American Van Lines
Reviews and Complaints

This company subcontracted Cal Van Lines for my move. The movers do not take care of your items. I had a bicycle damaged and a 55"flat screen TV broken. They literally ROLLED the TV on the ground and stacked boxes on top of it. I tried to tell them it shouldn't be done that way, but they didn't speak English, and they just said,"it's okay" over and over again. On top of all that, they didn't even bring a truck big enough to fit all my items! Now, I am living 2600 miles away in a different state; I'm trying to coordinate with them, and they can't even rectify the situation. I am now looking for another company to pick up the rest of my items that this company couldn't fit into their box truck.

I have had a horrible experience with American Van Lines. We started discussing this move in April. In early July, I paid my deposit and was given a 3 day window for pickup and told that 10 days out I would know for sure which day.

At 10 days out, I started calling and emailing the contact that I was provided. My emails and phone calls went unanswered until 6 days before the moving window, when I was told that they could not meet those dates. I was give a new window of this coming Monday - Wednesday and, guess what? They are not answering my emails. So, here I sit 4 days before the window opens and don't know if they are going to meet the date.

Also, they bill your credit card immediately when you pay your deposit; however I was told by their rep that it takes 7 - 10 business days to get it credited back, if you opt to go with another line when they can't meet the contracted dates.

Deceptive notification of delivery date/time-frame of home goods to new home. Deceptive packing, damage.
Movers hired with the understanding they would pack our home over a 2 day span and deliver our items to our new home on the date of our choosing between June 29-13 July.
Movers arrived on 6/27/17 without the moving truck. They waited 3 hours for the moving truck, losing packers/movers along the way as they would not start packing without the truck. They INSISTED on completion that day. It was 1am by the time they were "finished". They left items unpacked, unmoved and damaged walls without informing us. After they had our items packed and on the road, they said they would be delivered by July 13th or we would incur storage fees. We advised the original and only close date we ever had was 7/14/17. We did what we could to make it work and have our items delivered on 7/13/17. They then called and said they had to deliver on 7/11/17 which would be next to impossible for us as it is a Sunday and moving up the close date yet again (to 7/9/17) has issues all its own. They then called and said it would have to be delivered today 6/29/17 or it will go into storage and fees will be billed. It seems our home items are being held hostage. We were misled in the very beginning by giving us deceptive delivery date information. We have attempted resolution to no avail as they refuse to believe they are doing anything wrong. Saying we signed a contract, which is true, but what we were told we were signing and what we are now being told are two different things. We have been harassed by the constant change in delivery dates, cost and new fees for delivery that we were not expecting. This harassment has caused medical issues for Wayne Lowman (68) just trying to deal with the situation.
We are also concerned that now; because of our complaints, our items will be further damaged or "lost" prior to actual delivery.
Additionally, The driver left a manifest of the upstairs items in our home when he left. We were accused of deceptively hiding it from him, which is ridiculous as we told them first thing the next morning.

My husband and I are both educated (as physicians) we researched moving options and although AVL may quote your move on the higher end, we read reviews that they were reliable, good CS, etc so chose them after much comparison. This has been a huge mistake.
Our move was from Mississippi to Stanford, which is substantial. They promised a 3 day pick up window and failed, leaving our home closing delayed and buyers upset. Communication was poor. They promise to provide a call 24 hrs prior to delivery but this is unreliable- they called, "furniture will be there Saturday"- no show then they don't pick up the phone. They call a few days later, "furniture will be there Thursday most definitely"- no show and no other phone calls. I have been left pregnant, with a two year old, sleeping on the floor for week. We would have booked an alternative such as hotel etc, except they continued to say "it will be there tomorrow." In addition we had no appliances, no couch and most other large furniture pieces were sold before the move- they quoted us 4-5000lbs then said it measured 8, 000lbs- without any appliances a couch etc, 8000 lbs is really not possible. We used this company on the premise it would be a reliable service, smooth transition, with only a three day pickup window as a guarantee. This has not at all been the experience.
Poor quality. Do not choose this service. Two physician colleagues moved at the same time as us-one used a pod service and the other Atlas and both had much better experiences.

