Starline Van Lines Reviews

I initially agreed to a price of $3,862.68 after being reassured my move would be handled professionally and delivered on time. At the last minute, they claimed my inventory required more space and forced me to pay an extra $750 deposit. But that wasn’t the end of their shady pricing tactics. On December 23, 2024, a completely different company, Top Rated Moving Van Lines, showed up instead of Starline. They demanded I sign blank documents and later claimed I had exceeded the estimated square footage. If I wanted my belongings loaded, I had no choice but to pay another $1,995.92 in cash via Zelle. At this point, the cost had more than doubled from my original quote. This is blatant fraud!

I was promised my belongings would arrive by Christmas, but after endless calls and emails, I kept receiving different dates. Then, a driver from yet another random company, One Stop Relocation, told me I wouldn’t receive my things until January 4 or 5, 2025. Now, I am being forced to pay ANOTHER $1,995 in cash upon delivery – with no guarantees my items are even intact!

The few times I managed to reach a customer service rep, I was accused of lying and treated with zero professionalism. I left voicemails, sent emails, and followed up multiple times—only to be ignored. Jacob, the original representative, was nowhere to be found after they took my money.

This company operates unethically and preys on customers with deceptive pricing, hidden fees, and third-party subcontractors. I am now filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the Department of Transportation, and other consumer protection agencies.

SAVE YOURSELF THE NIGHTMARE – DO NOT USE STARLINE VAN LINES!

Bill presented a reasonable counter-offer of a $1,000 settlement, which would still leave Star Van Lines with $1,800 for a single day’s work. He also emphasized that my bank’s denial of the credit card dispute was procedural and based on a lack of timely rebuttal, not the merits of the case. Nevertheless, the company remains unmoved, stating that their initial offer stands and that arbitration is an option if I want to pursue it.

Despite repeated requests for clarification and documentation of their costs, the company has failed to provide sufficient justification for the charges. This ongoing lack of transparency, paired with dismissive responses and refusal to revise their offer, raises serious concerns about how many other customers may have been treated similarly. Given the pattern of behavior and other reports I've seen online, I believe this matter may be indicative of broader misconduct and could merit further investigation or potential legal action. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please respond if you wish to have additional details.

Original Review: Nov 22 - had a move scheduled with Justin **, Star Van Lines. Move was originally scheduled for Nov 21 movers called didn't have help so changed the date to the next day with the expectation they would be there by 9. Didn't show up until 3 in the afternoon and complained that items in the house were not on the list we explained and confirmed the items were in fact covered. The movers proceeded to argue with my husband and stand around and smoke complaining in a foreign language. I tried to contact their customer support, Justin, and was not successful. Finally spoke to a "supervisor" who authorized the movers to take everything off the truck. I fought the charges on my credit card and they still charged me. This was after my home was damaged due to Hurricane Milton. These people, including and especially Justin ** are crooks and should be avoided line the plague.

I couldn't get ahold of Peter on the day of the move because it was a Sunday, and he had only given me his direct line and not a weekend-available customer service line (and I was too stressed from arguing with the mover to think straight). When I tried to contact Peter several times in the days following, he never returned my calls or answered my emails. I have not heard from him at all. TLDR: Terrible people, terrible company.

As of today, 1/4/25, I have yet to receive my deposit! I’ve emailed customer service several times asking for my deposit. The last email from customer service dated 12/27, now claims that per the Billing dept, I have to wait 90 days for my refund in case I cancel the check!!! If I could cancel the check & get my money back, I would have done so! 90 days has never been mentioned in previous emails from them. I followed the contract & according to Paragraph 8, if you send a written request to cancel within the 72 hr period, which I did, then a full refund will be sent. It also says minus a 10% merchant fee, which since I paid by check shouldn’t apply to me. They owe me $1,150 & seem to come up with every excuse not to pay!! They talk a good talk on the phone, but do not follow through on customer service! They need to do better or stop doing business! I will be filing a complaint with the BBB of Florida for non-receipt of deposit.

