Charter Van Lines Inc.

Couple big issues. The online estimate method is horrible. The price you pay will not be what was quoted. The actual moving company that comes to your house the day of the move will give you a real estimate, which will be more. You can either pay it of be forced to find another company, so if you are selling a house that is closing and you need to move on a specific date you are SOL. Second issue is that Charter flat out lies to you. They specifically told me a semi would come to my house and get loaded directly and then drive to the new location to be unloaded within 3 days. I asked about this numerous times in an email and was told this was the case, so I went with them for this reason. The day of the move the actual moving company shows up in a 26' truck and tells me they will take it and load it on a semi, so at this point I had no choice. After the truck leaves I get an email stating there is no ETA on the delivery of my stuff and could take 21 business days. Not a single word of truth out of Charter. DO NOT USE CHARTER VAN LINES!! I would stay away from all moving brokers, especially this company.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9000

DON'T give Charter Van Lines your business; they are merely a broker, and your entire experience will be hedged on what third party bids the lowest on your move (which can turn out really poorly/stressfully for you). I learned this the hard way, since my movers held on to my belongings for 5 WEEKS(!!) during my move from Chicago to Philadelphia (after giving me a verbal estimate of 6 days)..my movers finally arrived in Philly with my belongings when I started to look into legal help. Charter subcontracted my move to Midwest Movers - a super shady company that has exclusively 1 star Yelp reviews. They refused to give me any ETA/information on where my things were and when they would be arriving - all they kept saying was they were "working on" getting my things to me (and for some reason, had brought my things to Florida to be stored, what). They refused to commit to an updated delivery date estimate, once the original 6 days came and went (how is this legal).

Charter & your shady subcontracted company will not stay true to any verbal estimates they sell you on when you book the move; if you're looking for a company who will work anywhere within the realm of a reasonable schedule, I strongly suggest you look elsewhere. The main reason I went with Charter is because they told me on the phone my move was expected to take just 6 days. They also said they "would work with the drivers" to accommodate the only two requests I had:

1. Please come pick up my stuff on March 29th. I was successfully able to reserve an elevator in my building for movers that day, and my building was really strict about reserving elevators/my building manager offered no flexibility on these reservations.
2. Please drop off my stuff literally any day but the weekend of April 14th, because I would be out of town for a wedding. I didn't even think this would be an issue, since my stuff was allegedly going to be in Philadelphia well before then.

However, what are the two things Charter Van Lines/Midwest Movers did? Picked up my stuff a day early (March 28th) when I did not have an elevator reservation (I literally had to cry to my building manager so she would give us some elevator time, it was awful), and they eventually started to claim that April 14th was the only day they could drop off my things in Philadelphia (literally the one day I would not be home in the entire month). I was told for weeks by customer service that they "didn't know" when they would have another truck in Philadelphia again after the 14th, a comment which definitely came off as threatening. They offered no real updates or ETA on my things for weeks, and I started to genuinely believe they had run off with what I owned.
On top of that, on both pickup and drop-off, they slapped me with a "long-carry fee" - something they charge you if they literally can't park their truck inside your living room. My buildings on both ends were super easy to pull up to, and had giant elevators, and yet the movers threatened to withhold my things if I didn't give them an extra $150 in cash. Super fun times running to the ATM to hand cash to this shady company for no reason!

Drop off was especially sketchy. They showed up at 8pm (so late to start this!), with a completely different set of paperwork that didn't match mine from pickup at all, and tried to charge me an "elevator fee" that wasn't even listed as a fee option on my paperwork (my contract with Charter said all elevator usage was included in my anticipated costs). The mover handling the paperwork mostly spoke Russian, so he had to call his boss who then called me as we haggled over the paperwork and fees at 8pm on the sidewalk. They eventually conceded the elevator fee, but still slapped me with a "long-carry" but "took 40 dollars off of it" (how freaking generous, thanks guys). This is where it definitely gets illegal: I was forced to sign a statement saying I've examined all of my items and everything is accounted for and in good condition BEFORE they would unload the truck!! I had to lie and say I had examined all of my things and they were fine (while they were still hidden from view in the truck), or they wouldn't physically hand me my things back. It was an awful situation to be in, and I am pursuing legal avenues to address that false statement they made me sign.

