American Van Lines Reviews

Original Review: Aug. 4, 2026

Update: Customer service helped resolve my issue

This was the worst moving experience we’ve ever had. We hired American Van Lines to move our household from Washington to Alabama because we trusted them to safely transport our belongings. Unfortunately, the experience was disappointing from beginning to end. Our pickup occurred later than originally scheduled, and our belongings were delivered well after the contractual delivery window. Throughout the process, communication was poor. We were repeatedly given delivery dates that changed, promised callbacks that never happened, and often had to contact the company ourselves just to get updates.

When our shipment finally arrived, the condition of our belongings was unacceptable. We found broken furniture, broken plastic storage totes, damaged boxes, and other damaged household items. Even more concerning, multiple boxes and household items contained mouse droppings and urine. We also found loose pasta shells inside boxes that we packed ourselves (we did not pack pasta), which should never have been there. One plastic tote had a shoe print on the lid, and tape that had been placed on our safe at pickup was missing upon delivery. After paying more than $11,000 for this move, we expected our belongings to be handled with care and stored in clean, secure conditions. That was not our experience. I cannot recommend American Van Lines based on the service we received.

My kiln is a $4000 unit, and that was the main thing that was damaged in the move. They did not secure the kiln, they broke my Fire Bricks on the bottom of the walls and to make matters worse they were physically standing with their shoes on the base of the kiln on my Fire brick. I could see their sneaker marks on it. When the drivers arrived at my house, again, nobody called me to tell me when they were arriving. I had to make every phone call into the company, which was very difficult to even get somebody on the phone before I knew what was going on. As soon as the drivers arrived before they would even take anything off the truck they said I had to make my payment. I saw that my kiln was damaged. My kiln vent hose was smashed and ripped and a bench was broken. I did not let them leave my house until I reported it, just to make sure I was covered.

Apparently, this company could not care less. I texted pictures to the truck owner. I emailed pictures to the company itself. Nobody has gotten back to me. No one‘s taking my calls and American Van Lines does not care that they damage your product. They don’t do anything about it. I will never use this company and I tell everyone I know not to use the company. I thought I was saving a couple of thousand dollars by using them instead of going with another company, but I truly regret it now because my kiln damage could be more costly than what I was saving not using the other company. The fact that this company does not care at all about the damaged product they can’t even get back to me.

The only time they reached out to me was to ask for a referral. I told the young lady the only thing she’s getting from me is a bad review. She said she would reach out to the office to escalate, I still never heard anything back from them. So they are very well aware of the damage they caused. They just could not care less. Do not use this company. Stay away. I paid over $8000 for the move and tipped the drivers for the work. Sketchy and crooked, don’t use!

American Van Lines offered a $30-per-day credit for the delay, but that does not make up for the stress, inconvenience, poor communication, and uncertainty I experienced. This was an approximately 600-mile move up the West Coast, not a cross-country shipment and the process was far more difficult than it should have been. I am relieved that I eventually received my belongings, but the overall service experience has been unacceptable. Based on the delays and lack of effective communication, I would not use American Van Lines again and cannot recommend the company to others. Steer clear of this company!!

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.

Original Review: July 6, 2026

My contract included a guaranteed delivery date of July 3rd at the latest. Today is July 6th, and I still have no idea where my belongings are or when they'll arrive. During the seven-day delivery window, I made more than 40 phone calls and managed to reach a live person only three times. Each time I was told they needed to check with their coordination team and would call me back later that day with an update. Not a single callback ever happened.

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.

I was very impressed because the wrapping was unbelievable. After going through everything, I have not found a single item broken. The price was very fair for the distance of the move and the work they did. They came in, took over, and did everything we asked them to do. It was a four-and-a-half-hour drive easily. They had to move our furniture from the house and then put it into storage. But they were on time. They were there when they told us they'd be there and always stayed in touch with me. They let me know exactly where they were, what they were doing and called in advance. So, I'm tickled about that. People should use them because that would be the smartest decision they would make that day.

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.

Even the driver and locally hired unloaders openly told us that the company is disorganized and difficult to work with, which only confirmed what we were experiencing. Because of the repeated and unexplained delays, we incurred significant additional expenses. The company offered $30 per day in compensation—an amount that doesn’t realistically cover even basic daily costs. Worse, accepting that payment required signing an agreement not to leave a negative review, which we found completely unacceptable. We declined the offer. This was a stressful, expensive, and deeply frustrating experience from start to finish. I strongly recommend avoiding American Van Lines and choosing a mover that values honesty, accountability, and basic customer service.

