Safeway Moving Systems

California to Washington - $7k

Before selecting this company you need to understand the role Safeway Moving Systems will play in this process. Safeway Moving does not have employees that will be performing this move for you. They are just a broker that will be contracting out this 'job' to 2 random guys in a truck the day of your move who know nothing about your move and have no relation to Safeway Moving company and are just taking a % cut of the total cost. Overall it was a much worse experience than i was expecting. Here were the issues:

Bad Timing/Scheduling: I told them I needed to be out of my apartment 100% by end of day Friday. They can only give you a 3 day pickup window so we made it Wed-Fri and scheduled the move (have to give a $2,000 deposit to schedule with them). They never zone in on a date/time they just leave it as a 3 day window and you have to wait for them to show up. Then on Friday they tell me they are running late and won't be there until Sunday! I tell them that I will look at going with a U-Haul because i have to be out of apartment end of day and they tell me that i would be forfeiting my $2k deposit because the fine print of the contract says they have 2 additional days in case of 'emergencies' (?). So you are backed into the corner and just have to deal with it.

Bad Estimate / Increase the Price on You Day Of Move After Deposit: They had quoted me for $5,500 which is already pretty steep for less than a 1 BR (no living room furniture, just one bedroom worth of stuff). They said this would cover bedroom furniture + 40 moving boxes. I said i would have much less but they said this way it would be covered and would have some breathing room which made sense. Then the day the guys finally show up they take photos of your inventory (without measuring anything) and send to their 'dispatcher' who tells them that now the price is increased by $1,200 to $6,700 (remember they already have my $2k deposit at this point so i am really backed into the corner and can't do anything). So i probably had 50% of the amount of stuff we estimated and yet they increased the the price by 20% on me day of. Not to mention was the last 'job' in the truck meaning when the truck shows up there were already 3 other peoples stuff in the massive 24' box truck so it really didn't even matter how much room my stuff took up because mine would be the last in and first out and wouldn't stop them from picking up anyone else's stuff. So they jack up the price on you just because they can not because it makes a difference.

Then the actual move, they broke/shattered a mirror, didn't wrap my framed wall art and scuffed up the edges, scuffed up my nightstand, etc. Most boxes had the corners smashed in so you gotta really pack the boxes well.

If you are expecting this kind of service and have done this before than you will probably have an OK experience. However, if this is your first time moving and have any sort of time or budget constraints it's most likely going to be a pretty bad experience for you unless you get lucky.

$6,700 for 1 hour of labor on each + transport? Probably not worth it. My advice would be to Rent a U-Haul and hire some labor on each end of the move. Less stress and more cost effective.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $6700

Do not trust this company nor the 5 star reviews. I contracted with Safeway Moving System on March 11, 2021. Based on the first available delivery date of May 3, pickup was scheduled by Safeway for Monday April 19 and confirmed on Friday April 16. On Sunday night April 18 I was told the pickup would not occur on Monday. My contract states that I need 48 hours notice in order to reserve the loading zone, elevator, and staff at both my pickup and delivery buildings, which I had also reiterated on Friday. This delay cost $300. Flash Moving & Storage, Inc., the carrier selected by Safeway, were unprofessional in their conduct and handling of my goods. After loading part of my shipment and confirming my inventory, they presented a bill consistent with Safeway’s binding estimated amount, and demanded 70% of the balance due, even though Safeway had advised on Friday that it would be 50%. I called Safeway and was told Flash could demand 70% and I had to pay it, so I wrote the check and loading of my stuff recommenced. Then Flash presented additional documents for my signature including a $700 additional charge for shuttle service at the destination even though the shuttle charge was already included in Safeway’s binding estimate that I had just paid. I asked Safeway to intercede. After some hemming and hawing Safeway reaffirmed that the shuttle charges are already included. Next think I knew, the Flash movers were rewriting the contract that I had already signed to add $700 in new charges. When I protested that this is forgery they voided the original contract and my check and tore them up and forced me to sign a new contract and check. I contacted Safeway. I was astounded when Safeway said Flash has the right to change the contract terms and charges. So Flash, aided and abetted by Safeway, fabricated and extorted hundreds of dollars in additional charges. They then drove off with my stuff in their unmarked truck.

