Venture Van Lines LLC

WORST. MOVE. EXPERIENCE. EVER. Venture Van Lines is the least transparent, most dishonest company that either I or my extended family have ever organized a move through. And we move a lot. My biggest regret for this move was using a broker, and I would never do so again. I will also actively discourage all friends, family, and even acquaintances from doing so. Frankly, I wouldn’t wish this move experience on my worst enemy. My advice: Go directly through a moving company. It might look more expensive up front, but it will probably save you money (and a whole lot of stress) in the end.

If you do choose to use Venture, expect to pay much more than the amount quoted in the contract they will sign with you, and expect them to use a lot of manipulative tactics to increase the price of your move at the last minute (once it’s too late to find someone else). You can also expect that if you try to ask that they stick to the original contract, the representatives will change face: from charming/ professional to rude/ irritable/ very unprofessional. I literally had a representative hang up on me for saying that I didn’t want to increase my volume (and thus pay an extra $800 for my move – in the end, due to this company’s lack of transparency and deceitful tactics, I paid almost double their original quote for my move).

A couple of red flags that I would like to point out:

- Many 5-star reviews for this company seem to focus on the actual moving companies hired by Venture to handle people’s move. This company is a brokerage. They ARE NOT the ones handling your actual move.

- Additionally, per their contract, customers cannot leave a negative review for breeches of contact unless Venture has completed their review process. If customers leave a negative review, they are forfeiting any compensation from Venture. HUGE RED FLAG that they include that in their contract. How many people do you know who are willing to forfeit money to leave a review?

In the meantime, I wrote to them back in 09/21 about several breeches of contract from my Aug/Sep move. They and their reps have basically ghosted me since the day I asked them to honor their original contract. And I'm under no illusions at this point that they will be getting back to me - not about the price increases despite their guarantees, not about sending a moving company out (who was unwilling to honor the original contract) after I specifically asked them to continue looking for a company willing to honor that original estimate/ contract, not about the reality that the contract said my furniture would be put back together when I got to my destination (instead, the moving company left several pieces entirely disassembled), etc.

When I sat down and wrote out all the things that went wrong with my Venture move experience, I filled 3 pages, single spaced. I know no one has the bandwidth to read all of that while planning a big move. Just know that it was bad. Think about spirit of the law vs. letter of the law. They breeched the spirit of their contract right and left, but they used letter of the law/ contract loopholes to do it. I think they also count on the reality that most customers aren’t going to fly out to NJ to sue them for breach of contract. I hope one day they will be proved wrong and one of their customers will hop on a plane and do just that. This company is seriously unethical in their business practices.

Best of luck on your upcoming move. I hope this review has convinced you to go with another company. Or, at the very least, has made you aware of what to expect if you use this one.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4015

BE WARNED - Never use this company!

On behalf of my elderly mother (85), we arranged and agreed to a contract for a move of our possessions (17 boxes/packages) of my late father in California to Illinois through Venture Van Lines.

Venture subcontracted to a moving company of THEIR choice named Five Star Professional Movers owned by Jamal Hall of Florida. While they were in route for the pick up (11/23/21), we were called by Venture Van Lines and Five Star Professional Movers via conference call to be informed that the quoted price had been increased by $100 per Five Star’s request.

Venture told us to pay the additional $100 and they (Venture) would reimburse us the $100 once delivery was made in Illinois because this was not part of the quoted and agreed upon contract price.

We had to pay Five Star ½ up front, the balance was to be paid upon delivery in 10-14 days.

Five Star loaded our property on November 23, 2021 and immediately deposited them in a US Storage facility in Bakersfield, CA.

To this day, 2/28/22, the contract has not been fulfilled and Venture will not reimburse our broker fee or the amount paid to Five Star (who no longer can be reached or found).

Venture will not help recover our property from US Storage nor pay the outstanding balance owed by Five Star, who has never paid a month and abandoned the locker.