tl;dr - avoid a lot of stress, and don't take the gamble with this company. God knows when your things will arrive, who will bid on your move, etc. My whole experience was a nightmare from beginning to end.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2000

Big Cheaters . Never trust Charter Vanlines. I booked reservation . 4648367 with them for $1315 for 288 Cu Ft. Same inventory I used from Atlanta to New Jersey and I do not faced any problem with Space. But when I tried to moved same items excluding Washer and Dryer with few additional boxes ( 6 Large total never crosses 50 Cu. Ft.). These are agents and they gave subcontract to State to Sate Movers in NJ and they are very big cheaters. They bought small 26 ft truck with 1700 Cu.Ft Capacity and they started cheating before loading my items to truck by stating my items will occupy 450 Cu Fts. After loading they said I used 500 Cu.Ft. with out any proper justification. They said they will verify actual space after moving items to Storage . Once items reached storage they are demanding more money and started threatening they will not ship until I pay additional amount. I am keep on asking for my additional items with space but Charter Van Lines and State movers unable to justify their additional space and asking for more money.
My advice to new movers never trust charter van lines. THey are cheating by saying we used additional space without any proper justification. If you ask evidences they just skip and support subcontractors.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1315

Reference number 4633941

Horrible dealing with this company and I'm still going through the nightmare!! Steer clear of this company they will lie to you during the quoting/inventory process to get your business and then reference you back to the fine print to cover themselves!
We are moving from Columbus OH to Garner NC. We went over our inventory multiple times and they increased the price after the last inventory, not ideal but ok that's fair. When they picked up our stuff they raised the price by $400, even though we were accurate on our inventory. The sales person and all the customer service reps kept telling us that things are usually delivered within 0-4 days. Now I'm sitting here at day 5 and our things haven't even left Ohio and the only thing customer service tells me is read the fine print it can be up to 21 business days. The customer service reps never call you back when they say they will and I have had two reps just hang up on me. I'm paying to live in a hotel and have no idea when we are going to move in.
Worst experience with a company ever!!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000

Order no- C4458732
Service Quote- $5000
We were moving from Raleigh, NC to Arlington, VA. I found this company through one of my friends and then called them to schedule. I am so glad I landed up with Charter Van Lines, they did what they committed to us. They even gave us a free quote for our inventories. we had 2 bedrooms apartment and charged accordingly and it was in our budget, so decided to went ahead with them. They moved all our stuff to a new place within a week and there was no need to direct or instruct them. They are the best in their services and try to make your move hassle-free.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

We were moving from Raleigh, NC to Arlington, VA. I found this company through one of my friends and then called them to schedule. I am so glad I landed up with Charter Van Lines, they did what they committed to us. They even gave us a free quote for our inventories. we had 2 bedrooms apartment and charged accordingly and it was in our budget, so decided to went ahead with them. They moved all our stuff to a new place within a week and there was no need to direct or instruct them. They are the best in their services and try to make your move hassle-free.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

What an amazing company this is! I had no stress at all moving long distance with my kids. I have three young girls and when I found out we would be moving out of state, I was instantly worried about how we would get everything done. Charter did all the packing, moving, and unpacking for us! It was so nice to not have to do all the hard work that comes with moving, especially with the girls. All I had to do was get us to our new home! I had such a great experience I would definitely recommend them and I would use them again!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1200

I've moved a couple of times before, and this was by far the easiest! From the very beginning, they were very upfront about costs and the expected timeline, unlike many other companies that tend to deal in frustrating generalizations that allow them to spring things on you last minute. Charter, in comparison, let me know right away when there was uncertainty about the truck's arrival date. The woman I spoke to was very helpful and kept me updated throughout the process. When the truck did arrive (fortunately on time due to some quick work by the company), the packers made sure to inventory everything. They were very friendly and careful when packing my things. One guy even asked if I wanted him to add more bubble wrap to my framed map of Beijing when I told him it was a gift from my grandfather. It was an unnecessary, but very kind, gesture. The truck arrived at my new apartment on time, and everything was unloaded quickly and efficiently. Overall, the experience was a good one and I would definitely hire Charter again if I move to another state.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

Simple. Transparent. No Hassle.

