Stanford Van Lines Inc.Reviews of stanfordvanline.com

Pick-up went alright. There was some minor damage to the walls and doors, but fixable. Movers were Kind. Weeks later, we haven't received any updates or information on when our things are to arrive. A month later, they finally arrived. The delivery couple (an older russian couple) were extremely rude and were yelling at us anytime we tried to touch our things. Legit yelling and screaming at us. The Lady delivery person disappeared for an hour (I'm assuming to cool off after yelling), and when she came back did not speak to anyone the rest of the time. When we were trying to ask questions about why they were yelling at us, they couldn't answer because they didn't speak English. The company gave us a 200 dollar refund for the late delivery, but that makes up for nothing. I did not keep count, but I would estimate I called the Stanford customer service over 100 times, and they only answered 3 times. They wouldn't provide us with any information about our household items. I would have to call the broker just to get a hold of the Stanford company. They eventually told us they can't find any drivers to service our area, as it is close to the border and surrounded by ICE (take that however you want to interpret it). Overall, the experience started out promising but soured quickly and can never be made right. I do not recommend this company for any moves. This is also a one-star review, which they can probably claim we were never serviced by them. Our job number was 26084376. If I could add pictures and videos here for proof, I would. Proof will be on google reviews.

Re-posting this review after initially being coerced by the company to remove it. I would NEVER use this company again and can’t possibly recommend them to anyone else! I was brought to them through a broker, Safeship, for my move from Kentucky to Illinois and I’d highly recommend anyone using a broker to request that they NOT be sent to this company! Before I get into what made my experience with this company truly terrible, I will give them credit for the positive aspects of working with them. The delivery was fast, with items being picked up on Thursday and dropped off on Saturday. Pick-up was hassle free and very professional. The primary mover, Roman, and his coworker did an excellent job disassembling furniture, wrapping it, and packing it with care. He communicated with me clearly about the timeline for pickup and delivery, and I was left with very high hopes that this would be an overall pleasant experience. Unfortunately, all of this was overshadowed by the truly terrible drop-off. My movers were Rudy and another gentleman whose name I didn’t know. Upon arrival, Rudy almost immediately demanded an additional $300 above the quoted price for a “stair fee” due to my apartment being on the third floor. I had been very clear since before pick-up that I was moving into a third-floor unit, but no mention had been made by anyone prior to that time of any additional fees for stairs. I’d been told during pickup exactly what I would owe at drop-off, so this was a very unpleasant surprise. When I acted surprised by his demand, Rudy simply shrugged his shoulders and insisted rudely that this was the price and I had to pay it. Since I had no alternative, I paid. As they unpacked the truck, I noticed one of my boxes was smashed and the cardboard torn. When I asked what had happened, the other mover laughed and just said “gravity.” Thankfully, nothing was broken and all my other belongings seemed to make the move without damage, but the unprofessionalism and rudeness to not only treat my belongings so roughly, but then laugh about potential damage to them was unacceptable. When it came time to move the box spring for my bed inside, they said they weren’t able to fit it through the back door to the apartment. After moving around to the front door, they carried it inside but stopped at the foot of the stairs and said it wouldn’t fit. They tried for maybe 30 seconds before giving up and telling me they were unable to move it and “you’ll just have to deal with it.” They then carried the last few pieces of furniture upstairs and left, with my boxspring still sitting against the wall in the lobby of my apartment. After they left, I was able to get it up the stairs with the help of a friend with minimal difficulty. Clearly, Rudy and his coworker wanted to make excuses to not finish the job! To top it all off, Rudy was rude throughout the process (rushing me to pay when I was delayed due to an issue with Zelle, shrugging off my concerns about the stair fee, telling me to “deal with it” when they left my boxspring in the apartment lobby and left). After working with my broker’s customer service, Stanford Van Lines agreed to refund most of the $300 surprise fee. When they learned I had already posted a negative review detailing my experience, however, the company coerced me into removing my review by refusing to refund me anything unless I did so! I removed the review so I could receive my refund, and the company did give me back most of my $300. I’m now re-posting the review as it’s important people are aware of the anti-consumer practices this company engages in. After looking over the reviews, it’s clear this company has a history of coercing customers into not sharing their true experiences. I imagine the reviews on this site are not indicative of this company’s true character and that many other people have likely been forced to take down negative reviews just like I was. I strongly encourage anyone who’s moving to AVOID THIS COMPANY!

