Safeway Moving Systems

Safeway Moving Systems, Inc. is one, if not the WORST, moving company I have ever encountered in my life. So, too, are their affiliated, Trans United and DM, Mover (Mr. Melendez, President).

PLEASE NOTE:
By mentioning the sales representatives name, I am in no way sharing any private or personal information that is not already available to the public. It is my responsibility and constitutional right to speak out as a disenfranchised customer about this company that has intentionally inflicted emotional and financial distress and professional hardship on me, among many others.

Mr. Scott is the face of this interaction, and I can prove it. This man is the one who introduced me to Danny Melendez, one of the movers of the crew who literally stole my rocking chair and other boxed item. Mr. Scott has been actively avoiding his professional responsibilities, and he passed work over the their assistant, Delilah, who does not seem to have a clue what she is doing.

Mr. Scott, Mr. Melendez, and Jason from Hallandale, FL, and their crew of thieves, charged me over $8,000 (+ tip) cash for a move that was initially quoted for half that. I am sharing these names because they are of public record, and I can prove it, and I want the public to know what they are getting themselves into by entering in a contract with crooked salesman. Ultimately, it was demanded that I WIRE TRANSFER $4,000 to them before delivery. After I did, they couldn't even call me to notify they have received the payment, which is the one request I made. There was no follow-through, which was really upsetting.

On moving day, I come to find out the initial movers (Danny Melendez and his crew) stole my rocking chair, broke several pieces of furniture (to an non-replaceable state), lost/stole more boxes with personal/household items, and concocted numerous lies about alleged delivery attempts made, yet I had no prior notification, but they still charged me for redelivery, storage, etc. I have cell phone records to prove this!

I was cursed out by multiple employees, a man with Trans United in Florida and a driver from CA. Danny Melendez and another man named Jason are affiliated with these scammers.

These reviews are being reported not because they are personal in nature, but because they expose the wrongdoing of this corrupt company that must be held accountable. I guarantee that if we, as customers, received the services that we initially signed up/paid for, I would not be sitting here writing this.

E. Scott knows and partakes in the deleterious ways these moving companies scam millions, and neither he, nor his staff, care that people are being hurt and placed under unnecessary strife. By depriving us of our hard-earned belongings, our money, and our trust in moving companies, you have violated the trust of millions.

What precautions should be taken before customers allow complete strangers to view and make note of everything that we value, everything that we own, thrown it in a truck, and drive away to who knows where? Do we call ICE? FBI? I know who I'm contacting, and this isn't a threat. I'm a federal employee, and I would never recommend any state or government agency to even consider these companies again.

I had to retain legal representation in order to get my belongings, which they kept from me for nearly 3 months, intentionally. I was forced to sleep on the floor, and one person from FL screamed at me and asked how it felt to know that Eric Scott was intentionally ignoring my calls/emails, then he laughed at me. Appalling customer service, and unprofessional behavior.

Further action is being taken, as these people are dishonest, manipulative, and thieves. I am also not the only victim.

SERVICE MEMBERS, FEDERAL & STATE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, ETC. PLEASE AVOID.


Class Action, anyone?

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8500

Robert and his team did a fantastic job. They wrapped everything up in blankets and plastic wrap to protect them from any damage during the move. I had a variety of furniture, including a sofa, coffee table, mattress, and some shelves, and they handled them all with caution. They even disassembled and reassembled my mattress, which was a huge relief because I had no clue how to do it myself. They were very helpful and accommodating, and made the whole process smooth and easy.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3075

This company is a scam. I was quoted comparable rates, but wanted to support a Veteran owned company, as I am also a Vet. The day before my movers were to pickup my household items, no one had called to confirm, I had to reach out to them we went over the manifest again, I provided measurements of all my belongings, plus the exact number of boxes. When the movers arrived, they immediately said all my items were larger then what I indicated- FALSE. The movers said it would be an additional $800 or they wouldn't take my stuff. I had no options since I was leaving the next day. I was called a couple of days later for my new address and I filed a complaint. I was told a supervisor would call me THAT day to hear my grievance. No one called! When my items were to be delivered, the CONTRACTED delivery company had different policies than Safeway and it cost me an additional $150 for the delivery. I should have not let my soft heart for fellow vets cloud my financial decision making. DO NOT USE THIS MOVING COMPANY- SCAM!

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

Still haven’t received our stuff 10 days later & just got off the phone with customer service. Guess what? “We don’t see where your truck is.”. We went with this company because they’re military owned & figured they would be organized and have good comms. They had to put our belongings on two trucks because they packed their truck too much on prior trips & couldn’t fit all of our stuff. We said okay, do what you have to do. When they left our house we asked how long until we get our belongings? They stated “it depends on weather but you’re the next stop.”. The driver confirmed he listed first available date as April 22nd. The drive from our OG state to this state is under 2 day drive btw. We called everyday because we weren’t getting calls back & no one could tell us where our truck was (& customer service was rather rude) until last Wednesday when they said our stuff was dropped off at a warehouse in Dallas, TX….it was never mentioned our stuff would be dropped off in another state out of the way. Called next day…still at warehouse. Waited the weekend and called this AM. They can’t answer where our stuff is & don’t see where the truck is. Do not hire this company unless you don’t want your stuff back until an undisclosed date. Happy to remove this review if they finish their job that we hired them to do and our belongings are in our home tomorrow, as it will be 11 days tomorrow.

