Allegiance Moving and Storage

My family and I recently moved again from AZ to FL since I am in the military and I must say hats off to Allegiance Moving and Storage, not only did they pack all of our items and transported them safely and efficiently but also delivered in the time they would and helped us with a few things they weren't obligated to do so.

Thank you for your wonderful service and when not if I move again I have you guys saved as a contact. Thank you again from both me and my growing family.

The crew Allegiance sent were prompt to load the truck and arrived about an hour early for delivery. Time management is important to me, I have a very busy schedule. They understood my situation and did their best to accommodate my schedule.

I had an elevator reservation and loading doc and all kinds of things to arrange and the pros came through for me. Anyone with a busy schedule should call them they seem to know what a busy professional schedule looks like. I enjoyed working with Emmi. She kept me up to date on the truck.

We booked our cross-country move with Allegiance Moving and Storage six months in advance. At that time they were rated number two in the top ten moving companies. The movers assigned to us and Allegiance did not notify us as to our pickup day.

We had to make phone calls three days in a row to get a straight answer. They tried to appease us with excuses and/or lies. The two movers finally arrived at 7:30 p.m. and packed until 4:00 a.m. and put our belongings in storage somewhere. We told them delivery window could start on August 1.

Today, August 14, after multiple days of phone calling and leaving messages we still have not heard when our goods will be delivered. No one will call us back.

Customer service with Allegiance and Atlantis Van Lines is no way to treat customers. Their logistics team needs to be trained properly to guarantee delivery of goods on time.

STAY AWAY from this company and its’ Subcontractors-CAREFREE movers. False promises the whole way. Lost golf clubs and legs for dining tables, and major, major damage to nearly all large items. Go to ‘moving reviews.com’, and type in Carefree Movers (their subcontractor!).

Arrived in unmarked trucks/unprepared to reassemble beds etc, that was in contract. Said we had 4200 cf, and insisted we pay them the extra for that on pick up! And of course the non-binding estimate (NOT binding as advertised on their site!) ended up doubling.

(Despite the fact that when they arrived 3 weeks late to unload, the truck clearly was only filled to 2200.cf!) Took zero care with anything-every box was crushed/torn and/or dented. Said everything would be shrink wrapped! NOT^ SO!

One of their ads online gave them 5 * from AARP for multiple recent years, for service moving antique items! Said our wardrobe (which has always been on the 2nd floor), was too heavy! SOME items just thrown in truck with NO protection.

Said they were busy and had to leave ON DROP OFF, before they had finished putting items in place, and dumped a lot of the heavy items in the garage FOR US TO MOVE, WHICH WE COULDN’T, SO HAVE TO PAY SOMEONE ELSE TO MOVE THEM! Biggest SCAM out!.

After they had their money were very disinterested in doing anything to help at all-just couldn’t have cared less! Just kept giving US numbers to call! Now $11000 out of pocket w/ most large items damaged beyond repair (which have survived transatlantic move and 3 others just fine)!

DO NOT even think about going with his company. All they neg. reviews are absolutely true. Don’t believe ANY of the 5 star reviews at all. First read Movingreviews.com, and look up Carefree Movers (They also have 5 * reviews if you google them-probably 100lse) If I could I would give them 0*!

I needed to move out of my condo in an exceptionally a surprising bit of news and it was an extremely upsetting circumstance. They made the cycle very smooth and had the option to get me booked to move the following day.

They were really effective, pleasant, on schedule, and amazingly trustworthy. I would call them again on the off chance that I at any point expected to move once more.

I have nothing but good things to say about you guys! The customer service was out of this world! I was always kept informed with useful information regarding my move.

They called me with the eta for the movers and the movers even called me themselves when they were an hr away from me so I could be ready for them.

When they arrived I noticed they didn't even stop for a break. They were such hard workers! My pick up came and I had my delivery in just 5 days later. Thank you for your hard work.

5 stars! The service and staff were great! I would highly recommend this company. My husband and I were a bit hesitant to book our move with them because of a couple reviews. We took our chances. And I can honestly say we are happy with our choice to use Allegiance Moving!

We had a 3,000sqft home and nothing was packed and had to be out of here by the following Friday. The process of giving our inventory over the phone was super easy. Our move coordinator gave us a great price for a full pack as well.

The movers arrived on time and with all the materials and tools necessary. They were organized and extremely professional. Thumbs up!

The company (Brent) gave me promises about how good their movers were and all they could do. Through the process I was told they were brokers and only picked the best movers in the industry and they were very professional. I contracted them for our move and packing services.

Also included were storage costs as we were not going to buy a new home immediately due to it being winter and buying difficulties in New England at the current time. We decided to wait till spring to house hunt.

Allison for Allegiance told me the company moving us would be Big Shoulder Moving out of Chicago. Moving day; the movers (3) came in as scheduled about two hours later than scheduled. They introduced themselves, and I noticed they were very young but not a problem for me as everyone needs to start out somewhere.

