American Choice Van Lines

Our moving experience with American Choice Vanlines was a a total scam and we want to warn everyone of their fraudulent and unethical behavior. We are a military family moving from CA to VA, and were originally quoted $15k for the move. After declining this quote since we would not be reimbursed that much from the military, the sales rep John A. continued to call and eventually "negotiated" a contract within the expected military reimbursement of $11k. He claimed the company would move us themselves, not broker out the job, and assured me the quote would not change as long as more items were not added to the move. Three days before the move took place, the QA manager Michaeel called and within minutes of talking to him he said the estimate was wrong, we would need a bigger truck, and it would cost $16k. We did not add any items, actually got rid of several large items that were on the inventory. We had a timeline to meet so we had no choice but to accept the increase. On the day of the move, the moving company (which was in fact brokered out to another company, despite what they told me), walked in and said they wouldn't touch anything because the estimate was too low and the move would actually cost $30k. Again, no items were added to the inventory but they claimed "bulky and fragile" items are an upcharge. I spent hours doing the initial inventory, measured all items, and disclosed everything. At no point was I warned that our estimate would more than double because of fragile and bulky items. I spoke with the manager, Sam, many times before accepting this contract, and she said my only options would be to sign the contract or leave half of our belongings behind. Obviously this is not really a choice- we had to be out of the house at a certain time and we could not leave half of the house behind.

For claiming to be a "veteran owned company" that prides itself on taking care of military families, this should be a complete disgrace. It was a bait and switch operation in which I was lured into signing the initial contract, paid thousands of dollars on a deposit, then the contract continued to increase until the day of the move when we now had no choice but to accept the move in order to meet our timeline and not be out of the $6k deposit we had already paid. Trying to resolve these issues or reach anyone in upper management is impossible; they just closed this case without accepting any accountability or allowing me to speak to someone about these problems. I truly wanted to resolve this without reaching this point but they've left me with no other option so I hope this can help prevent others from falling victim to such a scam moving company.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $25000

Was afraid I would never get my items.

John J Williams 

Senior Moving Consultant

American Choice Van Line

US DOT: 4284327 MC:1666003

Made false promises that cost me thousands. Lied about everything with no consequences for his action. He said my items would be picked up the day before the closing on my house. Items were picked up six hours after closing while the new owners were trying to move in. Lied about contacting dispatch to make sure they wouldn't pick up on closing date. Movers left items behind. I had no way of transporting thems so lost a lot of items. John said my items would be delivered at agreed upon date at the latest (BAIT AND SWITCH), items were delivered 16 days late. Lied about not using multiple trucks. My items were moved twice. During this items were broken and damaged. They true to super glue an arm rest that they broke. I ended up getting super glue all over my hands when the arm rest fell off. Chair was two moths old and very expensive. Very dishonest. Damaged and broken furniture. Lost items. I called every other day after my items were not delivered on my guarantees date. I got the run around for two weeks. Not knowing where my items were and when they would be delivered. Very sickening. John can say this isn't true but recordings don't lie. I went with this company because of John's word.

I over estimated the amount of items I had when we went through the initial inventory list. I ended up having approximately ⅓ less.

The delivery driver tried to uncharged me $650 because he felt I had more. I told him to look at his list of my items and he will see I have less. He then tried to say how about $300. I said NO he could leave. He then said ok ok we will load it up. These guys and this company are CROOKS!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000

I own a lot of delicate items, including vintage furniture and expensive electronics, so I was extra cautious about choosing a moving company. American Choice Van Lines exceeded my expectations! They had specialized boxes for my computer monitor and camera equipment. My wooden dining table, which scratches easily, was padded and wrapped in such a way that it arrived in perfect condition. They wrapped the metal legs of my chairs to avoid denting anything. They were so careful with my belongings that I never felt the need to micromanage. I can confidently say they are the best in the business.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4470

This company will rope you in with a huge under estimate of your total move and then charge you fees and in the upwards of THOUSANDS of dollars. I was Quoted $2100 for my move and paid over $3800 by the end of it all. Did I mention I was only moving 67 miles away. I should also mention that once all of my stuff was loaded on to the truck, the driver asked me for a delivery date. On the phone Greg, the moving “specialist” said they would just be following me to my new location same day! The driver assures me he will bring my things to my new location first thing in the morning. I hear nothing from him at all and finally get my things deliver by early evening 2 days later… to go 67 miles! They were 3 hours late to arrive on my pick up day and they had a 4 hour time window which is already rather generous. Once they arrive with my things they charge me and additional $250 to carry my things off the truck and into my apartment which I had already paid for the stairs and the long carry fee at pick up. And if all this isn’t enough to detour you. They broke my book shelf, got blood on my couch and gave me a box that was completely smashed. I heard them dropping my things which coming up the stairs and slamming things down once they got into the apartment. The cherry on the cake is their “customer service line” which is essentially one person a day telling customers there is nothing they can do to help. Once you sign you are at the mercy of whatever jerk picks up you stuff and has your checking account by the balls, you don’t pay you don’t get your stuff. I URGE you DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. Or their driving company that goes by Fast travel LLC.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3812

