BEWARE!! WORST MOVING COMPANY EVER! CROOKS, EXTORTIONIST and THIEVES! Move from WY 8/28/23 to CA "Guaranteed" by 9/15/23 I will not take time to go into how unprofessional or unprepared the movers were at pick up or how recklessly they handled our belongings, as that is the least of our current issue. On Friday, September 8th we received notification from Samme, the van driver, that the movers would be at our home at 3 p.m. When they did not show, we called him multiple times but he did not answer. We also called the company and got no information from them. Samme eventually called and said he would arrive after 5. When we made our moving reservation, and in subsequent calls with the moving company we had notified and repeated to AVL the business hour restrictions of our high rise residence, 8a.m.-5p.m. We also told them and Samme, there was one, standard residential sized elevator for service operations, not a commercial sized unit. Our building and security rules aside, with Samme arriving after 5, there was no possible way for them to move all our property into our unit within the Los Angeles County Municipal Codes rule of 8-6. Had the movers arrived at 3 as promised there would have been no issue. Samme said he had stopped for lunch and that is why he was late. He then said we would have to pay $850 per day over the weekend to "store" our belongings in his truck! We simultaneously called the AVL office telling them what was happening and that we had nothing to do with the mover not arriving at promised hour. We also stated that we NOT agree to have our belongings offloaded (this prompted by a comment by one of the representatives on the phone,) and further mishandled into some nebulous "storage". Nor did we authorize a storage fee, in particular since the movers never came in the first place, and we were still well within our delivery window period. After much back and forth that the issue was absolutely not of our making, Samme agreed to arrive at our building at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, September 11th. The next day, Saturday the 9th, we received a call from American Van Lines telling us that our belongings had been moved into storage! They were now threatening to charge us $600 for just the weekend and said they would have to find a driver for our delivery on Monday when their office reopened. We expressed that we had not agreed to the move into storage and had already been given a delivery time for Monday. AVL told us that they had sent our truck and driver to another move and he was gone. They also would not give us any information on where our belongings were being stored. Since Monday, the 11th we have called multiple times every single day and have had no response regarding a delivery day/time. Today, they said we might not get our things until the beginning of October!! The representatives acknowledge the contracted delivery window was between August 30th and Sept. 15th., but basically, too bad... There are ESSENTIAL and CRITICAL work materials in the boxes coming from WY needed by September 21st. This fact has been expressed over and over to American Van Lines to no avail. At every step and in each call we have asked for a Customer Service Supervisor. With every call we were denied speaking with a Customer Service Representative. One employee told us she didn't know what that was and there wasn't anyone else for us to speak to!! One said she would send an email to their "escalation department". Nothing further from any employee of AVL. No contact, calls or email whatsoever. AVL did not give us a copy of the PUC Residential Moving Guidelines booklet, and their representative stated they did not adhere to the regulations set within. Specifically; If delivery of your goods is delayed, the carrier must notify you at least 24 hours in advance (at carrier's expense by telephone, telegraph or fax), at the address or telephone number you have provided. For moves weighing 5,000 pounds or more, and/or transported 75 miles or more, you may request the mover to pick up a shipment on an agreed date and deliver it within an agreed upon span of two consecutive days. If pickup is not made on the agreed upon date and delivery within two days of the agreed date, the carrier must pay you $100 per day for each and every day of delay. This is in addition to any other claim you may make. We are in desperate need of getting American Van Lines deliver our property prior to September 21st. Their misconduct is outrageous and egregious, especially in trying to extort more funds from us. We did absolutely nothing to cause nor did we agree to a "storage" situation. This is clearly American Van Lines default method for upcharging by hijacking customers own goods and extorting monies to get their own property back! American Van Lines are COMMON THUGS AND THIEVES!! read more

