American Van Lines Reviews

I compared multiple movers and narrowed my choice to American Van Lines and Allied Van Lines. I ultimately selected American because they repeatedly emphasized that they used their own trucks and crews rather than a franchise network. They specifically contrasted themselves with Allied’s model and assured me my move would be handled by one dedicated truck with experienced personnel. Because I was concerned about the proposed truck size, I even requested a second video inventory where I measured furniture on camera and stressed the importance of properly transporting our baby grand piano. I was repeatedly assured everything would fit and that they had extensive piano-moving experience.

As moving day approached, they sent me a revised contract at a higher price, blaming a system error before eventually honoring the original agreement. Then, just days before the move, I learned American Van Lines had outsourced my move to Shields Movers without ever disclosing that this would happen. I specifically chose American because they represented that they would use their own crews.

Concerned, I rented my own 16-foot truck before the move and transported a substantial amount of our belongings myself. Even after reducing the inventory, the outsourced crew arrived understaffed, lacked proper piano-moving equipment, initially refused to load the truck the first evening, and returned the next morning, causing me to miss almost all of my son’s high school graduation. Despite moving far fewer items than originally estimated, they claimed the truck was full and left a significant amount of furniture and boxes behind. I had to locate and rent another truck at the last minute, load it myself, and drive it overnight to North Carolina.

Delivery was no better. I spent much of the day helping unload because the crew lacked both experience and basic equipment. They didn’t even bring a hand truck. The most alarming issue involved our approximately 600-pound baby grand piano. The crew clearly didn’t know how to move or reassemble it. They installed one of the legs incorrectly, leaving the piano unstable and creating a serious safety hazard for my family. I ultimately had to purchase a jack and figure out how to safely lift and reinstall the leg myself before someone got hurt. They also damaged our sectional sofa and improperly assembled our beds, including leaving one with unsecured slats hidden beneath the mattress. When I contacted American Van Lines afterward, I was promised that someone from customer escalations would contact me. No one ever did.

What disappoints me most is the difference between what was promised and what was delivered. I chose American Van Lines because they represented that they would use their own experienced crews and equipment. Instead, the move was outsourced to an unprepared third party, resulting in unnecessary stress, damaged furniture, missed family milestones, and avoidable safety risks. I cannot recommend American Van Lines based on my experience.

I was originally told delivery would be on Monday, possibly Tuesday, after our Saturday pickup. Since this was an out-of-state move, we took the week off from work so we could be there for the delivery. It ended up being Thursday, and they were coordinating additional deliveries that could have pushed ours beyond the week we had already taken off. If it hadn't been for a cancellation of one of those additional deliveries, we wouldn't have received the delivery during our time there. So, I credit the driver. But I was furious with the moving coordinator. He should not be in that position.

I find it difficult when you're planning an out-of-state move, and you're not given a certain date for delivery. I understand things happen. There could be delays, but there shouldn't be delays created by the moving company, as opposed to delays for weather, maintenance, or mechanical issues. The moving process itself was excellent, but the logistics of the move were average. Anyone considering American Van Lines had better be flexible with their expected delivery date and have alternative plans, and potentially alternative living arrangements for delays beyond what is expected or anticipated. The price was good. If I didn't like the price, I would've gone with somebody else.

We got it opened and it was a completely broken framed full length mirror that wasn't ours!! The 2nd item was ours and was a completely broken glass top for our coffee table. Also, there was a bed frame delivered that isn't ours & when I contacted customer service with pics and explanation I never heard back. Feel sorry for the people missing their bed frame! This was a disaster from start to finish and made for a very stressful move cross country!!

The process started with getting a rough quote. Because I moved within 12 months of this current move, I knew the exact weight of everything I had, which I used to get a rough estimate. I was moving from a house in central PA to a flat in the northwest Pacific region, so I knew I was downsizing & the weight from the previous move was an over-estimate, but I preferred to have an over-estimate than an under-estimate. I called multiple companies and decided to go with American Vanlines (2nd cheapest option because I thought the cheapest might be dodgy).

