29 Oct, 2020 → by ClaimboUser410518
Worst Service Ever/Cost Me More $$

1

Worst Service Ever! This is not my first move using a moving company, so I am used to going through the necessary steps of booking this type of service. I spoke with a gentleman from American Van Lines to initiate the process by informing him of when the service would be needed and describing in detail the size and quantity of items within my home that will need to be moved. When I say I described in detail, an example would be I have a zero-turn riding mower with a 52 deck, and I have over 500lbs of weights with 3 workout benches, average size treadmill, and a pull-up bar station that is over 6 high, a queen-size bed that has a mechanical base that is very heavy. This type of description continued as we went through each room and garages. As he filled out the form over the phone for the estimate, he generically typed in the items; example: riding lawnmower, queen bed, etc. From our conversation, it appeared as if he was experienced in filling out this form, so I did not question the general descriptions. He estimated the weight and I paid half of the cost at that time. The buyers of our house actually purchased our dining room set, living room set, and patio furniture, so those items were removed from our estimate when American Van Lines called a second time to see if there had been any changes. Resulting in less overall weight. The movers were to arrive on a Thursday between 10am and 12pm. They did not show up until 2:30pm (2.5-4.5 hours late). The driver (Marvin) began inventorying the contents of our house, telling my wife that we had more stuff than listed, and what was listed was much bulkier than what was on the estimate. I was out of state getting ready to start a new job and received a phone call from her repeating his statements. He also said he probably will not be able to take everything because the truck he brought was too small. He told my wife that it was your husbands fault for not providing the actual contents and their size. Totally unwarranted, unprofessional and untrue. She told me he kept repeating that statement. She was concerned on when they would finish for the evening since they did not start as early as scheduled. She asked the driver and he stated Well, I guess we will be done when you kick us out. Again, totally unprofessional. When I heard this, I was extremely upset and called Lesilee (my contact with American Van Lines) and told her of their tardiness and unprofessional comments. She checked with the dispatcher and told me that the reason he was late was because his team did not show up on time. I do find it hard to believe that they showed up that late when his team consisted of his wife and cousin. They finally said they would finish up at 9pm, but then later decided to stop at 7pm. They said they would be back to the house the next day between 7am and 8am. My wife said she would call him in the morning to let him know she was on her way to the house since she was staying in a hotel. She called him the next morning around 7:20am to let him know she was on her way to the house, he stated he would be late because her phone call is what woke him up. They did not label the boxes as to which room they came out of or the contents, my wife had to perform that task. She also had to provide them with scissors. When they left at 5pm, not only did they leave behind numerous household items, they also left their trash for us. I returned Friday night to drive my wife back to our new location the next morning, but instead of getting good rest, we had to spend a few more hours purchasing packing supplies and box up what they left behind. It appears as though they simply picked around different areas leaving items in the very room they were just in. My wife and I had to leave the next morning to get back to our new state because of the coordination of my truck delivery from another moving company. Thank goodness our realtor was so helpful in finding us a local moving company who would move the items left behind to a storage facility until we could get it moved to our new location. Our items will not be moved until close to Thanksgiving and for an additional cost of nearly $5,000. This is without a doubt the worst experience my wife, our realtor and I have ever had with a moving company. In fact, our realtor was at a dinner for a retiring realtor that Thursday night and told everyone not to use American Van Lines and will continue to spread the word. My concern is that people (Lesilee and Marvin) are blaming me for the lack of information filled out on the form which caused a smaller truck to be usedI did not fill out the form. The size of the truck was not my decision and it is not my fault that the initial gentleman did not provide more detail on the estimate form. I should not have to pay an additional $5,000 to move the items left behind. Finally, they were scheduled to deliver our items to a storage facility in our new state with a window of 10am to 12pm, they did not show up until 1:45pm and did not start unloading until 2:00pm. Without saying hello, the Marvins first words were That storage isnt big enough. I told him I was assured by the person I coordinated the rental with that the storage was large enough for a 3-bedroom home. This was confirmed by the staff member of the storage facility stating that if properly filled, it would certainly be able to accommodate the items of a 3-bedroom home. It was only him and his wife, and he did 99% of the unloading of the truck and filling of the units. After unloading approximately ¼ of the load, he stated he would need another storage unit, so we reluctantly rented another (smaller) unit that was 10 x 10 (an additional $137/mo). He said he could get everything in between the two units. After another hour, he stated he needed another storage unit. Being worried he would leave our items outside; we again rented another storage unit (10 x 20) for another $187/mo. Photos of items left behind...could not upload all. User's recommendation: Do Not Even Consider American Van Lines!!
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