American Van Lines
reviews and complaints

I've already told you people of my issues and all I got was a sympathetic sounding gentlemen who simply sweet talked his way out of any blame. I got NO compensation for my losses and DAMAGES.

I want as many people as possible to know they should NEVER TRUST THIS COMPANY.

They sweet talked me and made NO attempt to reimburse me for my losses...all I got was kind words... that make NOTHING better.

I'm telling everyone I ever talk to to NEVER use your company.

Miserable dishonest [censored]!

This company doesn't care about their customers or their belongings! On 9/20/2022 and 9/21/2022 I sent them a total of 22 emails with pictures attached of the damage to my belongings. The damaged items totaled over $3,000.00. One of the damaged items that I can't even put a price on was an antique that was my grandmother's that passed away in 1968. The 2 guys that delivered my belongings broke stuff and tried to hide it. They also left their personal trash outside my house. The delivery guys were supposed to put some of the stuff back together like a table, bed, and desk, but instead they just put the stuff on the floor and didn't put anything together. I was told by the claims department at American van lines that they had 120 days to provide a determination. It's been 123 days and I have not heard anything from them.

On Sep 12 I contacted AVL, due to need to move after selling our house, and Kyle patiently went over the inventory and provided a binding quote. At that time he indicated he would be available and the contact for any questions I would have. Due to the size of our house, he also said the pack and load window should be 2-1/2 days and he set up 10-12 Oct. This window became important because we closed on the sale of our home on 12 Oct and the Buyers agreed to give us 2 additional days to complete the move-out and they planned to move in on 15 Oct based on the 10-12 Oct window. A couple times after Sep 12, I contacted Kyle via the phone number he gave me as his direct line, and he confirmed as late as 6 Oct the 10-12 Oct pack/load window was set. During this period, Dan, my Personal Moving Coordinator, sent me an email introducing himself and his role.

From 6 Oct through 12 Oct, I tried to contact both Kyle via his 'direct line' phone and email and Dan by phone to confirm AVL was going to show up on 10-12 Oct. I was shocked, frustrated, and disappointed that neither Kyle nor Dan responded to my phone calls, voicemails, and emails. By now, I was within 48 hours of the Buyers moving in. On 10 Oct, I called Customer Support and spoke with several ladies, one of whom named Melissa, told me the confirmed pack/load window was not going to happen but they would call me back with revised date. Melissa never called me back. On 11 Oct, I was told by another person in Customer Support after multiple calls on my part and reaching multiple persons in Customer Support that AVL would pack and load during 12-14 Oct. At each call, I repeated the problem of not meeting the confirmed pack / load date because the Buyers were moving in on 15 Oct.

Finally, Jorge Able made contact with me, identified himself as one who worked emergency orders, on 14 Oct and assured me that AVL would arrive on 15 Oct to pack/load. Because of these revised dates only told to me at the last minute, I had to contact the Buyers and explain why they could not move in on 15 Oct. They agreed to give me until 17 Oct to move out but I needed to pay a leaseback payment of $1000 to them since I had now been living in the house they bought on 12 Oct.

Jorge Ubillo was excellent, always reachable by phone, responded to my calls, and provided accurate information. AVL did show up on Sunday, 15 Oct, and packed and loaded in 6 hours -- not 2-1/2 days as Kyle indicated.

The AVL driver, Richard, was the most experienced, honest, customer focused, and professional mover I had interacted with. He committed to delivering my furniture/etc by Sunday 23 Oct.

Ironically, and adding insult to injury, during the period 17-20 Oct, Dan who had not responded to phone calls and voicemails miraculously began to call me every other day to tell me that in 2 additional days he would confirm a delivery date. But alas, by Friday 21 Oct, Dan should have called to confirm a delivery date but no call and no confirmation. However, Richard, the driver on pack/load did reach out to me by phone and by text to let me know that he would be arriving on Sunday 23 Oct to deliver.

In summary, Kyle, Dan, Melissa, and several others working in Customer Support do not follow-through, make statements to make the customer feel good but in hindsight the statements are guesses rather than factual, or do not respond to calls, email, voicemails at all -- which by definition shows a lack of integrity in the performance of their jobs. The additional days of delay caused me out-of-pocket expenses of $1000 to the buyers, as well as, personal embarrassment and lack of credibility with the Buyers. The AVL process is so compartmentalized that no one knows anything except the Dispatch Team whom no one -- including AVL Customer Support personnel -- can talk to directly but can only communicate via emails. This process is not customer focused, is not reliable, and leaves a very bad taste in experience -- and one that no one should endure.

I am saddened and disappointed to have done business with AVL.

We established a move with this company. They never did a walk through of our property to assess the volume of items needing moving. Last minute we were sold to oasis movers from am van lines, stating this was the only way to make our move happen on time. These movers came very late on move out day. They were not professionals, they did not wrap our funature or dishes, they did not protect our floors. Our boxes were all smashed inside the truck with little care or concern. They refused to deliver on time unless we paid and additional fee to have them come on time! Basically through our stuff off the truck with no regards to protecting our belongings or our new home! Our quoted price was very reasonable, we ended up paying almost 10,000 dollars more than quoated

They have terrible communication, my moving coordinator changed multiple times, they were emailed my updated list and did not act on it, they quoted 60 cents a pound and told me it was 1.28 a pound once the movers arrived, and it has been two weeks with my stuff not being here. No one answers my emails either. I have had a TERRIBLE experience, and I highly recommend people stay away. I hired them, and a random single guy showed up with an off brand truck. He was alone for a three bedroom apartment move! I called and complained, and nothing has been done. Worse, a move that was quoted at around 4k has turned into 10k. This is madness and should be criminal. Once they have you locked into a contract, you have no choice but to follow through too. The one guy in off brand truck shows up the day I have to move, and then he tells me the price is different, more than twice. What else can I do but accept? They are scammers.

