American Van Lines Reviews
Pompano Beach, FL
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About American Van Lines
American Van Lines is a family-owned moving company that provides local and long-distance relocation services for residential and commercial customers. It offers full-service and partial packing options plus crating and specialty moving for high-value items. The company has been in business since 1995.
- Easy booking process
- Storage options available
- Flat-rate pricing on long-distance moves
- Wide range of packing services
- Some weight limits apply
- No instant online quotes
- A few complaints of inaccurate estimates
American Van Lines Reviews
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Reviewed Oct. 9, 2016
The moving coordinator of American Van Lines was excellent. He helped me answer my questions and he was there for me when I needed him. The consultant also kept in contact with me. I had a question on how to reach out and contact him and he was there and able to answer the questions. The moving crew was awesome, too. They went out of their way. I had a dryer in the garage that needed to be put upstairs and they did that for me. I couldn’t have asked for better.
Reviewed Oct. 9, 2016
The moving crew was very productive and professional. We had a lot of stuff so it was a little bit expensive. I have one complaint though. They insisted we make cash payment which was a little unexpected and made us uncomfortable since most of the time we use credit cards.
Reviewed Oct. 9, 2016
My wife's retired and she wanted to move from San Diego to Las Vegas. So we got American Van Lines for the move. There was a mix-up at the pickup date, but that was alright as my daughter was there to take care of it. The movers were fine but they knocked my piano over, broke the pedals off and the meter on it. It was no biggie so I didn't want to make a claim. The piano was made in 1911, and I don't use the pedal much. I just wanted them out. I'm also missing a small TV that has a DVD recorded right in it. Other than those, everything with American Van Lines was okay, and the mover guy was really nice.
Reviewed Oct. 8, 2016
The rep did a very good job. She came out to my house and looked over everything. She explained everything to me. It was a pretty easy and ordinary move. I didn't move a lot of furniture, but I had lots of boxes of books, personal things and clothes. The movers were very good. They worked quickly and efficiently. One or two items I had that were old and were like family mementos. It were little ceramic or antique China. And I specifically told them that they had to be extra super careful with those in however they packed them. And he assured me that they would. When they got here, he brought these things over to me still wrapped up. I unwrapped them and everything was perfect. And he showed me how they had wrapped them real carefully and taken good care of them, so I was happy about that.
But I still have to file a claim because I'm missing a couple of framed pictures. They weren't hugely expensive, but they were probably worth a couple of hundred dollars a piece. And I had one that was a picture of me with those photographs that you can blow up and put on canvass. It was with me and two of my dogs and one of dogs that since passed away. So, that really meant a lot to me. It's the only picture that I had, and that's also missing. And then, I still don't have quite all the boxes I've packed. But the pictures are too big to be in the boxes that are left. I looked online the other day. I have to get the paperwork to do that. I fractured my back not too long after I got here, so I've been delayed in the unpacking. But I'm just about to the end of it and those large pictures are the only furniture that seemed to be missing. And there was also a little difficulty in arriving in delivery days.
Reviewed Oct. 8, 2016
I found American Van Lines to be professional and fine until it came to delivering my items at the place where I was living. They told me they were gonna deliver my items in a certain amount of time. However, they were exceptionally slow and they weren't as upfront as they should've been. They went with a loophole in the contract. I told them that they should have told me in the beginning so I could've made other arrangements. I had to remain in corporate housing for almost an additional 30 days and wound up paying for an empty apartment with no furniture in it. I could have wound up living in a hotel for a month if I didn't happen to be working for nice people. But the delivery guys were careful and cautious. I lost one frying pan which cost over $100 but they refused to reimburse me for it. I didn't make an itemized list of my goods so they said they couldn't verify that they had lost it but that wasn't a big deal considering the amount of items I had.
Hi Nadia,
Thank you for choosing our company to move you long distance from FL to MI. We picked you up on June 27 and delivered you in 18 days. I'm not sure why you are saying your delivery took almost 30 days. We usually can deliver sooner than 18 days but sometimes in the summer months (movers busy season) we take a little longer. Please remember that we did deliver you within the promised delivery window. I hope you will still consider us on your next move.
Reviewed Oct. 8, 2016
I had no idea there was this much difference in movers. I talked to five different girls and I had no person that followed up with me. The movers smashed an antique sofa I’ve had. It was wood and it had the pegs. I have the pictures of when they were unloading it. They broke a mirror and I don’t know how in the world they ever did that because it had wood all around it. I have half my stuff in storage now. They were a week late than what they have told me that they would deliver, so I spent that time in a hotel. They said they will reimburse me up front and I had to sign off that I wouldn’t verbally, in the event, bad mouth them which is not gonna happen. I understand I have six months to file against them.
They also told me that if they cannot get the big truck into my area, I would be paying $500 more. I said that’s not a problem as big trucks are in and out of here all the time. The next morning here comes a small truck and the guy said, “Wonder why they didn’t send the big truck?” And so, they thought I called, talked to everybody there and then they assured me they would not charge that extra $500 because it was so obvious you can get a freight train through where I was, but let in a little sort of a semi.
However, the guy that texted me was the best I've ever seen. Also, the guys that unloaded my stuff at the end were pretty good, but they told me they got it out of the storage that’s why I was so shocked. The lady I talked to said that my stuff wasn’t in the storage, but is somewhere for about two weeks. Then they blamed it on the hurricane that I drove right through that time. It wasn’t fun, but it didn’t delay anything a week.
I would not recommend things to somebody I hated and I know they’re gonna screw me over. I’d like to see if they’re gonna make any kind of settlement. They’re horrible people, they’ve got a racket and now I hope they get busted big time. You put your trust in them, you pay a lot of money, then you get all these problems and they’re gonna walk away. They have some good people working for them but they’re the biggest bunch of crooks I’ve ever seen in my life. They are not honest people. I need to file a suit against them. I’ve lost so many times and I’ve always used Mayflower and I have never had a problem, ever. And the first time I go with somebody else, it was a disaster from the first day they came in with the rental truck. So you can count on the fact they’re a company that somebody should come down on hard. I hate American Van Lines.
Dear Faye,
I am sorry we damaged your sofa and mirror. Even though we wrapped all of your items to protect them properly, those two items still were damaged. I am thankful we have come to a mutual settlement to help cover the cost of the items damaged.
Please remember we were hired to move over 200 items from NC to FL. We delivered all of your items within 11 days and for the exact same price as the estimate.
I am happy we were able to turn your negative experience around.
Reviewed Oct. 8, 2016
I was retiring and had to move, and I looked up moving companies online. In a timely manner, I talked to this young man in Florida and he was very nice and able to help me, so I decided to go with American Van Lines. The moving consultant who helped me plan my move and the moving crew who assisted me on the day of the move were good. My move was expensive. They had to shrink wrap some furniture for me. These were stored in a garage for a month or so. They did that well, and I appreciated it, so I didn't care that I had to pay for it. There were some things that were damaged. There was a dent in one of the pieces of furniture. A couple of pots were discolored, and also another piece of furniture that was antique white. But that's no big deal. Other than that, I was happy and relieved. They did a great job overall and I would recommend them to a friend.
Reviewed Oct. 7, 2016
The sales person, Dottie, was very helpful. Someone named Kendra, called and said she was my personal moving coordinator. Never heard from her again and called numerous times over 2 weeks with questions and always told she "was out". Never re-assigned anyone and difficult time getting questions answered. Dispatcher was great and informative about schedules! Carlos and Carlos, the actual moving team was awesome! Came earlier than expected. Re-assembled furniture. No damage at all. Very professional.
Reviewed Oct. 7, 2016
My moving coordinator with American Van Lines explained pretty much the whole process, went in-depth with the details on how it works out, and did a really fantastic job. The moving crew was professional, pretty efficient, and quick. They were also very delicate with my stuff. American Van Lines was my first moving company and they pretty much exceeded my expectations for delivery purposes and all. They were A+ in packing stuff together. I’d definitely recommend them.
Reviewed Oct. 7, 2016
I was relocating out of state to be with my grandbabies. The American Van Lines moving coordinator was wonderful, very informative and very helpful. The rep who helped me in planning my move was not bad too, although I did find it to be a little confusing when they called me a couple of times with the same information ‘cause she forgot that she had called me. But at least she was thorough. The movers themselves were awesome as well. I’m very pleased with them and I would recommend American Van Lines to somebody else who's moving.
Reviewed Oct. 7, 2016
American Van Lines was very good. Their rep, Jason, was the first person I spoke to about the timing, the number of pieces of furniture, when and how long it would arrive and insurance. I felt confident choosing them after that. Victor and another young woman assisted me in planning the details of our move. We talked back and forth and they checked in with me if I forget. We talked about when they would show up and with how many men, and if I had anything changed or had I added or deleted anything from the list. They stayed in contact with me the whole time from when they were there that day, after the truck left, on the way, and when they'd arrived with our belongings. I had their phone number and I could've called them any time but they kept calling me.
The movers were fabulous, very courteous and very friendly. They were also diligent, didn't take one break and were very pleasant from the start. Three men showed up exactly on-time and took care of everything. Everything was done very nicely and at very high-quality. Things were wrapped and taped. We went over everything before they started and after they took the truck. They said it could take them anywhere from four to ten days to deliver our things depending on traffic. We were downsizing so we did not have a large move and our belongings went on a truck with another family who was moving also to Florida. They also explained that unloading could take anywhere from four to ten days. And I had known that when I originally booked it but that they would let us know.
They packed us up on July 28th, which was a Thursday, and we left shortly after them. We decided to do that because we were driving. They called us on the 29th to let us know that they might be there as early as Sunday. Then they called us back and said would it be okay if they came Saturday, that they were ahead of schedule. So I was only without my belongings for less than 48 hours because they left Thursday afternoon and showed up around 9:30 Saturday morning, the 30th. And not one thing was damaged. Not even a smudge. Everything was in perfect condition. Afterwards they called me to see how it all went. For some reason, I made a mistake and overpaid them and they refunded the money to me. I was a little stressed because it's a move, it's our belongings and we were going a long way. But it was very nice and not stressful at all so I would use them again if I ever moved.
Reviewed Oct. 7, 2016
American Van Lines had a truck bound for the West Coast nearby the town that we needed the move made. So the timing couldn't be better for us. In fact, the lady that we were to pick up the load from said it had to be out by Friday, and they were planning on picking it up Friday morning. However, there was a big lack of communication that cost a bit of aggravation. Somebody didn’t get the communication correct between who the shipper and the “shippee” was because they called us up thinking that we were the ones that had the load outbound, and they called the lady with the outbound load up to tell her that it would be delivered by so and so. The instructions weren't crystal clear on all levels. Nevertheless, it all worked out. The moving crew's productivity was extremely well, and given the fact that they were not professional piano movers, they did a splendid job. They moved everything without a hitch nor a scratch, and the job was extremely well done.
Reviewed Oct. 6, 2016
Our experience with the moving coordinator of American Van Lines was good. However, the experience didn't go well and we aren't very happy. Some of our furniture got a little beat up, unfortunately. And the bad thing was we realized a checkbook we had left in one of the dressers we had moved was missing. And we had two fraudulent checks worth $2,500 written on that account. It was in my wife's bedroom, so there was nobody else that had access to it other than their guys during that time. We had brought it to the attention of American Van Lines and there was a police report done, but I've never heard back from them.
Hi Jim,
Your statement below is false and your are trying to mislead the public. You did not bring the missing checks to our attention. We heard about it in this review and we have been trying get more information from you including the police report you stated you made. Your wife even admitted to us that we were never notified. Your allegations against our movers are very serious and needs to be addressed. Our movers are completely vetted and must pass an extensive background screening to work for us. I personally don't believe our movers were involved in these missing checks. If you had damage on your move, you may still file a claim and we will handle it quickly.
Reviewed Oct. 6, 2016
I had a fantastic experience with AVL. I was moving from one part of North Carolina to another part of it, so I put a thing out that I was looking for moving companies and they contacted me, along with many others. But AVL's price was good. I had heavy stuff and they were gonna send four men so I got them. The moving coordinator was very helpful and professional and then the moving crew members were super. They were polite and prompt. They put rolls of stuff down on the floor so it wouldn't get messed up, put all things where I wanted them to be and made up boxes for me. They answered all of my questions and did the job very quickly and very well. I am a military wife so I have moved many times and these men were the best ones I've ever had.
Reviewed Oct. 5, 2016
The team was able to accommodate a late pickup time for my move from Illinois. The items were quickly packed and transferred a week later to my home in Georgia. The staff was very professional, courteous, and efficient with getting the items moved between the two locations.
Reviewed Oct. 5, 2016
I've used AVL in the past and then used them recently again. I had excellent interaction with the moving coordinator, the consultant who planned the details of the move and the crew on the day of the move. Whenever I move, I'll be using AVL again. They're great.
Reviewed Oct. 5, 2016
I've used American Van Lines about four years ago when I was relocating from a different state. so I decided to use them again for my recent move. My interaction with their rep was good, up until the last part on this last relocation. He had a family emergency so I had to deal with other people. But their moving crew was good. They got my stuff all loaded up and unloaded fairly quickly. The very first time I've used them, I wasn't satisfied at all. But I took a second chance since it's a different state and it'll be a different mover, and these guys did really good.
Reviewed Oct. 4, 2016
We were moving cross-country and my work helped cover it for us. The moving coordinator that we dealt with from American Van Lines was friendly. Although it would've been helpful if they have little packing tips because I didn't know that we couldn't pack them in bags, so it took a little bit longer for the movers since they had to fill the boxes to accommodate it for us. The crew that first loaded everything and the crew that helped them move worked really hard and were very friendly. They worked as quickly as they could. They were timely and did the best that they could. However, the actual delivery day was about four days off of what was originally projected. Then we have things that were broken because the boxes weren't prepared to be turned upside-down. We also had a couple of pieces of furniture that were damaged.
Reviewed Oct. 4, 2016
Our move was out of state and it wasn't an entire house move. It was two-thirds of a house move and we left some stuff there. One of the reasons I went with American Van Lines was I read all the reviews that other people had put in there and they had exceptionally good reviews. The coordinator did absolutely great and he couldn't have done any better. Also, the moving crew was awesome. They moved some stuff around the house for us to move it out of the way, so we could get some other stuff to fit in which was really nice.
Reviewed Oct. 3, 2016
The American Van Lines rep I talked to was quick to respond with information and quotes. We had a bit of confusion between the people who did the different roles but when we got to the right person, then they were good to respond. My constructive criticism would be that they should set expectations with the client about who to work with on this and that. That would have been helpful for us. Their moving crew was professional, focused and got the stuff done. My move was the only one I've ever heard of wherein the stuff got there on time or early. I had talked to several people who had done cross-state moves and they said that all of the stuff will always get there so much later. But with AVL, everything got there in the early end of the time spectrum I was given. I'd recommend them to a friend.
Reviewed Oct. 2, 2016
I searched American Van Lines on the internet, called people up, and did some cost comparisons. Their movers did a great job and packed everything up pretty well. They were very hardworking, pleasant, and respectful of my kids. Unfortunately, when things arrived, one unit was significantly damaged. The back piece of a furniture had broken. I got $500 worth of damage and because I agreed to the contract that said I get 10 percent of the damage, they gave me $50. I don't know if I'd agree to that in the future. I think they should pay for whatever damage is done. But even though I had some issues at the end, my experience was still generally good.
