Schumacher Cargo Logistics

Please do not use this company. I could write a very lengthy review but let me sum this up by saying I lodged a complaint with the Better Business Bureau after Schumacher forced me to pay an additional $1325 for insurance that I declined (and were going to hold my items at ransom if I didn't pay). They still did not directly respond to the complaint and when I spoke to BBB, they said there were many complaints against this company within their system and Schumacher had not been responding to any of them. BBB suggested I escalate the complaint which I now have. I have just received the following email back:

"The Bureau of Household Goods and Services has received your complaint. The Bureau has forwarded the complaint to the Investigation Unit as the company you contracted with does not have a license to operate as a moving company in California. The Bureau regulates moves and moving companies within California.Since you contracted with an unlicensed moving company, under California’s Business & Professions Code, Section 19237, subdivision (b), you can pursue the company civilly to recover all money paid to them."

Do NOT believe the reviews on their website. They are most likely falsified reviews. They have a great 'front line' service that makes you think you're in excellent hands and these people really understand what's going on. Its a CON. We paid more than $10k for our move and then we were advised that Customs had decided to take our container for an "invasive inspection". We then got an additional bill for $2350 but we received NO paperwork whatsoever to verify that US Customs had actually taken our container, and no reason for why this might have happened. Frankly, we believe this is part of their 'racket' and we have no evidence at all that Customs actually did take the container. Whether they did or not is almost irrelevant because the whole operation was so shonky and questionable and BBB has confirmed they get a ton of complaints, and now the Dept of Household Goods has informed they aren't even licensed. Stay as far away from them as possible!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $10750

Avoid these people at all costs. I moved from the US to Germany, and had a horrible and expensive experience.

The only time they were responsive is at the beginning, when pestering me to sign a contract for > $10K. I chose to go with them on the advice of some friends who used them a few years ago. What a difference a few years makes.

I paid for a full service move, "including all agent's fees". I was still charged by their german partner, ITO, who are so clueless that they don't even know what form to ask for for customs. In order to get my stuff, I had to pay additional agent fees for customs clearance.

These people will take your money, and never respond to you. You have to know what to ask for, and when to push for it. They will give you nothing, and their international partners are incompetent. They will cause you a great deal of stress at a very high price.

They are terrible.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $11000

You are better off financially starting from scratch as opposed to using this shipping company. They will give you a decent (but pricy) quote, tell you all your items will fit in a specific container (the movers will say so, too), then everything seems great until your items arrive in California where all of a sudden the chaos begins. You will not hear anything from the company for quite some time until they need money- no status updates, nothing. Out of nowhere you will get a storage fee for thousands of dollars, and the second you pay it, magically a container is available for Shipment and that all of your items suddenly will not fit in the container and that they need to put it in an even BIGGER container for an extra 1,000 dollars. Once you pay that, a random person, (probably the 5th person you've had contact with), will give you an ETA and tell you your stuff has been loaded and it's on its way. WELL guess what, its not. Then someone else will contact you asking if you sent your car title that you sent to them three months ago (and was told they received), followed by a third storage fee and a new 50-day delay ETA even though you were just told everything was already shipped and sent off. Then, again, you will be bombarded with three new contacts asking the same questions about your missing car title that they misplaced, followed by them NEVER answering your questions. Your high quote and payment of 15,000 becomes 16,600, then 19,000, then 21,000, and then 23,000. And every time they contact you they want more and more money. They are the absolute most disgusting moving company on the planet, and are trying to monopolise everything by telling you how cheap it will be originally but absolutely never making any attempts to help families relocate.

If you need to move anywhere, start over or find another company because this company is absolute garbage. The disorganisation is unbelievable. Oh, and pack your own stuff in LARGE boxes because they charge per box but won't tell you that- the movers tell you that last minute after you were told by some slimy sales executive not to pack anymore because the movers will do it.

Waste of an unbelievable amount of money, money that we needed for our family and babies. The company preys on families and it is disgusting.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $23500

My experience with Schumacher Cargo is pretty much the same as expressed by most of reviewers here. Have nothing new to add besides re-emphasising that this company must be avoided at all means.