The foreman asked me where to start and what was to stay and what should be moved. We were present most of the time but they assured we didn't need to be there the entire time. We left about two hours early the first night as they were still at it at 9pm.

I again came in the next morning and they came in about 1pm. The night before they said they finished filling the truck (26' box) and unloading it before they came in the a.m.

They were still at it around 11pm and had the truck as full as it could be loaded and took the items out of the shed before they finished for the night in the dark and I had told them from day one it was not lighted out there. Bad planning I thought? They didn't have it all loaded either.

They said they would have to come back very early and get the rest. They did get most of the rest but not all. Now, what I didn't say; They didn't take some of the stuff I pointed out, and did take some of what I didn't want taken. No biggie, I thought, I'll get it back when I have it delivered!

But I did have to ask some of my kids to take some of the stuff they didn't take after the fact. While closing up the shed I noticed they didn't take everything and also some of the items that were in the shed had been thrown on the hillside behind the shed!

At this point I was beyond irritated. While they were in the house they asked if they could have some of the bottled water. They drank it all and the soda and ice drink in the refrigerator. Also, they helped themselves to my snacks that were for our trip to the south on the road, this one of them admitted to.

The foremen didn't seem to have much direct control of his crew and they all did their own thing to some extent. They all had a lot to do and they seemed to be under a time crunch. This move was not professional and should have been different especially since I was charged a good 30% more for this move than Allegiance quoted.

I was quoted a low ball Number. It started out as under $6000.00, when they called to go over the final count it became almost 8000.00. When the movers came it was up to $ 12000.00. It went from 1300 sq feet to 2300 sq feet..

I had gotten rid of the washer, dryer, couch, entertainment center and coffee table that was in the original Estimate.. I would have sold all my things if I had known what the real cost would be, I knew more than likely it could be more, but not double..

It was a long distance move, but no way should it have been so badly estimated. So stay away from this company..They will say anything to get the business.

I am not a customer, but I have called Allegiance 21 times--that is the exact number from my call history and does not include other calls and emails made by my other family members--to try to help my parents with a very difficult situation. They hired Allegiance to help them move from AZ to FL.

I received one and only callback during that time on October 18th from Monica, who was only calling to correct a mistake she made over the phone a few minutes before, and who then proceeded to berate me for the second time that day.

Allegiance hired Royal Star to do my parents' move. When the movers showed up, they charged $22,000 more than the original bid bringing the total to $40,000. When I questioned Allegiance about this, I was told multiple times it was my mom's fault for not giving a more accurate inventory.

The original bid from Allegiance was for 2647 cubic feet ($18,000). The amount charged was 4300 cubic feet ($40,000). The actual cubic feet was less than 3500 cubic feet based on the dimensions of the 53 foot delivery trailer that arrived at the new home Oct 19th almost 2 months after it was supposed to arrive.

In addition to their inaccurate calculations of the extra cubic feet, Royal Star included several bogus charges including labor fees, shuttle fees (because they chose not to bring a big enough truck), tax (which was already included and should not have been added), storage fees (which we did not want or ask for), and a hefty "bulk" fee which was $2200 more than Allegiance originally estimated for a baby grand piano and kayak.

It was not until our attorney called that Allegiance even addressed these charges directly with Royal Star or made an attempt to reinstate the military discount which was part of the original bid from Allegiance.

Allegiance repeatedly brushed off the additional charges with inconsistent explanations (most likely parroting Royal Star) and said there was nothing they could do. They put the responsibility completely on my family to work it out with the mover, who by the way would not answer our calls.

Federal regulations state the broker has to provide a list of potential companies who are going to complete the move (which we did not know about initially) and which Allegiance did not do.

They have a locked list of carriers on their website which a customer can access if the customer requests the information. I have still not seen this list, and Allegiance has refused to provide it to us retroactively. All that might be legal, but it is purposefully evasive and unethical.

A few days after Royal star showed up to move, they received an Out-of-Service order from FMCSA. I discovered later from reading reviews and complaints about Royal Star that they have a history of unethical behavior, including but not limited to charging more than double for original estimates, forcing clients to pay in cash and sign contracts under duress, aggressive--sometimes threatening--behavior towards customers, harassment, damaging items, and late deliveries.

When I questioned Allegiance customer service they said, "we've never had problems before." However, they also informed me within a few days after pickup that they were no longer using Royal Star (I presume due to the out-of-transport order).

Since Royal Star had already taken $27,000 and driven off with my family's stuff this obviously did little to console me. Royal Star hung up on on me, my sister, my mom, and our attorney on multiple occasions, specifically Avi and Shay.

Avi threatened to hold items hostage on multiple occasions, both over the phone in August and in person at delivery. In August I was told by Royal Star the delivery truck was in Denver and would arrive within 4-10 business days of Aug 31st.