That was the last I saw or know of my belongings. It was impossible to reach Flash and Safewaywas evasive, dissembling, unreliable, and untrustworthy. On May 7 I was advised that my job was loaded on a truck and dispatched to its destination, but that there would be an extra charge of $650 for shuttle service. When I questioned the charge, pointing out (again) that it was already included in my binding estimate, my goods mysteriously disappeared. I have made over 70 phone calls to Safeway and Flash to ascertain the status of my move. I wrote over a dozen emails to Safeway, most of which were ignored. Safeway says Flash is responsible; Flash says Safeway is responsible; no one gives a straight answer. I was told on at least seven different occasions that my goods had been loaded on a truck and dispatched on at least seven different dates (ranging from “yesterday,” to “two days ago,” to “three days ago”). Clearly, those statements are inherently inconsistent and cannot all be true. Each of those statements was accompanied by a different two-day estimated delivery window (“5-6 days from today”). I scheduled and rescheduled the move-in with my building management, as well as rescheduling everything else in my life. I reminded Safeway, Flash and anyone I could get hold of that I needed at least 48 hours notice of any change to secure the loading platform, elevator, and security for the movers. That too was ignored. I also reminded Safeway multiple times that the movers must supply a certificate of insurance prior to move-in, and that has not been done either. To date, no delivery, no definitive answers, and no solutions. Just evasion and excuses.

Just before noon on June 28 I received a message “from moving company” that he has a delivery scheduled for the afternoon of the next day June 29. While I confirmedavailability with my building manager, I called and texted but got no response. I called again.He told me the move has been cancelled. He refused to identify his company or employer. He declined to discuss other delivery dates. Having received no advance notice from Safeway or Flash and having no idea if he was legitimate, I called Safeway. After several long calls and long hold times, Safeway advised at 5 pm that the move definitely would not occur the next day on June 29, June 30 was maybe (the only other available date this week for my building management), and they would call to confirm the next day, which is today. Nope.

It is now 10 weeks since pickup and 56 days past my first available delivery date. Safeway’s contract states that they are legally allowed up to 30 business days so they are in clear breach.

I have no idea where my goods are, who has possession, when or whether I will ever see them again. I conclude that they are lost, stolen, or being held hostage in a black hole in order to extort more fees and ransom.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7637

Unfortunately my move is not off to a great start…and it hasn’t even started! We are less than a week away from moving across the country with a newborn child and a senior rescued dog and Safeway Moving Systems has already made this move more stressful and unpleasant than it needs to be.

After not hearing from the company after submitting the first installment I called to follow up, ask a few questions and see if I could secure or voice my preferred moving date. Unfortunately I must of caught my sales rep on a bad day because he was extremely rude and unhelpful. After I realized there was a HUGE miscommunication on the window delivery, I admitted it was my fault for not checking and I could be a little flexible but the last day of my delivery window was going to be almost impossible to do…again moving with a newborn baby and senior dog makes things a little harder to just have a 24 hour window of pick up and again my sales rep responded with an ugly and accusatory attitude then mentioned how my move was a “minimal amount move” and that it was a “low priority”.

After a 4 min phone call my trust was completely broken with the company I am supposed to trust my entire belongings with? I then asked for the sales rep to be removed from our account and was told dispatch would call me the next day. I have still not heard from anyone in the company and honestly I think any communication at this point will be smoke and mirrors.

I am EXTREMELY dissatisfied with this company. If I booked 3 months in advanced how and why is it that you can not be more flexible to my (the minimum amount paying customers) schedule by one day and only offering within a 24hr window notice for pick up even though the contract I signed (which you reference a lot) states I will be give a 2-5 business day notice?

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4500

I'm giving 2 stars because I paid what I expected, they didn't bait-and-switch with the pricing on pick-up or drop-off, I got most of my items intact in a timely manner apart from some cheap and replaceable pieces of furniture, and the laborers were pleasant and quick. What I learned through this, though, is that there is absolutely no good reason to use a moving broker, no matter how long they've supposedly been in business, and if you really care about an item you are planning to move, you should either do it yourself, or use a service that will ship it all in one go.

