Budget Van Lines

If it was possible for me give Budget Van Lines a lower rating, I would. We were promised a truck to move out by or on June 1. We were told they were going to call on May 28th. We received no call, so my wife had to call. No truck, so they were going to call the next day. May 29th came and went, with no call taking place. My wife called again on the 30th, to which they told us they still did not have a truck available for our move over the next day or so. They got back to us within a half our to say "HOORAY" we got a truck. Not long after, we got another call stating the truck had "broken down"..I use quotes because a friend of mine in the moving business mentioned that this is what these companies tend to do when they overbook and have no way of getting to you. They say their truck "broke down" to cover the fact that they just wanted to get your money and business in the first place without having to deliver on their side. Anyway, with the truck broken down, they said we would be moved on June 2nd or 3rd. Probably on June 2nd, but possibly June 3rd. We get a call on the 2nd that it will be taking place on June 3rd. They have a truck and will call us in the morning for a pick up time. Low and behold the next day comes and no call. We call around noon, because someone has been waiting at the apartment all day expecting a truck to show up, only to have no truck show up. When I call, they say they were "just about to call me" and that the truck had again "broken down", with no call being made to me, prior to me calling them. This has been an EXTREMELY unprofessional company to deal with. If they somehow find a way to redeem themselves, I will let you know, but that does not seem likely.

Brandon P.

Service cost: $1700

I spoke with Russell who booked my move and gave him a VERY detailed inventory list. I signed the contract and list stating the inventory was accurate. He called again a few weeks later and asked if the inventory had changed. I added one small rug and he said that was fine because he added some extra into the estimate just in case. He was VERY confident that my items would not exceed his estimate and reassured me of this. He sent over an updated inventory and it was completely different than the original I had given him. He apologized and said he had gotten two contracts mixed up. Later he sent me the accurate one that I signed again. Upon pick up, the men were 3 hours late, very rude, and complained about everything. They charged me $100 for tape as well and told me it would be 14 days for delivery. I was initially told 3-7 days from Russell. He also told me he would send me the total due at delivery after he went to the weigh station. I shockingly got a message that my weight was 140% higher than the estimate EVEN THOUGH my inventory list was 100% accurate and I even had a few less boxes. My total originally due at delivery was $490 and he told me I was to pay $1231. I can understand a small margin of error because their estimate may vary slightly. But they were not even close. They failed to do their job at Budget Van Lines. Their responsibility as a company is to provide their customers with a good faith estimate and be the liaison between the customer and the moving van company. They failed to take any ownership in this situation and told me that once they book the moving company, they are void of any responsibility. Basically, I paid them to call a moving company. I could have done that myself with less hassle than using them. They low-balled my estimate to get my business, ripped me off, then wiped their hands clean and failed to take responsibility. We have attempted to speak with them to resolve the issue several times and even spoke to the customer service manager. He was not only hard to get ahold of, but he was VERY rude and YELLED at us. Those actions are not good business practice and if this is how they treat their customers they should be shut down. .

Service cost: $2500

We obtained Budget Van Lines to broker a move from PA to CO. There were issues with the moving company (which Budget has now terminated their contract with that leased company due to the significant issues). During the entire process of the move, Donald Battles- Manager of Customer Service in the CA office of Budget Van Lines- was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! He stayed late, came in early, communicated through both emails and phone, and ALWAYS kept his promise as to when he would have an answer. While the move itself was stressful due to the other company's lack of customer service, Donald Battles and Budget Van Lines did everything they could to resolve the issue and obtain compensation. This is SO appreciated!

Service cost: $3300

BUDGET VAN LINES (aka Twin Movers/Condor) underbid my move to get me signed up. After that the price went up. The company they subcontracted with came with two movers. Both spoke Spanish 98% of the time so I didn't know what was going on during packing. It took them 18 hours (ONE DAY) to complete. I felt sorry for the movers since I believed them to be abused (until many items came up missing after delivery). I'm sure crew rest policies were violated. The movers packed two rifles for me. Never asked me about serial numbers. When I approached them about it they said we don't need the numbers. I'm sure this violates state firearm transportation laws. I am in the process of filling a claim. During delivery their truck broke down (according to them). I'm sure this time they went though my items picking out what they wanted). MANY items are missing as I unpack my boxes. The company they subcontracted with was called "Twin Movers". Since my move they now call themselves "Condor Movers". STAY CLEAR OF THEM! I'm still not sure off all the items missing but the list keeps growing. I would like to file an official complaint with someone who can actually track these criminals down but have no idea where to start. BUDGET Van Lines did not vet "Twin Movers/Condor Movers properly. I would walk away (run) from any deal with these guys. Wish someone had posted a this info before I contacted with them. To their credit Budget Van Lines did discontinue their contract with this contractor. BUYER BEWARE!! If anyone has any idea how to go after these guys I would very much like to hear from you. In the mean time I will hit these jokers on every media outlet I can. I feel totally violated as they took some very personal items. Hope this helps you in your future move. Again, any ideas how legally go after these guys I would appreciate your information.