US Storage will not release our possessions because the storage contact is with Five Star even though we have proven that the contents of the locker are yours which was verified by a detective with the Bakersfield Police Department. We now need to get a court order to recover our property and pay the outstanding storage charge due or US Storage will auction off the locker contents.

To date, Venture Van Lines has cost us over $1,700 (and growing). We have tried numerous times via phone (which they say "there is nothing we can do"), email and certified letter to resolve this situation but have had NO reply.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $1711

Received a quote from Kyle at Venture Van Lines for 450 cubic feet for about $3500. Received a call from Kasey at Venture to go over items again and it went from 450 cubic feet to over 750 cubic feet and an added $2400 expense. I already paid about $1400 for initial payment using Zelle. Kasey stated the moving company would call the day before my move. Currently, I’m supposed to move today June 12th and never received any phone calls from anyone. I have called Venture Van Lines 6 different times since June 11th, 2022 and the calls are sent to their answering service. I had spoken with Abbey and Karen at this answering service 6 times to have Venture Van Lines call me which they never have. I’m now going to have to rent a U-haul truck and move myself from Marana, AZ to Lewiston, ID which is $2,000 for the truck and most likes at least $1,000 for fuel. I will be demanding my initial deposit back from Venture Van Lines for Breach of Contract. If they refuse, I will be suing them in court for the initial deposit plus all of my expenses paid to obtain a U-haul truck. Please please please do NOT hire Venture Van Lines for your moving needs. I promise you will regret it just as I am.

Sincerely,

Brian R Stephenson APRN MSN FNP-C

6/12/22

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3400

They gave me a very reasonable quote a month before my move. I was told that I could not make a payment with my credit card, they would accept Zelle (basically cash). I paid them and signed the contract. They called a couple of days before my move and asked for an additional $750 dollars on top of the $1400 I had already paid. This was a red flag. I refused and the representative backed off and said they would make the original agreement work. Then my moving day came and no one showed up, no one called, nothing. I called them 7 times over the next two days and spoke to 3 different women at their 3rd party "answering service". These women at the answering service said that Venture Vanlines was a new client and that they receive several calls a day from distressed customers who believe they were victims of a scam. VENTURE VANLINES IS A SCAM!! I will never see that $1400 again. I can't even get through to these people who took my money. Please don't fall for the FAKE reviews in this site.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3500