Reviewed Oct. 1, 2016
I knew the representative from American Van Lines because I'm a realtor and they're a partner company with us. I moved with them personally and it was a very simple move. I bought a house and moved two miles away from where I was. Their moving coordinators were very good and their moving consultant was excellent and she kept me up-to-date and kept checking with me to make sure everything was fine. It was also okay with the moving crew on the day of the move but there was a little bit of a language barrier, and they could’ve treated my belongings a little better.
Updated review: Oct. 11, 2016
American Van Lines was very responsive and contacted me quickly with my concerns. They helped me resolve the issues I had and we have come to an amicable agreement.
Original Review: Sept. 28, 2016
My experience with American Van Lines started out great. I moved from Florida to Baltimore. The movers who came to pack my stuff in Florida were great, took good care of my belongings, knew what they were doing (and mind you there were two of them). The movers who came to deliver my belongings in Baltimore were complete opposite (and there were three). Not only did I not receive a call from the driver letting me know he would be at my place within an hour (like the Florida drivers did and I was told were supposed to do), but a ton of my belongings were damaged. And I mean a ton!
I am beyond dissatisfied. I am upset, angry, and pissed. Here I am dishing out thousands of dollars for you guys to move my stuff, in order to make less stress on myself and instead here I am trying to figure out what the heck I am going to do about all of my damaged property. I will never recommend this company to anyone. I am beyond unsatisfied with the men who delivered my furniture. I don't care if I am on the second floor or third floor, if you can't carry the furniture with care or move it the way it should be then you should be held responsible.
And I will be fighting American Van Lines on replacing some of my furniture. Even if I have to go to small claims court - After the movers delivered my belongings, I immediately called customer service. Since big expensive items of mine were damaged I wanted to get this taken care of right away, but was told the regular insurance will only cover the $.60 a pound. That is complete bs when my brand new furniture was dropped in front of me twice by the movers. The ENTIRE bottom frame of my bedroom dresser was cracked therefore causing both back legs on the dresser to break off. The entire one side of the wood is all scratched.
In addition, my brand new sofa was dropped onto the concrete causing a tear in the arm. How the hell am I responsible for repairing a $1,000 dresser when I watched the men drop it as well as the sofa. To top it all off, after sitting on the phone with customer service (who just said, "Take pictures and send in and it'll take 30 days"), I go to start unpacking my kitchen appliances to find that one of two boxes is completely shattered. Literally almost every item in the box shattered. I couldn't even tell you how many pictures I took of broken plates, glasses, and bowls I will be submitting. And the box had "Fragile" written all over it. And please do customer service tell me what I am supposed to do with a cracked dresser? I have boxes all of my apartment with clothes I can't even put away thanks to your services.
Updated review: Sept. 28, 2016
I received a call from the Customer service supervisor. She listened patiently to my dissatisfaction and agreed to help me resolve the problems that I had. We came to an amicable resolution.
Original Review: Sept. 26, 2016
My experience with American Van Lines customer service was terrible. I would warn you to not get involved and save yourself a lot of frustration. I signed up with American Van Lines because they have a 4.5 star rating on the internet. My sales agent, "Dororthy, (Dori)" assured me this company was great and everything would go well. The move was anything but great. To her credit, Dori was sympathetic and supportive and the only 4.5 star player.
My movers scheduled on Sunday, 9/11 never showed up. My wife and I waited from 8 AM until 7 PM. We never received a call from the movers or the company. The next morning I called to find out what happened. I was informed that the person taking my call was "Jeremy". He told me he was the sales manager and would "personally oversee my move" so I would have no further mishaps. I never spoke with him again in spite of repeated calls and messages left for him. At least 5. Dori the sales agent said she would ask him to call me on 2 occasions. Never happened.
I had supplied a very accurate inventory. Based on this they estimated my weight and thus the cost of my move. They charged me $3300 more based on increased weight I couldn't verify because the movers arrived late in the day and were so slow the weighing stations were closed by the time they finished. I was supposed to receive 2 days notice. I received 1 hour notice that the truck was coming. My building requires 48 hours notice to arrange personnel to supervise the move, protect the property, fix the elevators, whatever. The building manager had to scramble to get help which cost me a fee to bring him in. I had spoken the day before with "Calvin" and with my "account manager, Kendra". They each told me my arrival date was not yet scheduled.
The 2 movers I had were cooperative and nice, but inexperienced. Fortunately, only a few of my items arrived broken. I couldn't report it because no one calls you back. I would never use this company again and would implore anyone who wants a safe, courteous, and organized move to stay away from American Van Lines. They are unprofessional, discourteous, and provide an extremely frustrating moving experience.
Reviewed Sept. 23, 2016
My mother and I hired American Van Lines to move her from southern California to Michigan. The company said they had their own drivers and trucks, but of course, when it came down to it, they sent an outside contractor. American Van Lines over-estimated our weight by about double even though I made a list for them and sent a video of the rooms to the sales rep. They subsequently gave us a better price once the movers reported how much the items actually weighed. Our "personal moving coordinator" told us that her stuff would be arriving a few days after it was picked up. Then he said he made a mistake and it would be another 2 1/2 weeks!
The most incredible part is that it took them 3 WEEKS to drive 2300 miles. My 82-year-old mother was sleeping on the floor of her new house because these nitwits couldn't figure out how to get her furniture to her. When I called to complain I got the runaround, day after day. When I spoke to our "personal moving coordinator's" supervisor, she turned out to be as useless as he was. I called the sales rep back to complain. He said he would have his supervisor call me. Guess who ended up calling me back? The useless "personal moving coordinator."
To add insult to injury, they LOST two of her boxes (probably because they were driving all over the country with her stuff, loading and unloading other people's stuff). Some of the items they lost were sentimental items made by her grandchildren. She said the movers moved all of the boxes in so quickly and then fled, not going through the list of boxes with her and she was totally confused. We made a claim, but American Van Lines gives themselves 120 days to respond. Right now we're over 90 days and since we didn't buy extra insurance, I'm sure nothing will come of it. I don't know how other people got good service out of this company -- or if the testimonials are fake, posted by the company. I would NEVER recommend this company to anyone.
Reviewed Sept. 21, 2016
I was still running late with packing and these gentlemen worked so hard to get me out on time! We only ran an hour over and that was my fault completely. I would definitely recommend them.
Reviewed Sept. 16, 2016
The guys from American Van Lines took care of all my items and delivered them promptly when I moved into my new house. They placed everything in their designated rooms and put back together everything they had taken apart. They were awesome!
Reviewed Sept. 16, 2016
These four men were really great. They got everything packed and loaded with care and efficiency. Unloading they also re-assembled the furniture they had to disassemble for packing. They did a terrific job and I give them 5 STARS!
Reviewed Sept. 15, 2016
The men (Johnny and Jeffrey) who helped me pack and move were very good. I was pleased with their service and would recommend them or use them again. The move coordinator (Jamie) did not answer her calls, did not return calls and I was very frustrated with her performance. It could have been much better. Also, Dorie, was very helpful and personable.
Reviewed Sept. 15, 2016
In the past, I have always moved myself and didn't know what to expect. We were extremely please with the service we received from American Van Lines! The communication before and after the move was outstanding. The move itself went very smooth. The movers were courteous and HARD working, going above and beyond what was required. We couldn't have been more pleased with the whole experience!
Reviewed Sept. 15, 2016
Easy and fast scheduling, but expensive and requires minimum 3000 lbs of charged weight, twice as much as I actually moved. Also, difficult to contact as the reps wouldn't update my phone from my office to cell. Overall satisfactory.
Hi Geoff,
Thanks for your review and we are glad you are satisfied. Just so you know, most moving companies have a 3000# weight minimum. Thank you for your business and we hope to hear from you when you move again.
Reviewed Sept. 14, 2016
Ricky and Barry were absolutely wonderful! They had great attitudes and were so careful with all of our items. Not one item was broken after moving from Houston to California! I would recommend this company to anyone looking to do a long distance move.
Reviewed Sept. 13, 2016
I have used American Van Lines 3 times for long distance and local moves. They are very professional, efficient and have good rates and are accurate with their estimates. They don't do the bait and switch routine. Never had anything broken or lost. I would recommend them to others.
Updated review: Oct. 4, 2016
Update: American Van Lines reached out and was compassionate about the situation and agreed to come to a reasonable resolution. While the customer service provided can not be erased, American did ensure that both parties were respectfully satisfied at the conclusion. They have instituted a claims process for the damage as well.
Original Review: Sept. 11, 2016
I am a professional engineer with a Fortune 8 company who has moved 10+ times over the course of a few years. Normally, the relocation is handled directly with the company via Cartus Relocation but in this particular case it was my responsibility to find a van line and manage the move. Based off a 5 star prior experience with American Van Lines, I selected them to do the move in July from Tennessee to Chicago, about 500 miles with packing as well.
I provided the initial information TWO months in advance and arranged dates, including revising the inventory list and sending photos of the 1 Bedroom apartment. American informed me due to my dates falling on a Monday morning that they would need to outsource the move to an agent, JT Express from St. Louis, but that the standards and professionalism would remain the same. I was completely bamboozled as this would turn out to not be the case.
The movers arrived in a box truck 5 hours late at 5 PM on Monday, 8/8. The two gentlemen arrived at the apartment in the complex and complained from the start, unaware that EVERYTHING had to be packed. Immediately they threw out the initial price and contract -- as I found is a common sham practice -- and gave me a new quote for $7K, way above the original quote for $2.7k which is what I had put the deposit down with American. They refused to take any action until I signed the new contract. THEY PACKED AND LOADED THE TRUCK UNTIL 4AM TAKING NUMEROUS BREAKS, COMPLAINTS, AND COMPLETE UNPROFESSIONALISM.
A few examples: The movers repeatedly asked how much money I was receiving for my relocation and what they could be paid... I told them none of their business and to complete the service that had been set up - Tried to charge me $30/box for "dish pack" boxes which would have been fine, but they were using small U haul boxes for the kitchen items, not actual sleeved, protected dish pack boxes to warrant the extra cost. We argued this point for an hour and they agreed to take "$200" off the incredibly inflated packing bill.
The movers became extremely uncooperative when we were negotiating the new contract based on ONE BEDROOM and prices they inflated and hated using American Van Lines paperwork. I had to disassemble my bedroom furniture because they were "tired" and it was 2AM - Complained for the 300 foot long haul down the hallway to the elevator which was clearly stated from the beginning - Attempted to charge me for a delivery truck when an 18-wheeler was NEVER used and same truck did pickup and delivery. Initial estimate was 3K pounds worth of items, they claimed it ended up being 5.5K lbs and I did review the truck scale receipts. They ate food and drinks in my fridge and left trash all over both apartments, even though I provided catered BBQ for dinner
It was a complete disaster. Things were not packed properly, the two gentlemen spoke in a second language around myself so I could not understand, and it was the worst customer experience I have ever had. It got worse. Upon delivery, I paid $4k (in addition to a $1.3k deposit) and had to argue every line item with JT Express to avoid confrontation with the drivers. When they finally showed up to unload, they put HOLES IN BRAND NEW CONSTRUCTION DRYWALL and scratched up my $3K leather sofa beyond repair. When confronted about the holes, they claimed it was my fault the "apartment was too small and if we had gotten a bigger apartment it wouldn't have been a problem." I was flabbergasted to say the least. Of course, based on DOT rules they are not liable for any damage and I did not purchase extra insurance.
In Summation: DO NOT EVER USE AMERICAN VAN LINES. I had a great prior experience but this one negated any positive experience. I will be drafting a letter to Cartus Relocation and my corporate HR department regarding the experience and ensure no one in my entire department uses them for any relocation in the US. American Van Lines customer service was completely non responsive at the completion of the move and I requested to be contacted by a supervisor multiple times.
I had no problem paying for services rendered, but the paperwork I had made a strong case against JT EXPRESS and American. JT Express was a complete sham and attempted to give me the final price 6 hours before arrival had I not been chasing it down. I had to call under other numbers not associated with my account to solicit a response. Many items were damaged beyond repair and there was no recourse for action once paid where I had no options
I just wanted to let my case be known so you do not make the same mistake when selecting a moving company. I ended up paying $3,000+ more than expected and had a nightmare interacting with JT Express and American Van Lines who took no accountability for their agent. Despite filing numerous complaints I have had no response from either agency. Good luck with your move, I certainly hope it goes smoothly like many of mine have despite this horrendous experience!
Updated review: Sept. 10, 2016
Since writing this review, we have been contacted by American Van Lines and offered reasonable compensation for the problems we experienced. We are changing our rating to reflect the initiative American Van Lines pursued in taking responsibility for and rectifying our issues experienced.
Original Review: Sept. 4, 2016
Let me begin by stating the purpose of this review is to save other consumers lost time, incurred expenses, and an overall disastrous moving experience which is certain to be experienced, based on the totality of our treatment. This review is but a brief summary of some of our experiences, but please feel free to contact me, and I will be happy to share additional information, and photographs.
First, I should state that in addition to securing moving services from Texas to North Carolina, we also opted to pay $800 extra for a separate packing service to be provided by American Van Lines. We have used other moving companies in the past, and there is always a separate crew or separate day scheduled to complete the packing. Towards the end of our "departure" window, neither the details of the packing, or moving date were disclosed to us. We made a call to inquire further and were told that our move would commence on 7/30/2016. At this time, we verified with American Van Lines that a separate packing crew would arrive that day as well. We were also told that our driver would arrive on 7/30/2016 between 8am and 10am.
On 7/30/2016, we had waited past the 8-10am window given by American Van Lines, and made another inquiry as to what was happening with our moving schedule. We were told the driver was due to "unforeseen circumstances." We later learned that the driver was sent to another job first that morning. At 2pm, on 7/30/2016, our American Van Lines mover showed up at our residence. The driver had one other individual with him to assist. We could immediately discern that these two individuals could not possibly pack the entire house within a day. We were unable to reach anyone at American Van Lines when this problem became apparent, and were thus forced to help pack our belongings. We already had approximately 50+ boxes packed in the garage, and proceeded to pack an additional 40+ boxes over the following hours to come. Thus, we packed approximately half of the household.
Even with our assistance in the packing process, the lack of sending a packing crew prolonged the driver to continue packing the house until nearly 2am on Sunday, 7/31. I will not even cover the damaged wood floor of our house in this review that occurred during the packing process, as that is a separate issue. As we had to stay up until 2am with no furniture to utilize, our 88 year old relative who lives with us and suffers from dementia, was forced to sleep on the floor, worsening his condition, and exacerbating his current problems with displacement and confusion. Furthermore, our prepaid hotel rooms several hours away from our residence, were left unused, and unable to be refunded.
We were forced to sleep on bare floors for several hours in order to be able to safely depart and drive on the road. However, the driver, after packing and lifting for 12 hours, left to drive and weigh the load. This is a separate issue, but obviously violates DOT safety regulations. In regards to the delivery time of receiving our household, the delivery time was delayed several days, but again, this is separate issue that will not be covered in this review.
