Imperial Freight Lines LLC

RUN, do not walk away from this company. Not a moving company, just a broker that sends out some small mover. They came with a truck too small to even hold what the quote said we had. After loading most of truck they said they would have to get another truck or just stop, and we would have to pay for that in addition. They just adding in more charges or said they will just stop. They ended up just driving away leaving some items. We ended up filing a formal complaint with DOT.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $26000

These people are brokers, they are not a freight company. After they get your initial down payment (for doing next to nothing) they then contract with a local service to pick up your goods. Another contractor then moves your goods from warehouse to warehouse. Then another contractor receives your goods at the final warehouse and delivers them. The pick up and delivery people willtellyouImperial'spricequotewasfiguredincorrectly andtheywill charge you far more than what Imperial freight told you would be charged at pickup and delivery.

The contract, for 1501 - 2000 miles says estimated delivery 6-21 Business days. When you call to find your belongings.Customerservice at Imperial tells you the 6-21 days is from your expected delivery date, not from the time your goods are picked up. But there is nothing in the contract that states this. He just tells you, that's the way it's done.

Contact a legitimate moving company like Mayflower and get pricing and terms directly from them. Avoid these con artists called Imperial Freight Lines.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4300

Imperial Freight Lines

BEWARE, BEWARE, BEWARE, BEWARE. BEWARE!!!

Contracted with this company and shortly after signing the contract and deposit was taken out of my account things surrounding the move changed drastically. Bottom line, move was canceled due to escrow and then employment.

I immediately contacted Imperial Freight Lines asking to cancel the contract. I explained my situation and asked for a refund. That is when they said I needed to cancel within 48 hours of signing. I explained that I was told by the sales rep Zach that I would be able to change the move date, put my move on hold for 12 months or cancel the contract without penalty. The person I canceled my contract with, Daniel, was happy to tell me that was not going to happen. Daniel said that what Zach had told me was not true. He said that the hold could be up to 24 months (two years) but I will not get any kind of refund. I only had 48 hours to cancel the contract (2 days) .I asked that they do the right thing and refund my deposit. Again, NO!

After this exchange I looked into the Imperial Freight Lines LLC a little deeper than before, of course a little too late. I was told by the customer representative that the company is 10 years old, Veteran and family owned, they have done over 5,000 moves in 2021 alone. I found no evidence that any of those claims are true. The state of Florida says they do not have a business license to practice registered with them. The city of Lauderhill FL. (the company’s address) also does not have a business license registered. They do have electronic articles of organization for Florida Limited Liability Company filed with the state. Company origination date August 18, 2021.

I found no positive reviews for this company outside of what they have on their website. There BBB rating went from B- to C+ just since I started doing a deeper dive over the last few days. I also started feeling uneasy when immediately after I signed their estimate I could not get a return call from my Customer Rep. When I called and asked to be transferred to him they would not let me talk with him. Today you can get to their home page on their website but some links go to the Avada website builder that they used to create their “Wordpress” website.

I did not follow the suggestion of “Buyer Beware,” I entered into a contract with a company because of the story they told. I wanted to support a veteran owned company. I was foolish in my decision. In talking with them I found that the lack of honesty and ethics is why I am sharing my experience. I hope that no one else suffers at the hands of these people.

Tips

Only work with a carrier, they will not ask for money upfront.

They are to provide the FMCSA, “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” (which is required by Federal Law) Imperial Freight Line LLC did not provide this.

Be sure that communications are open.

Read the contract in its entirety before signing. Do not take the sales rep at his/her word. All Companies. (Imperial even has a clause in their contract that says if you are harmed by them, you cannot tell anyone).

Let this be a cautionary tale.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8888

Movers missed their window, and imperial made no effort to communicate why. Move was far more expensive than estimated, they were literally 50% the actual price. Got stuck with an F rated mover who arrived to the move in location at 9 pm 2 days past their window, even factoring in the day-late arrival. The movers not complete the move (furniture not put together, lost pieces of furniture) and multiple fragile items were damaged. Not a word from Imperial, and they no longer accept our calls. DO. NOT. USE. Find a local mover that does long distance or cough up the amount for a trusted van line.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6200

Amount of money paid:

$1608

Commitment:

Imperial Freight Lines was paid a security deposit to move my boyfriend’s and my belongings from Chicago to California. They state business is conducted with a friendly attitude, making the experience smooth and “problem-free”. This was not the service I received, in fact, this experience caused an enormous amount of stress and caused several problems.

The company promised to have a set carrier, date, and time of the move BEFORE the moving window started- this claim has been recorded as all of their calls are recorded. This is where the service paid for has not been delivered. After countless attempts to make contact the week before my cross-country move, all trust and good faith were diminished. Imperial Fright Lines failed to address my concerns. These concerns were expressed in a variety of methods as I was desperate to get answers. My methods of outreach (see attached for details) were in the form of emails, text messages, voicemails, Facebook messages, and Instagram messages. When contact was made, I received contradictory information and was treated rudely. Once the moving window began and there was STILL no confirmation of a carrier, date, and time of my move, I sent an email officially canceling my move with Imperial Freight Lines and requested a full refund. NO attempts were made to rectify their shortcomings and I have not received a refund.

