Southern Guarantee Moving and Storage

We were contacted by their salesman Tony P. while looking for long distance movers. He gave us a price we were happy with after my wife gave him a very detailed list of what needed to be moved. We agreed on $5300 and payed them $2500 up front. The day of the move the movers showed up and we went over everything and showed them we owed another $2800. They had the same number but had to call their boss before moving anything. Their boss proceeded to tell us he couldn’t do it unless we payed $5700 instead of the $2800. This put us in a terrible spot because they wouldn’t refund the $2500 and we had to be out of our house. We had no choice but to pay them. This tactic is something they do every time they show up to a house. The guys actually doing the moving were very polite and professional but they said their boss applies this tactic on every move.

To make matters worse it went from a delivery time of 5 to 10 days to now it’s been over a month and we still don’t have our stuff. This experience has been a nightmare and is far from over. There’s no communication and we don’t know what to do other than contact the police.

I didn’t do my due diligence and my family and I are paying the price. The 5 star reviews are clearly faked, including the staged pictures. Don’t make the mistake we made. If you speak to Tony P just know he’s a conman. Their frauds and will take advantage of anyone they can. Stay Away!

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8300

DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY!! This has been the worst experience of my life. First off, I signed a contract and hired Southern Guarantee. I was never told this, but they subcontract your move out to different moving companies. They aren’t even an actual moving company, they just broker your move. I got a call a few days before pick up from a completely different company, which was confusing. I hired Southern Guarantee, which was a 4.5 star company at the time, and was given movers for a 1 star company. Let me tell you, the 1 star is completely deserved. Southern Guarantee quoted me based off of my exact inventory. The movers showed up and the day of charged me an arm and a leg more, literally $1,000 more. Southern Guarantee can say what they want, but they purposely quote people a smaller amount to get the sell and then jack up the price the day of to get more money. It’s a common shady tactic. Apart from the price, I paid $65 extra for a box to move my 65” tv in. They show up the day off without the box, but would not deduct the price. I was robbed of $65 for a service never provided. The movers packed the tv with two of MY boxes. Moving on, Southern Guarantee quoted me a 1-2 week turn around time. The day of pick up they showed up and said actually, it could be up to 6-7 weeks. Are you sensing a pattern? They promise one thing and deliver something else completely.

When my things were finally delivered, 2 boxes of clothes were missing, the mattress was scuffed and smelled horrible because it was wrapped improperly, and an essential bracket for the bed frame was missing meaning I don’t even have a bed to sleep in. I have been robbed of $1,000 extra than what I was told, $65 for a service never received, 2 boxes of clothes, a bed frame and a mattress. The company has been radio silent to my complaints, so we may just have to head to small claims court. This company is beyond shady and doesn’t care about quality at all. WHATEVER YOU DO, HIRE SOMEONE ELSE.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $4900

I am an actual customer instead of the fake reviewers leaving all the great reviews. DO NOT TRUST THE POSITIVE REVIEWS FOR THIS COMPANY! I would give 0 stars if I could. This company touts itself to be a moving company but is actually a moving broker and hire third party movers that you do not get to contact or speak to until an hour or two before they arrive to take your things. They also hook you in initially with a low price moving estimate and when they call to confirm your move the week before, it doubles-triples in costs. I was originally quoted $2K for a one bedroom move that then turned into $4.6K upon speaking to someone from Southern the week before. They take the money out in ACH transactions, so forget trying to get any money you give them back or to have your bank try to fight to get it back for you.

They lie frequently about when you will receive updates and information. I was guaranteed to be called 48 hours ahead of the day the movers were going to show up to confirm the move date and time. They called me less than 24 hours before to let me know to expect the movers to call between 2-6P the following day; this was after a day spent on the phone with outsourced third world representatives who refused to connect me with someone in the actual Ft. Lauderdale office. The movers then called at 630P the next day to let me know they were going to arrive close to 8P. After several assurances from Southern that I could arrange a drop off of my things 1-2 days later, I was horrified to learn from the actual moving company that I would have to pay an additional $2K to guarantee a delivery date and that my things would actually be picked up and taken to a warehouse and stored there until they had a truck full enough to go to my location. I was told by the actual movers that this could take up to two weeks. Given that I had not received this information from Southern and was under the expectation that I would be getting my stuff within a day or two, I was not able to prepare for up to 2 weeks without the appropriate clothes to start my job or even have something to sleep on in my new home. I then elected to figure out another way to get my stuff to my new place. Obviously they did not refund my money. I am out $2.4K of my hard earned money to Southern, $5.5K to actual legitimate movers, and also all the time I spent trying to arrange something else. This was the most stressful move of my life (I have moved several times) and it is all because of Southern Guarantee. If you value your time, money, energy, and peace, STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4600