My long distance military move from NC to CO was a horrible experience. The first mover called 2 days late, then claimed his truck broke down and never arrived. The second movers were 3 days late, had trouble getting onto the military base and needed to be escorted in and out of the gate. The quote went from $4500 over the phone to $8,000 when the movers arrived. After complaining we settled on $7,600. The movers claimed they could not stack anything on top of my washer & dryer and charged $6 per cubic feet of unused space above them. Then the movers refused to take my artificial plants, left the drain pan to my washing machine, and broke the drain pipe. They broke a ceiling light fixture, blinds, left a trail of holes in the walls, and the delivery ETA changed from 5 to 30 days. I was never told my furniture was being transported and stored in a warehouse until the day of the move. The driver explained our furniture was being transported from North Carolina to New Jersey. Customer Service manager finally explained that local drivers bring all deliveries to a warehouse to be picked up by a semi-truck for transport cross country. It has been 8 days since our move and we are still unable to get a ETA on when our furniture will arrive. We only packed for a week and are now having to buy household items to function for a month long delay.

A rule of thumb when calling for a quote. Get an estimate of 1200 lbs per room and expect a 30 day ETA on state to state moves.

DO NOT USE THEM unless you read the fine print and understand the quote is not a guarantee of anything in it.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7657

I had called a third party that routed me to this company. I was already on the fence from this bait and switch type of marketing. But, the guy I was speaking with, Lloyd, seemed genuine, albeit still a salesman. I asked a ton of questions and we walked through several pricing scenarios. He had to keep going back to check pricing with his service team because I would add something to the inventory list or I would want to know the difference in pricing if I wrapped my things myself. I was appreciative of him working with me. However, he wanted me to make a deal on the phone and I still had to talk to my husband. I didn't like that, but I understood because it's his job to secure the sale. I didn't let that sway me, I was actually ready to send my deposit and set up the move. I called him back because I couldn't find the Google reviews and I wanted to make sure what I was reading was the same company. The overall number was good, but I was asking Lloyd specifically about the 2 recent complaints that had the 2 things I was most concerned about: being quoted one price and then having things charged after I set up the movers and punctuality. Both had complaints that they spoke to someone that their belongings would be delivered on specific days and they were not. Instead of listening to my concern, Lloyd got frustrated and started talking over me. He wanted to give me a generic excuse and said, "No moving company will ever give a specific time, so I don't know where they got that." Which seems crazy to me because the review agreed that someone had called them to let them know they would arrive at a specific time.I would imagine that, at some point, the customer would need that communication with a specific day and time. I was actually a little shocked. Had he just let me finish my sentence and address my concerns, he would have had the sale. Instead, he told me, "I'm not going to beg for your business." And then be hung up the phone on me. If you can't validate your customer's concerns asking them to give you thousands of dollars in business, then you should rethink your position in the company. The way he handled things when I brought up my concerns does make me feel like I avoided a scam. Which is a shame if it wasn't. Because I was 10 more minutes away from signing a deal and they lost my business.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $8000

Absolutely terrible experience with america's choice van lines!!! We were quoted $2000 for our move, which was supposed to include a list of furniture (they offered us up to 28 boxes with this quote. We only have 6 boxes). We confirmed the details multiple times over the phone. However, when the movers arrived, they refused to honor the original quote ($2000). Instead, they demanded $12,000. We negotiated to cut down to 20% items on quote (only one bed with 6 boxes). They still refused. They didn’t pickup any furniture but kept our $1000 deposit. We called and emailed many times, unfortunately, this scam company just ignored us. Avoid this company at all costs - total scam artists!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12000

I got a quote from American Choice van lines. I was quoted 2700 to move my 10x10 storage unit that was only half full. The man on the phone was Jon he stated that all other moving companies were taking advantage of all people so he insured me that he was legit and quoted me 2700 to make the move. When the movers showed up to move the unit the demanded another 3k to do the move..now I want my deposit back for a scam they run. They broke the contract now pony up.. what ever you do do not use this company. They just scam you out of your hard earned money...I will find you....

Move size: Studio Service cost: $1456