On 5/3 I spoke with Kyle at Venture Van Lines who claimed he had done hundreds of moves. He scheduled cross-country car shipping for $1,000 and my mini move at $1,758. I signed their estimate contract and he had me scheduled for pickup on 5/30. On 5/23, I spoke with a woman named Kasey to ask if they would move my pickup date sooner to the 27 and she told me that "dispatch" would charge an extra $500 since it's within a 5-day window. So, I left the original date of 5/30. I then got a call to confirm my inventory on 5/27 where I gave Kasey an itemized list of my things with photos. Kasey then told me that there was one move that created a domino effect in the scheduling they had and that she would call me on 5/28 to confirm the date and time the movers would be here. I explained to her that I had a flight scheduled to leave on 5/31 and needed to be out of my place by then as well. I received no phone call on Saturday, no phone call on Sunday, and on Monday I texted her again to ask about updates and she said she was still waiting on "dispatch". On 5/31, the day I was supposed to have my flight out, she called to tell me that the movers would be at my place on 6/1 but still did not know a time and that she would get with "dispatch" to ask about a discount for the delayed pick up. I had to cancel my flight at this point. That afternoon, I got a call from a company called We Care for You that said they were "partners" with Venture and that they would be at my place on 6/1 from 11am-4pm. I then called Kasey to ask about the car since I had not been given any updates on when it would be picked up this entire time. She said, "no one has picked up your car?" I said, "no, shouldn't you know that?" Kasey then proceeded to ask me if I wanted to raise the "bid" on the car higher so a company would pick it up which absolutely confused me because that was never mentioned to me at all from the beginning. I asked her why she or Kyle wouldn't disclose that information from the beginning and she replied saying that there wasn't anything she could do now and that's just how they do it. She also said if I dealt with a company to ship my car before, maybe I should just call them. It's now 6/1 and I haven't been contacted by the company who called the previous day. At 1:30pm I called We Care for You directly to ask if they would give me an update on when the movers were supposed to show up. Jessica at We Care for You told me that the driver would be contacting me directly to give me a time and that regarding a discount, it would have to come from Venture because they just got the order on 5/30. This told me that the ball was absolutely dropped on Venture's end because they sent out for my move to be picked up the day it was already supposed to be scheduled for pick up. I finally got a call at 4:30pm from a guy who said he would be at my house at 7:30 at night. At 6:30, I sent him a message saying if we were still scheduled for 7:30 and he responded saying, yes. At 8:30pm, I got a phone call from the driver asking me to text him my address because he "left paperwork in another truck." I texted the address anyway despite the terrible feelings I had already been having about Venture and We Care for You. The driver and three other men showed up at 9pm with no uniforms in a regular U-Haul truck. He showed me paperwork that he originally claimed had been left in another truck that were basic inventory sheets you buy at Staples or Office Depot- no logo or company information anywhere insight on anything. He quickly glanced at my mini-move, made a call in another language and told me it's going to be an extra $400. I wouldn't have minded the extra charge had everything been handled professionally and appropriately leading up to this but with how uncomfortable I felt and how it seemed like fraud, I said no. They ran out of my house and then a different guy in their group rang my doorbell to tell me he could do the move for a cheaper cost as if they weren't the same group of guys. It was extremely unprofessional, and I wouldn't feel comfortable with them taking my stuff two miles down the road let alone a cross-country move. It was the most mortifying experience I've ever had. I have been so distraught over it. Venture won't refund me the deposit of $656.25, I lost money having to cancel my flight, I now must extend my move date till the end of the month and pay double rent at both places and begin a new search to make this move happen. Venture originally made it seem like a worry-free, stress-free experience and what I just endured was utter hell. I would never use or recommend Venture again nor would I use or recommend We Care for You.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $2758

Nightmare on the Venture Express

“Duck. Duck. Shoose”

Over a 13-day period 37 calls/emails were made to Venture Van Lines to set-up delivery. Only five times (14%) were we able to speak with a live person or get an email response. That’s what gets you a D+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB reviews cannot be manipulated.) Checkout their reviews on the BBB website. To me, it reads like the incompetence of a Three Stooges’ shtick.

On two of the five calls we left messages for a return call. The messages from the other three calls went like this:

Keep in mind that after paying them $7,500 we are trying to get our freight delivered.

Call 1(8th day of the nightmare): We relayed preferred dates for delivery.

Call 2 (next day): They advised that a dispatcher will call to schedule delivery.

Call 3 (two days later): They ducked and shooed us away declaring it’s not their responsibility to deliver the freight. Cut to the lovely background music they play while they ignore you.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Remember, they are only a shipping coordinator. It’s been my experience that they could not care less about silly little issues like delivering your freight. What about their pledge to help you to resolve the issue with the local hauler, you ask? Bwahahahaha! That’s ripe. So far all we have gotten is that lovely music. It’s so lovely it mesmerized me seemly for an hour the other day.

Will the freight ever be delivered? Has the freight vaporized? Is this just a Three Stooges shtick? Stay tuned for more twists and turns as The Nightmare on the Venture Express careens onward.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8008

I moved from OH to FL, setup with Ben/Sales, was supposed to be stored close by me so if I needed anything, I could get out of storage, my things are in Chicago, I'm in FL, hows that going to happen?? they were late picking up my things, didn't bring big enough truck, I had to throw alot of my things away since no room on the truck. Was supposed to deliver to me in FL & its been 26 days now waiting for my things to be delivered & I still don't have them. They have other deliveries & pickups to do, I'm told. I text & called them so much, they don't usually respond, if they do it will be delivered in 2-3 days, that day comes & no delivery. Its become very frustrating & no good excuse to keep me waiting. I've had to go buy things that I need that are on the truck. Quoted $3772 and I've paid so far $8788. I would NEVER use them again.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8788

Our misadventures with Venture Movers began with a conversation with Alex who guided us through the process and offered an affordable price for the items we needed to transport from Green Bay, WI, on Sept. 9th, to Northampton, MA. We had a good experience with the pick-up of the items in Green Bay. The movers were efficient, courteous, and accommodating, leading us to believe the same would be true at the delivery.

