Earth Relocation

Reviews

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1. A

   Alexandre E.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · San Francisco, CA to Toronto, ON

   26 May 20213-bedroomPaid $14,000

   Decent service, terrible insurance

   We hired Earth Relocation to move from San Francisco to Toronto. Because of Covid, no pre-move visit could occur, which led them to send a truck that was way too small for our things. While I understand the circumstances, I wish a virtual tour had been done so they had a better idea of the required space. We sent them pictures, but they still underestimated our load. As a consequence, loading took several days, instead of one, and forced us to change our flights last minute, the day before we were meant to leave. Upon arrival, we learned they broke some furniture, most notably they broke off the leg off an antique dresser. We were originally assured that if there was any damages, to let them know and it would be immediately addressed, but first they ignored our first message, then later, when pressed, informed us that that their insurance only covers the complete loss of a shipment and not individual items, which was a shock. If we had any idea how unprofessional our experience would be, there's no way we would have hired this company. Stay away.

2. M

   Markus S.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · Lynchburg, VA to Passau

   17 Oct 20204-bedroomPaid $12,000

   No Recommendation.

   Outline: Earth Relocation does get your goods shipped, no question, but it's a very bad experience with them. They constantly try to charge more, they do not communicate with you, they don't care a shit about you and your goods, all they care is that you pay, using your goods as lever to make you pay what they want. So if you decide to go with them, count in some extra money (+20-30%) and have good nerves., you will definitely need it! And most important: Do not accept any agreement by phone, always ask for everything to be written down. They avoid written stuff, just to leave no traces and charge more later. This is the full story: We moved from the US to Germany. Our plan was to pack ourselves and ship one container, household goods and one car. When it came to the decision which company to take I was reading through a lot of reviews. Most bad reviews for Earth were based on shipping single goods and boxes, not a full container, which seemed to be fine with Earth. They did a good offer, so we went with them. The first surprise came after we paid the deposit, so just in the moment of no return: They told us that the shipping costs are going to be more expensive, due to CoVid, so we had to pay another 500$. Of course I tried to avoid this payment, but they have this really mean way to put a gun on your chest, telling you that they won't ship your goods if you don't pay. So we did, hoping, that everything else was going good. But it didn't. We hired them to load our goods into the container, just to be on the safe side. The loading was not really professional, the item list that they created was full of typos, such as flowers instead flour etc., which makes a big difference when it comes to customs. Although I sent them my Excel-List they created their own, erroneous list, which imho caused problems later. The Bulkhead was built lazy, they forgot the tie-downs for my car, so we were lucky that I kept some of mine, just for the case. After loading they wanted us to pay more for the Bulkhead and extra time to load the car, although everything was included in their quote. In this case I did not pay and they finally accepted, because I could prove with a written quote. Later, our container was picked by US customs for intensive exam, this means: all goods out, all goods back in. All Earth did was sending a short email-note, stating that our container was picked, no more information, nothing, even after we requested detailed information. We had to phone our way through to reach the company doing it, giving us more information about the where's and how's. During this exam, our car was treated very bad, leaving a lot of cracks and scratches all over the car. So I had to deal with all the damages here in Germany. Earth told us that this exam was 100% random, but I suspect it was due to their bad item list that made the US customs pick our container, however, I can't prove. The costs for the intensive exam were another 3000$ for us, hell what fun! And guess what: Pay or don't get your goods! In Germany they hired the same style forwarder (ACTIVE moving and shipping GmbH) that wanted us to pay 700 EUR extra in advance for things that might happen! I had to hire a lawyer to fight for my rights. And they all constantly use your goods as lever to make you pay. My Conclusion: EARTH RELOCATION: Never again! Next time I would definitely pay more and get a higher quality shipment.

3. J

   Jose Z.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · Valencia to Long Island City, NY

   20 Aug 20252-bedroomPaid $13,000

   Hiring Them Isn't a Move, It's the Start of a Lawsuit.