This was my first time using a "full service" moving company, so I was pretty uninformed about what to expect. I found Safeway on moveBuddha, which named them one of the best moving companies for long-distance moves. I now have no idea how they came to this conclusion or how the cons that were laid out in the article weren't weighed more heavily against the company. The deposit (listed as a con), for example, is 40% of the total move (which I have seen from multiple sources is a red flag), and you end up, as the price is broken down into a deposit, a pick-up payment, and a drop-off payment (paid BEFORE your items are moved into your home) paying the entire price of the move before confirming all your items have arrived at their destination, and 70% (!) before a truck even makes it to your new house.

Once they have that money, you're on the hook because you already paid so much money and there's no backing out without taking a huge loss, which is a frustrating and vulnerable position to be in, as seen in all the one star reviews on here. It doesn't make it any better when no one calls you to check on the move and it seems Safeway takes little responsibility for how and how long the carriers they contracted take to move your things. I had to keep in contact with the carrier myself (who were not the most responsive either). The other strange thing is that, while I paid for pick-up and drop-off to one company, the laborers and the receipts I received seemed to come from an entirely DIFFERENT company, so the level of contracting out did not bode well for Safeway or the carrier company's accountability for the move. To top it all off, these guys were coming out in U-Hauls and Budget rental trucks, so whatever company they worked for either didn't buy any of their own trucks, or had such a small fleet that they had to rent trucks in order to keep up with demand.

I would next like to talk about how the things I lost got lost and why I don't want to file a claim because of how poor Safeway's customer service has been. When I asked the guys who dropped off my stuff about one of my items, the driver claimed an animal had crawled into it, died, and they had to throw it away (really makes me suspicious of where and how this stuff was being stored), my other item (which was on the inventory logged by a different crew in difficult to read handwriting) was dust in the wind, they didn't even know what I was talking about. They had also picked up another customer's items who had a much bigger move than mine and had mixed my things in with his, so honestly it's a miracle I got everything I did. I realize this is a cost-cutting strategy, but it certainly isn't the sign of a premier moving service.

Now, as for trying to file a claim on these items, I have determined it just isn't worth it. First of all, I only took the base insurance coverage ($0.60 per lb per article) and the items I lost are not very heavy, so I've decided to cut my losses and be done with Safeway and their subcontractors for good. The final nail in the coffin for this was my experience trying to get a receipt from them so I could be reimbursed for my relocation expenses. I had to call two different numbers 6 times across 3 days, speaking to a different person each time (none of whom on Safeway's end gave a name or even mentioned the company name until I brought it up to confirm who I was speaking with which is incredibly shady). Sometimes, no one picked up. Finally, on my 4th try with Safeway, after two other women have told me they'll email me or call me back but didn't, the third lady says that they don’t even have access to the receipt for the move and I'll have to call the carrier's customer service. This has become the most ridiculous game of telephone in my life. Why do I even have to go on this wild goose chase to get a receipt? Why doesn't Safeway have access to this information and are unable to give it to customers themselves? Anyway, I called the carrier and got what I needed in a 3 minute phone call.

After all of that, however, I never want to speak to anyone from Safeway ever again, and I certainly won't be recommending them or any other moving broker to anyone I know, not even my worst enemies. It is far more hassle than it is worth, and even though I wasn't scammed, the whole process was super shady from the payment of the deposit onwards.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $4500

My experience is nearly identical to Stephen Daniel Ramos below. I've called the company several times, nearly everyday now, and they've either lied to me or given me incorrect/false information and I have no idea where my items are.

I had my stuff picked up over a month ago and they provide very little to no transparency. Someone says we will call you tomorrow and they NEVER do. They couldn't get me an update on where my stuff was a month and 10 days after my items were picked up. It's one of the most bizarre things - they are supposed to help you with your move but they do a very poor job, or no job. I have no idea if my stuff is lost or not - they can't even locate the damn thing. I've never been this frustrated with a moving company, or any company in general. I genuinely have to wonder how some of these positive reviews exist.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5500

We moved from Boston to Seattle with Safeway this summer. The sales rep was helpful but everyone else was poor at best. At pickup we got 6 hours of notice before they showed up a 6pm to start packing, not 24h. The packers were fast but they just threw things in boxes with no regard for space or fragility. We had pictures not wrapped loose in boxes, hanging clothes not hanging and loose items flopping around in oversized boxes all over. The estimate went up by 30% for space because of the poor packing, costing us extra money. It then took them 11 weeks to deliver with no updates despite calling them frequently.

