American Choice Van Lines

Based on all the positive recommendations from other customers, I hired American Choice Van Lines to move me from MD to NY.

My experience was everything I expected and more. They guys were on time, VERY friendly and extremely professional. And amazingly quick. The cost was very reasonable and upfront. No hidden costs at all.

They were in and out of my apt on the 4th floor in no time, even with taking apart my daughter's bed at no additional cost and shrink wrapping several furniture pieces. And then they were quick to NY and were very good about putting all the different boxes and furniture in the different parts of the house.

I have already recommended American Choice Van Lines to others and if I ever more again (hopefully not) I will certainly call them.

Thank you for such a great moving experience.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $2420

Please stay away from this company! They give you a quote, then when they show up, they ask for an additional $1,200. We were given a quote, went over it in detail, we were told that there were no additional fees; even asking several times - being informed that they were not a broker, and there were no extra fees on top of what they quoted. We felt comfortable, and decided to move forward with this company, only to be told that there was a shuttle fee. Truly disappointed with this as we budgeted for this move, and was not expecting this surprise. Please stay away, or ask very detailed questions.

Please note that, we were informed that we were being charged a shuttle fee, because a trailer could not fit where the move was being conducted - which is a lie. When I asked the dispatch manager by the name of Shy why we were not informed before, she stated that their database determined that. Had we been notified prior, we would have been better prepared.

Just stay away!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2700

I was quoted 400 ft.³ and everything that I described that was in my apartment was exactly as it was on the day of pick up. Yet once everything was loaded onto the truck, the quote was increased by another 150 ft.², upping my quote by over $1000. I was also told by the person who sold me the move that it would take approximately 4 to 5 days, tops seven days. Now I call every day and get no response other than the fact that my things are still where they were first placed in a warehouse, and have not even left the state this week. They give me no further information and are as rude as can be. Do not use this company.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2400

Do not hire American Choice Van Lines and if you do, expect to pay 2x the initial quote. Our original quote was $2,577.63, but after everything was said and done, we paid $4,488.15. We were moving from Massachusetts to Colorado just for reference.

In the agreement we signed, it states a shuttle fee would be charged if a 53' tractor-trailer cannot be accommodated at our building. We could accommodate a tractor-trailer at our apartment, discussed this in detail with the sales representative before signing the contract, and were assured it would not be a problem. American Choice Van Lines sent a shuttle from Brooklyn, NY anyway. Despite the company knowing our pickup address for weeks, they also conveniently neglected to inform us that they were going to add a shuttle fee until the truck arrived, leaving us with no practical choice but to move forward with an extra unforeseen $1,200 charge.

Prior to delivery, we provided several possible delivery addresses to get feedback from the company on which would be most accommodating to avoid another shuttle fee. They said they couldn't tell us until they knew the delivery schedule, meaning the shuttle fee is entirely dependent on their schedule and not the ability of the location to accommodate a large enough truck as specified in the contract. Since this fee is predetermined by American Choice Van Lines and not possible for the customer to avoid, it should be included in the original quoted amount. The current contract and pricing scheme is intentionally misleading, and the company's exploitation of it is fraud!

According to the movers we also had extra cubic footage; however, we were advised the original quote was increased by 10% to cover any excess inventory. Additionally, I tried to increase the inventory the day before pickup as I was advised a manager would call to cross check our inventory, this did not happen. The extra inventory was charged at $8.00 per cu ft instead of the contracted $7.00 per cu ft for the additional cubic footage (an extra $600.00 charge).

A week after our first available delivery date, we received a call from American Choice Van Lines that our items were loaded on the truck for delivery but our check provided a month earlier "did not clear", not because it was a bad check but because THEY FORGOT TO DEPOSIT IT. We had two options, wire transfer money immediately to keep the items on the truck with faith that they would void the check (written for over $2500) or wait an additional 10 days for the check to clear. They gave us literally minutes to decide and called every 5 minutes while we made the wire transfer as if it was our fault. This caused a lot of stress while I was at a new job I had just started. The lady even had the audacity to complain that I caused her to work overtime..

When we brought this fraudulent experience and dissatisfaction to American Choice Van Lines attention, they offered us a mere $50.00 off (reminder, they had already scammed us out of $1800). To receive the $50 off, we would have had to sign a ridiculous agreement waiving our rights to future damages/losses and our ability to write reviews. This was essentially a gag order, and we suspect it is the sole reason the company's BBB rating is still high despite their deceptive practices. We declined that pathetic offer to warn others of this fraudulent business. We are thankful we did as our bookshelf was never delivered, and our TV stand was broken in half. So much for paying more in additional square footage since we didn't even get all our items back safely or at all.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4488

Don't use this company... New city moves or American choice van lines...

This company operates under different names. We were supposedly working with "new city movers" but when we signed our contract, the letterhead said american choice van lines AND the driver told us "Same company".

We got a quote for $1300 to move our things. This was an excellent price. Then, after we sign the contract for that price, we are quoted an extra $500 for a "shuttle fee"... When we informed them that the city actually said they could get a permit and park a large, fullsized truck on the street, they refused and said we had to pay. The woman on the phone was so rude, she actually told me to "not get too excited about it" when I was questioning her on this....This is when I should've backed out!!!

