American Van Lines Reviews 328

After working with Theresa the account was updated and all issues resolved.

Specific shoutout to the driver, Charlie. He diligently recorded all inventory, and ensured proper loading and unloading. At all times I trusted my possessions under his care. Well done.

Update: Over the last 6 weeks, I have been going back and forth with the company, explaining I cannot change my “feedback” to be more positive because my experience was truly terrible. They offered additional money several times if I would update my review of them (which I could use because the move was so much more expensive than originally quoted) but I feel it is better to post something true; I cannot be bought. Finally, they sent me the paperwork for me to sign in order to get my very small amount of money ($242) back for the many damaged and lost items. In order to get these allotted funds based on the claim I submitted, I have to sign this document that’s says I will not EVER talk about the company again, positively or negatively. I can no longer post about MY experience ANYWHERE, or I could be sued. If I don’t sign I don’t get the money back for my broken items; basically my money is held hostage until I can sign away my right to talk about my experience. So, I decided to post before signing. It is my belief that this company has many ways of quieting the many unhappy clients, and making false claims to new client about what they can offer. I’d stay away and find a small, local company to handle your move. Or rent a trailer and do it yourself

I have moved across the country several times for my career. During my most recent move I used American Van Lines. It was a terrible experience and I would never again use or recommend their services.

Prior to moving I obtained several quotes from the major moving companies. Rather than an in-person walkthrough, American Van Lines operates with a virtual walkthrough and quote. I thought this was probably okay as they recorded all of the contents in each room, including the outdoor and garage equipment. During this walkthrough I also informed them of a separate storage unit, which they said they did not need to see as long as they knew the dimensions. Following the walkthrough they provided me with a very competitively-priced quote for the entire move, including a shuttle to the off-site storage unit and packing of that unit. Based on the quote I chose to proceed with American Van Lines.

The issues began on the planned day for packing. We live in a cul-de-sac which is large enough for a semi (this is how we moved in, as well as several of our recent neighbors). This was also discussed during the virtual walkthrough, with the employee evaluating the area through google maps and confirming that it would not be a problem for their team.

On the day of the move, however, the mover initially was hesitant to bring his semi into the neighborhood. After deciding that there was enough room for the semi, he then refused to drive under what he considered to be a low tree branch on my neighbors property. He instead insisted that we pay for a shuttle (renting a U-haul to transport from my house to the semi parked on a larger street), which would add several thousand dollars to the bill. I instead received permission to cut down the tree branch from my neighbor.

After having conquered the tree branch I thought surely we would be in business. Unfortunately, American Van Lines still had more tricks up their sleeve. The mover then performed his own walkthrough and decided that the virtual walkthrough had vastly underestimated the move. American Van Lines again tried to add several thousand dollars back on top of the original quote. Only after I refused and told them to cancel the move entirely (the drama with the tree branch had taken half of the day up to this point), did they agree to move at the originally quoted price.

The drama with American Van Lines then continued during packing. The movers already had a load of someone else's belongings on their semi, limiting space. They ran out of room for the contents of our storage unit, even though the quoted price included this in the move (including the rental of a U-haul to pack this). Their only solution was to provide me with a new quote to transport the contents of the storage unit separately (over $15,000). This forced me to fly back, rent a U-haul myself, and drive the storage unit contents separately.

Following packing and unpacking, the movers left both homes in complete disarray. They left their own garbage, including empty gatorade bottles in bedrooms for us to clean up. They left us with a massive pile of unpacked boxes in our garage after unloading their truck.

After unpacking and going through our belongings, (which took several days) we identified several thousand dollars worth of damage to our belongings. Luckily, (I thought) I had paid for the full insurance through American Van Lines, which was just under $2,000 for the move. I submitted my claim with the company and they had their own adjuster come and verify the damage. I then received an email denying the claim. In the paperwork they "generously" offered to refund the price of the insurance plan, but only if I agreed to not post any negative reviews on social media.

I would strongly recommend using a different moving company. My experience was that they tried to capture potential clients with a low quote, only to perform a bait and switch later. It has been a very disappointing experience.

They are very good at advertising their services and will appear to be on top of their game until after all payment is received. They will also appear to know what they are doing with pre-planning. Once all that is done, the actual move just does not happen as planned. Execution is very poor. Communication become erratic, you can't get you assigned co-ordinator on phone, they do not respond to emails for days. I did not have a driver/mover until the day before after I complained. The driver arrived one day after the scheduled day with just one help to move a family of 5 from a 4 bedroom house. They had to rash to finish packing at 9 pm! The moving truck was SMALL and could not accommodate all our stuff, yes after all the planning. We had to to leave some furniture/donate to friends and trash some of out stuff. And when they delivered out, a lot of furniture was broken, scratched, dented you name it. The move was out of state but only 6 hours drive. For the amount of money they received, this was was by far the worst moving service for us. I would not recommend them at all. The stuff are either incompetent or overwhelmed or maybe both. I would not recommend them at all.