Unfortunately, the condition of my belongings upon delivery was also unacceptable. I had both damaged and missing items, including broken dishes, which is incredibly disappointing considering the trust placed in a moving company to handle personal property with care. The fact that items are unaccounted for is especially concerning and has yet to be properly addressed.

The delivery experience itself only added to the frustration. I was given less than an hour’s notice before arrival, which left little time to prepare. There was also confusion regarding payment— I was previously told I could pay one way, but the driver refused that method and insisted on something different at delivery. This placed me in an uncomfortable and stressful position. Additionally, the driver’s demeanor was unprofessional and rude, which made an already difficult situation worse. To add to the disorganization, the driver had to wait approximately an hour for additional help to arrive, further delaying the process and highlighting a lack of planning.

Overall, this was a stressful and disappointing experience. Between the conflicting communication, missing and damaged items, payment confusion, and unprofessional conduct, I cannot recommend this company. I strongly advise anyone considering this service to get all details in writing, confirm payment methods ahead of time, and be cautious when trusting them with valuable belongings.

Called them immediately. Getting the runaround for months now. Speaking with different staff members all telling me different answers. No One ever offered me INSURANCE. No one explained it to me. Not even the movers when they were packing me asked me why I didn’t get insurance!

Finally got a call back after I complained on the BBB website, they will give me .60 cents a pound for each broken item. Yes I am a bit upset. This has been a devastating, disastrous situation. I have THREE boxes that disappeared and a rug and their answer "well we didn't box them so we don't know what was in them!!!" My mom's 1972 painting she gave me, my wedding dress I saved for my daughter. Pictures of my children in frames that hung on my wall. My clothes, pants, shirts. GONE. They haven't even reimburse me for being late for my delivery.

They just called March 8 stating they’ll give me max $724. I stated No what about my tv that you would assured you would walk safely for me?. Calls me back and said an additional $224! My tv was $2,000 though I stated to them $1700. She said she couldn’t do that. I said I need the money from the TV, I would have sold my tv if I knew and didn’t trust this company. I am complaining to you so you can help guide me into legal matters. Small Claims? Transportation Co? Someone different called me back in March stating now the reimbursement is back down to $400? Marni

Dan

Original Review: March 15, 2026

When we called AVL for our move, the salesperson was very friendly and helpful. However, he told me there was a 2-day pick up window, which was honored, and a 10-day delivery window. When I asked him about the "fine" print in the contract where it said something about 30 days, he said, "don't worry about that. I assure you your stuff will most likely be there in 2-5 days", so I signed the contract and paid 1/2 up front. Not too long after we decided to go with AVL, they told us there was a 2-week delay, so they had to give our load to a company I had never heard of that "partners" with AVL. Since I had already paid 1/2 of the money, I was stuck with a company I knew nothing about. 3-days before our move, they did an inventory final check with me over the phone.

I ensured they had absolutely every item on their list that I had. They made me sign a new contract attesting to the list. The movers called me 20 minutes before they got to my house (I was told I would get a 1-hour notice). Before the movers even got our stuff on the truck, another AVL person called me (mind you, they passed me from rep to rep a lot during this process). The new person at AVL said the movers told them I had 19 extra items that weren't on my list and it was going to be another $400! I had my stuff strewn everywhere at that point, so there was no way for me to prove that there weren't extra items. Once again, I was stuck. The main mover that was the coordinator, was friendly and careful with our things. They loaded the truck up on Saturday.

I asked the coordinator when we would get our stuff, and he said he didn't know, because the dispatcher handles all of that. So here I am expecting my things within 2-5 days like the "friendly" salesperson assured me would happen. Once the movers had our stuff on the semi, radio silence started regarding when we would get our things. We were not getting updates of any kind, and I had to hound AVL to get an update. When someone finally reached out to me after I bugged them over and over, they said, "your stuff should be delivered around Wednesday or Thursday of "next" week."