In April 2022, I contracted with AVL to move from Illinois to Texas. During my 20+ years in the army, I had to move 9 times. THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY THE WORST MOVE I HAVE EVER HAD. When I contacted AVL regarding my move from Illinois to Texas, I asked about an in-person, on-site estimate, but was told that estimates are done remotely. I explained in great detail the furniture items I had, including a large German shrunk (wall unit) that broke down into smaller pieces. The estimator produced an estimate that initially listed 124 items, 7363 lbs. I even called back when I realized I had forgotten about two table lamps – they were added to the inventory, now listed as 126 items, 7391 lbs., $8190.63. On moving day, a truck (not an 18-wheeler) arrived which was already more than half full. The packers/driver packed my household goods which added up to 275 items, more than double the original estimate. The original estimate list included: no small boxes, but 40 small boxes were packed; 30 medium boxes, but 39 were packed; 10 large boxes, but 18 were packed; and 4 wardrobe boxes, but 8 were packed. Additionally, the German wall unit was listed as 1 item on the estimate, but when broken down added up to 30 items, and a large shelf unit, which was listed as 1 item on the estimate, added up to 8 items when broken down. AVL added $995.00 to the invoice for the additional packing/materials. When the truck was loaded, many of my items would not fit on the truck. The driver informed me that had an accurate estimate been completed, an empty truck would have been sent. When I contacted AVL regarding the issue, I also asked what responsibility the estimator had regarding completing a grossly under-estimate of my household goods. I was only repeatedly told that I had agreed with the estimate (which I did based on the estimator’s supposed experience) and that AVL had fulfilled its obligation under the contract in that my 126 items/7391 lbs. fit on the truck and that, if I wanted the additional items moved, I would have to pay for a 2nd move. Based on the timeline I was given regarding my move, I had scheduled several things to be done, both with my new house in Texas, and with my house in Illinois to prepare it for being placed for sale. The driver was able to arrange for a 6x12 ft. U-haul trailer. Since I had no other options, I agreed to a 2nd move at a cost of $3807.58. Even then, 11 of my items did not fit on the trailer and were left behind. Fortunately, my daughter, who lives 1½ hours away, was able to go to my house to retrieve the items. From an original estimate of $8190.63, my final cost totaled $12,993.21. AVL accepted no responsibility regarding the completely inaccurate estimate/costs. This amounts to the old scam where you hire “2 guys and a truck” moving company and they charge you $8,000 for the move, but then tell you that, "due to unforeseen circumstances/expenses," you have to pay an additional $5000 before your furniture can be delivered.

I paid over 20k to get completely screwed over. Firstly, the delivery window was from 4/28/2022 - 5/15/2022. We were not contacted by American Van lines (AVL) at all to inform us our delivery was going to be late. We were only informed of updates if I called and waited on hold for 30 minutes. After contacting the driver directly, he stated he would be arriving the weekend of the 20th and would contact me the day before.

Since he stated multiple times, he was planning the weekend, I had contractors scheduled during the week, giving them Friday off just in case it came early. I called on Tuesday the 17th to get an update and see if there was a firm delivery window with dispatch. To my surprise, I was then informed that they may be coming on the 18th however I did not receive confirmation until 3 hours before the delivery window on the 18th. I had to rush to move important client meetings last minute and put my professional reputation in jeopardy. Additionally, I had to cancel my contractors at the last minute and pay $660 anyway since it was last minute. That's not even including the project delays that will result from this disaster.

I did most of the research for the driver of uhauls and places for him to transfer items to the shuttle Yet, the day of the 18th he still got lost. My husband had to drive around all over town trying to meet with him and show him up to the location. Finally, around 1pm the day of, my husband was able to find him. They waited for over 4 hours for the movers to show up to start the shuttle transfer. While waiting, my husband assisted the driver and his girlfriend transferring what they could into the smaller uhaul.

Once the 1st run of the shuttle arrived, around 6pm (5 hours past the window) the movers were reckless with our belongings. They put TVs on their side, damaged my floors, damaged freshly finished walls and doorways, they did not listen to where I wanted things AT ALL. They did not help us put furniture back together and furthermore, we ended up moving significant portions of the items ourselves. They were taking items such as light baskets, while my husband and I were moving heavy boxes.

Understandably, the driver did not want to complete the move on the 18th, so I had to again take an unexpected day off from work, damaging my reputation. I also had to cancel our contractors for a second day, (another $660) resulting in 2 total days of postponing construction. On the 19th, while we had a bigger moving crew, we still ended up moving significant portions of furniture and heavy items ourselves, as well as removing blankets, wrap, ect. With the exception of a single bed, we put all our furniture back together ourselves. Again, the movers did not listen to where we wanted some of our heavier items which resulted in us having to spend the entire weekend moving things to the rooms they belonged in.

To make issues even worse, the driver started having a terrible attitude when I told him I did not want to sign any paperwork until we were able to go through and make sure items were all accounted for. Things were so frustrating, we ended up singing the paperwork anyway, just to get them to leave. We wanted this nightmare to be over. However we are missing dozens of items, rugs, chairs, boxes, furniture pieces and have significant damages to our expensive furniture as well as damages to our newly remodeled house.