Worst ever Do Not Use Them! I have moved 11 times and this was the worst ever with lying and stealing $$$$. They use unreputable carriers and then remove themselves from the situation when it all goes bad for pick up and delivery. I understand and am not a novice to movers and was still taken in by these charmers (liars). We had one other move from MN to NM that went really bad as well and Yes they were a company from FLORIDA as well so steer clear of moving companies from FL. that would be my advice to all.

Their customer service person is hard to understand and does not speak clear English and he is the only one you get. I asked to talk to a supervisor and they too just make promises to call them if you have problems and give you their name but when you call that person doesn't even exist.

The carriers they use are rude and snakey. The pickup driver actually had me write in the terms I agreed to ( a second stop to storage unit, which I paid for upfront) and sign it and then conveniently that paper was not part of our paperwork copies. I called immediately the next day to Southern Guarantee and that's when I encountered (for the 4th time) the customer service fraud.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $14355

This company really hides that they are a broker and will charge a sizeable fee for the purpose of finding you a moving company. This company DID NOT move my belongings in anyway shape or form. You are asked to pay three installments. Essentially the first installment is money kept by Southern Guarantee Moving & Storage. Then the other two installments are supposed to go to the company that shows up at your door. In my case this has been the biggest nightmare of my life. The actual company that picked up the goods are equally as suspect and scamming me for significant additional dollars at this point. I have no idea how this is going to turn out but the first mistake in this mess was listening to these men. Run as fast as you can! According to the Better Business Bureau this company has 107 complaints lodged against them and has an "F" rating. I looked at the online reviews. Guess I will never make this mistake again. If I ever move again after this fiasco with misleading people and I believe dishonest people, I will only use people who have local ties in some way.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2573

Do not go through Southern Guarantee to move - they are BROKERS, not the actual moving company! Contact a moving company DIRECTLY... this will save you a ton of money. The deposit you pay goes directly to the broker, NOT TOWARD YOUR MOVE. Also, there will be hidden costs... no matter how diligent you are in providing Southern Guarantee a true and accurate inventory. These companies don't communicate so if the moving company has different policies than Southern Guarantee, you have to abide by the moving company's policy... that's where the hidden fees come in. And Southern Guarantee DOES NOT disclose this. Oh they give vague reference in the fine print, but they are not communicative about ANYTHING when you are coordinating with their representatives. By the time you actually have an opportunity to read the estimate in its entirety, you are committed. They push you and tell you the "quote" they are giving you is only good for that moment. So you pay their deposit and think they are being up front about everything. They are not.

In addition, Southern Guarantee ONLY cares about the deposit you make at the beginning... after that they don't care whatsoever how complicated or expensive it gets because you either suck it up and pay or cancel the move and lose the deposit. I feel so sorry for people who have a very limited budget and get handed a bunch of extra costs with no recourse. The movers themselves were fine and are only doing their job... the real crook here is the broker... in this case Southern Guarantee. Finally - pay in cash!!! You will be charged a ridiculous fee to use a credit or debit card. Southern Guarantee will not tell you that... oh they will say you can pay with a credit card, but they won't mention the fees. Overall, this company is shady and unethical and just trying to make a buck.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1930

I have never been so angry or upset with a business as I am with this one. Long story short I paid them around $5000 to book and reserve a truck. They called and got my inventory or so I thought. They then call again and review inventory and I add some boxes and OMG I owe another $2099. This company does nothing!! They take your money and then hire an outside trucking company and then you have to pay them too because this piece of crap company keeps all your money and doesn’t tell you anything about having to pay yet more money. I then find out when they come pick up your stuff it is then moved again to another truck with other families things. They also told me it could take up to 21 days to go from Kansas to Georgia. Are you kidding me!! They can’t answer if they weigh your stuff on the truck or use cubic feet. When you call it’s a complete runaround. I will slam this company over and over on every outlet I can. DON’T USE THEM!!!