I was in shock at that point, because I really expected our stuff to be there the Monday - Thursday after they picked our stuff up, but now it was going to be another week (at this point, I don't believe them). I am sleeping on the floor in an empty house (and threw my back out doing so) and am buying stuff that I already have on that truck that I don't need, because I was "assured" by the salesperson my stuff would be here quickly, and I still don't have my stuff (it's been 8 days so far). If you are not in a hurry for your stuff and don't care about the extra expenses that will magically occur, AVL is probably no better or worse than any other interstate moving company, but if you use AVL and the salesperson gives you an "assurance", don't believe it.

We have flown to FL on two different times to be there for delivery at great cost to us to be once again disappointed, we have had to call them at least a dozen times with no call backs or simple return of email. Their communication is very poor at best!!! I am starting to now believe that they have lost our items or destroyed or damaged them and are not wanting to own up. However they have good lawyers and contracts that you must sign and also make your payments in advance (which are different than what you have discussed and agreed to with your salesperson, which they say don't worry about what that says.

My only advice is DO NOT USE AMERICAN VAN LINES!!!! YOU WILL BE SORRY!!! My wife and myself are very frustrated with this company, their attitude, no service and now spending two to three times the more dollars with not even our items to show for it which in their agreement they promise at the most in 21 days, well now we are over 50 days and counting!!!!

Original Review: Order # **. I would not recommend American Van Lines, we have had and continue to have a very bad experience with getting our furniture and items delivered. From the start we have been mislead as to where our furniture and items would be stored to an actual delivery date. We were assigned a move coordinator who has changed at least eight times and even when we were moved to an escalation manager over two weeks ago, nothing has changed and forget anybody getting back to you even though they promise to.

We have had to travel on two occasions at a lot of expense to be at the delivery location without any results from American Van Lines which has added a lot of extra cost to our move. If I ran my business this way I would be out of business by now, we have been made a lot of promises which have all been empty or hollow, we are frustrated and tired of dealing with this substandard company. We had a choice of three moving companies and simply chose the wrong one!!! It is so sad that we are now forced to use social media in this way, however they give you no other choice. DO NOT GO WITH AMERICAN VAN LINES!!!

After another year or two, I decided now to sell my California house. There were items there that I wanted to move here, so I hired them again. I got a different driver and helpers, and everything went wonderfully. I arrived here on the 5th of November and within a couple of days, they were here to drop everything off. I can't say enough about them. They were really great. They didn't screw around and got the job done. They did everything I asked them to do. American Van Lines, overall, was very efficient, very professional, and fast. I'd hire them again if I have to move. I'd give their name out to anybody that was moving.

The truck was empty when the movers picked up our stuff. The driver told us that she had a stop in Arizona, and a stop somewhere else picking stuff up, and other stops on the way to drop stuff off. We were the first stuff loaded up and the last stuff unloaded. We put together what they unloaded, and gave some of our stuff to somebody else. It took me multiple weeks of trying to contact American Van Lines, yet nobody would get back to me. It wasn't until I was on Google Reviews and I went on there and put in a complaint on a review about it that they took the time to reach out and send me a sheet asking for what was missing. I'm still waiting on a resolution.

The driver was very unprofessional in a lot of ways the whole time when we dealt with her in both the pickup and drop-off spots. While the movers worked, she complained to us about the company she works for and her boss. She told us all this drama stuff that we didn't care to hear. Also, she had no problem contacting me back and forth, but when I reached out to her the same day as the move and let her know we were missing a large lamp and a bag that had some expensive clothing in it, she never bothered to reply. I sent her three texts that were ignored.

When we were trying to find movers, I kept reading horror stories about many different companies. I was nervous about anybody I would hire. So on one hand, I'm happy because my stuff was loaded, unloaded, and most of it got to me and when it was supposed to. However, somebody didn't pay attention and unloaded some of our stuff to somebody else. It's one of those things where I'm happy that most of our stuff was delivered, but at the same time, I'm disappointed that we had stuff missing. And some of it can't be replaced.

One of them was my wife's vintage coat which was a leather coat from the 1950s that was mint condition and it was hundreds of dollars at the time we got it. She had cloak things that are for outfits from award shows that are also gone. We had a tall standing lamp that looked like a giant moon and it would glow and it was super cool. You can't buy that anymore. Make 100% certain that you have all of your stuff before you let the driver go.