The process started by getting a proper quote. They did not have a local representative in Central PA, so they recommended doing an inventory through a video conference, which I agreed to. During the conference, I notified the appraiser that there were a few items I was not taking. He recommended including them because it is better to over-estimate than under-estimate and be surprised by a move day change. I was told the moving truck will be weighed before I make the final payment so an over-estimate does not mean that is what I’ll pay, but it was the expected maximum I would pay. I thought that was reasonable and agreed. Their estimated weight was about 20-30% higher than my actual weight from the move less than a year ago, even though I did not get anything new because I knew I was living in central PA for about a year only.

The first hiccup was assigning a pickup date. There was a pre-defined 3-day window for them to come in within, and they did, but what a mess up. My American Vanlines agent emailed me and a few other people asking for a follow-up because I was hoping to get about a week’s notice before moving, but the response was they only give 24-48 hours' notice only. It is important to know that I was told I will get a longer of a head’s up when I decided to go with American Vanlines, but they didn’t keep that promise.

The second screw-up was that they then emailed saying they pre-notified me and they will come on day X, which was a day before the agreed-upon window. I emailed to confirm and got a response saying they confused me with someone else, and they will come the following day (i.e., first day of the pickup window). The night before, they call and delay it by two days, so now it is on the last day of the pickup window. They said they will come in the morning of. Again, the night before, they call stating they had to work late and will sleep in, so they will come in the afternoon.

Technically, they did come in within the pre-specified pick-up window of 3 days, and if they said from the get-go they will come on afternoon of the last day, I would’ve been fine with it. But, what happened was not acceptable. Especially falsely claiming that I was notified and agreed for the pick-up to be 1 day before the scheduled time. Since all communications were done by email, you can imagine how anxious I was until this was cleared up.

When the movers came in to pick up the stuff, the first thing they did was look around to do an audit, which was nice. What wasn’t is that they flagged it as ‘false documentation for the estimate’, so I had to wait for 90 minutes for a new estimate to come. Remember, I didn’t document what was being moved, the company’s own agent did, and he said he’s overestimating. To clarify how much of a joke this was, the agent documented my wife’s beauty stand as 1 item. In prep, I dismantled the mirror from the desk. The movers said the mirror was not declared. I put my duvets and pillows in plastic bags, and they said these were not declared, even though they were part of the ‘bed’ that the agent was supposed to document. The movers refused to load the truck until a new estimate came (as if I could bargain or say no 1 day before my lease expires).

Fourth frustration was with the new estimate, ~ 5% increase in total price. What is upsetting is that on my initial quote, the agent said the price will most likely go down if my items weigh less than what we declared, but it will not go down by much since I’m moving a very long distance, so the primary driver of price is distance not weight, so for the price to increase by 5% for light items, was shocking. Maybe it was for the “materials” that was used to cover up the duvets and couches and mirrors. In fairness, I thought they did a good job securing everything to reduce risk of damage during transport. But again, I was frustrated.

On a positive note (that will become a negative point later), a customer support agent called to make sure I was not too upset with what happened. When I explained that the weight of added items is significantly less than the items, we discarded (that were on the estimate), she reiterated the message that the truck will be weighed, and if the weight is less than what they estimated, the final bill will be reduced.

They delivered everything on the 10th day (which was impressive). But they called and said they will deliver on the 9th day, so I stayed home for a full day, for them to call at 6 pm and say they’ll come the following day between 8-9, they came at 10. Not a big deal in isolation, but there is a pattern of poor timekeeping and over-promising while under-delivering.

To add salt to insult, only 1 guy from the moving company was able to come during the delivery. Since they were running behind schedule, the other guys were loading the van for other deliveries, and they were trying to catch up. They did try to hire a local guy who did not show up, so they tried again, and a couple of hours later help came (1 more guy only).

