American Van Lines

American Van Lines is at best a group of absolute liars, and at worst a group of thieves. My story is a long one and is sadly not yet over. At the beginning of April, my husband and I called American Van Lines for a quote to move us from Dallas, Texas to New Hampshire. Our sales rep was named Sharon **. The string of lies she and her colleagues have told from day one is almost difficult to track. I'll try to keep count below.

First, we told her we were not interested in working with a company that subbed out the jobs to smaller companies. We were looking for a company that did the move themselves. She swore to us that they do not use subs (lie number one). Next, we said we absolutely needed to have our stuff delivered in New Hampshire no later than May 5. We asked her to let us know whatever date they needed to pick up to ensure it would be delivered by the 5th. She said if our stuff was picked up on April 25, it would absolutely be delivered by the 5th of May (lie number two). She told us an 18 wheeler would arrive to our house on April 25 (lie number three), and that the movers would break down all of our furniture, such as beds (lie number four).

On April 24, American Van Lines called us to tell us the movers would arrive at our house to pick up all of our things the next morning, between 8-10am (lie number 5). The next day, movers from some company called "The Moving Squad" out of Houston, TX arrived at our house at 2:00pm. They did not have an 18 wheeler but rather a mid-to-large sized straight truck (essentially a U-haul). As soon as they arrived, the driver told us "All of your stuff won't fit." They began to pack what they could (they had no tools on them and couldn't break down our beds or furniture) as we frantically spent the next several hours trying to get a hold of someone on the phone. My husband reached Sharon **. She said she would look into things and "call us back" (lie number 6). She never called back and stopped returning our voice mails. We then got a hold of someone in dispatch who told us they would have to "call us back" (lie number 7). They never returned our call.

Twenty-four hours later, we were able to get someone on the phone who told us another truck would arrive at our house the next morning (April 27), between 8-10am (lie number 8). By 5:00pm the next day, no movers had arrived, Sharon ** would not return our calls, and we couldn't reach anyone who could give us an answer. Finally, someone from dispatch called us and said that although they couldn't get a truck out that day, one would arrive to our home the next day between 8-10am (lie number 9).

The next morning came and went. Finally, by 1:00pm on April 28, the movers actually arrived. They packed up the rest of our stuff, and we were finally able to leave the next day to head to New Hampshire, three days behind schedule. About four days later, when we arrived in New England, my husband called American Van Lines to find out when our delivery would be. Turns out, they were not on schedule and we were told our things would not arrive on May 5 but rather May 10 (lie number 10).

May 10 came and went. No movers. We were finally able to get someone on the phone, who told us our stuff would arrive May 18 or 19 at the latest (lie number 11). On May 19, with no sign of movers showing up, we called AVL again. We reached a woman named Crystal who after some research told us our possessions were still in Texas, and she would have to call us back to let us know when it would be delivered (lie number 12). You can imagine our horror. Crystal never called us back.

We called another company who apparently had been subbed out somewhere along the line, National Relocation Services. And they told us our stuff was in New Jersey and would arrive by May 24 (lie number 13). Then, about two hours later, someone else claiming to be from AVL called us to tell us our stuff was going to be delivered either that night, or "first thing the next morning (May 20)" (lie number 14). I asked this man what state the movers were in at that time. He told me, "New Hampshire" (lie number 15). I said, "New Hampshire? Not Connecticut or New Jersey or Rhode Island?" He replied, "No ma'am, New Hampshire. That is why they may actually be able to deliver tonight." (lie number 16).

We were told the driver would call us. No driver called that night. No driver called "first thing" the next morning. Finally, at 10:00am on May 20, the driver called and said they were about two hours away. I said "But your colleague swore to us you were already in New Hampshire." His reply was, "No ma'am, we were in New York." The movers finally arrived at noon on May 20. Naturally, we had to give them a cashier's check for the balance due before they would unload the truck. We did, and they began to unload. It was then that my husband examined the contents and realized half of our stuff was missing.

The second half of our belongings, which you'll remember AVL picked up four days late, was missing. The driver, who had no idea about any of this, was horrified. He called his boss immediately on his cell phone, at home, on a Sunday. The owner apparently sent someone to the warehouse in Houston and discovered the rest of our possessions just sitting there. He now claims he is sending a truck with the rest of our things.

Unfortunately, we had no choice but to turn over the cashier's check in order to get the first half of our things. We are now at the mercy of AVL to determine whether or not we will ever see the rest of our belongings. Still to hear from Sharon ** or any of the other many people at AVL who promised to "call us right back."