Even the truck driver was great. Sometimes I just had to communicate with him a little bit. We were moving my daughter from Columbus to another place in North Carolina, and I was making sure he had all the right contacts. When we moved in, her roommate had to be there to take it instead of my daughter. They were really good about getting me the power of attorney and all the paperwork squared away. The timing of the truck is difficult 'cause they've got multiple places to pick up and drop-off. But they kept me informed. For a bunch of busy people, American Van Lines did a great job. We have moved a lot, and I've had a couple of nightmare moves but this wasn't.

The first day, there were subcontractors that showed up in an old United Van Lines truck that was held together with duct tape and a prayer. The fellas were extremely kind. But when American sent the truck out, it was a 26-foot truck to move an estimated 14,000 pounds. That math won't work because you can only put about 7,000 pounds in a 26-foot truck. The crew that had come out were very kind guys. But when they got there, they couldn't work because they did not have the agreement finalized with American Van Lines. They stood there with their hand in their pockets for about six hours to try to get the agreement finalized.

There were 4,000 additional pounds based on their estimate compared to what the salesperson had. 18,000 pounds compared to 14,000 pounds and still only one 26-foot truck. After six hours, I spoke to the fellas. I said, "I understand. You're trying to wait. Go home, and maybe we can try and look at it tomorrow." American Van Lines' moving coordinator had said that they could not get a semi into our area. That's why they wanted to send two 26-foot trucks. That was gonna cost me an additional $1,300 to $1,500.

I have semis that go up and down our street all the time because it's a nice area, it's gated, and the places in there are decent size enough that they were smart to go ahead and make sure that there was access. I tried to explain that to the moving coordinator. I said, "You're not gonna charge me $1,500 because you don't have a semi that's available to come do this. I know why you're not sending the semis. You sent it to someplace else." She didn't say anything.

The other fellas had actually moved on. I'm pretty well connected in the industry so I reached out to the president of American Van Lines through LinkedIn and he was kind enough to give me a response. I said, "I contracted with your company and we're trying to get out of here. We're a full day behind. If you could have somebody in charge at your location reach out to me, I would appreciate it so we can come up with some sort of resolution. We've got to go. Otherwise, we're gonna be fined per day to stay in the house."

He reached out in a pretty short matter of time and he me put in contact with the vice president, who also had reached out to me in very short order. He was very apologetic. I was explaining things exactly how it occurred and he said, "I'm gonna send you my best team and they'll be there tomorrow first thing in the morning." They came first thing in the morning. It was a fantastic team. Through their estimates of moving materials compared to what was done by the salesman, once again, was off by about 4,000 pounds. They had about 4000 pounds more. They didn't have enough materials, but they got right to work.

The vice president stayed in contact with the driver and they got everything packed. They were fantastic. The driver commented to me, "I don't know who you know, but you're getting a very good deal." They did a fantastic job in taking care of that. I had a point of contact via text to that vice president. When things were delivered, they were on time. Once again, the local help that he had had were very good.

When I paid the bill at the end, I didn't pay a penny more than the original estimate. They did the right thing. Being in the industry for as many years and in a leadership position, there are many companies that would not do that. They work hard to honor the estimates as they stand. In moving, it's a rarity that somebody can estimate and say you're gonna pay $1 for the move but in the end, it may end up costing you $5. There's a bad taste left in people's mouth. With this experience here, even though we had a couple of bumps in the road, I they did a great job.

AVL is a reputable name, so I figured I was safe and the stuff was gonna be handled appropriately. And this is kind of a test run for a much larger move, and so that went well, and probably in a year and a half or so, I got a much larger move. I also recommended them to a coworker who was making a move as well.

On moving day, two hard workers came from Ukraine and did a great job. They came at 11:00-ish and they were there till 4:00. They were terrific. The only complaint I had was on their manifest, they had so many boxes. As they were counting, it seemed like there were more boxes than originally planned. Based on the number of boxes, they were charging me more. But at that point, we had no choice. They had to rewrite a contract.

Then the second issue was, they left with everything and were they gonna be able to get on our street. When they called us, they said, “There's a possibility the van can't get on your street.” But they were able to manage. However, one of the handles on one of the drawers was broken and they put tape on it. But I'd still recommend American Van Lines. They came when they said they would come.