I have asked the same telemarketer to remove me from the call list at least 5 times. If this harassment continues I will sue your company. She is rude and inconsiderate. I don't need a moving company now or ever and if I did. I won't ever call American because your telemarketers are [censored]!

Please make sure this complaint is acknowledged.

We hired American Van Lines for our move from New Jersey to Colorado in early December. American Van Lines was one of two companies that were referred to me by my new company. My new job had offered me a relocation package along with the new position, and it was beneficial to use their credit card to pay for most of the moving costs (such as the moving company, car shipping carrier, and hotels) rather than paying out of pocket to then be reimbursed by them with my first pay check (as supplemental income, on which I’d have to pay a high tax percentage). I spoke to a gentleman named Matthew Peach at American Van Lines, who did my online video estimate for me. I told him that my new company would be paying for the move with their credit card. I enquired whether both the deposit and the remaining balance at the end would be able to be paid by credit card. He said yes. The other company that was referred to me only accepted cash at the end, and so it was for this reason that we chose American Van Lines. I put Matthew Peach in touch with my HR Manager and she paid the deposit via my company’s business credit card. The original estimate was based on 8,000 lbs at a cost of $8,967.67. I signed this binding estimate.

A week before our first available pick-up date, we received a phone call from our personal moving coordinator Rebecca Joassaint. She told us that the driver had informed us that we would need a shuttle service, and that their moving truck would not be able to park on our road. My husband disagreed with this, and said that he had seen large moving trucks parked on the main road, and that we had moved there only a few months earlier with a big truck without any issues. She got very defensive and said that it was necessary. When I tried to ask her another question, she hung up on us. I called and left her a voicemail, but I didn’t hear back from her.

A couple of days later, Rebecca Joassaint called us again. She let us know that unfortunately our driver had broken down, but that they had subcontracted our move to Cal Van Lines at no extra cost to us, and that our pick-up date was Wednesday January 26th between 9 am and noon. She also let us know that she would still be our main moving coordinator and that she would be checking in with us, and that this driver had confirmed the need for a shuttle service. This would be at an estimated extra cost of $1,000. We weren’t happy about this, but she was firm and defensive that it was necessary, and so we went along with it.

A few days prior to the move, we communicated with Emily Caparole at American Van Lines to make sure they had all the correct items on their list for us. We had sold and gotten rid of a few big, bulky items and we had to add some of my husband’s work tools. She had us sign a revised binding estimate, based on 7,636 lbs at a cost of $8,582.11.

On Wednesday January 26th, a mover hired under Cal Van Lines called us in the morning. Her name was Adriana or Andreina or something similar. They showed up in a rented small U-Haul truck and a van. She came in with 3 or 4 sub-subcontracted movers, and assigned my husband to itemize everything. After a while, she said that it was a lot more than expected and that our item numbers were much higher than estimated. We told her that we were confident it wouldn’t weigh more than the original estimate because we hadn’t used all of the boxes we had been allotted in the estimate, and the boxes we had used had definitely not been filled to their maximum weight capacity. No other furniture or unpacked items had been added that weren’t already on the list, so we were confused as to why she thought it would be a lot more. She said they would be weighing the truck and that it would probably weigh and cost a significant amount more than we had been estimated. She talked me through some paperwork, stating that what I was signing wouldn’t set anything in stone. She skimmed over a lot, and didn’t inform me that I was rescinding the previous binding estimate, but unfortunately that is something I discovered later. At this stage, we were unaware of “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” because they had hidden this information in small letters in the estimate. So we didn’t know that they had to legally offer us the opportunity to be at the weighing station, or that weighing after signing a binding estimate without any of the items or box amounts that are part of the estimate increasing is unheard of. They drove off with our stuff, and we started making our way to Colorado.

On Monday the 31st of January, we still hadn’t heard from American Van Lines or Cal Van Lines in regards to the weight and cost. We called them both multiple times and requested a copy of the weight tickets. The next morning Rebecca Joassaint sent me an invoice for $13,013.55, which shocked us. I immediately told her that we couldn’t pay this, and that we would’ve gone with a different company had we known they would have upped the price by almost $4,500 after taking our stuff. Her only response was that our weight had gone up to 10,420 lbs. I called her and left her a voicemail, which as usual was left unresponded. I emailed her to ask her if she could please call me. She called and my husband spoke to her, trying to dispute the price, and wanting to see the weight tickets. We were shocked by Rebecca’s behaviour. She had been rude and evasive prior, but now she simply spoke right over my husband, reiterated generic information, didn’t listen or express empathy, which you would expect from a customer service representative, and would simply put my husband on hold for a while and come back pretending like nothing had happened, or hang up on us. Her behaviour was outright shocking and I had the feeling we were speaking to a toddler without a hint of emotional intelligence. We asked to speak to her supervisor, and she said she would pass on the message.

At this point, I started Googling to see how I could file a complaint and get a hold of a supervisor. I then came across this website of complaints, which instantly rang alarm bells and caused concern and distress. We had experienced numerous of the same things that customers complained about. They were called scammers and frauds, I read about how they lie and always subcontract another company, that they do not uphold original estimates, etc etc. We called our old landlord/lawyer and he instantly confirmed it was a bait and switch. Alarmed, my husband and I felt like they had lied about more. My husband made a phone call to the township we had been living in in New Jersey, and they confirmed that a large truck/rig would have legally been able to park on our road for the move, and that it wouldn’t have been a problem at all.