They do not communicate with you, and when they do, they give you conflicting information. They don’t tell you up front that they will not pick up and deliver the same day or even the next day. You are at the mercy of their schedule and they will not explain the delay in delivering your items. They will tell you when they will deliver just to contact you again with a delay and no explanation. Their customer service is absolutely terrible and no one will help you. If you do manage to speak with someone and then try to contact them again, it will go to voicemail and you will never get a call back. Do NOT hire this company. There is nothing good to say about them. Also, when they deliver you have to pay via ZELLE, money order or cash. They do not accept credit cards for delivery but they do not tell you that when they pick up your stuff. You can use a credit card when they pick up but not when they deliver. This is the absolute worst moving company so stay clear of them and hire anyone else - and I mean anyone. Update….they delivered some of our stuff. The people that picked up our items neglected to label them when he put them in the warehouse. The guys that brought our stuff from the warehouse didn’t bring everything because it wasn’t labeled. We are missing beds, bed frames, TVs, TV stand, dresser, bookshelves, bakers rack and an unknown number of boxes. I cannot state how terrible this company is. There are no words for what we have been through. It was been one huge mess and I regret ever having anything to do with this company. We have numerous broken dishes and glasses and boxes were clearly labeled fragile. The delivery guys also asked some random strangers to help them unload. I’m trying to call the company and I look and there are three strangers in the apartment carrying our stuff. Another update…the company refused to help us and deliver the rest of our stuff so my daughters drove to their facility and were met with hostile workers who refused to help. They had to call the police and when the policeman arrived he had one of the employees call their supervisor and suddenly Stanford could help us out. My daughters had to stay there and tell them what items were theirs so they could load them into another truck. Some items were labeled and some were not so the first delivery driver was incorrect when he stated our items weren’t labeled at the warehouse. They finally delivered the remaining items on Saturday morning. Absolutely the worst company! Do not deal with them, you will seriously regret it.

I am writing to formally demand the immediate location and delivery of my household belongings that were picked up by Stanford Van Lines in Columbus, Ohio, more than a month ago for transportation to Atlanta, Georgia. At the time of pickup, I was promised that my belongings would be delivered to Atlanta on August 16, 2026. That promised delivery date has passed by weeks, and I still do not have my property. What makes this situation even more unacceptable is the complete lack of meaningful communication. I have repeatedly attempted to contact Stanford Van Lines, yet my calls have gone unanswered and I have not been provided with a clear, reliable explanation regarding the whereabouts of my belongings. I am demanding an immediate answer to the following: 1. The exact current location of my belongings. 2. The name and physical location of the facility, warehouse, truck, driver, or carrier currently possessing my property. 3. The name and contact information of the person currently responsible for my shipment. 4. A written explanation for why my belongings were not delivered on August 16, 2026, as promised. 5. A firm and specific delivery date—not another vague promise or estimated timeframe. 6. An explanation of what Stanford Van Lines intends to do to compensate my family for the expenses and losses caused by this prolonged delay. My family and I have been forced to stay in hotels for weeks because we do not have our household belongings. This has caused significant financial expense, inconvenience, frustration, and emotional distress. My children and family should not have to continue living in temporary accommodations because a moving company has failed to deliver property that we paid to have transported. This situation must be resolved immediately. I am no longer willing to accept unanswered calls, vague explanations, repeated delays, or promises without action. I have paid for a transportation service, and Stanford Van Lines has had possession of my personal property for an unreasonable amount of time. Please understand that I am preserving documentation of this entire matter, including my contract, payment records, pickup information, promised delivery date, communications, unanswered calls, messages, and expenses incurred as a result of this delay. If I do not receive a substantive written response confirming the exact location of my property and a concrete plan for immediate delivery within 48 hours of receiving this notice, I will proceed with the appropriate next steps without further notice. Those steps may include filing formal complaints with the appropriate federal and state regulatory authorities, seeking legal counsel, pursuing claims for the recovery of my property and applicable damages and expenses, and taking any other lawful action available to me. I strongly urge Stanford Van Lines to treat this matter with the seriousness it deserves. My family has already waited long enough. I expect my belongings to be located, accounted for, and delivered without further unnecessary delay. This is my formal demand for immediate resolution. Please respond to me in writing with the exact location of my property and the confirmed delivery arrangements. Barbara Donkor Collins Aboagye

