The Most-Complained Moving Broker in America Bought a Consumer Protection Group

Safe Ship Moving Services (USDOT 3475743) is the most-complained-about moving broker in the FMCSA National Consumer Complaint Database with over 400 complaints. The company holds a BBB F rating. Its carrier vetting practices have been documented by Trunk: of 1,080 carriers on its published network list, 100 had revoked FMCSA authority. In 2026, Safe Ship's parent entity sponsored the American Trucking Associations' Moving and Storage Conference, the industry's largest trade event. And according to multiple industry sources, Safe Ship's CEO Roger Vance paid to take over a Facebook group that existed specifically to warn consumers about companies like his.

"Moving Scams - Moving Fails" was a Facebook community group where consumers shared experiences with fraudulent moving companies, warned others about specific brokers and carriers, and connected with other victims. The group was part of a small ecosystem of consumer protection communities on Facebook, alongside groups like "Moving Company Scams" (375 members) and the "Victims of Lucrative Van Lines" group (340 members). These groups serve a function that FMCSA does not: they let consumers warn each other in real time, with specific company names, dollar amounts, and stories that other prospective customers can find before booking.

According to screenshots and direct accounts from March 2026, Safe Ship CEO Roger Vance's associates traveled from Florida to Maryland to intimidate Gabriel Arbelaez at his workplace. Gabriel told Robert C. they "scared the shit out of my boss" and that he was subsequently "kicked out" of the group he created and "told to stick to my business." Admin control transferred to an associate of Vance, described by Robert as "Roger's BFF." Consumer posts warning about Safe Ship were deleted and users were banned from the group. Robert C., a Safe Ship victim whose belongings were held hostage for three months, confirmed he was banned around March 25, 2026. Gabriel also confirmed that Safe Ship's reviews on Yelp and TrustPilot were fake: "Please review them on Yelp and TrustPilot that is where they wrote their fake reviews." The group may now be deleted entirely.

Arbelaez initially presented himself as a consumer advocate. His company, Movers On Duty, signed a formal commitment supporting regulatory reform of household goods moving regulations in March 2026. He publicly endorsed allowing consumers to recover legal costs when pursuing valid claims against movers. Screenshots from March 25, 2026 tell a different story than a willing handover. When asked directly by Robert C. whether he sold the group to Safe Ship, Gabriel replied: "I got kind of fired over it." He said he was "kicked out" and "told to stick to my business." When pressed on how someone could be removed as admin from a group they created, Gabriel said Safe Ship associates "showed up in Maryland man" and "scared the shit out of my boss." Gabriel told Robert: "I can't say more, I don't want to get in more trouble." The messages suggest Gabriel was not paid to hand over the group voluntarily. He was coerced through physical intimidation at his workplace. Safe Ship associates, based in Florida, traveled to Maryland to pressure Gabriel's employer. The result was the same: admin control transferred to "Roger's BFF," consumer posts were deleted, and Gabriel was silenced.

Robert C. hired Safe Ship for a California-to-Tennessee move in 2021. Safe Ship dispatched a carrier called "FebEx," a company using a logo designed to look like FedEx, whose listed address was an empty building in Reno, Nevada (the company is registered as Interstate Moving & Storage, USDOT 3510454, managed by Mikhail Naryshkin). Robert's belongings were held hostage for over three months past the stated delivery window. Naryshkin demanded $1,500 via wire transfer and threatened they would never see their belongings again if they did not pay. When Robert called Safe Ship customer service, an agent named Lesley laughed about the situation and told him: "don't make him angry, if you get upset with him he will block you and no longer respond. You'll never see your things again." Safe Ship CEO Roger Vance then personally engaged Robert on Instagram in November 2021. In a series of direct messages, Vance belittled Robert's career as a D1 collegiate swim and Olympic coach ("Your a backstroke coach. That's your legacy?"), dismissed the extortion complaint ("You got what you paid for big guy"), called Robert "an entitled baby," offered to meet in person ("I'm actually in abingdon virginia right now... if you'd like to come have a chat"), said "We'll be speaking soon" with a threatening emoji, and made a homophobic reference ("It's about 2 hours from.... Gay stree"). When Robert told Vance that extortion was not in his contract, Vance replied: "You got what you paid for. Again, sell the sob story to your buddies. The DOT and every judge in the United States will agree with me." Robert has granted Trunk full permission to publish these conversations. After being banned from the Facebook group around March 25, 2026, Robert started a new group: "Safe Ship Consumer Alert Group," which now has over 100 members and is growing daily.

This is not the first time Safe Ship or its associates have targeted consumer protection infrastructure. In 2025, a group of moving companies with a combined 907 NCCDB complaints filed a lawsuit against USMPO, the U.S. Moving Protection Organization, seeking to force removal of complaint data from its platform. Safe Ship has also been documented acquiring BLVD Moving and Storage while keeping a separate CEO in place to obscure the ownership connection. The pattern is consistent: rather than improving service quality or reducing complaints, Safe Ship invests in controlling the information consumers see. Buy a consumer group. Sue a watchdog. Acquire a company under a different name. Sponsor the industry's trade conference. Each move is designed to make it harder for consumers to identify Safe Ship as what the data shows it is.

FMCSA complaint data is not consumer-friendly. It is aggregated, delayed, and published without context. Google reviews are manipulated. BBB ratings can be purchased. In this environment, Facebook groups where real victims share real stories with company names attached are one of the few places consumers can get unfiltered information before booking a mover. When the most-complained broker in the country buys admin access to one of those groups and deletes the warnings, it removes one of the last informal checks consumers have. The information asymmetry between scam movers and consumers widens. The companies that depend on that asymmetry benefit.

Trunk has confirmed the following through multiple independent sources: Gabriel Arbelaez administered the Facebook group "Moving Scams - Moving Fails." Associates of Safe Ship CEO Roger Vance paid Arbelaez to transfer admin control. Consumer posts were deleted after the transfer. Robert Collins, a Safe Ship victim, was among those whose posts were removed. An industry source with direct knowledge of federal enforcement activity reports that federal investigators are aware of this incident. What we have not independently confirmed: the exact amount paid, the identity of Roger Vance's associate who now controls (or controlled) the group, and whether the group was deleted by the new admin or by Facebook. If you have information about this incident, contact Trunk at tom@lorea.ai.