National Van Lines Reviews

Well, we did file a claim for nearly $3,500.00 in damages, which included some of those boxes we saw the driver's loader punching. But the big ticket item that was damaged was a unique piece of furniture we brought back with us from the country of Panama. We designed it and a unique stain was applied to it. This matched several other items of ours with that we brought back with us.

After filing a claim, NVL sent an adjuster to look at things and of course, they disputed that big ticket item. The large crack on the top of the piece of furniture was caused by climate conditions according to that adjustor. A furniture repair guy in our town looked at it days later and said there was no way that climate conditions could cause that type of crack. Was this mishandled by the driver's loader like other things were? Probably! NVL refused to make good on it and we are now stuck with a $2,500.00 piece of furniture with a large crack in it.

They can't be trusted to provide a driver and loader who will take care of one's possessions and then use an adjuster (who was more interested in promoting his furniture repair business to us than looking at damaged items) to make false claims. The only reason we wouldn't give NVL a minus rating (if possible) is that at least our possessions didn't end up in a ditch or river. If we ever make a long-distance move again - we will definitely NOT be using NVL.

Just as when they packed all of our stuff up, they took special care unwrapping it, and offered several times to put our bed together and help with organizing the furniture. On a personal note, all of the guys were very personable and we had some great conversations. After not really talking with strangers for over a year, it was nice to just talk with people and joke around. Whenever we move again, we'll definitely contact Aaron and request mover Nate. They made a stressful situation into a seamless and easy one.

Three hours later two exhausted men who had been working all night showed up. They were careless with our boxes even joking that FRAGILE meant to throw it around! I watched boxes stacked high fall to the floor of the moving truck. I packed all of my boxes extremely well before we moved but after I finally had everything unpacked, there were several broken items including antiques. The truck even broke my sidewalk when it rolled in. So, I filed a claim for $600.00. I received an email from Patty ** saying they owe me nothing because of my deductible but could contact her with questions anytime. I called and left a message to discuss how my belongings were handled but my call was never returned.

Aaron ** at National was the one who organized these moves. He was a pleasure to work with and was very pleasant about all the emails I sent him adding and subtracting items from both moves. Each move involved deliveries to two households; they were flawless. I highly recommend National and would certainly use them again.

The van driver from Illinois to Oregon, Robert, was friendly, thorough and very professional. He called ahead for pickup and delivery a day in advance and was on time as he said he would be. Although there was again some elasticity in the delivery date, when he and the crew arrived to unload, they worked hard. The cost of the move was fair because fairly calculated. We have only two complaints: although we asked explicitly for the crews to wear masks, neither did. Then again the Oregon crew was a bit less careful than the Illinois one: some dings, damage, and loss occurred at the unloading end. But the damage was minimal and such things occur in any move.

All in all, National did a good job and we rate it a good move especially by comparison with other moves we've made. We did a lot of homework before committing to National for this move and it proved out: the company did what it said it would. (From other reviews, it looks like who your coordinator and driver are really matters. We recommend Aaron and Robert.) Rating should really be understood as 4 1/2 stars.

Two 30 lb. dumbbells (I am a former weightlifter) also came up missing, as did an electric saw in a case. The blades shipped separately arrived, but never did the saw they belonged to. Since then, several smaller items of less value, but still sentimental, also came up missing. My two phone calls to the company were never answered and I simply wrote these items off to experience. I might also also add that I have made three previous moves due to promotions in my job, and had never had even close to the same experience.

Moving day was scheduled for the 7th and it wasn’t until my parents sat around all day surrounded by boxes that they were eventually told that the movers would not arrive until the 8th at noon. That was followed up by a call stating they would be arriving more like 2:30. Moments after arriving, the movers tried altering the contract suggesting that my parents go by volume versus weight. That caused my Mom yet more stress and to question her decision-although she was assured that she did indeed have a contract and the movers had to honor it. After asking if the movers would be driving straight through to South Carolina, we were told “I’m just the pick up guy.” Evidently the “pick up guy” picks up the furniture and then takes it to Detroit, where it sits until they (whoever they are) chooses to then drive the load to South Carolina.

It is now a full week after the initial move day, with no communication from the moving company. My Mom called the Moving Company, they told her to call the trucking company. My Mom mentioned the original 3 to 5 day quote and the girl she spoke to told her it would be 30 days! Then evidently mentioned based on distance may be 10 to 12 business days! Following by stating these two absurd amounts of time, definitely not explained to my parents or ago agreed upon (not sure who would agree to that), the girl hung up on my Mom.

Complaints regarding this company are legitimate. This decision has resulted in nothing but additional stress. Now my parents are in their new home, a week now with absolutely nothing but the overnight bag they packed for drive to South Carolina. They have no idea where their life’s possessions are and when they will see them. And to top it off when the items finally do arrive they will be expected to pay the balance due.

The company was to relocated my items from Miami to Blairsville, Georgia. Right off the bat when movers arrived to picked up my boxes some of the items which I had thoroughly bubble wrapped was told THEY needed to do it and just like that was charged $234 for materials which they needed to use. Some of those items I was charged $90 for them to actually wrap it.

That's just the beginning. I didn't complaint because figuring the estimate was so cheap this would be a way they would make up some of the low cost they provided. After all we hired them because it was obviously a good price, so we thought. After all the packing and placing the items in the truck the final pricing came about.... a whopping $2200 which included a $150 dollar "long run" fee which HAD to be paid in cash to the movers. If that was not bad enough we came to know that their mover are NOT their employees as they rent Enterprise trucks to deliver their shipments. The delivery was completed on time which was positive but the problem became when they arrived out of the 20 boxes 8 of them were missing and 1 mirror was delivered to us which DID NOT belong to us, it was actually delivered in error.

