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Report: #1470584

Complaint Review: Smart Van Lines - Pembroke Park Florida

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  • Reported By: James — Baltimore Maryland United States
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  • Smart Van Lines 2575 SW 32 Ave Pembroke Park, Florida United States

Smart Van Lines Smart Van Lines Please, avoid this nightmare of a company. Pembroke Park Florida

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Let me give you a brief rundown of how moving scams work. I wish I had known this before I booked my move.

Smart Van Lines is just a broker. They have no trucks -- they simply act as the middle man and book another (generally disreputable) moving company for you. You may not even know who they booked with until they arrive, giving you no time to research the company. Your "deposit" is actually the broker's fee.


If you're lucky, a moving truck will actually show up. After the truck is loaded, the moving company will tell you that you owe much more than your quoted price. At this point, you're at your most vulnerable and stressed. Your stuff is already on the truck, and they expect you to just agree to get it over with. Oh, you have a binding price with the broker, do you? Well, read the fine print. They are not responsible for extra fees charged by their contractors. The broker points their finger at the moving company, and the moving company points their finger at the broker, and neither one wants to help you.

Remember that deposit that you thought was being applied towards your move? Well, it's not, since it's just a broker's fee. Subtract that from your total and you'll realize how suspiciously low the price is.

And don't even get me started on the headache it will be to actually have your stuff delivered. Moving scams are known to hold people's possessions hostage until they agree to exorbitantly high prices. You don't want to find yourself in that position.

protectyourmove.gov is a good resource to search for your mover and see how many complaints they've had in the past few years (spoiler alert, 

Smart Van Lines has had many!). movingscam.com is another great website to educate you about fraudulent movers.


I'm so thankful that I realized what a scam this was. I cancelled my move with 

Smart Van Lines (the broker) and Quality Moving Services LLC (the moving company they hired) before they were able to scam me further. I may have lost my deposit (which they require you to make via e-check, so it can't be disputed, by the way) but it could have been much worse. Please let this serve as a warning to you. Do not use moving brokers, nearly all of them are scam artists. There is no need for a middle man; please book with the moving company yourself.   Here are just a few of the red flags that  Smart Van Lines exhibited:   - Fake 5 star reviews on yelp. Click on those Yelper's names and see that they've reviewed other moving companies with the exact same wording. Also, a ton of those reviews were all posted on the same date in a batch, which is a telltale sign of fake reviews.
- They were very responsive and professional until they got my deposit. Suddenly, they stopped answering phone calls or contacting me when they promised. Just the fact that I paid a deposit was a red flag - most reputable companies do not require this.
- While charging by cubic feet is not necessarily illegal, it's a very sketchy practice, since it's hard to verify. Weight can be verified at a weigh station, but you pretty much have to take their word on cubic feet (even if they have tick marks inside the truck, the way it's loaded can make a huge difference).
- They waffled back and forth about whether I'd have to pay a $250 shuttle fee or not, and never gave a clear answer.
- Quality Moving Services LLC does not exist at the address given.
- And the final, glaring red flag was this: Quality Moving Services LLC told me that they would deliver my things the same day, if I paid in CASH.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 01/01/2019 11:14 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/smart-van-lines/pembroke-park-florida-33023/smart-van-lines-smart-van-lines-please-avoid-this-nightmare-of-a-company-pembroke-park-f-1470584. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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