When we finally got a hold of the supervisor, Samuel Parker, he was fairly courteous and understanding. He sent me a PDF of our weight tickets that indicated 10,420 lbs. At this point, of course, I had been so alarmed that I was reading up on our legal rights, and we asked for a re-weigh when they got to Colorado. He agreed. We also disputed the use of the shuttle, and he agreed to call the township and “look into it”. We were informed that our belongings would be delivered by the end of the week. We were told we’d have to pay what they had weighed at, minus the shuttle service perhaps – this was yet to be confirmed by him – and that if the weight was any less at the reweigh, we would be reimbursed. We begrudgingly agreed to this as we wouldn’t receive our belongings back otherwise.

On Friday February 4th, we still hadn’t finalized the new price, and tried to find out about the unnecessary shuttle service. We were called that morning by a Yani from Cal Van Lines informing us that our delivery would be that following Sunday February 6th, and that if we were planning to pay by card, that we had to do that before 3pm PST. We were confused by this. The invoices we had received and all the paperwork we had signed thus far were from American Van Lines, not Cal Van Lines. We hadn’t received any paperwork or invoices from Cal Van Lines, and were unaware that payment would have to be made to them. American Van Lines had my new company’s credit card on file, and we knew it was our legal right to pay upon delivery, not before. I also let her know that we were still waiting for Sam to inform us on the new price prior to the reweigh. I called Sam to share my confusion and to let him know what was happening. He confirmed that the shuttle service would be ‘absorbed’ by American Van Lines, and that we would be doing a reweigh in Longmont, CO, at the station closest to us. At the same time, I received an email and a text from Yani at Cal Van Lines confirming a reweigh in Commerce City, CO. This, of course, was another red flag. I forwarded these emails to Sam and asked him to call me. I called Yani from Cal Van Lines, and expressed my confusion, at which point Sam from American Van Lines called me and I put Yani on hold. They were both telling me the reweigh would be at different stations, and so I merged the calls to get clarity. Finally, they agreed we would meet at Longmont for the reweigh, but then Yani kept switching the time frames around from between 7.30-8am, to between 8-10am. She didn’t clarify the exact time at any point. I asked if we could have the driver’s contact information so that we could make sure we wouldn’t miss the reweigh. We also reminded them of our legal right to pay by card upon delivery, but they stated that because the delivery was during the weekend, the office would be closed, and so we had to pay now. Needless to say, we felt very distressed.

We asked Yani to please confirm in writing that our delivery would be at said time and date, as we had no written proof that they would be delivering anything. We also asked Sam to state in email that Cal Van Lines would be acting on behalf of American Van Lines and that the final balance had to be paid to them. Again – something we had no written proof of. It was all very confusing, and I was starting to get the idea that this wasn’t a genuine miscommunication but that it reeked of manipulation and fraudulent intent.

Yani refused to put in writing that our household goods would definitely be delivered and refused to remove the words ‘tentatively’. Slightly paranoid at this stage, we wanted to make sure we would receive our items. We called back and spoke to someone named Alex at Cal Van Lines. We asked to speak to Yani and he said that “she wasn’t there”. I immediately called him out as she had just texted me, and he said that she was on the phone with someone else. We asked him why he had said she wasn’t there, but he overrode us and denied he had said that. We asked again for the word ‘tentatively’ to be removed from the email. He refused and said they couldn’t legally take that word away, and finally, we – begrudgingly – agreed. We were reminded that time was ticking and that, if we wanted to use my company’s credit card, we had to do it quickly. I had kept my HR Manager in the loop of this entire confusing process, and she was equally confused and alarmed. When I told her to go ahead and make the payment, Sam informed me that she wouldn’t be able to use an American Express card. He said they only accepted VISA, MasterCard and Discovery for final balance payments. This baffled me, as Matthew Peach had not informed us of this when we had paid the deposit. He was fully aware that we intended to use the same business credit card for the final balance, yet had somehow failed to inform us then or to note this important information down for Cal Van Lines when they were subcontracted. And so, my HR manager was unable to pay using the business credit card. Panicked, we tried to find an alternative way for my company to pay. Because this had been thrown at us last-minute and “time was ticking”, we had not been able to make alternate payment arrangements in a way that it wouldn’t come to us paying out of our own pocket. Graciously, my HR Manager offered to use her own credit card, and that she would be reimbursed by the company. She went through the procedure with Yani, only to be told at 3.01pm PST (1 minute after Cal Van Lines supposedly closed) that they wouldn’t be able to accept any credit card payment that wasn’t under my name. Again, this baffled me, as we had been talking about my company paying ALL DAY, and Yani had conveniently failed to mention they wouldn’t accept payment from anyone but me. I disputed this, reminding both Sam and Yani that we had hired American Van Lines, not Cal Van Lines, for our move. And that the condition upon which we had chosen them (which Matthew Peach had been made very well aware of) was that we would be able to pay by company credit card for both deposit and final balance. Sam said that only my company’s supervisor’s name was on file, not my HR manager’s. We had had no problem paying the deposit, and so we were all baffled why there was suddenly a problem.

I then received a phone call from Alex from Cal Van Lines who aggressively reminded me that we had to pay by cash or money order on Sunday, and that there was no other way. When I tried to speak, he overrode me again, dominating the conversation, saying that he didn’t have time to talk, but that these were now the only ways we could pay.