I hired a moving company to move my disabled mother from Indiana back up here to CT. I have had nothing but headaches and frustration to the point of tears. When I realized I was being scammed, I wrote to the Federal DOT and anyone else I thought could help. Well now it's been a month and my mom is still waiting for her furniture to be delivered and the company will not give me any answers or help.

I did some investigating of my own and found out this company scammed a lot of people. I have included a link regarding my personal story which also includes what I told the Federal DOT. There is also a generic response from the company that is obviously a standard letter they send out when they get complaints and they get plenty. I also have detailed notes and paperwork as well as saved emails that support my claim. Please help. My disabled mom is sleeping on an air mattress and really needs her stuff, including some medical equipment and important papers.

I had used Nationwide Relocation Services to move my household items from Texas to California. It turns out they used American Van Lines to deliver the items. It's been more than a month that American Van Line has taken my household item from my previous residence. They promised to deliver within a week and now I have no news on where my stuff is. I am told each week that they will give me an ETA the following week. I have called them every day for the last week and I have not once been able to speak to the dispatcher, whom the customer care people keep forwarding me to.

The customer care don't have any clue about where my stuff is and what is the status (don't know what they are there for). I keep getting transferred all over the place but never get to talk to anyone nowadays. I have gone ahead and bought some new furniture because I don't have any hope that these guys will ever bring my stuff back. There are no laws in this country to keep tabs on these unscrupulous people. I have a two year old daughter sleeping on the floor. I hope this never happens to anyone else and I hope anyone who reads this stays clear of these folks.

MBM moved my household goods from my home in NC into storage in May of 2010. Then it moved those goods to my new home in SC in June of 2011. During the move, my couch was lost and many of my appliances and furnishings were damaged or destroyed. Then I filed a claim on July 11. In that time, I have not heard from MBM about the resolution of my claim after repeated calls and emails.

In the claim form, they tell you they will not repair any items or replace them. I have a house full of broken furniture, and I have no couch. I would like to get this resolved before the end of the year.

The sales representative shrewdly baited me with the low cost and clearly spoke of AVL being a professional mover with AVL trucks. I signed the contract and paid the only expected deposit as I was told.

Then, sales representative Ed called to demand another greater deposit for a higher estimated weight, even though there was no truck weight yet. They never told me this before. I paid.

The moving date was chosen around "the availability of a tractor-trailer passing through your area". I then received a confirmed moving date via email and verbally.

I was never told to by sales representatives Ed or Marie that on the "moving" day, a small truck arrived from another company which did not take our items and departed!

Note: Our home was for sale and items had to be cleared out before we relocated to another state, which was the next day, early morning. The items were packed in one available room and outside. The car was scheduled for transport the day after we left. With no place to go and ultimately no car, we frantically spent 6 hours on the phone, begging AVL to send another truck. Customer service sales representatives, Marie (moving coordinator), Leon the supervisor, and Ed, who turned out to be the broker, kept saying that there was nothing they can do!

American Van Lines, Relo Van Lines, and their agent, B&B Transportation moved my household goods. All three companies were involved in this transaction. Two boxes were lost and multiple items were damaged. I filed a claim and it was denied. No compensation was offered, whatsoever. I was told that I could go to arbitration but that would have required a $150 upfront fee.

The agent's driver did not allow me to mark the paperwork to identify the missing and damaged items nor were the boxes checked off as they were unloaded. This action allowed him to claim that nothing was listed as missing or damaged at the time of delivery. It is now the agent's word against mine, even though we had two witnesses.

I asked the booking agent at American Van Lines to enter notes into the system to specify who should be allowed to discuss the financial arrangements and they were completely ignored. The driver promised pickup between 3 pm and 7 pm but showed up at 10:30 pm. When delivering, the driver called with a time but showed up much later, not even giving me a call. He claimed that a damaged chair was already broken when it was picked up, but that was not true.

I consider the above actions a breach of contract. I do not recommend any of the companies listed in this complaint.

I was promised by Benjamen Sanchez that my quote was a "binding not to exceed estimate." Apparently that doesn't mean anything. Jake called it a "Don't lift a finger pack." I had several friends call in under fake names and get quote for my exact move, or farther and my weight or heavier and they all came in at about the same price. I told American Van Lines that I would be happy to pack myself, I've done it four times, but this time we have a moving allowance of $10,000 from my husbands company and he ASSURED me that they could do a full pack for under $10,000. He said over and over that their software was designed to overestimate the weight by 120% and that my price would only come down.