At the end, I was asked to drive for 25 minutes to pick up a few more items that they did not bring with them. I refused and asked them to get them to me since it will be a 50-minute drive to go back and forth, and they said they can’t because they are short on time. Simply amazing. And did I mention that they did not clean after themselves before leaving? I picked up all the rubbish and took it out later.

The major blow was that I had to pay the FULL amount of the estimate. Didn’t know that till the night before delivery. They said the estimate was binding so it is to pay NO LESS, the complete opposite of what 2 other agents told me (that the estimate could reduce if the weight of the actual move was less). Again, I could not bargain and I had to pay.

What is also funny is that my moving weight (from Canada to Central PA) was ~ 3500 Lb. Whereas for this current move, I got rid of 2x barbeques, 4x set of tires, a cot bed, and a children’s bed. Somehow, they claim the overall weight of my stuff was again ~ 3500 Lb. I’m not sure if this is normal for American moving companies, but this is hands down the worst experience I’ve had with a moving company in my life.

6. The movers themselves are friendly and clearly care about making sure your stuff does not get damaged (a few items had cosmetic damage, but at this point I don’t care).

Overall, I’m just happy I got my stuff in a timely fashion, but they need to pick up the slack. Also, I thought their pricing tactics were not fair, especially after I had a long video conference with an agent who put in an inventory list himself.

In my draft review, I wanted to give them a 3-star rating and say maybe I was unlucky, and I would not say look somewhere else. But, after the incidents on delivery, I was fuming. I paid a lot of money for the move. I absolutely did not get my money’s worth. In every step of the procedure, there were significant errors that I would label as either a yellow flag or a red flag. I’m surprised that this is one of the biggest moving companies in the USA. Such a disappointment.

Added: Customer service called me within 48 hours of the move and asked for feedback. I spilled out everything and they were shocked. They said this will be escalated and someone will get in touch about it, no one did (delayed my review to see outcome after they try to compensate me, but again, felt like customer support was an entire different company vs. actual company you deal with).

Before we paid our deposit, our move coordinator was extremely responsive. Once the deposit was paid, that communication completely disappeared. I called and emailed my move coordinator numerous times and never received a single response. I was also instructed to contact another representative to update our inventory before the move. Again, multiple emails and voicemails went unanswered.

Because no one would return our calls or process our inventory changes, everything had to be handled on moving day. The moving crew then had to sit outside our home for nearly **three hours** waiting for approval from American Van Lines before they could begin loading. I eventually had to call customer service myself and complain before anyone addressed the issue. That delay was unfair to both our family and the movers.

Communication throughout the entire process was chaotic. Calls to customer service were frequently disconnected, some phone numbers we were given didn't even work, and we repeatedly received conflicting information about our move dates. At one point I was told our pickup would be a full week earlier than expected. Later I was told movers would arrive on Monday, so I rearranged my work schedule and missed an important meeting to be home. No one showed up. Then I was told it would be another day. Ultimately, the company that picked up our belongings arrived on a completely different day that had never been communicated to us. We spent weeks trying to figure out what was actually happening because no one at American Van Lines seemed able to provide accurate information.

Another major disappointment was learning that our move was actually handled by **FABRI Distribution**, despite being told during the sales process that American Van Lines was **not** a broker and that American Van Lines would be handling our move. That left us feeling misled. After the move, we submitted concerns and were told an investigation would be conducted. We cooperated fully and waited for the results. We have never received the outcome of that investigation, a follow-up phone call, or even the courtesy of an email.** It honestly feels like the company simply stopped communicating and hoped enough time would pass that we'd give up and not leave a review.

The only reason this isn't a one-sentence review is because I want to give credit where it's due. The loading and delivery crews were outstanding. They treated our belongings with care, worked incredibly hard, and were the one bright spot in an otherwise frustrating experience. Unfortunately, great movers can't make up for poor communication, broken promises, scheduling issues, and a complete lack of accountability from the company managing the move. I cannot recommend American Van Lines based on our experience. If you're considering hiring them, I would strongly encourage you to read the reviews carefully and know that once your deposit is paid, the level of customer service may be very different from what you experienced during the sales process.

