American Van Lines Reviews

Other than that, the cost of their service was fair and the two guys who put the furniture in moved fast. In the end, some of my stuff broke and I had partial rips on things. But I don't know if that happened when they brought my things in because they moved my stuff from a truck to a warehouse, from a warehouse to another truck, then finally I got them on another truck. So the stuff had been moved several times. But that was a chance I had to take because I didn't have enough furniture for a full truck, so my stuff had to sit in Dallas.

Our movers came. They got all our stuff. Some of them nickel and dime you. We were so nervous because we changed a few things. We were supposed to take two bedrooms. We ended up only taking one because we decided to sell the bed to the new owners, and it all worked out. I've had movers deny me or say no or double the price when they got there, and none of that existed. They were great. I felt bad for them because they were like, “Oh, my God. I can't breathe up here.” Our elevation was 8,000 feet, but that didn't stop them. They just kept going. I got water and asked them if they needed anything.

The total move took about four hours loading and two hours unloading. They started in Conifer, Texas on February 14th. It was Wednesday and they had all of our stuff delivered to us on Saturday the 17th. The quote was great. It was accurate. We didn't have to pay anything else. And during the quoting process, I had gotten a text from the time I inquired to the time I got on the phone with the quote, and it said, “We are having a special right now on your route, up to 67% off.” So, I called and I did the whole thing, and the quote was almost double. I told them about the text, and the rep said, “Oh, I didn't know you got that.” He came back and the price dropped about half. It met our budget. The rep said, “Yeah, we're gonna honor it.” So, it made it affordable for us. Without that, we wouldn't have been able to do it.

The moving crew was great. In Connecticut, they loaded my stuff carefully and swiftly. They were very friendly and answered all my questions. One guy drove the truck down and he was here to unload it and they did it exactly the way I wanted it to. So, there were no problems. They were efficient and trustworthy, and they did what they said they were going to do. American Van Lines may have been a little bit more expensive than I wanted to pay, but they came with good recommendations.

I had done these moves 15 times in my life. Nothing special. So, we just had AVL go through that, but they kept pushing back the date when they were coming over. And when they came over, they added an extra cost even though we had told them what we wanted done. And it took them over three weeks to get our stuff to our new place.

The crew that came to pack it and move it on the truck were fine. They were subcontracted. The guys loaded and unloaded the stuff were good. But I wouldn't use AVL because of the inability to get in touch with them, the additional cost that we added on, and the lag time on both ends of it. Also, our quote changed from 11,000 to 20,000 because we told them that we needed it packed. And for some reason, it cost $9,000 to pack it. They just added that cost on. And we told them that we needed packing. So, that was not part of the original quote. We were 9,000 over what we expected.

Original Review: March 19, 2024

Delisa, who works for American Van Lines, was the only one who helped me and she was excellent. The three guys came here with the wrong truck and furniture from somebody from Illinois. They promised us boxes for the lamps. But I had to put the lamps in with the wardrobe and my lamps were broken and bent out. It was a mess. The clothes were all messed up with the lamps. It wasn't a white-glove like they told us when the guy came here in the beginning. We had to wait four extra days to get our furniture and we had to leave the dog.

Original Review: March 17, 2024

We scheduled our long distance move months ago and paid 50% down. American Van Lines assigned us a moving coordinator who would make this process easy. She has never called me and doesn't respond to my emails. I am the one who must always initiate contact and when I ask her questions, she says she'll call me back when she has more information. So, I called her 3 days before our scheduled move and she verbally confirmed the truck would arrive today between 8 am and 11 am. Today is Sunday. No one arrived - no one answers the phone, not even the emergency number listed on the website. To top matters off we paid an additional $500+ for a 3rd party to crate and pack our big screen TV, and they have not shown up either - radio silence on that front as well. I'm so disappointed because I chose AVL because of their positive ratings.

Original Review: March 7, 2024

Another one of those cheats and fraudulent companies that you do not want to engage for any of your relocation moving needs. We moved from St. Louis area to Texas and had a horrible experience with move coordinator calling me (a customer) with "F" word while discussing why I need to pay more because despite having given them pictures of my bed (having both headboard and footboard) they denied it was not written in the quote that way. Again they mentioned they will be disconnecting my washer and dryer and reconnecting them in the destination and then the drive that shows up denies that and the moving coordinator argues they never perform those services though they charged me for those services.

Please be hawk while reading the quote as American Van Lines will start interpreting the quote in their own way once you sign and pay them the deposit. I will advise every friend and my network to never use this fraud organization. Again if you don't want to be abused by moving coordinators please do not hire American Van Lines. Recent move with American van lines only 3 weeks back from 3/7/2024.

Original Review: Feb. 20, 2024

American Van Lines is a nightmare. We hired American Van Lines thinking they were a national top moving company. We scheduled the move with them a month in advance. A few days prior to the move, they told us they didn't have enough trucks so they were going to use a partner truck. They told us the truck would be arriving Dec 18th. We woke up at the earliest agreed upon time and they never showed up that day, we tried calling them multiple times with no response until late in the day someone told us there was an issue with the truck and they would get us a truck the next day. We scrambled and were charged additional days rent.

The next morning a “Budget” rental truck showed up with a local moving company. We could have saved money just hiring local ourselves. The movers then spent over 2 hours arguing over what items we had to move, removing items from packed boxes and counting both the items and the boxes as things they were moving, double counting and charging us more. American Van Lines and the movers told us they wouldn't load the truck unless we signed the new quote that was now over $2000 higher than our original price. They backed us into a corner where we had no choice but to accept their terms or lose more money and time on booked hotels and problems with delivering appliances over the holidays.

The movers took over 12 hours to move a 900 square foot home. We told them not to put our nightstands upside down. They purposely did it anyways and one nightstand arrived looking like they beat it with a hammer. They put items on top of our couch, breaking the couch interior and our couch squeaks now. They loaded the truck with our belongings and someone else's belongings touching!! My wife had told them in the initial conversation she didn't want anyone else's stuff in the truck due to her allergies and cleanliness. They unloaded the truck items directly into the snow. When unloading items, they slit our allergy mattress covers and there are slit marks in the couch as well. Multiple furniture items including our crib were not wrapped in blankets or bubble wrap or with any protection. The crib which looked new before has scratches and marks now. We had some antique family furniture that has cracks in the wood now after the move.

On both ends of the move, the movers mainly spoke to each other in Russian so we wouldn't understand what they were saying. We were told as part of our price the movers would assemble all furniture and put boxes in the correct rooms. They told us they did everything and left. The next morning we found multiple shelving units that were hidden in the back of rooms not assembled. We realized that at some point they had started shoving the majority of boxes into one room regardless of the label on the box.

One of the reasons we hired professional movers was because my wife had medical issues and was not supposed to lift things. In moving the items they left haphazardly around the house she reinjured herself and has spent time in physical therapy. We tried for weeks to resolve over the phone. They would always claim they would call us back. Weeks later we would get a call asking if the issue was resolved. They would claim to have left calls or voicemails during the week which never actually occurred. There was zero honesty, transparency, or communication during our entire experience with American Van Lines. They negated the cost and efficiency of hiring professional movers by contracting out the move to the cheapest bidder.

A separate truck came the next day to retrieve our remaining items which added several $k to our original quote (it was still significantly less than the other moving companies). While the first load went directly to our new home and arrived safely and in a very reasonable time, at this time we do not have a solid date as to when the remaining items will arrive since they are currently in storage to be loaded into another truck with space headed that way. The items remaining are not time critical but clearly there is more chance of loosing things in this situation.

The moving coordinator was good. That part was a good experience. The driver was very friendly. He was a very nice guy. But I think they ought to do a better job in making sure the customer's items are all delivered to the customer because there are certainly some things that I did not get. I would suggest that the customers count every box that they have picked up. I didn't count all the boxes that I packed. If you have say for instance, 60 boxes, then when it's delivered to your final destination, make sure you have all 60 boxes. So, that's the error that I made. I didn't count all my boxes, and I lost some items.

Original Review: Dec. 11, 2023

The initial experience prior to the actual move was satisfactory. I was told however that AVL used their own employees for the move, unlike other movers. The day of the move was a disaster. Only the driver was an AVL employee. All the actual movers were daily contract workers. Some left before starting and more had to be secured. The driver did not bring any packing materials (they sent me out to buy boxes, etc). At the final destination, all movers were AVL employees (they were actually good) and they agreed that the movers at origin had no idea what they were doing, resulting in broken items, missing items, etc. I paid more to go with a national firm, thinking that it was safer. If I were to do it over again, I would stick with a local firm. It would cheaper with the same amount (or less) risk.

I was amazed by the movers. I let them know when they delivered the goods. So, I appreciated how hard they worked and how they handled the furniture, came in and set them up and asked me where I wanted things to be placed. So, they were very efficient. The man who did the intake was excellent. He asked me to tell him the items and estimated the size and each room. He had me walk through each room, naming the items that were going to be moved, and how many pieces and when they would be picked up, et cetera, and explained the whole process to me while I had him on the phone.