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $8946

What a terrible experience. A nightmare. We moved a few items from Washington DC to Atlanta. We were charged significantly more than the contract amount despite having listed the items to be moved and discussed each one with Jeff the salesperson. We provided photos of each item so the cubic feet estimate would be as accurate as possible. He went over each item and calculated the cubic feet. The movers that showed up said the actual cubic feet was 60% more than the estimate provided on the contract. This was even when we did not move some items on the list. Be aware that this company low balls the estimate to gain business and you will be charged more when the movers show up. In addition, despite having the arrival address on the moving contract, the movers said that it would cost us $200 more because they could not get an 18-wheeler on the street and would have to transfer our items to a smaller truck. Complaints to the company yielded nothing other than "it is just an estimate." They would not connect me to Jeff who I wanted to talk to because I told him there were some bad reviews and I needed to know how we could avoid this. He said people that were charged more had more items when the movers showed up and that was the reason for the higher charges. We actually moved fewer items but were charged significantly more. Customer support was nonexistent. There is no excuse for not calcualtinig the cubic feet estimate better. Also, why all the calls ahead of the move to check that the item list was still accurate when it makes no difference what the items are only the cubic feet. They give you a false sense of security by telling you the list of items is accurate. Do not use this company or beware! A very unhappy customer.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $4000

I was given a binding estimate of $3100 and on moving day the guys they sent immediately demanded an additional $1700 with no additions on my end.

Even if we took our 6 chair diningroom set, sectional and 3 tvs off the order they still wanted $1000 above the agreed price.

And after refusing to provide the service they agreed to at the price they agreed to they refused to return my deposit claiming i cancelled by refusing to sign a new contract.

Bad buiseness doesn't begin to describe them, they are in violation of federal law.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $4800

I spoke with Southern Guarantee Moving company on Monday October 10th were we then created a binding moving estimate with Marie Reed. In that estimate my grand total would be $2853 for these many items is attached to this complaint. Which included 37 items (All they would later tell me are not in my quote) I did sign that quote and there is a link to sign the quote at the bottom of the emailed quote. Later on, I did receive a call for another representative talking about if I have an exact number of boxes needed for the move. I said no not yet as I did not start packing my home. He goes on to say that well you can have 37 boxes instead of your 9(!!!) as that seems kind of low. I said 9 boxes are you sure? I do not remember signing up for only 9 boxes to move a 3-bedroom 2-story townhome. He says let me check, and insists it was only 9 boxes. Now my memory isn't the greatest, I'm actually an 100% disabled veteran, and my memory is one of my core problems. So, I took his word for it, and he quoted me a whopping 3 thousand extra dollars on the original amount of $2853. I said what!!! I then got upset and decided I was going to pack up my home in ONLY 9 boxes. Now when the moving company gets here today 11/10/22, 2 hours past their 4-hour loading time (1-4pm) they end up telling me they don't charge .65 cents per pound, they actually charge $4 per square feet. And I don't want to do the math but I'm sure that 200% more than what I was quoted. At this moment I am trying to get away from a domestic violence situation and I'm desperate, irrational, and emotional at the now quoted 7,500 and something dollars. Especially now that I realize today at 12am on 11/11 that I was all along being blatantly lied to from the very first agreed amount. The owner's wife Diana demanded that I pay 2,4442.24 to her PERSONAL ZELLE account AND NOT THE MOVING COMPANYS ZELLE BUSINESS ACCOUNT. Navy federal stopped the second deposit.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7500

This company took my 88 year old parents and their belongings and there is no sight of where they are. It’s been 3 weeks and still no information as to where their stuff is. At one point Deb Fox in customer service stated they can’t tell us where it is since other customers have their belonging stored in this climate control area. I said, they are supposed to be moving it not storing it. That is theft and holding it hostage. Everything they say is vague and they do t have anyway to find out where your stuff is. My parents have a few days only worth of clothes. Family heirlooms we may never see again. Do not use this company. No one seems to take ownership of anything. They just keep saying to call customer service. We are about to file with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration if the items are not delivered by 11/19/22.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $14000

I reached out to the company more than 5 times and was told they were looking at the problems and would call me back. I have heard nothing.