When our belongings did arrive, the unloading process was halted as the driver wanted to collect additional money due to an elevator/stairwell being involved in his chosen delivery route into the building. Rather than handling the issue in light of the prior problems experienced by us, American Van Lines chose the low road of stopping the delivery until additional money was paid. As a side note, the management of our apartment building mentioned they have never experienced any moving company causing additional stress at the time of delivery as we experienced. In fact, they stated they have never experienced any tenants being charged extra for delivery, as there are multiple routes of delivery into all areas of our apartment building.
Given the pressure that we could not afford another moving experience that extended until the next day, we decided to pay the demanded extra money for delivery. Even as we stated we would pay the extra demanded money, American Van Lines then chose to send the driver away for an additional hour to weigh the truck again. When we asked the driver why he left for an hour to obtain an additional weigh in for his truck, he informed me that we had requested another weight reading, as we were claimed to be disputing the weight. Never once did we dispute the weight of the move. Perhaps this was another preemptive strike should we have decided to further dispute the additional delivery charge demanded once the truck arrived.
Once our belongings were eventually delivered, our driver presented us with the forms to sign in a hurry so he could leave. We felt so worn down and intimidated by the process, we signed so he could leave. We did find damage upon inspection after his departure, but again that is a separate damage issue. We received plenty of calls wanting payment immediately after delivery. We agreed to pay the invoice as presented, with the expectation that there were items that needed to be addressed. We then addressed our concerns via a written email to Yesenia **, Customer Service Manager for American Van Lines, on 8/8/16. We received a 2 sentence reply email, with a claims form attached. Ms. ** also stated that she would review the file the next day to determine what kind of resolution could be reached.
On 8/16/16, we still had received no communication from Yesenia **. As such, we wrote another email requesting an answer from Ms. ** as to whether she was able to address our concerns, or was choosing to not address them. As of today, we still have not even received the courtesy of any reply email. We would implore all consumers considering American Van Lines to forego the risk of experiencing the same nightmare we endured. You will be wronged, and then you will be ignored.
Reviewed Aug. 30, 2016
Everyone from my sales person Allan to my moving coordinator Barbara and then the moving crew; were simply the best. All treated us with respect and courtesy and did a SUPER JOB. Thanks to all.
Reviewed Aug. 30, 2016
The visit for the quote went well according to a friend of mine who was there in charge. The amount budgeted seemed reasonable compared to others. My only complaint about the process is related to the delivery. The window they provided me was from 3 to 10 days after pick-up; however, I think it seems that usually it takes them 10 days, because they were not providing me with current status about my Estimated Delivery, and it seems that there were some communication problems between Main Office and the Delivery Department. My recommendation is to tell clients upfront that the service takes approximately 10 days, to avoid complaints, misunderstandings, and nervousness from clients. This will help American Van Lines look more serious and committed to their clients, rather than a bit shady (as I saw it because of the lack of communication and a concrete delivery date; this would have created a better experience for me).
Reviewed Aug. 27, 2016
Movers were on time, professional, coordinated and safe. I'm still unpacking but so far everything appears to have arrived intact. I did the packing, but the condition still depends on how they handle the goods. American made an initial estimate that was high, but the rep told me they could beat the prices of other movers. When I called with a lower quote from a competitor, they couldn't beat the price but came within five percent of it. I went with them and I'm glad I did.
Updated review: Aug. 29, 2016
We are impressed with the customer service team that they took initiative and worked things out for us eventually. Long story short, the service team gave us a call today. After hearing our story, they make multiple arrangements and was able to adjust to the delivery date correctly in the last minute. We understand the difficulty and challenge for a big company to provide good customer service in time and we are satisfied with their response and effort in making things right.
Original Review: Aug. 27, 2016
Absolutely horrible experience for our family. You are wrong if you think you finally found an honest moving company. The "coordinator" (Barbara) was suddenly very hard to reach once we signed the contract and made the deposit. Was told last minute (literally the night before) when the pickup date was to "ensure they can deliver in the promised 5 day timeframe". Once everything was loaded, got an email notification the next day that they will HAVE to deliver one day before our house closing date next week (which was communicated long before the pickup) because their dispatch "said so". Too late to change closing date in 3 business days? Not our problem. Either find your own storage area or use ours with another high fee and we will deliver 3-5 weeks later.
Reviewed Aug. 24, 2016
Storage and delivery of household items - Our experience with American Van Lines has been good, so far. However, there was a mix up with the delivery date. Other than a few scratches on the legs of a sofa, everything appears to be in good order. The loaders were very professional.
Reviewed Aug. 22, 2016
I am pleased to write a review of the move by American Van Lines that took my mother's possessions from Florida to Baltimore so I may distribute her things among her children. The move was well organized and moved rapidly. Several art pieces needed crating and were wrapped and crated very professionally with care and without damage. Several other rare and fragile porcelain and glass artworks were also cared for extremely well and survived the move without as much as a scratch on the outer boxing or wrappings. All the heavy furniture was carefully wrapped in blankets and stored. The truck loaded so well that nothing could be jostled out of place and damaged. The items were separated for two different locations and subdivided without problem for later redistribution.
The workers performed tirelessly in spite of the heat and humidity and arrived within time. They were willing to place each item as directed and took care to unload and sort the various pieces to their final destination. I was able to load a small carrier to move items to my relatives easily because the placement and arrangement of the boxes that these workers had made for me was considerate and well made. I told the manager that if I insanely wanted to move again, I would really give these movers my first choice. My thanks for an easy and stress-free move.
Updated review: Sept. 9, 2016
Yesenia, from Customer Service, reached out to me after reading this review. We were able to reach a resolution. I appreciate her understanding of my experience and helping me find a way to make this right.
Original Review: Aug. 22, 2016
It all started with Joseph **, the Sales Rep, who got me into this mess. I was impressed by his knowledge of the moving industry and how he promised me that, "What sets American Van Lines apart from the competition, is that we own our trucks and employ our movers." This was important to me and why I was willing to pay a 20% premium over a broker. I didn't want to have to deal with any trouble. Unfortunately this is when the trouble started.
After I signed and paid my deposit, Joseph ** said that someone would reach out to schedule a time to come by and verify my items to be moved for a more accurate quote. NEVER HAPPENED. Joseph ** also said that my moving coordinator would reach out 24 - 48 hours prior to my move to verify the date/time. NEVER HAPPENED. Instead, Theresa **, my moving coordinator, called me out of the blue and said the movers would be there in an hour. Needless to say, I was not ready. I had to beg her to give me more time and referred to the 24 - 48 hour notice in the contract. She brushed it off as if everything was my fault.
The movers arrived the next morning and immediately I knew that I had been taken advantage of by Joseph ** and Theresa **. The van was unmarked so clearly not owned by American Van Lines. The foreign movers did not identify themselves with American Van Lines and spoke to one another in another language. The lead mover came into my home and immediately started telling me that I had way more stuff than what was contracted. He gave me a new quote that was double my initial quote! After asking a few times, he reluctantly let me see his initial estimate to better understand where the discrepancy was. At that point, I discovered that he was totally lying! Everything but 2 bookshelves were on the estimate and he was trying to say that I had 3,000 lbs more than what I initially quoted with Joseph **.
I tried calling both Joseph ** and Theresa ** but neither would answer their phones or return my calls. I had to argue with the foreign movers for over 2 hours before I finally signed a new estimate "under pressure" just to get them to start the move and so that I could go to work. My home was selling the next day so they really had me painted into a corner at this point. I came back home later that day to a home that had wall damage in the stairway from their inability to be careful. I had to quickly repaint the walls that night so that it would pass the final walkthrough in the morning. All the while, I was trying to prepare my 6-month pregnant wife and myself for our 12 hour car ride the next day.
I had my mom meet the movers at the storage unit where my belongings were to be dropped off. They demanded cash from her even though I told them that she would not be settling the final charges. I received a call from some company I had never heard of demanding immediate payment from me before they could unload the truck. I didn't know this person so I refused payment. Again I tried calling Joseph ** and Theresa ** but neither would answer or return my calls. Finally after my mom had been waiting there for 3 hours, Theresa called me and said that I had to pay this other company. I told Theresa that I was very upset with the whole process and that I would only submit payments to American Van Lines, the company that I contracted to do business with. Next thing I know Theresa ** is charging my card for way more than my initial estimate and without my authorization.
My mom witnessed as the foreign movers dropped my belongings around and continued to speak/laugh in another language in her presence. This made her very uncomfortable to say the least. This was by far, the worst customer service experience in my life and I've had quite a few. I've tried reaching out to Theresa ** and Joseph ** since my move to request a discount for all of my troubles. Neither have bothered to respond. I left a similar review as this on the company customer feedback form. No one has responded.
Moving is stressful. I thought by paying for a premium service I would get a premium service. Instead I had the most awful experience to date. My 6-month pregnant wife and myself were totally stressed out from it. It's taken me 3 months to write this because every time I think about what happened to us, I get completely upset and can't think about anything else for hours.
Joseph ** and Theresa ** have some serious explaining to do. I would like personal apologies from both of them. I would also like an apology from the CEO of American Van Lines because he/she needs to be made aware of this kind of behavior. This goes against the core values they promote on their website. Lastly, I want someone from American Van Lines to call me and discuss how my situation can be made right. Until then, I pray for everyone using American Van Lines so that they will not have an experience like mine.
Reviewed Aug. 18, 2016
Excellent service from start to finish. I could not have asked for a better crew! From the initial customer service over the phone to the follow-up call the day after my move it was a 5-star experience. I was thoroughly impressed and will continue to recommend this company. Thank you!
Updated review: Aug. 22, 2016
I received a call from American Van Lines and had a long discussion with the agent. She made it clear that this is an exception to the rule of how they operate as a business. She also gave me some insight into the action items the company planned to take away from this situation, specifically around improving communication, transparency to their processes, and educating the agent that worked with me.
While my experience wasn't great, the customer service discussion was good. I'm confident that my experience would be better if I used them again. I understand that not every experience can be perfect, so the follow up to my experience was critical for me to no longer feel like it's bad business practice, but rather one isolated poor experience. I've updated my review; I can't say it was perfect because of the way the whole process went, but the amount of follow-up and action items the rep described have me happy and make me feel like the company truly cares about getting better.
Original Review: Aug. 18, 2016
I used this company to move my goods from Los Angeles, CA to Minnesota. Overall the move went ok, but had some serious problems:
Pro - Stuff made it to the destination undamaged. Movers were professional. Cons - Moving day came around and the movers were 3 hours outside their window. They were supposed to show up in an 18-wheel truck, which required me reserving space on my block for a fee with the city of Los Angeles. They showed up in a small moving truck and just parked in front of the driveway. Out money here.
Find out from the movers that the quote I had been given was for 2 beds, a desk, and 2 boxes. I had a 2 bedroom apartment, there's no way this would be accurate. When I talked through the order on the phone I was told not to list boxes as they'd figure that out from how many rooms I had listed on the sheet. Basically this meant that the cost was more than double what I was originally quoted. More money wasted.
Communication was very poor around when my goods would arrive. Was given a 3 day window, and had multiple communications that they were on time for the window. Come to find out they were not only going to be late but that the truck HADN'T EVEN LEFT CALIFORNIA. Never was this mentioned despite me asking where the driver was, basically felt like I was lied to for two weeks about where my stuff was.
I was interviewing for new jobs and needed my computer that was a part of the shipment to start. Because they were a week late I had to push back my start date, which resulted in me losing an entire week's worth of pay. The shipment was 50% later than I was communicated. They decided that a discount of 4.5% of the total was fair, despite that not even coming close to covering the amount of money I was out for all the costs I incurred along the way. All in all if you want to have a company that is dishonest about their cost, your shipment status, and doesn't care about their customers then this is a great choice. I used a different company going from Minnesota to Los Angeles when I moved there originally, if I could go back in time I'd have used them again.
Reviewed Aug. 18, 2016
I am very pleased with Manny and his co- worker that moved me. All my furniture and boxes etc were taken care of with care and efficiency-- my move went very smoothly due to their professionalism. I appreciate it very much as this was my final move-- Thank you. Also the delivery and setup was equally done in a timely manner and with care.
Reviewed Aug. 15, 2016
Mover at packing end tried to bribe me; they had to move furniture a long distance from the residence to the truck and it was a move from Dallas, Tx. to Oklahoma. The company would have charged an extra fee; however, the mover voiced that if I were to pay him half of the corporate fee in cash he would not put it on the bill. Mover at packing end had his son do his job while he sat in his truck and requested drinks all day. Corporate customer service was non responsive and offered only a one hundred dollar discount on a three thousand dollar + bill (not even three percent).
Every major piece of furniture was damaged, movers did not pick up furniture to move it, movers dropped furniture off of stairs rather than carry it down, movers at receiving end did not show up leaving the driver to offload. Escalated concern to manager of customer service and have not received follow up call. Throughout the scheduling process the "moving counselors" failed to contact me to give me the needed forms... The list goes on and on... The driver on the receiving end said he had not ever seen such a horrible packing job. Do not use this company.
Bobby, we are sorry for the poor service you received from our company. Unfortunately, this one mover's actions caused the majority of your problems on this move. We have dealt with him internally. We have been in communication with you since your delivery and addressed all of your issues. You have also been compensated for the damaged caused on your furniture.
Reviewed Aug. 12, 2016
We couldn't be more pleased with this moving experience. They were professional and all timing was as promised. I would highly recommend and certainly use them again.
Updated review: Aug. 17, 2016
American Van Lines has resolved our issue in a satisfactory way. A portion of my review was later found to be untrue. The portion regarding the owner's indictment was someone by the same name. I apologize for that mix-up and thank American Van Lines and its owner Anthony ** for working to resolve our frustrations.
Original Review: Aug. 12, 2016
This was the absolute worst experience of my life. They gave us a quote of $16,000 then once it was on the truck and away from our home increased the amount to $22,000. Then they needed a 2nd truck to move everything and did not tell us that until they were on the way to the new house, that was another $600. There was an overflow so a second truck was needed. They gave us a price of $1700. Once that truck arrived the driver said it would be $4000 in cash or they would not unload the truck.
These people are criminals and take advantage of people in a very vulnerable time. They are great sales people and talk you right into using their company with a ton of promises that never happen and then they extort you for more money or they will keep your items. After this happened I found out the owner was indicted for these same things in 2013 and ordered not to be in the moving/storage business for 3 years and was found in contempt of court for opening American Van Lines. I wish I would have known that before I used them.
Updated review: Aug. 16, 2016
American Van lines has agreed that they will refund the pickup shuttle fee in response as customer satisfaction is important to them.
Original Review: Aug. 12, 2016
AVOID American Van Lines! This company has high pressure sales tactics and then bait-and-switches customers by outsourcing the actual move! Not to mention charging additional fees that were not outlined in the binding estimate. When I contacted the company months before my scheduled move Tim informed me that I should book today to secure a place on their truck. Only a week before the scheduled pick-up they informed me that another company was contracted to pick up and move my belongings. I was definitely not pleased to hear that, but with one week I knew I had no other alternative.
In addition the company had my pick up and delivery addresses for months but had not informed us that a shuttle truck would be needed for pick up, adding an additional charge that they did not include in the binding estimate!! This is unfair and infuriating as if I had known of these points earlier I certainly would not have signed up with American Van Lines. Furthermore, customer service supervisor Marcus was ill informed, communicated poorly - to put it nicely - and difficult to contact. Very unprofessional and unethical company!!