I initially removed my review after Standford pressured me into removing it, but reposting now. Apparently Standford does not abide by The Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA) which protects people’s ability to share their honest opinions about a business’s products, services, or conduct, in any forum. Our out of state move with Stanford was awful, stressful, confusing, frustrating, unprofessional, disappointing and not to mention a HUGE financial expense. I would have rather rented a U-Haul, loaded myself and made multiple trips out of state than deal with this company again. They attempted to charge/collect even more money than the contracted amount due at pickup. Carelessly moved and loaded our items. We had many damaged items. They did not protect doorways or floors as we were promised. Left behind their packing material garbage, left many scrapes, dents, dings in walls, trim, and doorways at both properties. Left a tv remote in the driveway and hardware for furniture behind. Left floors a mess with leaves, etc, they tracked in on their shoes. We found a half burned cigarette in our couch. They refused to reassemble items they had dissembled at pickup. Had to deal with an outside claims company to handle item and property damage claims. It was a lengthy, tedious and frustrating process and we had to pay a notary to sign the claim form to receive our small check for all damages. But hey, we don’t have a right to be upset or write a negative review because the contract says all these things can happen and they are not responsible or liable. I wondered… how do they not have many negative reviews?!….until, we were threatened, intimidated, pressured and finally bribed to remove this review. We wanted to share our experience and put this all behind us and stop thinking about all the stress and hell we endured. How many others were treated this way, had a negative experience and were also coerced to remove a negative review? Please don’t go through what we did, we still lose sleep over our experience and how we were treated. Avoid. This. Company.

Horrible experience. Thought movers would make things easier, but what a headache. Just about anything that could've gone wrong did. Horrible. Don't ever use them, and stay away from brokers. Use an actual legit moving company.

One would be a high mark for them was lied to on move from Ohio to Colorado was told it would be straight thru and chgd me 4000 no contract sent called me three days later after used my cr CD for half down said problems w move n would deliver in eight days instead four..was a lie movers came and I had pd to get moving boxes three sizes sm med LG home Depot they noted it n then took outside n dumped all my stuff in four n five ft tall cardboard I live in a wheelchair n no way could lift stuff never showed up on new date called Stanford n told my ship too sm and waiting for larger shipment someone to fill truck n it could be thirty days. They had on pickup got final pymt plus driver asked for n said they get tips n mine 250 also warned me place bkd a scam n said amerisafe is a broker and they take half n do nothing but call a moving co and I could have saved half the 4000 I said no one told me that n I called amerisafe n got hung up on n no communication. My things were sitting in a warehouse somewhere n told thirty days n storage fees I called the sheriff's office for scam n deputy came out n called stanford said he wanted know where my things were n they refused tell him saying someplace Chicago he said would file charges the. She gave their office address. Two days later Stanford called ansaid my things del next day a truck labeled mayflower vanli nes then pulled up one person said hewas Russian n sorry alot of things broken he proceeded to bring in six ft mirrors broke dressers w legs broke off desk side smashed stools broken jewelry stolen dishes smashed boxes clothes urinated on n also lampshades n lamps cords cut detergent n medicine bottles opened up n poured crystal all broken cords cut sm appliances broke lamps in all over 166 items destroyed. Called company n hung up on . driver took pictures damages n after heard I had called sheriff off for taking my things n holding said sorry . Report company it was retaliation for calling police they opened paint cans poured in things stole what they wAnted cut holes in curtains n bedding thousands in damages n theft friend filed a complaint w BBB in July never heard from BBB plus July a person from amerisafe called n lm to call her called several times n got no response never got one thing replaced n sent BBB as well as the two companies pictures of damages. Their office in Chicago acted stupid n rude. So if you hear the names amerisafe or Stanford vanlines moving company do like Forest Gump and RUN the other way. Rude nasty liars n once they have your money do nothing n if you call police deliver your things destroyed. C Miano shpd from Toledo Ohio to Colorado springs 75 yr old senior in wheelchair sucker born everyday they were so nice n helpful until got their money n then stuff held hostage for storage fees when my delivery was to be straight thru to Colorado n have paperwork to show that have all the stuff destroyed n urinated on in boxes n may deliver to news channel or pitch it all in front of their offices for all to see n call news channel for their delivery made. Podunk trash n scammers n 200 other bad reviews online n some even worse than mine be very careful found online and told now they make you write good reviews or hold stuff amerisafe in Florida n Stanford in Chicago ill. Both trash scammers that God n Karma will get.