Also, a few items were left behind, still in New York, but we never complained about the items. So, that's not their fault because we didn't let them know that some things didn't come to us.

It's expensive, but AVL worked with us to make sure that it was accurate, that we didn't book more space than we needed or too little space and getting a nasty surprise at the end. The inventory process was helpful. It made us be more honest with ourselves about how much stuff we had to move. It was worth what we paid.

The driver only took a break to eat lunch but the Wisconsin crew could have been a little better. They took a lot of breaks. But the ones in Georgia had everything unloaded quickly to the rooms where I wanted it. They communicated well. They didn't take nearly as many breaks as the ones up in Wisconsin did. I highly recommend American Van Lines. Not only was everybody professional and great to work with, but everything arrived in one piece. Nothing was stolen or broken, and it was reasonably priced.

There were ridiculous requests like, "Can you guarantee that an 18-wheeler could fit in your neighborhood?" I thought it would be fine in my new neighborhood. But we weren't there. It was a cross-country trip. I couldn't say how low the branches on the trees were. And they insisted that we have this absurd window that was impossible where the pick-up window was three days. But the drop-off window started the second the pick-up window ended. You have to book plane tickets or drive cross country. And not possible to be there for the last day of the window and for the last day or the day after the last day of the window. And the guy I worked with seemed to read off a script.

They ended up telling us a bit ahead of time when they were coming. But it changed. They came late. They wanted to come later. That wasn't okay. They wanted to put it up over two days. The packing up of the truck was also not okay. And then when they left, they said, "I'll be there in a couple days." Not true. If we had known that, we would have painted our house before the moving truck came. But we thought they would get here soon. So, we had over a week of killing time waiting for them, staying at one Airbnb, and the next with family.

In the meantime, I had been working with a woman named Kiara at the office. She sent me an email that says, "I will be managing your move." I kept asking her about the boxes. We also had some crating to be done. The crating company was moved twice. Finally, we got one crating company that finally came out and crated a painting. Every time I called her to clarify on the move and on the dates, I was transferred to her, then somebody else would come on and say, "Well, she's busy right now. She'll call you back." She would never call back. The only time that she made contact with me was to make sure that I had a bill and that I was paying my bills so we could just move.

We had the same mover five years ago. So, that was really good. We got treated really well. But there was nobody following up on the crating. So, instead of calling American Van Lines, which is customer no service useless, I found a number for the person who was crating at the company. They said, "Oh, we never received a notice that you were there. Otherwise, we would have sent somebody out." That was two weeks. There was no follow-up. We paid $339 for the crating. We went ahead and uncrated it ourselves. Hopefully, not do any damage to the painting.

In the meantime, because of all the issues we had with them, American Van Lines gave us the $350 credit because they realized how badly they messed up our service. American Van Lines moved us from California to Florida five years ago and they were great and that was the local company out of Rohnert Park. The company moving us out of Florida, once you get through the initial customer service, they transfer you to whoever is working the specific account and that's where everything gets bogged up.

They gave us an initial quote for $10,000. But the sales guy underestimated the cost of the material. When the trucker got there, he had to re-estimate, and it cost us $3,000 more. Thank God that we could afford that. The sales guy reminded me of one of these salesmen who talks fast, treats you really well, and promises you everything but doesn't deliver. Also, American Van Lines don't return calls. They transfer people and say, "Oh, she's with another customer." If she's with another customer, then I understand that she'll call back. But three days later, there was no call back.

The planning of the move was a little difficult but the team that came to do the move was very good. They were very fast. I had packed all the boxes. So, that was quite a challenging thing. They just needed to take apart some furniture but they did an excellent job and did it in three hours. I was very impressed. American Van Lines did a good job for me.

Depending on how far in advance you do it, they'll call you every week or two to see if anything's changed, is there something they need to add, or something they need to take off. Once the time comes for the move, they'll call you the night before again to do a final checklist, and then to tell you approximately what time you could expect their vans to show up to move you.

The movers came in and did what they had to do. They took off stuff and disassembled furniture so it could fit, and then put it back together again. They were very nice guys. They were very professional and polite. Everything was very good. I had a good experience. Hopefully, I don't have to move any time soon. But if I ever do, I will use them again.

It was a three-day window for pick-up, and on the day before the last day of the move, I couldn't get in contact with anybody. Nobody was giving me calls for updates. The last day for moving was a Saturday. On Friday at 5:00 p.m., I got a call saying, “Hey, we're not gonna get to you by Saturday,” with no previous notice at the end of the day. I scheduled with my landlord that that was the last day I would move in. So I told American Van Lines, “No. I can’t do it because my landlord won’t let me.” The rep said, “Well, we won't get to you, so you have to move it.” On the day, I desperately called my landlord and they said, “Okay. You can move out by Sunday.” Then I called back the moving coordinator and said that I could push it a day past the three-day period. They told me, “Yeah. So, we actually can't get to you either. It will be next week.” At this point, I was losing my mind.

American Van Lines told me that they could come either on Monday to Thursday. But I told them that I couldn't do that. They initially said that they could just give me a refund. I told them, “Okay. Well, if you do that, then I have no option, no other company that will give me a day. Completely screwed." After a while, they came back and seemed to work out a deal with some of the drivers. They figured out that they could come on Tuesday morning.

I called my landlord, begging for them to let me keep my stuff until Tuesday. Then I was going somewhere else because I had to put all of my stuff in one single room so they could still move in their stuff since they were in a timeline as well. I couldn't sleep there and I had to crash with a friend. Then the landlord asked me, “Well, okay. There's gonna be the move-out delay fee.” I sent the invoice to American Van Lines and they covered less than half of it. So I had to eat up additional cost that was totally not my fault.

I requested multiple times setting up the move that a box be put in place for a very expensive large TV that we have. A box was never brought in and they just wrapped it in blankets. Thankfully, the TV was not broken but that was unacceptable as that was my biggest concern setting up the move, and I was assured that they would bring a box. And secondly, when the movers were packing our house in Key West, they placed blue plastic wrapping paper for the boxes on our stove. They were playing music loudly in the house and the stovetop dinged because they hit the knob to turn it on, being an electric stove cooktop. And the kitchen started smoking. It seared the plastic onto our glass cooktop and ruined the stove, which was almost $2,000. As we're trying to sell the house, we're having to replace that stove for the next buyer.

When I was able to talk to a live person, everything went great and my questions were answered. And so far, everything's been resolved, just pending this claim for the cooktop. The pickup was on time but the delivery was 30 minutes late from the window I was given, but that was due to Dallas traffic. I was charged though almost $1,000 extra for a smaller pickup vehicle because an 18-wheeler wouldn't fit in any of the communities in Key West the way they're set up.

They sometimes do pickup or delivery on the weekend, which is fine...except that they don’t have any customer service agents available on the weekend. Even the third party contractors who were delivering our belongings could not reach anyone for assistance.

Their payment system is very clunky. Firstly, some payments went to American Van Lines, and others went directly to the third-party moving contractor. Then, it took several attempts to get a final invoice with the total charges. Finally, the total amount paid was not in alignment with what should have been charged. We showed several people the discrepancy between the amount charged and the amount paid. They revised the invoice with a “miscellaneous fee” in the amount of overpayment. They were clearly just making things up and refused to refund us. Scheduling windows were very long. They only showed up at the end of the window and had to stay longer than anticipated. We almost weren’t out of our house in time due to their mismanagement.

The only reason I'm not giving 1 star is because the movers were polite, efficient, and actually communicated with me. The driver who dropped off my stuff contacted me before the company itself did. I was told my delivery window was between July 29th and August 20th, but somewhere along the line they changed it to August 1st to 28th without telling me. I only found out cause I asked my last rep why she said my stuff would be delivered outside my window (on the 22nd). She got very confused and that's when I found out what happened.

I did say that the 10th was the earliest it could be delivered and asked if they needed a different pick-up date to make it work, but my rep said it was fine as is. Obviously that was a lie. And what did I get as an apology for the late delivery? $60 off a $5,000 move. I'd rather drag my stuff halfway across the country on a wooden sled than even get a quote from these guys ever again. Apologies for the scattered review, I'm still very livid over this and so much happened with them.

But other than that, I was really happy with my experience and I told other people about it, because when you say you want to move, you got a million people telling you that once you put that online, it's going to be horrible. Everybody would call, text, and email you. But I was so impressed with American Van Lines. I got a good price from them while the price of some of the companies were twice as much.

During the actual move, the crew called me to confirm the appointment and they called me when they were on their way. They arrived, prepped everything, told me what they needed, what was going on, and at the end, I gave them the money. The insurance coverage was not very good but the movers were reliable. I told them what to do, especially with paintings and the designer furniture. So they wrapped everything in blankets and I did not have a need for additional insurance. All in all, it was a completely smooth process, which is not very likely if you select a mover here in Florida.