That's when all when down the hill. Conveniently enough all of the boxes that were missing were clearly labeled "winter clothes", "Christmas Gift" and a very expensive alcohol crate, it was a Farniente wine crate with 12 bottles in it totaling a minimum of $100 per bottle up and the most expensive bottle being $250. Delivery was completed on 12/14 and since I have been trying to contact the company, have spoken with Alex, Amanda, Liz, Theodore and a few others no absolutely no resolution to my problem. I made a claim with my credit card since no resolution on their end was coming about. Because I didn't want to get reimbursed for their miserable amount they were going to pay us when we were out over $25K the credit card did not approve the dispute.

After speaking to an attorney we were told to proceed with making a claim with their insurance company so today I did. The insurance company took or information and said National Van Lines had to call them to verify the claim. They also said they are so horrible and the ONLY company which has that policy with them. I contacted the movers once again spoke to Mike and he said that they would only contact the company IF we paid the $180 for the credit card chargeback. I asked "Where is that in your contract?" He said, "It's not but if you don't pay we won't allow you to make the claim." So, this opens a whole other chapter of issues and after almost 3 months, over $25K dollars in lost items we still have no resolution. These people are horrible and have no desire to assisting their clients. STAY AWAY FROM THEM! They are thieves and a very organized one!

The delivery window was June 19 – 25. We were notified that the shipment was delayed. No reason was given but, after discussion, we were told by customer service that we would be compensated $125 per day of delay. The truck arrived on July 7, 12 days late. We were then told the shipment was incomplete and the rest of our things would come later. I talked to customer service and was told that we would be compensated for the delay of these items, at less than the rate paid for the first delay, and I agreed that that was fair.

After about 20 boxes had been unloaded I was given an Inventory Control Tag sheet to mark off. The driver assured me that he had diligently checked all of the items as they were loaded on the truck. Rather than have all of the unloaded items taken back out of the storage unit so that they could be checked off on the form, I took his word for it and only made note of damaged items.

A number of boxes and items were shipped in a large (approx 4 ft by 8 ft by 10ft??) wooden crate carried on the outside of the trailer. The box was partially covered with a tarp, but it was evident, looking at the crate edges and seams, that the crate had been wet during some part of the trip. The damaged items are itemized on the damage claim form, but a summary is: A number of boxes showed evidence, on their outside, of having been wet. They have not yet been opened to assess damage to the contents.

Seventeen boxes were crushed and damage to items inside could be seen through the broken boxes. An African leather ottoman, which had not been wrapped, and was in the outside box, had serious mold on the leather top. A bookshelf has the top shelf broken. A carved wooden rocking chair has the top right corner broken off. The driver told me that it was broken before loading on his truck and that National told him they would repair it. A two-drawer filing cabinet has 3 of the 4 wheels broken off. The balance of the shipment arrived 12 days later on July 19.

It is now August 3rd and: 1. We have not received the refund of our overpayment as our actual charges were $392.27 less than the Customer Benefit price that we paid. 2. When asking about the delayed arrival compensation we were told by customer service that we would NOT receive anything for the second delay of the balance of our items – which we had previously been told that we would receive. 3. We have not received the payment for the first delay. Need I say that we are deeply disappointed in both your moving service, the lack of information on the status of our belongings, that National is not taking responsibility for our second delay and going back on its word to compensate us for it and that it is now August 4th, 50 days after our worldly goods were packed and loaded and we have not received ANY refund of overpayment or compensation what so ever.

More problematical is making sure all your stuff gets loaded. After a walkthrough with the driver before loading and making specific reference to an extension ladder and stabilizer attachment, the ladder did not get loaded on the van. Okay - it was missed. But as it was missed, there was no inventory tag. So in NVL's eyes, it never existed. We filed a claim for about $300 (note: we took the 100% insurance option). Our claim was denied despite my repeated comments to them that the driver and I had identified the ladder (which was in our backyard) and past which other items were brought to the truck.

The moral to this: do NOT sign off on any papers until you have personally ensured EVERYTHING is recorded and loaded. A corollary is when the goods are delivered, go through each line and cross-check it to the item(s) that are tagged. It is a hectic day, to be sure, but despite the 100% full insurance coverage, if initial something was received in the haste to get things done and later you realize it is missing, you're screwed. There is no negotiation, period. Some years ago moving to Oregon, we used United Van Lines. This episode left such a bitter taste in my mouth, I wish we had used them instead of NVL.

Finally, I got somewhere in a week when I was given the number to the driver who seemed really nice at first. He told me he just picked up my things from the original location, 3 days after it was supposed to be here! He was very nice until the day of the move. He was supposed to be at my apartment at 9am. 5 hours pass and during that time I had called the driver for the first 1.5 hours with no answer from him except an automated text saying "I'll call you right back." Never received a call. I continually called and told him if they don't let me know when they will be here they will be carrying the things up to the 6th floor because I only had the elevator reserved until 1. That got their attention.