At this point, the missed delivery date is only part of the problem. The complete lack of communication is far worse. They don't answer their phones, they don't return voicemails, and they provide no proactive updates whatsoever. Because of their failure to deliver as promised, I continue to pay for a hotel and take additional time off work, adding unnecessary expense and stress every day.

This company was very responsive when it came time to collect payment. Once they had my money, customer service effectively disappeared. I would strongly advise anyone considering this mover to look elsewhere. A guaranteed delivery date means nothing if the company ignores its customers, misses deadlines, and refuses to communicate when things go wrong. Missed deadline. No callbacks. No accountability. Absolutely unacceptable.

The subcontractor kept on trying to get more money from us while our stuff was being loaded, despite our contract. We provided a storage unit 20'x40' free 1st month and $150 per month afterward. Certainly not a $2000 cost! We called and left over 12 VM's with 12 different contacts at American but I had to get ahold of the COO to get any call backs later that afternoon as we looked for an ETA on delivery. So far they are telling us that the delivery will be in July sometime.

Really a terrible company. They do not call back. They do not answer questions. Sales will lie to you without regard. They will use subcontractors despite telling you they won't. They hold your furniture and belongings and miss agreed timelines routinely. They will cost you money by missing agreed upon deadlines. I'm surprised that the NHL and Military uses them at all! I certainly would not want to be associated with such a terrible service company who uses subcontractors, can't provide ETA's and doesn't answer the phones. In good conscience, I will NEVER recommend this shoddy run company to anyone.

Timeline of Events: February 24, 2026 – Contacted American Van Lines for a quote to move from North Carolina to Washington. During the sales process, I repeatedly heard explanations about “PCS season” and tariffs affecting rates. March 9, 2026 – Signed the contract, paid the deposit, and scheduled pickup for May 4, 2026. Not surprisingly, payment processing was fast and efficient. American Van Lines never missed an opportunity to remind me what I owed or collect payment. I intentionally booked my move months in advance to avoid the peak military PCS season. As someone who served for decades and completed numerous PCS moves, I understand exactly what PCS season is. What I do not understand is why it has become the company’s excuse for every failure that followed.

May 4, 2026 – Movers Never Showed Up. The scheduled pickup day arrived. No movers. No phone call. No email. No explanation. I spent more than three hours calling American Van Lines trying to find out why nobody showed up. I was repeatedly placed on hold, blindly transferred between departments, and forced to provide my name and move reference number over and over again because there was no communication between representatives. Not one person took ownership of the problem. Instead, several representatives made sure to tell me that the situation was not their fault. As a customer, I was not interested in assigning blame. I simply wanted someone to solve the problem and honor the contract I had paid for. At approximately 3:00 PM, I finally learned that the local moving company had canceled at the last minute. Neither the local mover nor American Van Lines had informed me.

May 5, 2026 – Rescheduled. After contacting customer service, I was given a new pickup date of May 7, 2026. May 7, 2026 – Property Finally Picked Up. Because of the delay, I was no longer in North Carolina and had already relocated to Washington. I had to execute a Power of Attorney so my mother and sister could oversee the pickup. The pickup was eventually completed. Then the Communication Stopped. I expected delivery sometime during the first week of June and began requesting updates. I received virtually none. Emails went unanswered. Phone calls produced conflicting information. No proactive communication was provided.

June 22, 2026 – Still No Delivery. More than 45 days after pickup, I still do not have my household goods. Today alone, I spoke with four different representatives.

* Another customer service manager informed me that my shipment had never left North Carolina.

Think about that. After more than six weeks, American Van Lines still cannot provide a clear answer regarding where my belongings actually are. Even worse, they cannot provide:

* Any meaningful accountability

What I did receive was another reminder that it is “PCS season.” Apparently, American Van Lines had plenty of time to discuss tariffs and justify higher rates. They had plenty of time to collect payment. But somehow they did not have time to communicate with a paying customer whose entire household has effectively disappeared into their system.