The movers showed up on time, and they worked tirelessly through the rain that entire day to get us loaded. Once everything was loaded, it took weeks. The timeline was delayed. We moved from California to North Carolina and we were not informed that the driver and his crew moved multiple other people. Our load was on a truck that was not full, and they moved other people as they drove across the United States.

We called the dispatch person that we were given nearly every day of our move, because we were driving across the country as well, to get a final delivery date, and it kept getting moved out. In fact, we ended up having to rent an Airbnb for over a week before our furniture was finally delivered to the destination. The three-man crew worked tirelessly again, to get us loaded up, to work around any problems that might have come up on loading and unloading. They were devoted. It's just communication-wise, our experience was terrible after the guy who did the estimate. It was frustrating. The planning and communications were very poorly handled.

We lived on a cul-de-sac and we had two 18-wheelers in the cul-de-sac because one was being loaded to go to Colorado to my son and daughter-in-law and one was being loaded to come to our home in Florida. In Florida, there were three stops here, and everything got off like it was supposed to. It was a busy day. There was a lot of activity going on and that was somewhat stressful, but it went pretty smoothly.

I was impressed by the movers' productivity. Some of the boxes were heavy and they were able to handle them well with no damage. They did a great job. They packed everything well and there were no additional charges, which was great. I would highly recommend American Van Lines. I was very happy with the people that were there helping me, and everything got delivered as it was supposed to and on time. I couldn't be happier.

Most frustrating about this situation was that their dispatching and “move management” team was completely clueless and wholly unhelpful throughout the ordeal and failed to address the situation in a timely manner, even though the issues were reported in real time, both by us and their moving crew. Brian **, who sold us the move package, was out of office during those two days (no prior notice to us), and did not provide the details of a person covering for him during his absence. Our repeated attempts to get in touch with a decision maker went unanswered.

The damages caused by their negligence were substantial. We never received an explanation, apology or compensation for our trouble. The only thing that was offered to us was a $350 payment if we agreed to sign a non-disparagement agreement. The fact that they have someone ready to offer these documents indicates to me that they do this ALL THE TIME! Find a trustworthy and reliable moving company - American Van Lines is not it.

Original Review: June 23, 2023

I got an estimate from AVL for my move for around 4600$ which was lower than the same day delivery with full packaging around 7500$ from other companies but the issue was that my items will go into storage and the pick up and delivery windows were wide. I agreed to these terms. They had a video tour and each item was specifically listed. In the end on the day of pick up, the movers came in and said that our boxes are larger and the price will be different. I said that's fine but they ended up changing the price all the say to 7500$ which is the same price as moving with a same day deliver and including packing. Of note I did all of the packing and they only packed the larger items including sofas. Very unprofessional and bad experience. They gave me the option to leave the items now or go with the move at "double the price".

Original Review: June 21, 2023

This company has been an absolute nightmare to work with! The main issues have been poor communication, hoarding my items for over 3 weeks and delivering past the delivery window, and broken belongings. I called numerous times to find out what the delay was with delivering my items and even left multiple messages. Finally, one person, a week after calling, was able to get a hold of BLVD (the actual company who moved and delivered my items) and was still not told why the delay was occurring but when to expect the delivery which was outside the delivery window. I now have to file claims which they have not been helpful with as well. This company is not worth the headache and recommend finding a better and more professional moving company.

Original Review: June 5, 2023

This is the WORST move from state to state I have ever experienced. THEY GAVE OUT MY PERSONAL INFORMATION! (The movers told a stranger who asked where I was moving.) Please do not go with this company as I have used others and it’s well worth the money to go with them- Jk movers. There is absolutely no internal communication, I was given three separate pick up dates outside my window. I emailed 7 times before I got a response and it was always from someone besides my assigned rep. The movers broke an item and I had to clean it up, they left a mess in my driveway and then they gave less than 12 hours notice for my delivery on a holiday. I have to send another 5 emails before anyone would give me a supervisor, when they did I was assured one would call- NO CAll.

When I did speak with one she promised an email with her information and a call the next day- NO CALL OR EMAIL. Again, I had to email until finally a call back from a lady who was not a supervisor saying she had no idea why she needed to call me and they offered a SMALL amount of money and I needed to sign. No thank you, that was an absolute insult after what I went through. I will continue to post about this experience and hope to save more people from this horribly ran company.

I had to argue just to get the charges removed. Worst part, is having items stolen from me. They have criminals working for them and being that I didn't get a reply from company, just proves higher ups are worse than the thieving workers they have since they condone what the workers do. Spent $500 tipping movers to find out they stole from me.

Original Review: April 27, 2023

I wish I could give zero stars, but then THIS SITE doesn't let me, and this is a story that needs to be out in the open. Please don't give them business, you'll get cheated. The worst moving experience anyone could ever have! Like all cheats, they play nice in the beginning, and then everything goes to hell! Here's the experience: The move was from Austin to Jersey City in September 2022. Packing and Pickup - this thug looks to hustle (cheat) you. Now, there is this list that we've reviewed and finalized with American Van Lines over multiple iterations and with revisions, all to make sure there is no lack of clarity. We've even opted for insurance to protect the value of our furniture and other stuff they're moving! Payments are of course all made in advance, seems like you've paid to suffer, and get your money's worth!

The movers quickly pack furniture that you tell them to not touch since it isn't covered, and refuse to pick up stuff that we've specifically agreed with AVL and paid for. It's not offloaded when you ask them to do so. We've given estimates of boxes we will need to move our clothes and personal effects, but all of that is disregarded. We ask for 30 boxes and for packing material for fragile expensive items - we are told the movers won't pick up anything more than 10 boxes unless we fork out more money, and the "fragile packing material" is just packing paper, not bubble wrap like we were told when making the order. We are helpless since they've loaded all the furniture they packed in the truck and threaten to leave it on the street if we don't comply - not return it where it was, but leave it on the street.

We're then told they will charge us by weight (even for what you asked them not to pick up and they did) even after they give an estimate, but don't do the weighing in your presence - you can't go along to review the weighing process - you have to trust those that definitely haven't earned it through the packing and pick-up process. Under duress, on account of AVL not complying with agreed contractual terms, and threatened with dire consequences of having all your furniture and stuff on the street unless you pay more money, you comply.

Drop off - The building we are in allows wide load trucks to enter, but we are told that the driver isn't capable of driving the large truck to our location, and so we have to pay for them to get a U-haul. A truck that is not a u-haul arrives with our stuff. There's damage to about 50% of our stuff, broken computer monitors, missing items and boxes. We are told to make an insurance claim. They do not refund for items clearly agreed to be transported, unless you make a claim(!). We thank the gods for having opted to purchase insurance.

Insurance Claim: We've sent a detailed email with pictures and videos. We've listed what items were never brought by AVL. We get an acknowledgment email seeking 90-120 days after the claim to compensate us - the fine print requires us to submit an insurance claim form for the 90-120 days period to kick in, and says AVL would send this form separately.

We follow up 90 days later asking for claim status, and we are sent a claim form asking us to fill this up. I've seen and heard of loads of folks getting penalized for not reading the fine print, but have never seen the person whose fine print it is not bothering to comply with what they say they would, and is a necessary first step for us to comply with the fine print.

Latest status - the claim form requires us to perform appraisals of the value of furniture at the time of transportation, obtain estimates for repair, and 300 other things to MAKE A CLAIM, that one will not be able to do in one lifetime. We are frustratedly working on this as I write this review, when I'm hit with the realization that I don't want my worst enemies to go through this pain and suffering - hence the detailed review.

We had to get of the house that weekend as the new owners are taking possession of the house. You can imagine we scrambled and called a ton of moving companies, most of whom, of course, could not do the move as it is short notice. We lucked into a local partner of Mayflower who took care of our move ASAP. Also, they came up with an estimate of total pounds for our move without sending anyone to review our house?!?! What a joke. If I can give me a ZERO star review, I would have. DO NOT DEAL with American Van Lines.

On pick-up day, I woke up at 5:30a, to pack up my bedding and the items that I needed for my last night’s sleep in my place. At 8a, I took my dogs to doggy daycare ($60 fee) so that they wouldn’t be in the movers' way. I waited...and waited and waited. At 11:40a I called American Van Lines to check on the status of the truck. After speaking to someone very briefly, I was then put on hold for 20 minutes, then a RUDE and extremely dismissive representative picked up the call saying “Can I help you?” – I explained the situation and said that I thought someone was trying to get me in touch with Frank and the boy said “Frank doesn’t work on Saturdays”. He said "the movers are unable to unload their current delivery that day and will come on Sunday evening instead" and that there was nothing I could do about it & that was my only option.