American Van Lines always makes a stressful situation seamless.

DO NOT USE!! First, they gave a lowball estimate "by weight" to win the business. Then, they outsource the labor, who broke multiple family antiques and treating your belongings like punching bags. When they told us the ACTUAL COST, it was nearly twice as much! Then... they ignored our calls, emails and texts a week--no updates. My 80-year old mother did not get a return call or email from her "Moving Coordinator" in over a week! I spent an hour and 8 minutes on the phone, and finally was told the furniture has been sitting in a Tampa warehouse for over a week...WITH NO ETA FOR DELIVERY! My mother spent over $7000 and this is how they treat her? Finally, they show up at our new house and threatened to DRIVE AWAY with our furniture if we didn't pay their ridiculous prices before unloading! When I posted this accurate and true review, they threatened to sue me--see the picture of the threatening letter.

Robert and Mike were 5 stars on this trip. They were cordial and businesslike the entire time. My belongings were loaded with care and in a timely manner. Our neighborhood is difficult to navigate over narrow streets, and Robert did an amazing job of maneuvering through them. They definitely deserve the highest rating and my recommendation

After numerous emails and waiting for over a week to hear back from “Customer Service” I received this email!! Forget a slap in the face. This is a gut punch. I will not be silenced for expressing my opinion!

On Tue, Dec 24, 2024 at 10:03 AM Theresa C:

Good morning,

I hope you're doing well. I recently attempted to reach out by phone to discuss a potential resolution. I would like to offer a $350 compensation for the level of service, along with the request to either update or remove the Trustpilot review. Once the post has been updated or removed and the acknowledgement form is signed, I will proceed with processing the refund back to the card on file.

Thank you, and I look forward to your response.

To add on to a previous review by Ashley, this is her husband btw, American Van Lines informed us that they'd send out a crew a day before my flight. Once the crew got there, got done counting, they get a call from American Van Lines and told them that they were canceled for the day. After several back and fourth calls, they told us that the truck would need to get here first in order for them to pick up the rest of the stuff. We were informed the truck would get here the Dec 14th, and now Dec 19th. We have our old apartment until the 15th. Now we had to drop EVEN MORE MONEY WE DONT HAVE for another company to pick up our stuff and put it into a storage. The recording you hear when you call American Van Lines is all a lie. This has been the most stressful thing I have ever had to experience in my entire life.

Great consonance and always on top of details

Horrible experience with this company. Arranged a move two months in advance. Paid my deposit. A few weeks before the move I called them to verify. I was told all was good and they would be there within the 3 day window they supplied me with. I would get a call in a few days with exact dates and time. After a few calls, I was given a day and time. It was day 3 of the window. I had to be out of our place by the end of that day. The day before I received and email at 5:30pm stating they would not be able to make the move and to call them for more information. I’d think that deserves a phone call. It’s now 5:30 the day before we have to be out. Called them numerous times and they were unable to provide services they stated in their contract. I ended up renting a truck to get the items out of our home the next day. Moving is stressful enough. Add a situation like this and it’s even more stressful. We ended up driving the truck 1300 miles to our new home and unloading it ourselves. My experience with American Van Lines was not positive at all. They did refund my deposit.

Please please read the reviews before making a decision on this moving broker.

I booked American Van Lines for a cross country move from California to North Carolina. When booking, I initially provided my inventory list, as well as updating it two days before my move.

When the driver arrived, they told my husband that there were many items not on the inventory list and they would not take them. This was untrue. They left half of my belongings at my apartment in California while I was already on my way to North Carolina, and my husband was flying out a day later. Their truck was not full.

I have provided American Van Lines photos showing that the items they left behind are on my inventory list and have spoken to them at least ten times in the last week, trying to get them to fulfill their end of the contract. They keep pushing me off saying that they need to do this or that and I never get a sure answer.

They are in violation of the contract but will not do anything to pick up my items or compensate me. One of the worst experiences I've ever had with any company

customer service and the mover/packers Alais and kia

First point of contact was very helpful. Jean Marc answered all of my questions and called me back promptly. He also helped me to easily change my inventory list as we got closer to the date.
Our driver Bruce was equally as helpful and easy to reach in terms of pickup and delivery dates.

From quote through still waiting for my belongings (picked up Oct 28th and they THINK it might get here Nov 26th but they aren't sure) has been a disorganized nightmare. Save yourself the headache and go with Two Men and a Truck (who got another much later pickup already to me and I'm still waiting on American Van Lines for any kind of meaningful update. They have no idea where the driver is and they were 15 hrs late for my pick up and I've had to call to tell them their drivers kept not showing up which delayed my move, flight, and MANY other things that has cost me so much money. And they offered a $30 credit! Total regret using them.

Michael and crew, from pick up to delivery was exactly as he explained. He was friendly, courteous and efficient. I would high recommend your company to anyone I know.

Excelente service, great communication. Different to other moving companies in a good way!

The guys were quick, amazing and did a very good job

Packing was great, nothing was broken and everything was delivered timely.