Comparison to Another Company: In 2025, I used a broker called Safe Ship for a move to North Carolina. I was dissatisfied with aspects of their packing quality and payment process. However, they did something American Van Lines has failed to do: They kept their word. The movers arrived on the scheduled date and my belongings were delivered within 35 days. Looking back, I would gladly accept that mediocre experience again over what I have endured with American Van Lines.

Final Thoughts: This was not an inexpensive move. As a retired military veteran living on a budget, this represented a significant financial investment. Yet American Van Lines has failed to uphold its end of the agreement. The company has shown little concern, compassion, urgency, or respect for me as a customer. For weeks, family and friends have asked whether I was scammed. Initially, I defended American Van Lines and assumed there had simply been delays.

Today, I am no longer confident in that assumption. I still do not know exactly where my household goods are. I still do not know when they will arrive. I still do not have answers. What I do have is the most expensive, frustrating, stressful, and disappointing moving experience of my life. This is not how a professional moving company should treat its customers. And it is certainly not how a company should treat a military veteran who trusted them based on years of prior service. American Van Lines has completely lost my trust, and I cannot recommend them to anyone.

Many calls were made to customer service, managers, all without success & constant changes of stories, promises of dates depending on who you spoke to. Apparently their is no communication among them. No one cared about my distress. Then to top it off, they call with delivery 4hrs before arrival on a Friday at 1pm, knowing the entire move needs to be completed by 4pm with condo rules they had in writing in the contract causing more havoc with condo. Very slow to unpack & hundreds of dollars in damages. Weeks after I sent request for damages, they claimed they never received it. Start over again. A small fraction of the worth was finally paid months after delivery. Nightmare to say the least from beginning to end. I literally wound up in the hospital with anxiety attack immediately after the stressful experience. Steer clear of this company.

The original person I talked to had me walk through our entire house and tell him every single big piece of everything that we had that was going to be moving, and that's what they built the estimate on. It took hours. The moving crew was awesome. They were busy, and descended on my house and got it done. They were so professional about it.

I had never moved with a moving company before, so I didn't know anything about what to expect. Everything was completely explained to me as to what they were going to do and what they were going to need. My biggest concern was coordinating the pickup time when we closed on our house, and then coordinating the drop-off time when our new house was ready in another state. But American Van Lines expertly talked me through it all, and it worked perfectly. The pricewas certainly worth it.

When I was contacted by management, I was offered a 5% discount, but only if I didn’t complain or mock the company online. 5% is nothing and doesn’t encourage a company to correct any systemic problems or even speak to employees/contractors. I did not accept the refund. I am still waiting on my damage claim to be processed. Moving is nearly always stressful, and everything is not going to go right. It is not easy to coordinate and have everything go right, but American Van Lines provides neither a professional experience nor accommodations when things don’t go right. Avoid at all costs.

Unfortunately, none of those expectations have been met. I never receive the promised inventory review and pick up date phone call. After multiple emails, phone calls, and voicemails, I finally reached someone to review my inventory. During that call, I am informed that my estimate has increased from under $6,000 to over $8,000 and that I need to pay an additional $1,100 within 24 hours or risk losing my reservation.

When I originally reserved the move, I am told that loose items can be bundled together using plastic wrap. Based on that guidance, I package many items accordingly. However, during the inventory review, I am told those bundles must be dismantled and every individual item listed separately, significantly increasing my cost. I find this frustrating because boxes are counted as single units without requiring an itemized list of their contents, yet plastic-wrapped bundles are treated differently. By that point, due to the lack of communication and the short timeline before my move, I have no realistic opportunity to repackage everything, cancel my reservation, obtain a refund, or secure another moving company.