Day prior to pickup I got a call from AVL that they were having a problem with their truck and a "sister" company would be packing and picking up the household goods. When the "sister" company arrived I was told AVL did not plan for enough packing materials and handed me a new invoice for $25,062.20. I had no choice but to accept and sign. 4 days later my house belongs to the new owner and everything in it. Bait and Switch. Delivery was a week late.

The delivery vehicle arrived at 11:30am with only a driver, no workers. He said two were coming. One came, looked the load, got in his car, and left. My son-in-law helped for two hours until he fractured his arm. There wasn't a ramp to carry things off the trailer they had to be lowered to the ground before moving. Finally the driver gets two people thru Craigs list. they arrived at 3:30pm (4 hours after the truck arrived). He was paying them $40 each to unload, unpack and place in the home. When they saw the load and saw much was going upstairs they were planning on leaving. I had to pay $250 each. 8pm the trailer is finally unloaded and the driver leaves. The workers were tired, hungry and wanted to go home. I was able to get them to come back the next day to finish the job for an additional $250 and they spent 5 hours working. Quite a few boxes were still unpacked but the items were small enough for my wife and I to do the work.

I paid American Van Lines to pack, load, deliver, unpack and place goods into the new home. I was overcharged $4,149 so a "sister" company could get a larger share of the money. I had to pay for two workers out of my pocket that was already paid for in the contract. This occurred in September 2025 and to date December 2025 American Van Lines has not made any restitution. They were contacted many times.

Eighteen hours before my scheduled move, I called for an update and was bounced between four people before being told my move was delayed by three days. After pushing back, they rescheduled and promised 3–4 movers would arrive Saturday or Sunday. The next day, I got a call at 12:30 saying movers would be there in an hour. When they arrived, the subcontractor immediately said the job was underestimated—and there were only two movers, not four. After five hours of hard work, they told me they wouldn’t load anything unless I signed an addendum for an extra $6,500. We were essentially held hostage. To make matters worse, we discovered that although the quote included packing two dressers, it didn’t include the three suitcases of clothes from those dressers. And even though we paid for packing, the boxes they packed weren’t included in the shipping cost estimates.

This felt like outright fraud. They lure you in with a great salesperson who claims box estimates are automatic and included—then trap you with hidden costs. The final cost jumped from $5,805 to $12,800—a staggering 120% increase. That’s not a small mistake—that’s a deliberate tactic. The only positive? The two subcontracted movers were professional, kind, and worked incredibly hard despite being caught in the middle of this mess. --- Bottom line: Moving is stressful enough without being exploited. This company uses misleading quotes, poor communication, and high-pressure tactics to squeeze more money out of customers. If you’re searching for a reliable moving company, avoid this one at all costs. Read the reviews, protect yourself from hidden fees, and don’t fall for the bait-and-switch.

However, I faced some challenges prior to my move. A staff member named Sabrina requested an exact inventory count last minute, which was quite stressful as I was simultaneously planning my move and purchasing a car. Eventually, I was able to get a hold of Marcio later that afternoon, and he was great about saying it would be fine. He was amazing.

On the 27th, I got a call from logistics, who said, “Your truck driver will be there tomorrow, on the 28th, at 8:00 AM," which was a full day before I had expected in that tiny little window. If I have 48 hours, and, at the last minute, they gave me 24, it was a stressful thing. There wasn't any ability to move off of the 28th, but I was able to call the driver, and the driver was accommodating. He pushed it till 3 o'clock on the 28th, which at least gave me the remainder of the day to get ready.

As far as the moving day went, the guys in the truck were excellent. They were accommodating and the delivery was shockingly fast, and it was great. They showed up on time, and they unloaded all the stuff. All of that worked out excellently.

On the moving day, the movers showed up, and they were very quick to just get started. We were able to get everything in and out super quickly. I've heard horror stories about movers, and that did make me a little bit scared. But when they showed up, I didn't even think twice the second they drove away with our stuff. I knew we were gonna get our stuff and it wasn't gonna be some crazy story that we would end up telling. So that made me feel good. The communication with them was great. The company called us multiple times leading up, just making sure we were ready to go, confirming things.

They then showed up to our new home. They got everything off the truck and unloaded and in the correct rooms. They rolled out mats so our brand new floors didn't get all dirty from their shoes. The care I felt that they had with our stuff, it was just a better experience than I could have even expected it to be. I had just told one of my coworkers about the them.