Upon delivery more than half the boxes were visibly damaged, multiple furniture items were scratched and dinged and every box that we open hold more horrible surprises of poorly packed an damaged goods like an upside down wardrobe box with everything tangled.

Would strongly recommend not doing business with this company.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $20000

You must avoid this company at all costs, don't even think about it. We did a big long distance interstate move this month. Yesterday the driver delivering our goods verbally threatened me in my own home when I complained he hadn't re-assembled our furniture as was part of the contract. I was verbally abused point blank by this man as he wielded a power drill in a threatening manner. He said "You best F off, and get the F out of my way. You let me do what I F-ing want and get the F out of here."

At that point I called 911 for a police response to deal with this pscyho.

Next morning I called Safeway about the incident and they denied all responsbility. Further, they denied they needed to re-assemble our furniture.

And just so you understand what slimeballs Safeway are, here is the direct contractual language:

*"Disassembly of all standard furniture required for safe movement."

"*Reassembly for all items disassembled by the movers on the day of pick-up."

They have the gall to claim that last clause doesn't say day of DELIVERY and therefore they don't have to re-assemble our furniture.

Prior to this they were impossible to get on the phone most days. Communication is terrible. They never return emails.

What you have to understand is Safeway will blame all problems on some other third-party subcontractor and in no way will they fix any issues you may have. You cannot reach these other subcontractors so you will be stuck in a dead-end maze with no resolution. Safeway themselves does nothing.

This is the true Moving Hell Company and you do not want these people in your lives. Trust me.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $21000

That's not an understatement. From the unprofessional movers to the number of items lost, damaged, or outright destroyed this was the worst experience I have ever had working with any company.

The company they contracted out to seemingly hires random workers with no professional moving experience. The team of workers send to pack up our apartment was 3 people, one of which brought his partner and 3 year old son who spent the entire day running through the house and begging me and my child for food (to be clear - after he had eaten lunch with the team, he was ok) I don't know why he was there, it made me incredibly uncomfortable to have a kid running around while people carried heavy boxes and moved furniture. My partner and I spent the entire day helping load up the truck and disassemble furniture because the team was trying to avoid taking anything apart. At least two items were badly damaged by the crew while still packing up. One bookshelf that was too tall for the mover's liking was slammed against the asphalt to knock off the top shelf. One computer desk was dropped in the driveway while I watched and then the mover turned to me and asked if I still wanted them to load it, since it was broken. By the time that the head of the move team was sitting in the middle of our living room smoking while he filled out paper work my partner and I were too numb to care anymore.

Our items showed up at 8pm (estimated arrival was 9am) so we got to unload them by headlight with a team of 2 guys who refused to assemble any furniture because the bolts/screws had all be lost in their warehouse. They left at 11:30pm, packing blankets still on most furniture and most things jut dumped in the garage. Before they left we realized our daughters mattress was missing, the one they tried to bring in was a queen-size with a different job number and color tag. Along with this at least one box of books and a tool kit did not make it to our new home. We spent the next few days unwrapping destroyed items. Not a single piece of furniture made it without some damage: broken corners, broken legs, finish ripped off from take stuck directly to the wood.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5700

Made an appointment to go through a virtual review of my home's contents for purposes of securing an estimate. The appointed time comes and no call. When I texted the person with whom I scheduled the appointment to he informed that he was working with someone else which was taking longer than expected and would contact me. He never texted to let us know he was running late and we are nearly on an hour delay with no contact. Poor performance. If you make an appointment and are running late give the customer the courtesy of a heads up. Then keep them informed of when you expect to be free for a rescheduled appointment. Instead, here, I'm the customer with a blown up schedule having to chase the Company representative down. A very poor first impression.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $100