Update: After calling 3 separate times and getting no call back. We finally got some answers. That answer is, they have no idea when our stuff will be here & it hasn’t left TX. After reading other reviews of belongings going missing, stuff being delivered over a month later & even being haggled and lives threatened upon delivery for more money (check other reviews, an attorney stated her and her husband were threatened). I have half the mind to file a report. I don’t know if and when I’ll get my things back at this point.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $11000

Salesman underbid my job and gave me my first “guaranteed“price. He Promised to be there every step of the way but disappeared, even not returning my phone calls . Final call from dispatch gave me my “guaranteed “ 2nd price, a significant increase. Pick up truck gave me my 3rd”guaranteed “ price, yes, another increase. I’mnow 2 price increases into the process. Pick up/Packer also gave me a not-thinly veiled threat that they had my stuff and would hold it hostage until I paid what they wanted.Customer Service people were great and could see my frustrations with communication but weren’t able to help much (Management sucks!) Delivery crew was great. However they didn’t have the hiding spot for the feet for my entertainment center. A little “Easter Egg” left by the movers. Now I have to find a handyman to attach the feet. NEVER AGAIN! I have a job number. I can prove that I am an unhappy customer.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7800

Long story short, Safeway is a dishonest company that made my move significantly more stressful and frustrating than it needed to be due to lack of communication, respect, and honesty. I’ll detail my experience below but I would not recommend booking with them but if you already have, try to get as much in writing as you can.

To begin with, I was misled during booking promising that only Safeway would handle my move, that GPS tracking would be available, and that the delivery date would be scheduled before my first available delivery date. These were the main reasons I booked with Safeway. To later find out that I would not have any of those things was disappointing to say the least.

I originally booked with Safeway because the salesman, Scott Curtis, seemed to answer all of my questions with honesty and transparency, but, unfortunately, that was all a show to get my business.

My first red flag was when another moving company, Just Pro Moving, arrived to pick up my belongings. Scott promised me that Safeway owns all their trucks and employs all of their movers. He affirmed Safeway would be the one handling the move from beginning to end. He went so far as to send me a separate email advising that I watch out for predatory brokers. So I was confused and afraid when the movers asked me to send the payment to Just Pro Moving, instead of Safeway, after all of my belongings were on the truck. I was afraid I had been scammed. No one warned me that this would be happening. I had to reach out to the general customer service line where I was met with a rude explanation. The person remarked, “How can you expect a national company to have movers in every location?” I called for clarity and reassurance and only received dismissal and condescension. I don’t expect a national company to have movers in every location, but I did expect Safeway to have movers for my move because that’s what was sold to me. They also tried to say that they were Safeway although paying Just Pro Moving and them arriving in a Penske truck would suggest otherwise.

During one of the calls, they clarified that Just Pro Moving was handling my entire move, including delivery. They also clarified that because of this, GPS tracking would not be available as it was advertised at the time of booking my move. I understand that a cross country move takes time, and I’m sure the logistics are very complicated, but multiple promises were, at best, wholly ignored or, at worst, intentionally falsely advertised.

Overall, communication was terrible. Much of this could have been avoided if only I was told beforehand. It was hit or miss if Blossom would answer, and if I left a message she never called me back.

I’ve experienced a similar issue with customer service. When I spoke to someone, they promised they had escalated the issue and that someone would call me back but they never did. I was told that everyone is extremely busy but that is not an excuse to never call a customer back. It’s also not an excuse to outright lie to customers to get their business.

Now that my move is complete I was supposed to receive a quality assurance call to make any claims and give feedback but it’s been almost a week and a half since my delivery and I haven’t been called. I think it’s clear that don’t care what I have to say since they know I had a terrible experience but didn’t do anything to try and make it better.

To top it off, one of the customer service representatives advised me to send an email to their general inbox in the hopes that a supervisor would respond. I sent two emails summarizing my experience and never received any response. I am shocked at the lack of respect Safeway has for their customers. Their willingness to lie and mislead to get business is disgraceful. A friend also booked with Safeway to do the same move as me and they had a similar awful experience. I don’t know how they made it onto any of the best long distance movers lists but I think they need to be seriously reevaluated.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6248

This company was very difficult to deal with. My furniture was 10 days late. No phone calls were returned and most texts ignored. They didn’t have records of my payments. Upon arrival the movers said I owed more money than I did. My moving coordinator wouldn’t return my calls. I eventually had to find my receipts. Unacceptable. It felt like a scam to get more money from me. Worst customer service ever!!! Companies MUST do better. All my concerns were met with minimal concern and that was IF I ever got to speak to anyone. I would never recommend this company to anyone for their cross country move.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7000