Allyson A.
Unmitigated failure from start to finish
Unmitigated failure from start to finish. We booked our move through Safe Ship. They are a broker who utilized United Prime Van Lines to actually move our stuff. Our nightmare began 2 days prior to scheduled pick-up with the bait & switch of an increase in cubic square footage even though we had removed a queen bedroom set, 10 boxes and other items. If we didn't pay the extra $800, we lost our deposit. We paid expedited shipping with a delivery date of 9-4 to 9-7 which is clearly noted at the top of the contract. Buried deep within that contract was a get out of jail free card actually giving them 10 days from the date of pick-up to deliver. No matter, they blew past that and did not deliver until 9/16. We were never able to get an actual date for delivery so we were stuck in another state, in a hotel, and incurred $2000 in living expenses we weren't expecting. Fed Up, broke and needing to seek medical care, we drove 400 miles back home with the assurance we would be given 24 hours notice of delivery. We were home one day, called at 4pm and told to be back in CO for a 9am delivery. We negotiated a 3pm so we didn't have to drive all night. Driver showed at 6pm alone and In a rented truck. He was a nice guy but didn't speak English and had a broken screen on his phone rendering making payment almost impossible. We were to be reimbursed the expedited fee of $430 but the driver couldn't do that and wouldn't open the truck unless we paid. We paid just to end the pain. When he opened the gate, our boxes were crushed under belongings of the next delivery. Of the 16 boxes, 13 had damage. We lost 80% of our glassware, vintage MCM dinner set, damage to an MCM chair, etc. We had to help the driver unload the truck and when we queried the owner Alex via the phone he said it was our fault for moving to a small town. He also told us to stop unloading or he would have the driver leave and come back once I could find help. We told him we would stop but helped finish unloading anyway. A few days later, we started posting reviews on Safe Ship and this is when things took an ugly turn. We have received calls daily from both Safe Ship and UPVL (and if you don't pick up they call back repeatedly till you do). We were threatened by Andrew of UPVL that if we didn't remove the reviews we would be sued. He called back 2 days later insinuating we weren’t very bright for not taking the money because Safe Ship could care less about a bad review (big company, lots of employees, blah blah blah). Furthermore, if we filed a claim with their insurance, we wouldn't get close to their offer. We have been harassed daily and advised by both Safe Ship and UPVL that we can receive reimbursement BUT only if we change the star rating from 1 to 4 and would need to sign a release stating we would stop posting and filing claims with federal agencies. When I advised we were owed for a cubic footage overcharge and damage not for reviews, we were told we weren't owed anything. We lost family heirlooms. The expense of extra living costs as well as the physical/mental toll of not knowing when, where or if our belongings would ever be delivered was immeasurable. Our last name isn't Rockefeller and the money would've helped offset our expenses and loss, but our integrity isn't for sale. I can't get my things back, but I sure can warn others. Heed this post and keep looking. Go with a company that is actually accredited with the BBB (spoiler alert: neither Safe Ship nor UPVL are. Their websites are misleading. Look it up). Its worth it to spend more on a reputable company.