I was gullible and took his work for it. I didn't even realize that they weren't even a moving company, just a bunch of brokers who subcontract your move out to different companies and we got INFINITY...which I think was named for their prices.

The day of the scheduled move came and went...no movers. The next day they came, but not until 1pm. There were three of them and two of them couldn't speak English and one could speak pretty well...but not well enough to explain to me why I had to sign a new contract and do half an hour of new paperwork. What could I do? They had me over a barrel. They were already late...I had absolutely no time to look into a new moving company. So I signed the new contract for the new estimate of $15,000...which he explained will come way down...he was overestimating a lot.

They worked quickly and got about half my house packed up in the few hours they worked that day. They next day they said they would be there by 10AM....they didn't come until after 1pm again. They left on July 1st with all of my belongings.

We were told that our things would arrive in Oregon between the 6-12 of July. The 12th came and went. Then they said, maybe this Saturday or Sunday. I called this morning and they said Sunday or Monday. IT's now July 16th 2011,and we haven't seen any of out stuff.

I have spend hours and hours and HOURS on hold with perhaps 15 people from the company. Benjamin, Mathew, Gwen, Sam, Jake, Russel and many many others. During any one phone call you might get transferred 4 or 5 times. The people who sell the moves do only that. They can't do anything but scam and mislead and make those terrible underestimates. Customer service puts you on hold to actually call the company...then say they can't get a hold of them and they will call you back. They might.

I got a hold of supervisor named Sam who knew all the legal loopholes of the scam. He claimed that I wasn't promised a full pack. He reviewed all the tapes of our conversations and there was nothing about a full pack. He says we were sold an itemized pack and why weren't all of our items on the list? I explained that Benjamin Sanchez told me only to put furniture on the list...not toys and clothing, etc that would end up in boxes. He said he only needed the furniture for the weight estimate. He asked me over and over why I didn't say anything to quality assurance when they called and asked if the list was ok. How was I supposed to know? That was my list of furniture.

Then he said that my weight exceeded the estimate (That conveniently they did.) By about 800 lbs. The way I see it...one of those big truck probably takes in over 100 gallons of gas. At 8 lbs per gallon, that would be 800 lbs just in truck gas. Maybe they cheated me in weight too? I'll never know.

Anyway, my weight (which they promised me will only come down) went up by 10% and now instead of charging me 10% more, they want to charge me 40% more. They said my old contract was null and void if we went over weight.

And IF MY STUFF EVER ARRIVES, they will hold my stuff hostage until we pay up.

I talked to a lawyer who said it was a "classic bait and switch" scheme. We might try to take them to small claims court, but he's doubtful we would win. The contract is really on their side. All I have is the verbal promises of scam artists.

By the Way, I had several friends call in for bogus quotes and they were told all the same things I was: "Full pack" "Our software over estimates your weight by 120%" "Your price will only come down when we actually we your stuff." The price is "binding not to exceed."

At one point I called up and said my name was Jenny. I asked for a bid from Jake on a move from NY or OR on about 12,000 lbs. I had my cell phone on speaker and I recorded the conversation on my video camera. He said it would be right around $10,000 and that my price would only come down. He finally figured out that I was Gwen and that I had tricked him an he said "Why are you doing this? This is my company not me." And I said, "Jake, you're the only person in the company that will talk to me...the people that SELL the moves. Would you just look up my move and tell me if that is what you would have quoted me for a FULL PACK?" He finally looked up my real job number 7014586-30 and said "That looks like what I would have given you for a don't lift a finger pack...that is our company standard." Then he transferred me to customer service and hung up.

Never NEVER EVER trust AMERICAN VAN LINES to do anything for you!!!

I hired MBM Moving/American Van Lines Greensboro to pack and move my household goods from Davidson NC in June 2010. Three rooms of furniture went to an apartment in MA and seven rooms plus garage went into storage at MBM in NC where they remained until June 2011. I requested Full Value Replacement coverage for the moves but told the salesman that I did not need additional monthly insurance for my goods in storage as they were covered by my homeowners insurance.

In the move to MA, many of my items were damaged. I filed a claim and after several months and a complaint to the BBB, MBM honored the FVC coverage. On June 12th of this year I had MBM move my stored goods to my new home in SC. The day before the move I asked for the amount I should have in a certified check to cover the cost. When I got the total it seemed high so I asked if they had included the additional monthly charge for goods in storage. The manager told me yes and I told him once again that I did not need that monthly coverage only coverage for the goods in transit. He gave me a new price. During the move in I found many of my items that were packed by MBM were damaged including a refrigerator, washer, dryer, artworks, pottery, furniture, etc. In addition, my couch was not on the truck and I was told they could not find it.

