International Van LinesReviews of internationalvanlines.com

We contracted International Van Lines for a door-to-door international household move from Texas to the UK. The initial contract was based on a remote video (virtual) survey of the house. The contract price rose twice before dispatch: from the January 2024 estimate of $18,281 to $23,975 at booking on 1 August 2024 (a 31% increase), and then to $33,968 only three weeks later (a further 42%), when — with packing already in progress at the house — IVL demanded an unbudgeted second 20-ft container that the virtual survey had not specified. Delivery in the UK in April 2026 became an ordeal for us. Despite our specifically warning IVL about the value and fragility of some items, in particular our artworks, packing of those pieces was inconsistent: some were properly wrapped and boxed; others were placed in boxes of clothes alongside heavy items and were broken on arrival. A considerable number of furniture items were not wrapped at all before containerisation. Furniture pieces dismantled by IVL in Texas arrived spread across multiple boxes, sometimes with labels, sometimes without, with small parts such as knobs and screws currently unaccounted for. IVL’s UK agent then refused to reassemble those items, on the basis that the work was outside their instructed scope. A structural point that future customers should understand: IVL is not, on an international job like ours, the company that performs every part of the move. The UK destination services in our case were carried out by a separate, sub-contracted company, not by IVL itself. When damage and missing items came to light, our experience has been of each company pointing at the other as the responsible party, with us in the middle. Before contracting an international move with IVL, we would advise asking in writing which destination services IVL will perform itself and which will be sub-contracted, and obtaining the precise scope-of-work and standard terms governing each leg. In our view much of the packing-side problem is connected to staffing. Packing took several days. The crew that initially arrived was undersized for the scope of the move; later in the process the team appeared to recognise this and brought in additional packers under time pressure. The variable quality of the packing across our shipment looks to us like the visible result of that improvisation. A major-brand US sofa-bed is currently sitting in our UK car park: it was delivered broken, we refused to accept it, and IVL’s agent refused to remove it. A major-brand US motorised standing desk is currently in pieces around our house: it was dismantled by IVL in Texas, parts of it were delivered unwrapped, and IVL’s agent refused to reassemble it on the same scope-of-instruction grounds. After the damage was identified, IVL telephoned us, for the first time, to demand an additional USD 15,000 retrospective storage-in-transit insurance fee. Future customers should be aware that, in our experience, IVL’s response to problems relies heavily on the consumer’s precise compliance with standard-form contractual notices issued during the move itself — and on time-limited contractual get-out clauses that may not be flagged before things go wrong. Read every document carefully, keep your own dated copies of everything signed during packing, and do not assume that an unhurried later opportunity to raise concerns will be available. We have served formal written complaints; a Federal Maritime Commission CADRS request and a UK consumer-law complaint are in preparation. UPDATE: You can see IVL's response to this review made shortly after posting. The facts in it speak for themselves, and IVL don't attempt to challenge any of them in their response. It's easy to suggest "there are two sides to every story" — but that framing implies a reasonable excuse for IVL's behaviour, and IMHO there simply isn't one. In a telephone conversation with IVL after I discovered the loss and damage, their first substantive reaction was to try to blame me for their poor packing — apparently I hadn't complained enough at the time. IVL's reply also promises that "management" will be in touch; I'll update this thread if and when that actually happens. It's their job to do their job, their job to control their subcontractors and agents, and their job to identify a way to actually address the chaos they have created. They are not being 'disparaged', they are being called out. [Note: the 'date of experience' is for the first delivery into the UK, there were periods of storage in both the USA and UK, with IVL or their subcontractors.]

We had an extremely disappointing experience with International Van Lines during our move from Florida to Oregon. Unfortunately, thousands of dollars worth of our belongings were damaged, lost, or never returned. Our shipment arrived weeks later than originally promised, and when it did, many items were either broken or missing entirely — including two damaged beds, missing electronic cords and devices, a missing sleeping bags, mat, dresser mirror, cooler, and numerous other badly damaged household items that we had to end up replacing. It was shocking to see the condition of our goods after trusting a full-service moving company with everything we owned. To make matters worse, we found all our home contents had been “on-sold” during transit, and there has been no meaningful accountability or resolution. We spent hours documenting everything through their insurance portal, only to be offered a reimbursement of approximately $165 far from what was lost and damaged. Having moved cross-country before (and even internationally) without issue, this experience was incredibly disappointing and stressful. Based on our experience, we would not recommend using this company under any circumstances.