Reviewed Aug. 11, 2016
I still don't understand the extra cost for elevators but all in all the company, the customer care, the mover guys, and with all my furniture/boxes showing up on the day we expected in perfect condition I would most certainly recommend American Van Lines to everyone I know.
Reviewed Aug. 10, 2016
All of our property was moved safely and for less than the quoted amount. Staff were great to work with.
Updated review: Aug. 17, 2016
They eventually refunded the $300. Through a comedy of errors, it was delayed longer than it should have been.
Original Review: Aug. 8, 2016
Person on the phone was nice, and the delivery people were nice but the actual service was horrible. Very late in picking up the furniture, very late in delivering the furniture. Totally messing up plans for helpers. They didn't refund her money for being late which should have been $300. They broke her dining room table and didn't credit for damage, even though she put in a claim for it.
Reviewed Aug. 4, 2016
Sam, Jason, and Michael were great to work with and I would happily recommend them to anyone moving! I can't say enough about their level of professionalism and all around good nature. They took great care of our belongings and even took the time to double check about certain special items (like my wedding dress). I've moved many times in the last ten years, this was by far the best experience.
Updated review: Aug. 4, 2016
Upon hearing about the above issues, I was immediately contacted by AVL. They provided an acceptable explanation for where the issues occurred, explaining why it was an isolated incident, and what had been done to ensure they do not happen again. They offered an appropriate resolution. My recommendations for the future would be to involve their administration early and often should any similar issues with communication occur - they were very responsive to concerns.
Original Review: Aug. 2, 2016
Worst customer service experience in my life, to the point I don't even know where to begin to complain. They start by making an offer that is the "maximum" you will pay, and you pay a deposit on half of that amount. We were sold that if we packed all of our own stuff, the actual amount would be $1000 cheaper. This is an outright lie. The first thing the movers did was made us sign a waiver, allowing them to adjust the estimate. The final bill (despite us packing almost all of our stuff) was $250 higher, which was about $1250 higher than our expectations.
They have zero communication skills. At the beginning, we were assigned a "personal moving coordinator," Victor. He doesn't answer the phone number he gives you, and doesn't return voice mails. He answers about 1/3 of the e-mails sent to him. When he does answer e-mails, he will address only one element in your e-mail and ignore all others. He still has not sent me a receipt, even though I have e-mailed him six times asking for one. He did not call when he said he would call to follow-up.
This was not just one person. When I called because my "personal moving coordinator" didn't address an e-mail in 48 hours labeled as urgent, I got Yesenia, who was terse and rude, but at least immediately resolved my issue. The initial delivery date was given as July 4th, then July 10th, then finally July 14th. This resulted in changed flights that cost me extra money and almost a week sleeping on the floor, each time expecting our stuff to get delivered the next day. We would have been better off with giving no specific delivery date, and then giving us 2-3 days advance notice.
When they finally delivered, they did not re-assemble furniture they disassembled, even though it was in the contract that they would reassemble. When I contacted them about this breach of contract, they billed my credit card for the rest of the amount owed and then stopped answering emails. In the end, they screwed me out of about $700, and refunded $300. This is not counting the fact that I was told to expect to pay another $1000 less, as this was never given to me in writing. It is also not counting the hours I spent reassembling furniture they disassembled without including any indication of how to reassemble it. In short, they bait and switched and breached contract, but screwed me out of just enough money that it's not worth taking them to small claims court. It has been the worst experience of my life, and cannot more strongly recommend people to avoid using their services.
Reviewed July 30, 2016
Our realtor referred us to a list of people to contact from a website, then different people came and gave us estimates, and eventually we went with the site that gave us a proposal. American Van Lines did an incredible job. They had somebody help with the first part of my move and it was awful so they did a second part. They came and Mike and his crew were awesome. They were efficient and they knew what they were doing. I would love to have the same crew again. We’ve moved a lot in 30 years and we're temporarily in an apartment because we're building a home, and I will have them move me back into that. I would also have them move some pots of ours from the storage into our home because of the care that they took.
Reviewed July 30, 2016
I told American Van Lines what I needed to have done and the fellow I spoke with was very courteous, understood me, gave me a price and everything worked out smoothly. However, I wish the cost was cheaper. It was a lot for me from Florida to Long Island.
Reviewed July 29, 2016
It went very well with American Van Lines. The movers got everything done a lot quicker than anticipated, so that was good.
Reviewed July 28, 2016
From the start of our moving process to the finish, American Van Lines was extremely professional, courteous and efficient in handling of all of our questions and the actual moving of our home. Excellent moving crew.
Reviewed July 28, 2016
My sister used American Van Lines to move from Georgia to Seattle. So I used them too when I moved from Brooklyn. The people I worked with setting up the move did a good job and the crew were very good. I would recommend them.
Reviewed July 28, 2016
It's our third time using American Van Lines. Everything was great and we had good communication. They kept us informed on everything on our pickup and delivery dates. They were good guys. It was very hot when they were doing it but they did a good a job. They didn't let up.
Reviewed July 27, 2016
American Van Lines estimated a way lower weight and because of that and the location we were at, it cost us several thousands of dollars additional that we weren't anticipating. If we would’ve known up front, it wouldn't have been such a shock. We had to get two shuttles with the 18-wheeler. The actual moving people were excellent and took care of everything but the communications people needed assistance and could have been better. They underestimated by around $4,000. I wasn't sure if that was a bait-hook tactic. They didn't come out to inspect and it was all done over the phone where they had standard weights for certain things. If it was a visual check, it would have been more appropriate.
The other thing is if I would have known about the extra money I needed, then I would have gone to the bank. It just took a little more time to do all that stuff. The four drivers were not told that they'd have to do a shuttle. Once the drivers got the information, they were pissed. I felt bad for them because they thought that it was not going to work. But I would use them. With American Van Lines, I needed to dig a little more for items that I needed shipped.
Reviewed July 27, 2016
We checked out several moving companies and the American Van Lines rep that showed up to give us a quote was very pleasant and was more reasonable than other people we talked to. And so, we locked in with them. My interaction their moving coordinator was fine. Their response was good and they worked within the time frame that we’re told. Their crew was very good on everything. I was totally happy with American Van Lines and we will probably use them again.
Reviewed July 26, 2016
I used American Van Lines two years ago and got them again for another move that was relatively close, about eight miles, but it was coming out of an apartment building and going into a ground floor. Everybody was nice and attentive, answering my questions and assuring me. They did whatever instructions I was giving them along the way to help me with fragile things. Their productivity was good. That particular moving crew was good as well as their leader.
My only gripe is that they so underestimated the cost of the move because they did not come out to the house to give me an estimate and they just did it over the phone. They might have been referring back to my move from two years before, but nonetheless, lowballed so badly that it cost considerably more money, and I'm not happy about that.
Reviewed July 25, 2016
American Van Lines were very good and very helpful. The crew were wonderful and terrific. I like them a lot. It has been a very easy experience. There were no glitches and they arrived on time. They charged stuff up to my apartment and down to my storage area and they worked very hard at it.
Reviewed July 25, 2016
I moved from Massachusetts to Florida and I had a very good experience with American Van Lines. They were very efficient and the time window they gave me was pretty accurate. Their moving team was quick, very cautious, and very professional.
Reviewed July 24, 2016
We had to move my mother from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida to upstate New York (Cheryl, New York). American Van Lines has done an outstanding job on both ends. My sisters did all the packing and American Van Lines did the loading. They transported about 4000 pounds and they dropped it off on time. Within two hours of the call, they were literally at the door and there was no breakage. The folks at both the scheduling and transport side kept us informed every move they were making. I would make a call and ask where the truck is then five minutes later, they'd call or email me back and say, "The truck is in Bennington, New York." I had 28 years in the Navy and I had the government move me 18 times so I know what I'm talking about. The experience was far, above and beyond all expectations.
Reviewed July 23, 2016
My coordinator from American Van Lines was John and he did a very good job. I talked with him over the phone. We went room by room and he gave us a pretty close estimate as to what it would cost to move everything according to what we did as far as the online or phone conversations. The move was about 90 miles and we had one special request, a Sleep Number bed that had to be taken apart and reassembled because we had no idea how to do that and they did it.
The moving crew was also fantastic. We had a two-day move where they loaded one day and it sat in storage one night and then they came back the following day and put everything in the rooms where it belongs. The only problem I had was when they put stuff in the out-storage building that we had, it wasn’t put in as neatly as I would have liked to have seen, but it was there and we're slowly but surely getting it put away. That was why we had the same crew both days. We have a lot of stuff, a lot of boxes and a lot of things that we should have done better labeling but they got the stuff where it needed to be.
Reviewed July 23, 2016
We moved last May 5 and we used American Van Lines. The process was perfect and flawless and everybody that I spoke and worked with were very kind, helpful and wonderful. I absolutely love the guys who came out and moved us. They were really sweet. However, we had a few things damaged and I'm in the process of submitting a claim for it. We found a few things when the movers were still here and then we found some other things afterwards. They did contact me and sent an email with a link on how to submit a claim. I haven't had the chance to do it yet because we just recently finished unpacking everything and I wanted to make sure before we submit it because they said I can only submit one claim.
I hated that these things got damaged and it upset my husband very bad because he's never used professional movers before. But, sometimes things happen. The thing is we don't know if it was the people who moved us out of our home and moved us back in our home or was it the people that moved it into storage because it went into storage. So, there's really no way of knowing exactly when it got damaged. Hopefully once I submit all this it gets taken care of and everything is done. I'm hoping the next step is equally painless.
Reviewed July 22, 2016
I called American Van Lines, got a price, then went there and picked up three cartons and they delivered. It was a pick-up and a drop-off at a storage facility and then a delivery to my apartment and then pickup at the apartment for the rest of the furniture to bring it to the house. The crew was very good and they assisted me with my special requests.
Reviewed July 22, 2016
We moved from a condo to a house 22 miles away and we used American Van Lines. The moving coordinator who assisted me was awesome. He walked me through everything. He let me know what the process was and I told him everything I needed to move because it wasn't a full move. The driver called me and let me know when they were going to be there and they did faster than expected, so I got charged what they did instead of what I was quoted because they got it done faster. They were amazing and it was the best move I ever had. I would definitely recommend them to anybody.
Reviewed July 21, 2016
It's done smoothly. Movers were on time for loading and unloading.
Reviewed July 21, 2016
After the initial phoning up for the appointment with American Van Lines, I couldn’t get in contact with the coordinator sometimes. Also, they were supposed to give me a call back to let me know when the move date was, but they never did. I actually had to call the office to find out the day before. The moving crew on the other hand was great. There were a couple of items that were broken or damaged, but other than that, they were timely and worked well. It could’ve been smoother and communication could’ve been better, but the actual physical move was decent for the price that I paid.
Reviewed July 21, 2016
My move was approximately 160 miles, from one state to another, and I had to have the furnishings packed and stored a week before these were delivered to my house. I got American Van Lines for my move and they did okay. My neighbor had used them before. My moving coordinator was very helpful and courteous, kept her word, and everything went smoothly. It was good with the moving crew as well. They stayed busy and didn't stop for rest. A few things were not handled properly and some things were broken, but when I mentioned this to them, they said, "Well, that happens." They didn't repair anything but I understood because there were parts that were loose. They graciously picked up and put on the truck an item that had been stored in a shed, but the pedestal part got broken.
Updated review: Aug. 23, 2016
We had difficulty with American Van Lines as previously described on this site but they have been very responsive to the complaint and worked hard to come to a very good resolution to the issue compensating us for the inconvenience. I would recommend them to others.
Original Review: July 20, 2016
People moving in the Pacific NW BEWARE!! Stay far away from American Van Lines. They will burn you!! They do not do this area much (by their own admission) and will dump you at the last minute without warning if they do not have a full truck. They will give you a good price upfront to book and expect 50% of cost upfront then burn you. I booked 4-5 weeks ahead for my move from Portland to Boise and they waited until we called the day prior to the scheduled move on June 8 to get the arrival time, to inform us they wouldn't have a truck until August!! The company we went with said this happens all the time by these big movers. It took a week to get my money back and the agent did not bother to apologize, and of course stopped taking calls. I turned them in to the BBB.
Even with a large fleet of moving trucks all over the US, we were not able to service your move on the date you requested. We are sorry for the inconveniences this caused you. I am glad to hear another mover was able to help you on the date you wanted.
We are currently working with you to help cover out of pocket expenses we caused you. We hope our efforts will change your negative perception of our company and you will consider us again in the future.
We do service The Pacific NW often.
Reviewed July 20, 2016
We Googled the top cross country movers and ended up with American Van Lines for our move from Seattle to Chicago. We had a lot of special requests and everyone on the phone was lovely, really helpful and got back to me within the same day. We also love the drivers, Dennis and Ali. They were on time and awesome and it was perfect.
Reviewed July 20, 2016
I had good talks with the moving coordinator and consultant from American Van Lines. I was moving 3,000 miles and cross-country. The crew who did the move and the driver who coordinated everything were excellent but the move took longer than I would've liked.
Reviewed July 19, 2016
We used American Van Lines in the past and had a very good experience with them. So when we were moving again they were the one and only place we called. And like last time they did not disappoint. From the sales person, Brian, to the movers, everything went smoothly and we appreciate all their hard work.
Reviewed July 19, 2016
Raymond, Ray, and Andre were our movers from AR to OK. They treated us as 1st class family. We had a lot of stairs at the house we left, but they didn't complain. In fact they were super positive. When the truck arrived in OK they were so careful with our belongings, especially the piano. They made our move a very positive experience. I would give them an A+.
Reviewed July 19, 2016
American Van Lines handled my move from Royal Palm Beach to Delray Beach. The move was not easy and I was very impressed with their professionalism and accuracy. I would use them again and highly recommend them to my friends.
Reviewed July 19, 2016
American Van Lines was awesome. I did a little online research, read a few blogs, looked at a few ratings, made a few calls and they were not only the best van line rated-wise, but they ended up being the best-priced and very good experience. The gal who we originally talked and actually did the quote over the phone quoted much less of moving everything but she was awesome. Everybody else wanted to come out and walk around and kick tires but they did explain that it's by the weight. It's not by how many pieces one has by any means but what is being hauled for others. The quote was accurate although we ended up with more weight than we expected. It wasn’t an unexpected amount, though. The movers were phenomenal on packing and being careful with everything, very quick, and efficient. It was the same thing when they unloaded. It was an outstanding experience and I'd recommend them to anybody.
Reviewed July 18, 2016
Team was professional and moved swiftly. It was a pleasant experience and I would recommend the service again.
Reviewed July 18, 2016
Prior to our move here, I got a hold of three different van lines that were in the moving business and got estimates. I made clear that I didn't want my household goods to be sitting in a warehouse as it moves from East to the West Coast. I didn't want my goods to be unloaded at a warehouse and picked up by somebody else then dropped off from there. One thing that made me happy about American Van Lines was that they would have the same people pick it up, load it, drop it off at my house and unload it.
Their driver and his helpers were very good. They took good care of the house that we were moving out of. They made sure they put a moving blanket on the door jambs so they wouldn't mess the door jambs and furniture. They’ve done a great job of packing all our furniture. They ended up breaking maybe two glasses out of the whole thing so I'd put that as a good packing and good driving on the road. They did their job. Moving is a stressful thing, and it’s good to know that our things were well-packed and the truck delivered our goods safely and in a timely manner. That was a great experience.