Then, Samuel Parker emails me with a credit card form for my company. He asked for my employer to fill it out, and that he would be paying the agent (Cal Van Lines). At this point, my HR Manager had left her office as it was past 5 pm local time. She tried to do it from her phone, which didn’t work. Sam then said it was ‘too late’ and that he was leaving his office and that we had to pay Cal Van Lines differently when they delivered on Sunday. With much frustration, we had to accept this reality.

On Saturday the 5th of February I sent American Van Lines and Cal Van Lines a long email in regards to my dissatisfaction with their service(s).

On Sunday the 6th of February, at 7am, I looked through my phone to find the driver’s phone number. It had never been clarified at what time we would be meeting the driver at the weighing station. She picked up and confirmed 8.30am with us. My husband went out to weigh the truck, they drove to our new home and delivered our goods, unpacked everything, etc. One of our small furniture pieces was broken, and they forgot to assemble another furniture piece, but overall, the process went reasonably smooth The driver Adriana or Andreina or something like that said that this was all above her head, and that she only does as her supervisors tell her to. We went and weighed the moving truck again after unloading. She handed us the weight ticket without looking at it, obviously avoidant, and then left. We looked at both weight tickets, prior and after, and were shocked and yet not surprised to find out that the weight difference was only 7,160 lbs. Not the 10,420 lbs they claimed it was. Not even the 7,636 lbs of the final binding estimate. Less than that.

I asked Sam to call me immediately so I could be reimbursed for this outrageous overpayment. He said he would look into the matter. Then, he agreed we would be reimbursed. NOT A WORD OF SURPRISE OR SHOCK AT THIS FRAUD, NO COMMENT OR CONCERN EXPRESSED WHATSOEVER. Absolutely shocking.

I asked to not just be paid back the $3,715.00 of overpayment, but also to be reimbursed for the taxes that I would be charged now. Because of all this, my company couldn’t pay the final balance using their credit card, meaning they would pay me the remainder of my relocation package as supplemental income with my first paycheck (in March). However, now we’ve had to pay out of pocket (thank goodness we even had it) – money that we’ve already paid taxes on. And now I have to pay a much higher tax rate on this money as supplemental income, which, besides the headache, stress, and lies, is extremely frustrating. We have since received the check for the weight difference, and I am still in conversation with Sam about the taxes, but it’s dubious as to whether we will actually be reimbursed for this. It seems that no matter how much I reiterate my point and what has happened, he finds a way to avoid and evade or “not understand”.

Please, people – do not use this company.

Fraudulent - they are not long-distance movers, they subcontract, I asked this before contracting them, then one day after cancellation date they called to say they cannot pick up my furniture on days I requested and would need to sub contract the move which is the only reason I picked them. May bad for not looking at all the horrible revies on line about this company, they have my deposit and now refuse to reply to me, they are thieves nothing more.

I was given a 3 day gap where the pickup from my old house was supposed to happen. I adjusted my work schedule to make this happen. I got a call 2 days prior to pickup saying that they would be there the morning of the 3 day gap they had originally given me. That was fine even though I had hoped for the 1st or 2nd day.

The day before pickup, at abou 1:00 pm, they called and said they needed to push my pickup date back by 2 more days. This put me in a very bad position with my own job. I would think that giving themselves a 3 day gap to make the pickup would be sufficient but apparently they need the better portion of the week. It's hard to plan around such incompetence. I will not use this company again!

Contract signed for pack out (22 Sept 2021) load (23 Sept 2021) to relocate from SC to TN. I called on the 21st for expected time frame of packers, was told "had to change date to the 23 Sept due to unexpected delay", and load 24 Sept delivered 25 Sept. I waited all day and nothing, no driver, packers, phone call. Finally I called at 3:40 to inform them the packers were a "no show", well the rep apologized, called the dispatcher and I was told "the packers/driver would be at my house at 0800, driver calls at 7:40 pm and informs me they will be there at 11:00 am. So now what was scheduled for 2 days will be crammed into one day, and my goods would be delivered sat. Meaning I will be forced to drive from SC to TN regardless of the time they finish because they will be delivery Saturday or I will be charged a storage fee. I am and will be cancelling this contract due to their breach of contract. I have contacted the assistant DA as well as a lawyer and will be filing a formal complaint concerning misleading, fraudulent business practices that borders on coersion, harassment, unfair trade practices as well as filing a formal complaint with the USDepartment of Transportation, and FMCSA against them if they fail to cancel this contract. I will follow up with my success.

Moved March 23, 2021.
It was quoted a price of +$6000 to move from Arkansas to Florida. I live remote so they said there would be TWO trucks because could not get large truck. They set time for 12 - 3 on the 23, they did not show up - I called they said I had a 3 day span and they would come when they get there! 2 days later they show up LATE. ONE truck. Of course all my stuff would not fit in ONE truck. Had to pick and choose most important stuff. Of course the one truck was overweight! They charged me for that as well. The movers were people off the street - they had never moved anyone before. Driver was great but not movers. Several items were broken. Before they would unload the truck I had to fork over another +$7,000! Horrible experience! Linda P.

Job #1250599 - Move from California to Iowa

On the day before our scheduled pickup date we called the company because we had not received our promised courtesy call. We left several voicemails before finally being called back. They had to scramble to get a truck lined up to meet the pickup date. Movers do decent job however they we an hour late and left a lot of trash in and around the apartment. We also never got a promised courtesy call from our rep to make sure the move was going well.

A day before our scheduled delivery/move-in date we find out the truck still is in California. Cut to two weeks later, the truck is finally leaving California and en route to Iowa. Many unfulfilled promises from the company and excuses about why it was taking so long. Many hours left on hold, countless voicemails left. Very unsatisfactory customer service. Bottom line, we spent two weeks in an empty apartment and the company took no accountability.

