Safeway Moving Systems

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

I had the worst experience with Safeway. Safeway is just a broker who outsources the pickup up and delivery to different companies. I dealt with Safeway for the quote and scheduling the move, then with a company Febex for the pickup, and are currently dealing with Prime Relocation for the delivery. There is no communication between these companies. Febex showed up and without actually loading up the trick, increased the quote to DOUBLE. My husband had to leave work to supervise them for 5 hours and they reduced their quote. But still told us to give them a hefty tip in order for them to remove line items from the charged amount. We felt like we were being taken advantage of. I am still working with Prime and that has been very difficult and frustrating. They called to get half of the remaining cost but have not been able to get them on the phone to schedule a delivery. Even after I mentioned that I had a family member who die unexpectedly and needed to know when to expect our delivery so I can plan to participate and help prepare for the funeral. I have sent numerous emails and my calls are going straight to voicemail. I have not heard from Safeway since a few days before the movers came. This has been a nightmare experience. This company should not be recommended to anyone.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7907

In the end, the Chicago pick-up and New York delivery were both within the promised time windows. One bureau leg was broken but repairable, and some inexpensive lamp shades, towels, lamp, bedspread, and dishes are missing, so far. The cost was roughly $6500, and the on-site crews were knowledgeable and courteous, whom we tipped accordingly.

Still, it was one of the worst consumer experiences of my life, in terms of service-provider communication, transparency, and accountability. This was three very stressful weeks, requiring frequent calls, double-checking, corrections, and hand-holding.

One factor in my mover selection was a contractual agreement to store the belonging for up to thirty days for free, if the destination apartment was not ready yet for delivery. When such storage for just four days was a possible scenario, because my building freight elevator has been so overbooked, the delivery company outright rejected that, implying that it would not honor a contract which it did not sign, even though it assumed my move and corresponding payments.

From what I have experienced firsthand, read on many consumer-review sites, and been told secondhand, even brand-name interstate movers have devolved into simply brokers feeding random contractors. Generally, no company performs all the pick-up, transport, and delivery stages of a move order in a continuous, single-handed chain of custody.

Instead, these movers typically sub-contract a local labor company for pick-up, an independent trucking company for transport, and another local labor for delivery. Given so many unaffiliated parties, nobody is really in charge or accountable about communication, scheduling, property tracking and security, customer service, issue resolution, or claims recovery. If anything goes wrong, each sub-contractor points a finger at the others, if any response at all. Indeed, customer service tends to be just over-filled voice-mail inboxes, even during business hours.

Note that most of these brokers lack true business addresses; they are empty corporate shells which use dummy addresses in the Contact Us sections of their websites. Most of these parties accept only cash or US Post Office money orders------not even bank money orders or cashier checks. No credit cards, usually, to skirt no recourse.

According to my building manager, one family has been waiting for over thirty days for its belongings, without any clear sign of where they are, who has them, and how they might be delivered. At this stage, neither the broker nor the sub-contracted parties will even respond to the family anymore. They are onto their next "jobs". Total silence, hence loss. Another resident lost all her belongings, too. She then filed a claim, having paid a steep premium for "full replacement value" insurance. Well, as typical, no adequately capitalized, independent, reputable insurer exists to pay her claim. Worse yet, the mover stalled her for weeks, and now has said that original receipts for all her belongings must be filed within a few days, or the claim irrecoverably expires. So, who keeps original receipts for everything? The so-called insurance is mainly a cash-generating hoax.

My lost box was labelled clearly with the destination address and contact details. However, I am confident that nothing will be recovered, as neither the pick-up, transport, or delivery sub-contractor has any incentive, end-to-end control, or accountability to return them, even if found. My e-mail to make a claim has been effectively ignored. Fortunately, the contents had no sentimental value, and are cheap to replace.

Lesson: If your destination address is ready to receive belongings, just ship more effectively and cheaply via Fedex.