Reviewed July 18, 2016
Setting up the move, with John **, was very easy and pleasant. He was very helpful while busy. The scheduled moving window was for 3 days and we were notified the truck would arrive on the third day. On that day we received a call that the truck would not be coming and would be a day late. Then it was difficult to track the truck to determine when it would be arriving. It ended up only taking a week, which was nice, but knowing where the truck is should be easier to determine. I had to go through three people in the office(s) before someone finally just said "I'll get back to you when we know," and then the driver ended up calling before they did. A few things were mildly damaged upon unloading, a hole in a hamper, many scratches and nicks out of dressers, but nothing completely ruined. The actual truck driver was nice enough to call the day before delivery and seemed very nice.
Updated review: July 27, 2016
A very nice Lady from the company called me and we came to an amicable resolution. I am pleased with American Van Lines customer service and I am impressed with their customer care. I would definitely use American Van Lines again if/when I move.
Original Review: July 18, 2016
I requested a move from New Mexico to Orlando, Fl. The estimate was 8 thousand pounds (which was VERY HIGH). I agreed and after they picked up my things the truck driver "ESTIMATED" that there was 10 thousand pounds. I told him that "there was no way there was that much weight" and he said that they would weigh the truck loaded and then again after it was unloaded and get the real weight. Before the truck was unloaded in Orlando they charged me for 10 thousand pounds but wouldn't show me the scale "ticket" before they unloaded and then the scale ticket after they unloaded. They wouldn't unload until I paid for the 10,000 pounds. I called several times and I emailed them and no response. What are the CHANCES that the LOAD was EXACTLY 10,000 pounds??? They are crooks! Beware of these crooks! The people that actually moved the household goods were fantastic and did a great job of loading and unloading.
Reviewed July 18, 2016
My experience interacting with American Van Lines' moving coordinator was perfect. I couldn’t ask for anything better. The move was from Charlotte to Capitol Hill, 140 miles long and it went all smooth. I met the movers in Charlotte and they loaded everything up. We drove here and it all came off a lot faster than it went on the truck. They did an excellent job. Nothing was damaged, they took care of everything, and it was easy. If I have to move back to Charlotte, which might happen in another year or so, I’ll be more than happy to contact them again. I was very pleased and satisfied.
Reviewed July 17, 2016
I moved from Charleston, WV to Yonkers, New York with the assistance of American Van lines and the sub-contractor Felix Transport. The service was efficient, caring and beyond any other I have experienced. Trust me I know, because this old women with cats has moved long distance several times over the past 35 years and previous movers did not come close to the quality service offered by this well-established company.
Reviewed July 17, 2016
We wanted to make sure that once our furniture was loaded onto a moving van, it never came back off and got transferred. We moved from California to South Carolina, so it was a long way. American Van Lines came when they promised. They got it all loaded and delivered faster than the moving coordinator said. When they talked to us at first they said 10 to 14 days but it was here in five days. There were no problems at all. When we were researching, we heard about so many horror stories. We were scared to death once they loaded the stuff up but everything went smooth. I’m glad we weren't a horror story.
Reviewed July 16, 2016
We were very pleased with American Van Lines. They were very good, packed well and followed all the directions and all the special stuff we asked for. The guy has even moved a couple of pieces that have been delivered to the house into the right rooms when they got here. It's a wonderful experience.
Reviewed July 16, 2016
We did two moves with American Van Lines and the first one in December 2015, where we moved from Chicago to Florida, was outsourced by AVL to another company because December was a busy month. And this company AVL hired didn't do the move properly. The truck guy hired 3 helpers to load the stuff from our house, then he got another three vehicles to get the stuff delivered to us. It was like every single portion of the move was completely outsourced. It was all such a mess because nobody knew what's going on, nobody knew where the stuff was and a lot of stuff were broken.
So, we took insurance the first time and we ended up filing an insurance claim, which was done well and went smooth. We just took photographs and sent an email. Then they came over, looked it up and they processed that claim within 15 or 20 days and they sent us a check. We got refunded with about $1,500. And the second move in March 2016 was already with American Van Lines themselves, with their own truck, guys, helper. Everything went fine and that was the best move I've ever had.
Reviewed July 15, 2016
My American Van Lines driver and helper were fantastic. They worked together to unload my item into my storage in San Antonio. The driver got my item to the location exactly as expected and everything was in good shape. The helper went the extra mile to help me. He helped arrange the storage unit nicely. Servicing was accessible and made sure the ground was protected before he puts stuff on it. However, I never got a call that my three-day window was coming up. I kept calling and leaving messages. When I finally got a call, at 7:00PM that day, it was from the driver saying he was gonna be in San Antonio first thing the next morning. That was the first time I knew that they were showing up so I wasn’t ready. I just potentially had at least 24 if not 48 hours.
But the driver was wonderful and very understanding. He shared my frustration because similarly, he got very bad information and coordination on logistics. When he called me, he thought he was calling somebody else. He had my name and phone number on a different address so I helped straighten him out on what information he was given on who he was to pick up and when and where. That was stressful and ridiculous. I ended up pulling an all-nighter to get ready for him to arrive first thing, and still it wasn’t ready. If I’ve just gotten the notice for the delivery in a timely manner, it would have been perfect. The company should have coordinated for a back-up - somebody that could step up to the counter if Marcus was out sick for several days. Also, their voicemails are unattended and not recorded.
What was also disappointing was I went with American Van Lines based on online reviews and paid double the quotes I was getting from other companies because I thought I was gonna get what I pay for. What was most attractive to me that wasn’t the case with most of the other companies that I talked to was that my shipment would be loaded in a truck, and then that truck would go to the destination and unload off that truck. Stuff wasn’t gonna get loaded onto a smaller truck and then sit for a bit, loaded onto another truck and then delivered. That’s what I was looking for and was guaranteed. I felt that’s the extra that I paid for. But the coordination at the beginning almost killed me. If I’ve just gotten the notice, it would have been perfect.
Reviewed July 15, 2016
I needed to move from Kansas to Nevada and get there in a short period of time. American Van Lines did good and I'm glad I had a great driver and helper. The service desk where I put the order in did a good job and I had a couple of issues that they were able to help me with. It was a great experience all the way around.
Updated review: Aug. 18, 2016
American Van Lines was punctual, worked fast, and quite friendly. They were very efficient and hard working. After they called me we came to a resolution. I'm happy about my experience.
Original Review: July 14, 2016
The estimate was very unprofessional. I was charged for a shuttle service that was unused and unnecessary. 20 items were left behind because no room on truck. A mover conned my wife into paying him $200 for a special service not received. The movers were constantly pressuring us about the delivery. I am very unhappy and would never use this company again. And would never recommend them.
Reviewed July 14, 2016
This was my second move with American Van Lines. My second experience was amazing. The crew went above and beyond.
Reviewed July 14, 2016
I've used American Van Lines before and used them again for a move from New Jersey to Florida. It was a very smooth and straightforward process, I had no issues. What I like about them is the crew that picked up was the same crew that delivered. When they picked up in New Jersey, it was in the middle of winter and it was really awful. They were very good and were very careful. Only one piece of furniture came through slightly damaged and it was really minor. I'm generally very satisfied with their service. American Van Lines are very professional, easy to work with and also very accommodating.
Reviewed July 13, 2016
I started to look for movers and I saw American Van Lines in the phonebook. Then I got a coupon so that helped a little bit. It turned out that they were the most understanding and willing to work with me with the way my schedule might have been. I was disappointed in the coordinator because I would try and reach him and he would say, "I'll talk to you a couple of days before the move to finalize things." But he never called before the move. I've never handled this type of thing before all by myself and I would have loved to hear back from the guy when I tried to reach him. But he was very nice and pleasant. My daughter was in charge with the movers and she said they were also good.
Updated review: July 19, 2016
Since writing my initial review, I was contacted by American Van Lines, and we reached a mutually agreeable settlement. Our complaint has thus been resolved.
Original Review: July 13, 2016
This is the worst moving company I have ever dealt with. You will not see many negative reviews online, and will find many positive reviews, which is why we chose to go with them. This was a huge mistake. I suspect that one of the reasons for the lack of negative reviews is that they offer people small settlement amounts in return for signing a contract that states you will never make negative comments about the company or their services. We were offered $200.00 to compensate for a very late delivery (a week after the last estimated possible delivery time according to our contract).
Our moving coordinator, Victor **, actually tried to have us sign this agreement the day they told us that our move was delayed, without ANY guarantee of when the furniture would actually be delivered! Nor could they even tell us where our furniture was. Up until the moment the truck pulled up, no one seemed to be able to provide us with ANY information, despite endless calls we made to their customer service line.
Even worse is that they damaged numerous valuable pieces of furniture. They claim on their website that they move antique furniture and pianos. Among other things, they badly damaged my piano by improperly packing it (the moving tape actually rubbed on the wood, leaving serious damage, which is a completely incomprehensible and amateur mistake from a company that claims they move pianos regularly), destroyed a tiffany glass lamp and structurally undermined a beautiful antique glass door book shelf.
Perhaps even worse than the actual move has been dealing with customer service. We have spent countless hours on the phone trying to sort out various problems. One particularly egregious example demonstrates what we have dealt with throughout the move: we spent hours on the phone trying to reach SOMEONE at the office the day before and the morning of the actual delivery, as we were concerned that our credit card had not been charged for the remaining amount, which had to be processed prior to delivery.
No one answered or called us back, but when the van did finally arrive (note: more than a WEEK after the last possible date according to our contract), our mover claimed at first that he could not deliver because we had not paid the outstanding amount! It was only after taking his phone, talking directly with the supervisor, and affirming MULTIPLE TIMES that we HAD submitted all the information needed for them to process our payment that they finally looked in our file, and discovered that in fact we HAD done this over a week earlier. It is clear that communication and organization is DEEPLY lacking in this company.
Then comes the fight for any kind of compensation. We were told by their representative, Tamika **, who contacted us after the move was finally completed that we would hear back from her within the week about a settlement amount for the delay, which had put them out of contract. This has now been dragging on for months, and we still have no information from them, though numerous deadlines by which they "promised" to provide information have passed.
In my most recent email correspondence with Tamika (last Friday), she said we would hear from them regarding the amount of compensation for the delayed delivery by this past Tuesday (yesterday). Not surprisingly, we are still waiting. I will update this review if they ever actually offer us any compensation, but I cannot help but feel skeptical that this will ever happen. In short, unless you want to add immense stress to your life at what is already a stressful time, we highly recommend that you go with another moving company. This has been a horrible experience.
Reviewed July 13, 2016
Although arriving slightly later than expected, the service was great! It was a small job and they completed in a timely and safe manner. Would definitely use their services again.
Reviewed July 13, 2016
American Van Lines had the most to offer for the best price. We were generally happy with everything. Everything went as planned. The crew was very courteous and we were happy with the final bill.
Reviewed July 12, 2016
We like American Van Lines, their service is excellent! We are very satisfied, highly recommend.
Reviewed July 12, 2016
The rates of American Van Lines range. What they don't tell is when they come in, an assumption is made that it's based on weight or boxes. I'm sure that's part of the tricks of the trade and I wasn't impressed about the pricing. I debated and started inviting three major quotes and then understood how the system worked and I moved down from a price tag of $12,000 to $4,500. People turned up at our house, I debated with the people who came to remove because they said it was priced incorrectly. That was not my problem but theirs. So I rang the coordinator and I said, "Either you can do it or they can pick up the truck and get the hell out of the place. I'll just have to do it some other way."
They need to get their act together. Since my personal move, I have now challenged the relocation companies that moved. I've never believed my associates who kept saying it's inconsistent. But now that I had personally been through it, I understand exactly what they say. Pricing should be a lot more clarified. Also, the connection between the dispatcher and customer needs to be a lot more precise. First, they said the vehicle would be in Florida by Thursday. I bought an airline ticket to fly to greet them and they said it will be Saturday. Friday night they called us and said it's Saturday afternoon.
For a local move, that's fabulous but I moved from Carolina to Florida and it was a nightmare. The dispatcher's argument is that it's down to the trucker and the time he's driving through. I'm sure the truck had different times and ways. I don't blame them but a little more clarity would be useful. We had no complaints about moving the boxes. Very few of items that we moved 760 miles broke. If they did, they were minuscule things, none of the majors. They were all fine.
Reviewed July 11, 2016
Your company did a great professional job both packing as well as delivering our goods to our new home without any major breakage. The men were efficient and very careful. I am very satisfied and would recommend your company.
Reviewed July 11, 2016
This is the first time using a moving company. I thought there would be problems but from the first call to the final drop off across country everything was much better than expected... I still haven't opened the boxes but none were crushed. I have 9 months from the time of delivery to file a claim if there is any damage. I was very satisfied with the whole process.
Reviewed July 11, 2016
It was all great with American Van Lines. They were the company that I decided to go with because they're a bigger company, reputable and had the price that I wanted. They had a bigger minimum but we don't really need that much so they went down and worked with me on the price. Everybody was very courteous and they were very careful with the furniture that my in-laws had for years. They were also quick and efficient and they got the job done. It was an easy and non-stressful experience. I'd use them again if I had to do that again.
Reviewed July 10, 2016
I moved from Illinois to Pennsylvania and made no special requests from American Van Lines. The moving crew was excellent. All in all, it was a positive experience and I would recommend them to anyone.
Reviewed July 9, 2016
All of them at American Van Lines were very nice and very good. They kept me informed even while I was on the road about where they were at to make sure that I got to Florida before they did. And the guys that did the moving themselves were awesome and worked their tails off.
Reviewed July 8, 2016
When I looked on the Internet and started researching the different companies, I can see why American Van Lines was rated at the top. The moving coordinator was excellent and I was very pleased with the interaction with him. He called immediately and made numerous suggestions on the best things for me to do. I even got to speak to a manager at one point. He called me in the transition to get things arranged. I was trying to get them to sharpen their pencil a little bit on the pricing and he was able to help me with that.
The driver and the assistant that showed up went above and beyond and took care of everything. The driver was very conscientious about trying to run around to make sure everybody was doing what they were supposed to do. I got my stuff within three days so it was wonderful. There was a little bit of confusion with getting some contractors because I live in a rural area. I had a few minor pieces that were broken but they were the things that the contractors packed. Nevertheless, American Van Lines made a stressful situation for the consumer very unstressful.
Reviewed July 7, 2016
American Van Lines delivered as promised. Other companies stated 10 to 14 days to deliver, American delivered in 5 days (from California to South Carolina).
Reviewed July 7, 2016
American Van Lines' rep was very knowledgeable and helpful. Everybody else that I dealt with wanted so much detail that the conversations ended up being 45 minutes. But they made the whole process simple and easy for me. Their moving crew was awesome. They're on time, in and out on a timely fashion. They did everything that they said they would do. I was really impressed with how quick and courteous they were.
Reviewed July 6, 2016
Staff (both schedulers and movers) were courteous, professional, prompt, skilled. Attentive to my needs, everything delivered on time and in excellent shape. Would recommend to others.
Reviewed July 6, 2016
We were extremely pleased with the services of American Van Lines and Always Affordable Moving on our recent move from NJ to FL. I received constant updates from American by email and phone and every pre-move question I asked was answered promptly and completely. Always Affordable provided professional and efficient teams for the loading and delivery of my items. Everything arrived in FL in excellent condition and in a timely fashion.