TL;DR: Everything was either broken or lost, with the combination of damage+loss+moving costs far exceeding the cost of property they were supposed to move. You WILL receive a substantial additional "Shuttle Charge" if you are moving >500 miles. Part of the steep cost was secondary to hiring a broker (Safe Ship Moving) who performed a bait-and-switch after collecting a $3.5k deposit, subsequently doubling the estimated cost a few weeks later despite a comprehensive walkthrough WITH CAMERA during the initial hiring. While it's scummy that Stanford operates with people with such dubious practices, I won't include that in their rating. For pick-up, they arrived only about an hour late-- acceptable in my book. However, the 2 movers who showed up and who were supposed to go over the paperwork couldn't speak anything more than broken English. When I tried to ask questions about the contract I had to sign, neither could answer absolutely anything. Good luck getting anything answered, and if you don't sign, you will be out, at minimum, half the cost of the move. There is no other recourse if you don't like the terms of the contract. Pick up was uneventful, except for the fact they repeatedly asked to play with my firearms when they realized I had some (which I kept away from them, of course.) They pack everything up in their box truck and take off. We ordered expedited shipping (<72 hrs). Our stuff arrived 6+ days after it was picked up, and they thankfully did refund the cost of the expedited shipping. The real horror started when they called to report their "arrival." They said that they were unable to fit an 18-wheeler into our residential neighborhood. I ask, what neighborhood can fit an 18-wheeler?? A house by the highway? Despite this being something they could have known before the $9000 comprehensive move, they deliberately didn't account for this when they were contracted. They said if we didn't pay an additional $850, that they would just dump our property into a parking lot. They were holding our property hostage for additional pay, and if you are moving more than 500 miles, you will be in the exact same shoes as me. None of this was disclosed to me by the movers who picked up my stuff, since they couldn't even speak English. Since we had no other option, we paid. $850 is a pretty steep sum for them to literally take a few things from one truck and toss it into a $50 Uhaul rental, but that's simply what they did. When they arrived, it was clear that we had made a huge mistake in trusting our property to these crooks. Nearly every piece of furniture that *could* be broken was broken. 90% of cardboard boxes were crushed to 1/2 the height they were previously, with many things in the boxes broken. They also dropped off someone else's box at our house, but TWO of our important boxes were completely missing! This included a kitchen box (probably worth ~$150 minumum) but also a box of extremely expensive books ($350+ per book, including expensive medical texts) and books with significant sentimental value. Gone. No recourse except their stupid "claims" website they will send you to, where you can only receive a maximum of SIXTY CENTS PER POUND of insurance on your property, so essentially nothing if what you had had any kind of value whatsoever. To top it off, all the furniture smelled musty, like it had been rained on and left to rot. The movers were extremely unfriendly and rude (Alex was the name of the most abhorrent mover.) They also did very shady things, like wanting the additional costs for the "shuttle" sent straight to his personal account-- extremely unprofessional and questionable. The long and short of this is that we paid $9000 for an expedited move and trusted much of our property to these crooks. Thank God I brought the most expensive furniture and electronics with us, because it surely would have been "lost" or broken. Despite trusting them with our property and paying a hefty sum of money, they either lost or broke greater than $9000 worth of stuff. They are deceptive, and you WILL need to sign their contract despite the movers saying they can't discuss anything because they "can't speak English". If you have valuable things, don't send it with them because there's a good chance it gets lost, but also don't send your cheaper things with them because it will either get lost or broken and costs a ton? I can't even rationalize a scenario where these crooks could be a financially sound decision. It would have been cheaper for us to get someone to pick up all our stuff and throw it away than it was to pay $9000 for these people to either break or lose it. There is no way in my mind that their "4.5 star" rating is legitimate, but I can't prove it. I suspect they may be fake reviews.