Update 11/22: Finally able to get through all the boxes and besides all the items left behind, we found numerous broken items including every plate and bowl we owned. Received email/phone call from Teresa around 11/9 wanting to come to resolution. We told her would go through everything and send a detailed list with pictures. Teresa was supposed to call us on Thursday 11/16 with resolution ideas and she hasn't called yet and it is 11/22. I'm guessing they had no idea of the extent of their ineptness so she is hesitant to call. the following is part of the letter we composed highlighting the extent of their failures. Items left behind that were on packing list Antique Armoire (in my family for 75 yrs and has successfully traveled to three different out of state homes) Antique Mirror (in my family for 40 yrs and has successfully traveled to three different out of state homes) 3 concrete statues (in my family for 30 yrs and have successfully traveled to three different out of state homes) 2 large stereo speakers 5 stereo receivers Push mower Office chair Table saw Radial arm saw Utility table with vice Items broken or damaged Concrete statue-wing broken off-the only statue that made it Antique mantle clock- glass front broken- was a gift from deceased grandparents 30 yrs ago Kitchen dinner plates-13 all of them Kitchen bowls-13 all of them Dining room table leg-pedestal leg sheared off and major scratches Pedestal lamp-broken into thirds 360 mower -still not sure about mower deck due to loading issues-grease cap damaged Master and guest bedroom sheets-both fitted sheets ripped due to lack of moving boxes but we paid for 12 and 2 were left behind in the garage Outdoor side table-finish scratched off Stainless steel refrigerator-dented on left side of door-video We did not purchase extra insurance because we have done 3 state to state moves with other companies and have never encountered the amount of undue stress and personal loss as we have with American Van. The movers packing skills and lackadaisical attitudes were extremely unacceptable. The communication with American Van was subpar and unreliable. The only labeled boxes were the master closet (wardrobe) and kitchen boxes. And those were wrong. Everything else was a mystery when it arrived. Articles broken, damaged, and left behind is unsettling. Truck packing obviously inefficient because of items left behind. Trash left behind throughout the house and garage; half unused rolls of tape left inside boxes (found upon unpacking) along with soda cans left in windowsills, empty water bottles that needed cleaned up before we could vacate. Most importantly is the personal/family loss that was experienced by having to leave cherished items behind. We hired American Van to move our entire house. Just wanted a clear estimate with a large enough truck to accommodate with reliable packers/movers. Clearly that is not what we got. Mover (Lucky) informed us on the packing of the kitchen that no liquids shipped- had us throw away a new jar of honey never opened among other brand-new jars/bottles never opened, hot sauces etc. HOWEVER they packed liquids/shower gels/cleaning liquids and shipped in boxes Boxes not labeled or labeled incorrectly- EX Gas leaf blower in a wardrobe box that wasn't labeled unloaded IN MY LIVING ROOM on hardwood floors-attached picture is another example of "master bedroom" but garage material inside 60" 360 Zero turn Lawnmower-loading and unloading-on packing list but no one prepared for its move-movers in Texas used ramps to load. Unsure about the movers unloaded to storage. Delivery driver in Ohio unloaded mower with tow truck and we had to reimburse $250-he kept saying neither American nor his company would reimburse him-but he did the right thing for loading/unloading the mower by hiring a tow truck Television boxes not used-TVs put into cut down boxes Mattress boxes left behind-yet our mattresses were in half of a box and the twin daybed mattress was wrapped in plastic Our belongings were moved twice-from the house to the storage, from the storage to the delivery truck-never knew this was a possibility and would have never agreed to the contract had we known our items would be put in storage-too much extra potential for damage Rainy and muddy on day 2 and nothing was put down on the floors All of our correspondence with American Van was for a move out date on 9/13. We were supposed to be out of the house by 5pm on 9/14 and made that very clear to the movers when they arrived. read more

American Van Lines -- A Horrible Moving Experience and a Complete Breakdown Of Honest Dealing. Obviously there is a trend with this company based on all the 1 star reviews. I'd give them a negative number if I could and I advise everyone to run from American Van Lines My family and I moved from California to Colorado from July 14-23, 2026, and our experience with American Van Lines (AVL) was an absolute nightmare from beginning to end. What makes this so frustrating is that many of the things we were promised in writing during the sales process simply did not happen. Our sales representative, Jillian Rosati, explicitly represented to us in writing that our belongings would remain on the one truck assigned to our move and that our driver had already been assigned just days before our scheduled pickup. We relied on those representations when choosing AVL. Then moving day came--and the reality was completely different. AVL did not in fact have a truck when we were promised we had a driver by name and the truck was ready to pick us up. The Pickup Was a Disaster with a 3rd party company, since AVL didn't infact have our truck, Weststar Relocation, showed up to handle our move. Weststar is just as bad as AVL. After approximately four hours of loading, the crew came to me and said they could not