Jennifer Prevot had been anxiously residing in an empty Colorado residence for practically a month when the movers she employed for her cross-country transfer from New York lastly arrived along with her belongings.
However as an alternative of Piece of Cake Shifting’s giant, signature hot-pink truck, a small U-Haul pulled up — and she or he was about to get an excellent larger shock.
“The fellows who confirmed up with my stuff mentioned instantly, ‘It’s not our fault. We’re simply unloading…’” Prevot instructed The Submit. “’All the things you’re going to see is broken — please don’t have this have an effect on our tip.’”
Contained in the van, every thing was damaged. Among the many wreckage, her mattress was folded in half and taped, a mirrored dresser shattered, and wardrobe containers ripped open and moist, in keeping with pictures reviewed by The Submit.
However worst of all, it was solely a fraction of her issues — the remainder have been lacking and by no means arrived.
“Each merchandise they touched was broken,” she mentioned.
Piece of Cake Shifting has change into probably the most recognizable shifting firms since its founding in 2017, describing itself as one of many “fastest-growing” within the trade. Its ever-expanding fleet of brilliant pink vans and robust on-line presence have been fueled by influencer advertising and marketing, affiliate partnerships, and hundreds of glowing evaluations that promise a seamless, five-star transfer at “assured flat-rate” pricing.
However interviews with clients, court docket information, and complaints reviewed by The Submit paint a distinct image — alleging misleading pricing, careless dealing with of belongings, and aggressive strain to tip, with some clients describing the expertise as a “shakedown.”
When requested to answer all of the allegations and complaints detailed by clients within the piece, Piece of Cake mentioned, “Our mission is to at all times present the perfect customer support, the place each element of the transfer is meticulously thought by to present the shopper probably the most seamless expertise. Once we fall brief, we at all times look to make it proper with the shopper instantly.”
‘I’ve by no means had a shifting expertise prefer it‘
Prevot mentioned she selected Piece of Cake after seeing the corporate’s vans all over the place in New York and receiving a quote that was practically $7,000 cheaper than rivals’. However she observed one thing was off when the preliminary crew haphazardly dealt with her objects and repeatedly reminded her a couple of tip.
“They have been tremendous aggressive about me giving them at the very least 20%,” she mentioned. Based on an organization supply, “a part of firm coaching is that movers can’t explicitly ask for suggestions, and the coverage is that it’s at all times as much as the shopper to resolve in the event that they need to present a tip.”
When her objects arrived broken and lacking, Prevot filed a grievance in search of a refund and compensation, citing “gross negligence.”
“I don’t care about the fee. It’s extra about reminiscences,” she mentioned. “I’ve by no means had a shifting expertise like this.”
Negotiations dragged on for weeks, with the corporate first providing shallow compensation primarily based on its contract’s weight limits earlier than rising the provide to only over $2,000, in keeping with emails reviewed by The Submit. It wasn’t till she posted a one-star Google evaluate that the corporate provided the rest of her refund, but it surely got here with a caveat.
“Inside actually 24 hours of posting that, she instantly emailed me,” Prevot mentioned. “They have been attempting to get me to take it down. And I used to be like, ‘Completely not.’”
“I simply needed to observe up as soon as extra relating to the extra refund we processed,” the customer support consultant wrote in an e mail to Prevot. “If every thing has now been resolved, we might be grateful in the event you might think about updating or eradicating your Google evaluate to mirror your closing expertise with us.”
In an emailed response to Piece of Cake’s customer support, Prevot wrote, “My evaluate displays your entire expertise, not simply the ultimate decision,” including that the refund got here solely after weeks of stress and follow-up and with out compensation for damages. “Your organization made my transfer nothing near ‘a chunk of cake.’ ”
The corporate apologized for the anxious expertise and revered her determination to depart her damaging evaluate.
‘I used to be traumatized‘
Prevot is only one of many disgruntled clients who’ve instructed The Submit about their dangerous experiences with the corporate. New Yorker Irina Punga employed Piece of Cake for a full-service transfer, together with packing and unpacking, in January 2025. Relocating simply 4 blocks away, she was quoted at simply over $1,500.
As soon as the transfer was underway, she acquired an extra bill for $1,275, together with fees for objects she mentioned weren’t even current, in keeping with invoices reviewed by The Submit.
“They listed issues I had already listed, however underneath totally different names,” Punga mentioned, including that the crew additionally moved and billed her for objects she explicitly mentioned have been rubbish.
Punga says movers packed objects inefficiently, creating extra containers than needed, then recommended they may keep away from reporting the additional containers fees to the corporate if she tipped them instantly. Alone along with her 3-month-old child, she felt pressured to present them $500 and later described the expertise to The Submit as a rip-off.
Regardless of paying for unpacking providers for 50 containers, she mentioned the movers unpacked just a few containers, misplaced and broke sentimental objects, and threw issues chaotically into closets and onto the ground, which have been later itemized in an in depth grievance with pictures to the corporate and reviewed by The Submit.
“I used to be actually traumatized by that complete expertise,” Punga mentioned. “I had no energy, and I simply needed it to be over.”