   If I could give zero stars, I would. Choosing EARTHRELO has been the single worst consumer experience of my life. This isn't just a bad moving company; their conduct is a masterclass in negligence and bad faith that has forced me to pursue legal action. The nightmare began with a 1.5-month delay, during which my possessions were essentially lost in a void of incompetence. They subcontract their work, meaning the people who show up have zero accountability. In a shocking display of unprofessionalism, their subcontracted workers literally ABANDONED the job mid-delivery, leaving my home in chaos. But it gets worse. They have lost essential parts for my furniture, rendering valuable pieces useless and causing significant financial and emotional distress. They refuse to take any responsibility for the extensive damages. Most disturbingly, they are unlawfully retaining some of my personal property, which appears to be a tactic to intimidate customers and shield themselves from the consequences of their actions. This isn't just a breach of contract; it's a flagrant violation of carrier liability laws like the Carmack Amendment and state consumer protection statutes. Do not be fooled by their website. You are not hiring a "Best Moving Company." You are hiring a future defendant. Save your money, your time, and your sanity. Run, do not walk, away from EARTHRELO.

4. A

   Aaron R.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · San Juan Capistrano, CA to Eskilstuna

   20 Dec 2023Partial movePaid $8,000

   Everything they touch is damaged beyond repair

   I have left a similar review with the Better Business Bureau. Earth Relocation was hired as the US partner in my international move. Many questions were asked about their capability and capacity. They gave assurances that they could meet my needs. However, every item that they packed was irreparably damaged. The final packing of many items once they arrived were atrocious. Literally 1 layer of saran wrap on fragile items. I am incredibly dismayed as these items are impossible to replace. Additionally, their numbering system was incomplete and inaccurate. Some items had question marks with numbers and some with multiple stickers which has led to missing boxes. All attempts to call them have been sent to voicemail and ignored. Their partners abroad are equally problematic. I have been trying to get a result for the last 160 days from any party involved. The quality of service, avoidance of contract terms, and their nominated insurers are incredibly poor. Furthermore, due to the incredible length of time this has been ongoing, I am unable to work with my credit card company to recoup anything.

5. C

   Charlie E.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · South Pasadena, CA

   20 Sep 20212-bedroomPaid $28,000

   Terrible communication and unreliable

   They did a terrible job of gauging expectations. I understand the port congestion, but once my shipment was released they told me delivery would be Monday. Sunday they said they don’t have dispatch personnel. It was rescheduled to the following Monday morning, and I emphasized the delivery had to be completed by noon as I had work commitments. That morning was terribly frustrating and the truck did not come until AFTER 12:00. Delivery is not complete and I’ll update later regarding compensation for wasting my time and affecting my work.

6. S

   Steven A.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · Los Angeles, CA to Braunton, UK

   7 Aug 20214-bedroomPaid $2,500

   Our stuff is missing.....

   We used their services last year and have finally unpacked everything. We've realized that an entire box is missing with some of our most valuable items including my wife's wedding veil, an Apple HomePod, one of the first gifts I bought for my wife on our wedding anniversary, and other meaningful and valuable items. On top of the fact they tried to rip us off with the quotation (inflating the cost post-quote) - don't trust these cowboys, particularly Kapil. Disgusting service.

7. M

   Melinda G.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · Greenville, SC

   20 Jun 20213-bedroomPaid $10,000

   Bad experience

   Earth Relocation forced delivery on Thanksgiving Eve to avoid paying storage charges. OK, then they refused to pay the movers for unpacking although we paid for it in our original contract. We did the unpacking ourselves, which voided the insurance. Too many issues to think that it was an honest mistake.

8. S

   Sameh W.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · Atlanta, GA

   11 Dec 20204-bedroomPaid $3,000

   Terrible

   I would highly discourage people from using Earth Relocation. They are unprofessional and have no sense of time. They provide vague answers and from reading some reviews it seems like they do it on purpose to make a few extra bucks here and there. My shipment has been in their warehouse for 3 weeks waiting delivery but they’re unable to give me a time on when it might arrive. Their answer is “soon”.

9. P

   Paul M.

   Source: MoveAdvisor · New York, NY

   27 Mar 20201-bedroomPaid $2,800

   Palitization doubled my moving cost.

