000

Empire Moving Group is not a moving company, but just a booking agent. Though you will sign a contract with them, they hire moving companies for you, and deny any responsibility for the quality of the move. The phone agents are ok, most of them polite and trying to work with you. The main problem is Empire Moving Group is using sometimes very bad movers like, from my experience, Triple Crown Moving LLC, and you will not know which company will actually move your stuff to decide if it’s a reliable company. So, if my car was moved quickly with a car moving company, without any hitch, the experience of moving my household stuff with Triple Crown was just horrible. In the day of the move, the guy pressured you for much more money, moving from Houston to Orlando took in one month, and half of the stuff were scratched or broken.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000

These people are a ripe off. I move every 2 years for my job and never had a move like this one. They are very nice on the phone but when they get to your house (not them personally but the movers they hire) they add all kinds of charges. Like how far it is to your house from where they park. They count steps on your stairs and they make you empty out all your dressers (this was a first for me but it adds boxes to your move). I ended out paying an extra 400 and some dollars (which when he did a walk through which took him about 10 minutes, if that, he told me with the things I had it was going to cost me an extra $1,800.00) and let a lot of my things there for me to move. Good thing I have a truck. I did not tip the movers because of this extra charge. Meanwhile they get to my house in TN which my husband was already there. It’s a one floor house and they could park right out front and the movers actually counted the steps it took to get to the door and wanted to charge him more. My husband told him he wasn’t going to pay them anything extra, they moved everything in and was very nice guys. They didn’t charge us any extra so my husband tipped them 400 bucks. The movers are great but I’m sure they’re trained how to add charges from Empire Moving Group. Read your contract and please if you know what’s good for you, you won’t hire them. Please read these reviews, I wish I would have but like I said I’ve never had a bad move before. This is my 6th move. And this is the first bad review I ever left anyone....EVER.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $3152