American Roadway Vanlines Inc.

Over $3,000 worth of damages and I'll be lucky if I get $300 in claims covered. My mattress and wooden furniture are completely destroyed because of water damage and mold. I filed an insurance claim, but this is one of those situations where I needed to read the "fine print" and their default insurance coverage reimburses only $0.60 per pound. So even if they damage my $1500 mattress, because that mattress weighs 100lbs, at best (if the claim is approved) I'll get just $60. Their insurance portal has all these hurdles that put so much burden on a customer you can tell they don't want to approve any claims: you cannot throw the item away (but in my case I had things covered in MOLD.....I'm not going to keep them in my home while I await a claim to be approved which can take 120 days), upload every single document (even though the company should have a copy), upload sets of pictures of the entire item and the then parts of the item (this would be impossible to do if you trashed the damage item), list the link to a website to validate price and weight of each item (again hard to do), etc. etc.

Again, I understand the insurance claim part is a separate issue and may be inapplicable to many potential customers, BUT just the sheer lack of care for my things should be enough warning to have you stay away. There is a basic level of good faith customers put in businesses to fulfill service in good quality, but sadly this was not my experience at all.

I wish you could see pictures of how the moving truck stored all the materials. Even if I don't consider my main issue with complete mold and water damage of my things.....it took over 1 month after moving into my new home to get my things. I had to call and email several times to simply ask "Are my things on the way to my new home?"

I STRONGLY advise everyone to AVOID this company at all costs. It was tempting because they had the best prices, but you get what you pay for.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1875

This move was my worst nightmares. When I was talking to John Conver, he told me everything I was worried about would not happen with them. I was concerned they would not send someone out to survey what we were moving. And when I made the HUGE mistake of believing his promise he was an expert at pricing from an online survey of inventory I fell for it. I was given a price quote less than half of the other movers I talked with. Then he told me that they would be moving my stuff all the way to our new destination themselves, when I asked if they changed movers and stored our things in some warehouse. He said they have moving trucks weekly that go from Va. to Wyoming and that is how they can keep the cost way down.
The day they came to pack and load our stuff we found out very quickly these people were subcontracted by Roadway. Then anytime I called for John Conver, I would receive a call from Deana. I never could get a hold of him again. Anyway, my husband ended up in the hospital the week before we were supposed to leave and we were not sure if we could be there on the designated day for delivery however I told them someone would be there. But the contractor said they would leave a couple days later to give us time. I did not know our stuff would be loaded I a warehouse until they could actually get someone to move it, which ended up being 2 weeks later.
When the truck finally came it was a completely different company. And the driver had to call for "day hire" movers to come and unload the truck. It took about an hour for them to show up. A couple of them left early cuz they did not want to unload everything. A couple stayed till the end. None of them were skilled movers in anyway. Boxes were smashed, many dishes were broke in pieces, a few were inherited antique pieces. They broke a pedal off of my Kawai piano. The piano should have been moved by professional piano movers, and they were not when they moved it into the truck or off the truck. It was almost tipped over on the way out of the house in Va. We have a floor antique radio with tubes in it. They had it in the truck upside down with another plastic box pushed inside of it with tape around it. It has ruined the radio which did actually work. The knobs were all broken off of it.
And by the way, the original price quote was under $4000, we ended up with a grand total of over $8000! Scam movers, stay away from them.
What really got me is not that John Conver lied, it was what he did not tell me. He knew what I was worried about, and I asked about all these things but he was an artist salesman who knows how to talk out of both sides of his mouth, to gain your trust, and be so nice and concerned that your move is the most pain free, or worriesome venture for you. They were the worst of all.
Also be sure that if you do use them, if you have smashed boxes and broken things, get the ticket number on the box and take a picture of the item in the box before you take it out. And you will need sales receipts for most things to prove what you paid for them. Then they wanted me to mail all my original movers lists to prove all. It was up to me to make copies for myself.
And the movers who came to pack our stuff from VA., I realiized to late they did not have their name on the list of things and their numbers. But I did get the name and they are VISTA van lines.
I will say though when I expressed my surprise that they were subcontractors the lead guy said they get that complaint a lot from people.
STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE FROM AMERICAN ROADWAY! SCAM ARTISTS.
I would have been better off going with one of the higher bids, which by the way they are the only ones who came to our house to go over the inventory we had to pack. And had I chose them it would have been cheaper than Roadways price.
I am amazed at how many stories here are like mine.
WE also had a vehicle moved by them. The first one they had lined up had truck trouble and so it took them a week to find someone else to transport the car and it was $200 more, which we had no choice but to pay cuz new owners had taken possession of our house so we had to get it moved. And it was a subcontractor as well.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $9000