I called to request a claim form from their claims person who was very familiar with me after my claim for the initial move. She sent me a form then later told me that her manager told her I did not have FVC coverage, that I had cancelled it during the call to get the check amount and that they would cover my claim at 60 cents per pound. This was of course after finding out that I was making a claim for damaged goods that were packed by MBM. They have collected approximately $15k from me for the moves.

What a terrible service. They will not respond to any of my calls. Every time my broker picks up, he gives me an excuse and says that he will call me back--but he never does. Their scheme is to underestimate your weight to give you a low ball estimate and then call you back before your move and bump up your quote. They estimate how many boxes you should have but when you actually pack your stuff, you need to call back with an exact number or they will not move your things if they don't have the space in their truck. They do not leave enough extra room in their trucks for contingency.

I heard from another moving company that they are supposed to leave a minimum of 30 percent extra room. But in my case, they only had 18 percent extra based on the weight they calculated for me. When they realized that they do not have enough room in their truck, they told me to go rent a storage unit and a U-Haul truck. And then, they make you pay them extra to move your things into the U-Haul truck.

Also, they did not get my final invoice right as it says that I was charged for boxes that were never packed and mattress covers that were never used. The worst part is their unresponsiveness; once you give them a deposit, they will not return your call. They said that they would move the rest of my things from my storage unit but there is a minimum charge of 3,000 lbs and since I have less than that, I need to pay the minimum. I asked them to reconsider the minimum and they will not return my call.

As I read on another consumer complaint, American Van Lines did not represent itself as a broker. I was led to believe that AVL was doing the actual move. Instead, a local company that serviced Crestone, Colorado--Able Movers--was subcontracted. Prior to the move, we were pressured repeatedly to pay a large deposit so our move could be scheduled. We had an antique grandfather clock that was going to NY and we decided to send it separately. More deposits were required and these were sent. The clock left Crestone on October 23.

Able Movers showed up without the proper equipment to get the clock from the storage unit or to get the clock onto their truck. We had to hire a truck, trailer and two friends to accomplish the loading. When the driver left, he said that he'd be back in a week to pick up the household goods. We were sure we'd misheard. But sure enough, one week later, on October 31, after driving the valuable antique clock over unpaved roads through Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Montana, the same truck returned--with the clock--to pick up the rest of our furniture.

AVL's position is that we scheduled two pickups, and that's what took place. Our position is why would we schedule two pickups if everything was going on the same truck? Plus, the household goods arrived in DC and then the truck continued to NY to deliver the clock. American Van Lines refuses to accept any responsibility even though our contract was with them, not with Able Movers. AVL should have been in contact with the subcontractor and intervened when it became apparent that two separate pickups were not necessary if everything was going on the same truck.

I recently accepted a new position within my company. This new position required me to relocate from Gulf Breeze, Florida to Las Vegas, Nevada. I was looking forward to taking this job because it meant a slightly higher salary, and a possibility that I could work my way out of the financial hole I had created for myself recently.

When I moved to Florida from Spokane, Washington about two and a half years ago, I reserved a freight truck from U-Pack.com. I loaded and unloaded the truck myself and the move went smoothly, aside from the rigors of packing/unpacking. For this new move, I was under a time crunch and decided to hire a moving company to take care of all the aspects of the transfer (packing, moving, unpacking). I knew this would be a little bit more expensive than doing it myself, and was prepared to pay a little extra. This would be the first time for me to use a moving company on my own.

I did initially look into U-Pack.com, but decided to shop around a bit this time. I contacted several companies for quotes to handle my move, and the range of estimates went from low to high. I filled out several online forms that inventoried all of my belongings. I tried to be as accurate as I could be given the constraints of the forms. Then, after talking with several companies, I decided to go with American Van Lines (Pompano Beach, FL).

They required that I place a deposit of $800, or approximately 1/3 of the total cost to secure the movers. The entire cost of the move was quoted to me at $2,268. So I was made to believe that only $1,468 would be all that was due upon delivery. The moving specialist did mention that the price was just an estimate, and that the total cost would only be known after the truck had been weighed. Once again, I believed that the estimate was close to accurate so I agreed.

On the day of the move (August 5th), I was expecting an American Van Line truck to show up to my residence. What did show up was a U-Haul type truck from M-S Moving, a company out of Arizona. This was when I first realized that American Van Lines was just a broker and sub-contracted out to other movers. When the two gentlemen from M-S began to look at my belongings, they started complaining about how much stuff I had. Apparently, they had already picked up one load, were going to pick up my goods, and then pick up a third load before traveling to the destinations.