Then he proceeds to tell me that someone from the moving company took my stuff this morning at 9 and was supposed to deliver it. I asked why I was not informed of this and then he tells me "Oh I just found out." So he didn't even know where my stuff was when it was supposed to be under his supervision? Then he gives me the number of who apparently has my things, this man tells me that my things have not been moved and they were at another move this morning that was taking longer. I told him that they were supposed to be there at 9 and he says, "Oh we won’t be there until the afternoon." Then tells me that the tractor trailer (that I had no idea was involved until the day before) would not fit into my complex. I told him that I have talked to the guards and it has been done before. He proceeds to tell me basically that I am stupid and don't know what I am talking about and when I started to fight back, he hung up on me.

Then I was not able to get in touch with them for another hour. He kept ignoring my calls. Finally, I got through and he said he was leaving and should be here in 30 minutes. They finally arrived an hour and a half later. This is 5 hours after it was originally supposed to arrive. I had to pay extra for a long haul, I originally was told that I could pay with a credit card. The guy had called his manager and explained what I said, the manager proceeded to tell me that no one ever told me I could do this and that. I must be lying because they weren’t open the day before. The driver the day before told me I could pay with the credit card. Regardless, he continued to yell at me, at which point I hung up and told them I would go to the bank to get the remaining money. I asked for my $2000 back because I did not trust them to not take the money and run.

At this point he told me that he could not give me my money back because they needed to unload the van. I told him, he is not allowed in my house while I am not here and he said they were going to unload it in the parking lot. I told him no they can wait until I get back and I wanted to keep the $2000. He then told me he was going to charge $150 for me making them wait. Then proceeded to ask with a smug smile "Do you not trust us?" I told him to get out of my house and locked the door. I made sure the guard knew that they had all my money and if they tried to leave to call the cops.

After going to the bank, I had asked them for their names and was told I had to call the main office. Good luck trying to get in touch with them. I had finally got ahold of someone and it was the man that said he was the manager before a week ago. I asked him if I could get the names of the people moving me in and he said, "Hold on," another man answered the phone and proceeded to yell at me using my name asking why I was making all this commotion and why I could not just let the men do their job. I asked him who he was and what he was talking about. He asked if I was Lisa and I said, "I don’t know what you are talking about," and he says “I’m sorry I got you mixed up with someone else.” At this point I requested to speak to the original person and he proceeded to tell me I could not, I told him I would not speak to him after the way he was just yelling at me.

Finally, I was talking to the original man who I then asked who it was I just spoke to. He said it was the manager. At this time, I called this man out about our previous conversation where he told me he was the manager. Now he says he is the assistant manager. The true manager comes back on the phone and proceeds to yell at me and then asks if I am Italian and says that I am disrespectful and asking who raised me. I have no idea what that has to do with my move. He then is talking over me and continues to ask “what do you want, what do you want, what do you want.” I told him if he could stop talking over me for one minute I would explain what I was trying to get. I asked for the names of the people moving me in, he then tells me to ask the people moving me in. I told him that they would not tell me and that I needed to call the office and I could get that information.

He then yells at me “what do you want their social security? Their birth certificates what?!” I gave the phone to the driver and asked him to have his boss give me their names. He then tells his boss “I don’t know what she is talking about, I told her my name is Fernando.” At this point I interrupted him saying that he never said that. All I wanted was names of the people who are moving my things. Why is that something that I need to be yelled at and have racist comments thrown at me for. At another point, the driver was on the phone with the manager and I can clearly hear their conversation talking about me calling me rude names.

Only two men actually moved my things, the other 3 sat in the truck the entire time. Then I am supposed to sign a receipt at the end but it does not say the balance is $0. I asked him to write it and he says, "Oh but it shows you paid it right here." I refused to sign until the balance said 0 and he was angry about that as well. I had multiple things that were broken and water damage to my TV. I have no idea why my TV has water damage, the only thing I can think of is that they store customer's things outside in their backyard because this is not a legitimate company. I have to start the appeals process and this will be another headache and stress that I am not even sure is worth it.

Original Review: Feb. 13, 2018

We moved from Dallas to Los Angeles via National Van Lines. Three items were broken during the move including a vase and TV. We can't seem to get them to cover the damages. We continue to go in circles with the claims adjuster about a very open and shut case. We spent ~$8,000 on the move. They won't honor their damage policy.

They are taking zero responsibility, tried to blame it on me possibly cleaning it before they picked it up and even threw their own driver under the bus. Now I am having to hire a refinisher to take a look at it and assess the damage inside and out. The entire instrument may need to be refinished because whatever it is, it is irremovable! Even the driver that dropped off the stuff admitted that when he went to pick up my stuff from the warehouse my piano was completely uncovered and that the dresser was already damaged prior to even being driven cross country. I don't know how a company that touted they are so reputable can make such a mess out of one simple move. Shame on you National Van Lines!

The packing went fine. The movers showed up with 6 guys on 9/1 to load the truck. The truck looked very suspect with concerned me. The crew continued to make numerous jokes about putting my flat screens in their van, and if they all didn't look like convicts, I wouldn't have cared. Just not professional from the jump. They started to take apart various items so I asked if I could watch so I could remember how to put everything back together. The movers told me not to worry about it since if they take it apart they have to put it back together themselves.

Then the ridiculousness started. I got a call the night of 9/1 from the driver stating that their truck broke down, surprise and that they wouldn't make it in the morning as scheduled and would let us know when fixed and back on the road. We waited all day with no call so I finally called and he said that they were finally back on the road with an ETA of 6 pm. They arrived, with only 2 of the biggest jokes of movers I had ever seen. The driver was about 50 years old, stated numerous times that this was his last run and he was retiring from moving. He had also had numerous back surgeries. The only guy was his 16 year old son. I asked where the rest of the crew was and he said it was only them, which neither of these guys were involved of the loading of the truck.

