First National Van Lines

Our experience with First National Van Lines was subpar. The original broker of our contract misled us regarding how the belongings would be packaged and what would be included in the pricing. The movers showed up and wanted to charge extra to move what was already listed on the contract. Because of the language barrier, we spent half our day going back and forth with corporate. When the items arrived, every box contained something that had broken in transit. And the beds were not accurately re-assembled. I would not recommend this company.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2498

My family recently moved from Charlotte, NC to Panama City Beach, FL. Despite all of the Covid-19 issues going around, these individuals were punctual in when they showed up to load our valuables. The manner of which they loaded and transported were unparalleled to other movers we have used in the past. The price of our move was only $2987.00. This was actually one of the most affordable rates we found. With that being said, our family was skeptical of the service. That was not the case with First National Van Lines. They took great care of our belongings and nothing was damaged, missing, or out of place. The professionalism this company displays will warrant any further moves of our family in the future. You guys are truly exceptional.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2987

This company epitomizes what customer service should not be.

In the beginning we called Mayflower, North American, Allied and Bekins. All physically came to our home and gave us quotes of between $16,000 to $23,000 with built in steep discounts to keep the prices in the low teens (best one was North American at $10,300). Still a bit pricey I thought. Enter First National Van Lines. They quoted us from Washington to Texas at $8395, based on an online form you fill out revealing what you are moving. Stupid me took the bait. They then took their $4300 on my credit card as a deposit. As we progressed, there was an error on our part in reporting on their online household goods “list” (I was traveling, my wife was new at this). We tried to be honest and call about list corrections, (some items were now double marked by us and them on their list). After numerous attempts at corrections, they then issued two new quotes, raising the price to $9,995, then $10,695, with the uncorrected items remaining on the list. The situation was still unresolved come moving day.

Enter GTS Shipping aka Northwest Relocators out of Portland OR. This subcontractor shows up in Tacoma on the 19th with the higher priced $10,695 quote on the bill of lading. GTS then proceeds to hike the price up by counting each individual piece. All the while blaming FNVL for the lower quote originally given. When it was all said and done, $14,650. Well above the “quote plus 25%” limit in Washington state. But, it was moving day and we had no other choice. Immediate calls that morning to First National Van Lines went unanswered. The phone continuously rang on two attempts, then an answering machine. We left a message for help with the original quote, and received no response. No one to explain why $3,955 extra or to help honor our original quote. The GTS Shipping mover then promised three times in person after loading that our furniture would be there in five to six days. His exact quote was “you’re the customer, when do you want it.” We skipped two family reunions cross country to rush to meet the truck on the 25th. Arriving in Texas, nothing on the 25th, nor again the 26th.

After repeated calls to subcontractor GTS Shipping on moving day plus 8 (27th) they finally answered and revealed they missed the first truck south and did not have a truck going to Texas soon nor did they know when. Here it is May 5th and we finally received our furniture ten days later than promised. So much for “I’m the customer”. And we had fragile marked boxes crushed, my wife’s family heirloom wicker furniture legs bent and broken, glass shattered in picture frames packed. No claim will be filed however as I want nothing to do with these companies ever again. I’m done. Lesson learned.

If this has helped you in any way as a consumer, then the time I’ve had to waste writing these reviews will be worth it. I did not have time to research due to a rapid job change. So we put our trust in First National Van Lines, and you can see our reward. More like, their reward. Shop around. Spend the money. You’ll pay it in the end anyway. Go with a known and trusted moving company I mentioned above. You may bristle at the price, but you’ll get first class service (personal experience with two of them in past years, and yes I’m kicking myself now) your furniture when promised and at the price they quoted.

And do your homework. Read these reviews very carefully and judge for yourself. Look at my final moving cost and peruse all other total costs across this review site for comparable distance/weight moves. I am baffled as to who this company really is considering the other reviews we’ve read. It sure hasn’t been our experience, both in the wallet and customer service.