Again, NO APOLOGY for this inconvenience. This person acted pissed off at ME. He was snide and bitchy. He never apologized for the inconvenience they put me in. He made me feel like I was a burden TO HIM. What the heck am I paying this company to do then?? AVL's dispatchers couldn't call ME and give me the update about the truck's arrival?

When I finally did hear from Frank on Monday morning, he was completely unaware of the fiasco that had occurred over the weekend, he sounded apologetic and said he’d be back in touch with me the next day (Tuesday 1/30). I did not hear back from Frank until Friday 2/3. On that call he told me that he’d call me on Tuesday 2/7 with an update on the delivery of my things. At 7pm Saturday evening (2/4), the movers called me telling me that they would be delivering my things the next morning – Sunday 2/5. Are you kidding me!?! I had plans to go out of town with my family for the day and those plans had to be canceled at the VERY LAST minute.

Honestly, the communication was lacking after American Van Lines received the initial payment but after the move was set in motion, I was treated like garbage. I felt like I was held hostage. Before the movers would unload the truck, they said I had to pay the remaining balance. NO ONE from American Van Lines called me about this payment. A dispatcher from the moving company took my final payment over the phone. I don’t have ANY idea who that person was – or where is my CC information is now either. Was that a licensed and insured company – WHO KNOWS?! I still haven’t heard from America Van Lines. I am incredibly annoyed and will be certain that everyone I know hears what an awful experience I had too. *The movers who did arrive Sunday evening were efficient and friendly and the only positive part of this whole ordeal.

Pick up day was Christmas eve and I was not able to watch their every step. The first thing Igor did was a walk around to assess our property. He said it looked like I was a couple items over and he would have to send me a new contract. The price on the new contract was significantly higher than my estimate, but I was repeatedly told by Igor to ignore it because it would go back down when American Van lines took possession of my items. I was also told that they would not move anything until I signed the new contract. Based on my previous conversations with American Van lines and the fact that I was backed into a corner and needed my stuff to be moved that day, I signed the new contract.

A few days later, I was finally able to sit down and go through the new contract I was sent. There was a whole section label "additional household items", but most of the things listed, I didn't even own. I spoke to my moving coordinator Niyah and explained the discrepancies I had found. She said since I signed there was nothing she could do. I explained the situation I was put through on moving day and the information I was given during multiple conversations I had had with American Van lines prior to move. She kept repeating that there was nothing she could do. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told no one was available.

Niyah, sent me the itemized list of what was put on the truck. I pointed out that the additional items I supposedly had were not present on my list of possessions that went into the truck. At this point some other woman got on the phone claiming that she was a supervisor and had been listening to our conversation the whole time. Weird. Anyways, she was the first person, 5 days after they had possession of everything I own, to tell me that I was in a contract for a specific number of items to move and if I exceeded that number even by a pencil, American Van lines could void our original estimate and charge me by weight. This was never told to me in all the conversations I had with American Van lines about would could possible affect my final balance.

She also reiterated that since I had signed the new contract, I owed the new price. I told her that I only signed the new contract because Igor and his crew were refusing to move anything until I signed it and I needed my stuff out. I wasn't given any other option, but to sign it or not get moved. This is when she told me that wasn't true, but that they still would've had to move all my possessions on my original estimate if I had refuse to sign the new paperwork. I told her that was really important information for me to have and no one from her company told me, not even when I received the call that I was being outsourced to another company. I would think they'd want their customers to have all the information needed for a smooth transition of companies.

I asked to speak to a manager above her and was told no one was available. I asked that someone call me back as soon as possible. No one called me back. My stuff was supposed to have arrived on Jan 3 at the latest. At 430 on Jan 2, I received a call that my stuff was delayed and I would be called again tomorrow. It wasn't until we called on Jan 5th and demanded that we know where our stuff was and when it would be delivered that we finally started getting answers, only they weren't from American Van lines. Unlike what we were repeatedly told, American Van lines never took possession of our items, their sister company was doing our entire move!

They finally arrived Jan. 7th, four days late. The driver demanded we pay the full amount of the falsified estimate. I told them that I only had what I had originally agreed to with American Van lines. It was a $4000 difference in price. They refused to deliver our stuff. The cops came and told them they should accept the agreed upon amount, deliver our stuff and let us finish the dispute with the company. They again refused. Our stuff was not delivered.

On Jan 9th, I received a call from American Van lines customer service manager, Ken. His compromise for the situation was that we pay the full amount upfront and if they found discrepancies, they would issue me a refund later. I told him that their company should front the difference and if later on they found discrepancies they could charge me. He said they could not do that. I told him that I did not have an extra $4000 laying around and couldn't pay them even if I wanted to and the fact that they are holding hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of my goods for $4000 was extremely off balance.

This is when he informed me that due to our stuff not being delivered, it was being stored for a fee of over $6000! I told him I would be seeking legal counsel and I'm in the process of doing that. Refusing to temporarily take a $4000 loss until issues were settled, but then turning around and spending over $6000 on storing my possessions sounds like really bad math to me. They currently have everything I own and are holding it as collateral to force me to pay what they want.

I asked the company not to deliver on a specific date because I was out of town. They initially said this wouldn't be a problem to accommodate. However, They moved dates four times, each time cancelling with hours to spare or even during the moving window. Eventually, they wanted to schedule the delivery on dates that I was not available. They had zero flexibility on this, suggesting either I pay thousands for storage or I assign power of attorney to the manager of my storage unit (a stranger essentially) to accept delivery.

I expressed dissatisfaction and they offered me $200 dollars in "compensation". Keep in mind I am paying close to $7,000 for this move. The pitiful compensation offer came with strings attached and they would only offer it if I agreed to terms that would prevent me from suing them if my move was delayed and/or my items were damaged. The compensation agreement stated that I would only be able to seek damages via a claim to their company. At this stage I had not even received my items, let alone determined if they were damaged, so I rejected their compensation agreement.

Ultimately, I was able to find someone to accept delivery on my behalf and they cancelled again. This time it was the last day of the contracted delivery window. Day of delivery the driver decided he could not deliver with his 18 wheeler, despite not even visiting the property. The property regularly fits 18 wheelers and has space to turn the truck around. The customer service made no attempts to call the property and confirm, instead requiring I pay an additional $635 dollars or risk paying thousands of more dollars for them to hold my items in storage. Driver also tells my contact not to show up at the delivery. I tell my contact to show up and supervise the delivery. Turns out that my most expensive items were destroyed and one didn't even make it onto the truck. If we hadn't shown up, I don't believe we would have learned of our damaged items

LESSONS LEARNED. Do not agree to delivery dates that you cannot attend to (my fault) because they will make no effort to accommodate your schedule. Instead, clear your calendar for the entire window and expect to be inconvenienced multiple times. They will only compensate your items at $0.60 per pound. Think about that... Their compensation for inconveniences is not a refund, it is an agreement that prevents you from seeking damages in small claims court. Their customer service is terrible. There is no service to the customer. They have clearly structured their customer service program to protect or increasing the company's revenue.

We were told one day for arrival at the new home, they were there the next day. Before this things were strange but now, it gets worse. In the dead of night the driver calls and I have to go get him, cold and raining. We spend the next hour and a half scoping out his route because he does not think he can get his truck in to where I live now. Well he decides he can't do it so we will have to "shuttle" the load. Well, ok I guess we need to do what we need to. I get a call the next day saying if I do not pay over $2600 dollars for a U-haul rental I will not receive my possessions. Well, ok...I guess they need to pay for numerous people to help shuttle my things between the 18 wheeler and the u-haul and into my home....wrong.

The driver informs me that he can't find anyone to help him so his 22 year old nephew and him were going to do the entire load themselves. (You already know how this is going to turn out without me saying anything, and just so you know....you are right.) The driver never calls to let me know when he is coming, tells me he will be here at 7am and shows up at 4pm (evidently he had to deal with the police being called on him so he had to move his truck and other issues). So, it's cold, they are not dressed for the cold, the first time they pull up with the U-haul and open the doors I can't believe my eyes, stacks of boxes turn over, furniture not covered and just thrown in, chairs impaled into boxes.

Well, "In order to expedite this moving process (He only had the u-haul rental for the day), we will just put all your stuff in the garage and another room". He did, however try to put some things inside the home. I started helping because it was just him (The Driver) and his nephew...I swear I unloaded half the truck. After the third load we were done with the u-haul....He had to get on the road for another job in another state 8 hours away so he rushed through trying to get some things done. Well our leather chairs fell apart when we sat in them....In the middle of the night our mattress fell to the floor with us on it (stop laughing, it's true). All major furniture was damaged, things were broken.

In trying to get with the company, they will not talk to me...When I do finally talk to my "Customer Service Rep" I get lip service and no results. They will try to get someone else to my home to put up all the things left in my garage and back room, but no results days later. I am having to haul furniture, boxes, things through the home to where they go now when they were contracted to do so. I will file insurance, yes, but how do you think that will go? Do Not hire this company. They got my money then dropped me with a home full of damaged furniture and torn apart boxes I have to move myself.