He then asked since they hadn't gotten a hotel yet if they could just unload the next day on 9/3 since it was only them and it would probably take them until mid-night to unload Seriously??? Your company was the one that insisted that you deliver on 9/2 so I said no I'm not spending more money to stay in a hotel or sleep on the floor again since I had already gave them close to $6k for their services. My wife and I agreed to help them, which I ended up carrying majority of the furniture. My wife noticed that the old man kept all the heavy stuff for me, because again he had a bad back, which again, he reminded us on every trip back to the truck.

He also complained about the loader of the truck the entire evening and could not believe he packed the truck the way he did. We finally got all the stuff off the truck that needed to go to the house and they asked if they could deliver the storage stuff in the morning. I agreed but asked them to go ahead and put all the stuff that was taken apart back together that night. We started on my son's tree house bed which was by far the most difficult piece we had to put back together. Because neither one of them was there to take apart, they of course had no idea how to put back together. So I put back together and at one point noticed that all they were doing was standing there watching me so I got pissed and told them I didn't need an audience and to go work on other beds or other things that needed to be put back together so I could get them out of my house.

The kitchen table did not get put back together because they could not find the hardware. They called one of the guys that took it apart and he said he put the hardware in "One of the boxes." The old man that it was funny to inform me that when he talked with him that he was probably drunk since it was a Saturday night. I finally found the parts to the table in a box that was unpacked close to last so thankful that I didn't make them try to find them. We or actually I put most everything together. I asked them what time they wanted to get started in the morning to unload the rest of the items on the truck? They agreed to 8 am, but of course they didn't show up until 9:30 am.

Old man let me know that he did not want to get out of bed, he was too old for this kind of work. It took a couple of hours to unload the rest of the stuff when it should have only took about an hour to unload into storage, which again I did most of the lifting and placing in storage. I had to take about 3-4 items back to the house myself in my van because they were missed the previous night. The old man had the nerve to say that my wife told him those boxes were going to storage, which she clearly did not. Plus, the boxes that were used were recycled so they had other names along with different areas of the house, so you really had to look at each box carefully to understand which information was ours, CHEAP!!

Then come to find out 3 of our boxes got completely soaked because you guessed it there was a small hole in the roof. The son kept dropping the legs to a table in the truck and then showing me the damage and saying the damage was because they didn't wrap them, or don't drop them. Our couch was ruined because the finish was rubbed off the legs on the side that was on the floor of the truck where they clearly dragged it. The kid made a huge mark and damage to our drywall. So my wife called and spoke to the owner and he was empathic and said he would call us back in a week. When he called her back, he said that they didn't ask for our help and they aren't going to do anything in return??? Basically, we got your money, because we require COD so go get bent.

He said that they could have gotten help the following day, which they clearly weren't going to do because the old man stated multiple times that 8,000 lbs of furniture needs at least 4 guys to unload and he just them 2. I don't complain about many things when it comes to service, but as you can tell by my book I just wrote, I honestly feel like we were ripped off. As I experienced in my previous 2 moves, I had no issues and when something happened, they made it right. This company is clearly in financial hardships and need every penny. Save yourself a lot of headache and use another company who is more professional, better employees, better trucks, and if something happens, has a financial backing. Your service was maybe worth $3500 to $4000 for the packing, loading, and moving the furniture.

An antique suitcase containing valuable items was ripped apart with the lid being delivered separately, one wall of the case completely blown out and the contents gone. Multiple pieces of furniture have sustained bad dings, scratches, and gouges, and we have yet to find our Blu-ray player and are beginning to fear that it has been lost. The online system for submitting a claim is vague, at best, and doesn't allow for detailed lists in regards to some of the bins that contained MANY small items that are now missing or damaged. We are looking at a significant loss here and yet we paid a good amount of money AND we tipped these guys to move us.

What is perhaps the most awful thing about all this is that at no time were we told that anything had happened. The movers brought all our stuff into our home, stacked it up, accepted our check and tip money, and left without informing us of what transpired. We're now left trying to deduce things based upon the extensive damage and the disarray of all our items. We're still opening bins and finding broken glass and pieces of things spread across multiple boxes (obviously I didn't pack my Wii in one box, my controllers in another, and the power supply in a third (and incidentally, the door on the Wii console is now broken, as well).

One last odd thing... My wife has a large, standing jewelry case... For some inexplicable reason, the movers carried it in COMPLETELY UPSIDE DOWN. Spilled the contents that were organized in interior drawers and compartments all over the place!!! WTF, people!!! Be extremely wary of using this company in the future. When we moved from Burbank up to Portland in 2010, not a SINGLE item was broken and we had twice as many pieces and cartons back then!

1.) Delivery Date: We chose this company over (4) competitors because they assured us that they could hit our preferred delivery date within a couple of days. It turned out that they were 5-days later than their target, costing us extra money to live those extra days without our home contents and basic necessities.

2.) Moving Cost: Their cost turned out to be 15% more than the not-to-exceed estimates from their competitors (e.g., United, Mayflower, Allied, etc.). And this overage was known until a surprising invoice arrived 6-weeks after the move!

3.) Pricing Model: It was not known until after the move but cost per pound calculated by the estimate was $0.53/lb., but the cost that is added if you have a weight 'overage' during the move is a shocking $0.88/lb. -- a huge difference. NEVER accept their non-binding contract, but instead go with one of their competitors that offers a 'not to exceed' agreement.