Our stuff took 37 days to be delivered from our first available date, 39 from the pickup date. Things were delivered damaged, including punctures in my couch, a broken monitor, and damage to the back of one of my pieces of artwork, all things that were packed for me. Since Safeway is a broker and not a moving company, I can't blame them directly for the damage, but the delays I can and will. This was all exacerbated by the fact that their customer service, specifically for an in-progress move, is atrocious to the point of being offensive. Dozens of unreturned calls, completely helpless agents who answered the main phone line, total opaqueness in the lack of updates, and on one occasion I was literally berated over the phone for being a bit annoyed it had already been 3 weeks without my stuff since they still technically had time left to deliver things within the contract period, despite having been quoted an estimate of 10 to 14 days (which I recognize is an estimate, but I was very justifiably frustrated at the 21 day mark my stuff had yet to arrive). Even now I cannot get ahold of anyone on the phone to discuss making a claim, which I'm struggling with justifying because I'd have to continue to deal with these people.

The services they offered weren't competitively priced enough to recommend this over literally any other company, especially after tallying in having to buy furniture to hold me over for the >1 month wait for my things and later replace or repair what was damaged. Throw in the fact that the customer service is incompetent and offensive, and I'd say to steer clear of this company at all costs.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4955

The company made an estimate on our move. We believe they intentionally misrepresented our inventory and underestimated the number of boxes so they could have a lower price than competing movers. They told us they believed the estimate was accurate and said it was binding not to exceed the price and told us we "wouldn’t pay a penny more unless [we] went out and bought five grand pianos.” We did not purchase or add any new items. A week before the move they said the estimate was done badly -- he said that things were entered wrong and they needed to add hundreds more boxes and would raise the price by more than $10,000. They said that would include full value replacement, but then sent a new contract without full value replacement. They then said they wouldn't do full value replacement unless we paid yet another $7,000. They attempted to blame us saying we should have known we would have needed more boxes despite their estimator saying that was the number of boxes we need. How were we supposed to know how many boxes we would need? We believe they were intentionally attempting to defraud us. They told us they are going to unilaterally cancel our move and keep our deposit.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $36000

I'm a real customer and my move number is 5893649. The flurry of 5 star reviews are fake. My experience is real, and i'm happy to share the email trail and documents to back up my review.

Look closely at how similar the 1 star reviews are... that tells you something (these are the REAL reviews).

Awful customer service and zero communication and follow up throughout the move. Chris Johnson was my "relocation specialist" who would be "with me every step of the way." He's a smooth talker that only wants you to sign that non refundable contract (then you are not worth more of his time). I can show you the email trail of him not even replying to me for WEEKS. They don't care... once they get your non refundable deposit they have no reason to even reply to you.

Safeway also tells you that your final payment at delivery can be CASH, money order or Zelle electronic payment (I have the email from them advertising exactly this).

Then they call you at 4pm Saturday and demand CASH ONLY for an 8am delivery on Sunday the next day. Then they tell you it's a $500 fee if you aren't there (i had 14 hours of notice). Then they didn't show up and actual delivery was a full 10 days later (again no communication unless i chased it down).

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4300

Safeway Moving Systems LLC (Chicago based)

Chris - point of contact, completely ghosted us after signing the contract

Prime Relocation Services (Sacramento based)

Movers - Dani + Frankie (could have also been contracted out)

Dispatch - someone horrible, don’t know her name, hung up on me day of delivery

Safeway will sweet talk you and provide you a contract that seems fairly straight forward. You should not trust this as the actual cost. You will be forced to sign separate contracts. The company that Safeway decides to contract your move out to, will not honor the Safeway contract and this will be used to get additional fees out of you. We weren’t aware of a second forced contract, and I say forced because we were in a position that we had no other option. They showed up the day of the move, claimed our cubic feet was 200 feet more than the estimate. Now I understand estimates, but to be off by 200 feet is not even a close estimate in my opinion, and this was after I’d described our inventory three times to two separate people. It was the day of the move, we only had two days left on our current lease, we had no choice but to sign as there was no time to find another option and we’d already paid a hefty deposit.

Another couple of examples of the fee gouging, Safeway’s contract says a flight of stairs is 12 steps, Prime Relocation Services says 7, but this was not mentioned until drop off, so we were hit with another $300 additional for stairs at delivery. We were also nickel and dimed for packing materials, $67 for cling wrap and tape, that were supposedly included according to Safeway.