David

Moving week arrived and we were given a 3-day window when we should expect the truck to arrive. It never did. It's very difficult to get ahold of anybody who can actually help you at AVL but we finally spoke to Rita who manages the dispatch. Rita explained that they didn't have a truck and the NEW date is two days from now. We were selling the home so now in violation of escrow but luckily worked with the agent and buyer to give us two more days. Rita also promised a $100 credit per "day late" but of course we were never given that credit. We thought the worst was over but not even close.

Moving day arrived and the truck was on time. The moving manager spent two hours walking through the home writing a detailed list of every small item in the home. He said that he was going to send this list to AVL and they would send us a "revised estimate". Really? What happened to our BINDING guarantee? Liz ** called from AVL and (surprise surprise) has a NEW PRICE due to all the small items they failed to ask for during the initial bid. Things like a coffee maker, dishes, a small box fan, garden tools... just things you would expect a home to have. We were NEVER told that they needed this level of detail.

So, here we are, already past the escrow date and we absolutely have to be moved today, and Liz gives us a price that is MORE THAN DOUBLE the original "binding estimate". After quite a bit of arguing Liz stated that "We can honor the original binding contract but we will only move the items listed on that contract. But if you want everything moved, you have to sign the new (double price) contract. Choice is yours." And that's the scam. They had us up against the wall, with really no choice but to accept this new price, which could be anything they want.

In my opinion, AVL has very suspect practices. I can't say for sure that AVL planned this all along, or that they never intended to honor the original contract, but that's how it seems to me. James could be incredible, incompetent, or just very crafty. He's a sales guy who landed a contract and ended up doubling his sales on moving day. Worked out great for James while they emptied out my mother's savings account. I wish there was a law that protected consumers when they are at their most vulnerable. AVL took full advantage of the situation. I could never recommend this company. The entire moving experience was an absolute nightmare and cost us a fortune.

Speaking of commitment, when we first put a deposit with American Van Lines, we received an email from someone stating she was our “permanent contact at American Van Lines.” Then she disappeared. That happened three more times. After the moving date getting bumped four times, a crew finally arrived at 3:45 in the afternoon. They were a sub-contracted moving company – not even AVL. In our case, it was a company called Next Stop Moving and Storage, which was horrendous. They essentially extorted us for more money. After reviewing what needed to be packed and moved, they concluded that it was going to cost a couple thousand more dollars and said we could either pay, or they’d leave. This is a tried and true tactic – check out all the online reviews. They are a moving broker who will purposely underreport how much your costs will be to get your business.

Frantic phone calls to AVL led to the crew finally agreeing to pack up the house. Since they didn’t arrive there until 3:45, they were there until 2am finishing the job. The same thing happened when they arrived at the move-in house. Before they would even open the door of the truck, they were demanding a) to be paid more money, b) to be paid upfront then and there, before the unloading, and c) we had to sign a waiver saying everything had been received – again, before the truck door was even open. In the end, we paid – we were exhausted, stressed and they had our entire home in their possession.

Next Stop Moving Company was despicable, but ultimately American Van Lines is the responsible party as they are the ‘trusted’ moving company that we hired. The many levels of unprofessionalism are staggering: the bumping of dates, the lack of communication, the sub-contracting of the work, the refusal to be accountable. This is a company built on dishonesty, deception, and dereliction of duty.

At the new house, where I was waiting, the unloading was ridiculous. The antique dinner table was in three pieces, as were several other pieces of furniture. The men ridiculed me for asking them to wear masks indoors and refused to wear them (the company had assured us they would). They were snotty and had me almost in tears, as I had bronchitis and would fair very badly if I were to contract Covid-19. They left the piano dolly here and never came back for it.

But all of this is nothing compared to the tens of thousands of dollars worth of items that were left behind. And how do you value dvds of your child growing up, family photos, or heirloom pieces passed down through the family? My husband had only the 5 days of clothes he packed in the car. We got the cd shelf but none of our cds, the music book holder but none of the music books. Same with our library collection. Moving is often disastrous, but this move was TRAUMATIC and took many many months to get over, and never completely.

Excellent communication/sales chatter before you sign the contract and they're very happy to take your 50 percent down payment (in our case about $4,500). Once you sign the contract, you're assigned a "personal moving coordinator" as your contact who then never responds to your calls or emails. They give you an initial three-day window but won't take into account your needs for confirming a specific day. For example, in Washington, DC, you can only get city-issued no parking signs for two days, and you have to put them up three days in advance. I kept telling Melisssa, our "personal moving coordinator" this, but she just ignored me. Prepare to spend hours and hours on the phone with people who keep making promises they can't/won't keep.

Then, THEY NEVER SHOW UP. On the day before my move date (a Friday in August 2022, the last day of their three-day window and the last day my no-parking signs were valid), I called/texted to confirm the pick-up time. No response. On the day of the move, when they didn't show during the arrival window, I called and was told their driver was in an accident the night before and that they wouldn't be showing up that day. I explained that this was the last day the no parking signs were valid and that I had to move that day.

When I suggested they get another driver, Melissa, who at least picked up the phone, got huffy and expressed surprise that I thought they could just get another driver, explaining that they were based in Florida -- as if that was relevant in any way (and yet, they signed a contract to move me out of DC). So, after spending hours on the phone, no one ever showed up. They said they'd show up the next day. Since my no parking signs had expired, which they didn't care about, my neighbors very nicely parked their cars in front of my house to keep the parking spaces available for the shuttle truck that would carry my belongings to the larger truck for the cross-country move.

Having officially breached their contract by not picking up my stuff within the three-day window, on Saturday I spent hours on the phone talking to Melissa, a supervisor, and others, who said someone would come that day. Eventually, I got a call from Zeeker, who was a subcontractor and was driving a large truck somewhere between North Carolina and Virginia. Zeeker, who had never been to Washington, DC, and wanted to know if I lived in a "real" neighborhood and if there were any low bridges on the way to my home (not a good sign) said he wanted to skip using the shuttle truck as planned from my home to his truck and just wanted to drive his giant truck to my house -- and that he'd find some guys to do the move when he got into town. While this all sounded pretty dubious to begin with, he eventually called to say he wouldn't be able to make it that day, but could be there the next day (Sunday).

At this point, having given American Van Lines a chance to cure their breach, having absolutely no faith that anyone was ever going to show up, and facing a move-out deadline of Monday, I told him not to plan on Sunday. I called American Van Lines to tell them that they had breached their contract and that I was going to find another mover. Melissa said, "So, you're canceling your contract" (this characterization would allow them to keep our $4,500). I stated, "No, you breached our contract and are forcing me to find a new mover."

We went through this about five times, and eventually she said, "We call that canceling your contract." I explained that she could call it whatever she wanted, but they had breached it. She then asked me to hold for a supervisor. I waited a long while on hold then hung up. She eventually called back and seemed quite put out that I had hung up. I asked her to send me confirmation of the contract termination via email. She never did and I never heard from her or American Van Lines again.

We immediately challenged the credit card charge. American Van Lines never responded over the multi-month period they were allowed to offer their side of the story (which would have been interesting to hear, "Uh, yeah, we take people's money and then don't do the job we were hired to do.") We received a full refund from the credit card company on our down payment to the company.

We called Bekins (who had given us an estimate that was higher, but in retrospect...). Bekins office staff and movers were attentive, professional, customer oriented, and actually showed up three days later on time as scheduled, saving our move. CONCLUSION: HIRE BEKINS, NEVER EVER, EVER HIRE AMERICAN VAN LINES-- AND TAKE ALL THE NEGATIVE AMERICAN VAN LINES REVIEWS TO HEART.

This was a cross-country move from Pittsburgh to San Jose. It cost over $10,000 and when I complained they offered me $200 in compensation after I was finally connected to a so called supervisor after multiple calls and emails. I have moved several times and this is the worst customer service I have ever received. They were rude and disrespectful in addition to not complying with their chosen pick up and delivery dates. They even accused me of threatening them when I told them that I was going to contact the BBB regarding their practices. If you want transparency and honesty and timely service please do not use this company. They have cost me more than just money and time.

I received an email from my "personal move coordinator", and windows for pickup (3 days) and delivery (about 1 week). I was told I'd be informed of actual pickup time at least 24 hours beforehand. About 1 week beforehand I called my PMC hoping she might be able to narrow the window so I could alert the Superintendent of the building I moved into. Despite a dozen attempts the PMC never responded to any email or voicemail. Indeed, I never heard from her after an initial "welcome" phone call. Nobody else at Van Lines wanted to talk to me, as I was supposed to go through my PMC.