At the time of the initial quote, I was pressured into signing that day at a reduced rate because they told me they had a "back load" and could save me 40%. When the movers arrived, the priced jumped from $4000 to $10k. The project was underestimated and no one looked at the property. They wanted to secure the project, take my money and then leave me high and dry.

Then the movers said they didn't know anything about a backload and then proceeded to scratch my wood floors. Southern Guarantee Moving is a brokerage company and the company moving me is also extremely unprofessional, unkind, they just say hello when answering the phone and always seem inconvenienced.

Bait and Switch. Do not trust Southern Guarantee Movers or Handle with Care movers. They should both be closed and sued.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $10000

SCAMMERS AND THIEVES!!!! If I could give a negative review I absolutely would! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY unless you like to be completely screwed over and lose your money. In July 2022, "Ben" at Southern Guarantee quoted me $7064 to move my 3 bdrm home from Boise to North Carolina. I repeatedly tried to give him measurements of things to ensure accuracy and a correct quote. He told me it would be fine and what he was putting in would leave me plenty of extra room. August...comes the day the moving people arrive. They then quote me over 12K to move my things! I told them not happening and told them I'd move myself for that price...which I ended up doing with Uhaul. Southern Guarantee then told me the $2326 I'd already paid them could go towards another move in a year. Fast forward to today. I moved the majority of the things myself cross country in a Uhaul for less than $6k including the gas but ran out of space for bringing a couch, recliner, coffee table and one double bed. I called Southern Guarantee to move what was left in my home now that Ive sold it so that I could use the amount I'd already paid them. Guess what....they informed me that even though I only had those four items that needed moved, I'd still owe them the difference of what they first quoted me....yeah...do the math....that's $4738. I can buy an entire new living room and bedroom set for that. I'm telling you.... DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!! THEY ARE A BUNCH OF SCAMMERS!!!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12000

This company is horrendous!!!! My move turned horrible within 1 minute of the movers arrival. Price went up over $5,500.00 immediately. Either I went to the bank and got cash for them or they were leaving. When I didn't think it could get any worse it did!!! All of my furniture!!! Expensive solid cherry wood 6 piece king bedroom set, every piece was damaged or broken. Every other piece of furniture was damaged. The mover was dragging my furniture and pushing it on the ground. When I said something to him he told me to "take a picture and call his boss the next day." Southern Guarantee told me that they were not responsible for anything that was damaged and not responsible for the cost being $5,500.00 more than what they said. Their contract with you means nothing because they don't move you they have another company move you. STAY AWAY FROM THEM!!!!! I HAD OVER $20,000.00 DAMAGED!!!!!!!

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $8800

Do not under ANY circumstances, resort to using this company. They are just a BROKER and they misrepresent at best, and out and out lie at worst. If they lose or damage your belongings they refer you to a website where you can choose to make a claim at a PITTANCE that won't even come close to the value of what has been lost and/or damaged! This broker as well as the carrier are short on integrity and their customer service was excellent BEFORE the move. I am trying to spread the word so that other unsuspecting victims don't fall prey to these people!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $450

I applied for this broker, I spoke with a consultant, Bret, who said he was a moving coordinator. I described to him my house and belonging not only in my home but my storage and my need to move from Michigan to Florida. He said he understood the space I needed and quoted me 500 cubic feet would be more than enough. Then he called back a week before moving and stated we should upgrade to 800 cubic feet, knowing what I described to him would not fit in the previous space and not this upgrade space. The initial cost was $1513 down payment (half of cost) then called for an additional $1,161 more to do an inventory they never did. When the driver arrived they said this would not fit, and the truck was too small that they were told to bring by Southern Guaranteed Movers. This was the space told to them by Bret who never scheduled an inventory. The actual movers charged me an additional $15,000, now the movers wanted $15,000 I had to shut down my bank accounts to recover money, and not be charged $1161 by the broker, Bret co., that wanted more money the day before the movers got there. The movers arrived early due to a snow storm or else we would never have known until the broker got all their money and disappeared. They no longer answer their phones and state I don’t have 24 hours to cancel a contract with them. They refuse to refund my money, even though I paid them and the movers all of their costs which I should not have been responsible for. They told me my storage would be $368 a month, now the storage company (blue ridge) is demanding $3000 a month($100 a day).

