American Van LinesReviews of americanvanlines.com

Run away from this company. Save yourself the stress, money, and severe heartache—do NOT hire American Van Lines. We fell completely for the charm and charisma of the initial salesperson, but the moment the buying process was over and they had our money, everything went completely wrong. Initially the job was set for the price of $6,639.61 for what was supposed to be a professional, high-care move. What we actually experienced was not a series of inefficiencies from them; it was the direct result of complete negligence, reckless handling of our belongings, rushing, and hiring unreliable third-party subcontractors. Then the third party pushed us to pay extra $900 for blankets to "protect our belongings," only to give us dirty, ripped blankets that were literally falling apart—leaving our furniture exposed and damaged where the fabric was torn. On top of that $900 extra, we were constantly pressured to give them a "good tip" because they claimed they were working hard—and we actually did. Despite explicitly paying extra for professional packing of our fragile and kitchen items, fragile boxes and frames were packed loosely with unsecured paper, and a ceramic statue explicitly marked "Fragile" was left totally unprotected. The crews rushed the job, lost key items like our TV power cords and bases, and ruined priceless family heirlooms. Most devastatingly, a cherished heirloom marble table passed down through generations from my mother and grandparents was completely smashed and destroyed. We submitted our formal complaint on July 30th detailing this destruction and subcontracting chaos. It took them until October 19th—nearly three months later—to respond, only to offer an insulting $242.70. We received zero apologies and not a single shred of empathy or accountability for destroying a family treasure. They failed completely to deliver the basic service we contracted and paid for. Do not fall for their sales pitch—look elsewhere!

I strongly recommend avoiding American Van Lines based on my experience. My original quote was approximately $6,000, but my final invoice was $9,371.17—a $3,371.17 increase, or approximately 56%—even though the item count had not changed from the detailed inventory I emailed them. I provided a detailed written inventory, yet the estimates and pickup paperwork still contained discrepancies. Over the phone when you tell them there are discrepancies between your list and theirs they assure you it’s all fine and weight based. When the movers arrive that goes out the window. The movers (who will be outsourced) treat everything as an itemized list and charge for any variations. Items I had already disclosed were categorized differently or treated as additional charges. When I challenged the discrepancies and ultimately told them to forget it and that I wanted to stop the process because the paperwork didn’t align, everyone panicked including AVL. I continued to be pressured to proceed and to sign a revised quote that was just for record of the pick up but not for pricing. They again claimed it’d all be reconciled and they’d figure out where I was being double charged. I initially refused to sign the revised quote because I told them American Van Lines had messed up everything so far and I had no reason to trust them. I even have ring-camera footage of the movers speaking with their manager, while I was inside the house acknowledging that I was right, that American Van Lines had made mistakes, and that they did not know what to do. Ultimately American Van Lines asked me to trust them, promising someone would call the next day ,(since it was the weekend) so we could reconcile the inventory and correct the numbers. I documented those assurances next to my signature on the revised paperwork. No one called the next day or at all that following week and the promised reconciliation never happened. They locked me into the very price/quote that I told them I felt they were pressuring me to sign. Getting answers afterward was extremely difficult. Calls went unanswered, promised callbacks did not happen, and I repeatedly had to explain my case to representatives. My shipment sat in a local warehouse for over a week. When it arrived two weeks later, items were missing and damaged, I received belongings that did not belong to me, and I found mouse droppings inside one of my small boxes. After I submitted a claim, American Van Lines offered me $530.40. In exchange, the proposed release required me to give up all claims, agree not to file complaints with regulatory agencies, and agree not to make negative or disparaging public statements about the company. I rejected the offer and did not sign. One other concern: I question whether the company’s 4.2 online ratings tell the full story. The release they offered me in exchange for $530.40 requires me to agree not to file regulatory complaints and not to make negative public statements about the company. If customers feel they must accept those restrictions to receive compensation for damaged or missing belongings, how many might choose not to share their experiences publicly? I refused to sign. I believe prospective customers deserve to hear about my experience before making their decision. I did many of the things people are advised to do: I created and emailed a detailed inventory, reviewed the estimates, challenged discrepancies, documented my objections, and kept records. Those steps did not prevent the problems I experienced. My advice: Send your detailed inventory at the beginning and insist that it be attached to the moving contract as an exhibit. Read every line of every document before signing. If anything is incorrect, do not let pressure, sweet talk, or promises of later reconciliation persuade you to sign inaccurate paperwork. Insist on written corrections first. I hired professional movers because I wanted a smoother, safer relocation. Instead, I spent considerable time chasing answers, disputing charges, documenting missing and damaged belongings, and pursuing compensation. I would not use American Van Lines again, and I cannot recommend them.

They loaded up my belongings in California and kept them somewhere for a month before finally bringing them to Arizona. Arrived damaged and many items missing. I would not recommend this company for nothing! I was overcharged and never got my money back! Horrible company and I got the runaround by many people! They’re liars and criminal!!