The lead mover told me that they would not have enough room on the truck for my things and that I should schedule someone else. Since I was in a time crunch, I called American Van Lines to find out what to do. They suggested that the current mover pick up as much as they could, then they (American) would schedule a second pick up for the remainder, at an additional cost. So M-S Moving loaded their truck and told me that they would only accept cash or money order upon delivery, and I had to be there when they delivered in a few days.

The movers were very animate about having someone there at delivery with cash in hand (another surprise, as I was able to make the deposit with a credit card). This demand made me feel that I needed to speed up my relocation so that I could appease their demands. I told them I would do what I could, and they left.

I then called American Van Lines to discuss what to do about the rest of my things. When I talked to American about the second pick-up, I was quoted a price that was higher than the cost of the original move ($2,600), which also required another deposit. I was very upset, but didn't think I had a choice. I couldn't just leave half of my things behind. American guaranteed that they would have someone at my residence within three days. However, they could not secure a mover and asked if I could delay longer. By this time, I was too upset with American and so I called around to find another carrier.

A company called Budget Van lines (New York, NY) told me that they could have someone to my house within a few days and quoted me a price lower than American ($1,768). I put a $518 deposit down to secure the mover, but by this time, I had to leave for Las Vegas to get to my new job (and be there for M-S moving). A friend of mine stayed at my house to meet the movers.

The second move took place on August 11, and a company called Source One Inc. showed up to pack the rest of my things. They were paid $600 more upon pick-up, and I was to pay them $658 when they delivered my goods. When Source One began to load my goods, they began to make the same comments that M-S Movers had made. They commented that I had way more stuff than was inventoried.

I didn't see how that was possible as I was careful to mention every single thing that was left behind by the first movers (M-S Moving). I was also informed by Source One that because of the size of the load, they would have to store the goods and get a larger truck before driving to Nevada at no extra cost to me (this would wind up delaying the delivery by some time).

While I was driving my son, our dogs and myself to Las Vegas, I was called by M-S Moving to let me know that the weight was underestimated and that a total of $2,390 would be due upon delivery and not the agreed $1,468. This was almost $1,000 more than I was quoted. I told them that I was unprepared to pay that amount, and they began to tell me that I had to because I signed a contract agreeing to pay whatever overages may occur.

Once I finally convinced them that I could not pay that amount, they informed me that my things would be placed in storage until I could get the money. By putting my items in storage, they would also be charging me a storage fee along with labor for loading/unloading at the storage location. Since I didn't know there were any other alternatives, I agreed. I also arrived before M-S Movers got to Las Vegas, contrary to what they said in Florida. So I was now living in an empty house with no household goods to speak of.

Around the 20th of September, I began to call Budget Van Lines to find out where my second load of goods were. I was informed that Source One was having truck issues and that my things would be late, and should arrive the following week. I was also told that I would be hearing from the mover (Source One) within a day or two. I waited about a week before I called Budget again, because I still hadn't heard from Source One. They attempted to reach the mover, and I was told once again that the movers would be getting a hold of me. Almost a week later, Source One finally called to let me know that they would be in Las Vegas in two days (from the call), but my weight was grossly underestimated and the total cost at delivery would be $1,900, not the $658 that was agreed upon with Budget.

This was now the second time a moving company gave me a grand total of $1,000+ dollars more than the original estimate. I told them I was prepared to pay the $658, but could not afford the total he was asking for. So, once again, it was suggested that my things go in to storage until I could pay for delivery. I told Source One that I was unsure what I wanted to do, but couldn't pay that entire amount at this time. They told me they would call me again once they were close to Las Vegas. I finally did some research and came across your website and also found that I only had to pay what was the originally agreed upon amount and they could bill me for the overage.

When Source One called, I told them what I had found out, and the mover became very defensive and uncooperative. I was informed that they unloaded my things in New Mexico (where they were when they called earlier) and put it in storage. And if I wanted it delivered, then it was going to cost an additional $363 for labor and storage fee on top of the $658. I once again told them that I was prepared to pay the $658 and nothing else. Source One then told me that they would keep my things, send me a new contract and only deliver if I paid the $658 and $363. As of today, this is still unresolved.

Also, approximately two days before Source One called me to inform me of the cost change, American Van Lines got a hold of me to let me know that the cost of storing my things for an estimated 115 days (until the end of November) was going to be around $2,200. That is nearly $700 a month for storage. This was going to be in addition to the $2,390 for delivery. M-S movers are now expecting nearly $4,600 or I will not receive my things.