4.) Weight Estimates and Weight Scales: Although I had (4) other movers in which I received nearly identical weight estimates across the board, this company stated that my move came in 14% over the estimate -- even though I had sold some items after these estimates were performed before the move (so, the actuals should have come in even lighter). And the method in which they try to prove weight actuals are through 'trucking weight scales' which are impossible to validate, and so you just have to take their word that they are legitimate and that only your contents were on the truck when it was weighed.

5.) Customer Service: The management folks that I dealt with (Kelly **, Steve **) to get consideration of a reduction regarding this $1,400 bill were not helpful and their corporate line is to say that they are at the mercy of interstate tariff charges, etc. and cannot offer any reduction. Bottom Line: Use any one of the major movers and stay far away from these companies; Affordable Quality Moving & Storage and their partner movers National Van Lines.

At that point he came charging out, screaming at me in an aggressive, hostile manner. He moved the truck, yelling at me while doing so. I asked him for the company's name and number and he said, "I'll give you a card ". I asked him his name and he screamed, "Steve **, and you can call and tell them whatever you want. They don't care. They are used to dealing with ** like you". So if your goal is to antagonize your new neighbors, National Van Lines is your guys.

Well, if they would have wrapped her armoire, dining room table, etc they would not have chips of wood taken out and deep scratches. If you saw how many things are damaged and how they packed it even blew the movers who helped unpack things, they said they have never seen anything like this and when they opened the moving van to unload it they said that they have never seen such a bad packing job. I feel that they took advantage of my mother, because she is elderly, but she is clear in mind and drives, etc. I am so upset for her as she is. We will never refer this company again.

They convinced me that I must have packed it and forgotten (except that I packed it about an hour before they arrived). Then, on the unloading end, I am missing three original prints - that were all boxed together. They discouraged me from checking off each individual item as it came off the truck - DON'T EVER DO THIS! When I checked everything off one time before, I was only missing ONE item, which was in the moving company's warehouse and I did, indeed, receive it (this was a different company). I will NEVER use this company again, and caution others. Take pictures of EVERYTHING and watch the movers like a hawk if you choose to use NVL.

I lost almost $6,000 worth of lost items (even there is proof of the pictures of items in their warehouse, they just ignore you). They offer insurance which is not backed by any insurance company but just by them and at the moment of trying to use it they never get back to you. They got so many bad review that have opted to change their name. The claim system in place by a "third party" is done by another moving company (maybe even themselves). Worst customer service. They take advantage of knowing customers are not close to them and ignore them totally. Search online for more reviews!

The next issue was scheduling the delivery date. I needed to get permits for the town to mark off parking for the truck and they needed a delivery date. I scheduled this for June 27th (though my contract said July 1-6). I asked if it would be a problem that it was not in the contract window and they said no. Two days before the move I left two voicemails to see if they were going to come, then I had to call at least 4 times (I think more) the day before the move to find out they were not coming.

The move was bumped to the following Thursday, then Friday, then Sunday - I had to call each time to find out they were not coming. They came on Sunday and demanded cash before removing my things from the truck (clearly a tactic so you cannot withhold payment if your things are lost or damaged). Upon receiving my things 2 chairs were broken and cannot be used, two glass table tops were missing and when I asked the movers they stated perhaps they were packed in a box (they were not), they brought in 2 things that were not mine, including a glass picture that was shattered and glass was all over my floor.

My bike handles are sideways and this may not be able to be repaired (I do not have the tool to even check, so I will need to take this to a bike repair shop). A glass was broken. They trudged dirt on a light carpet on a sunny day because the furniture was clearly stored in mud (the bottom was clean when they took it from a white carpeted room). The boxes looked as if they had been thrown, even those marked fragile. I called to ask for compensation for the damage and have not received a phone call back. I sent an email with pictures of the damage and have not been contacted back.

When the other truck was repaired, it met **'s crew at their warehouse and they loaded my stuff onto that truck (no extra charge of course). ** went above and beyond to help get me moved out on the day I was suppose to. He then also made sure my stuff was delivered when it was suppose to be. I would highly recommend ** and his crew at Guardian Moving and Storage, Agents of National Van Lines, to anyone moving. And I myself would absolutely use them again.

We were moving from Ohio to Florida. The big day the movers were supposed to arrive to pack, they never showed up. The next day it took their 3 guys and my husband and myself (in our 60s) working in a sweaty heat to get in the truck all day until 6:00 pm. The truck was nothing like the rep described it -- just one small truck and it's a miracle everything fit. Then the driver told us he didn't intend to begin driving to FL for 4 days. Late the day before they were supposed to arrive, the driver called to say the truck was broken down in Cleveland!

When I told the driver I never gave him permission to take all my worldly possessions to Cleveland (5 hours NORTH of our departure in Cincinnati), he said "I don't need your permission." We called who we could but no one was in charge. Someone named Lisa said she worked for people in Rhode Island, the driver said he worked for people in Illinois. No one knew what caused the break down but we were told that no one could even LOOK at the truck for days. Quote from NVL website: "Our movers are also equipped with the latest in technology to carefully pack and transport our customer's belongings anywhere in the world with ease."