Reviewed July 6, 2016
We were in the process of moving to a new location, so I gave American Van Lines a call and set up the move, and everything went fine. The move was only about 30 miles away, so it was almost an inter-city move. They gave me the quote and we actually came in less than what they quoted because we were able to move some of the stuff ourselves. I had no problems nor any complaints with the crew during our move. Everything went off exactly as it was scheduled. They packed and loaded over a two-day period, and then delivered and unloaded on the third day. They were very good and courteous young men, and were very careful with packing and unpacking, and the way they transported the furniture. I would use them again, particularly the crew that we had.
Updated review: July 14, 2016
American Van Lines did provide a refund for the disputed charges.
Original Review: July 5, 2016
American Van Lines is an unreliable moving company which provides horrible customer service. I hired them to move my stuff from Florida to Evanston, Illinois and had numerous issues with the company. The company did a non-binding quote which included an extra fee for a delivery shuttle because I was not sure my new residence was tractor-trailer accessible. I called ahead of the delivery and informed the company it was tractor-trailer accessible, but the company still used a delivery shuttle and charged me. The company hired a 3rd party to pick up and deliver my items, but they never told me that this was a possibility when I arranged the move through them. American Van Lines instead informed me the week of my move when I had little choice but to use the third-party company which I knew nothing about.
I packed my items myself, and there were a couple items (suitcases and bags) where I specifically asked American Van Lines representative Theresa ** whether I needed to box the items. I was explicitly told I did not need to box these items. When the mover came to pick the items up they told me they had to pack them and charged me for the labor and materials. Theresa ** was my "Personal Moving" coordinator, yet she never answered the phone when I called, and she did not return the numerous voice mails I left for her or the emails I sent her. It frequently took over a week of calling every day to actually speak with Theresa and when I did speak with her, the information she provided was typically incorrect. Moving is stressful enough without having to deal with poor customer service. I will never hire this company again.
Hi Seth,
We are sorry for the poor customer service you received from our company. We have been in contact with you since; and, we believe we have resolved all of your issues to your satisfaction.
Please remember, your estimate included a shuttle charge which you believe was not needed, but it was. We also had to pack 5 more boxes for you which were for your paintings too.
Please consider, you were delivered on time, without any damages, and for less money than your estimate. Thank you.
Reviewed July 5, 2016
I'm very impressed with the American Van Lines. They had a very good rate and I was surprised and happy with that. Our moving coordinator, Angela, took a list of what I wanted moved, and she was good. My one big request was for them to make sure that my china and crystal were packed properly so these won't get broken, and that was done. I also had some mantle cloths which were very expensive and they likewise took care of those for me. In addition, I requested them to be careful with the paintings and they did. They packed everything wonderfully and didn't break anything.
I wasn't present at the house when the move was being made there and when the crew were packing up, my nephew was and he was impressed. I was waiting for them at the move here, and they were wonderful and did a good job. They answered anything that we asked them and did anything that we wanted to do as regards the big furniture. They were brilliant and very upfront about things. They were really pleasant people to work with and we had our laughs about different things. If it's necessary, I would use them again, and I would certainly tell my friends and people about them.
Reviewed July 4, 2016
American Van Lines called me from their office and walked me through the process. Most of the people that I dealt with more in depth were the actual crew that showed up at the house for the move and they were great. They worked really fast, very professional, and they did a good job. I was very happy with them.
Reviewed July 3, 2016
There are horror stories out there regarding moving companies and moving experiences; however if you are lucky enough to get Rigo as your driver you are in for a treat. The BEST ever and we have moved 6-8 times!
Reviewed July 3, 2016
Moving is stressful, but I had a very good experience with American Van Lines. In fact, I have a positive recollection of the interactions I had with their people. An estimate was made by telephone and when they came and looked at what was there, they indicated that we needed to break it into two different days instead of just one. They definitely changed the estimate, but they were very pleasant and we didn't disagree. The moving crew was excellent.
There was one situation when they brought in a big piece still wrapped in the moving cloth. I made an assumption that it was the piece I thought it was. We had a misunderstanding, though. They should've told me to open it and see for sure. It's very heavy and they took it upstairs. When I went there and then they unwrapped it, it's not the piece I thought it was and I felt so badly for they struggled every step with it. Also, unfortunately with the piece, the doors won't close now, so we're having to get some work done on it to get the doors to function properly.
Updated review: July 16, 2016
I was unhappy with my experience, but since talking the customer service at the moving company and they did care about me and my problems and we were able to resolve my problems to my satisfaction. I would recommend them to anyone that has a move.
Original Review: July 2, 2016
The coordinators from American Van Lines were all good. However, I thought at first that the move was awesome but when I got the furniture and all the boxes are home, it was awful. Many pieces of my furniture had been damaged and a whole set of china was broken. My washing machine was also broken and I had to get a new one. The movers knocked the knobs off. I couldn't do anything about it because they delivered it to a storage unit and I was there watching them, because our closing date got changed. I am worried a little bit because we were moving out of the house and my husband had surgery. He could not help at all. I was handling all of it by myself and so I noticed in my laundry room at the house we're moving from that there was a huge gash in the wall. I figured out it was my dresser from my bedroom that hit it because one whole end of it is knocked off. I would never recommend AVL.
Reviewed July 1, 2016
Great customer and recommendations.
Reviewed July 1, 2016
I enjoyed my experience with American Van Lines and if I were moving again, I would use them. The coordinator kept me a part of the whole process all along the way. The moving crew was very nice and respectful. They laid down things on the floor so the floor wouldn't get scratched up. We had a very nice experience with them. The rate could have been cheaper though.
Updated review: July 10, 2016
Even though we made our reservation a month and a half ahead of time, our move was contracted out to a mover out of Florida. As my original post stated, we were not happy. After a long process, we were able to communicate with an actual customer service manager. As per our signed agreement, that closes our case in a professional manner and we are happily moving on.
Original Review: June 30, 2016
My 77 year old mother arranged her move from SC to DE with American Van Lines. After a phone call asking her what large furniture she had in each room, she was given an estimate. Based on this estimate, she signed a contract. BIG MISTAKE. Her actual cost was more than double because no one came out to actually look at what she had to move. No one from customer returned her calls. She would be on hold forever and then get dropped. The customer service representatives were not friendly or helpful. They told the driver her house was a half day pack. However, it was definitely more than a one day pack. The furniture had to be shuttled out in a smaller truck to a larger truck, but they neglected to tell the actual movers this information.
Eventually I decided to intervene as she is older and they were being very dismissive to her. However, not surprisingly, they were dismissive of me also. She is storing her furniture for at least 8 months and due to the huge increase in actual weight versus their lazy estimate, that monthly fee skyrocketed also. On my third attempt to talk to customer service, my mother was offered one free month storage plus $300. BUT SHE ALREADY GOT A FREE MONTH FOR STORING OVER 6 MONTHS in her original contract...
So in reality, they tried to brush her off with a $300 credit when her bill went from $7000 to $12,000 due to their inefficiency. Her storage fee went from $450 per month to $600.00 a month. I've been promised a call back from a manager today. I wanted to contact the manager directly however, the rep REFUSED to give me her contact info. He put me on hold four times so he could speak with his manager but I couldn't speak with her. So, I will write another review if 1. She doesn't call me back as promised or 2. They do not address her issues.
Reviewed June 30, 2016
I did a search for the best moving company online and found American Van Lines. I was moving from coast to coast so I told their rep what I was looking for and he made it happen. He was very good, very supportive, and anxious to help me however he could. The moving crew was very good and very quick. They were protective of the materials and were careful as they could be. They were friendly and professional, too. I was very pleased with them as well. I was a happy camper - it's a good experience.
Reviewed June 29, 2016
I used American Van Lines to move from Miami, Florida to Spokane, Washington. Everyone that I spoke to and everyone that came and helped me with the move was great at their job. The consultant was always on top of everything and he answered all my questions. The guys who picked up my stuff helped me finish up and get everything out in a timely manner. Everything went great up until the delivery day. American Van Lines contracts people to help the driver unload the truck and they never showed up. The poor driver had to unload everything by himself, which of course he couldn't because we had heavy furniture so my husband had to help him. Other than that, AVL was great. The price that they quoted me from the beginning was the exact price that I was charged in the end. I would definitely use them again.
Reviewed June 28, 2016
The agents when reserving were flexible and helpful. The actual movers were extremely professional, hardworking, and speedy. I've used American Van Lines twice now for moves and have had several friends and family use them as well based on my recommendation. I will continue to use and recommend to others as they are fairly and attractively priced and reliable.
Reviewed June 28, 2016
Brian, Barbara and the whole moving crew went out of their way to make sure my move went well. The crew was professional, fast and accommodating. I would certainly use the company again and recommend anyone needing to move to do the same.
Reviewed June 24, 2016
We had a great experience. The move was super easy with their help. The whole team (from the people in customer service to the movers) was very friendly, professional, and very efficient. All our things arrived in pristine shape. I would recommend this company to my best friend.
Reviewed June 24, 2016
Totally satisfied with Jay and his team. Personable, efficient and professional. All of them gave world class service. An asset to your organization.
Reviewed June 23, 2016
The assessor came in much lower than promised. Now I am being charged $800 with no proof that this overage is justified. Also, driver never communicated until the day before delivery. He was supposed to keep in contact. That's what we were told. Movers also repacked my china cabinet without asking or notifying me, and lost part of it. Had I know or seen, I could have at least been on the lookout. Also, the movers broke a bookshelf of mine. Yet I am the one being charged extra money without proof and I just have to endure having my own property lost or broken with no compensation. Seems highly unfair.
Hi Valorie,
We have attempted to call you and email you numerous times in the last week to discuss your move. Unfortunately, we haven't heard back from you.
As you know, you have an $845.44 balance on your move since you didn't pay us in full. We were unaware you experienced damage or that you weren't happy.
Please call us back so we can handle your claim and resolve any issues from your move.
Reviewed June 23, 2016
The guys were very professional during the entire move.
Updated review: June 28, 2016
The company was able to resolve the issue entirely. Happy with the outcome.
Original Review: June 22, 2016
Horrible moving company. Would not hold to their original move dates and then kept trying to keep my deposit even within the time frame. They never answered their calls. My coordinator was Victor ** and I have never seen a worse moving coordinator.
Reviewed June 20, 2016
Whole experience was positive beginning with Scott ** who was very knowledgeable and put me at ease with a new experience with his chuckle. Then to Victor ** and Jennifer in Customer Service who kept me informed step by step. Finally Rhett, our driver, and his crew handled everything carefully and efficiently, wrapping each piece and delivering it in record time. Hopefully the actual cost will be in line with the estimate. That remains an unknown. I wish that could have been a bit more pinned down in the process but hopefully will turn out ok like everything else has. Thanks to the whole crew!
Reviewed June 18, 2016
They take your money and then ruin your items. I went with American Van Lines because they were nice and seemed like they gave you great attention. I could not have been more wrong. They never called to tell me they were coming - they made promises they never kept. Every single item came damaged or broken. My mattress was completely damaged and I was unable to sleep in it. When I called my contact Allan ** he was of no help - a true salesman. Blaming the movers and taking no responsibility. He simply sold me his goods, made his commission and could care less what happened to my items.
I would never use this company to move - what a mistake. They could not have made this move more of a disaster if they tried to. Also, every single wall in my house was scratched or nicked up - not one wall made it out alive. The floor was also completely scratched up. Like I said the worst experience. I would have been better off leaving all of my stuff in Miami and rebuying it when I got to NJ. I now have to completely re paint my house, redo my wood floors and I have nowhere to sleep. Whatever you do do not ever use this company - they are complete frauds.
Our notes indicate 5 items were damaged in the move and we nicked the walls going up the stairs. Please understand the hallway and staircase were very narrow which made it difficult to move your furniture in without bumping the walls and damaging some of your furniture.
We are sorry for the damages experienced on your move. As you know we are waiting for you to return your claim form so we can start the process. Please be assured, we will work hard to resolve your claim to your satisfaction.
Reviewed June 17, 2016
I contracted with American Van Lines about 2 months before my scheduled move and put a 50% deposit. About a week before the move, my coordinator informed me that I had to be move by a different company. I was not comfortable and asked to talk to a supervisor. No one ever returned my repeated calls or emails. American Van Lines then proceed to cancel my move without notifying me. I was very upset and told them I would leave a negative review. Now I got their attention and 2 supervisors called me back. They offered me $300 compensation for my inconvenience in exchange for me not to leave any negative reviews online.
I declined and chose to share my experience. I did get my deposit refunded but had to delay my move for a week. Stay away from this company. They don't return phone calls or emails. They really left us stranded and very stressed to find another moving company in such a short notice. And they offered to pay to shut me up. They probably buy their reviews.
We are sorry that your experience with our company was not a good one.
We notified you of a delay and asked if your move dates were flexible but they weren't. Next, we had one of our agents available to meet you dates, but you didn't want that. Instead, you chose to cancel your move so we gave you a full refund, an apology, and offered you additional compensation for your inconvenience.
We are sorry we could not accommodate you on this move and hope you will consider us next time you move.
Reviewed June 16, 2016
Everyone was professional, friendly and helpful from the first phone call I made to my last contact with the company. One drawer of my furniture was damaged and the rep (Barbara **) from the company stayed in constant contact with me making sure it was repaired perfectly. Even the carpenter that repaired the furniture was wonderful!!! My son is a realtor and we will definitely be recommending American Van Lines to our clients.
Reviewed June 10, 2016
Great employees. Very professional.
Reviewed June 10, 2016
This purpose of this review is to recognize Marcus ** for his invaluable support and assistance during the recent move. This is the second time in less than a year that we have used American Van Lines to move our household goods. Both moves were professionally monitored and handled by Marcus. On the most recent move, we were assigned another individual who did not follow-up or kept us informed. Consequently, we requested to be assigned Marcus as our Customer Service Representative. Marcus intervention made the difference. Thanks Marcus!!
Reviewed June 6, 2016
The packing and loading as well as the delivery of our "stuff' went well. The area that I had issue with was communication. The first person I talked with turned out not to be accurate as to how the process works and what the cost would be. Once I committed to the move, he never returned another phone call when I tried to get clarification on the process and cost. I talked with other individuals along the way who promised to look into one thing or another and call me back but never returned my call.
Then, I had a review with a quality assurance person and the cost of my move went up about 50%. It appears to me that the initial person I talked with did not do an accurate estimate. My move coordinator, Victor, was good and did follow-up with me regularly. The guys who did the work - packing, loading and delivering were excellent at both ends of the move.
Reviewed June 6, 2016
The house is too small to move the washer and dryer over so will have to by the end of the week move the washer out of house completely down small stairs to get dryer in correct spot. Will have to go buy a dolly for this to be done first so extra work and cost on self. Everything else was great.
Updated review: June 28, 2016
American Van Lines responded to my negative review promptly and showed that they valued my opinion and my satisfaction. They addressed my concerns and reestablished my trust as a consumer.
Original Review: June 4, 2016
I had a very frustrating moving experience. Most importantly, I feel that the company was very misleading with their quote. I was quoted for around $2,700 and the total was $3,400 (and when the movers got to my house on the day of the move they actually quoted me $4,400). That wasn't because I was missing furniture on the quote but because the box estimate that the company provided was grossly underprojected and the price for extra steps / long distance was not included in the estimate.