The representative handling the inventory review was rude, frequently interrupted me, and spoke over me throughout the conversation. It definitely didn't feel like I was a valued customer paying their business thousands of dollars. It's important to note that we downsized significantly before moving. The only large items included in the move are a washer, small deep freezer, coffee table, tall/skinny curio cabinet, two beds, a small generator and a toolbox. Everything else consists of boxes, plastic totes and bundled items. The contents of our entire home can fit within a 10x15 bedroom.

As my move date approached, I still did not receive a confirmed pickup date or clear information regarding my remaining balance due upon delivery. Since I have already sold my home and have a firm closing date, this uncertainty creates enormous stress during an already difficult move. The communication issues only worsen. I am eventually given only 16 hours' notice before pickup. I am provided what I believe is a specific pickup time, but after waiting beyond that time, I call and am informed it is actually a pickup window. Four hours later, I receive another call stating pickup will be delayed until the following day.

The next morning, the pickup time changes yet again. At that point, I am facing a hard deadline to vacate and clean my home while preparing for a 16-hour drive across the country with my family and four pets. When the movers finally arrived, they were from a company called 101 Movers Corp., not an American Van Lines truck or crew. They arrived in a 26ft U-Haul with no company uniforms. I was assured when reserving this move that there were no brokers or third parties. Although the movers themselves were polite and worked hard, there was a noticeable language barrier and they left trash and cigarette butts throughout my driveway.

I am asked to sign physical paperwork but am not provided a copy. After the truck departs with all of my belongings, I receive another phone call informing me that the price has increased again and that I need to sign a revised contract. I am told this is because additional items have been added, which is untrue. In fact, I removed several larger items and already provided a detailed inventory list. Since the company already has possession of everything I own, I felt I had no practical choice but to sign again.

The movers verbally estimated delivery within about 3 days, I was initially told during my reservation that it would be 2-7 days, while I later learned my contract states up to 14 days and the fine print says up to 30 business days. The fine print also states "there is no guarantee that your items will not be temporarily stored or offloaded and reloaded onto a different vehicle then performed pickup and consolidated with other shipments". This was never discussed with me, nor was many other things within the fine print of the contract.

When I scheduled the move, I was repeatedly assured that I would receive dispatch updates regarding the location and progress of my shipment. However, after pickup I've received no updates whatsoever. Every time I reach out to American Van Lines or the carrier, 101 Movers Corp, I am simply told that delivery will occur within the contractual delivery window or to check back in a few days. No one can provide meaningful information about the truck's location, route, or estimated delivery date. Calls often feel ignored or dismissed, and it appears that nobody can tell me where my belongings actually are.

I received an email stating the remaining balance is due upon delivery, before offloading, (to the carrier company, 101 Movers Corp) in the form of money order, cash, Cashapp, Zelle or Venmo only. It seems odd to me that a professional business would require payment in this form rather than a bank account or credit card. I assumed I was paying American Van Lines, the company I hired.

It's day 9 since pickup. After repeatedly requesting an update, I am told that my truck is currently being "loaded" and that delivery may occur this weekend. This explanation is confusing because I personally watched my belongings being loaded 9 days ago when they were picked up from my home. If my shipment is only now being loaded, that raises additional questions about where my belongings have been for the past 9 days and why that information was never communicated to me. As of today, I still have not received any proactive communication regarding my shipment. I have no idea where my belongings are, where they have been or when they will actually arrive. I should have added a tracker to one of my packages or just got a Uhaul and hired help to load it.

One manager I've spoken with has been professional, responsive, and has genuinely attempted to help resolve some of these issues. She's acknowledged many of the communication failures, scheduling changes, pricing disputes, lack of transparency and has offered a discount. However, I am told that receiving the compensation/discount requires signing a non-disclosure agreement that would prevent me from publicly discussing my experience. That does not feel like a customer-service resolution; it feels like an attempt to prevent honest feedback. A bribe. Hush-money. At this point, the discount isn't enough to cover the distress I've experienced, nor enough to silence me from warning others. I will not be signing this.