I set up a move with this company back in April, with a 3-day pick-up window, price estimate, and contract. I payed the deposit (half of the estimated moving cost) in May.
They assured me they would call 10 days in advance for the final pick-up date.
They did not, and it became increasingly difficult to get hold of them. The pick-up window was supposed to be between Monday and Wednesday (June 26-28), and they called me Saturday night (June 24) to tell me they will not be able to move me, after all.

So, they cancelled a long-distance move two days in advance (including a Sunday), only saying that it is due to "unforeseen circumstances". They promised to give me a refund, but I am all packed, have to vacate my current place in a few days, and have no movers. A refund is not a solution in this case.

Job #934729

I paid half deposit to American Van Lines on May 8 2017 for move from Kansas City to Austin. Load dates June 17-19. I was called today and we told that they won't be able to get to me until after those dates. This is not acceptable, I have to start a new job in Austin on June 20. There is no one else to assist me with this move.
I need to have thus escalated. Please have someone call me to rectify this situation, this is extremely urgent
Vivian Leahy. [protected]

8 p.m. Tuesday June 13 2017 driver tried to run is off the road and ride our bumper for miles
He finally switched lanes and rode the bumper of a young girl in a fiat. He repeatedly tried to catch up with us making ride hand gestures.
I was in an auto with my son, 7 year old grandson and 8 months pregnant daughter in law. We thought he was going to kill us or the young woman in the fiat. When we passed her she was screaming into her phone and he was less than10 feet from her bumper.

Run…as fast as you can… away from american van lines…!

Disaster, destruction, lying, incompetent, careless, rude,
Unprofessional, insulting… just a few words to describe my
Painful experience with american van lines.

Where to start…
After working and planning my move with american van lines
For three weeks and stressing to them every time we talked
That I live in a high rise condo with very strict rules regarding
Elevator booking and aloted time of use……. On moving day they
Totally tried to blow me off, blaming scheduling and trafic for
The mix up. Again, this after stressing to them they only had a
Reserved elevator from 9:30am - 12:30pm.
So after screaming, yelling, threatening law suits against
American van lines and pleading with condo management for more time……the movers finally arrived at 6:30pm!
Only leaving one and a half hours to completely pack me up.

Next screw up…….
I had paid to have a wooden crate pre-made for my new $3000 flat
Screen tv.
Guess what… no crate! Tv arrived destroyed!

Next screw up……
When american van lines saw that my move was not going to
Get to me in time by they own company…they subcontracted
My move out to a small independent two man moving team with a
Get this…a buget rental van!
Guess what? The buget rental truck breaks down on the way!
My belongings are unloaded, then reloaded on the side of the
Highway when another buget rental truck is found.

So lets count…. How many times my things have been thrown around.

1. Picked up at my condo
2. Unloaded into american van lines warehouse awaiting move.
3. Reloaded into buget rental truck…truck breaks down.
4. Unloaded from broken down rental truck.
5. Reloaded…thrown… into new buget truck.
6. Unloaded at final destination.

Wow…….
And I should be surprised by the amount of destruction!
And there was….. Tv destroyed, antique chair broken, valuable
Floor lamp destroyed, china, crystal shattered!

Next surprise…not really!
They lost a large box from my move…later discovered and resent
To me by fedex…. Then the box is returned to american van lines by
Fedex with the contents also destroyed.

Next surprise….. Not really!
American van lines basically blamed all on me! Unbelievable!
They say…file a calm! Pennys on the dollar….. What a joke…..
My time is more valuable than the pennies they would offer.
The damages far exceeded the price of….. The entire move!

In short, and there was more…thats my horror story with:
American van lines

You’ve been warned!