This is my 7th move, so I am not a rookie. I paid more for American than other competitors because they said they were not brokers. The move started out good and quickly went downhill. The booking agent was responsive & helpful. However, I SPECIFICALLY asked if American is a broker & was told "NO". They may not have a broker license but they contract out. The night before, American said Cobra Moving would handle my move. The next day Seamless Moving, an American Partner collected my furniture. The furniture was then delivered by someone not affiliated with American. The load-in went well. Seamless was efficient, quick & packed my furniture with care. I would work with them again. The delivery was rescheduled 3 times, then finally completed after the contracted delivery date & my items were trashed. Boxes marked "this end up", "do not stack" or fragile were loaded under heavy item, items were wet. I watched the loader put at least 3 layers of plastic on my couch & cloth chairs, which was then ripped & stained, both mattress were ruined. About 80% of my furniture was damaged in some way. The movers didn't set-up my beds, left dangerous wrinkles in rugs and didn't take the blankets off items too heavy for me to lift. I have been calling and emailing American for almost 30 days. At first they responded but now, no one is returning my calls.

American Van Lines is dishonest, and blatantly lies to their customers while going through an incredibly stressful life event. I strongly recommend reading all negative reviews before considering taking a chance with American Van Lines. You don’t want to end up being someone that leaves another negative review. When booking this company, we were told we’d have our stuff delivered in 2 weeks, which was important since our wedding was at the end of the 3 week moving window and they were made aware of this. We placed air tags in our moving boxes and watched helplessly as the truck drove up to Seattle from San Diego before driving cross country towards Florida. We tried contacting our moving coordinator multiple times as we had things on the moving truck we needed for our wedding. We found out our designated moving coordinator was out on vacation. We spoke to someone else who told us we would be getting our stuff delivered on the very last possible day within the 3 week window (after our wedding), and there was nothing that could be done. The days following our wedding, we watched as the moving truck passed our location, and travelled down to Southern Florida to make several deliveries before parking in a truck stop located 2 hours away from our apartment. The truck sat in the same location for 3 days. We again reached out to the moving company to request an update, and were notified that, because it was a holiday, we could not get any updates, and that unbeknownst to us, our moving coordinator had changed. We called the following morning, since we never received a phone call from the driver, and sat on hold for almost 2 hours without speaking to anyone. We called the emergency line, and our new coordinator informed us that the driver was having a family emergency, and therefore we would not be getting our belongings delivered until the following day. How a national company that coordinates cross country moves could not provide an alternate driver or solution is incomprehensible. During this conversation, it was divulged they utilize subcontractors as our coordinator tried explaining there are many moving parts to a cross country move. Based on many other reviews, this has been other peoples’ experience as well. Since we had just had our wedding, you can imagine how the lack of communication and perpetual delays in our delivery negatively affected our honeymoon that had been planned for over a year. Later the same day, the driver called to let us know that our stuff would indeed be delivered the following day, and that he was home and well with his family enjoying an extra long weekend since he ended up taking the Tuesday off as well instead of delivering our belongings. Additionally, we were told the apartment complex we moved out of should accommodate the moving truck based on aerial views of the complex. The truck was massive and clearly couldn’t even turn into the complex. This resulted in an additional $1500 fee for a “transfer truck”. We’ve moved multiple times to different states including cross country, and this is by far the worst most stressful moving experience we’ve ever had.

Very disappointing experience with American Van Lines. The move did not go as planned, communication was poor and unprofessional, and I faced financial loss along with damage to my products, equipment, and appliances. The way my concerns were handled only added to the frustration. Based on my experience, I would be very cautious before trusting this company with a move.

The absolute worst most incompetent company I have ever worked with. I hired this moving company based on their initial quote and clear commitments — a fair price, reliable timing, and specific services. What I experienced was the opposite. They tried to charge me double the originally quoted price, then demanded an additional $1,000 at delivery. There was zero advance communication about the price changes, no explanation or documentation, and they failed to deliver on the services they promised at the start. Phone calls and messages went unanswered or were ignored. I literally was called 10 minutes before the proposed delivery to inform us of the extra charge and delivery still not on schedule. I do not recommend this company. If you decide to use them, even if you get everything written and signed, they will still insist on a charging you more on a new invoice on moving day, be prepared for surprise charges and poor communication. Moving is already hard this just makes it worse. On top of that they called and acted concerned but still no resolution or response and they never followed through with what was promised.

Very late delivery. Shipment was over a week beyond the promised delivery window. Customer service was lacking in empathy and quite unhelpful. The actual pickup and delivery was contracted out to a different company which was not what I expected. Finally the company offered me a $30 per day discount for each day the delivery was late. First that was an exceptionally low amount to offer for extreme inconvenience. This was an insult and the way the representative offered, it was like she was doing me a favor. I would have preferred to have my delivery delivered during the specified time frame. I expected more from this company.