So what was initially going to be a move of all of my things back in August at a cost of $2,268, has now grown to a total cost of around $9,500 (including the $1,918 that I have already paid in deposits and one pick-up). I have learned that there is no limit to what these moving companies can charge. The contract that is signed through these brokers (American and Budget) leaves the customer wide open for whatever the actual mover wants to be charged and ultimately do with the victim's goods.

This whole experience has drained me both financially, and mentally. I have been stressed to the point that I have been sinking in to depression as I don't see any way that I can recover my things. I still do not have any of my goods as they are being held hostage by unscrupulous movers that were preying on my inexperience and naivety. I am seeking whatever help I can get so that I can recover my things and try to start regaining a hold on my finances.

They took my money and refused to refund. After I found another Mover for less money they refused to give me my refund. They over charged me by 1,000.00. When I gave them a hard luck story they didn't refund. Discover card said they would get for me and again they were unable to do so. I would not let these guy move my dog house. They have no love for there customers at all. I went with American Eagles the greats movers you ever dealt with. I would recommend them highly.

Unknown to me, during the three months my shipment took to get here, Cross Country Van Lines went bankrupt with money vanishing with the top management. As per instructions from American Van Lines, I am submitting a claim for $1,387.59 for documented damages to my possessions which were under the care of Cross Country Van Lines in a move contracted with American Van Lines on January 6, 2010, Job #**, from Kaneohe, Hawaii to Lake Oswego, Oregon.

I know now that American Van Lines is a broker and that they contracted with Cross Country to handle my move. It was not made clear to me at the time I agreed to let AVL ship my belongings that they were only a broker and would not be personally responsible for my shipment. What I have found out is that Cross Country Van Lines then contracted out to a fly-by-night operation in Hawaii for the packing and shipping from Hawaii to Los Angeles. The buck has to stop somewhere and, as far as I can see, that should be with American Van Lines with whom I signed a contract and who took my money.

The outfit Cross Country sub-contracted with in Hawaii remains a mystery to this date. The name on the truck was HRH Movers. They provided no bill of lading, saying that they would come back with one after the load had been weighed. They never returned to my apartment. The telephone number they gave me was not connected and there was no listing for HRH Movers anywhere in the telephone directory. For weeks, no one at either Cross Country or American Van Lines knew where my shipment was or whether it had even left Hawaii. After many calls to American Van Lines, they agreed to try to find out what happened and where my shipment was. They promised to call me every week and let me know what they had found out about my shipment, and they did!

I should have known that the packers in Hawaii were bogus. Five men arrived but only one knew anything about packing. They were supposed to pack all the breakable items!! I packed everything that wouldn't break before they even arrived. I paid for the boxes and the bubble wrap which came from U-Haul. The man who did know how to pack kept me busy and I was not aware of what was going on with the other packers. When I began to unpack the boxes in Oregon 3 months later, it become painfully clear that they had no idea how to pack! Dishes were stacked on top of one another with no cushion in between and then wrapped with a single layer of bubble wrap and no paper. They were set on their edges, not flat, in the boxes and in some cases, even had appliances stacked on top of them in the same box.

This explains the horrific damage done to the 100-year old Adams china. Pure negligence explains why packing tape was placed directly on teakwood furniture, framed pictures were packed all facing the same direction with no paper or bubble wrap in between them to prevent gouging of the wood frames by the hooks on the back of the picture in front of them, and carpets were simply rolled up with no protection, forcibly folded, and stuffed into open spaces in the truck.

As I said, the shipment left my apartment on January 8 and arrived in Oregon on April 1 thanks to the generosity of American Van Lines who paid a fourth sub-contractor to drive the shipment up from Los Angeles to Oregon. Three months after American Van Lines had estimated six to eight weeks. I believe the damages are carefully documented in the pictures that I have attached to this claim form. Even documenting these damages has been highly traumatic for me since many of the damaged and broken china belonged to my great grandmother and was over one hundred years old. It had been entrusted to me for safe-keeping, and I feel personally responsible that it was destroyed.

What I cannot document as easily are the following unpleasant, uncomfortable and unhealthy circumstances that I was forced to endure due to the irresponsible and unprofessional treatment of my shipment by Cross Country Van Lines. I am not a young woman, I'm 66 years old. I moved to Oregon in the middle of a cold and damp winter. It only took my car six weeks to arrive from Hawaii. Waiting for three months for my household belongings was infuriating. I want to make it clear that I am not requesting reimbursement for those expenses that I incurred while waiting for my belongings to arrive. I do expect total reimbursement for the damages suffered by my belongings while they were shuttled from pillar to post in a most unprofessional and incompetent manner.