Finally on the day before my move window I found someone who told me that a subcontractor (Helix Movers, although I didn't know the name until they showed up) would be moving me the next morning, and would call me to give a more exact time (it was now late afternoon the day before). When nobody had arrived at 10 the next morning I called Van Lines central again. They said I should have heard from the subcontractor, they should be there soon. Indeed, they arrived by 11.

They insisted that if I cared about the things I was moving so did they, but they seemed to purposely mix items from different storage areas (slowing down the unpacking/organizing process), they threw many items loose and unsecured into large boxes. Hats were smashed and destroyed under heavier items, even a spare box of Cheerios was flattened! The dining table top was left unprotected and scratched, a corner was chipped off the bedroom set. Sides of bookcases were yanked off without first removing the shelves, leaving notches for shelf pegs and the pegs themselves deformed. The shelves were taped together for reasons unclear.

At delivery, despite the movers commitment to reassemble furniture they had disassembled I was told this did not apply to the bookcases. It took hours to get the tape residue off the shelves, which were not otherwise protected, so their surfaces were also scratched. My favorite corkboard was apparently lost somewhere along the way. Knickknacks were broken, posters and a Japanese scroll folded randomly and placed under heavy objects, dishes were chipped, or outright broken. One leg of an end table was pulled off, bending the bracket that had attached it out of shape, and ripping out the attaching screw. Folded clothing was removed from drawers and balled into large boxes (tho the much heavier drawers were left in the chest, so this doesn't appear to have been to lighten the weight of the chest).

As they were moving the last boxes into the truck at the move from site they told me that adding the (previously included) tolls and additional boxes for the paintings and posters would add 50% to the already quite high "binding estimate" they had given me. I could either pay that, or they would keep all my belongings. After an hour on hold with North American Van Lines I finally reached someone, who after insisting many times that adding $5000 to an $8000 binding estimate was perfectly normal finally agreed to add only $2000.

Then movers told me they would be arriving at the destination between noon and 1 the next day. I raced to be there when they arrived, and managed a little after 1. They didn't arrive until after 4, which meant that I had to pay building staff to work overtime to help with the destination freight elevator, adding yet another unanticipated expense to this nightmare, which then continued as I learned to wonder which of my belongings in each box I unpacked I would find destroyed. I have photos to document all the damage.

Closer to the move date, I talked to DEE or DEANNA. She verified what would be shipping in my household goods and made adjustments to my price to reflect what would actually be shipping once I packed. I paid an additional $700 over the original quoted price after they made adjustments. It was the SAME ITEMS I quoted originally, but since I packed them in more boxes than they expected, they charged me more because it would take up more space in the truck.

Then, I spoke with another woman. She told me that they would arrive on Friday, July 29th. No one showed up. I called frantically asking them what was going on. I said I had plans to get new movers. They assured me that someone would be there on Saturday, July 30th. No one showed up. Then, they assured me that someone would come on Sunday, July 31st and they gave me the driver's number. His name was BRANDON. Brandon said he couldn't get the shuttle truck and he couldn't come to me without it. After my panic, I finally said I would rent a small truck and then, he could transfer it to his truck. He finally agreed to come to my address. When he arrived, he called me from the wrong address and informed me that he could not pick me up because he didn't have a contract for my move.

I threw up my hands in despair and rented a truck. I got my brother and some movers from Bellhops to help me. They were right on time. As I got the last piece of furniture moved out, the driver called and said, "I have your contract now. I am on my way to move you out." At 3 PM, it was too late. I had to be out of the apartment on July 31st, or they would charge me an additional $13,000. I drove a moving truck 2,000 miles across country over three days stressed out and trying to hold conference calls while driving since I had not planned to take a day off of work. I was LIVID to say the least. This is not a reputable company. Do not do business with American Van Lines! Maybe you'll have a better experience than me, but it was AN UTTER NIGHTMARE for me.

1. Misinformation they gave me during me quote (i.e. that the driver would give me my delivery date upon pick-up, that they didn't use third-party movers, and that my quote would be adjusted to be lower if I had fewer things or higher if I had more things - they adjust higher, but NOT lower).

2. Lack of communication - I haven't spoken to my move coordinator since before pick-up, and even then I had to call multiple times to get any information

3. Today is the final day for my delivery date range, and I still have not heard anything. Every time I call, I either speak with someone and after giving them my job number, I mysterious lose connection. Then when I try to call back immediately, I just wait and wait and when it is my turn "in the queue" and I get to the number 1 spot, it disconnects.

I just want to find out information about where my stuff is and I cannot get a hold of anyone. If I have to keep up my end the of binding quote, then American Van Lines should have to as well.

Original Review: Aug. 3, 2022

My experience with American Van Lines (AVL) was the worst experience I’ve had with any vendor, ever. They are a dishonest organization supported by individuals who are either incompetent or corrupt. They dished off my move to another company (a group that was under-resourced and lied repeatedly), and missed my move contract date, leaving me inside of a home I no longer owned. Through it all, they offered no support, and no reimbursement for my thousands of dollars in additional costs.

My move planning started on June 7th, at which time I agreed to a move for July 19-21, 2022. I was assured by my Sales rep Toni ** that my move should be “no problem,” as I was moving to Florida, which is AVL’s home base. On June 16th, I was introduced via e-mail to my ‘permanent contact’ at AVL, Joseph **. On June 28th I was told that Joseph was no longer going to be my contact, and I was going to work with Christya **. Since my move wasn’t scheduled for another three weeks, I figured it was no big deal.

By July 12th (a week before the move), I still hadn’t heard from Christya, so I reached out via e-mail and phone. When their phone system actually works, calls go to voicemail, and not a single staff member has their name on the voicemail, so there’s no confidence that the messages are even being delivered. She didn’t call me back on the 12th, but on the 13th I called back and got to her personally – That’s when she sprung it on me that “The truck that we were going to use for your move has mechanical problems, so we’re going to use a ‘Sister Company’ to do the move.” I was quite anxious about this change, so I asked Christya to get me a little more clarity on a specific move date, and who would be in charge from their ‘Sister Company,’ Old Baymeadow aka 1st Choice of Jacksonville. At that point, Christya started responding to me in ALL CAPS, and even sent me an e-mail addressed as “HEY” rather than by my name.

Since I anticipated issues and Christya’s e-mails started kicking back to me as “mailbox is full,” I escalated the matter to their management team and wrote a bad review online. As of Monday July 18th, the company still could not tell me who was going to be moving me, and my scheduled “pack” date was a day away with the transfer of the home to new owners upcoming. I got a call from their ineffective Customer Service Manager Ken **, who couldn’t understand why I was frustrated, since the move hadn’t even occurred yet. I asked him once again for details of who would be coordinating the move, and he told me that AVL would be coordinating everything, and he would call me on the afternoon of the move to ensure that everything was smooth.

After July 19th and 20th came and went with no move and no additional details, I brought all of my boxes to the new homeowners’ garage to make the move easier. On the afternoon of the 20th, I was told that the mover, Jerome would in fact be there on the 21st. In the morning of the 21st, Christya told me that Jerome was “on the way,” and he’d be there ASAP – I was so confident that I even bought lunch in-advance for the expected movers. Later that same day Thursday the 21st, (the last day of the contract) I was told by Christya ** that the driver, Jerome had a problem with his fuel pump and could not honor the contract date. I was shocked, and to this date I’ve never seen an invoice for a fuel pump. I spoke with Jerome’s dispatcher Nicole on Thursday night, and she told me he was back on the road and would be there Friday morning. While I was upset, there was really nothing I could do.

I texted Jerome on the 21st (no response) and called him at 6 am on the 22nd - he couldn’t tell me where he was, or when he expected to arrive. I then had to hire another mover (at my cost) to break down all of my 2nd floor furniture and store it in the new homeowners’ garage, living room, and guest room. Jerome informed me that his fuel pump was still not fixed on the morning of the 22nd, but he’d stay in touch through the day. Here I am with my possessions in a home that I no longer owned, with no expectation of when I would have my stuff out of their house. I was $1,750 in the hole (plus $400 in tips) for a separate mover, and another couple of hundred dollars for a hotel room. Jerome called me around lunchtime on the afternoon of Friday the 22nd telling me the good news that his water pump was fixed, and that he was just a short 5-hours away.

Jerome pulled up to the home at 7:40 PM on Friday the 22nd to start the move with his assistant, and to their credit (and with the help of myself and the new homeowner carrying boxes and furniture) we all finished the pickup past midnight at about 12:40 am on Saturday the 23rd. While I could nitpick about the minor issues from pickup through delivery, those pale in comparison. Jerome and his team did an acceptable job, and while we were quite frustrated with one another at the end of it all, those issues were relatively minor.