I'm absolutely shocked about these 1-star reviews! My experience with Charter Van Lines was professional and efficient. I'm surprised by how well these guys took care of me.

I accepted a job offer in NYC last minute and had to quickly move out of my apartment in Florida so that I could work. I was stressed out of my mind because I didn't know which company to trust. A relative recommended Charter Van Lines to me and I'm glad I listened to her advice.

My favorite thing about this company was that the Charter Van Lines crew was very transparent and eager to make this move as seamless as possible. There were no hidden fees or any sketchy behavior that I've experienced with other moving companies.

The packers that came to move my stuff were friendly and took care of my stuff (other moving companies used to move my stuff with no courtesy whatsoever).

I'm glad I took my cousin's advice and chose Charter Van Lines. They made the whole moving process easy for me! I will definitely suggest them to my friends!

Move size: Studio Service cost: $3200

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY AT ANY COST! We should have gotten a uhaul and hired day packers even with a newborn and two dogs to move from Philadelphia to Florida. Eli S will be pushy and unprofessional. To be honest, they all are. They will tell you what you want to head and when you raise any concern they get an attitude. They tell you 10-14 days well we’re going on 14 days and our stuff is still sitting in Maryland. Charter is a BROKER they will run around this and state things like, “my guys will take care of everything;” completely evading the question. Let me break down how everything went:

Moving day:
-no phone call about what time the guys were going to be arriving
-we had to call and we were HUNG up on by the dispatch
-the company they hired from MD has one moving truck and they were ill prepared. So, I’ll prepared that on a hot day didn’t even have water.
-they were unprofessional and cursed the entire time, played loud rap music, and almost broke our couch trying to get it out of our rowhome door.
-we were not provided with an inventory or any paperwork
-we were told we could wire transfer that wasn’t the case they wanted a 7% surcharge. When I spoke to Alex from One way moving company he had an attitude and wouldn’t let me do a wire transfer.
-our 1408 sqft home took 6.5 hrs to move ~800cft of items


Since then.. fast forward to today (still no stuff and still in MD)
-called to follow up with our move spoke with Jordan she was rude. Spoke to her in regards to not receiving paperwork and previous days concerns. (May 30)
-called June 14 were told our stuff would be here early this week
-called Saturday to follow up since we didn’t have a phone call was informed our stuff was en-route and they would call 24 hrs prior to delivery and we would receive a later today or Sunday
-called Monday because no phone call.. Deena told us that our stuff should be here in 3 days. That it is, “in our contract they have up to 21 business days.” That we had to understand, “other people are on our route and it’s a busy time of year so sometimes, most of the time customers can bump your dates.” “It rarely happens that it’s a full 21 business days.”
-call today to find out where our stuff was and if we’d be getting a call soon.. we were told: “you will receive and email in the next day or so and your stuff will be delivered in 2-4 days. You’ll be notified via email.”
-We then verbalized and I mean strongly verbalized my displeasure with this procedure, level of professionalism, and they’re poor and I mean EXTREMELY POOR communication. I requested to speak to a manager- “there is no supervisor present at this time. If you want to call the dispatch of the other company I will give you the number.”

So, I took the number and called Ryan at One way Van lines who reported our stuff is still in Maryland it would be loaded tomorrow and we would receive our things in 2-3 days.