We signed a moving contract with them to move from Phoenix AZ to a town in Maine. They have had our items for 22 days and during that time it's been incredibly hard to get ahold of them, they were unable to give us an estimation of time when we could expect our items, we got less than 24 hours notice when the driver would be arriving, and upon arrival the driver said that we would need to help unload our items since he wasn't able to get help. My partner and i both have physical limitations which is the reason why we spent six thousand dollars by this company to be moved by then. Don't recommend

They were late, had terrible communication, my tv arrived broken because they set a mattress on top, and they forgot/lost my living room chair. The team who picked up my stuff moved quickly, and were professional, but my drop off team was the opposite.

I paid over $13,000 to International Van Lines (IVL) to ship my household goods from Florida to Dubai. Once they received full payment, communication became completely non-existent. While my belongings were kept in IVL’s warehouse, I was repeatedly told everything was “safe.” During this period, when I called to ask for updates, every single person I spoke to was rude, dismissive, and eager to push responsibility onto someone else. The only customer service representative even hung up on me — apparently another premium feature included in the $13,000 fee. After delivery, I discovered high-value items missing. The outer plastic box was intact, but an internal vacuum-sealed bag had been forcibly torn open, with expensive items selectively removed while cheaper ones were left behind. Another sealed bag was completely missing. This damage was not visible at delivery and could have occurred while my belongings were stored and handled in what IVL described as their “safe” facility. If you’re considering an international move and expect professionalism, communication, or basic respect for your property after payment is made, I strongly recommend looking elsewhere.

Unfortunately, this was a very disappointing moving experience. Many items were not wrapped at all, and others were inadequately protected. The loading and delivery felt rushed and haphazard, which resulted in lost items and noticeable damage to belongings that should have been handled with care. I expected a professional move and basic protective measures, but that standard was not met. I would not recommend this company. I feel a duty to give reviews as I’ve benefited from such over the years. I’ve given many positive reviews via Google. I reserve the unfortunate negative reviews for Trustpilot.

Misleading, rude, unprofessional, and dodgy. This company stays on the very edge of what is legal when dealing with customers and their items. They handled our household goods unprofessionally and damaged our furniture, damaged our home, and were unprofessional when it came to timelines and payment. They may not have many poor reviews on some websites, but that might be because the fine print in their settlement contract bully's customers into agreeing not to talk about the terms if they choose to accept their payout of insurance for damaged goods. The movers were confrontational and unprofessional. When we asked for help from IVL, they were dismissive and unhelpful. When it came time for the insurance to pay out on some very large permanently damaged items due to negligence on the movers part. If you file a claim and accept a piddly payout amount for your damaged goods, you supposedly are not allowed to leave a poor review. Terrible moving company who raised their prices sky high after packing, and were unresponsive and rude when we called them about the issues.

I would not wish my experience with IVL on anyone—it was truly a horrible experience, negative in every aspect. Communication was poor and inconsistent: I was contacted promptly when payments were due, but otherwise left in the dark about timelines, progress, and critical updates. At one point, IVL even forgot to process and communicate a required payment, which caused additional delays and significant stress. The packing was shockingly unprofessional for an international move. The packers arrived four hours late and took two full days to pack a two-bedroom apartment. High-value Italian design furniture was wrapped in paper only. Fragile ceramic tiles were thrown diagonally into a box with no protection. Most alarming, a two-meter marble slab—one of the most fragile items—was wrapped in paper and left unsecured in the container, outside of the strapped and protected items, free to slide around during transit. Unsurprisingly, it arrived broken into three pieces. Organizationally, the shipment arrived months late—which can happen—but there was absolutely no proactive communication about delays, timing, or shipment progress. Reassurances given beforehand about special care and oversight were simply ignored. When I raised concerns, the response was dismissive and unapologetic. I was even told, verbatim: “You know you are not the only client IVL has.” I have moved and shipped overseas many times, and I have never experienced anything close to this level of negligence, disorganization, and disregard for a client’s belongings. I would never use their services again, and I strongly advise others to look elsewhere for any international move involving valuable or fragile items.