complete the job because they did not have enough space on the truck. We had initially been told we would have two trucks. Then, unbelievably, they began unloading our belongings and told us they were not going to move us. Think about that for a moment: after spending hours loading our household, they decided they couldn't complete the move and started putting everything back in our garage, and this is the 3rd party company. The following day, the same driver returned--the very driver, Laziz, whom AVL had represented to me in writing would not be there to move my belongings, was the second truck. Remember we were origianlly promised one truck. To make matters worse, I almost got into a fistfight with this guy infront of my wife and kids in my driveway. Five Days Later Came the $2,000+ Surprise at Delivery When our belongings finally arrived in Colorado, the semi-truck was parked on the main road in front of our home. We were told the truck couldn't get close enough to the house. The solution? We were charged more than $2,000 additional to bring in another truck and "stage" the delivery from a location approximately 2.5 miles away from our home. Our belongings were transferred onto the smaller truck, which then required two separate loads to get everything to our house, very long day. I have photos and videos documenting this entire process. This additional charge is one of the primary reasons I am pursuing a claim against AVL. Damaged Belongings and No Accountability We have counted 13 damaged items so far, including mirrors, bicycles, desks, piano legs, and other household property. And despite this, American Van Lines has yet to provide the level of communication or accountability I would expect from a company entrusted with moving an entire household across the country. The most infuriating part of this entire experience has been trying to get someone at AVL to actually take responsibility. Communication was readily available when they were selling us the move. After the move went wrong, getting responses and accountability became an entirely different story. Calls aren't returned. Questions aren't answered. Problems aren't resolved. And Where Is the Weight Ticket? Another major issue: we were never provided a weight ticket at delivery. We were simply told that we owed $8,860 to get our belongings off the truck. My Advice: Read EVERYTHING Before You Hire Them. We trusted what we were told during the sales process. Unfortunately, our actual experience was dramatically different from what we were promised. Between the pickup disaster, the driver situation, the additional $2,000+ delivery charge, damaged belongings, lack of communication, and the unexplained final bill of $8,860. I expected American Van Lines to move my family's belongings safely and professionally and they failed us. Thomas Feeney Littleton, Colorado read more

Absolutely the worst. Criminal activity. A scam company. Old beat up truck, unsafe move, unprofessional workers, delivery of boxes that were not mine, lies from VP Jeremy Scott about investigation & restitution. - The customer service was atrocious. There was no move coordinator or single point person. Repeated calls went unanswered & answered calls left me on hold as customer service could never directly answer questions or provide info. - They did not honor the delivery date & insisted that I requested a delivery date that preceded the closing date on my new house by 9 days. They refused to alter it & threatened to put my possessions in a storage unit of their choosing and charge me for that cost, essential threatening to dump my possessions. It took a letter from my lawyer to force them to deliver my belonging after my move-in date. -AVL has no moving team. The only AVL employee you will meet is the driver. The movers are hired from city to city. The "team" hired to unload my possessions had tattooed faces, wore durags, & talked openly about drug incidents they were involved in. - The driver told me he had stopped to pick up a 2nd move. After that, he began the long haul move of 1200 miles. He was stopped in one state at a weigh station where police cited him for being over the truck's legal weight limit. He called Jeremy Frank (VP at AVL) who told him not to worry about the citation & to keep going. He was stopped in the adjoining state & was forced to leave the truck until its proper weight limit was restored. He showed up at my house with the truck dragging a UHaul Trailer. - Despite there being one driver & two movers, only one mover actually worked. I lodged my complaint with the driver, who spent the entire time with one of the movers emptying the UHaul, so its contents could be loaded on the truck being emptied of my possessions. - The mover that was working had no idea how to reassemble the furniture pieces that the pick-up team had disassembled. In the process of attempting to reassemble those items, they destroyed a new king-size platform bed, two bookshelves, two baker racks, & a 55 inch flatscreen TV (which I found the driver and a mover kneeling on in an attempt to reattach a mounting bracket). - When I showed the driver what the movers did to my furniture, he shook his head and said "that's not right" but didn't try to fix it & did not say a word to the intimidating, seemingly ex-con/drug-affiliated mover. - Sealed boxes arrived