I said, "Where your help?" He said they didn't give me any. I had to pay him the rest of the money in cash. He wouldn't take credit of $2900 . He starts to unload and he starts saying, "I need more money to do this." I said, "I overpaid already and I will not give anymore. He got mad and every 10 min he said, "I am in a hurry. I have things to do and I want more money to do this." I got really mad and I called the company and said to them, "Straighten this out with your driver, he demanding more money and I paid enough, and why did he want cash upfront no credit?" The company said this is how they all operate. The company called the driver and the driver arguing with the company. He got done with his call. Started yelling at me for doing that. The driver was so mad, he left all my stuff in the driveway and garage. Nothing brought in the house.

I called the company and told them, they didn't give a damn. I said, "I need help. I have nobody here, and I had to hire another local mover to help me and paid an extra $800 dollars dressers and table and chairs no pads used to protect furniture...all gouged up, looks like someone went with a hammer and hit everything. All my furniture damaged and boxes missing and boxes have been gone through. I had security tape tags on all boxes, they were missing. I called multiple times and told them and they say I need to file a complaint and file for damages and I haven't heard anything. Save yourself a headache and go to reputable company. The driver should be shot and the company should be more responsible to their customers. Too many pictures to put on here, it only takes a few.

We called Starline and spoke with Fred ** and he was rude and very disrespectful on the phone not acknowledging the error of his employee Kevin for not giving us correct information and pricing on the move, stating things that were not mentioned in our initial discussion with Kevin even though it was asked and Kevin gave the reassurance about the charges we would occur with this move. This was an ordeal. I am now extremely nervous at this point not knowing if my daughter's belongings will make it to her new locations in time and intact. I would not recommend this Company to anyone. I will be reporting them to the BBB as well.

A few hours later, after contemplating the discrepancies between the quote offered and the actual contract price, I contacted Mike to inform him of my concerns of experiencing a bait and switch. He talked me out of canceling the contract by assuring me it would be less expensive at pickup. For the final inventory, we were provided an even higher estimate based on their number of packed boxes. I was asked by my daughter to sign another form as soon as possible and I dutifully did so without hesitation. Pick up was scheduled for Sunday May 26. I was given a new estimate, that was even higher, they were asking $7000 for a 1 bedroom apartment..

I couldn’t afford to pay another $4000 above what I had already put down as a deposit. I asked if it was too late to cancel. I was told that I could cancel, but I would have to do so immediately by email. Customer Service made absolutely no mention that in doing this I would forfeit the deposit. I immediately wrote the cancellation email under duress, having no idea that, by doing so, my entire deposit would be forfeited.

Minutes later, I received an email informing me that my deposit was completely nonrefundable. I panicked and called customer service again and explained our situation. I felt there was no recourse. I expressed interest in proceeding with the move anyway. I was informed by the agent that they would speak with the owner and get back to me, which never happened. I called on Saturday morning when the office opened to be informed that it was indeed canceled. We scrambled to call into work and book plane tickets to complete the move ourselves.

I have also discovered that Starline Van Lines has shown a pattern of poor communication and unprofessionalism. Starline Van Lines is repeatedly asking consumers to relinquish their rights without offering anything in return. The company has taken no responsibility for their representative’s actions and instead resorts to strong-arm tactics to make customers feel at fault. Mike misrepresented the contract and its requirements, making it seem like a negotiable agreement rather than a contract of adhesion. His statements contradicted the actual contract terms, making it hard to comprehend the company’s impractical 72 hour cancellation policy, therefore the contract was broken.

I felt pressured to make a quick decision and cancel my agreement, even though I couldn't remember all the details from when I signed it two months prior. I have been repeatedly denied a refund of my initial deposit. Their customer service agent was aware of this and neglected to inform me. I was advised to send a cancellation email immediately without full knowledge of the cancellation policy and with an expectation of a refund. I wouldn’t recommend this company to my worst enemy. Out $3600 dollars with nothing to show for it.

We were originally quoted 1 thing, then it went up the 2nd time, and then a 3rd time when the drivers put everything on the truck and claimed you used a certain amount of cubic feet. We are not movers, so we blindly trusted them. These are supposed to be estimates, yet they make pay upfront. We paid the initial deposit but then were told we had to pay an additional deposit because we supposedly would need more cubic feet. This is all done prior to anyone even seeing what we needed to move.