The movers themselves were not American Van Lines employees and they struggled to communicate with the company throughout the process. However, they tried their hardest and should not be faulted for that. They were efficient and were careful in moving my apartment. In terms of customer service, I was passed around between three different people from the time I received an estimate to the time my move was complete. I would not recommend AVL to anyone.
Reviewed June 3, 2016
Excellent service from the guys. Will highly recommend to anyone who asks me.
Reviewed June 2, 2016
Really efficient and professional!! Our move went so smoothly! The minute our team arrived they went to work and put us at ease. We have had 4 corporate moves and this company proved they were exceptional. We had a timeline to meet and they made sure they finished and remained pros. Thankful for choosing this company!!
Reviewed June 1, 2016
The gentlemen were very courteous and respectful of not damaging the properties while moving from one home to an apartment. It was an extremely hot day and they had to go up and down 2 flights of stairs to pick up and 3 flights of 40 steps to deliver to our apartment. They were quick, efficient and very knowledgeable of everything they were doing, including set up and paperwork. Will use your service again when we move back to Raleigh upon our retirement. We moved for a new job and paid our own expenses, so the cost was not as bad as I thought it would be. Great job - Great price!!
Reviewed June 1, 2016
Good overall. Would have liked to have a more specific pickup date than a three-day window.
Reviewed June 1, 2016
Our move from Florida to Washington State with American Van Lines was a pleasure!!! On the day of the move I was met with the nicest, friendliest, helpful and hard working movers. All of our furniture was carefully wrapped and packaged and all arrived in perfect condition, except for a nick on a table, of which they addressed. Upon delivery, which occurred in a very satisfactory time, the same great attention was given by a terrific crew. Thank you for making our move a most successful one!!
Reviewed June 1, 2016
The move went well as I know it would with MBM.
Reviewed June 1, 2016
Very happy with move.
Reviewed May 31, 2016
Dennis and his helpers were very kind and explained everything that was happening and worked very hard to make us happy. GREAT JOB!
Reviewed May 28, 2016
I had to call in to find out my scheduled pick up time instead of office contacting me as they said they would. My move did not occur during my allotted pick up time- movers were 1.5 hours late. And of course, no one is pleased when their property is damaged. I lost a stand up lamp and a piece off of my bed. I was charged for an extra half hour despite circumstances during the move resulting in at least 20-30 minutes of nonproductive time. However, the movers were friendly and good at their jobs. I hoped the move would go off without a hitch but I expected there would likely be a minor issue somewhere along the way. Overall the experience was fair 3/5. Also the automatically generated survey from the company was sent to me SIX times! 5 times too many.
Updated review: June 28, 2016
American Van Lines reached out to me after seeing my review. They apologized and sent me a gift card.
Original Review: May 27, 2016
Rudest person I've ever had a business call from. He expects me to use his business after treating me that way in the first 3 minutes of a phone call. If that's their "salesman" I don't want anything to do with that company.
Reviewed May 27, 2016
If you need a moving company, this is the place! No move is too big nor too small! Excellent customer service, top rate prices, and the best part, no stress!! Make your first call to Atlas Van Lines, the only call you need to make!
Updated review: May 24, 2016
The company notified me about my property and reassured me that my items would arrive by this weekend or as late as Monday. They are willing to compensate me for my inconvenience and I have agreed to the terms. I have also agreed to re-evaluate the last post I first put up. The manager was very helpful and very professional. I hope that this doesn't happen to anyone else.
Original Review: May 23, 2016
Used this company to move cross-country and still without my stuff after three weeks, and tomorrow will be the date that I signed, that would be the latest it would arrive. Every time I emailed, I would get a call back stating that the movers still have no ETA. At least the call back was more reliable than the movers. Never had this issue in Japan. The thing I feared the most is now a reality.
Reviewed May 22, 2016
Went out of the way to show up on the scheduled day, even when delayed with mechanical issues on their truck. Delivery was within a week of pickup.
Reviewed May 20, 2016
The 2 men who packed up our place did a fantastic job. We live in a high rise in the heart of the city so this is no easy task for movers. They wrapped everything so well nothing was damaged. The two guys who delivers and set up everything in Indiana were so strong and efficient. They were almost magic because some of our furniture seemed impossible to get up two flights of twirling stairs. I would highly recommend!
Reviewed May 20, 2016
Everything from the first call for an estimate, update conversation with my senior moving consultant to the packing and receiving was excellent! Everyone on the team works hard to make sure your are satisfied. Thank you!
Updated review: May 27, 2016
This situation has been resolved by working with the company.
Original Review: May 19, 2016
I reserved this company for a cross country move way ahead of time. We are moving next week and was notified yesterday that a different company would be doing my move. I am not comfortable with that since they swore they did not do that when I signed a contract. They claim it's not outsourcing but when a different company is coming and I make the check out to the different company I think it's exactly outsourcing. I am glad they let me know ahead of time and offered a full refund of my deposit. HOWEVER... they gave me less than a week's notice to make other arrangements and claim the refund will take 7-10 days! How am I supposed to pay another mover when you are dragging your feet refunding my money? I have a feeling they do this at the last minute so you are out of options! Hopefully I can get someone's attention to get my refund back ASAP or I will start leaving reviews anywhere and everywhere I can possibly think of!
Updated review: May 25, 2016
I have resolved this issue with American Van Lines. After being able to speak with the appropriate person, I was able to see the shared lack/miscommunication in this matter. American Van Lines addressed my concerns and resolved this matter to my satisfaction. The effectiveness of a good company is not only about the service it offers but how well they handle situations and problems that will arise in every company. Customer service with any company is paramount.
Original Review: May 16, 2016
My experience with American Van Lines started off great but went downhill from there. I originally chose them because they offered to come out to give me an estimate in person. Once the estimate was given, I signed the contract. Communication with them was pretty much horrible after they got my signature on the contract. The day before AVL was scheduled to pick up my things, I still had not heard anything. When I called them to find out what time they would arrive the next day they gave me a time I had I had originally suggested to them, but nothing more. They did arrive within that window but it took them a very long time to only move my things. I've used movers a couple of times and in comparison to other movers, they were extremely slow. I had to run out and find tools to dismount a desk and flat screen TV from the wall because the movers said someone had "stolen his tools." They were aware of that these items needed to be broken down.
Here is where the nightmare really began. They gave me a 5-8 day moving window. I specifically told the rep (before contract) there were some days they could NOT deliver my items on. He agreed that it would NOT be a problem. Sure enough they called me on one of these days to tell me they would deliver my items after 5 pm that day. I relayed to rep that I could not receive my items that day (as specified at contract). I was told that the rep communicated 2 days, but that day was not included. I was told that they would have to put my items in storage and would cost ME an extra $600+. When I explained again that this was a day I indicated these items could NOT be delivered, I was told I would have to take it up with the rep. Well, 5 days later and several phone calls later the rep has yet to return my phone call. Whenever I call AVL they tell me I'll be responsible for the cost unless I clear it up with their rep (who will not call me back).
I have requested that my items be delivered to me from storage and they keep telling me that they have submitted the message and we are awaiting a delivery date from dispatch. 11 days after my things were picked up, I still don't know where my belonging are. To add insult in injury, whenever I call them, they kinda just blow me off. I have moved across 3 states and I'm sitting in a new state with one suitcase of clothes. DO NOT USE THIS MOVING COMPANY. There are too many other PROFESSIONAL movers out there!
Reviewed May 15, 2016
This was one of the best moves we've ever had, from planning to packing to delivering.
Reviewed May 15, 2016
The moving crew were great. They were professional and moved all items in a safe and efficient manner.
Reviewed May 12, 2016
No problem at all and very professional team. I will recommended this company.
Reviewed May 11, 2016
I was a little frustrated, because I had 4 different people call me from American... John, Cedric, Victor and someone else. A week before my move, I asked to confirm what day the movers would be at my house. On Thursday, they confirmed the movers would be there Monday 5/2, but could not confirm a time. I bought my plane tickets to leave town for Tuesday. When I called Monday to find out where the movers were, I was told that the movers had me scheduled for Tuesday morning and that someone left me a voicemail about it. Tuesday, I received a phone call saying that the movers would not come until 8 pm. My flight was for 2:30 pm, so I had to get a co-worker to come over to let the movers in and could not supervise or do a walk through to make sure everything was packed up and moved. When I expressed my concern about this, I feel like my concern was blown off.
Reviewed May 10, 2016
Overall, an excellent experience. Cost estimation for our move was done very professionally with simple explanations and very clear documentation and verbal communication. Our customer service representative (Benjamin **) was prompt in returning our call and keeping us posted on schedules through e-mails and phone contacts. There were others too and they all were equally respectful of us as their customers and did what needed to be done promptly.
The driver ("Patrick the Mover") and his crew ("Tom" and "Ed" - hope I have the name right) were very EFFICIENT, polite, courteous and extremely respectful of us as well as our packages and furniture. They wrapped and carefully loaded all the "stuff" on time. They were the same when they unloaded on time also. We had moved a few times before and we can say without any hesitation that this was one of the best moves we had. We will certainly recommend American Van Lines and this team as a "choice mover" to all in our circle who might need an interstate mover. Thank you.
Reviewed May 10, 2016
Overall I am happy with my experience. Joseph set my move up and he was very thorough and nice. The price was pretty much spot on. The driver and movers did a fantastic job packing and unloading. QA was helpful setting up the third party crate company, but I would have liked it if they read Joseph's notes so it wasn't set up last minute. The only group I was disappointed with was dispatch. They never knew what was going on and I couldn't plan anything because they never knew anything. That is frustrating. Overall I was satisfied.
Reviewed May 10, 2016
The three guys that came to do the move were very polite, nice, happy, and very helpful. They have a great working relationship.
Reviewed May 9, 2016
American Van Lines contracted my move out to Traditional Express Van Lines. They proactively kept me up to date with all the details of the move prior to the move as well as updates on the arrival dates of my goods. On the day of delivery, my agent contacted me to make sure everything was going as planned.
Reviewed May 6, 2016
I couldn't be more pleased with my move out, storage, and move in by American Van Lines. I would like to recognize Aldo the supervisor on both of my moves. He was so professional, helpful, and pleasant. He really takes pride in his work and his crew responds to him in a positive manner. It was the best move I have ever had, which says a lot since I have moved ten times! I also would like to mention that none of this would have been possible without the assistance of Matt **. He is a tremendous asset to your company and on top of everything at any time of the day. Thank you so much.
Reviewed May 5, 2016
Move from Boynton Beach Fl. To Jacksonville Fl. - My husband and I were so very impressed with our moving men. Courteous, respectful, to both of us as well as each other. They were working under some extreme heat at both locations and yet never hesitated to help one of us. Dennis, Ali and one more gentleman whose name I can't remember were gift that we are very thankful for. I also would like to mention Ashley ** who was kind, accurate and very professional each time we dealt with her!
Reviewed May 4, 2016
My move with American Van Lines went extremely easy and professional from pickup to delivery and would not hesitate to recommend this company to anyone needing to move. Very happy and pleased with movers provided. Thank you American for helping to make a difficult time lots easier.
Reviewed May 3, 2016
We are moving mom from a private house to assisted living in another state. There was a truck leaving from Florida in a couple of days and they were able to add us at short notice. As emotional as this unexpected move has been, the help and caring we have received from all involved with your company has been incredible. Thank you so much for everything.
Reviewed May 2, 2016
Everything went as planned. My driver Johnny, was knowledgeable, courteous and very professional. He did everything I needed and got my belongings here with no incident. I was extremely pleased with my move and would use MBM if I ever move again.
Reviewed May 2, 2016
We used AVL to move from a one-bedroom apartment in MA to a house in NH. Overall it took about 3 hours to move out and 2 or 3 to move in. They were very quick and very careful with everything - no missing items, no broken furniture. Exactly what you'd expect from a company with this much reputation.
Updated review: May 3, 2016
My initial impression of the professionalism of American Van Lines has been confirmed. After speaking with representatives about the difficulties I experienced with my recent move, the company quickly worked to resolve all issues to my satisfaction. When problems occur, how a company handles them is an essential element of restoring trust and credibility. I am happy to update my review to a positive one.
Original Review: April 29, 2016
I chose American Van Lines for my cross country move based on my positive impression of my initial contacts with them, their positive online reviews and most importantly because they reassured me they DO NOT subcontract, that my move from start to finish would be handled by American Van Lines. This turned out to be a very dishonest representation of how they do business. I did not know another company had been subcontracted for my move until all of my belongings were loaded onto the truck and was told to write out the check to another moving company.
From the time the subcontracted company became involved, miscommunication and incompetency ensued. I would receive multiple phone calls and/or e-mails in one day regarding pick up and delivery schedules that contradicted each other. They arrived earlier than the contracted date despite me telling them I was not ready and I was made to feel I had to accommodate their schedule. There was a lack of communication to the drivers about the details of the delivery that caused the delivery to be very confusing and much more time consuming and stressful than necessary.
According to the inventory list, I am missing 10 items. The packing/inventory list was prepared improperly so that it was not possible to know what items are missing. I planned for my belongings to stay packed and in storage, so I will have unpack everything and rely on a faulty packing list and my memory to know what items are missing, then re-pack until I am ready to move into my new home. At this point I have no idea if my items have been lost, stolen or are actually in the storage facility due to deplorable record keeping. I was reassured that the "professionals" would help make the move as smooth and stress free as possible. American Van Lines should know that when they subcontract a move, they are also subcontracting their reputation.
Reviewed April 28, 2016
My antique dining room set arrived safe and sound. I was concerned about the glass that was irreplaceable; I was assured that it would arrive safely and it did. The furniture was picked up in Missouri on April 15th and was delivered on April 25th in Delaware. The guys were professional and friendly. What was really impressive was the level of customer service. I had three different contacts that kept in touch with me on the move. I would definitely use American Van Lines again.
Reviewed April 28, 2016
Pleasurable experience with our move, the men were prompt and extremely courteous. Living on the mezzanine level of the building made the move more difficult because the furniture had to be carried down a long hallway without the use of an elevator. The men never complained and worked diligently from the minute they walked in. The estimate of 3 hours was accurate. The experience was the exact opposite from what I had anticipated after watching many TV shows depicting ruthless movers. I would use this company again any time I needed to move. I give them my highest recommendation.
Reviewed April 26, 2016
The move went well as far as time it took to deliver everything and the cost was reasonable. Their guys were courteous and on point.
Reviewed April 26, 2016
The men were very efficient and moved us quickly. We didn't run into problems and were very satisfied.
Reviewed April 26, 2016
Johnny took my request to send some items from Dallas to Providence. Very courteous. We worked it out and he sent me to Marcus to schedule. Marcus kept me updated as to the move. When it was finally scheduled, he still kept me updated. Arrived on time, good condition. My son and his family were able to have dinner at the table that night. Thank you.
Reviewed April 25, 2016
My move from South Carolina to Arizona went very well. The driver was very knowledgeable and respectful. Answered all of my questions. I would recommended this company highly to anyone that is planning a long or short distance move.
Reviewed April 24, 2016
Our move - went very smooth. The guys were great!
Reviewed April 22, 2016
Johnny led a great crew. They were at our house on time and when they were scheduled to be. They were careful with our belongings. Johnny can be a bit long winded but is always mindful that I know of everything going on. He walked me through their process and walked me through the paperwork. All in all they were a great team and a tremendous help!