If only… We were given several different delivery dates/times over the course of a week. Ultimately when the truck arrived on a Friday evening, it was getting dark. That was the first obstacle to getting our things moved into the house. The driver, a lovely person, was all alone. This was despite it being clear when the truck was loaded in Green Bay that as many as three people would be needed. The driver made attempts to find help through his company. We called Venture repeatedly for help, that Friday evening and the next day. No one called us back.

The driver had told us that Friday evening that he would sleep in his truck and try again on Saturday to find help. We were not comfortable with that so we offered to put him up in our home. We also started looking for other solutions, reaching out to local movers, but on such short notice none were available.

We also wrote Venture emails to the addresses given in the contract we signed with them. Again, no replies, keeping with a repeated pattern throughout this ordeal. It wasn’t until two days later that we reached Venture, only to be told by Kasey, the company spokesperson, that she hadn’t worked over the weekend, so too bad for us apparently.

Venture essentially did nothing to help resolve this situation. We were able to find a number for the moving company. They did call us back. Before that however we asked two able-bodied neighbors if they would be willing to help. And they did help. Without them, there is no way of knowing how long the move would have taken since no one ever responded to the driver’s requests, or to ours.

After explaining what we had gone through with the moving company, at the point where we had to pay the driver the remainder of our balance or he would not have been able to leave and continue his deliveries, the moving company offered us some compensation. It was less than 8% of the cost but we took it so that the driver could leave. Our plan was to seek additional compensation from Venture.

After that point we dealt with Venture only. Kasey was again the point person. She was beyond unsympathetic, and again, even though she said she would call back in two days with a decision, she did not. We reached out again several days later, and her position was as it had been originally. That being that Venture was not responsible, that their role was only to coordinate the move, and after that all issues were to be taken up with the mover. She in fact told us repeatedly that we should not have given the driver a place to stay, that we essentially inconvenienced ourselves and that was on us, and that we should not have engaged anyone on our own to help unload the truck and bring the items into the house, but should have waited for the driver/moving company to fix the situation. It made no difference that we reminded her that the contract with Venture states that they assure successful delivery. In other words, Venture would not stand by their contract with us refusing to take any responsibility for the significant mistakes that were made with the delivery. See copied text from Venture’s agreement with us below:

• Professional Door-to-Door service.

• Expert advice and guidance throughout the course of your move.

• Reassembly for all items disassembled by the movers on the day of pick-up at destination.

• Loading & unloading of all goods.

Venture basically stated that their role is not to move the items, but to coordinate the process, yet they refused to acknowledge that what happened was due to poor coordination - the failure to send at least two people, the failure to find help for the one person sent, the poor communication throughout and the degree to which we were incredibly inconvenienced. The refusal to take responsibility for these failures is a strong indication of the lackadaisical attitude that contributed to their occurrence. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can negotiate in a reasonable way with this company. Hire someone else.

