One of the reasons why I chose Terra Relocations was not just because of the price after comparing many international movers, but also because of the positive reviews. Unfortunately, I was not met with the same positive experience. Terra Relocations has the best price on paper, but you get what you pay for: awful communication, broken logistics, and zero guidance.
CRITICAL TIP FOR MEXICO MOVES: Unbox ALL new furniture/items beforehand. Boxed goods trigger heavy border penalties—a fact Terra never warns you about, nor is it in their contract.
1. Logistics Failures: In May, Sales [Name removed by Sirelo] confirmed a July 10 pickup in writing. Operations [Name removed by Sirelo] ignored my emails from April onward; when I called, I found he never scheduled the truck. He unilaterally pushed pickup to July 13 (past my lease end) and sent zero updates.
2. Undocumented $1,900 Border Fee & 'Ghost Clauses': At customs, the company paid an extra $1,900 for new, boxed items. [Name rem
oved by Sirelo] claimed this rule was linked in my contract. On the phone, I proved 2 of their links are broken (404 & server errors), and the others are for making payment and getting insurance. [Name removed by Sirelo] searched in silence for 3 minutes, couldn't find the clause, promised to call back, and vanished. My thought: they were going to call me back when the truck was almost there or on site and push me in a corner. I immediately sent an email to begin documentation (with no response, of course). They ignored all email requests for documentation of these fees..
I was also assessed an unexpected $800 'shuttle fee,' which typically applies when goods must be moved from a large semi-truck to a smaller vehicle due to access limitations from what I was informed. Again, another fee that was never mentioned during the intake—especially when I was very clear in my question. I do not believe that transfer ever happened based on the size of the truck. My husband (Spanish-speaking) overheard the movers confirm our load was sharing space with another household's shipment. How can I, as someone that was charged an additional $3,200 (more on this below) because of an unaccounted for, undocumented extra 200 cu ft, have our items moved from a larger truck to a “smaller” truck that also includes another family’s household goods? Charging an $800 transfer fee while delivering directly from the original shared transport is a fraudulent upcharge. Show me where this transferred happen with proof.
3. False Claims: Management claimed generic tax disclaimers covered this, then falsely claimed it's on the 'green page' of the Menaje de Casa (it isn't), and dismissed me saying they 'can't imagine Pablo not mentioning it.' We hire experts to advise us so we can make informed decisions; Terra completely failed. I told the guy that I wasn't going to argue this because neither party had anything in writing, so the result: a he said/she said ordeal. My point: Get EVERYTHING in writing—after every call. This is the exact point I was trying to argue: If they had provided this information to make an informed decision, I would have unboxed the items to be wrapped as standard household goods or left them behind. Unfortunately, this wasn’t something I could just Google because I don’t know what I don’t know–so I would have had no idea to Google this.
4. $5,100+ in Extra Charges: They billed an extra $3,200 for a claimed 200 cu ft increase without proof (other than a receipt with no breakdown of what items were in addition to the original inventory list), then demanded $1,900 for customs without an official SAT/Pedimento receipt. Who pays government fees without a receipt? Apparently this guy because I genuinely felt like I was being pushed into a corner. As this business focuses on international moves, why would you not get a receipt?
5. The Hostage Trap: After weeks of silence, [Name removed by Sirelo] gave me my first update on Aug 17 at 7 PM, stating delivery was Aug 18/19. This gave me no time to receive the proper documentation of the $1,900 before they threatened to withhold delivery, charge daily storage, and bill redelivery. I have no issues with paying anything that I owe; but the issue here is this could have been resolved with simple communication BEFORE everything was packed and with proper documentation. Who knows if I'll ever receive this.
Terra Relocations operates with zero internal communication, broken contractual links, and high-pressure collection tactics at delivery. If you hire them, you must manage every detail of the move yourself because their team will not guide you, will not respond to your emails, will exploit your lack of knowledge, and will leverage your belongings against you to collect undocumented surcharges.
I've since found more negative reviews, and I'm terrified to know if any of our items are damaged (or water damaged from multiple reviews) as we're not currently in the country yet. I purchased their insurance, but I also read this in itself is a challenge met with nothing but denies.Read more
Back
Your shipment from the U.S. to Spain was fully handled under our door-to-door international moving service and covered by third-party insurance, which approved and issued compensation for the reported damaged items. Regarding the missing guitar, all pieces listed on your signed inventory were delivered and verified at destination. The delivery form was signed confirming receipt of every numbered item. Because of this signed confirmation, the insurance company was unable to process an additional claim for an item not reported as missing during delivery.
The customs inspection and shipping timeline are subject to multiple external factors, including international customs processes, vessel schedules, and random inspections—unfortunately beyond the control of any moving comp any. Throughout the process, our team maintained communication and updates to the best of the information available at each stage.
As for delivery timing, our local partners sometimes must deliver in the evening due to access restrictions or customs release schedules; however, we regret if this caused you any inconvenience.
We understand how stressful an international move can be and truly regret that this experience did not meet your expectations. Terra Relocations has successfully relocated thousands of clients worldwide, and we take pride in maintaining clear communication, fair resolutions, and full compliance with insurance procedures.
We remain available to review your documentation again if you’d like to discuss this further directly.Read more