So in summation, we’ve experienced poor customer service, little or no follow up and support for a $4,300 deposit, and a move that was almost $3,955 over the highest quote we received. $6,255 if you base it on their original quote. We should have went with North American. PM me if you want further details. I’ll be more than happy to help.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $14650

Hired this company to move me from IN to Ga and paid a third of the move which was $3900. I was told the date of the move. Three days before the confirmed date I received a call from the company asking for $3000 more just in case I had more furniture then stated.
Which I told him I would not pay because that was not what was agreed apond. Then one day before the move I received a call from another mover that they had contracted to move me saying that the move was not going to happen tomorrow. I asked when it was going to happen and they said they had a three day window to move me and they call me tomorrow to let me know. Which they did not do. I called First National Van Lines and requested my money back because they kept changing the agreement which they refused. I am 76 years old on a limited income so it is a HUGH
LOSS for me. I feel that I was taken advantage of and truthfully ripped off. I would not walk away from this company I would RUN.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $14000

Just wanted to share this experience I've recently had with FNVL.

We changed our mind and cancelled before the 72 hours deadline and was told that our deposit will be credited back in our account within a couple of days. It has been almost 3 weeks since they told me that and the credit is still not showing up in my account so I called my CC company and begin the dispute process.

When I contacted and asked them why it takes so long they simply told me that it's month's end and they're very busy. That's a really poor excuse as they were lightning fast taking my deposit. How long does it take to process a CC credit electronically??

I haven't used their moving services yet but so far this experience left me real weary of their practice. Hope this helps.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1125

This is the part 2 of my review that I wrote yesterday. I didn't have full detail of their horrible service then!

First off, they are a BROKER company. The mover they hired had a lousy customer service. If I knew that they were just a broker, I would have hired a better local mover myself!

So, the 2 movers they had hired to do the work worked total 5 hours with 1 hour of driving time (which was about 40 minutes, but they got lost on the way). In 5 hours, they moved 2 full size beds, 2 TV's, a small TV console table, 3 closet boxes, 1 drum set, 3 floor pads and about 7 pre-packed suitcases. One of the movers was on phone for a long time, constantly talking to the owner of their company. They didn't even go in the kitchen, garage, office and closets. When I saw them working slow, I called the agent named John and told him that I would hire them for less hours( my contract was for 7 hours) and he stated that it would cost me more hourly if I hire them for less hours than the contract. If you check the receipt, the mover had crossed off 5 hours and written 6 hours and also included 1 hour of driving time. When contacted first national VL, they said that I had to talk to the local movers.

The owner of the First national VL offered me a discount of $150 to calm me down when I first talked to him but when I wrote my first review, he sent a message to me that he would dispute that discount of $150 with his credit card company!! Not only that, he stated that in the contract that I signed, I waived my right to write negative about their company!!

Unbelievable that they are in service with this attitude.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1600

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!! I can't say enough bad things about them. Their customer service in the beginning was very nice, but don't let that fool you. Our quote almost doubled and we were not informed about the price increase until our belongings were loaded on the truck. $6k to $11k. They did not keep their schedule and we almost missed our settlement date, but they finally were able to send movers out at 9p.m. then they finished at 3a.m. leaving us a few hours to clean up for the walk through. They are a moving broker so they don't actually employ any movers. So good luck getting a reliable crew to move your items. Tons of hidden costs too. They charged us $100 to pack an urn, then it arrived in pieces even though the box said "FRAGILE". Every piece of furniture arrived with some kind of damage. Items packed in bubble wrap were crushed. Boxes appeared to have been smashed into a smaller spaces than the box size. When I emailed them, because no one would answer their phone, I got no response to how to proceed with the insurance for the damaged furniture. Their crews are incompetent and do not treat your belongings with respect. Our carpets and walls were scuffed and marked because they didn't take the proper precautions when moving our items in. The guy unloading the truck tossed our items around like he was unloading hay bales, throwing things around the truck and dropping them off because they didn't have a working load gate. They left before all the furniture was unpacked or put in place. I paid extra for a piano move and they didn't have the equipment to load or unload it so that was damaged. So if you use them and they send Passaic Moving and Storage of NJ..don't let them in your home. I opened my holiday decor not too long ago and had many items broken in those boxes. The guy unloading the truck treated my items like they were trash just tossing and slamming boxes off the truck. Scratches and smashed items to a leg broken off my buffet from not being unloaded properly.