I called the rep who signed us up and she said all she could do was tell me how to file a complaint. We didn't want to file a complaint, we wanted our stuff! She said: "I never heard from you people before an hour ago." I told the rep her PR packet reads: "Your moving counselor is like an architect, possessing a solid understanding of every facet of the moving process." Here we thought she was directing the move! Her entire response to this mess we were in was to send us an email with the email address for customer service. She was just a salesperson who wiped her hands off us the minute we signed the contract. Quote from NVL website: "Your items are unique and personal to you, so our movers take the extra time to ensure all your belongings, furniture, and specialty items are carefully packed, moved, and unloaded in your new destination."

When the truck finally arrived, it was a different truck with a different driver, everything had been transferred. The new driver made an elaborate show of having us watch while he opened the seal on the truck. This was such a joke since this was not the truck that left our house. Boxes marked fragile were smashed, an expensive chair was broken. It was clear whoever did the transfer was not interested in the special handling of fragile items.

The guys who unloaded the truck were local people contacted at the last minute, not employees of NVL. They were decent, but refused to unpack mirror crates that the movers in Ohio packed. They showed us the movers instructions saying they didn't have to unpack them. We finally got them to do it, it took them all of about 3 minutes. 5 weeks later received a bill for $50 for this unpacking!

I never saw such a level of incompetence and arrogance. They obviously didn't bother to sit down and map out how they were going to accomplish this move. Everything was done by the seat of their pants. In the end they subtracted $125 for each day longer than the contract allowed. We run a business with our computers and took a big hit for those extra days. All it cost them was $125 a day to do whatever they pleased with our possessions. This company could not care less about customer satisfaction. They count on folks like us to buy their PR lies and trust them. Of course, they're not worried about our repeat business -- obviously this is the last move of our lives. Don't make the same mistake we did. RUN, DON'T WALK from NATIONAL VAN LINES!

The local office and the national office didn't communicate nor coordinate their efforts to get us a driver and were willing to give us only $125 dollars a day even if my wife and I had to purchase new work clothes, pay for various expenses including food, gas, lodging, and we had to sleep on our air bed for almost a whole week. Each time we called we couldn't get a straight answer as to what was happening and why our stuff hadn't left Tucson. The experience is one that I hope no one else has to go through.

Brand new desk arrived with 2 broken legs, 2 deep gouges on front & a 4 inch piece of granite broken off the top. His reply was "Sorry for the damage, but it is what it is." Things he disassembled were not reassembled, leaving us to do it. So many things dented, scratched, broken, I would have/should have, sold all my furniture before moving rather than pay a person with ZERO people skills who knows it all, won't take suggestions or recommendations to ruin it & I paid $8K for the privilege of rude people to ruin all my stuff. Got 2 grease spots on new carpet & said "those were there." NO, they weren't. Either he is not a good driver or not confident in his ability to get his truck in. Either way, his packing of his truck damaged everything I own. Boxes marked "Fragile" were crushed. This was a nightmare, a costly one, from beginning to end.

When the truck finally arrived, several of our possessions were damaged beyond repair. We had legs broken off furniture, an irreplaceable lamp shade crushed which can never be valued at its proper cost, other lamp shades broken, and many boxes crushed. Now I have read that claims are not paid promptly, if at all, by your company, and we still have to take the time and effort to file one. I am sorry to read that this company is led by a woman. What a sorry way to do business.

Several things happened on this move which will ensure I do not recommend you to anyone.

1) I was given a delivery date by the sales person and sent an electronic copy of the agreement. When the driver arrived it was changed to 2 weeks later. I needed my stuff moved that day so I had no choice but to sign. When attempting to contact my sales rep I received no response.

2) I was also told by the sales rep that my shipment would only be loaded once and not taken to a warehouse to be loaded again onto another truck. The driver told me after they packed the items that they would be taking it to a bigger truck to reload it as the driver did not work that day.... Great...

3) The driver did not bring all of the necessary items to load my shipment and thus had to take my 50 inch plasma TV and pictures to the warehouse to pack and load them without my viewing. I was told to just sign the sheet because that is how it had to be done. I could always go to the warehouse and watch them if I wanted. Too bad I didn't plan for an extra trip to the warehouse and had to work that evening; otherwise I would have loved to spend 8-10 hours with them.

4) Documentation of the condition of my items was very unprofessional. I asked where he marked the condition and he said oh don't worry everything will get there the way they picked it up and everything was in good shape. Upon later re-examining through the entire itemization, I started to decipher the letter codes he had put for items and turns out he put scratches for everything to cover himself, even though he told me the condition was good on everything. Overall the sales and loading was all about deceit in order to get my business, and once you have my items what am I going to do?

5) The delivery went a little better until I started documenting items that I found chipped/damaged. The driver tried to convince me that certain things were already there, but now knowing how your company operates, I ignored him.

Next up, filing my claims which I am sure will go swimmingly. For a $5000 moving expense I will next time sell all of my stuff, buy new things, and avoid the terrible customer service moving companies like this provide.

It was awful to have lost and damaged furniture, clothing, art, etc. Losing all of our family videos leaves us devastated. By the way, I was able to get the wedding dress back to its rightful owner. I'd like to mention that I told the CEO in my letter that I was giving her my permission to pass along my contact info to whoever asked for it. She said they couldn't do that.... Hmmm? If I gave my written consent, then what is the problem? Maybe National Van Lines doesn't want its customers talking to each other for fear of what may be revealed...