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $18000

Scam scam scam scam. They will make everything sound great to get the "non-refundable" deposit from you and go over inventory but I promise you when the ACTUAL movers show up they will say you need more space than what was allotted and your price will rise significantly. Just one example I had my lawnmower on my estimate and then the movers got there and added 500 dollars JUST TO DEAL WITH THE MOWER. Mind you this is after they were 24 hours late on arrival. Do not use this company for any reason. DONT DO IT.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3500

If I could give a 0 and guarantee NO ONE else would EVER go through the experience that I have, I would. BE AWARE OF SOUTHERN GUARANTEE AND THEIR FRAUDULENT PRACTICES. And before I go any further, let me be clear that I have evidence, witnesses, and the traumatic physical and mental scars to bear of all that I will say, REGARDLESS of their response which may follow this review.

First of all, this company should be put out of business, if not by the FTC, DOT, FBI, then by WE, the people. I felt comfortable going with this company in a move from VA and believing they were ethical, patriotic, honest, and safe; through the process of engaging them, a representative recognized my name from a DoD foreign service PCS just a few years prior. THEY ARE NOT. Their federal contract with DoD should be pulled and all licenses to do business revoked for federal and interstate domestic moves, as I experienced every violation in federal law concerning this company and their unethical partnership with Sala Moving.

Let’s start with “Southern Guarantee Moving”, an oxymoron if ever I’ve encountered one. Their “guarantee” is to guarantee you fraud and fleecing, then wipe their hands of you after claiming and presenting themselves to be actual movers with a large fleet to accomplish your move and any tasking. NOT SO. THEY ARE MOVING BROKERS who do not identify themselves as such and con you out of 1000s of dollars to do what you can do: pick up a phone and coordinate your own move with an actual moving company that can and will accomplish what you want and need for an actual, legitimate price for time, material, and services rendered.

When you start to engage with them, they clearly appear to be on the level, asking all the right questions, ensuring all: packers, boxes down to the kind for different types of items, packing materials, items room by room, size. I spent two hours on the phone going through all with the first rep reassuring me of smooth sailing and even discounts. During the call, I started getting a ton of text messages, including one from a person asking moving questions and claiming to be my mover. I questioned this with SG and the rep told me to ignore these texts and emails, that they were companies trying to steal their business because my name had entered the DOT database. SG finished the booking and transferred me to accounts for payment. I was at peace and grateful for what I thought a blessing, but I soon discovered the devil in disguise.

A few days later, I received a call from their QC department (not actually a QC by his own words), meanwhile continuing to get messages from this other guy and trying to get my intake person on the phone to clarify these claims. What came out of this call truly made me uneasy. After reviewing everything requested, I was told I needed a greater number of boxes, clothes hanging boxes weren’t included in the agreement after discussing with the first rep, on top of numerous additional discrepancies between the two SG reps. Bottom line, that conversation ended with a readjustment of the “deposit” owed for moving which had to be paid by ACH (you only have 2 days to dispute and have a fighting chance to get your money back) in less than 24 hours or the move would be canceled.

At NO time did anyone rep of SG ever say or allude to being a broker, tell me their “fleet” was actually third-party movers with their own set of rules, charges, negotiations, etc., or reveal the name of another company scheduled to move me. I started putting two and two together and pressing their customer service for answers. A customer service rep and his supervisor finally admitted all (except the additional charges) and the supervisor reassured me all would be well, apologized for the lacking behavior in communication (finally called me days before the move) by the foreman of this third-party company (sighting an excuse that they were foreigners and that was their way!).

I discovered these additional charges when they showed up end of business, a day early, claiming my 1 bedroom/den would cost a minimum $12,000 to move! I immediately contacted Southern Guarantee for assistance to which holding phone games were played, false empathy from the rep claiming disbelief wanting to help, Sala Moving called and spoke with their SG POC while I was on the phone, then we spoke together. It was clear they were all complicit and in the scam. The supervisor finally came on and stated SG was washing their hands and that I had to deal with the 3rd party now threatening to leave my things unless we paid half in cash then; hostage situation for cash balance & sig before delivery w/ doc ref 30 days to pay.

Sala was only a moving company not packers, had no boxes, no packing material, no tools. I had to leave my place, run ATM to ATM, plead with my banks to increase the withdrawal limit, spend $300 for boxes and a drill to take furniture apart, and get back to pack my own stuff!

So much more but out of room..

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $15000