opened with contents removed. - I made emergency calls to the company three times. Twice I was left indefinitely on hold. The third time I was told to refer all issues to the driver. - I had four boxes moved into my house that did not belong to me. Jeremy Frank, VP, promised full reimbursement to replace the destroyed furniture broken in the move (totaling $1800) & asked me to arrange a time for AVL to pick up the boxes that weren't mine. I arranged to have the boxes picked-up, after which he reneged on the agreement to reimburse. He insisted that I accept 60 cents on the dollar of their estimated value of the moved items as opposed to 100% for the replacements. He claimed they were broken in transport, when they were actually destroyed after being moved from the truck into my home by movers trying to reassemble them. - During my conversation with the woman in the claims department, she candidly mentioned that this happens all the time & she couldn't understand why their moves still operated this way. - None of the movers had provided identification. I asked Mr. Frank for the names of the movers in order to make a police report about stolen & destroyed property. I was entitled to know who they were, since they worked for AVL in my house. He responded that they weren't AVL employees, they were an independent team & that he did not have their names & could not give them to me. This is NOT an interstate moving company. It is a local Florida company that scammed me into thinking they were experienced movers that would provide A+ services. Hire them at your own peril. read more

UPDATE AUGUST 19, 2024 AMERICAN VAN LINES BUYS THEIR POSITIVE REVIEWS! In a seemingly nice move, the company was willing to cover $350 of the expenses stemming from they delaying/cancelling the service. I was happy to update my review positively (maybe 3 stars). However, they asked me to either give them 5 stars or delete the review, and that I could not talk to anyone about this (see photo of the agreement). No thanks! Makes you wonder how many of the positive reviews were just payed by the company. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY! American Van Lines is the most unprofessional and unethical company I have ever dealt with. I moved from Miami, FL, to Houston, TX, and needed to move by the end of June. After comparing different moving companies, I chose American Van Lines because they were significantly cheaper (around $4k less) than the rest. This should have raised a red flag, but they explained the low rate was due to their frequent travel between their warehouses in FL and TX. I thought I had found a great deal, but it turned into a nightmare. Initially, everything seemed fine. They sent a representative to do a free inventory check and were quick to take my ~$2k deposit. This was in April, and we signed a contract for the move on June 28. After the deposit was paid, they became impossible to contact. It took multiple calls to get any response. They assign you a "personal moving coordinator," but this person is never available. I noticed the inventory taken left out some items (I later learned this is a tactic to give a lower quote and then increase the price on moving day). It took me 6 WEEKS of constant calling and messaging to update the inventory. By then, I was pretty sure things would go wrong on Friday, June 28. I called every day that week to confirm with different people that they would show up on Friday morning. Despite sometimes not getting an answer, I received two independent confirmations, one just the day before. On the day of the move, they were supposed to arrive between 8-11 am. I called at 9 am to check, and they told me they couldn't make it and asked if I could reschedule. I insisted that it had to be that day, and they said they would come at 2 pm. Throughout the day, they kept pushing the time to 4 pm, 5 pm, 6 pm, and finally said they would come the next day at 10 am. This caused me to reschedule the elevator in my apartment complex and lose hotel reservations I had made. The next day (Saturday), they promised to come by noon, but by noon, they said they would come on Monday. My lease was ending, and I had to leave the apartment that weekend. Monday was not an option. Despite explaining this, they said there was nothing they could do, and I had to cancel the service. I was left in a dire situation, a day before leaving the apartment, with nothing packed since I had hired them to do the packing as well. I had to scramble to find another moving company (I won't mention their name to avoid seeming like an advertisement) to resolve the mess. Attached is a photo of the order confirming the above dates. The people involved in this fiasco (I'm not including their last names to avoid personal attacks, but rather to highlight their roles within this terrible company): * Rosa (my personal moving coordinator): Extremely unresponsive and unhelpful. * William (the original salesperson): Seems helpful but tells you what you want to hear, even if it's lies. Promised discounts that never materialized. Even after I had canceled the service, he called me unaware of the situation, claiming the driver was on his way. * Michael (the in-person inventory guy): Decent in person, but coordination with the office was TERRIBLE. It took 6 WEEKS to update the inventory, and I had to act as an intermediary between him and the office. Overall, an incredibly stressful experience. Avoid this company. Even if they offer a good deal, they will NOT KEEP THEIR WORD. read more