My experience with American Van Lines has been marked by repeated communication failures, multiple unexpected price increases, scheduling changes, missed commitments, a lack of transparency regarding my shipment and added stress and inconvenience. The most disappointing aspect is that many of the assurances made during the sales process either never happen or were later contradicted.

At the time of writing this review, I still have not received my shipment. I hope my belongings arrive safely and within the contractual delivery window, but based on my experience so far, I'm not confident. I'm fully expecting to have many broken and missing items due to the unnecessary unloading/reloading as well as the inventory list created upon loading does not match my detailed inventory list or the one created with the estimate. I would not recommend American Van Lines to anyone.

They were unloading things at 2 am. And the beds packed were not labeled or packed correctly and so many boxes left in garage. In addition screws from a bookcase disappeared we had to buy, a big garbage bin broken, 3 beautiful plates I carry around for 15 years broken, a plate broken. We’re still paying for other service to help us put boxes where they need to be. So NO DO NOT TAKE THEM. They are unprofessional unhelpful and cause huge stress and damage. And then to try to get a receipt of what we paid took so many calls. I was invoiced twice! Only one person was helpful over the phone.

1. Pickup-day price increase: My estimate rose from about $8,000 to over $10,000 while movers were already inside my home. With our belongings involved and the move underway, it felt extremely high-pressure.

2. Payment requests outside the contract: While movers were onsite, we were asked to send thousands of dollars via Venmo. At delivery, we were again directed toward peer-to-peer methods such as Zelle, Cash App, Apple Pay, or cash. AVL later acknowledged by email that we should not have been advised another payment method was needed.

3. Pressure to sign early: The driver repeatedly asked us to sign the Bill of Lading before loading was complete. During one interaction, he stated we would be charged thousands of dollars if AVL learned he did not have us sign before packing started. We have audio documentation. An AVL coordinator later confirmed by phone and email that the Bill of Lading should be signed after loading was complete.

4. Split, delayed delivery: The Bill of Lading listed an estimated April 15–25 delivery window. The first portion arrived April 16. The second portion, containing nearly all furniture other than couches, did not arrive until May 1. The timeline kept changing, and we repeatedly had to chase updates. We later learned some items had been placed in storage without clear communication.

5. Damage: Both legs of our antique hand-carved solid wood dining table arrived severely broken, with missing pieces, making the table unusable. We photographed the legs at delivery wrapped in only 1–2 layers of taped packing blankets; we did not see boxes or rigid protective packaging around them. Other damaged items included a cabinet/bookcase, two bookshelves, a whiteboard, and a TV bench.

We also documented spilled cleaning products packed with belongings, delicate china packed without individual wrapping, movers drinking health drinks from our basement that were never offered and leaving the trash outside, and the truck breaking a large tree branch during delivery. AVL eventually offered $1,650 total for damage and service/delay issues, then sent a settlement agreement restricting “negative” statements, complaints, and further discussion. I did not sign it.

This is not about one damaged item or one late truck. It is about the full pattern: subcontracting that was not disclosed upfront, a pickup-day price increase, payment requests outside contract methods, pressure around signing documents, inconsistent communication, delayed delivery, damaged furniture, inadequate packing, and a drawn-out claims process. I’m sharing this because I wish I had known these risks before booking. Based on my experience, I would not recommend American Van Lines.

I was only moving a studio, and I wasn't taking all of my stuff with me. Two guys showed up, went through their checklist of what I was bringing and what they were leaving behind. It took an hour and a half, and they packaged everything up in front of me and took it right out to the truck. They were great. They explained everything to me and had all their equipment to package my TV to make sure it wouldn't get cracked. They did the same thing with some of my other more fragile stuff. I didn't have anything that I was wanting for that they didn't do. It wasn't the same guys who dropped it off but it was the same environment - they were very friendly. They were also very quick with moving all my stuff off the truck into my storage unit. If anybody asked me if they needed a moving company, I would suggest American Van Lines.