Dan M.
My experience with American Van Lines…was a nightmare
My experience with American Van Lines started off fine when dealing with Alex F as he was personable and helpful (initially), but this soon changed as he couldn't even respond to an email where I was asking for help on my delivery. Everything went downhill after they picked up my items. Communication became spotty and unreliable—I had to repeatedly reach out just to get basic updates, and even then, the responses were vague or delayed. The delivery was late by several weeks from the agreed upon date of 8/8 (received 8/28) which was communicated with both Alex and my originally assigned customer rep Bryan. I was left completely in the dark, unsure of where my belongings were or when they would arrive. What made the situation worse was the lack of transparency. After pickup, the timeline kept changing without explanation, and additional charges were mentioned without clear justification. It felt like I was dealing with a company that didn’t value honesty or customer peace of mind. I got a hold of an agent on 8/8 asking about the timing of my delivery for the day since I had to pay an elevator reservation fee to which I was told I should have canceled, and it was on me because they never called the day before confirming my delivery. No one bothered to inform me ahead of time that there were any issues, so I called daily for about 2 weeks. Over this time, I learned that Bryan was no longer with the company and Rudy G was my new contact, but I never received any communication around this even as I was calling having issues. He was able to send me the final portion of my bill so that I could pay them, however getting a call back or communication was asking a bit too much. I had spoken to a random CSR asking for an update, to which she confirmed she saw notes that I had confirmed the agreed delivery with TWO different employees prior to my pick up and then she mentioned Rudy called me to which I laughed because I couldn't even get an email back at the time. I was fed up at this point that I requested a supervisor to discuss my frustrations. Rita O was the supervisor who called, validating my frustration and saying she would look into my delivery more, but did note there were mechanical issues with the originally scheduled truck. Had this been communicated, I would have been fine because I'm a reasonable person, but this wasn't. The day Rudy finally gave me a call, he was instantly defensive and condescending on the call trying to tell me there were no notes. He went on to say that the driver had a death in the family which is the reason for the delay, to which I said "bull shit, I don't believe shit you're saying because I was also told you called me and this is the first that's happened". I had finally snapped because these individuals are awful at customer service and will gas light customers for their inability to carry out the tasks they are paid to do. I had to call Rita several times from this point where I complained about Rudy and said I wanted someone else to handle my delivery. It was almost as though she saw the transcript of our conversation because her tone changed once I voiced my dissatisfaction and concerns. When I asked if they would reimburse me for repurchasing items since I had a trip and things plans she said they weren't liable, but could I say the same if I withheld payment because of whatever BS I wanted to say. However, I should've known it's a tone from the top issue because she barely followed up as promised and couldn't even respond to my email on the day of delivery since I had to pay my outstanding balance where I was told I would receive a discount. I had to call customer service because Rita was refusing my calls and emails. They got a hold of her to which she forwarded an agreement reimbursing me a measly $600, but I wouldn't be able to leave negative reviews or talk about this awful experience. Since I relied heavily on reviews, I decided the money was whatever at this point, but voicing the unprofessionalism of this company and doing all I can to blast their poor standards meant so much more. I expected professionalism and reliability, but unfortunately, American Van Lines failed to deliver on both. I would not recommend them to anyone looking for a stress-free moving experience. One last warning for anyone that decides to go with AVL, use caution if you deal with Alex F, Rudy G, or Rita O.