The day finally comes to make delivery of our stuff, and the driver is ignorant of the fact that we leave on the 3rd floor of a building with no elevator even though that was on the contract. I kid you not, he then goes to hire two strangers from a Burger King across the street to help with unloading our stuff.

We then have to go through a lengthy claims process to try and get compensated for lost and damaged items. So to recap, they charge us over $1000 more than the quote, leave us hanging for two weeks in an empty apartment and deny any request to compensate us for hotel accommodations or cover the cost of an air mattress, hire strangers to when we are paying for "professionals", then deny covering for lost items because we signed something on day of delivery that apparently said we received all of our stuff.

I signed a contract with Kevin Cardiff on 10/1/2020 to have a mover pack and move my belongings from Indianapolis, IN to Sedona, AZ. I was told that the estimate ($7, 712.48) was binding based on the inventory, which was supposed to be checked 3 days before my move by the Quality Assurance department. The estimate included disassembly and reassembly of standard furniture, loading, unloading & furniture set where you want it. On Oct 15, I received an email from Rebecca J. telling me that she would be my permanent move coordinator and would call or email me 1 day before my pick up to advise a more definitive date and time with you (window given was between 10/29-10/31. Included in her email was "I aim to provide you with excellence in service". I was called by the driver (Mack) and told that my pickup date would be Oct. 29th between 8-10 am and my delivery would be Nov 1. I then called the QA manager, Emily Caporale to review my final inventory and she didn't return my call, but did update the final inventory only after I sent an inventory that I created. I was asked to sign this final inventory in addition to Kevin Cadiff, which was not used by the movers to ensure all items were picked up. On Oct 29th at 11:38 am, I contacted Rebecca's supervisor, Ashley Paul because no one had arrived yet. I was then informed that the pickup date would not be until Oct 31st and was assigned a new move coordinator, Leslie Hopson.

My delivery was moved to Nov 2 at 5:30 pm and only the driver (Mack) arrived to unload and unpack all of my items. He then proceeded to unload most boxes without regard for where they belonged, although the boxes were so poorly marked, it was difficult to determine the correct placement. Once all items were inside, he asked if we were good to go even though nothing had been reassembled at this point. After telling him no, he proceeded to assemble the bedroom furniture and the computer desk (which was not reassembled correctly and we have to completely disassemble and reassemble in order for the glass top to fit. I then asked him to reassemble the 3 bicycles, which he said he did, but upon further inspection, he simply stuck the wheels on without attaching them properly. When I asked him about items on the inventory that were not delivered, he told me that the inventory wasn't routinely checked. I spoke to the POA who was with the driver at pickup and he informed me that the driver told him there was no more room in the truck. I contacted Leslie Hopson to inform her about the items not delivered and the scheduling issue and asked for compensation of $400 because I had to put my 90 year old father in a hotel while the pickup occurred. Initially, Leslie told me that she could only offer me $30, then after speaking her supervisor she told me they could offer $130. I requested that a member of customer service management call me, which they did because they wanted me to sign the credit card authorization for the 2nd half of the total payment. I was then told that the matter was discussed with the VP and they couldn't offer more because the pickup was still in the window provided. After re-emphasizing that no one notified me of the delayed pickup when they had to know the day prior, she then offered me $200, which required me to sign a settlement agreement, which I declined.

Upon unpacking, at least 30% of the boxes packed were done in an unprofessional manner (e.g., items just dumped in a box and packed so tight that liquids spilled out and damaged other items in the box and other items smashed and damaged) and a TV was also damaged.

In addition to the items explicitly on the inventory that were left, the entire contents of the front closet were also left and we continue to identify other items as we unpack and look for our belongings.

It is now my responsibility to spend an enormous amount of my time to file claim forms in order to get compensated for all of my losses.

Lets start with customer service: We never received a telephone call from our customer service rep that was not initiated by us through their horrible process of leaving a message or not getting anyone on the line. It was only after we were connected with a supervisor were we able to get information.

Now lets go to the move itself: They did not show up during the 3 day window, but only after supervisor intervention did they show up on day 4. The professional movers and packers who we were told would arrive, was a subcontracted third party. The movers were less than professional. Items arrived damaged and broken. Things they were supposed to professionally pack were thrown onto the truck without any packing at all.

Because we were unable to be there because of the delay in their loading our belongings, we were unable to leave a gratuity. The driver called and chastised us for not leaving a gratuity. We told them it would be a few days to provide the gratuity. Imagine 4 days later we provided a gratuity (still not knowing how our belongings were). At the time the driver received the gratuity, all of a sudden we were told our delivery would be the next day.

I requested they wear masks, and the masks were put on below the nose...doesn't do much good. Things that we had put in the garage were haphazardly stacked and "tossed" into the garage.

Before they would unload our belongings we were told the weight of the move came to more than an extra $1, 000 with no proof of the actual weight. Either they lo-balled us to start, or the sub-contracted company scammed us for the extra money.