The only issue now is that through the process, the only thing I’d heard from AVL management was vague assurances of “compensation.” While they asked me what I wanted, all I asked for was simply the $1,750 paid to a separate mover and one night of hotel costs…nothing for the 2nd night hotel, nothing for the tips I provided, nothing for the fact that I was actively involved in the heavy lifting of my own move, and nothing for the massive inconvenience and contract violation. Even with that, the company has ignored my requests, and avoided most calls and e-mail. I have attempted to resolve the matter with the very friendly Customer Service Manager Cicely ** and even the owner Anthony ** with no success. I will share this experience with everyone possible, and I encourage you to avoid American Van Lines of Pompano Beach.

Original Review: Aug. 2, 2022

This is by far the most unprofessional company I have ever encountered. Initially, the company was very responsive and detailed in instructions for my move prior to pick up. Once my items were picked up, it was nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get anyone to answer a phone, email, or voicemail. Customer service doesn't answer any contacts, will blatantly hang up on you as soon as the call begins, and won't update for you for weeks while your things have not yet been delivered. Supervisor inboxes are full, so you cannot contact anyone else for help either. The ONLY way I could get someone to answer a phone call is by calling the "Get A Quote" line... I have never received an answer or a call back from customer service.

My delivery window that I was contracted for is nearly over, it's been almost a month since my things were picked up, yet no customer service contact will answer emails, calls, or voicemails. If you are moving, save yourself the stress and DO NOT USE OR TRUST THIS COMPANY. I've moved across the country several times and have NEVER experienced a moving company this terrible. Do not believe the 5 star reviews on their website like I did.

A week prior to my window, I started calling to inquire about the exact date that they would arrive to pack and load us. No one was ever able to give me that information. Three days prior to our window, I started calling multiple times per day – no one could tell me when my move would occur. The first day of our window, I called all throughout the day – no one could tell me anything. At 6:30 pm ET that evening, a representative called to tell me they were delaying my move for a week. She cited a litany of excuses – none of which were caused by me – and despite my pleas, offered no solution, help, or willingness to escalate my situation within their company.

I explained, as I had done before, that I had no flexibility. Not only had I taken off work and needed to be back in our new city by a certain date, but, most importantly, I was contractually obligated to turn our old house over to the new owners. We had to be out by a certain date – no excuses. As the conversation continued, the representative eventually told me “you should cancel, they want you to cancel this move.” The lack of professionalism is just unfathomable.

I scrambled, and at 7 pm on a Friday night, I was able to find another, local, mover that was willing to do a long distance move. They couldn’t pack me, so I had to pack a 4k square house in 36 hours, and the move cost 50% more. All of our stuff didn’t fit on the truck, so we had to rent a cargo van and a trailer and take much of it ourselves.

The entire process was both mentally and physically gruelling. The additional cost was significant, but the personal cost in stress, lost work productivity, etc. cannot be estimated. This is a terrible company, with terrible people, who care nothing about their customers. Find someone else to move you and avoid this nightmare that I suffered through.

We have to have our things put in storage for a month when we moved to Florida. On the day we moved into the house, around 25 of the boxes that came into the house were old U-Haul boxes, so someone had opened the original boxes and gone through our things. Most of my husband's tools did not make it (Dremel Cutting Tool, Sabre Saw, 2 hand buffers, Electric hammer drill, etc.), kitchen items, some of my personal items, these are thing we know are missing. Extent of missing items unknown, as the inadequate descriptions on inventory sheets and U-Haul boxes had no number. We don't know what's missing until we go to look for something.

There was a lot breakage, an antique bed headboard was split, the master bedroom footboard and rail, a dresser was damage, an antique statue was smashed, among smaller items that were chipped and dented. There was a lot of breakage, especially in the repacked boxes. I would not recommend American Van Lines to say the least...

They got everything packed up pretty good. We didn't lose anything and nothing was broken. Everything was fine. But with the boxes, what I counted as one thing, in some cases, they would count as four. They would take the cushions off the outdoor sofa and that became three items instead of one. When I worked with the coordinator, I told her I need a couple of sofas, a TV stand, a dresser, and a couple of other things moved from inside the house, around the corner, to the garage because the next day we would have Habitat show up and come pick them up. They got there about two days later after we moved but when they got there, they said they wouldn't do it because it wasn't in the contract. We ended up paying 350 bucks for 10 minutes' worth of work. After driving up there for 10 hours and everything else, I was pretty upset for a few days.

Also, the pricing went from about 3,500 to over 7,000 by the time we were done. And we got rid of 2,000 to 3000 pounds of stuff. But overall, they got stuff there okay. It was better than some of our other moves and they were nice people. Although, there seemed to be no communication between the headquarters and the driver because he showed up early and it was a mess.

American Van Lines sent only two guys and it took them 12 hours to load it and 14 hours to unload it. They didn't even get out of here till 8:30 at night. I was a decent person and I offered them coffee, water and whatever they wanted, as well as using the bathroom. All they had to do was ask. But when I told them that there was damage, they said they didn't do it and I was making up stuff. Then, they left me. They were so busy because it took them so long to load the truck. They were supposed to go with a tractor trailer and they showed up with a 32-footer straight truck. They couldn't fit the whole house in there. I had to load up my Ford SUV and my wife's car with stuff. And I had to leave a part of the stuff in my wife's car at the airport in Orlando so I could fly back to get back to finish taking the stuff over.

The bid was for a tractor trailer because Christian, the rep from American Van Lines, wanted me to make sure that the company would not be in trouble with pulling the tractor trailer at the delivery site. So, I had to make sure there was enough room in the street for the tractor trailer to fit. I told them that there was enough room on my street when we lived in Poinciana because my neighbor has his own parking lot carrier. When he did a little minor repair, he would bring the truck to the house and never leave it on the street. But he would bring it on the street and leave it parked in front of his house to work on the truck for a while.

On the day the guys were gonna leave, they asked if they could stay outside overnight and if the neighbor would complain. I said that I didn’t know. They may say something, but by the time they come around and say something, then they could leave. But it was Super Bowl time so, they got in a rush so they could get home before the next day so they could watch the Super Bowl. Then, the lady was telling me that they were gonna charge me $1,600. Christian and I talked and he said if the stuff had to stay on the truck, they would charge me $200 a day. And I said okay. But the lady said that he didn’t say that. I told her to call Christian and she can listen to whatever recording they have, and she’s gonna see that we decided that it was $200 a day. I said that if I have to pay $400 extra, that's still okay.

The guys went past the two days, which would have been my fault. They went another four days, which was their fault. But they didn't give me any break. I said that they were still within the window if they'd have delivered and not charged me. The guy said that he got sick. I told the lady that the guy was probably hung over. They were probably watching the Super Bowl, which is okay, but they should not make me pay for it. It was a horrible experience. The only one that I had a good experience with was Christian. Everybody else sucked, including the driver and the ladies in the office. The price that I thought was the cheapest turned out to be the most expensive. They kept my stuff for two days and I had to stay in a motel because the guy got sick. I wouldn't recommend American Van Lines to save my life if they paid me to recommend their company.

There was more money than they quoted but we had more things than we expected, too. So that was fine. We got moved. The only problem is they broke some things. The antique table that was broken was rather expensive but since we didn't shake that kind of insurance on it, it was by the pound and it would have only been a couple of dollars. It wasn't worth going through the effort so we didn’t.

The company wants to pay me 15.00 for the loss. The move was never signed as received due to the mess they had, leaving furniture that was not ours, returning it and losing the painting. We still have a table they haven't bothered to pick up. The move was done last November. The BBB says that the company doesn't respond. Please, maybe you can do something. Thank you in advance for any help. Joanne

Our truck broke down in Kansas City and was stuck there for almost two weeks, and it was the truck driver that we became friends with. He was the one who was telling us everything that was happening. The whole time, we could not get ahold of the van company. Every time I called, they would say it would be delivered the next day and I would say that it's impossible because the truck driver says he's literally still in Kansas. So, the communication was lacking. I know that American Van Lines was busy and there was a lot of stuff going on but it was such a stressful situation. And without the driver being as amazing as he was, we would have gone absolutely crazy. Everyone I talked to were super friendly, great and wonderful.

When I called them again, the side contract company they use, not American Van Lines. They told me so irresponsible and said “oh we couldn’t put all items on the truck yet and the truck left, and we were supposed to call you" but which they didn’t at all. I asked them when the items will be delivered and they told me, "Whenever we have truck heading that way." ARE YOU KIDDING me. I PAID AND BEEN CHARGED for full amount and they told you they have no ideas when you are getting rest of your personal belongings. If I can give 0 star and I would. I called customer service a few times and they kept telling me someone going to call me back, but YOU WILL NEVER get a call back at all. I need to call lawyer to take care of this and this is very ridiculous. My kids were crying and family were upsetting because none of them could get their important personal belongings. TOTALLY not recommend.

The delivery itself was left incomplete - with missing items, The moving tarps kept at the house, no furniture assembled like agreed and paid for in the contract. Between missing items and damaged furniture. We are out $3,109 not including the moving expenses which were over 4k. We paid 4.5k to lose 3k worth of furniture through American Van. As of this post, There is no resolution.