John at American Roadway kept me sane – literally. He had movers come in at the very last minute to pickup my belongings, saving me from the first company that came AND saving me from having to pay another month of rent at my old apartment.
I just recently landed a new job that required me to move about 1,000 miles from everything that is familiar to me. When it hit me that I had to pack up my home and entrust my entire life of belongings to movers I didn’t know, I started getting stressed. Within the first ten minutes of researching moving companies, my phone rang and John Conover was the first person to call me. He was thorough and reviewed every single detail with me. He made me feel comfortable speaking with him and he gave me a good price. Because I was new at the moving thing, I wanted to keep shopping around for other quotes so I told him I would let him know. He didn’t push me, simply said that he was available if I needed him.
Over the next week or so I made some more calls and got other moving quotes. These people were relentless! If I didn’t book right away they would call over and over and over again. Some of them called me 2 or 3 times a day! There were a couple of prices I got that were lower than American Roadway so I went with another company at first. The movers came and jacked up my price to almost double what they had originally quoted me the moment they walked through the front door. I don’t have that kind of money and they were pushy, stating that I HAD to move with them because I signed a contract with them and I couldn’t afford to wait and get stuck paying another month of rent if I didn’t get my things out in time. When the movers went out to their truck to get their supplies, I called American Roadway for John. He said he had a truck not too far from me and he could get there that same day later on in the afternoon. He said not to worry, that he would take care of everything. I made the other company leave my apartment and waited for John’s guys. They were great. They told me that the charges the other company was trying to tack on were ridiculous. I was off by a few boxes when I originally told them what was moving but they loaded them anyway along with packing up 3 paintings and 2 statues for free for me. I was charged a few extra bucks for stairs which I had absolutely no problem with - there were 4 flights in my building and no elevator. I also had no problem because these guys made me feel comfortable. They were really friendly and professional, they explained that the TV needed to be wrapped properly so either I could wrap it OR they could wrap it and I would just have to pay for the materials…they didn’t just add all of this extra money onto my bill. American Roadway’s movers treated me like a human being, not like a paycheck.
For anyone worried about finding the right mover, worry no more! American Roadway got me packed and out of my old apartment the same day I called back AND had my things delivered and set up at my new place almost a week before I started my new job. They gave me a REAL price to move, not a too-good-to-be-true price so that I’d book right away. John also didn’t blow up my phone like everyone else. He gave me the quote and then told me he was available if I thought he was the right choice. I wish that fact had rang some bells for me earlier so that I called back to book with him first.
All you have to do is call and asked for John Conover. A few minutes of speaking with him and you will immediately feel more comfortable about moving; he talks to you like you’re an old friend.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $5425

Quoted $1800. Showed up 26 hours late. Cost us two days additional rent. Didn’t have dishpack that was included in estimate. Showed up in a uhaul. Customer service sucked and would not return any calls. At the apt well past midnight. Now it’s going to cost $3000, we were promised a discount bc of all of our troubles but nobody would tell us how much. 40$ was our discount. Furniture showed up stained and broken. Boxes smashed. Ex navy. Done a lot of moves. Worst ever. Thieves. Do not trust this company.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

Worst scam ever. Do not use this company. I have read the previous reviews on this site and had the exact same issues. More money, more money. They actually held our belongings hostage in Illinois for 4 weeks. They wanted us to wire them an additional $2,000.00 to deliver our furniture. We said absolutely not. They had our furniture from June 23rd until August 15th. Most of our belongings were broken. Boxes were completely smashed. Furniture scratched, bent and dented. American Roadway subcontracted our move to ABC Moving out of Illinois. They were the worst to deal with. NEVER use either of these companies.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

Don't believe anything they say. Roadway Van Lines is a BROKER and any commitment they make in terms of service pick-up or delivery is made to induce you to sign contract. When you get contract it will say they have 21 days to deliver. They will say that's only to cover mechanical breakdown and weather. Don't believe them. They did not meet their commitment. I had to pay a 30% premium to the trucking firm in order to get them to deliver within three days of the agreed to delivery date. Don't think this matters? Try living out of suitcase in a hotel while waiting for your stuff.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $1800

Wish I found this website prior to moving since I don't have enough unsatisfactory things to say about American Roadway Van Lines. I moved from Boston to LA and the entire process was a nightmare due to this company. As other reviews point out, they are a Broker Company and are the most disorganized, confused bunch! Everyone I dealt with from dispatch to the moving truck company to the movers were incompetent, disrespectful, and unapologetic for their actions. Let's start with dispatch: wouldn't return my calls verify details such as the day movers were coming, what time movers were coming, payment types, etc. The sales person who signs the deal for you literally will disappear once the contract is signed. Now the moving company: appeared to have zero communication with the dispatch since they didn't come for the day and time dispatch confirmed. Rather than come to my apartment on Monday, 7/10 between 3pm and 7pm, they came on Tuesday, 7/11 at 6:30pm. Neither dispatch nor the moving company contacted me on 7/10 to inform me they weren't coming, and then on 7/11 I was promised they would be at my place by 3pm and they came at 6:30pm. Now the movers: the movers who delivered my items in LA never: 1. notified me they were even in transit from NY to LA 2. didn't call me 24 hours prior to coming, or even an hour before arriving (which is laid out in the contract) but called FIVE MINUTES before arriving at my place..and this was five days before my belongings were even suppose to arrive in LA. To make things worst, on my way to my apartment (luckily I was able to leave work early) they continually threaten to leave for San Diego if I didn't show up for the time that suited them. To make matters even worst, they broke my mirror, refused to move my furniture even though I paid extra for packing and unpacking services, charged me $500 more than the non-binding price, and loss a couple of my items. Not shockingly, although I filled out all the necessary paperwork and sent the needed documents to receive a refund for my mirror and lost items, dispatch never responded. DO NOT GO WITH THIS SERVICE.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $2200