3/5/2020
American Van Lines - look up Anthony DiSorbo, President, Coral Springs, Fla., a spectacular house "off your and my dime"! AVL is NOT a Carrier they deceive you at the last minute and broker out your contract to numerous other "agents" so you don't actually know who has your personal belongings. Who.then is liable for your belongings when they are LOST and the warehouse they STORED your stuff in can't seem to find it! You contract with AVL for door to door service and you get your personal belongings STORED in a filthy warehouse for over 12 days, but they DON'T tell you this! Check out their "delivery window" on your contract! If you contract for door to door service why do they need 15-18 days to delivery your stuff. CONTACT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE IN BROWARD COUNTY FLORIDA - Ashley Moody, to file a law suit! Just don't sit there, AVL knows how to play the game, they have been doing this for years to unsuspecting people! They reveal nothing, bring them to justice and make them Accountable for their deceptive, dishonest, false advertising along with their AGENT - Moving Relo who is just as guilty!
See details from the below:
Case# [protected] - DOT
Case# [protected] - Wells Fargo
Case# [protected] BBB
Utah Legal Services
EMAIL FROM: Florida Attorney General's Office.
Broward County Consumer Protection Office.

Sharon Lee Holutiak
[protected]

Claim #1807315

On Sept. 22, 2018 my husband entered into a contract with Chloe Walsh to move a 4 bedroom house of goods from a storage unit in No CA to GA. He sent in a deposit of $1462 and made plans for a pickup between 10/15 and 10/17. Expected delivery would be Nov. 7th. This was important to us because we were planning Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends in the new home.

On 10/13 my husband rec'd a call from Chloe with news that the AVL truck was not available and that another mover would arrive on the 15th. (1st Red Flag) This did not sit well with him, however, we'd already closed the account on the storage unit, so he went along.

Monday, the 15th, Juan with Vanguard Van Lines met my husband at the storage unit and with his movers, began to load our items. My collectibles and other household goods were packed in plastic containers and boxes and clearly marked "Fragile, Handle with Care". I also had heirlooms, new items still in the original boxes and a number of loose items. The 65' TV had been packed by my husband and was further wrapped by Juan's men.

My husband was told that he'd have to pay extra for our piano. No problem. When Juan had completed the inventory sheet, my husband signed them. The top of the sheets were printed with the blue and red AVL logo. He asked for a copy of the inventory list and was told by Juan that AVL would send it to him. (2nd Red Flag). So then my husband asked if if they were going to get on the road and head for GA. "No, we have to take your items to So CA to be weighed. (3rd Red Flag) Was told that the truck would be unloaded and the items put on another truck. Again, not happy with this--room for error, including: breakage, loss, damage, destruction.

My husband called Juan several times to get the inventory sheets. The calls were never returned. He then called Chloe, again several times, before she emailed the sheets November 7th. The AVL logo had been blacked out and replaced with Vanguard.

Several days after our goods were taken to So CA (Ventura Cty), my husband received a call from Roberta of Vanguard requesting more money before they would load our goods for delivery, and that might have happened were it not for his error with the credit card and a call from Chloe telling him not to give them any more money.

We received a call towards the end of October with a date of delivery change to Nov. 9th. Then another call, Nov. 12th. Three different delivery dates. (DOT rules for long distance deliveries -21 days from date of pu).

Nov. 7th, the invoice was emailed: 8210 lbs, Total price of $7621 minus the $1462, with instructions for a cashiers check for the balance.

On Saturday, the 10th, I received a call from Andre the mover, stating that he would be at my GA home by noon. So the truck arrived just about that time-black cab with no markings, white trailer with no markings. Two tired men emerged. Andre, the mover, could not tell me if he worked for AVL or Vanguard. (4th Red Flag-sub-contracted with Vanguard!) Said they'd already made two stops and had another stop in NC before going home to NY.

Andre said he had to have the check before they would unload my items, so I called my husband and rather than to argue I reluctantly gave him the check. I asked for a receipt, he had none. So I took a photo with my camera of the paperwork he had.

They did not look like or act like certified, professional movers; they stepped on my flowers and scratched my new floor. I received a faint apology. Our items were put in the house; they complained about making their last stop, and when they'd unloaded the last of the goods, they got in their cab and left.

AVL's website:
Our professional long distance movers provide the very best delivery and care
American Van Lines is a long distance moving company with extensive resources. Regardless of where you're moving to and from, one of our long distance moving branches will always be within reach. American Van Lines will always provide excellent moving services wherever you need to go.
Long Distance Moving with Speed and Accuracy
Our large fleet of moving trucks is always ready, well-serviced, and ready to move. You won't have to worry about our ability to provide the services you need exactly when you need them. We have the means to accommodate several customers at all times without delay or hiccup. Last minute long distance moves are welcomed at no additional charge. With weekly shuttles to and from every major city in the country, your next relocation will never be too far away. The swift and convenient nature of our long distance moving services makes it easy to facilitate a hassle-free moving experience.
Expert Long Distance Movers for Exceptional Service
Our long distance moving company has certified packing experts ensure your belongings are always safely packed and stowed away. Our long distance movers are some of the best in the industry and come highly recommended by previous customers. Here are just a few of the advantages of relocating with the American Van Lines long distance moving team:
• Swift deliveries available seven days a week.
• Specialty services like piano, fine arts, and antique moving.
• Accurate inventory of all items being moved for your personal reference.
• Individually wrapping each and every item for the safety of your possessions.
You Can Feel Confident About Our Dependable Long Distance Moving Services
You never can tell what will occur on the road during a long distance move, and this is exactly why the American Van Lines takes precautions to keep your items safe. We know that prevention is better than repair, so we keep our trucks in tip-top shape with regular maintenance. All of our moving trucks are modern and equipped with air-ride suspension to sustain a smooth, turbulent-free ride to your new home. Every moving truck is spacious, safe, modern, clean, and serviced regularly. Reliability is one of the most pertinent features of outstanding moving services and it is a chief ingredient in our formula for success.