Run

We got several estimates from several moving companies when we were moving from Kansas City MO to Wichita KS, our company gave us a budget and American Van Lines came in right at that budget...buyer beware mistake number one...we questioned the weight greatly knowing the average household have 15, 000 lbs and they estimated us to be 11, 326 with a full gym of 2000 lbs of weight in our basement! The day the movers showed up, #1. they were Ukrainian and could not speak English! I flat out told them my house would not fit in their tiny little truck. We ensued a 2 hour delay contacting their company (yep we were contracted out to a po dunk company with a broken down truck to say the least, API was the company) and attempting to contact our agent at AVL to let them know this was a big joke! We were flat out told we had no options, no other vehicles available so we would have to make two trips! Mistake #2. Begrudgingly agreeing to this nonsense! The movers were grossly negligent. They damaged our home, which was at that point under contract to be sold to another person. We paid out of pocket to repair everything so we would not be delayed in closing. They did not wrap our things as we were told they were going to before they moved anything! Most of our furniture was damaged, some to the point we can no longer use it even though we followed instructions on taping drawers shut etc, my dresser was broken. Half the drawers cannot be used because they were completely busted even though they were taped properly and remained shut. The movers unwrapped our items before they got off the truck, they were dragging items into a brand new home where again our home which had just literally been completed by the builders was damaged to floors, walls, outside siding etc. They even hired some jail bird guys from a temp agency to come help move things into the home. One of those men was carrying our safe in and said "this is heavy, what do you keep in here?" (EXCUSE ME!) This was in the first two days...then we headed back to Kansas City for the second trip, again more damage to the old house by dragging items, damage to the items because of being dragged and thrown around and not wrapped at all. This is when I found out that the blankets being used were so nasty leaving a coat of residue ON EVERYTHING and making it all smell of smoke and nastiness. Just dirty, the driver of the API moving company had a dog who was sitting on said blankets and I literally watched this dog walk to the edge of the blanket and pee on it! It of course was then used! They smoked in the back of the truck with our things in it and we are highly sensitive to smoke! They fought the whole time in their language, complained about our stuff (mind you they didn't pack any boxes, we packed up our boxes ahead of time) and how much we had. When they weighed the truck empty the first day it was 9, 000 lbs when they weighed it the second trip empty it somehow gained 5, 000? The first trip was so bad and the second time around moving things out of the house was so bad and damaging we made them unload everything into our garage in the brand new home because we could not have any more damage done! We managed to move everything from the garage into the home with NO ISSUES at all. Upon turning in the damage claims we waited two months for any response, and I finally reached out to AVL who stated they had 120 days. This move was completed in September and we are now at 152 days for our claim, they wanted to slap us a little more by saying our settlement for damage is $1750 TOTAL! I'm going to be contacting DOT, BBB and a lawyer for this. We had to replace our refrigerator because when it got moved in it was not only really damaged on the outside with dents and scratches but it got hot to the point it was a fire hazard, our wood floors were scratched in both homes from dragging furniture around and not caring. Funny thing, the boxes that we packed had no damage at all, and thankfully we had already moved our computers and televisions ourselves with no damage! Seriously, please do NOT use this company! They lie, they steal, they talk a good game but they really just don't care. And in the end our move was about $2000 more than they quoted because it was over 11, 326 lbs...Imagine that! A four bedroom home weighs more than a studio apartment! I was so flustered the last day we had to deal with the movers that I actually did not stay here because anxiety was so high from all of the damage, and it was my birthday! They will tell you anything to get a sale but they are criminals!