If you Google the names of positive reviewers for either their purportedly old or new places of residence, you suspect that these people often do not exist, meaning fake reviews to bury the real but very negative ones. By the way, my objective but damning initial review was deleted. If the site is packed with apparently positive albeit fake reviews, such moving companies may be more likely to advertise there, in my opinion.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6500

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

This is a SCAM. Do not use. They are liars and cheats. They will take your money, lie again, take more money, hold your possessions hostage, lie again, faulty phone numbers, horrible service, liars, crooks and cheats. Do not trust this company with your most valuable possessions. They are scamming you out of your money and using smoke screens and gaslighting to do it. They are good at what they do - crime. Do not trust them. They will not insure your stuff, they will have you sign several DIFFERENT contracts and have another contract with a shotty moving company. They will keep your stuff hostage in a storage facility and then convince you it’s your fault and tell you that you have to pay for storage. We still haven’t received our belongings. It’s been over 1 month. We don’t know if we ever will see our entire life’s savings of valuable possessions. We are waiting on a shoestring. So devastating. We are in complete grief about this nightmare process. To be scammed like this with our only possessions on the face of the earth. We feel used and violated. Horrible communication, horrible management, despicable company. Please save yourself the trouble and find another company. They are liars and cheats. Do not sign, do not buy into their low quote, they are not war veterans, only veterans of greed.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $14000

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

First, Safeway is a brokerage. They don’t actually move you. They contract movers on either side of long distance moves and on one side of our move, the movers were professional and punctual. But my word, the movers on the CA side of the move were comic book villains. I don’t file complaints ever. I’m generally too lazy and too easily content to bother. But I feel exploited AND I ended up with 2 boxes of someone else’s stuff and no one seems to care!! I’m hate that my stuff is gone, but I really hate having a random persons things.

So the list:

1. CA movers showed up hours outside our moving window on the last possible move day.

2. They told us we might be over they would tell us our final total once everything was loaded (This is illegal under CA law!! Don’t be like me. Know this!!)

3. They were sketchy as heck. The scratched the floor. They shoved things a weird angles. They did not take any care with packing things like trucks. They did not give us any of the paperwork that they are legally required to give us under law. The manifest that we got from

Akron shipping company makes NO sense.

4. They made us pay more day of move AND they made us pay for to get things out of storage—which we learned the day that we thought our stuff was arriving (it was in CA.

5. All clear Tupperware’s were opened and things were taken (camping supplies being the main one).

6. We are missing boxes. Some higher value (kitchen things), some comical all of my husbands extra t-shirts, socks, undershirts, and T-shirts.

7. Things were really damaged—like dropped from a crane and jumped on. I have wild small kids. Things in my life are scratched. This is unusable wobble de wobble.

8. I am only writing this review now because I was told that someone from claims would contact me today yet again, and they have not. I also contacted BBB. I have someone else’s stuff!!

There is more, but this is all the energy that I can muster to warn you that 1) Safeway is not doing the do diligence in vetting movers will on the west coast right now. 2) I have called customer service repeatedly— mostly they don’t pick up, but when they do they will not connect you to claims AND I HAVE 2 boxes of a random persons things!!

3) moving advice to future self. take pictures of ALL your boxes and write numbers on them, ask for a receipt with a box checklist, ask your broker to provide the name of the moving company on each leg of the journey. Go with the pod that you wanted to get and hire local movers yourself….

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $11000

After promising to deliver our furniture from Los Angeles to Chicago by August 15th (they picked it up on August 3rd), no one will call back and tell us where the furniture is and when it will finally be delivered to Chicago.

This company is only a broker and does not care anything about the customer (and says they have no control over when the furniture will arrive).

And by the way, they advertise they are an LLC, but aren't even that. They dissolved their charter in November of 2020.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1000

Description of Complaint: Safeway Moving System 1440 W. Taylor St. Unit 676. Chicago, Il 60607 AND

Flash Moving & Storage 1805 Sichel Street, Ste 204 Carlos Torres 213-842-1261 DOT#3106377 MC#80331 picked up my family furniture and belongings on May 22, 2021. He said it would be in SEATTLE at pick up, I paid $2731.48 with a balance owing upon delivery twenty-one days from the date of pick up. The company has NOT delivered my property They have stolen my property and money Carlos is my only contact and he has been extremely disingenuous, lied about additional follow-up delivery dates, avoided contact and will not answer the telephone. I booked this move with Safeway Moving Systems - Chicago and paid them $1800.00. at the time of reservation, Safeway Moving Systems DOT#3166589 MC#114982 PARTICIPATE IN theft and fraud. My Account #FY5911954. Payments were made from May 19th - May 24, 2021. NEITHER COMPANY HAS ATTEMPTED TO RESOLVE DELIVERY HONORABLY. SAFEWAY STAFF LIE about contacting me with resolutions. SAFEWAY MOVING SYSTEMS - CHICAGO AND FLASH MOVING AND STORAGE ARE THIEVES.