Service cost: $4000

Budget Van Lines was very quick to take my $$ and make promises..they assigned my move to American Power..he showed up 28 hours after he promised..knocked power lines down leading to my home..arrived with two NON speaking/NON reading helpers..DOUBLED the quote that Budget had given me..said there were TOO MANY boxes..I am 81 years old and I used SMALL boxes so I could lift them..and yes there were a lot BUT it took FOUR of my small boxes to equal ONE average mid-size box.so in reality there was NOT more than discussed with Budget Van Lines.
Because he was SO late he raced thru the house like a maniac shouting about volume and weight (which there was NO WAY of establishing since my load was dumped in with several others)..items that were to be left in Illinois ended up in Florida and other items are missing in action..at the receiving end they arrived at 8PM..a broken lamp..another CRUSHED box marked FRAGILE/DO NOT CRUSH held another SMASHED lamp that I have had for 40 years..of course, if you can't speak English you probably can't read it either..the whole move was a DISASTER..calls to Budget Van Lines asking for claim forms are dumped into VM which is NOT asnswered..calls and texts to American Power are ignored..my advice..DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER USING THESE PEOPLE..

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $4000

I've never had such an awful experience. As a broker, Budget Van Lines used Metro Relocations (formerly Pro Movers) as the carrier. When my things were to be delivered, the driver called me and let me know he would be there on Sunday (the next day.) I waited there on Sunday from 10 until 4:30, when he had arrived in town. He had gotten stuck on a narrow street in town and called me, insisting that I walk over to him (several blocks away). Moving is already a stressful situation, and he was barking at me over the phone, seemingly angry when I did not understand his directions. While I understand being stuck is frustrating, the way that he made me feel like it was my fault was unacceptable. I was moving to a new place where I didn't know anyone and I do not know what I should have done differently to avoid this experience. I thought that a moving company knew how to handle issues like this. I had ran out of the house with nothing hoping I could help him, and ended up standing next to the truck for an hour while he asked me to ask strangers if they had access to a pickup truck. After all this, he told me that if I found someone with a truck, he would only be willing to load the things into the truck but I would be on my own to take them into my apartment. I hired this company because I do not have the ability to move heavy furniture by myself. I was hoping for a smooth, easy experience and this was hellish. I just agreed to pay the 300 extra dollars because I wanted to be done with all of this, but I really wish that there was a way this could have been avoided, because I feel ripped off. I had to miss a day of work on Monday to deal with this and I wish I would have been given more notice to do that.

On Monday, the movers broke through a wall on a stair landing 4 steps below the apartment door. The broken wall crack is over 36" in length and breaks through the sheet rock into the spacing between the studs. I politely pointed it out and asked if it had just happened, and the movers insisted that they had not touched the wall. When my landlord noticed the damage, he politely asked if there was someone he could call to discuss the issue. At this point the driver got very rude and aggressive, insisting they had done nothing, angrily yelling at him to "prove it" and making me very uncomfortable with the way he was treating us. My landlord asked him if he could provide him with the number of his supervisor, which made the driver angrier still and he said "like h*ll I'm giving you that!" and basically said that we'd have no luck blaming this on him. I tried to contact the company to report the damage and I was completely ignored. They stopped picking up my phone calls and I had to give up eventually.

The damage was my main problem with the experience, but there were several other things that made me uncomfortable. The driver purposefully tried to intimidate me. He refused to leave until I had signed the form and wrote that I had "checked and received all my property." I did not want to sign anything at that point and just wanted him to leave as he was sort of scaring me with his behavior and I am a young woman living alone. I felt pressured to do as he asked just so he would leave.

When he asked me to check my belongings, I tried to take the inventory list and the receipt upstairs with me and look them over. He insisted that I leave the receipt with him, which made me uncomfortable - I should be able to look something over by myself before signing it.

After my landlord brought up the damage, he got angry and said that he was done. We weren't sure if they were actually done or if he was just angry and wanted to leave, so my landlord asked to check the truck just to make sure anything wasn't left behind. He was very aggressive and refused, saying "you're not touching my truck" and did not allow us to see it. Later, I asked again, and he allowed me to see and it was empty, but I just did not understand why it had to be like that.

He refused to provide me with a copy of the receipt with the updated charges. He allowed me to take a photo of it, but I really would have preferred to get a copy of the receipt as this was an extremely large cash only payment and I wanted to see if I could get anything reimbursed by my employer.

This experience has left me broke and basically just broken down. I'm so saddened it's had to be like this and I would encourage anyone else to stay as far away as possible from Budget Van Lines and the companies they contracted (Pro Movers, Metro Relocations and Dumbo Moving).

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

I filed a complaint against the BBB AND SUGGESTED Everyone should. The reason for such horrible service and missed dates is because this broker takes your money but doesn't actually schedule the carrier until last minute, if at all. The managers lie and they don't give you proper information. Manager Dolores made threats of withholding my stuff until I make additional payments, was told by another employee there wasn't a manager above him (when she called me 2 days later), expected me to forward her emails of our communication, and purposely held my stuff to incur additional charges from the carrier.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $1500

I would never use this company again. What the sales person told me for the cost of the move was not true. Even on their invoice it says "total cost" and then there is a broker fee below it that is not included in the cost. Additionally, Mitch, the sales guy, told me everything was included in the move. When the carrier, Southwest Van lines (I suggest going straight to them) came out and loaded everything they tried to add all kinds of additional charges. The driver was professional and did not charge me. However, when I tried to get a hold of Mitch at Budget again, no response. I called the customer service manager Donald Battles. He was polite and promised a call back from Mitch's manager. No such luck. I have left several messages for Donald for the last few weeks and not return call from him either. This company is a total bait and switch company. Don't fall for their pricing, it won't work out for you.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $4700