I also was missing at least one box and likely two as I unpacked. I did not find things that I know I packed, not expensive items but kitchen items that I used for baking and cooking. A few things were broken, nothing major but annoying. They were one of the better offers but customer service was lacking. The date of delivery I was given a time range to expect the movers. They were over 3 hours late and I received no calls regarding this. I was told that the driver would call with an update and time of delivery. Never happened. I did call customer service and they called the driver for an update. Then they wanted the final payment. They said the driver was in front of our house and they would not deliver until they received payment.

I looked out the window and there was no one in front of my house. Not the most honest people. Turns out they were at a gas station nearby. I tried to keep track of the boxes while being unloaded but there were 5 of them and they were not keeping track of what was delivered. The manifest I was given when loading at first home was illegible, not sure how they knew what was picked up. They were in a hurry because they had a long drive back and they were late arriving. They were not familiar with putting some things together so my husband had to assist.

My husband had to take the two beds apart because he found extra screws that they did not attach to the beds. They took videos when dismantling some of the things. Obviously they did not have the videos. They did offer me money but I had to sign a document that I would not speak of the issues upon receipt of the money. I am not selling my freedom of speech.

My customer service rep, Roman **, was just as bad. I called and emailed him constantly, and he almost never responded. When he did, the dates he gave me were 11 days later than what I had clearly stated months in advance. I also spoke to a “quality assurance” rep named Victoria, who promised to help but then disappeared too. The pickup itself was rushed and careless — the movers scratched my floors and added $1,000 to my quote because they claimed I had more stuff (even though I had provided an exact inventory).

As for delivery, it was an absolute disaster. I called every day during the delivery window, and no one could tell me where my things were. Five days into the window, they finally said it would arrive on the last possible day. Then, the night before delivery, the driver called to change the time — and the next day, he never showed up because his truck broke down six hours away. The company knew but didn’t even bother to tell me.

When my stuff finally arrived, several items were broken, including dishes and containers. American Van Lines is completely disorganized, unresponsive, and unreliable. No one takes responsibility, no one communicates, and they clearly don’t care about your belongings. Save yourself the stress — don’t use this company. Ever.

Original review: My name is Guru, I have used this service today for moving my household stuff to Florida. A** was the job number The service was top quality. The packaging was done very diligently they took enough time and make sure everything was secure and in good shape. I am very impressed at the service.

We moved from Arizona to Tennessee. We knew that it would take a couple of weeks. That's not a problem. The thing that did it for me was the lady I talked to at the beginning gave me some tips about, "It's gonna cost you $100 if they put your mattresses in a bag. Order the bag online for $10 and do it yourself. It's not that hard.” She had some mindful things to do and also told us how to pack our TV, so I wouldn’t have to pay $100 per TV to put them in a box. Also, she assured me that they don't broker their jobs out. They have their own trucks. It turned out to be a big lie. It was great until we paid our money, then it went sour from there.

The AVL rep told me, “We have our own American van, our own semis. Do you have room? Does your street have room for that big truck to come?" Yes. We waited for them to give us a date, kept pushing it like, "We don't have a driver yet. That driver is not here, but we're trying to get him." I don't know if any of it was true. It took a couple weeks for somebody to finally get there. Fortunately, they said, "We're gonna do this really fast," because we had flown from Tennessee back to Arizona to pack up our house. We had a flight leaving in two days and we didn't know when they were coming. That finally happened and we were able to get out. But what showed up was a 36-foot unmarked white truck. One of the men didn't speak English. They were the better part of things because they packed our stuff with so much care. They got every bit of it on that truck.

However, that wasn't the AVL truck that we were told we would get so it would be a one stop and then on the way to Tennessee. It was scary when they just drove off. Nobody could tell us where it would go. It went backwards to somewhere on the border between Arizona and California, which is not going east. And it went to a warehouse for three weeks. That truck got unpacked. All that nice packing that we sat there and watched them do, the careful wrapping of a blanket, got all undone. It went and sat in some warehouse in the desert of Arizona, California border for three weeks.