The truck that arrives for your things, will not be the same truck that drops them off, so your things will be moved several times. We were charged an additional fee of $350 for this changing of trucks even though we weren’t aware until after our things were already on a smaller moving truck. This, naturally, increases the chance of damage and/or lost items. Several of our furniture pieces were dented, scratched and/or broken and many of the boxes arrived torn or shredded.

But you won’t be able to do anything about this either, because the people who loaded our things marked nearly every single item on our inventory as “scratched.” How convenient for them now that all of our things arrived gouged, scratched, and dented.

The driver who delivered our items claims they don’t work for Safeway or Prime Relocation at all and repeatedly asked to be paid in cash stating that otherwise, “we will ask for our money over and over, if you don’t pay in cash they will not give us our money.” When I called dispatch to inquire about this, I was told to “have a nice day,” and hung up on. Scams for everyone involved it seems. When I asked what company this driver works for, he said his own LLC, but refused more than once to give me the name of his company because he didn’t want to be blamed for Prime Relocation Services.

At the beginning we were looking at a $3K move, by the time we were all swindled and ghosted, we paid over $5K.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

Safeway Moving Systems Moving Companies review

DO NOT USE!!! I did not know they were a "broker". It wasn't disclosed on the site I reviewed, nor did Joe tell me that. I was being my own broker. When Always Moving came to get my items (in a Budget truck), I was surprised it wasn't Safeway. Also, Always didn't honor the quote I got from Safeway! My items weren't tagged on pick up, which is standard procedure. I had a box of designer bags, which was stolen. Tito of Always Moving said he doesn't tolerate thieves and that he would "make it right" - yeah, right - I haven't heard from him since. Safeway advertised using the fact it was "veteran owned". I'm a retired VA nurse and when I told my veteran friends at the local hall, they were very unhappy the veteran status was being used this way. I reviewed Always Moving after they left my former place and determined I would NEVER have chosen them for my move on my own! Safeway chose them for me and I'm absolutely disgusted. My "untagged" items were stored for several days in some warehouse someplace before ANOTHER company, ID Noble, delivered them 11 days later. I couldn't believe the condition in which they were delivered - full of holes, and squashed. My beautiful, new Nautica suitcase had a huge scratch down the front of it's hard shell. I filed a claim with Always - which did no good. I called Safeway several times and keep getting blown off. They have a good racket because it's hard to get reimbursement thru the courts, and the companies themselves surely aren't going to give up any money for their negligence and shoddy practice. IF I ever move again, I'll rent a truck myself and hire movers on each end to take my items out and into my new place. I will NEVER trust a moving company again!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4500

The sales lady was great and so were the initial packers, however everything else was poor. The estimates are made over the phone in a very casual manner, then they get to your house and find more stuff and increase the price. The items were well wrapped but obviously were loaded and unloaded many times and suffered damages which were not covered. I got less than 2 days notice on the moving date and less than a working day notice on the arrival time. There are no storage options--if you are not there--too bad. And you need cash or cashier's check. The team that moved us in refused to move existing furniture without a $50.00 tip and were very rude overall. Don't use this company--I did much better packing my own pod and it was cheaper.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7500

Going through with Safeway for our move was definitely a roller coaster. Just note that once Safeway receives the 40% deposit, they do not take action in trying to make your move any easier.