My husband did receive one call from the company and when my husband told him we wanted to return the wedding dress ourselves (because we didn't trust them to do it) he threatened my husband with legal action and stated we would be held responsible for interstate theft! So, National Van Lines behaves like thieves and dares to threaten us - it is truly unbelievable. The laws that exist, do not protect the consumer whatsoever. We have no recourse other than to tell anyone and everyone what a despicable company National Van Lines is. Do you suppose the IRS would like to know that the company is hiring people off the streets to move people's belongings and they are paying these people cash? Isn't "paying under the table" against the law?

On July 9th, Claims said they would run a trace and that we would have up to 9 months to file a claim and that they would call me the next day to keep me updated. On July 11th, I called and talked with Brenda in Customer Service who transferred me to Claims and was informed no trace had been run yet and was told I would get a call back. On July 15th I called National Van Lines and I was told my claims manager was on another line and would call me back. On the same day, I talked with our moving representative who told us she had been calling and trying to find our items as well and that SHE found the ladder and that the driver named "Dave" did put two televisions and the workbench on the truck to Texas. Claims did NOT call me back. For the record, National Van Lines Customer Service and Claims NEVER called me back but told me they had my number, read it back to me when I asked if they had it a total of 8 times.

On July 18th, I called National Van Lines and was transferred to Claims and told that not only had the trace ended, without me being called or notified of this happening, but that I needed to file a claim, that I had not insured my property (which was NEVER discussed EVER to add extra insurance or I would have GLADLY done that as my husband's company was paying for all of our moving expenses) and that I would get 60 cents per pound. So basically I was told my 1100 dollar BRAND new television was now worth about 30 dollars and my handmade work table my FATHER made was only worth 60 cents per pound as well as my badly damaged china hutch.

I was not informed about what information the Claims department had about the move, who the people were that unloaded my items, because the driver "Dave" clearly remembers loading the items onto the van to Texas but the Allen Moving Company said they were not in the warehouse... What HAPPENED to them in between?!!! Claims said that is not their problem to find that out, that all parties had been talked to and no one knew where the items were, so it was MY responsibility to now file a claim and receive my pittance for my lost items. Claims said they were closing the case and there was absolutely NOTHING more they were going to do concerning MY personal property because talking to everyone was as good as it was going to get for me to get my items back (Sarcastically I say that NO ONE could have possibly being LYING to Claims). So at this point, National Van Lines has claimed responsibility for losing my personal belongings, but claim that it is MY responsibility to now pay for them, replace them, or cry over them, because there is nothing more they WILL do to help me retrieve them.

The day they showed up to pack our home, the moving van was half full when the driver realized they had misjudged how big of a truck they needed. So they split up our shipment into 2 trucks. They also changed their dollar estimate for our delivery to almost $5,000 more! The one truck arrived late than we were promised and as they were unloading our furniture, there were many crushed boxes clearly labeled with the word "FRAGILE" on them. Our refurbished, antique grand piano top was ruined with oil marks and water stains. Pieces of artwork and furniture artwork were damaged with huge scratches and gashes in them. Our china cabinet's entire back was broken off and the base of it was broken. There were many items missing from the paperwork, but the driver assured us they were in the next truck.

My husband even caught the driver gluing a piece of wood back on our very expensive mahogany desk! The driver was completely indifferent to the damage done to our belongings and our missing items. Fast forward a week and the second delivery is being made after being told they didn't know when they could get our second delivery to us because, "You know, June and July are real busy moving months so we really can't give you a date." The second shipment finally does arrive, at 3PM rather than the 8AM as we were told. The driver told us he was late because his truck did not pass inspection! He showed up with NO ONE to help move in our belongings. So he went up the street to two random guys and offered them cash to move our stuff!

My husband, myself and my daughter moved in a large portion of our shipment on our own - more crushed boxes, missing mattresses, all of my husband's very expensive ties are gone as well as other business attire, missing wardrobe boxes, kitchen boxes, broken lamps, artwork ruined, pictures for our walls missing, and the driver kept giving us items that were NOT ours!!! We told him every time we were given something that wasn't ours. The guys bringing in everything completely soiled the carpeting throughout the second floor.

When everything was unloaded, the driver had NO paperwork! Before the driver even opened the door to make the first delivery, he wanted the cashier's check and credit card information. That was before we saw all of our damaged belongings. We did not make payment for the second delivery because we are missing so many things. My husband attempted contacting the company while they were unloading the first delivery and every day after (to no avail and no response received). He tried getting in contact with someone after the second delivery and no returned calls. My husband was finally told the company would check with other families to see if they received any of our things and that was it.

This week we received a little white postcard telling us the company was sorry to hear we had a problem with our shipment and they are working hard to resolve the matter. We sent a letter (Via FedEx) to the president of the company and no response. Today, as I attempted to unpack some more boxes and figure out what exactly we are missing, I noticed an unfamiliar white box - it is some woman's packaged and preserved wedding dress! I am feeling bad for myself and my family, but I can imagine there is a woman somewhere very upset thinking she has lost her wedding dress forever! I want to get that woman her wedding dress! Where do we go from here?

Now, they've had the photos and additional documentation for two additional months and we've heard nothing from anyone. Our attempts to get a status have been unproductive. National Van Lines did everything BUT call us liars. It’s rolling around on a year and we still have broken furniture in our house. While I could have it repaired myself and continued to wait this out, I am not sure some of the damages could be repaired well enough to put the items back in the original state. It's funny, the CREW recognized that these damages happened during the move, but not the claims department. I had the driver document all of the details, but... apparently they don't recognize this documentation from their employees, either. I would not recommend anyone using this company. I really do not know what to do next...