I will update this on how the actual end of the move goes and when we actually get our stuff. Pray that we get our stuff in one piece and it won’t be too much longer. Our poor newborn just wants his stroller. But save yourself the hassle and go with someone else. Also, do yourself a favor and do what Eli suggests read the reviews. They will also tell you they do 1000s of moves so of course they’re going to have their bad reviews. But, I’ve worked and had interactions with 1000s of people if I had a some of the reviews that they’ve gotten I wouldn’t have a job.

Some of the reviews that are good on here are fake.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2580

AVOID CHARTER VAN LINES! We did not know they were a broker. They gave us a price, required a deposit (which reputable moving companies do not do), and we were set. You cannot get your money back if you’re within 7 days of the move so they wait until then to get a final update on what you’re moving. Then they jack the price up knowing you’ll lose your deposit if you back out. Plus, once they weigh the truck, it will go up further. Also within the week of your move, the actual moving company who bid the lowest will call. Ours called and couldn’t speak English! Plus he said they’d take our belongings to storage which was NOT agreed on. We canceled in the last week because Charter would NOT help us fix the situation. They also require payment by money order. Half at pickup and half at delivery. Definite red flags. Might lose our deposit but at least we haven’t lost our belongings. Do yourself a favor and read the fine print! Also compare to reputable movers.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $15000

I am really unhappy with the Charter Van Lines.. First of all they are brokers and they don't provide us with the correct details of the terms and conditions about the packers and movers that they assign. We are currently moving from Houston and California and we signed up with them with the agreement that it should be delivered to us on July 2nd. With this agreement we even paid the advance. When the packers and movers arrived to pick up our luggage, the first thing they have to say is it would take 45 days for them to deliver our stuff in California. 45 days ? Seriously ?. This was never told to us and when we contacted Charter Van Lines, we were told that they are ok to cancel our moving agreement, we have already paid 520$ which is non refundable. With no option left at the last minute we requested the packers and movers to deliver our stuff as early as they could. Now with 2 young kids we are really worried about our luggage and we have no idea when our luggage will arrive. We really feel cheated and cornered at the last minute. Please try not to use this service anymore.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $520

I worked with Brian from Charter Van Lines to coordinate my original moving quote. He was responsive, nice, and easy to work with but when I asked for someone to come to my 1BR apartment he assured me it wasn't necessary and they don't usually go out to 1 BRs. The reason I wanted someone to come in the first place was to avoid any 'hidden or additional' fees that may show up and even though I told him every large piece I had, I ended up going over my quote by almost $2,500. This is what I tried so hard to avoid, but in the end it was useless.

Also, it should be noted that Charter is an agent and not the moving company so it is up to their discretion who they hire within your city. I was moving from Chicago, IL to Denver, CO and they chose a not so great company in my opinion (Best Price moving and storage) and I will write a review about them as well.

My advice is to try to find a company that isn't an agent and does the move themselves because I believe there were mis-quotes on the pricing between the agent and the movers themselves as Charter told me it was the number of items and the movers said it was by cubic feet. I went over by 8 cubic feet and owed an additional $900 just for that small of a space and then they used MULTIPLE rolls of tape on specific items and I had to pay a lot of extra money for the 'supplies' used.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6000

Stay away from this company!
they took $1002 dollars of my hard earned money. On May 23rd I scheduled a move. they sent a company by the name of Budget Van Lines who tried to charge me an additional 2000.00 to move my items. I refused. I tried to contact charter van lines and no one would answer. I tried to get my deposit back and there telling me that I forfeited my deposit. The person who answers customer service will not here you out. I filed a complaint with the US dept. of transportation /FMSA.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

My mom had a signed and paid contract with Charter Van lines to move her household from Michigan to Oregon. They were scheduled to pick up on 6-4-2018. After waiting for two hours the driver called and said the truck was full and he couldn't pick up her stuff. On 6-5-2018 she got a call saying they would reimburse her $50 a day until they could get a truck to her. On 6-6-2018 they called and said they didn't have a truck making that route and the PAID contact was cancelled. Her house closed on 6-7-2018 this leaves her stranded paying for a hotel, an extra month for storage, rent on a house she can't get to in Oregon and an extra $900 for another moving company to move her on short notice. After calling and calling and calling as well as emailing all we get is "Sorry it's a shame but no extra costs are our responsibility". She wouldn't have these extra costs if you would have fulfilled your PAID contact! We did call the credit card company and had the moving charges removed but this doesn't help her much with all the extra charges coming in because of you.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $750