Safeway was our first choice because we had called for a quote and Gerard was very professional and promising. Telling us that if we had any issues and problems, that he would be here and the first person we should contact. But that's where the good times end. When our movers had shown up on May 5th, we then realized that Safeway is a broker and they contract out moves, which Safeway never mentioned. So the movers started packing the truck up while throwing boxes on top of each other and having bad attitudes. It was a awful experience. When the movers left, we called our agent who ignored my boyfriend's calls from his phone. We had called 10 minutes later on my phone in which the agent picked up (very suspicious) and explained our experience with the movers. He then advised us to email pictures to him so he could send the email to someone else who could assist. So we sent the email and never heard back from our agent. He had mysteriously "left" for a week and text my boyfriend to call him on Monday. When Monday arrived and we called him, who would of guessed. We got ignored again. So then we got in touch with different agents about our move. It was excuses after excuses. Also not noting that Safeway NEVER calls you with updates. You have to call them first to get them to even contact the carrier for updates. First we were told that our items were packed up on a truck May 20th. We then received a call on May 24th that our goods would be delivered on May 26th or 27th. On Wednesday, we never received a call from a driver, so we called Safeway again to which they advised that our new delivery date would be Friday, May 28th. We still never received a call from the driver on Thursday. We called Safeway again, now our goods will be delivered on Saturday, May 29th. Friday came, we called Safeway again. They don't know where the truck is and they can't get a hold of the carrier doing our move. We were panicking! How can a company vouch for another and not have the communication they need? So now on Monday, May 31st, we yet again had to call Safeway for a update. They advised that the truck broke down, but they couldn't tell us where the truck was. Now that makes no sense. You are telling me that the carrier called and didn't advised on where they were located? That's when we had to get pushy with Safeway because all of their excuses just didn't make sense. So we called and explained our frustration and how we were tired of getting the turned around on things to which the agent told us to call the number on the carrier's paperwork for our move and deal with it (FYI - The number on the paperwork went to a dead number). He also stated that once you go with Safeway, they are no longer legally bind or responsible for your move anymore. Talk about unprofessional! We were pulling our hair out at this point. It wasn't until an hour later that we received a call from the same agent advising that our goods would be delivered on that same Monday around 5. The movers did show up and they had much better attitudes than the previous.

I just don't understand how Safeway operates. How do you become the middleman and not request updates on a daily basis and contact your customer on the updates? It was like you had to call them to do their job. All I can say is you better have really good patience if you want to go through Safeway. We will never go through with this company again.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4905

They gave my job moving from Florida to California to a company called MMG Moving LLC in Indianapolis. I don’t know if they are the same company listed in Fort Lauderdale, but I can find no info on them. They loaded my belongings and stored them free for a month in Florida on March 22,2021. I notified both Safeway and MMG on April 8 that my first acceptance date would be April 23. Today is June 3 and I’ve gotten one excuse after another as to why my shipment isn’t even loaded on the truck yet. They had no trucks going to California in all this time? IF I get my shipment by end of this month, I will have been without my belongings for 3 months. If you think it’s because they are low price, NO. Don’t make my mistake, go with a larger well known company.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6633

Safeway told me what I wanted to hear to close the deal and cut off communication when nothing they told me turned out to be true.

Pick up: Told me I’d get 3 – 5 days advance notice of my pickup window. Actual notice: 2 hours.

Total move timing: Promised 1 – 2 weeks. Actual timing was 6 weeks.

Cost: Quote was $5500. Actual delivered cost was ~$7,800

Insurance: Promise was that my shipment was fully insurable. Reality is that nobody in the world will insure a move with only two hours notice of who the actual carrier is (it won’t be Safeway).

Quality: I was supposed to get everything unharmed. I did get most of my stuff in the end, but one of my chairs and one of my boxes was missing. And there were a ton of nicks and scratches on the rest from sloppy packing (they packed). Plus multiple broken picture frames.

NET: Safeway is a broker. Maybe not a problem in and of itself, but they don’t actually seem to know what’s happening and they don’t answer emails or return calls. I was super anxious about this process for two months – from the time I was supposed to get a delivery window from them and didn’t to the time most of my belongings showed up, noticeably worse for wear.