   I had 24 boxes that needed moving from New York to the UK. I gave Earth relocation the measurements of the boxes for the quote. They came in at a reasonable rate so I chose their service. I had to pay an initial non-refundable $1000 up front when I signed the contract. I was told this would take six weeks to get to my address in the UK. On collection day they arrived with a form for me to sign about how the goods would be moved on pallets and that could cost more money. I was reluctant to sign but they wouldn't take the goods without this being signed. A few days later they charged me another $1400 for palitization. How could they be so wrong with the quote that now the price doubled! I had given them the exact measurements of my 24 square boxes. The shipment finally arrived at my adress thirteen weeks later, seven weeks later than expected. On top of all this the boxes and contents smelt of curry which took forever to go away. Please beware of this company!!

10. V

    Vaishali

    Source: MoveAdvisor · Burbank, CA

    18 Jan 20192-bedroomPaid $8,000

    Beware of this fraudulent company.

    Our experience with this company was probably the worst anyone can imagine. We moved from Burbank to Pune in March 2018 and met their agent in January 2018. He saw our household stuff and gave us a competitive estimate for our '2 bedroom household stuff with partial packing and door to door delivery within 10-12 weeks via JNPT port'. We ended up going with this company as it was the only company at that point which was ready to pick our stuff up in 2 weeks as we had to take care of rest of the things related to moving. We definitely missed on the due diligence of checking their reviews online and trusted these guys. We ended up paying the following charges: 1. Feb 2, 2018: USD5000 for 400 cubic ft partial packing. As per our estimate we should have been charged for 300 cubic feet at $3000. Even their quote was mysteriously at the highest rate at 'our' shipment size of 400 cu ft. The rate was lower at 300, and also at 500. We had to pay as they sent us packers in a day and the stuff was palletized quickly. The packers were professionals and very efficient. So far we were okay as we could focus on other moving related items. 2. Mid March and April 2018: we moved to India and were busy with our move. 3. May 2018: By this time we were expecting our stuff to arrive, since 12 weeks had already passed. After following up, we were told that there was a random customs inspection at the Long Beach port and our share of the charges was approx $1500. And at this point we were also told that shipment will arrive at Chennai port instead of JNPT port as there is lot of congestion at JNPT port. We believe that it was just to gain a customer that we were told earlier that our shipment will come at JNPT. 3. June 2018: Almost 5 months later, the shipment finally left from the Long Beach port! 4. July 2018: Our shipment arrives in Chennai and this is where the worst part begins. We needed to send one passport to Chennai port for customs clearance. But we had planned a trip (back) to US for work at around the same time (10-12 weeks right?). Earth relocation's India counterpart agent was very difficult to deal with. He wasn't giving us a clarity about how the customs clearance process would happen. He vaguely mentioned some items (particularly electronics) from the shipment and started telling us how our custom duties would be sky high due to those items. We confirmed from various sources that there are a lot of duty waivers for Indian citizens returning back to India. But he wouldn't budge. We spoke with the US agent to get help, but I guess once they hand off the shipment to India, they are helpless. We had a drone in our shipment (which they knew about from day 1, and it was banned from being imported in India). They called out the drone a day before our trip back to US and put us in a difficult spot. Finally we ended up paying INR 1,20,000 for the "electronics" (This amount was almost as much as the total valuation of our goods as mentioned on the customs clearance stamp on the passport). The whole process of dealing with the India agent was a painful experience for me and my husband. We literally started questioning ourselves whether this move was a good decision or not. Nobody should be able to go through such a situation. We paid that money and got passport back a day before flying as we did not want to deal with this person ever again. We thought that everything is done and we would get our stuff when we come back to India in August after 3 weeks. 5. August 2018: After coming back they asked us for $300 for storing our stuff for 3 weeks (almost same as what customs would charge as demurrage). We paid that money since dealing with this team was draining our energy. Still we did not receive the shipment as planned as they could not find a truck driver, saying nobody is willing to drive to Pune as EX-CM of Tamilnadu had passed away. We had lost our hope and finally after some more painful calls and after paying the moving men we got our shipment on Aug 14th 2018. It took "6 months and 12 days" and approx $8500 to get our shipment delivered. The only reason I am writing this review is I do not want any other family to suffer like we did, as we know how difficult moving your decade(s) worth of stuff is. Money earned by such dishonest ways is not going to take this company anywhere in the long run and I request these people to do their business the right way. We would have paid the money without any hesitation if they would have been honest and upfront about all these charges from the beginning.