Not that it matters now, but I did leave a long message for a Mr. Mike **, Operations Manager for Cross Country Van Lines. Amusingly, I assumed that he worked for American Van Lines since American Van Lines customer service gave me his name, and he did not identify himself in his message. He was very sympathetic and said he would do everything in his power to make this situation right.

I am a reasonable person and will expect to hear from you within the next two weeks by September 10. If I do not hear via phone or email, I will begin to research proceedings in small claims court in order to recover damages.

My daughter had a small shipment to be moved from AZ to OH. They kept changing the pick up date and time, so much so that we had to leave the shipment in a friend's hands so that we could make the drive to Ohio and so that my daughter could start her new job in time. They were rude, belligerent and very unapologetic. They never offered an apology or a discount for our inconvenience. My contact in AL never returned my phone calls.

The company that was actually picking up the shipment was Move it Forward in Las Vegas, NV. When they finally showed up on Saturday night, instead of Friday morning, they said that since we didn't have that much stuff, it would be cheaper to go by the pound--which turned out to be almost $400 more. When we questioned them about the difference, they were extremely rude and threatened to hold our belongings hostage until we sent a check. Our belongings were finally delivered. Everything was intact and all the items were accounted for. I find it hard to believe that there is no regulation for these moving companies. It makes it much harder for the honest and upstanding ones to do business.

I contact American Van Lines to move my belongings from CA to Oregon. The initial service was fine. They arrived on time and I was fully supported and my materials were packed and ready for transport as promised. I had a scheduled delivery window on the 30th of June till the 8th of July, 2010. I received a few calls in this window by a service representative, trying to help me find out when my belongings would arrive. After the 8th, the customer service stopped. I had to wait on the phone for over 20 minutes and every time I called to get a person if I was lucky. Sometimes the phone system would force me to leave a message. When I did get a person, they could never answer any questions and always promised to call back but never did. I talked to Samuel, who promised a call back and obtained my discount and resolve the open matters at hand but he never did.

I finally received a call for scheduling a delivery date after having to threaten legal recourse to receive my items. I received a call by the sub-contracted carrier 1 Mover Depot, INC. at 1245 W 135th Street, Gardena, CA 90247, for a scheduled delivery on Monday, the 19th of July. I was waiting for the final confirmation on payment from American Van Lines as I was due a refund because of late delivery. I never received the call. The dispatcher Eli called on Friday to ask if I would receive my items on Saturday, the 17th, instead. He insisted that I pay by cash or money order, when I had made arrangements with American Van Lines for my Credit Card to be charged for final services and fees. He was still quoting me an inflated cost with no discount.

I tried to call American Van Lines that afternoon at about 3:30 PM to speak to a representative so this issue would be resolved but no one answers. I waited on hold for 20 minutes and I was forced to leave a message and never received a call back. My message stated that I needed a representative immediately as my delivery was tomorrow and they were trying to charge me too much and make me pay in cash.

It's not what American and I agreed upon. My Saturday morning delivery was scheduled for 8-10 AM and I called American Again for help. No answer. Even though their posted service hours are within all the windows I called. The driver called to inform me, after not arriving on time, that he could be there by 5:30-7:30 PM, and asked if I can still receive. I said yes. He said money was due upon arrival. I said they need to figure out the right charges and that they have to accept credit card as agreed upon by contact through American Van Lines.

The Driver was great and very good at his job and had more customer service than American Van Lines or the sub-contractor 1 Mover Depot, Inc. The dispatcher from 1 Mover Depot INC called in response to my report with the driver. He again tried to force me to pay in cash on an over-inflated charge. He chewed me out and yelled at me on the phone and gave me no support. I had to force him to give me the discount due because of late days and the amount of weight he was charging me for. He said that my material weighed 4,060 pounds.

I said no way. I had three different people estimate my weight and they all confirmed, before pick up, that it was around or under 3,000 pounds. The dispatcher again chewed me out telling me, "I need to respect the job as they are very busy and all your belonging are heavy like stone. I move them myself." I told him that I think he must have accidentally weighed my material with someone else's material. He said, "No, you are crazy." I say I want to verify the weight of my material. He says, "Fine, but if it weighs more you have to pay." I accept.

