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Starving Students is a West coast moving company founded in 1973. It offers local and long-distance moving services in California, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.
Locations | Service Options | Contact Info | Methodology
| Our Rating: Starving Students Moving Company | |
| Overall | 1.5 |
| Value | 2 |
| Customer experience | 2 |
| Credibility | 1 |
| Availability | 1 |
| Ratings on a 1–5 scale | |
Bottom line: We don’t recommend Starving Students Moving Company. The company has some positive reviews, but it has a history of false advertising and bad customer reviews.
Starving Students isn’t authorized for moves across state lines. And it has a concerning number of complaints with the Better Business Bureau. Even former employees say the company is disorganized and poorly managed.
Instead, we recommend reputable companies like Mayflower Movers or Bellhop Movers, or you can use a free service like Clever Move to help you find the best mover for your situation.
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Starving Students Movers: In-Depth Breakdown
Value
📊 Our rating: 2/5
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Many reviewers said that they paid Starving Students a lot of money to waste time.
These complaints mentioned issues like:
- Billing for extra time
- Bringing extra, unnecessary movers
- Loading and unloading items roughly
The Starving Students Movers website doesn’t list moving rates. And we haven’t been able to get a custom quote from the company yet. But an average local move in the U.S. costs $1,396, according to quotes from dozens of other companies. While a long-distance move costs an average of $6,017.
Starving Students offers free quotes for its services. You can request a quote on the website or over the phone.
Customer Experience
📊 Our rating: 2/5
|
Starving Students has some positive reviews, but it also has a concerning number of complaints against it.
Starving Students has a 3.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot and a 2.9 out of 5 on Angi. Positive reviews describe affordable, efficient service. But negative reviews show late starts, slow service, damaged goods, and overcharging.
The company has a track record of legal problems, starting with a 1993 fine for overbilling customers.
In the past three years, the company has received 11 formal complaints on its Better Business Bureau (BBB) page. The company consistently responds, but most customers mark the response as unsatisfactory.
Starving Students has a 3.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot and a 2.9 out of 5 on Angi. Positive reviews describe affordable, efficient service. But negative reviews show a pattern of late starts, slow service, damaged goods, and overcharging.
Also, Starving Students has a track record of legal problems, starting with a fine in 1993 for overbilling customers.
In the past three years, the company has had 11 formal complaints against it on its Better Business Bureau (BBB) page. The company consistently responds to the complaints, but most customers mark the response as unsatisfactory.
Credibility
📊 Our rating: 1/5
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Starving Students is a real moving company, but it has some major red flags. The company has a history of false advertising and doesn’t seem to be legally allowed to handle out-of-state moves.
Starving Students advertises itself as a long-distance moving company. But the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT)says the company “is NOT authorized” to transport household goods across state lines.
The company is still registered and insured for moves within California. But its Washington registration has lapsed.
Starving Students doesn’t have accreditation from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). And the BBB issued Starving Students a warning for false advertising.
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Get startedAvailability
📊 Our rating: 1/5
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Starving Students has limited availability.
The company only has six trucks and one driver in California, according to U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) records. And it has zero trucks authorized for moves over state lines.
The Starving Students website says the company will “pair you up with the best movers” for local moves. So if you choose Starving Students for a local move, they might outsource it to another company with available trucks.
We recommend using a more available, reliable company. You can compare quotes from our list of the best long-distance moving companies to find a good fit for you.
About Starving Students Moving Company
Locations
Starving Students is based in Los Angeles and is available in California, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.
Pricing
Starving Students calculates moving quotes based on your move distance, move timeline, and household size. Packing services cost extra. Contact the company to request a quote.
Service Options
- Local moves
- Long-distance moves
- Packing services
Contact
| Phone | (888) 931-6683 |
| Website | www.starvingstudents.com |
Methodology
Value
Our question: Is this moving company worth it?
We start assessing value by requesting a quote from the mover. A quote gives us a breakdown of the company’s fees (hourly rates, truck fees, etc.) and tells us how costs compare to the local and national average.
If a company’s costs are drastically higher than these averages, we can recommend more affordable movers that we’ve also thoroughly vetted. A detailed quote also gives us insight into any additional fees. For example, is packing included, or do you have to pay extra?
Customer Experience
Our question: What’s the common user experience for this service
We look up the mover’s average rating on popular review sites like Yelp, Trustpilot, and Google. Then we read as many reviews as possible to verify the rating and see if any positive or negative themes stand out.
If we notice potential red flags, like lots of damage complaints, we reach out to the customers to see if there’s a cause for concern.
There are also companies who pay people to leave positive reviews. So, if the reviews are glowing, we reach out to reviewers to see if they’re real customers.
Credibility
Our question: Is this company a legitimate business?
Unfortunately, moving scams are fairly common. Lots of people have experienced losing their deposit, movers never showing up, and companies outright stealing their personal items.
To check a company’s credibility, we look for things like Department of Transportation registration, active insurance, and licensing with the appropriate state authorities.
Then we look at sites like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to check the mover’s accreditation, rating, and any unresolved formal complaints against them.
If all the credibility signals check out, then we give the business a high credibility rating. If something seems off, we reach out to the company and former customers for comment.
Availability
Our question: How bookable is this moving service?
To check if the company can typically accommodate a customer’s desired moving date, we ask the company how soon we’d be able to move. Then we ask if the date is flexible.
We also comb Department of Transportation records to see how many trucks and drivers the mover has. A small fleet is a sign that the mover has limited capacity. The company might not be able to handle lots of moves during a busy season.