I chose American Van Lines as it was advertised as family owned company which strives to convey their personal values and delivers high standard for their customers. As a matter of fact, none of the above is true. I had a move scheduled from NC to WI. Everything went well until I signed the contract and made the deposit. Things went tipsy turvy from there on.My goods were picked up on Oct 30 and here I am on Nov 24th still waiting for the delivery! With less than a day left for hosting Thanksgiving party for my family and friends at my new home...I have no furniture, no cookware, no dishware to entertain my family who are flying here from different parts of the country. American Van Lines- you have turned my Thanksgiving into a nightmare and embarrassment in front of my family members, which I can never forget. Is this how you respect family values?! 1. They have no idea what customer support means: A move co-ordinatior was assigned who initially gave me window of Oct 29 and Oct 30. She told me they would confirm the exact date 24 hours in advance. I waited for the call on Oct 28, and then left voicemail to Barbara asking her to confirm the date, whether it was 29 or 30. Come Oct 29, tried reaching out to her and left several voicemails. At this time, I called main customer support and the guy had no idea about the date either. He said he would check with the dispatcher. I requested him to give me call back, which he did after noon time. He said the driver would be in at 9 am, which was unacceptable as it was not 24 hour notice. I had to convince the rep to push it to at least 11 am so that I can prep for the move and pack few things on my own . On the move day, a driver and two guys came in to pack my household items. By this time, I had packed all my clothes, few of my personal things such as sewing machine, expensive jewelry tool sets. I run my jewelry designing business and sew customized quilts, embellished craft items etc., Nov and Dec are my busiest seasons where I get lot of orders. They did good job of packing which I was impressed and tipped them around $100 initially and they asked for more as there were three of them. I was told that my things will be loaded to truck and dispatched in next few days. 2. Unprofessional greedy movers: I never received any call from AVL. I called them to check on the date and balance due. To my surprise, they had overcharged me for packing. I had to call several times to talk to a person who can answer what those over packing charges were for? After several days and consistent calls to AVL, I was able to speak to a Sales Manager. I had to explain him all over, which was a pain. I sent him documents, emails with in-home survey copy from the other mover which I had shared during initial quote. I even asked him to check the call records as the initial sales guy William had never communicated that they would charge extra for mattress box. After several follow- up calls, Jeremy- Sales manager agreed that there was mis communication and that he would honor the initial quote. I was happy thinking what else could go wrong now. But, AVL never lets you down with unpleasant surprises! 3. Unacceptable delays: Now, I am waiting for my things all excited to unpack and get my new home ready for the thanksgiving party. My delivery window had passed Nov 17. No one from AVL cared to call me. Any ways, I was in dire need for my household things, so kept on calling them. Every time I spoke with different people who had no clue where my things were. There was a standard response from every rep - when demanded an answer, they used to put me on hold and say- I am unable to get in touch with dispatcher. Let me check with the dispatcher and call you back. No return calls, whatsoever. Meanwhile, I was losing business as I could not fulfill orders without my tools and sewing machine. 4. Pathetic Ops and delivery team: I had to escalate and finally got a call from Customer Support Manager< can't get her name correctly>She told me that my goods were still in NC. By this time, It had past the delivery window and I was frustrated. After several back and forth calls and lot of hold time, She seemed to understand my concerns and told me that she will try to get my things delivered before Thanksgiving party. Yesterday, she gave a call and told it would be delivered today. I asked if I can speak to her manager to get confirmation and discuss my concerns. Now, I was kind of relived that I can finally get my things, host party and backfill at least few orders from my loyal customers. But...its American Van Lines who can never let you down with unpleasant surprises. I get a call from Ops Manager- Dave who turned things bad to worse again. All he did was defending and justifying every missed step. He cared less about customer service and seems arrogant and someone who believes he is always correct. I spent more than an hour talking to him and all he did was arguing and nothing to help my situation better. He picked and chose partial facts like saying the customer rep called me for pickup time. I tried to explain to him that after several attempts, they did reach out but look at the call logs to see who called first and the message context. He told maybe the coordinator was out that day and maybe someone would have called later on 29. I mean seriously? For pick up on 30th( which was not confirmed by AVL) in the first place?! now, this guy had triggered back my frustration- I asked him if I can speak to someone else. He assured me that he would coordinate meeting with his VP. I will not be surprised if I don't hear back from him or his VP. But, I will definitely warn other customers to watch out for their bait. Avoid them at my circumstance. I know my goods are stuck with them and I can do nothing now. But, I will take every measure to caution others from the pain and mental stress that I am going through. I wish I had never called American Van Lines!