There were excuses, "There was this. We don't know." No return phone calls. Everything was great communication until they got our stuff and got our money. It was interesting how all the communication stopped. They finally said, "We've got a driver. He's been delayed, but we're gonna get him hopefully this weekend." Four weeks later, our stuff arrived. It was not an AVL truck. Our stuff was crammed on there. It was slammed in the back. I didn't know they even had side doors. The rest of it was shoved in the side. The driver said, "They just dumped this on me. I had to find room. We just had to get it on there." I said, "It did not come off the way that it was packed."

We had a bedroom set headboard that was broken. My husband had diecast cars that were his dad's that I put in a display box. That came up missing. My studio backdrop kit never made it. Every time I turned around, there was something that didn't make it. It's pointless to try and make any claims because AVL gives such a small amount of compensation because it's based on weight. My Keurig coffee maker was broken. But how much does that weigh compared to what it's gonna cost to replace it? AVL will not do anything.

I called three times. I sent emails. I gave them a list of some of the things that we found were broken. No responses back. It wasn't worth my time. They said, "You have nine months to do this." I said I don't wanna go there. The stuff that was broken, I don't care about as much as the stuff that didn't show up. A couple of big things were the hard part. "We'll check on that." Never heard anything back.

The price was the only good part. They had up the price. When we did our contract, I was in Tennessee and going by the list in memory of everything because I do it by weight. They had given us a flat rate. But when we got to Arizona, I called them and said, ""There's things I forgot."" So, we made a new list. They gave me a new price, which wasn't a lot more. But when it came back to the final charges, it was back to the price. It was a little over $5,000, which was crazy.

I was under the impression that everything that I had would be packed and moved into the vehicle. So, I packed some things except the furniture, and when the crew arrived, there was some confusion about what was to be packed or not. They informed me there was an extra charge for packing the mattress, for this, that, and the other. So, there were just a lot of little things that I thought we had hashed out in that first meeting, and there was just a lot more.

The one thing that didn't go well with the packers is that I had specifically instructed them not to touch some suitcases and travel gear that was intended for my cross-country drive. But they actually packed all that away, and I didn't realize until later that night. So, the next day, I had to go find the guy at 8:00AM in the middle of Hollywood and started off late because of that.

And the last issue was it was not immediately made clear to me that the second payment was due as they were dropping my stuff off, so they showed up asking for the second payment, which is a lot of money, and I didn't have it on me. I was under the impression that the second payment happened after the move was complete, which, to me, meant after the stuff got moved into the apartment. And it wasn’t the workers' fault because they were following instructions. But it felt like all my stuff was being held hostage until I made the second payment, so I had to talk to some people so that I could make that payment.

We moved from Knoxville to Greenville, South Carolina, and they had to keep our furniture for three weeks since we were unhoused for a bit. The movers were very nice on both ends, helping us get the furniture out of the old house and into the new one. It couldn’t have been more pleasant. I was very pleased with American Van Lines.

I was very unhappy about the delivery day. Originally, I wanted them to deliver my stuff on the 18th of July because that was the day after I closed on the house that I bought. But I couldn’t get into the house then, so I wanted to wait and have it delivered when the house was actually ready from the painting and the inside work that I wanted to do. They said they’d have to put stuff in storage, and that was gonna cost me another $4,000. I decided to have them deliver, and that meant not getting the carpets cleaned and the inside painted. Some carpets were wet, so I couldn’t have them move anything into the house except my bed. I had to move everything by myself from the garage to wherever it went in the house. They could have waited a couple of days to do the delivery.

When we started unpacking the boxes, there was just so much stuff, so many boxes that were underpacked. There were so many boxes that were double-boxed. They would take a box and cut off the top half of it and attach it to another box. It didn't seem like it was done to protect items. It seemed like it was done to just use more boxes. He took advantage of me. I would not trust them again and I would not recommend them to my friends.

During that time, there was absolutely no communication. I had no idea where any of my stuff was. When it was finally delivered, the gentleman was very nice, and everything was there with nothing broken. That part was fine, but unfortunately, everything else was horrible.

The regular American Van Lines crew that was there pulled me to the side and asked me if I wanted them to make him leave. I said no. Regardless of how he treated me and acted like that, I wanted him to finish out his job and get his pay. American Van Lines was not happy with what happened, so they contacted the company they got him from and let them know what happened. They were backing me up if any issues come along, and they did good on their part. They were a little late, though, on the delivery. We had to wait at our new place, and stayed there for 2.5 weeks with no furniture. We didn’t like that part, but I know they get busy, too.