When I began to take note of the crushed plastic containers and boxes, the scratches, dents, and missing parts to my furniture, my heart skipped several beats. I spoke with Chloe, perhaps the next day or so, and was met with an attitude of "I'll transfer you to the claim department to file a claim". I demanded to speak with the manager and after a couple of days, connected with Sam Parker, the CS manager.

Both my husband and I spoke with Sam several times. He expressed sympathy and said that he would make it right and that we would be "very pleased".

I began to go thru items. So many of my signed collectibles were broken and destroyed, very few furniture and accessory items were intact. They were chipped, crushed, dented, broken. Many items missing-heirlooms, my collectible shoe items, Christmas decorations, kitchen pots and pans, new coffee maker and roasting pans still in original boxes, artwork. My husband unwrapped the 65" TV and to his horror, the screen was cracked from end to end and the back was dented in. It appeared that our items were just thrown into the trailer unsecured without anyone caring how we received them. My husband took photos of the TV and sent them to Sam. During one conversation my husband said he would drive to So CA to retrieve our missing items and was quickly discouraged from doing so by Sam.

Sam lead us to believe that he would be on the up and up, strung us along into believing that he truly would compensate us fairly, though no price can replace our missing heirlooms and other sentimental items.

Now after completing the loss sheets and faxing them in, completing the broken, damaged and destroyed list, and emailing them in March, it took them the full 120+ days to offer $1000 of which $271 was Sam Parker's additional compensation. Additionally, we were denied compensation because the plastic containers and boxes were "packed by owner-contents and packing methods are unverifiable therefore carrier accepts no liability".

We did not accept this. So we went back and forth on what we felt was fair. Sam asked me what amount would satisfy us and I said $7000. He said that they did deliver my items--yes they did but for $7600 we didn't expect to receive them in the condition they were in.

So we went back and forth and I finally agreed to accept an additional $200, bringing the total to $1200. On July 30th, I requested the paperwork. Aug. 6th I sent an email to Sam that we had not received the documents. Claims responded that they'd sent them out a week earlier. When I asked where they were sent, I got no response.

I emailed again Aug 7th for the address to where the documents were sent. Aug. 8th I received the documents postmarked August 5th. Their response on August 12th:
Dear Yvonne Young,
Please accept our apologies for the delayed response. The Settlement documents were mailed to:
This is the address listed as the delivery address and on the claims form.

There was no need to lie, and yet they did.

This delay, however, gave me time to reflect on the offer relative to our losses. So on August 20, I sent this email to Sam and his claim department:

Claims; Samuel Parker,

We received the documents August 8th, more than a week after claims' initial response that the documents had been mailed a week earlier. Not until August 6th did we get a response to our second request for where they were mailed. The document is postmarked August 5th.

Additionally, upon reading the terms and conditions by which we would receive $1200 as compensation for the damages caused by your sub-contractor, his sub-contractor and you, we no longer accept this. This amount is not nearly enough to place a gag order on us. We will share our experience with American Van Lines, Vanguard Van Lines, and Andre the mover in writing, to social media, internet, persons and entities engaged in radio, television or Internet broadcasting, etc., etc.

Though we finally agreed on the amount with Sam, after second thoughts the amount of $1200 does not begin to cover our missing, broken, and destroyed items. American Van Lines does not want to take responsibility for any of their errors. We paid a large sum of money to have our items shipped in the condition that they were picked up. The boxes in question were clearly marked "Fragile, Handle With Care", even if they were PBO Because you cannot find the missing items doesn't mean they didn't exist.

Further, your document instructs us to return the signed agreement within 30 days and yet you will not issue a check for 4-6 weeks. It appears that American Van Lines wants to have it all their way. As a matter of principle, we will not accept this, but instead will go to the media.

We want the public to be well informed about what can happen when using the services of a carrier that offers deceitful and false marketing hype and then later tell you that you didn't pay for certain things. They choose to hide behind their "legal obligations" without regard to doing what's morally right for the customer.

My correspondence to Sam:

Our items were picked up and unloaded twice before we received them, leaving open room for error-- mishandling, losing and/or taking our property, damaging and destroying it, etc. The two men who showed up in GA with our property could not even tell me what company they were with. No markings on the trailer or the cab. Andre, the mover, wanted the cashier's check before they would begin to unload. They did not look like certified, trained, and professional movers. They even walked on my plants and scratched my floor.

We recognize and acknowledge that we signed documents that we may not have read thoroughly or understood, a mistake on our part. But we also understand that your job is to protect AVLines. There's not much regard for the clients' loss. You lost control when you brought in a sub-contractor who then hired his own sub-contractor. We didn't pay $7600 to get what we ultimately got. And $1200 compensation does not move us to sign a document agreeing to keep quiet, as if it is hush money and then wait 4-6 weeks after signature to receive it.

It is our goal to share our total experience with the public so that they are fully informed and can then make a decision on choosing to use your company.

Now Sam is accusing me of extortion because we've changed our minds and decided not to accept his offer, of which he says he has gone over and beyond the amount he is" legally obligated to offer".

We Do Not Recommend the use of AVL for long distant moves. Their website is misleading and untrue and you stand the chance of receiving your property in horrible condition by the 2nd or 3rd sub-contractor. Instead, thoroughly investigate your mover, use the Pods or Home Depot, or pack up your things yourself and drive them to your destination. You'd be better off than to intrust your treasures to American Van Lines.

I've added a few of the many photos for your review.