In September I was told the truck was in Florida and would arrive Saturday (Sep 11) at 5pm. On Saturday (Sep 11) I was told if the driver hadn't called, he would probably deliver the items the next day (Sep 12). I asked for the driver's phone number. They refused to give it to me. Nothing arrived.

Later that week I was told the truck broke down somewhere in Alabama or Louisiana and they would call me when they could. They hung up on me when I tried to get specific information. After that no one answered my calls for a month.

Allegiance could not get ahold of Royal Star either, although I was told (and I genuinely believe) they were trying to contact them. In October (the week of the 11th) my mother was told by Royal Star the items were still in Arizona and they were looking for a delivery driver.

This means they had been lying about everything the previous month or they were lying now. The delivery was already several days late past the incredibly generous 30-day business day buffer zone they had given themselves in the contract.

Throughout the week Royal Star did not answer calls and hung up on my sister after she asked for specifics on delivery. I got very little help from Allegiance after calling almost every day the week before delivery.

On Oct 15 I was told by Joann at Allegiance via email that the delivery would be Monday (Oct 18th). I asked for the location of the truck. Allegiance refused to give it to me because the truck was en route and had other customers' items on it (this was not actually true as we learned later on).

I asked for the license plate number and was told I could ask the driver. I asked for the driver's phone. I was told the driver would call me.

I still wanted to speak with Joann over the phone so I could have a conversation and get more specific information about her interaction with Royal Star, especially since we hadn't been able to reach them, and they had not called.

However, by Monday (Oct 18th) customer service became hostile and aggressive, specifically Monica. She told me Joann was busy (she was also out of office almost the entire week previously).

I was still able to email Joann, but she would not call me despite multiple requests to speak with her over the phone. When I asked her again for the driver's phone number, she said the carrier would call me.

I asked if there was a reason, I could not have the driver's phone number. She said Royal Star refused to give her the number. Eventually, Avi from Royal Star texted my mom later the 18th that delivery would be Tuesday (Oct 19th) at 7am. He again refused to give the driver's phone number.

She asked to be present for the weigh in of the truck before unloading. He did not arrange for this despite multiple promises to do so previously. He continued refusing to give us the driver's number and claimed the driver only spoke Spanish (we learned this was a lie).

I told him I speak Spanish and to please give me the driver's phone number. He did not respond to texts or calls after that. On Tuesday (Oct 19) the delivery truck arrived. I was on the phone with my mom for the entirety of the move for 4 hours. While I was not physically present, I heard Avi threatening my family.

He threatened to keep the weight ticket, said the driver would be unable to weigh the truck after unloading because the driver had another job in Tampa, said he would call the Sheriff if anyone recorded him (although no one was recording him and no one would have minded if he had called the sheriff, the issue is more that he was purposely trying to threaten and intimidate them).

He also continued refusing to let anyone speak to the driver. When the driver--who did not work for Royal Star but was hired to complete the move after Royal Star lost their license--came out, he was completely cooperative and forthcoming. He spoke perfect English.

He gave my sister his phone number. He said he was also upset with Avi because he was ready to deliver on Saturday and had been sitting in Melbourne all weekend waiting to unload.

He said he could go to the weight station immediately with my sister after the truck was unloaded and get the final weight ticket so she could be reimbursed by her employer for the move. He did not have any other job in Tampa, he was going home.

There was absolutely no resistance from the driver to give out his information, to let my family take pictures, or to give us the dimensions of the truck. I am baffled as to how Allegiance could have ever trusted Royal Star as one of their carriers when they are purposefully deceitful and evasive.

I am furious that even now they continue to defend Royal Star, so they won't have to admit any fault in this horrendous move.

Emotional Distress: I would need the customer service recordings from Allegiance to give exact dates and times when my emotional distress became disabling, but I can confidently say I had multiple panic attacks immediately following my conversations with the customer service representatives at Allegiance.

I feel this is relevant and important to report. I had at least one panic attack the end of August where I got stuck in a parking lot in Costco because I was too distressed to drive home; at least one in September, and most recently Oct 18th. My husband and health care providers can confirm this.

I know some of those conversations, including most recently, were with Monica but I'm not sure if she was the only one because I didn't always get names. In addition to my panic attacks, my mother had shingles and had to sleep on an air mattress in an empty house for two months.

We—this includes my parents, siblings, and spouse—have agonized over this move. We have lost sleep, I have frequently been unable to eat because of stress, and I personally have been treated by members of Allegiance and Royal Star with hostility.

Financial Compensation: I have repeatedly requested a refund of the broker fee, from Allegiance. They offered $200 if the customer agreed to sign a document that accepted this refund as "full satisfaction."

This $200 refund is less than 4% of the broker fee they collected before the movers ever even arrived. Unsurprising, we have refused this offer. I feel this issue is unresolved.