Desired Settlement:

Delivery; Finish the job; Billing adjustment

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5100

It is the most terrible company I ever used across all service I ever used. They was supposed to call 24 to 72 hours before beginning of pickup window. No one ever called. I called 48 hours prior to pick up window and was promised that I would get a call within 24 hours. When no one called 24 hours later, I call them back and was lectured about patience. He also promised me someone would call me that evening. However, still no one called. So, I waited another 36 hours. The morning of second day of pickup window, I called them. After some back and forth, I was told that they would come pick up between 2-4pm. By 3:30pm, no one contacted me or showed. When I called, I was told that they cannot help me, inquire if someone is coming, or do anything at all until 4pm. I call back at 4pm and was told that they will sort it out and call me back. Nothing. I had a meeting and have to leave the house, so called to check on status around 5:30pm. After tried many times, finally someone actually answer the phone. He promised to call me back in 15 minutes. Well, 3 hours later (9pm), nothing. I am still waiting. I called again. After many tried, hang up, or poor connection then disconnect, someone actually answer and told me that they cannot help in anyway. this is the worst company. Would definitely avoid at all cost.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5800

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

At our initial call, they seemed decent but after taking my deposit for a cross-country move (~$11,000) there was almost no communication. I called multiple times but the customer rep (J.C.) I was assigned to was unhelpful and mostly unresponsive. They seem more focused on sales rather than aiding with moves, which seemed to be the whole point of a moving broker. My items eventually came after 30+ days of waiting, albeit with some broken and missing items.

The biggest issue is that the moving company they selected was dissolved so my claims for broken items and missing boxes will remain unresolved. According to a manager, nothing will be done on their part. I cannot recommend Safeway Moving Systems at all. In addition, after the deposit, I had to do all the legwork with the actual moving company. Safeway was just there to hire THEM.

A side note: when I tried to get into contact with someone other than my customer rep (during the 30+ days of waiting), I was just told to call them instead (even though I couldn't get a response). I did get a callback but it was from another rep thinking I was a new customer. When they realized I wasn't, they were annoyed and hung up on me. This is part of why I say they seemed focused on sales.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12332

I contracted with Safeway for a partial pack, cross country move and paid 40% up front. The follow-up QA call the following week resulted in a 25% cost increase, requiring additional down payment. On move day, the movers added not only an additional $1,200 worth of goods, but also charged $720 for “packing costs” increasing my total move costs to be 43% higher than the initial estimate. I asked Safeway to cover at least the packing materials on their incorrect estimate, but was told I was “making excuses” for not thoroughly reviewing the contract. I called at least weekly since the first available date, and twice a week after the first few weeks to be told they'd check status and call back. They called back maybe three times total. Nearly a month after the first available delivery date, they said it was 4-6 days from loading from storage in the origin state and that I’d get a call within that timeframe letting me know. That too came and went. They finally delivered our things 56 days after picking them up, 41 days after the first available delivery date. The delivery happened with less than the 24 hours notice we were repeatedly given, and they showed up almost 2 hours past their arrival window. A few things were lost, including a very expensive computer monitor. After filing a BBB complaint, they apologized and said they would call me, and didn’t. 17 days after their initial response and me having to reject their response to prevent my case from expiring, they called to apologize and offer a reimbursement. They wouldn’t cover the unexpected packing or shipping costs. We’re working out that reimbursement. Their claims process is yet another vendor with a paper-only submission process and 120 days to process the claim.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $18000

As a moving broker, Safeway subcontracted with a local moving company - Midwestern- for our move. Midwestern did a good job with our move. However, Safeway offered no value to our moving process other than arranging with the actual mover. Promises were made regarding communication and delivery estimates. None of these were kept. I tried contacting Safeway several times during the process and none of my messages were ever returned. I would not recommend using this moving broker.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000

This is definitely not a "moving company." It is merely a telephone broker that provides a completely unreliable online quote to customers for a moving contract. Then Safeway sells the contract to move your furniture to another company. Safeway has zero influence over the reliability or integrity of the company to whom it refers its customers, and has zero responsibility for what that company does with your furniture. WARNING: DO NOT USE SAFEWAY. The company is a collection of middlemen talking on the phone and then passing its customers off to whatever moving company it can persuade to give the Safeway telephone operators the highest referral fee.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12000