Punga filed an in depth grievance with customer support in search of a refund, and finally was reimbursed by her bank card firm after disputing the fees. Following its investigation, Piece of Cake didn’t contest the declare.
A mysterious fireplace — and a lawsuit
For some clients, disputes with Piece of Cake Shifting have escalated legally.
Laurel Simes and her husband employed the corporate in Could 2024 to pack and transport the contents of Simes’ late mother-in-law’s house in Roslyn, New York, to California, together with household heirlooms of silver, crystal and china.
Throughout a number of emotional days of packing, Simes too mentioned the crew repeatedly pressed for suggestions, which she recollects giving a number of hundred {dollars}. However she believed her belongings have been in good palms because the truck departed.
Halfway by the cross-country journey, nevertheless, Simes acquired an e mail from the corporate’s cargo insurer stating that the truck carrying her belongings had caught fireplace close to Avoca, Iowa. Pictures confirmed what appeared to be a truck engulfed in flames on a rural street. However when her workplace supervisor contacted native authorities, they have been instructed there was no file of such an incident.
“How did something catch on fireplace? We had nothing flammable in there,” Simes recalled, including that after they requested to see the stays, they have been instructed the truck was sequestered and that every thing was destroyed.
“That was what brought on us to imagine that that is false,” Simes mentioned. “We don’t anticipate them to pay for the heirloom issue of it, however we anticipate them to pay for the worth of those articles.”
In November 2025, Simes and her husband filed go well with alleging breach of contract and negligence, in search of greater than $35,000 in damages. The case stays ongoing in federal court docket.
A rising record of complaints
In 2024, New Jersey officers warned customers concerning the dangers posed by unlicensed movers after authorities cited dozens of firms working with out correct authorization, together with Piece of Cake, which had been cited beforehand. New Jersey Lawyer Basic Matthew Platkin mentioned in a press launch that such operators usually lack the talents, expertise, and insurance coverage wanted to guard clients’ belongings. Based on an organization consultant, Piece of Cake is at the moment licensed and compliant in New Jersey and in all different states the place it operates.
Piece of Cake claims that it has accomplished over 300,000 strikes within the final three years; nevertheless, the Higher Enterprise Bureau lists 41 complaints in opposition to Piece of Cake Shifting throughout that point, together with 14 throughout the final yr. The corporate has been listed with the BBB since 2018, however voluntarily ended its accreditation in 2024.
BBB CEO Claire Rosenzweig mentioned disputes usually come up when estimates and repair phrases will not be clearly understood earlier than shifting day.
“Shoppers want clear written estimates, clear cost phrases, and an understanding of what’s and isn’t lined if objects are broken,” Rosenzweig mentioned.
Clients interviewed by The Submit additionally described confusion about pricing, as the corporate’s web site advertises each a “assured flat fee price” and a “assured flat fee quote.”
A supply on the firm mentioned that “Piece of Cake affords flat price pricing, which relies on the shopper’s shifting merchandise stock. If on the day of the transfer a buyer has extra objects, extra places or different necessities than initially communicated when reserving, the price is topic to alter to mirror the extra objects and necessities.”
In a written assertion, shopper protection lawyer Richard Newman mentioned, “Usually talking, failing to offer the standard of providers marketed and utilizing predatory practices can violate New York Metropolis’s shopper safety legal guidelines.”
Newman additionally famous that “paying customers to alter or take away truthful damaging evaluations might violate the Federal Commerce Fee Act as an unfair or misleading act or apply as a result of it could wind up distorting or in any other case misrepresenting what customers take into consideration a enterprise or its merchandise.”
When requested to answer all of the allegations and complaints detailed by clients within the piece, Piece of Cake mentioned, “Our mission is to at all times present the perfect customer support, the place each element of the transfer is meticulously thought by to present the shopper probably the most seamless expertise. Once we fall brief, we at all times look to make it proper with the shopper instantly.”
Hype vs. Actuality
Prevot mentioned in hindsight, the unusually low quote ought to have been a warning signal, and her expertise — like these of different clients who spoke to the Submit — stands in distinction to the polished picture of Piece of Cake Shifting circulating on-line.
Whereas some clients have reported easy strikes, a latest viral TikTok video a couple of tip dispute drew hundreds of feedback from viewers sharing related experiences. One consumer wrote, “They despatched me the NASTIEST texts after I tipped them – saying I didn’t tip sufficient. I tipped 20%???”
One other commenter mentioned that as a single girl, she felt pressured to tip with no various. “They kinda have you ever over a barrel…like, in the event you don’t pay them, your stuff doesn’t get moved,” she wrote. A number of commenters allege that Piece of Cake was banned from their buildings.
The corporate boasts tens of hundreds of “actual 5 star buyer evaluations” on its website, however regardless of quite a few constructive evaluations praising its effectivity and branding, it’s straightforward to seek out damaging ones throughout Google, TikTok, Reddit, and the Higher Enterprise Bureau with a constant sample. Although trade specialists say these complaints can occur in all firms, the quantity of allegations in opposition to Piece of Cake Shifting has left clients questioning whether or not the issues are systemic.
Nonetheless, for patrons like Prevot and Simes, the results have been greater than mere inconveniences and couldn’t be mounted by a refund alone.