Based on my experience, I would not recommend American Van Lines. Please read this before booking. If you had a similar experience, document everything and consider filing factual complaints with the BBB, FMCSA, and the appropriate state Attorney General. Consumers can also leave truthful, factual reviews about their experiences. The FTC Consumer Review Fairness Act protects honest reviews from certain standardized gag clauses. I paid American Van Lines over $10,000 for an interstate move from Colorado to California. I was told AVL worked "all in-house," which influenced my decision to book. However, the physical move was handled by Excellent Van Lines and other workers. I was not told during the sales process that Excellent Van Lines would physically handle the move. 1. Pickup-day price increase: My estimate rose from about $8,000 to over $10,000 while movers were already inside my home. With our belongings involved and the move underway, it felt extremely high-pressure. 2. Payment methods not listed in my contract: While movers were onsite, we were asked to send thousands of dollars via Venmo. At delivery, we were again directed toward peer-to-peer methods such as Zelle, Cash App, Apple Pay, or cash. AVL later acknowledged by email that we should not have been advised another payment method was needed. 3. Pressure to sign early: The driver repeatedly asked us to sign the Bill of Lading before loading was complete. An AVL coordinator later confirmed by phone and email that it should be signed after loading was complete. 4. Split delivery; second portion arrived after the estimated window: The Bill of Lading listed an estimated April 15-25 delivery window. The first portion arrived April 16. The second portion, containing nearly all furniture other than couches, did not arrive until May 1. The timeline kept changing, and we repeatedly had to chase updates. We were later informed that some items had been placed in storage without clear communication to us. 5. Damage: Both legs of our antique hand-carved solid wood dining table arrived severely broken, with missing pieces, making the table unusable. We photographed the legs at delivery wrapped in only 1-2 layers of taped packing blankets; we did not see boxes or rigid protective packaging around them. Other damaged items included a cabinet/bookcase, two bookshelves, a whiteboard, and a TV bench. We also documented spilled cleaning products packed with belongings and delicate china packed without individual wrapping. After pickup, we found emptied bottles of health drinks that had been stored in our basement among trash left outside; we had not offered those drinks. During delivery, the truck also broke a large tree branch in front of the property. AVL relied on released-value coverage in responding to the damage claim. I understand that coverage exists. AVL eventually offered $1,650 total for damage and service/delay issues, then sent a proposed settlement agreement that included language restricting "negative" statements, complaints, and further discussion. I did not sign it. This is not about one damaged item or one late truck. It is about the full pattern: third-party handling that was not disclosed to me during the sales process, a pickup-day price increase, payment methods not listed in my contract, pressure around signing documents, inconsistent communication, the second delivery arriving after the estimated window, damaged furniture, inadequate packing, and a drawn-out claims process. I'm sharing this because I wish I had known these risks before booking. Based on my experience, I would not recommend American Van Lines. read more

Do Not Choose these people!!! My wife and I endured a grueling cross-country move from Denver to Southwest Florida, a process marred by unexpected costs. If you're in the market for a mover, I advise choosing a company that provides an on-site estimate rather than relying on an inventory. The movers, after unloading everything into the driveway, dropped a bombshell- an additional $ 2600 for the move. With no one available to contact due to the after-hours situation, we were left with no choice but to agree to the inflated price to proceed with the loading. But let's go back. We were told a window of M-W, from the very beginning, we were good with that. I was told by my moving coordinator that my pickup day was scheduled for Tuesday and that she would call before with the exact time. On a whim, I called in on Friday and found out my date was moved to Monday. If I had not called, this would have been disastrous, as I still had appointments to cancel and stuff to pack. Sunday driver calls and says he will be here between 1030-1130. We are excited to get this started. 2 hours before the window, he calls and says another driver has been assigned, and he will call. I waited 2 hours, but nothing was called in, and no one in the office knew what was going on. I am still waiting to hear from my moving coordinator, Sara. We finally got a call telling us it would be between 1-4 that same day. 3:30 comes around. I got a call, and he cannot make it; he will be here tomorrow at 10-1 window. Again, they missed the window; call me and say between 1 and 4. He shows at 345, and the moving team got to work and moved it all into the driveway. I need clarification as to why they are sitting around for 45 minutes and not doing anything. I found out that he had to call in to get pricing for some extra items I left off the inventory. 