When our items arrived at our new home, the driver would not release our items unless we paid the final amount. I found this to be unfair but what can I do? They had our belongings. Once we paid, our items were offloaded and placed inside our home. After everything was offloaded, the driver told us that we only used 700 cubic feet and not 1300 like we were told and made to pay. He told us to take photos and videos and contact the company right away. We did just that.

We contacted Starline and explained what was going on. They told us to email them the video and photos and they would "investigate it" and get back to us. It has been 3 weeks and no response from them. We have called over 6 times and emailed 4 times. We spoke with someone on Friday, he claimed his manager stated that they spoke with us, and had proof we used 1500cf, the said 1300, and lastly 1100cf. 1st off, no one ever called or emailed us, 2nd Which is it 1500, 1300, or 1100cf? He didn't even know what he was talking about. Stating that the "manager" would call us on Monday. NEVER HAPPENED!!!

Today is Thursday and again, I sent another email the night before. Still NO PHONE CALL OR EMAIL!!!! I have had it, this company does not care who they rip off and will hang up on you when you call, lie, and ignore every email you send. WE HAVE PROOF THAT WE ONLY USED 700 CUBIC FEET. THE DRIVER IS HEARD ON THE VIDEO ADMITTING IT, WE HAVE PHOTOS!!!! Yet this rip-off of a company claims they have other proof. I do not care what supposed proof you have, there is no way we went from using 1300cf at pick up and then 700cf at delivery. When you pick up, you can arrange items however you want to make it seem like we are using whatever space you claim. What matters is the amount we used when it arrived.

Please explain how a supposed 1500 cubic feet move that you claim we used at pick up changed to 700 cubic feet at delivery. So, somehow, we used 800 cubic feet less. That is impossible unless half of our items were lost. We received almost all of our items, we are missing a lamp, and they also damaged our $1,200 Weber Grill, and broke the wheels off. This company should be ashamed of themselves. How could you lie to hard-working people, especially a disabled veteran? You should be ashamed of yourself. Also, they are not movers, they outsource vendors. DO NOT TRUST THEM!!! Take a look at BBB, they have so many complaints against them, just like ours, and yet somehow, they are still able to operate. SHAME ON YOU STARLINE VANLINES!!!!

They also tried to add on $400 for a shuttle fee, which would have been fine if disclosed upfront. I spoke to many companies prior to this and was aware of possible permit or shuttle fees for NYC. I was assured that this was an "all inclusive" quote and no additional big city fees would occur. We obviously sent the movers away because we were unwilling to pay nearly double the quote. Of course customer service was unwilling to provide a refund so thank god for my bank putting a stop pay on the charge. Whatever you do, do not go with this company. The bait and switch tactics were insane!

If that wasn’t the bad enough, the day that my movers finally got here they had me drive around the town, looking for their oversized truck, claiming that it could not fit into my neighborhood when dimensions and my leasing office said otherwise there is plenty of room for them to park in my neighborhood however they were just focused on charging me an additional fee For “inconvenience“ And kept threatening that if I didn’t pay this fee because he Didn’t feel like pulling into the neighborhood that they were going to keep items and not deliver them to me. Not only this but thousands of dollars worth of items were missing and/or broken. Including my flatscreen TV that was shattered, my bedframe was missing. My chair was broken and My mirrors were completely broken. My driver decided to smoke a blunt while laughing stating That this company “did a terrible job at packing my items and wrapping them.”

I was forced to move my items, myself in my friends Car, The driver didn’t feel like pulling in again. I was threatened that if I didn’t do this and/or pay more money, I would not be able to get my things. I cut my feet on some of the broken glass, moving these things myself, and they left all of the wrapping outside on my porch. The driver then got into the car and drove off after smoking which does not surprise me that my items were completely destroyed. I had to sleep on a blowup mattress and an empty apartment for weeks and this company was impossible to get a hold of And just kept charging more and more money. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!! They took advantage of me in every way possible, manipulated me, threatened me, held my items hostage and lied to me multiple times about my delivery. This was the worst experience I could’ve ever imagined. With absolutely no refund or consideration of reimbursement. STAY AWAY!!!!