Safe Ship Moving Services

If you are researching movers, please stop and read this. Safe Ship Moving Services is not a moving company. They are a broker, and their entire operation is built on misleading consumers, emotionally manipulating them into paying deposits, and then disappearing when things go wrong.

When I first spoke with my “Lead Logistics Coordinator,” Gavin Scott, he sounded trustworthy. He immediately leaned into my mention of being a young father and began talking about his own child and family life in Florida. It felt personal at the time. Now I realize it was calculated manipulation — a sales tactic designed to break down my guard and get my deposit. Safe Ship’s salespeople are trained to weaponize empathy.

He promised me a “binding estimate” and repeatedly referred to their movers as “our guys,” giving the impression that Safe Ship employed its own crews and trucks. They do not. After I paid, they quietly sold my move to Best American Moving LLC, a low-quality New Jersey carrier I had never heard of and never agreed to hire.

The problems started immediately. Best American arrived with an unmarked truck, unprofessional workers, and almost no organization. Boxes weren’t labeled, inventory wasn’t tracked, and several items vanished entirely. What did arrive was in disgusting condition — multiple boxes were wet, damaged, and smelled like mildew and sewage. My child’s stroller and other expensive items had to be thrown away because they absorbed the odor and were essentially ruined.

Their packing was intentionally sloppy. Many boxes were half-empty, clearly designed to inflate the cubic footage of the load (since they charge by cubic foot). This is a textbook scam. By wasting space, they can legally increase the price by thousands. And that’s exactly what happened: my “binding” estimate ballooned once the truck was loaded.

When I called Safe Ship to report the damage and the price hike, the friendliness vanished. Emails went unanswered. Calls were dodged. Gavin Scott — who couldn’t stop calling during the sales process — completely disappeared. Safe Ship’s response was simply, “We’re just the broker.” They take your money, hand you off to someone else, and then deny responsibility for everything.

Best American Moving was even worse. After delivery, they blocked my phone number and ignored every email. I filed a formal claim for damaged and missing items — which, under 49 CFR § 370.9, they are legally required to acknowledge within 30 days and resolve within 120 days. They have violated both requirements. No response. No compensation. No accountability.

Another major issue: Safe Ship heavily promotes itself as “veteran-owned and operated.” After researching, I found no proof whatsoever of this. If their CEO Roger Vance or partner Stanley Drinkard really served, they should release documentation. Until then, this appears to be false advertising and possibly stolen valor — one of the most unethical marketing tactics a business can use.

Safe Ship also advertises a suspiciously high star rating on its own website — a “4.1 star, 276-review” score that cannot actually be viewed or verified. These reviews appear to be used to mask their real reputation, which is overwhelmingly negative across credible consumer platforms.

This experience turned what should have been a hopeful family relocation into a nightmare filled with stress, financial loss, and anger. I lost thousands of dollars and irreplaceable belongings because Safe Ship misrepresented who they are and what they do.

To be clear: this is not an isolated experience. Hundreds of real consumer reviews across multiple platforms echo the same complaints — emotional manipulation, bait-and-switch pricing, disappearing customer service, damaged property, missing boxes, and total denial of responsibility.

Safe Ship Moving Services is not a mover. It is a predatory brokerage that exploits people at one of the most stressful moments of their lives. Their business model depends on deception, fine print, and evasion.

If you value your belongings, your sanity, and your money, stay far away from Safe Ship Moving Services. They will take your deposit, hand your move to the lowest bidder, and then vanish when everything goes wrong. This company should not be in business.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $17568

We had Eugene, Andrew, Edwin and Jonathan pack our house from Rushmore Movers. It was a large job and they did it in a day! They were kind and professional. Eugene was VERY communicative from calling to let us know where he was and when he’d be there to explaining the contract as we filled it out. They did not make it at the time they were supposed to be there, but I think that was a communication error with SafeShip. I’m not sure if it was communicated to the movers the size of the job, but they showed up in a truck not large enough that they had to take three trips to the storage, making it a longer and more tiring day than it needed to be. In the end, they left NO trash behind and got everything packed and ready to go. They worked and wasted no time. Eugene was a great leader in that he made sure everyone was on top of things, and he spoke kindly but firmly with the rest of the crew. I’d give the crew five stars.

The reason I can’t give Safe Ship five stars is because the price of our move changed dramatically from my initial booking to the last day. SafeShip first quoted me about $14,000 for my 4 bed/3bath two story home. I signed the binding contract that day and put down the $8000+ deposit down. When they called back to go over inventory, only a few things were added, but the price went up $6000. I was shocked. They took off a bit once I said I’d leave behind a couch, coffee table and a few other items. This was a first time out of state move for us, but I have learned not to do inventory just over the phone. I should have had someone come out (I wasn’t given the choice) to look at inventory. Anyway, because we already had a deposit down (over $8,000), we didn’t have a choice to change companies, or I would have. Our company is reimbursing us, but because of the change in price, we went over the company allowance and are now paying some out of pocket. And we still have to ship our cars.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $21000

Alejandro and the crew helped us move from LA to Sacramento on short notice, with a full pack and speedy delivery

They were friendly and professional, and went above and beyond to ensure everything was done properly. They got our crazy house all packed up and moved which seemed impossible but they got it done!

The brokers themselves were ok, the original estimates were way lower than the final cost which was frustrating, it was also hard to get in touch with someone from safe ship

Once I started working directly with Plymouth, everything was great

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $11314

Overall had a good experience. Booking was easy and fast. I needed movers at a fairly short notice and was worried I wouldn’t find anyone or it would be crazy expensive but it was a lot smoother of a process than I expected. My only complaint is I didn’t get a call telling me when the movers would be there until 10:30pm the day before the move so that was a little annoying. I was told they would call the day before, but expected it to be earlier than that. But the actual day of the move went great. The movers showed up around 1pm, packed everything up nicely, and got all my stuff to the new place and unloaded by 9pm. Overall, very happy I booked these movers and saved myself time and sanity!

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1800

Thx Andrew Oleg and Danil.

I had a great experience with this moving company from start to finish. The team arrived on time, worked efficiently, and handled all of my furniture and fragile items with care. They were professional, friendly, and clearly experienced, which made the entire moving process much less stressful. Everything was delivered safely and exactly as promised. I would definitely recommend this company to anyone looking for reliable and high-quality moving services.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4200

We are utterly disappointed and disgusted by the appalling service provided by Safe Ship Moving Services. Two weeks have passed since I sent a detailed email outlining the traumatic experience my family endured during our cross-country move, and yet, we have not received a single response from the company. It's evident that they couldn't care less about their customers, and their disregard for our concerns is beyond infuriating.

From start to finish, our experience with Safe Ship was nothing short of a nightmare. We were promised professionalism and reliability, but what we got was the complete opposite. The misrepresentation during booking, the unprofessional behavior of the moving crew, the false promises, delayed delivery, and the damage to our belongings—all of it has left us feeling robbed and betrayed.

What adds insult to injury is the lack of accountability and responsiveness from Safe Ship. Despite reaching out to them in hopes of resolving the matter, they have chosen to ignore our pleas for help. It's as if they think they can get away with scamming their customers and leaving them to deal with the aftermath alone.

I cannot emphasize enough how frustrated and helpless we feel as victims of this scam. Safe Ship Moving Services has shown their true colors, and it's clear that they prioritize their profits over the well-being of their customers. Save yourself the trouble and avoid this company at all costs. They do not deserve your business.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12000