In the end Venture refused to compensate us from their portion of the fees we paid. They emphasized that we had already been compensated by the moving company, so they had no further responsibility. In fact, Venture stated that it was our fault that we were not more adequately compensated, stating that we should not have accepted the moving company’s offer. But instead paid in full and later worked with Venture to get some compensation. We have no confidence that Venture would have given us any satisfaction, now that we have seen more fully how they operate.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $2800

I believe this company needs to be reported to the US Department of Transportation Officer Inspector General to be investigated for fraudulent and unethical business practices relating to the movement of household goods. This move was for a storage unit, and upon pickup of items they tried to charge me for more square footage than the unit itself! They repeatedly increase charges and convince consumers to reserve more space, with the verbal assurance that they will NOT be charged for any unused space. However the entire process is a scam and once they get their money, they do not respond to inquiries for a refund whether by text, phone, or email. They also pacify their customers with promises to get them the information they need, but ultimately leave them without any way or means to submit a claim. I was left without any itemized list of goods despite being promised one. I was never given a formal revised Bill of Lading. And despite providing photographs with measurements and calculations when the truck was HALF full (they charged me for the full truck's cu ft), they ignored my attempts to communicate requesting information on what I needed to do for a refund. For anyone else duped and screwed over by this company please contact the OIG at their hotline hotline@oig.dot.gov They also have a phone hotline 1-800-424-9071 as well as a complaint form at their website. I wish I would have known then what I do now about this process. For anyone considering a move, do your due diligence and go to www.oig.dot.gov to know what red flags to look for when hiring a moving company.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12000

My quote started out well with Ben (in September), who turned me over to Kasey. After that neither of them was helpful. I had no contact with Ben after my first payment. Kasey would only converse with me via text, even though I asked her to call me. I scheduled a move from AZ to MT of my deceased mother's household goods in October. I explained that I was only there for a few days and I needed the movers there on the dates agreed upon. I was told they would be there. They didn't show up. I tried reaching Kasey to no avail. I finally reached the moving company, set up another date to which they missed again. I finally reached Kasey and asked if they would reimburse me for my change in flight because of their mishandling of everything. She said this could be done. To date, there has been no reimbursement and no contact. They do not explain the moving process at all. They didn't explain that it could be 6 weeks for my goods to show up. I have sent numerous emails and texts with no response. I couldn't get anyone to respond to inquiries about my delivery or anything. This is so unprofessional. I tried reaching out to their info email. They still haven't responded. I would say to anyone thinking of using them, DON'T.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3766

Venture quoted me a reasonable price to obtain their business. They quote you for a low amount and then at final inventory state you will need to purchase more cubic feet, which I did. Not only did the movers they contracted damage my items, they would not honor the additional space I purchased prior to my move and made me pay them for the "overage". Venture has been extremely unresponsive in providing me info on how to file a claim or the refund I've requested for the additional space purchased and not honored by the movers they contracted. Venture made this the worst move of my life!!!!!

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2500

This is by far the worst experience I have ever had with movers. They quoted me one price and when the movers showed up the cost had more than doubled. They quote you the lowest rate to rope you in with a deposit, then when accurate cubic feet is measured it comes up to far more than that. Mike, who feeds you lies about having the same access to him as his mama, gets testy when you ask questions and lies about what the movers actually do. He told me the movers would dismount my tv and mount it in my new location. I added the tv onto my move, only to be told by Sam that that wasn't true and that they would reimburse the $200 which never happened and consequently - people stopped answering their google phones - SCAMMERS. Mike also told me that they were not BROKERS and venture van lines had actual movers that packed and moved your things. This was a lie, I was contracted out to Blue Diamond Moving Company who are equally trash, as they damaged my goods in the move and I filed a claim that was never acknowledged- and now they can't be reached. Sam, Mike, Omar y'all are all trash people. For peace of mind please move yourself or go with a reputable company who will not lie to you, cheat you out of money during a critical move, and then disappear.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3150

I need to plan a small move to empty out a storage unit. I submitted an estimate request online and spoke to Robert Mathews, who was rude from beginning to end. I get not wanting to be at work, but this guy acted like I had wronged him the minute our call was connected.