I was underquoted by 25%, they trick you into giving accurate quote once your stuff is in their possession at warehouse. 10% of our cargo were lost or stolen and didn't make it to the final destination.

As later learned from their release agent in Europe approximately 7 out of 10 Schumacher Cargo clients experience cargo loss or damage and overall working with these people is a total shit show.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

Moved from Australia to USA, Schumacher Cargo Logistics, was the company in the USA that received my items, they waited a month after receiving items before they scheduled delivery to me, then rented a uhaul with an excessive charge when they could have park the large semi outside my house and unloaded (there is a semi truck company two doors up the street on the opposite side, so they lied in saying that trucks could not use our road. They said nothing about the cost until two weeks after they delivered my items, then they sent me a bill on Dec. 16th that had a due date of Dec. 16th. When I questioned the cost of the Uhaul they claimed the semi could not come down my street and that if I did not pay the bill by the next day they would send it to collection. Scammers and dishonest. The $350 was on top of the $4000 + that I paid initially in Australia

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $350

I did a small shipment of 21 carton boxes (1 bedroom apartment) (no furniture) from New York City to Switzerland via freight. I got a very good price (1400 SUD), since I was not in a rush and didn’t mind to do freight shipment (delivery time: 3 months). Initially the communication was good with my contact person Christopher, but as soon as I paid for the shipment, they stopped answering my emails. I was not able to update important changes in the delivery address or on the insurance that they made mistakes on (I paid for it, but they didn't seem to acknowledge that in the online portal). Ultimately, it seems I did have insurance – according to a phone conversation I had with them, but I am unsure it would have been easy to activate it there was a problem. I was able to change delivery address at the end too. It was only when the cartons were taken over by their correspondent in Europe (ITO) that things got better again with respect to communication (ITO did a fine job). Pick up in New York by Schumacher was on time and staff was friendly and professional and everyone wore masks (Covid times). My cartons arrived in Switzerland, pretty much on time (3 months 1 week, i.e. 1 week late, but there was Christmas in the middle) and in good condition. Delivery staff (ITO, from the German correspondent) were good too. Importantly, I made a mistake: I was supposed to pay only the announced price (1400 USD) but remove the security deposit (250 USD) that I had already paid in advance. This was stated in an email but not clearly visible and my bill was not updated so I missed it. So I paid 250 USD too much. It took them 4 months to pay me back after endless (dozens) emails and phone calls, and ultimately having to post bad reviews online for them to finally pay me back (which they did – the same day I posted the bad reviews; now that they paid I updated my review).

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $1415

This company is the classic case of bait and switch. They tell you what you want to hear to earn your business and then hold your stuff hostage. I was told my car would take 8 weeks to ship from US to Europe. I was advised that if there was a port congestion to allow a 9th and potential 10th week for a buffer. Okay cool!

WRONG! They sat on my car for 11 weeks at origin waiting to consolidate it and as I'm writing this review, my car still has not shipped as of today. When I called for a refund and to cancel, the passive aggressive service rep named Christian had the nerve to tell me that I would need to pay their cancellation fee and never even said sorry or apologized in any way.

Use my experience as a warning. Don't take the bait. Leave it for other oblivious fish.

Service cost: $2900

I had previously read a good review of Schumarcher and when I spoke to the agent Mark Neville he seemed really nice and helpful. Alas, it has been six months since I shipped my stuff (20 boxes only) and it should have taken three. The invoice is over double what I was actually quoted for the same amount of stuff, additional charges that were not my fault and now it's been impossible to actually get a hold of them to resolve! Don't add this stress to your list when you're already dealing with a stressful international move.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $3400

This was a move from Australia to the USA and the Australian company used Schumacher for the US delivery segment. The biggest concern we’ve had is that Schumacher added many charges without consent or explanation (when asked, they refused to respond) and then withheld our final container until we paid their bogus charges. Highly unethical and fraudulent in our view. I would reinforce what others have stated - this is a highly unprofessional company that engages in very questionable practices. In over a dozen moves (including 4 international ones), I must say that this company has been the worst with misrepresentation and manipulation.

Avoid them if at all possible.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $60000