The driver and mover were very rude to my husband at their arrival. They blatantly mistreated our furniture and we found boxes crushed and the goods inside also crushed and often broken. It was gut wrenching to open up boxes and discover so much of our stuff broken and mistreated. While the movers brought our furniture in the house, they dragged our wood furniture on the concrete, therefore scratching it all up and breaking some parts. Our furniture was taken apart without our knowledge and not put back together. We are missing screws on our coffee table and we can't find a replacement screw. The table is worthless.

One of the movers fell into our bookcase and broke it into bits. He gave my husband $30 cash for the bookcase and the bookcase is actually worth $60. I have an ottoman that looked like it had ropes tied to it and heavy goods placed on top. The soft top is crushed and not repairable. We have a microfiber chase lounge that was dragged on the ground and has scuff marks on it that I cannot remove. They placed our couch long side up on the ground and got it dirty. Our Dyson vacuum cleaner was unloaded off the truck and dragged across the ground. My husband was alone the day the movers arrived and they were both coming and going so fast that he was losing track and getting confused.

He would look one way and see our furniture being dragged and turn around again to see our boxes being thrown on the ground and fragile boxes being stacked up heavy and high. There are so many other things that were mistreated, broken and destroyed. There is nothing more disrespectful as having things that we worked so hard for treated so terribly. Having our hard earned goods being trashed like garbage just crushed my husband and I. I regret to no end using National Van Lines. I wish I would have paid more and gone with United Van Lines, who I used twice before for cross country moves. My goods were treated with the utmost respect and care.

National Van Lines took our hard earned money and goods and trashed them. I have told anyone who will listen to never use National Van Lines! We have filed a claim and we know we will not be fairly compensated for the damage done. It is such a shame. Really, shame on National Van Lines for turning an already stressful situation to near unbearable. Well, you got your money from us and we are just another faceless and worthless customer. Just an absolute shame.

I called several times needing to get a confirmed delivery, and was told again they would give me three days notice. National Van Lines loaded their truck in Stamford CT with my furniture on 6/26/08. They delivered on 7/15/08, 19 days later. I received two days notice. On the day of delivery there were several items were mixed up with another customers delivery. I did not except the items, due to the fact that they were not mine. The furniture was scratched, I had missing part for the furniture, and one box was a total loss. It looked as if a sharp object had gone through the box. The box contained a toaster oven that was crushed, along with everything else in the box. I notated on the bill of lading the items missing, miss delivered, and broken.

I contacted National Van Lines the next day with the issue of the missing mattress and box spring. The broken items, and missing furniture parts. I was told I would get a call back the next day. I did not, so I called Vanguard Moving and Storage. Vanguard informed me that the issue was in NC, four other customer orders were mixed up during the loading of the truck. Vanguard told me to get in contact with Cindy in the claims departed, and the matter would be taken care of. I then called Cindy, and was told that they needed to investigate. Four days passed with no call, I then called them again and they told me that they had the mattress. Through email we deduced that the mattress they claimed was mine was NOT. They instructed me that I needed to proceed with a claim since the mattress and box spring was not mine. We filled out the claim with all issues of missing mattress/box spring, missing furniture parts, and broken items.

The claims department sent a check that was based on .60 cents per pound value, which came out to be $363.03. The mattress and box spring I purchased was a total of $1,078.02. The claim total I submitted was for $1,328.02. Patty McCarthy from the claims department at National Van Lines told me that I should be satisfied with the $363.03 check that was authorized.

I find it appalling that a moving company takes your furniture, and does NOT hold themselves accountable for loosing it. I also find it appalling that .60 cents per pound for furniture is an acceptable liability value. I researched the value of .60 cents per pound, even a pound of butter has more value than what National Van Lines holds themselves accountable for liability/loss.

Loss of mattress and box spring Furniture scratched Furniture parts missing Damaged items Loss of time, movers showed no due diligence.

I did the room by room description of all our furniture, closets, especially the bookcases and books as I have a lot of books and I was concerned about how much they weigh. He assured me the estimate would be accurate. He did not offer me a written estimate. I requested he fax me a written estimate which he did on Nov. 15, 2004. The estimate was for $4,831.58, which we agreed to pay. The movers arrived on November 20 as agreed, our driveway was narrow and the truck was unable to drive down.

The movers advised us that they would have to rent a smaller truck to transport our belongings to the large truck and there would be an additioal charge of $500.00 for this. We agreed to the additional $500.00 - this seemed reasonable to us. Sometime after we were in TN. we received an additional bill for $1,810.52. We feel this is outrageous and have refused to pay it. We can see the possibility of the estimate being off a little but not $1,810.52, this is unreasonable and unethical in our opinion. I have tried on numerous occasions to talk directly with Mr. Buti, but he will not return my calls.

We are now being called by a collection agency. National Van Lines told the collection agency they don't like to give a guaranteed estimate in writing but that I insisted on one. When you have your car worked on they give you a written estimate and if it goes over the estimate they must get your authorization to do the work. We feel we should have the same opportunity and didn't.

I complained to my credit card company, who completed a lengthy investigation, and they agreed my signature had been forged. My credit card company reversed the charges. Now, National Van Lines, Inc. is threatening to take me to collections if I do not pay them for packing, although I continue to insist my signature was forged and they didn't pack a thing. They never contacted me once regarding this matter until they threatened to take me to collections. I would love to know who to contact regarding prosecuting National Van Lines, Inc. for forging my signature.