2600 dollars extra. Like I said, get a visual quote. It is now 7 pm, and my stuff is in the driveway, so I have to sign, as I have a bad back and can't put it back. I asked the guy if the truck was big enough. He was confident it was, but it wasn't. he called another truck, and we waited another 45 minutes for it to show up and finish loading. They finally left at 9:40 PM, What makes this almost funny is that during the day, I got a call asking how my pickup went. I had to laugh. I talked to a supervisor; she was unaware of any of the issues, and there has been no word from my moving coordinator, Sara. It has been five days since they picked up my furniture. I have not received any communication on when my goods will show up, but they were very prompt in getting my papers to sign saying I agree with the new rates and stuff. So here we sit, paying 2k more than what 2 visual quotes were, waiting for furniture that we have yet to see when it will arrive. Nothing they have told us to this point has been true or accurate. If you're comfortable with being kept in the dark, receiving zero communication from a company you're paying thousands of dollars to, and having no idea about the pickup and delivery schedule, then this is the perfect company for you. I strongly advise you to look elsewhere. I made the mistake of assuming that being a Florida-based company, they would take good care of our move. Unfortunately, the reality was quite the opposite. read more

A nightmare! I hired American Van line for my move from California to New York. I did my research and went with them based on the high review rating. Initial contact was good, they went through my items and gave me a quote. The quote was high, but I wanted a smooth move, so I just went with it. I had to pay half the amount as a deposit and the second half at the completion of the move. I was given a window for pick up between NOV 15-17 (Sun-Tue). A "move coordinator" contacted me 3-4 weeks before the move to confirm that I have an assigned driver but was not able to provide me with exact estimate of pick up day or delivery. She instructed me that she will contact me again 1 week before the pick-up window to confirm exact day of pick up and estimated time of arrival. Based on this I arranged all my booking around this window (car pick-up and flight reservation). The week before the move I kept waiting for the call that never came. Finally, I called on Thursday and my "move coordinator" notified me that my assigned driver is "delayed", and she will find another driver/third party for me and confirm everything on Friday. She assured me that my pick-up window will remain the same. Friday and Saturday passed with no calls, I tried to call several times and left many messages that were not returned. Sunday (1st day of my window) came, still no one showed up or called. Monday, I called first thing in the morning, and was told they were not able to find a driver, but they are working to find one for me with new window of Nov 21. As I had no choice at this point, I accepted this new window and changed my flight reservation. My car was shipped on time, so I ended with no car for several days. I was told someone will call the day before to confirm my pick-up time on Nov 21. But as usual no one called, I was the one who kept calling and when finally, someone responded, I was told that the Nov 21 may not work, and they are still trying to find a driver for a later time. At that point, I cancelled the job and booked another company. I understand that things happened especially during a pandemic and it is possible that their driver had health issues or other kind of emergency, but what was really infuriating is the incompetence of the people running the business. I was on the phone several hours per day for 2 weeks trying to understand what is going on and be able to make decisions about my reservations. I left many messages that were never returned and when they did answer, I was given lies! I asked to speak to a manager several times and instead of connecting me to one, they changed my "move coordinator". read more

I tried working with American Van Lines (AVL) for an interstate move at the end of June. One week before my scheduled moving window, AVL informed me that they would not actually be able to move my stuff during the days we scheduled, but had found another company that could. AVL gave me until the end of business that Monday to decide whether I wanted to work with the company they'd found or cancel the move for a refund on my deposit. Despite the fact that this other company lacked the AMSA Promover certification that initially attracted me to AVL as some kind of sign of their reputability, AVL was unwilling to discount either the move itself or insurance on it. It was at this point that AVL also became impossible to communicate with: the moving specialist they assigned me was nearly unreachable. My calls either went straight to his voicemail or (more often) got stuck in a maze of awful wait