The company's website clearly lists that it provides one free month of storage. I mentioned this offer via email to Mr. **, who didn't bring it up with me. In other words, if I didn't do my research, I would have gotten scammed. I attached a screenshot of AVL's website to my email, stating, "Storage is offered absolutely free for the first month, and at sensible rates for each additional month items are stored." The "gotcha" is that redelivery costs $1,850, even for a one-bedroom (not from an apartment - just the bedroom) move.

Neither the website nor Mr. ** brought this information up to me. If I had paid my deposit before asking every reasonable question I could imagine, I would have lost $1,700 (half the total cost of my all-inclusive estimate). Part of his reply to my email was, "Even if you think storage is free, it's my job to advise where the cost would come in, which I've done [after getting caught as a representative of a deceitful company]."

"Even if I think storage is free..." Hmm, I wonder what else AVL's quoted statement would possibly mean. Maybe in some parts of the country, "absolutely free" actually means almost two thousand dollars. Amazing. I have already spent eight years' worth of studying for my Ph.D., but I think I should go back to school to study linguistics.

I'll go back to my last moving company, Mayflower. Even though some of their movers like to sag their pants and smoke weed in the truck, at least that company only charged me $70 a month for storage and was always upfront with me. In fact, the first set of movers I had was so kind and respectful that I gladly tipped them $50 each for less than an hour of work to show them how much I appreciated them. (I'm not bragging about myself - I'm explaining how great they were.) Also, Mayflower replies to my calls and emails instantly or as soon as possible, whereas AVL claims to "call and leave messages," which are magically invisible on my phone.

The more precise you can get with your inventory, the closer they can get the estimate. Even better, they did NOT increase rates because the cost of fuel was going up! Additionally, we really appreciate the fact that the driver is an employee of American Van Lines instead of a sub-contractor. We heard lots of horror stories from people who have used other moving companies (like last-minute cancellations, price gouging, etc), but we didn't have any issues with American Van Lines!

The movers were very cordial and seemed to be careful. But we've had several things that were broken. We had some damage to a baby grand piano that went to my daughter and she said that it’s not a big deal because it faces the wall. Also, one of our legs on our gorgeous dining room table was broken right off. The leg was taped to one of the chairs and nobody told me about it. I discovered it myself. Melissa from American Van Lines said she was going to send me a claim form online but I've never received it.

The moving crew was in and out in less than an hour both times. And the driver called me anytime. They broke down so he let me know there would be a little delay. He called me a day before they were supposed to be there to let me know, on top of the coordinator from the company also calling me. A couple of things ended up damaged. I had a book case that got messed up. American Van Lines did offer a money back but I just figured I was gonna get a new one anyway, so it’s no big deal.

My only complaint is that the movers came earlier than I expected - I never got an email saying they were coming the day they did. They did call the day before and ask me to confirm the inventory list, but I definitely did not hear her say a date and time of arrival. I will, however, admit that I was super distracted because I had a meeting that had just started so I rushed off the phone with her. I was 90% ready when the movers arrived and they were super nice about me being not all the way ready, so all is forgiven there.

The driver was awesome and so was the crew on the delivery end. I was kept informed and an automated system told me that my stuff was going to arrive at the new place before I was going to get there. That sent me in a tailspin. I ended up having to drive a bunch of hours to try to get there but there was no way I could get here by the date they told me. I got connected with the supervisors and I'm like, “I know this has got to be some automated system that was sent out.” They said, "It seems like, yeah, there's no confirmation. I doubt they're gonna be there." The movers ended up being here three days later. The company did what they said they were going to do. They took money off for the packing material they didn't use. And everything got here okay.

But the lady who called me from their company to tell me that there was an issue with the truck was not super gentle or understanding to my surprise at what was going on. Since I had already adjusted my schedule to theirs, I was expecting a little more compassion in that. She probably was just the message bearer at 7 o'clock in the morning but it would have been nice to have a calm and compassionate person, even though I wasn't super calm to start with. Other than, it was a wonderful experience and they were priced very reasonably. We ended up paying less than the estimate because of not needing some things. Josh was really good. When he was the face that I finally saw, he thanked me for being so patient and very business-oriented.

I told him that those three people that brought my things most likely stole our painting because they looked like they were picked out from the street. Packing has a way of doing. But they didn’t know how to pack. They didn’t bring the right boxes. When packing, there should be plate covers, glass covers, but none of that. And covers for the pictures, big, they brought boxes and they put around, and they wrapped the mattress. When my things came, they were all opened. They should not be in business. I told them we would stop the payment. I have to get some money. I’m not gonna pay for this move because of what they have done to us. We put it on Visa anyways, so Visa is dealing with them.

Another thing is, they gave us a three-day window for pickup. My husband works, so we planned to do all the finishing stuff. I have been packing all along but I wasn't completely packed. They called me two days before the date that they said that they were going to pick up and said that they needed to pick up a day early. And if they couldn't, then they didn't know when they were going to be able to come out and get our stuff. But I had hotel rooms lined up and my husband had his time planned off to take from work. So we had to stay up and we were really rushing to pack everything and get everything took care of. I had chest pains that night and I was really in extreme distress.

When they showed up, they couldn't. So they had to shuttle everything, which they wanted to charge me 3,000 some dollars for. I told them I'd cancel the whole thing and that they could talk to the guy that I had the conversation with who said they could get in there. Then they got here and delivered everything. They put some stuff in storage and one of the guys was rude to my wife. There were also several things that got broken. They turned boxes sideways and I understand packing, but when you mark a box "this end up", you shouldn't turn it on the other end.

At the last minute, we were told that we would be notified three days before they were coming. So we would have that three-day window to know for sure when it would be, but we didn't get that. We got a call and, "Hey, they want to come tomorrow." "No, we were told we would have a three-day window." Also, they beat us to Texas. Another big fail. They called us the morning of and said, "Hey, he's gonna come today." I freaked out because we were still out of state on the road coming here, coming to Texas. So, we had to hurry and scramble. And they sent me a power of attorney form that I had to complete. That was all done on my cellphone sitting at the hotel, because we were told that morning, "No, they're gonna be there today, in two hours." It was ridiculous.

We already have boxes that are so smashed they look like they're damaged. They took great care in packaging the glass shelves, but the entertainment center, the wood part itself is broken and the metal frame is crushed. So that's probably not going to be usable. I'm afraid of what I'm gonna find when I start opening boxes.

Moving day, I was well-prepared because they had prepared me, they kept in contact with me through emails. And I would call and they would respond. So, I knew. And I knew when they were coming. I knew how many would be coming. They described the detail and it was exactly like they said. They had one of the best crews on the West Coast. They were here before the time they said. They waited outside, respectfully. They rang my doorbell to tell me they were here. They were waiting for the crew leader, the person who actually flew in from Florida to lead that group.

I had notes on doors and cupboards that I wanted specific instructions followed. They thought that was hilarious. They laughed and said, "Yes, ma'am." But they followed my instructions and I've heard them saying, "Miss Paula said no. She said you can't do that. Don't open that door." So they followed it. And they were respectful and saw the quality of my pieces. I have a beautiful chess set. I said, “I want that packed carefully.” And they followed everything to the letter. So, I was pleased.

I told five people about American Van Lines who have gotten different movers, "No. You need to go with American Van Lines. From the office to the young man who helped move, and the respect, and how they respected my furniture, lamps paintings and mirrors." They packed so well that I couldn't even unpack some of those things. However, I wrote a note and called American Van Lines, I'm a single woman and I couln't even take some of those boxes apart because they are very sturdy. And my question was, they packed those boxes, couldn't they help me to unpack some of those boxes? Also, I have informed them that as I went through my boxes, I found a broken crystal lamp, and so is my oven. So, they will handle it also.

Other than that, I enjoyed the crew. We talked. After they finished moving, they did it in record time, and they thanked me because I had everything categorized and color coded. They were saying, "No, no. That's definitely yellow. That goes in the dining room." So they were like my students in a classroom. And those are grown men. I love the camaraderie and the spirit among them that they had worked together before. So, I like the fact that American Van Lines had crews set up in different cities and states, so that when they came to the West Coast, they called the Bakersfield crew. That is what I've learned with that group. They worked together before. It was well-coordinated.

Their driver is not involved at all in the pay. So, he just shows up and he's like, "I'm here to take care of all this stuff, pick it all up, and label it, and get in the truck. And you will see us lock it up and I will see you in Florida." There was a small delay during the trip because he had to get some maintenance done to the truck but it wasn't something foreseeable or avoidable. I would use American Van Lines the next time.

Everything arrived undamaged besides one mirror and our mattress that got a little screwed up because they were trying to get a king in an elevator. American van Lines is a great moving company. They're honest and they do a good job.