I received an estimate from this company for packing and moving for a long distance move from NY to MD. The customer representative was kind and helpful. When it came time for the move, the movers were estimated to arrive at noon, and showed up at 8:30pm. I asked twice if the could start the next day, as it was late and the compromise was they would stop at 10pm and return the next day. The movers were nice and worked very hard, however took much longer than I would have anticipated.
Upon my final receipt, they charge me $1100 more for packing than initially estimated. I brought this to the attention of my customer service rep and he went over some of the packing items and said I could review this with the drivers. The drivers seemed to have no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned this to them. However, they said this happens all the time, meaning customers were always quoted much lower than final price. Now I have been dealing with the reps not returning my voicemails or giving me straightforward answers and solutions. Oh, wait, I was given one solution, which was the suggestion that I should have packed more boxes on my own!
The moving process was ok, but I do not think I will pay for someone to pack my things, and definitely not this company in the future.

Did not send 4 people as promised but only two (they were as efficient as can be for 2 people and I was pleased with them. I was decieved by their lateness each day (after 11 am) due to pickup of suppolies! Should have been done before the first day. Suppiles and 11:00 was every day! Andt1 day of work quoted took 3 days. 3rd day they worked till 1:30 am. They Finally got 4 people from a different company! And they got me out of there so quickely that I am afraid of the condition of my belongings. They couldn't ge the big truck down my driveway (I told customer service that and that they would need a few smaller trucks which they say I will now pay for...(they got the additional movers who loaded the small trucks. My belongings have to be now transferred to the big truck which means they have a second chance at having damage. It was only when we complained that 3 days later they got the smaller trucks! My Personal! coordinator rarely called me back and when he did it was always bad news. The cost was $6, 400 but re-estimated at $12, 000. OMG! Now I have changed my airline tickets at a cost of $800 to get here on a different date due to the delay of the move. I am now here at my new home, and no word after numerous calls as to when they will arrive. I have to change my airline tickets again! It is a night mare that has not yet ended. The company had good review from other sites and now as I research a little more...they have terrible reviews. A rip off, A horrible experience, terrible customer service. Bait and switch and a move full of aggravaton and disappointment. Not to mention that it is breaking the bank. $5, 500 more in the end! I am now waiting for another shoe to drop as I'm sure their are many more "surprises" to come. DO NOT HIRE! I'd rather be in Hell.

When I first signed up with american van lines, they were kind and courteous and eager to help. I got a binding estimate of approximately $2800 to move from kansas to nc. This was a not to exceed estimate. Apparently binding means to them binding on your part, not theirs. I contacted them with an update of the contents of my move. My binding estimate went from approximately $2800 to approximately $4700, due to a weight increase. I decided to take some items out of the move because of the exorbitant increase. That change brought it down to approximately $3900. Note that this was all based on an over estimation of the weight of each item and that my actual weight would likely not be that high. This was a little reassuring, but had me concerned already that they were taking me to the cleaners. I agreed to the new binding estimate with some trepidation. The day before the move came and I was contacted by their subcontracting mover who could barely speak english. He went through my house to inventory my things for the move. When he came to me with the inventory I was informed that my move was now estimated, on the spot, at a little over $5200. I freaked out and he said that it was just an estimate and that the actual weight would be less and it would be fine, whatever that meant. They would weigh the truck prior to the pickup and weigh it again afterward and give me the actual cost of the move. I signed about a dozen documents to protect his rear and then was told he would be back tomorrow. This was the 6th of december and the movers were to show up on the 7th. Before he left that night I informed him that I would be back home in nc on the night of the 10th. He said that was fine and wrote it down on the paperwork. He showed up with one guy, instead of two to help load. It took them several hours to complete the load and I had to purge even more stuff from the load in order for my things to fit in the truck. My weight should have gone down. When the movers finished loading the eighteen-wheeler I asked when he would weigh it so that I would know the actual weight. He replied that it would be later that day or the next day, very non-committal. Now I was really worried. The subcontractor contacted me on saturday at about 3 pm to tell me that the cost of the move would be... Surprise, surprise... Exactly what the driver/mover estimated. The weight came out to be exactly what he estimated. I thought "this is one amazing man." so, feeling like I had no choice in the matter, I went to the bank on monday, the 9th, to get the cashier's check to pay for the arrival of my stuff in north carolina. I was then notified by american van lines that the driver would be at my house in nc on the 10th despite what I had told him. I was told that if he couldn't offload that day they would charge me an additional $250 for the overnight. Now I am extremely angry and tried to reason with them and tell them what I have written to you, the reader, above. I refused to pay them another penny and was threatened that they would put my stuff in storage if I didn't pay. I counter-threatened that I would sue them if they did. I was not going to play with them any longer. I was to arrive home on the 10th at 11 pm and they could unload then and still be inside my window of opportunity, which was supposed to be between the 10th and the 20th of december. They refused to unload that late. Not my problem then and I refused to give them another cent, end of conversation. Then another representative of american van lines contacted me to tell me the same thing and I told him the same thing I told the other representative, end of conversation. Then a third representative contacted me to try to explain to me why I needed to pay. I refused, told him that he wasn't saying anything I wanted to hear, that I wasn't going to argue with him about it and hung up. Now, the 11th comes after my arrival at 11 pm the night before. There is no notice on the door saying that the driver had been at my house to deliver on the 10th, nothing. He shows up alone on the 11th and demands the cashier's check, which I gave him, and then tells me to sign a piece of paper stating that everything arrived in good shape. I refused to sign anything until he unloaded the truck. He refused to show me the weight tickets, which american van lines said they had copies of, but didn't produce either.in fact, the tickets, by their own admission, didn't have date and time of weighing, so there was no way to prove that my stuff weighed even close to the weight they miraculously calculated by sight alone. Not surprisingly, there was some damage to my stuff: my mattress had a tear on the corner, two of the dining room chairs had small tears on the seats, and my tv stand had a large scrape where paint used to be. Did I complain? No, because I didn't believe that anyone would do anything and the damage was not severe enough to take them to court over and get some small settlement that wouldn't really cover the damage. I would never recommend using american van lines. Buyer beware! They will not honor their binding estimate and the movers will magically calculate the weight of your stuff, by sight alone, and you will pay for it in the end. They are a total rip-off and once you sign the agreement, they will not honor it.