It’s shocking that a company can expect a customer to trust them with ALL of their possessions when they have poor communication skills and do not follow through with their guarantees.

Imperial Freight Lines only uses ACH payment- a former employee took a customer’s bank information and stole THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. This company has a history of fraudulent actions- see linked video: https://youtu.be/NxgJusVKdos

Insight on how awful their service is:

I received a TEXT from the quality assurance expert for Imperial Freight Lines on Monday 6/20/22 at 6:32 AM notifying me that the appointment has been moved up to “today at 1:30 pm”.  I was told to make sure I was at home with a tape measure handy.  I kindly reminded him the appointment was for Tuesday 6/21/22 and that they are requiring me to change the appointment on a Federal Holiday.  (What if I wasn’t home?  It’s like an airline moving up their flight a day early and expecting people who purchased a ticket to be okay with that).

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1600

I’ve never had such disrespect, or lack of communication. They have no knowledge of where our items are. We were promised our items on a certain day and it’s been 4 weeks since then. They have NO idea where our items are. Their customer service is extremely rude and disrespectful and they called me a “thing” right to my face. They’ll drive you in circles and tell you nothing. They’ll say they’ll try to get in contact or message the movers and then have nothing in return.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2400

I ended up lucky compared to some people's experiences I have read about. Originally I was impressed as the company quoted me much less than what other companies were quoting me, especially since while my move was far in distance in terms of quantity it was small and my move dates were flexible. Additionally, I was impressed as they came two dates earlier than was originally quoted (and my stuff was already packed) and my mom who was around for pickup said the guys did a great job. They came on a Tuesday and told me that it would be Saturday for delivery. After this is when everything went downhill.

I called Saturday morning at 9:30AM to ask a question and was told that they had been sent back to TN and the move was to Washington DC. The guy said that it might be Sunday, but did not sound too confident (especially with winter storms coming). There was some mention of my stuff having been moved onto a different truck or change in drivers. I explained that I had to get a parking permit and would like the refund back on that as the permit now was useless as they did not show up on the day they told me. The permit place was closed on the weekend and that Monday, since it was MLK day so I could not change it for a different date. I also want to know why they did not call me to tell me there would be a delay. I called the same guy Monday (which was MLK today) only to be told to call the next day, since it was a holiday. I was then told on Tuesday if someone called me on Wednesday, then probably my stuff would be delivered on Friday.

In the meantime I reached out to Imperial Freight Lines who said that while they understood my frustration that it was not their problem as it was not their company that had moved stuff, and I was talking to the wrong person. They would not provide me with the name of the mover's who picked up my stuff in case, I was wrong but told me to contact the name on the paperwork. So much for the part of the contract that says Imperial Freight Lines will act on behalf of the customer in resolving any claims or delay issues with the carrier (This is point 4 in the contract, although point 14 in the contract says the opposite as it says Imperial Freight Lines will not act on behalf of the customer in resolving any claims or delay issues with the carrier.

I tried contact Ocean Moving Storage as that was the name on the paperwork that had been given to my mom. I called the first Ocean Moving Storage I could find only to be told that they could not find my order under my name or phone number. Movingcompalints.com was no help as they said my case was still in the moving stages (how long before you can complain I have no idea).

Wednesday, January 20th, I got a call from a guy with Premier Moving (are they just making up company names now?) who said that my stuff would be coming tomorrow, January 21st between the hours of 8AM-10PM, but he could not tell me if the guys had picked up my stuff from Ocean Moving Storage or where it had been picked up, and when it comes to trying to get a refund I would need to contact Ocean Moving.

Finally, this morning I got a call from a gentleman who told me they would be bringing my stuff in 2 hours, and the money needed to be in cash. However, I was told by Imperial Freight Lines that they would accept cash or a cashier's check. Based off my schedule for the day, I was not in a position to meet them when they were coming so my cousin was nice enough to run to the bank for me and get cash and meet them. Then I got another phone call from a different guy (but the same guy from Wednesday) who said they would be coming in an hour. Is it an hour, is it two? What size vehicle? Originally told it would be a small u-haul, but it turned out to be a semi.

According to my cousin, the guys that moved turned out to be super nice and got everything inside less than 30 minutes. It was good that she got cash as apparently the drivers were told they had to accept cash.

Overall it sounds like those doing the physical labor get a A+ but the coordination, if you can call it that is an F+.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $1647

What a horrible experience! Now I can't even get my belongings delivered! Price quoted was a joke! Upon pickup they added an additional 900.00. God only knows what the final delivery charge will be. I went with this company solely because of the military affiliation they brag about. When I called to voice concerns and displeasure I was told by the customer service rep (and I use that term loosely) that he would flag my account and if the manager DEEMED IT NECESSARY, someone would call me back. What a rip off! I would never recommend this company.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3800

They bait with a lowball estimate. Regardless of whatever your quote has and says, since the final mover is a different company. When you are out of options, they will hit you 3-5x the original quote even if you do everything by the book. It doesn't matter because the mover has no affiliation to the broker. They will simply give you a new quote. Try to avoid these scammers/brokers. No accountability and you will loose your deposit. Also, They have an extensive set of fake 5star reviews here.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $3400