Not recommended.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7800

We ended up using Safeway Moving for a move from CA to UT and it has been a DISASTER. We contacted Safeway back in June and initially, while they were trying to get our contract, the customer service was great - easily reachable by email or phone, answering questions, etc. Unfortunately, after we paid the deposit things changed dramatically. We were given an assigned pick-up date of 6/21 by Safeway and made plans accordingly (had our dog kenneled so that movers could get around easily, paid for hotels while driving to our new home, arranging cleaning services, etc.) only to have the contracted carrier company (Febex moving) call the morning of our move and reschedule. Sadly the fees for the kennel, hotel, etc. were not reimbursable with a last minute cancelation. I reached out to my contacts at Safeway (who I was previously was told would be "with me every step of the way") and never got a response. No calls back. No answered voicemails. The carrier (FebEx) ended up calling and scheduling the pick up for later in the week. After loading up our stuff we were assigned a "first available delivery date" of 6/24. Unfortunately, we have now been in our new home without our stuff for >30 days despite being told verbally that the move would take "only 5-7 days" and the contract clearly stating "legally up to 21 business days". I have tried calling prior contacts at Safeway multiple times with no response. No answer to emails or voicemails. My partner and I typically call their general customer service line once or twice per day and are told "we don't have any updates". We are constantly promised calls back with more information but never hear back from anyone. Our stuff is reportedly still in a warehouse in CA and we are now being told that all blame lies with the carrier (FebEx) and that Safeway is simply not responsible for any delays, damages, etc. after our stuff is picked up. I understand that we paid for a moving broker, who in turn hires a moving carrier, but shouldn't it be the responsibility of the broker to find a reputable carrier? Febex (who we were not given the chance to vet) has multiple online complaints, a non-functional website, and does not answer our calls. Per our contract, Safeway is supposed to "act on the behalf of the customer in resolving any claims or delay issues" but they are now essentially refusing to help. I wish I could give zero stars and I'm fairly sure the "positive" reviews are put in by company employees to boost the overall rating.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6000

I am writing with a review of a very recent move I had with Safeway Moving Systems. The experience was beyond terrible – I feel totally plundered. They had a reasonable reputation and gave me a good price I paid them their deposit and then didn’t hear from them until about 10 days before the move: the “quality assurance” representative wanted to go over my inventory, find out how many large picture boxes I needed etc. All very pleasant, although the representative did inform me that, although I have fewer items and of less size to move than when I have first gotten in touch with them, the estimate had increased by $1400. Alright, this isn’t my business and I assumed I don’t know how things work.

Moving out day was set for Sunday. Friday they called me and asked if it could be Saturday. I said alright, but I’d still be packing. Then they called me and told me it would be Monday. Monday came and they told me it would be Tuesday 9am. I tried multiple times to call Safeway and either get the dispatcher or customer service, but neither picked up or returned my messages.

Moving out day. Nothing. No phone call, no communication. At 3:30pm I received a phone call from a “Frank” who I never talked to before who said the truck would be there in 45 minutes. In an hour and a half a Penske truck drove up with a 300lb driver wearing flip flops. The was apparently the head of the move. The “crew” consisted of a University of Iowa undergrad, who had never moved before. Corey (the driver’s name) told me that he had only been working moving gigs for two weeks, and only as a driver.

Apparently Safeway subcontracts with pretty much anyone, as they had with this “Frank”. None of the information I had communicated to “Mr Quality Assurance” had gotten to Frank or Corey and consequently Corey didn’t have the right packing materials. He even brought no tape and had to use up mine.

Since the load out couldn’t start until 5pm, by 11pm it was pitch black outside and only 2/3 loaded. I paid Corey this portion of my estimate (idiot me) and Corey said he and undergrad would finish in the morning, which they did. After I day of communication with Corey, he dropped off the map. As did Frank. No idea where he was. Finally I did get a 3-word confirmation from Frank that he would tell Corey that I had gotten parking permits for the truck to do the delivery on the 9th. On the 9th Corey texted me that he couldn’t make it until 7 or 8 pm. Later he told me 11pm. So I told him to show upon on the 10th at 7am.

At 9:30 am on the 10th when he finally showed up, I had with me two friends who had offered to help. He, again had only 1 person. My friends moved 99% of a full 28-ft truck, which was in total and compete disarray, into my condo. Corey (still in flipflops) did nothing. NOTHING.

At the end, Frank was asking me for money, and (again idiot me) after venmo’ing him some of the final amount, I realized how ludicrous this was, called him in Florida and told him he would not be receiving the final payment. Frank told me he would call the police and make me pay 5x the value of the whole move.

About one hour later, I received a call from Safeway’s customer service (Gigi). I told her I would be putting this review on social media and everyplace Safeway name appears. I’m an idiot, but they’re liars and crooks.

As the coup de grace, the 1 mover that Corey had brought with him asked if he could use the bathroom. I of course said yes. He defecated and broke the toilet and didn’t bother to try to flush. I am plundered. Move yourself or get your 85 year old grandmother to help you before you have anything to do with Safeway or any of their contractors.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $11000