I made the mistake of arranging with American Van Lines to move my mother's furniture from Oklahoma to Texas. I signed the forms they faxed me and faxed them back, along with the $1, 127 deposit which was to be one half of the moving charge based upon the estimate.

A few days later, a "moving coordinator" named Matthew called and said that the move would take place on the second day of the 48 hour window, with the pick up take place on Monday morning, April 30, and delivery that evening.

On the front end, they presented a pleasant, professional face.

On moving day, American Van Lines blew us off. When no one showed and there was not even a phone call (like one would expect when dealing with a company that cared) we started calling. We got routed to different numbers that were not answered, and left messages that were not returned. The day was wasting, and no one at American Van Lines would talk to us or tell us anything.

Finally, about 3:00 PM, I got call from a blocked number. The person on the other end identified himself as a dispatcher and said that a truck was on its way and would arrive at about 7:00 PM to start pick up, about 12 hours after Matthew verbally told us we would be picked up. The dispatcher tried to get me to switch to the next morning. I explained that the window had already passed, that I had commitment at work the next day, that we were completely disgusted with American Van Lines, and we had to leave.

A few minutes later, someone identifying himself as James from American Van lines called. He said the truck would arrive at 10:00 PM to pick us up, but tried to get me to switch to a pick up for the next day. Again, I explained that we could not wait, and would have to try moving again the next week with another mover, as it appeared American Van Lines was not competent enough to handle our move, and that we had made a mistake ever dealing with them.

At that point, James became very gruff, telling me that they were keeping the money, because a 10:00 PM pick, was within the 48 hour window.

I disputed the charge, but wound up having to pay for nothing. If American Van Lines had put half as much effort into coordinating my move as they did into countering me in the dispute, I would have gotten moved However, American Van Lines is not in the business of moving household goods; rather, American Van Lines is in the business of consumer fraud.

Be aware that when you sign anything with American Van Lines, it's a "gotcha" kind of legal document. Once you've signed and made a deposit with them, you have forfeited your money. Everything is on you, and they don't have to do anything to keep the money.

Oh, yes, and they lied to Chase in the dispute, saying that a truck was already on it's way, when they tried hard to get me to switch to the next morning. Also, they told Chase that they wanted to refund half my money, when they had no intention whatsoever of doing so.