This company does not even deserve one star. First of all they are a broker a third party . They will not inform of you this when you call for a quote . They hire cheap moving companies to move your stuff. In my case they hired Ocean Movers and Storage . What was originally quoted to me was $2,100 and at time of pick up was charged an extra $800 plus elevator and stair fees of $75 every 12 steps. It took them two weeks to have my stuff delivered . They were informed that I was living in an apartment inside a gated community. They arrived in an 18 wheeler truck that could not fit through the gate . They then informed me I had to pay an additional $500 to have my stuff transferred to a smaller truck . Once my stuff was transferred they told us it was up to us to move our belongings ourselves. This was not in the contract ! This company cost us $3500 Do not go with this company !!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3500

Moving.. perhaps the most haunting word in my vocabulary. In the past five years, I have moved out-of-state now four times which has been a huge pain as you can imagine. There is so much stress when it comes to vacating your home and making sure that everything is in order for your new living situation. Normally, the movers I have worked with have only increased my headaches with a series of inefficiencies and miscommunications. It wasn't until my most recent move from Miami to Tucson that I used the services of Charter Van Lines. They were recommended by a friend to me, and well everything he said to me made it seem like it was too good to be true. From the moment that their representative picked up the phone, I could feel the difference between them and other moving companies. The associate on the line was so friendly and caring that I really couldn't believe it (talked for about 5 minutes just asking me questions about my daughters). Everything from that point on just continued to blow my mind. I would say that the excellence they carry themselves with is truly unseen in this industry (or any industry for that matter). When I opted for full-service, I anticipated minimum involvement which still meant a considerable amount of time with other companies; but not with them. With Charter, full service means full service. I truly feel like they handled everything, and I didn't have to use a muscle. They eliminated my headaches and got everything to Tucson exactly how and when they said they would. From now on, I will never be crazy enough to pick another company for out-of-state moving. Congratulations to Charter on truly 5 star service.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5600

Moving is never an easy task -- quite the opposite, it's usually a huge pain. I'm so lucky I found Charter Van Lines for my most recent move! They really made the whole process so much easier than I could've imagined. Everything, from start to finish, was a breeze. They took such great care of my belongings, which is something I always worry about. I will definitely be using them for any future moves, and will surely be recommending to family and friends for their moves as well!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2100

Charter Van Lines really saved me a lot of trouble. I had to help my godparents move at the last minute from the Chicago area to Jacksonville. I really appreciated how patient they were in hearing what I need and suggesting the best way to go about it. Even though we planned on driving the cars there ourselves, they let us know the option was there to have those shipped as well. I wouldn’t have even thought of that.
The move went so smooth, nothing was broken or missing and they took the time to walk through the itemized lists to make sure of that we knew everything was there. The movers were patient and let us play around with room arrangements to get it the way we needed. I would definitely recommend Charter Van Lines to anyone looking for out of state movers.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3500

Best decision I have ever made! I have moved MANY times over the last ten years, and I wanted to spoil myself by hiring a moving company. Moving from the Arizona to Missouri would be hard for anyone with a family of four, but hiring a moving company made everything simple.
Charter Van Lines has a very simple website, easy bookkeeping process, and very helpful staff to make your experience free of stress. The rates were very affordable, and there were no hidden fees. The movers showed up on time, friendly, and ready to go. Our belongings were handled with care, which I really appreciated, and nothing was left or lost in the process.
I highly recommend Charter Van Lines! We will be using them again for our next move and spreading the word about how we had a wonderful experience, no stress, and everything was handled as if was their own belongings.
Best Decision to make life easier during a move, pick Charter Van Lines!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000