Reviewed April 21, 2016
The staff from American Van Lines were great. But the person throughout the whole ordeal who we dealt with after was really, really good. The moving crew was also excellent. They were a little older but they still managed to do stuff properly. They didn't speak any English, but they were extremely nice and they handled everything with care. The only issue is that I had a very big bedroom-sized mirror that was damaged, but everything else was fine. So, out of the whole move from Michigan to Dallas, that wasn't bad. I would recommend them to a friend and I've already used them a second time. It was a great experience.
Updated review: April 23, 2016
I don't regret telling the truth about my experience, here's what happened within less than 24 hours: I got a call requesting to schedule a phone meeting with Anthony Disorbo, the owner. I scheduled that meeting for the afternoon of Thursday, April 20th. He did call and let me know that he hadn't seen my file previously, but was very apologetic to the way we had been handled in our moving experience. He also wanted to try to help make it right, but did need to review the file so asked if he could call the next day. I put trust in the fact that maybe he would return the call the next day as stated, and he did...even early at that.
For that alone I do have to give my hats off with respect for him. I understand that you can't control all situations all of the time, and I understand that with any move there is a chance for an accident or two etc. He was very unhappy about our situation and we came to a settlement agreement that was fair to both sides. I don't know this man, but I do want to believe he is absolutely trying to do the right thing for his customers. He stated that he is trying to implement more training for the companies they use in the busy season like his employees are trained. If that happens, I am certain complaints will diminish greatly and settlements will be much less. While I don't know that I will ever move again because let's face it, it is just stressful and starting over just sucks in itself, he did ask that we give the company another chance and he would definitely make sure it was his movers.
From everything I've read on both sides of the reviews, his AVL movers are very well trained and very professional. Just from the two phone calls and reaching an agreement with AVL I will give a few stars. I told him that I appreciated his professionalism and even stated what I had read on reviews. It's definitely hard to work in a contract position with miles of paperwork and making sure things are done properly, and that I can definitely have empathy for. But definitely, make sure #1. When you hire a moving company you make them aware of changes to your items list immediately if there are any. And try to go a little over the weight of everything (adding 3,000 lbs goes a long way in that initial bid so the final bill doesn't kill you.) And if you don't need that extra weight they don't charge for it. #2.
Things do happen, I think most of us know that but definitely make sure to be persistent if you by chance have a really bad experience in making sure the company knows by making phone calls right away and whether it's your coordinator or not, talk to somebody to make notes as it is happening so they can correct the movers wrongdoing, and I am certain they do since they have had people give reviews good and bad about movers getting phone calls from AVL. (We did try to call, but thought we were only going to be talking to our coordinator, and that is not necessarily the case anybody can make a note on your account and then make sure it gets to the right department to contact the movers) Doing this in itself can save a lot of headache and damage in the end!
I'm changing from 1 star to 4 stars in the end based on my conversations with Anthony alone. Obviously, one man can't be everywhere at one time and I recognize that, he does come across to me as taking pride in what he has built, and he definitely is hoping to help the companies they use when times are crazy by helping get more training so others don't have to experience anything but the best they can provide with movers who know what they are doing.
Original Review: April 20, 2016
We got several estimates from several moving companies when we were moving from Kansas City MO to Wichita KS. Our company gave us a budget and American Van Lines came in right at that budget. Buyer beware. Mistake number one. We questioned the weight greatly knowing the average household have 15,000 lbs and they estimated us to be 11,326 with a full gym of 2000 lbs of weight in our basement! The day the movers showed up, #1. They were Ukrainian and could not speak English! I flat out told them my house would not fit in their tiny little truck.
We ensued a 2 hour delay contacting their company (yep we were contracted out to a podunk company with a broken down truck to say the least. API was the company) and attempting to contact our agent at AVL to let them know this was a big joke! We were flat out told we had no options - no other vehicles available so we would have to make two trips! Mistake #2. Begrudgingly agreeing to this nonsense! The movers were grossly negligent. They damaged our home, which was at that point under contract to be sold to another person. We paid out of pocket to repair everything so we would not be delayed in closing.
They did not wrap our things as we were told they were going to before they moved anything! Most of our furniture was damaged, some to the point we can no longer use it even though we followed instructions on taping drawers shut etc. My dresser was broken. Half the drawers cannot be used because they were completely busted even though they were taped properly and remained shut. The movers unwrapped our items before they got off the truck. They were dragging items into a brand new home where again our home which had just literally been completed by the builders was damaged to floors, walls, outside siding etc. They even hired some jail bird guys from a temp agency to come help move things into the home. One of those men was carrying our safe in and said "This is heavy. What do you keep in here?" (EXCUSE ME!!!)
This was in the first two days. Then we headed back to Kansas City for the second trip. Again more damage to the old house by dragging items - damage to the items because of being dragged and thrown around and not wrapped at all. This is when I found out that the blankets being used were so nasty leaving a coat of residue ON EVERYTHING and making it all smell of smoke and nastiness. Just dirty. The driver of the API moving company had a dog who was sitting on said blankets and I literally watched this dog walk to the edge of the blanket and pee on it! It of course was then used! They smoked in the back of the truck with our things in it and we are highly sensitive to smoke! They fought the whole time in their language, complained about our stuff (mind you they didn't pack any boxes, we packed up our boxes ahead of time) and how much we had.
When they weighed the truck empty the first day it was 9,000 lbs. When they weighed it the second trip empty it somehow gained 5,000? The first trip was so bad and the second time around moving things out of the house was so bad and damaging we made them unload everything into our garage in the brand new home because we could not have any more damage done! We managed to move everything from the garage into the home with NO ISSUES at all. Upon turning in the damage claims we waited two months for any response, and I finally reached out to AVL who stated they had 120 days. This move was completed in September and we are now at 152 days for our claim. They wanted to slap us a little more by saying our settlement for damage is $1750 TOTAL!
I'm going to be contacting DOT, BBB and a lawyer for this. We had to replace our refrigerator because when it got moved in it was not only really damaged on the outside with dents and scratches but it got hot to the point it was a fire hazard. Our wood floors were scratched in both homes from dragging furniture around and not caring. Funny thing, the boxes that we packed had no damage at all, and thankfully we had already moved our computers and televisions ourselves with no damage!
Seriously, please do NOT use this company! They lie, they steal, they talk a good game but they really just don't care. And in the end our move was about $2000 more than they quoted because it was over 11,326 lbs. Imagine that! A four bedroom home weighs more than a studio apartment! I was so flustered the last day we had to deal with the movers that I actually did not stay here because anxiety was so high from all of the damage, and it was my birthday! They will tell you anything to get a sale but they are criminals!
Reviewed April 20, 2016
The crew that assisted me in making this move possible was courteous, professional and delivered on all promises to make my move a success. Starting from the first conversation to meeting the moving crew. No hidden surprises from start to finish. Dennis and his crew were the very best in customer service and did earn my appreciation with their work ethic and commitment to handling all of my goods. All items were packed and arrived in perfect condition and on time. Thanks again.
Reviewed April 20, 2016
Job well done.
Reviewed April 20, 2016
I was ultimately very satisfied with the move and the rate given by American Van Lines. There was an issue initially with the coordinator and they ended up having to change the coordinator. Once that happened, everything came together as I had originally planned so it worked out fine. The move was from South Florida, Hollywood, FL. There were three different locations in South Florida they had to go to, and then transport everything to Western North Carolina. They ended up having to transfer things to a smaller vehicle because they couldn’t go up the mountain road that we had but they did an excellent job and everything went very smoothly. I found them to be reputable and professional.
Reviewed April 19, 2016
The movers were very professional and extremely nice. They did everything in their might to make the move an easy transition.
Reviewed April 19, 2016
Booked my move on 3-30-16 for a move to Texas from New Mexico. Signed a contract for a set timeline of 4-18 to 4-20 to move. They call me on the 19th to tell me the truck has broken down and it won't be fixed by tomorrow. Theresa says there is no other truck available. I said, "Of the 100's of trucks you have in your fleet, you can't redirect one to get here in time!!!" I'm sure mechanical issues come up and there has to be procedures in place to resolve these timeline issues. Theresa is going to continue to see what she can do. NOT A GOOD START to my move. Will post with updates.
Reviewed April 19, 2016
Started off rocky. You called the day of move 3 times and we didn't get the message to change date to the next day. We gave our cell phone for contact and somehow that didn't get passed along so the left messages were left at the wrong number. The crew came the next day and did a great job! Efficient, quick, very careful. We could not have asked for a better job. Mike & crew get a two thumbs UP!
Reviewed April 18, 2016
The men that came to move us did an excellent job of moving the furniture quickly and safely.
Reviewed April 18, 2016
I went online and searched for long-distance travelers. I looked at the reviews and it was between American Van Lines and another company. The reviews for American Van Lines were excellent. I went with them and both the moving coordinator and the moving consultant were very good. The moving crew was excellent, too. The way American Van Lines put things together was very professional. It was an enjoyable experience and I'll absolutely recommend them.
Reviewed April 18, 2016
I was moving from Greensboro to High Point and it was my second time using American Van Lines. The crew was very nice and positive. They were very helpful and were on time. They were also very cooperative and were very willing to do the things that I needed them to.
Reviewed April 18, 2016
I was getting my daughter's belongings out of a storage unit. I emailed someone in town and they suggested using one of the larger van lines. I got three different bids but I ended up using American Van Lines. Their moving consultant was very good but there was such a large demand and it was quite a challenge to try and get her on the phone. It's good though because that means they're doing a lot of business. Additionally, the crew was hard to understand sometimes. We also did have an issue in regards to the payment. I was under the impression that once they dropped the load, they could rerun my credit card again. But anyhow, we got the issue straightened out.
Reviewed April 17, 2016
Working with AVL's moving coordinator was very good. We coordinated the date of the move and the time that the movers would show up, the movers were great and on time. They moved the stuff up, wrapped everything carefully with blankets, taped everything up nicely and neatly, and loaded it into the truck. We had tons and tons of stuff to be moved and they got it really good in three hours.
And then I flew on to Florida and was there for the truck. Because of heavy rain, a bad thunderstorm and lots of traffic on there, they were a couple of hours late but that's allowable. Then, they off loaded the furniture and everything looked good. I made sure that they didn't bang the furniture against the wall because it's a brand new house. They were careful, very patient and cooperative.
Reviewed April 17, 2016
I used American Van Lines to move from New Hampshire to Mississippi. They were supposed to pack me up in New Hampshire but it was my husband who packed up my kitchen and put it in boxes. The driver was good except when our stuff came to Mississippi, he didn't have anybody to help him unload. We had moved into a new house and there were two guys putting up the fence in our yard and my husband paid them $30 each to help unload our things.
Reviewed April 17, 2016
I had a good experience with the planning consultant who helped plan the details of my move. I recommend American Van Lines.
Reviewed April 17, 2016
I used American Van Lines to move from one city to another. The moving consultant was very good and polite. Same with the movers. They were good people.
Reviewed April 16, 2016
The American Van Lines reps were very prompt and answered all my questions, and the follow up was there, so their service was good. The rate was governed by the interstate transportation rules for pricing, but their prices were fair and competitive. It was good with the moving consultant who was helpful in planning the details of my move.
During our move, the moving folk were very good, extremely helpful, flexible, showed up when they said they would, and made sure that they were aware of the furniture and things, that they didn't damage anything, and that they took things apart in the right way. They followed directions and loaded or moved particular rooms in the order that we requested. They delivered and got my stuff where I needed it. They worked hard and busted their butts, and this was appreciated. I was pleased. The American Van Lines guys were professional, competitive, and concerned. They even called me after our move to make sure that everything was good and was what I wanted, and that the pricing was what they have quoted.
Reviewed April 16, 2016
I've retired and moved back to where our family was so I contacted American Van Lines. The move was about 300 miles and they were excellent. They were also wonderful and very punctual. They came when they said and packed everything.
Reviewed April 16, 2016
I had booked with American Van Lines to move me from south Florida up to Long Island New York. I have moved a few times before but never have I experienced such professionalism and service. My sales rep and customer service rep had made sure I understood how the moving process would go. When my driver arrived he did an amazing job and delivered my items quickly. I would definitely use American Van Lines again and recommend to anyone who is moving.
Reviewed April 16, 2016
We've moved a number of times so I've dealt with American Van Lines before. This time, we moved about 650 miles. We talked with the moving coordinator a number of times about the move before, during and after the move and it has been fine. The delivery crew had to move things a fair of distance from the truck to the house but they all did a great job of moving everything in. We didn't have anything broken. It was a very convenient move and everything worked out well.
Reviewed April 16, 2016
American Van Lines is part of the Movers Association. I did a query and they were one of the companies that were given for us to talk to for our move. We had a couple of conversations with their rep. He was great and thorough. We've moved for four to five times in our life. We've moved with Mayflower, Bekins, and Graebel. American Van Lines was by far the best move we've ever done with any company ever. These guys were awesome. We had a lot of interactions with their crew. They were polite, courteous and helpful. Nothing was ever a problem. We parried to be involved and engaged with them, and they said, “Today is your day off. You just be around to answer our questions.” We bought them lunch and kept them well-hydrated, and they were very happy with all that. American Van Lines did what they said they were going to do when they said they were going to do it. In any industry, that’s rare.
Updated review: Aug. 17, 2016
American Van Lines was very persistent (and always polite) in attempting to resolve the issues I raised in my previous negative review. They have agreed to a financial settlement that satisfies my concerns (including compensation for the broken table), so I am changing my previous rating to 4 stars.
Original Review: April 15, 2016
I can't believe I'm being forced to give this company one star. This was a terrible company to work with, deceitful, dishonest, and completely unprofessional. They sound reasonable when you call for an estimate, and no matter how much trouble you go to to give them accurate information, DO NOT BELIEVE the number they quote you. Every day the "estimate" was increased, and it was always MY fault. For example, the day before pickup, I was informed that there would be a $1,000 "Bulky charge" for a small sailboat we had. We had listed the boat weeks earlier in the estimate, with complete, accurate dimensions and a model number. We had sent a web link to a description and picture of this exact model boat, and sent photographs of our boat. Then the day before pick up they suddenly "realized" that it was bulky??
I could easily list 10 more similar examples. IT'S A COMPLETE SCAM. Our final cost ended up being more than double the original estimate - and that was after we gave away the boat and numerous other items - so our COST WAS MORE THAN DOUBLED with LESS STUFF than on the original list!! When the trucks arrived at the destination our dining table was completely destroyed - all four legs (of a sturdy oak pedestal table) were sheared completely off. Less major damage to lots of other things. And then, after they unloaded the truck, they informed us (on a Sunday evening, in a brand-new city) that we couldn't pay the balance of the bill with our American Express card even though it was PRINTED ON THEIR OWN INVOICE that they would accept Amex.
I had even confirmed with them at pickup 3 days earlier that we'd be able to pay on delivery this way. They said this was a "new policy" and hadn't yet printed new forms. If our stuff had still been on the truck they would have taken it away. These are professionals? No way. I have to say that, damage issues aside, our driver was very nice and pleasant and the packers and unloaders were all very nice, if not the most careful people. My issue is not with them (they did the actual, hard work!) but this company is clearly run by crooks and will RIP YOU OFF.
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