The moving business, it seems, has become a scam-ridden industry, and American Van Lines is one of the worst offenders. BBB has given them an F, and Fs with the BBB are like hen's teeth.

You might as well get a U Haul (they come in all sizes) and use family, friends, and hired help from the local employment service. it's not that much more work for you to do it that way, and you will save thousands of $$ plus hours of frustration and months of regret.

One last thing about American Van Lines. Google Aldo Luciano Disorbo Jr somtime, described by the Florida state attorney general as a "menace to consumers." Take note of the name of the company he ran, and take note of who is running the company now.

I was originally quoted $1800 for my move from Maryland to Florida. I was emailed a list of things could be moving although some of my items to be moved were not on the list By the time the moving truck was loaded my bill was another THOUSAND dollars! Then when the movers (sub contractor named Motti) arrived 5 days later - the driver, Motti, called me and said he couldn't fit his truck into and around my apartment complex. He told me it would be another $400 ! Motti told me that most apartment complexes aren't wide enough for his truck. Several other residents rode by and told me that other moving companies had tried that scam but that ultimately the trucks would fit. Motti flat out refused to try! In the end I ended up renting a uhaul and moving my belongings myself.
When i started unpacking 40% of my atuff was broken/damaged! I had a plastic tote that was demolished!
When I called Sheldon (my customer service rep) he was not available of course. I left a message and I NEVER GOT A RETURN PHONE CALL!
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

American Van Lines sells its moving contracts to secondary operators. I ended up with items missing--more likely, stolen--and abysmal customer service. On the day of delivery, I signed some form acknowledging receipt of my items (60-70 boxes and furniture) and by signing those forms I lost any chance a receiving compensation for the stolen items. If you deal with these guys, don't sign anything until you have gone through everything--better still, don't use American Van Lines. Pay more up front and use one of the major national carriers for a cross-country move.

this company is terrible and i want everyone to know so they can stop ripping people off. first off they picked up my stuff three days late. which forced me to hire local movers and move my stuff into storage costing me an extra 500 dollars that the company said they would compensate. WHICH THEY DIDNT AND REFUSE TO EVEN CONSIDER NOW! when my stuff was picked up it was picked up by two brothers in a penske truck. it wasnt even american vanlines. For all i knew two guys were stealing my stuff. Then i get a call from the moving company saying my stuff is over weight by 2000 pounds. I had a ONE BEDROOM APT and theres no way it was 5000 pounds. especially because when it was weighed by the local movers it didnt even reach 2000 pounds. When i tried to ask them to re weigh it they refused. When i finally got my stuff they refused to put any of my furniture back together and had three other families stuff in the truck mixed in with my stuff. They had to lay those peoples stuff all over my lawn just to get to some of my stuff. It was ridiculous. I was charged an extra 2000 dollars on top of the 1000 dollar deposit and they refuse to compensate me for a late pick up and the local movers and storage. DO NOT USE!

This company picked up my furniture in New York City and was hired to take it to Los Angeles. I was driving across the country myself and needed the furniture to be delivered approx. three weeks after the pick up date because I was not going to be onsite sooner. They had me pay them $560 extra to hold my furniture for that time period. However, when I got to LA, the company did not delivery my things until another THREE weeks later and I had to sleep on the floor with nothing in my apartment while they kept telling me that it will arrive within a few days.
FInally, when the furniture arrived, the movers brought my things up into my apartment and left the couch for last. They then came to me saying that the couch does not fit in the stairwell and that they cannot help me. They left with my couch being stuck in the stairwell with me to handle on my own. I called another company that specializes in furniture disassembly so they could take the couch apart and bring it upstairs but when they arrived, they simply lifted it up and brought it up the staircase with NO issues. Because they were specialists in disassembly, they still charged me the full rate of $500. When I called American Van Lines and told them that the couch fit and that I had to pay other movers $500 to do it, they told me this was no longer their concern and could do nothing for me. This company also cracked open the headboard of a $8, 000 walnut bed as well as scratching up irreparably a white laquer Eames dresser.