The day before we are set to move halfway across the country, they call me and say they have "truck problems" and have to move me THAT DAY. I ask for money off of my move for this inconvenience, and they tell me they can't because, according to the contract, they can reschedule it to a "alternate day." Clearly they don't understand their own contract, as an "alternate day" would be one or two days later... not three hours later! Then, they don't even show up until the next day. go figure.

Well, the next day a short ryder truck (NOT an 18 wheeler) shows up. They tell me not only will I have to pay the agreed upon shuttle fee for my delivery location, but that apparently "DOT" told them they needed one for my pick up location and the truck wouldn't fit. They then came in and looked at my things for maybe 15 seconds and told me I had too many boxes and too much stuff "about 100 feet more". I had measured my things, btw, and knew exactly what sq ft I was at.

They then inform me the move would be $3000. I told them I had to think about it, locked the door, called the manager, and told them to get the truck off of my property and that they were scammers and fraudulent. They told me I'd have to pay anyway "as part of my contract" and we didn't have any other option. The manager was extremely rude. When she asked how much I wanted to pay, I said the $1700 we agreed to. They finally told me they'd do $2000. I had no choice, evidently, so they started packing up my things. They told me "next time, get a walk through by the company"... um... YOUR company did not OFFER me a walk through, but what the manager told me was even if I had more boxes, as long as the dimensions were the same I was good.

They lie about this shuttle fee. I informed them that countless other moving companies had used 18 wheelers in the large parking lot. Their response was "oh." Then, when they opened the truck, other peoples stuff was inside!!! Clearly they didn't need a special truck for us... because they'd used this same truck already that day for other people's moves.

They then, after all of this, did a terrible job. They did not, as they were contracted to do, wrap my things in blankets. They did not wear masks, during covid. They did not disassemble my bed- we had to. This was in the contract as THEIR job.

There were three men, one of them did not lift a finger.

After they left with our stuff, we called for weeks trying to find out when it would get there. The extremely rude staff never could provide an exact time.

When it finally got to us (in a different, small enterprise van), our things were scratched up, broken, our boxes were opened with other peoples food wrappers and trash inside of them. The drivers smoked in the truck. The delivery driver also did not wear masks.

Please do not use this company. They will (1) use a "shuttle fee" to get money out of you and then (2) tell you you have too much stuff, even after you measure your things, and a. refuse to take your things without extra money and b. not let you back out.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2100

I guess they have different names to avoid terrible reviews but both companies have the same US DOT: 1732844 ICC MC: 634819

They have ABSURD hidden costs. They will charge you for quite literally every little tiny thing including the amount of steps it takes to get to your door from their truck. Not to mention, it took them over a month to arrive when they said it would be a week. Their customer service is trash and very unresponsive. When I finally (after weeks of calling and emailing everyday) talked to someone higher up they were rude and very unhelpful acting like it was my fault it had been a month and my stuff still hadn’t arrived. They offer a very attractive fee at first, but beware that is extremely inaccurate. I paid a $275 deposit and when the arrived gave them the rest with a check of $1,200. That was the deal I was told I would be receiving with their promotion. The movers arrived and were rude, disrespectful, and inconsiderate. Before they left they demanded I pay $200 more that had to be paid in cash for some bs fee that I still haven’t gotten an answer to what it was for. Also, the main guy pleaded with my boy friend if he had any weed he could buy before leaving. Very professional to beg the customer for drugs before driving all their belongings across the country, right? Then I get a call a few days later (when they were supposed to almost be to my new apartment)that they had to go to New Jersey to get a bigger truck because I had more than they thought, even though I listed every single thing I was taking long before they arrived to pick up my things. Not to mention, everything fit perfectly, even had extra room, when they left my apartment with my stuff. For this unnecessary idiotic detour, they asked for an additional very large sum of money. Their trip was supposed to be from DC to Austin, so why did they immediately head to New Jersey and then call me days later? If the truck was too small shouldn’t they have known and told me straight away before they even left my apartment? If it was too small how did everything fit perfectly when they left my apartment? It of course didn’t add up, but at this point I was moving in my new apartment in 2 days and needed my things. Then I got a call that I needed to pay an extra $1,094 total for additional services I had never been informed of. For instance one was a long distance fee because they didn’t realize the distance was longer than they thought (um do your research before???). When I said that was ridiculous and I wasn’t going to pay because they did not disclose any of these fees before,andquitefranklytheysoundedfake, they said they were going to keep my things in New Jersey (meaning they had been there doing nothing for days) until I agreed to pay. Fast forward a over a month after endless excuses and horrible customer service, they finally call and said they would arrive between 12pm and 3pm the following day. Well, I received a call at 7 am that they were at my building. I was at a friends house 30 minutes away and they yelled at me for having to wait. They were mad about having to wait 30 minutes when they showed up 5 hours earlier than they said they would. Half an hour they had to wait when I had been waiting over a month...mmk. I had to buy and sleep on an air mattress and rewear 4 outfits for over a month and the company did absolutely nothing to apologize or reimburse me. In fact, when they showed up and demanded I had to pay $600 more in cash for their “journey” from the loading dock to my third floor apartment. If I didn’t pay they said they would unload everything on the loading dock and I could take it up myself. What a joke. While unpacking I discovered They stole over $1000 from one of my moving boxes, shattered my mirror, cracked my glass bed side table, and ruined my head boarded it was covered in black grime. So, long story short this is an unreliable scam of a company.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $3400