music that may have left me emotionally scarred. I had to call the main office line more than a few times to reach anyone at AVL--let alone someone that knew anything about my move--and found that I had better luck calling from a different phone number than the one they had on file for me as if that one was blacklisted to forever suffer in AVL's purgatory of waiting music. Instead of packing that weekend before my move, I wound up finding another company that could move my stuff and consequently made every attempt to cancel my move with AVL. However, the aforementioned difficulty in reaching anyone there meant that I spent almost all of Monday trying to confirm my cancellation to secure a refund on my deposit. Once I finally reached my moving specialist, he did send me something that looked a lot like a refund. Except it wasn't. It was a legal settlement full of grammatical mistakes and misspelled words which stipulated that I may never say a negative thing about or describe my experience working, or attempting to work, with AVL. In exchange, AVL will pay me a dollar amount equal to my deposit. I, again, tried to reach someone at AVL to talk about their confusion of the words "gag order" and "refund", but didn't have any luck. Tired of trying to have a normal human conversation with anyone at AVL and mourning the hours I'd already wasted, I'm posting this review to hopefully save someone the frustration, time, and expense of trying to work with this company. read more

I recently moved from South Bend, IN to Montgomery, AL and booked my move with American Van Lines. The experience was stressful and riddled with anxiety - BUT that was made much better due to the excellent service provided by this company. This is a licensed carrier not a broker which mattered to me. From the start Danielle Brooks, my sales rep/Sr. moving coordinator that booked my estimate and worked on our original inventory was very honest about how the rate was calculated, how we could help ourselves and was extremely detailed down to having me open cabinets to make sure her estimate was accurate. She talked me through carrying cost if the truck made the destination prior to our home closing and included costs for any potential delays in the estimate. Danielle let me know I had 7 days prior to the pickup window to update our final estimate - which we did get rid of two 11 yard dumpsters worth of junk items - and Shabrina reassessed our inventory with a new estimate. The moving crew ran by a 14 year veteran Fabian, was top notch. They were professional, friendly and extremely hardworking. We were moving from a 3500sqft house, 5 bedrooms, basement, big furniture, power bases for beds, pelotons and 65" TVs we scheduled for them to remove from the walls (they don't touch the brackets). Throughout the labor they never complained or slowed down. packed everything tightly, and got all of our stuff on one truck - it was impressive. I met them in AL two days after the original pickup and they unloaded carefully, none of our items were damaged in the move and they were careful of the walls, floors and doorways in our brand new home. They set up anything they had taken apart, beds, tables, furniture. Also they set up the furniture and rugs however I requested. We were followed up with 5 times during the move by our Trip Coordinator Kayla Green - she just was checking in to make sure we were happy first, and then to update us on our final estimate which ended up being $1500 less then the original, and spot on with my final estimate. No surprises, no weird excuses. I 100% recommend this team to anyone serious about moving and can't afford for it to be wrong. read more

We contracted with AVL for an interstate move approximately 4-1/2 hours from our former home. The team we worked with from quote to coordination to quality assurance to delivery was outstanding - responsive, professional, on time and pleasant. I have to admit, I was skeptical when a team of just 2 men showed up to load our entire household onto a shuttle (box truck) since an 18-wheeler would not have access to our driveway. However, I cannot fully express how impressed we were. They worked diligently and efficiently and above all were very pleasant. They carefully covered our furniture and packed items we thought could just be loaded on the truck (e.g. large air filters, water cooler, etc.). On the other end, AVL sent a team of 3 to unload and set up. Again, very impressive team. After unpacking many of our belongings about a week into our new home, there is still only one item that was damaged. That was due to the fact we disassembled it to remove from an office for the move, but should have fully reassembled for transportation. There is only one reason I did not rate the experience 5 stars and that came down to the quote. When I began working with AVL, I clearly stated most of the furniture was solid oak in addition to the heavy gym equipment and sent an entire inventory including dimensions. Since the cost is predicated on weight, I didn't want any surprises. The weight came in much higher than estimated and thus, the cost. That said, when the driver revised the estimate upon his arrival and assessment, he came pretty close so although the cost was higher, we didn't have any surprises upon delivery and actually came in slightly under his revised estimate - so 5 stars for that! At the end of the day, for a short-haul move I recommend AVL based on our experience and rate them 4.5 stars. read more