He finally agrees and informs the driver that credit card is acceptable and that I will receive a $175 discount for seven business days late, not actual days and that he can accept credit card. Eli says that he will call back with the information on where to meet the driver to weigh my materials. Around 4 PM, the driver calls that he is late and won't make it till 7:30 PM. I say that he is late in delivery, late all day, and if he can't arrive on time, he will have to deliver on Monday as originally promised by Eli, the dispatcher. He asks if I will accept if he makes it by 7:30 PM and I say yes, 7:30pm, but any later no.

The driver arrives and I discovered that he is a sub-contractor of 1 Movers Depot, Inc., a company named DLR. I feel sorry that he is caught up in this mess, as none of it was his fault. He was very helpful and takes my credit card even though I don't want to pay because the charges are wrong. But I am forced to pay upfront or I cannot receive my goods or discover the actual weight of my material, a serious catch 22 in this industry. So I payed and he unloads and we follow the driver from DLR to the scales.

My weight turns out to be 3,560 pounds instead of the 4,060 pounds. Eli, the dispatcher tried to say what my material weighed and after going through the scales, the driver informed me of this information and gave me the scale certificates. He also informed me that the rate I paid when he delivered a few hours earlier was for 4,200 pounds. So now, I have been defrauded for 700 pounds of material that I do not owe and cannot get customer service to resolve.

I am currently filing complaints with each Governmental Bureau involved, DOT, The Better Business Bureau, and filing forms with each carrier company for resolution. On top of it all, Some of the materials that 1 Mover Depot, Inc. packed arrived broken, large glass shelves. The shelves that were not broken had their metal brackets severely damaged. My boxes were handled so roughly, even the items marked "Fragile, Glass!," that the cardboard was crushed and looked rounded. I lost most of my stemware and glassware. I also have boxes that look like they were sat on. Many boxes had puncture marks in them. I still was not able to open all of the boxes but expect more damage. All the furniture, besides the couch, arrived with scratches and damage. The furniture was handled so poorly that the moving pads that wrapped almost all, but not all, of the furniture were ripped and torn and the legs poked through the blankets.

Never, never, never use American Van Lines. On initial estimates, based on the overcharges and damage to materials, I am easily in the $1000 range. The overage was about 300 dollars plus the discount due on top of that of $175. Plus the compensation I feel I am due from American Van Lines for not supporting me. I paid them a $700 deposit for no service. I had to fight the sub-contractor on my own. I had to administer contract enforcement. I would have never called American if I knew I would have had to do all the work myself. Let alone the charges to my cellphone for long distance calls of twenty minutes a piece.

My 80 year old mom hired theses movers for her move from Palm Beach Florida to San Jose, CA. At once I suspected big problems. First of all, she was overcharged for her move. The movers failed to give us any time for the arrival or window, despite repeated attempts to schedule it. The moving coordinator refused to return calls. The movers failed to come and we were told that they did come but the doormen didn't have any record. We were forced to make other arrangements because they were late with the move incurred additional expenses and extreme stress. They finally sent out some packers a day late, who worked until 12:00 that evening and still we weren't given a definite moving date.

Finally the move was done three days past the date promised. Then the furniture was put in storage and we called them for a moving date. They said they had 20 days to get the furniture out to us. We notified them on May 16th and the furniture didn't arrive in San Jose until June 15th. Then the furniture arrived damaged and the driver told us that the pieces had to be moved on and off the truck for the other various deliveries. I have been trying to contact their claims department to get a claims forms and have been put on hold long distance, hung up on and not been able to even obtain the claims form from American Van Lines.

Don't use American Van Lines. They are the worst movers I've ever had. My 80 year-old mother and I were forced a deal with an unresponsive moving company who failed to move us on time, causing extreme emotional distress as well as money caused by their delay in moving us as well as the delivery of the furniture to California.

This company has been the worst. They had lost 7 boxes plus par of my new bedroom furniture was broken. They did not even want to put the bed as it should have been because they were late for the next delivery. They lost all my tables for the LR and all the cushions. Also, the brand new dining table had scratches all over. The patio table was lost. Also, 3 boxes were damaged by water. I had to throw all it contains. When I saw that so many items were missing, I came down with the driver to see the truck.

To my surprise, so many items were in the other shipment. They delivered them, like some chests and one table. I think since they were 21 days late, they were in a hurry and they placed my items with other people. Also, very important documents were missing and I had to cancel all my credit cards, bank accounts and called the 3 credit bureaus. The money they offered me to replace all of them were $12.00. I took this as an offensive gesture. Of course, I did not take the money.