I was already a bit suspicious of the company's ability to professionally handle my belongings, then when I asked for an exact estimate, Robert huffed and puffed before putting me on hold. He returned with a number, which I asked to be emailed. He paused and insisted that this was the lowest number I would get from any company, which is all well and good, but I'd like to see a written estimate before committing to paying a company several thousands of dollars. When I explained that I want to compare a series of estimates, I could practically hear him rolling his eyes through the phone as he said, "whatever, it's not like I do this every day, but fine." For someone trying to convince me to spend money on a service he was offering, that was the final nail in the coffin. When I insisted he still email the estimate so I can make a decision soon I also mentioned that his customer service was a bit shocking. He then simply hung up on me.

I am appalled that this is the behavior of a representative for a company trying to convince people to spend lots of money on their service. That was the least professional service call I have ever experienced and makes me never want to use this company for anything. Reading reviews here and across other websites, including Google, it seems that this is standard behavior and matches the disrespect and lack of care that is characteristic of this company's operations.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $2000

??SCAM ALERT ?? DO NOT USE !!!!! Actually deserve 0 stars!!! Please READ AND APPLY THIS REVIEW!!! I wish I read these reviews beforehand They Will take your initial deposit, block you and never respond!!! **** was the moving rep *** was the customer representative All clowns and ..ckin beep !!!!! Even if they are the cheapest company and are nice at first trust me please dont use its a SCAM!!!! They play on your vulnerability!!! Literally after not showing up called another movers and paid deposit and it being a day notice had to pay almost double the price to move!!! SAVE YOURSELF FROM THE START AND DO NOT USE THEM

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $3000

DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH ANY ENTITY NAMED VENTURE VAN LINES ESPECIALLY OUT OF FLORIDA. SCAM SCAM SCAM. LOWLIFE *** THEY WILL TAKE YOUR DEPOSIT AND SAY YOU ARENT ELIGIBLE FOR A REFUND NO MATTER WHAT. DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT PATRONIZE THIS BROKER. EITHER GET A UHAUL YOURSELF OR GO WITH A REPUTABLE MOVER WHO HAS THEIR OWN TRUCKS. THEY WILL GIVE YOU A LOW ESTIMATE AND THEN GET YOUR ROUTING NUMBER AND CHECKING ACCOUNT NUMBER FOR THE "DEPOSIT", THEY WILL THEN SEND A SCUMMY "LOCAL MOVER" WHO WILL EYEBALL YOUR STUFF, TELL YOU HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE THEY HAVE AND TRY TO DOUBLE THE COST. THEY WILL SAY "LET ME LOAD THE STUFF IT MIGHT BE CHEAPER". DO NOT!! DO NOT!!! DO NOT LET THEM LOAD ANYTHING. THEY WILL PROBABLY HOLD YOUR STUFF HOSTAGE. I TOLD THE GUY TO LEAVE AND PROCEEDED TO GET A UHAUL. I will move my own things from now on. STAY FAR AWAY. THEY WILL TELL YOU THEY ARE IN LITIGATION WITH THE NJ BASED VENTURE VAN LINES - THEY ARE THE SAME ENTITY - FLORIDA AND NJ ARE THE SAME. THEY DESERVE TO BE IN JAIL. THEY WILL BE OUT OF BUSINESS SOON. LOWLIFE SCUM. FAKE A** COMPANY POSTING FAKE A** REVIEWS TO TRY TO KEEP THEIR SCAM ALIVE. YOU ARE LICKING YOUR WOUNDS BUT THEY ARE ALREADY INFECTED. START A NEW BUSINESS WITH ANOTHER NAME WITH THE SAME BUSINESS MODEL OF SCAMMING PEOPLE AND YOU WILL LOSE AGAIN. IM GLAD THAT WHEN I GOOGLE YOUR NAME NOW I SEE THAT YOU ARE EXPOSED. YOU NEED TO SHUT DOWN VENTURE VAN LINES. GET NEW BUSINESS CARDS, NEW EMAIL SIGNATURES, AND NEW STATIONARY. OR YOU COULD JUST START DOING HONEST WORK. WE ALL KNOW THATS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. GOOD RIDDANCE.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1800