It really is true what they say: "The thought of a major move ranks right up there with divorce and tax audits." We certainly were not looking forward to re-locating our company, but the opportunity for a new and larger space enticed us to do it anyway. To our pleasant surprise, American Van Lines completely changed our attitude about the "dreaded" moving experience. They were there when they said they would be for the initial "walk-through" for the quote; they came back immediately with the most fair and reasonable price; they delivered boxes to us ahead of time so we could have our personal items ready; and on moving day, they were there exactly on time for the big day. There were 5 guys who worked together like a well-oiled machine. It was incredulous how organized and efficient they were. Nothing was left behind, lost, or damaged - including our treasured office coffee machine and all of the glass pots. In less than half the time we thought it would take, the entire "old" office was packed, loaded, and on the way to the "new" office. Once there, they didn't stop until the job was done and everything was safely re-directed to its new location. All we did was point and direct and they did everything else. All desks, filing cabinets, bookcases, chairs, refrigerators, conference tables, wall hangings, personal items - everything - was perfectly re-located exactly as we instructed. They even moved, and then graciously re-moved, some items as we changed our minds in mid-move. They were really amazing. What we were expecting to be a horrible experience turned out to be an efficient and friendly atmosphere of professionals doing their jobs to perfection. Anybody looking to make a major move should call American Van Lines. Judy Hamilton, Owner Health Service Providers, Inc. read more

If I could give this rating a negative star rating I would. I wish I would have read the reviews before contracting with them. We were told they would pick up on a certain date, did not show up on that date but the following day and did not receive a call until the NIGHT before (this was after I had called over and over again as conveniently no one was answering the phone on the day they were supposed to arrive) letting us know then they would show up- not to mention no information was given on the driver still, when they did show up it was only 2 men for our 3,500 sq ft house, took them over 13 hours and in the end EVERYTHING DID NOT FIT ON THE TRUCK. So we are left scrambling the next day to rent a U-haul, get a storage unit and the company now refuses to offer any form of compensation to pick up the remaining items. They have this "binding estimate fee" which cost us $800 on our initial move, which they want to charge all over again to pick up the remaining items. I have received 4 different answers on what this fee is & they are all bogus! Supervisors won't call you back or offer any form of help, except to sit there and listen to your problems....this is when they will actually return your call (don't expect them to reply to emails or consider yourself lucky if you get a return call) Not to mention, a LOT of our very nice, expensive, some new some heirloom furniture was badly DAMAGED or ruined in the move. We'll see if we ever get the insurance claim money for that, been 60 days so far and no word. Please whoever is reading this, save your money, belonging and time and go with another company! WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!! read more

DO NOT USE!! Initially, they provided a deceptively low estimate based on weight, seemingly designed to secure the business. Then, they proceeded to subcontract the labor to individuals who handled our possessions with complete disregard, damaging several priceless family heirlooms and treating our belongings with an utter lack of care. When the true cost of the move was disclosed, it was nearly DOUBLE the original estimate. The situation only worsened from there. My repeated attempts to contact them via phone, email, and text over the course of an entire week went unanswered, leaving us in complete limbo with no updates whatsoever. FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK, WE DID NOT KNOW WHERE OUR POSSESSIONS WERE! My 80-year-old mother, was ignored for over a week--no response to her calls, emails, or texts. After waiting on hold over an hour on the phone, our "Moving Coordinator" informed us that the furniture had been sitting in a warehouse in Tampa for over a week, with no projected delivery date. After spending over $7,000 for what should have been a seamless experience, this is the treatment my elderly mother received. When they finally arrived at my mother's new home, the movers threatened to drive off with our belongings unless we paid their exorbitant charges UP FRONT, before they unloaded. When I posted an honest, fact-based review, American Van Lines repeatedly threatened to sue me. See picture of broken antiques and their threatening letter. This entire experience has been nothing short of a nightmare. I'm still getting email threats from them. If you value your time, money, and belongings, do not even consider this shameless company. read more