First National offered me $ to take my reviews down and I refused their offer.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $11000

We were pressured into giving a deposit of 1,800.00 dollars or the price would go up and we were told we would get our deposit back if the move did not happen. The contract also states that the deposit is good for 1yr. The move did not happen and we have not been refunded the deposit. I started calling the middle of may because we were moving local in June and I wanted to make sure everything was in place. We had to be out by June 1st.. I had been dealing with Mr. Lee Powell (I was told he handles issue) It took me several days to get in touch with him..He was either out of the office or suppose to call me back ( I never got a call back) I had to keep calling several times a day. I finally got him on the phone which probably was by accident he said someone would call me back to retake inventory and give me a quote by the end of the day. .No one called.(That was a Thursday) I call back next day he is out of office so I am told..I call back Monday and told he will call me back.I finally get in touch with him on that Tuesday and we have to be out that Saturday. He has to create a new account because he can not find us in the system and he takes the inventory and told that someone will be calling to confirm the time on Saturday and a quote. I call everyday several times a day getting the run around. Mr. Powell informs me that he will call me before he leaves on Friday with a time, at 4:30 I have still heard nothing. I call back . We are not on the schedule for Saturday per a Josh that worked in customer service and Mr. Lee Powell is no where to be found he has left for the day.. So We had to call around at 5:30 in the evening on a Friday to try to find a mover luckily we found express movers in Wichita ,ks and they were able to move somethings around on their schedule to move us. So we were not only out 1,800.00 but another 800.00. I still have heard nothing from Mr. Lee Powell and it is July 5th. This is the worst company to do business with unless you just have money to throw away. Debbie in Kansas.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2600

First National Moving was one of the worst experiences my family I have ever experienced.

I’m not even going to get into the first half of the experience, but I’m going to walk you through the events that unfolded with the delivery, unloading and unpacking.

PII:

First off, I got a call from our driver (same person who loaded the truck), trying to guilt me that he was working because he was supposed to be on vacation, I don’t see how that’s my problem but ok. He goes on to tell me that they will not deliver my families belongings unless I filled out a form he said he was emailing me. Once I got the email, it was just a basic word doc, asking for ALL my PII (Personal Identifiable Information) name, address, credit card infomration, CVV, signature, and Drivers license information. Now I’m not sure how many of you are aware, but this is a huge violation of consumer privacy practices in how PII is being handled. They are not allowed to store or have on going access to anyone’s credit card information and I was being forced to email it to a contract trucker for hire.

The hired help:

They assured me they are the best, and they have the best guys who will help us, etc etc. and when they showed up to unload the truck these people confirmed they were hired off Craigslist. None of them knew what they were doing, they stripped screws when reassembling things, and broke door and window frames throughout the process. One of the movers showed up with his wife and she kept asking people for rides until my wife felt so uncomfortable she finally got a Uber to get both of them off the property.

Unpacking:

This was the most unprofessional job I’ve ever seen. They basically just dumped stuff in boxes. They literally put dishes in a box, and either put or dumped a container of oatmeal that was spilled everywhere. They did the same thing with our daughters play sand container, just threw it in a box and it broke open so it was leaking everywhere in the house. Oh, and you know those tall garment boxes, with the bar at the top to hang clothes on when you move? We had a bunch of those…that they never put the bar in, they just threw all our hanging clothes in the boxes until they piled up to the top and taped it up, so that was really cool. Plus we are missing a ton of random stuff that we cannot even claim because you need pictures and I have no idea how to even begin to start a claim for things we cannot find even though we have opened and unpacked every box. Also, I cannot find our checks that I had in my desk, so I had to call the bank and cancel those, again, I am extremely worried about ID fraud coming out of this whole process.

Insurance:

So as I went to file my insurance claim, I discovered that I did not dig into this enough and found that items that were damaged are reimbursed at .60 cents per POUND. Nothing to do with the actual price of the item; just take whatever the item is, weigh it, and multiply that by .6. So if you have a $1,000 stereo that weights 10 pounds you would get $6. Most of the items I was going to claim are under a pound so there isn’t a reason to go through the process. My rep kept referring to the coverage saying “you have $115K in insurance coverage, do you think that’s enough?” To which I obviously said yes, but that is not how they calculate the payout.

This was extremely stressful and painful; and when I say that I’m not talking about the move, I’m talking about First National. I was so stressed I would wake up in the middle of the night just worrying about this and whether or not our stuff would make it to our new house.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $17000

Initially, at the time of sale with First National Van Lines, Jordan in Sales told us that the disassembly of our beds and desks was included in our pricing along with professional packaging/furniture padding for our TVs, Monitors, wall art, furniture, and mattresses. Jordan also told us that First National Van Lines was not a Brokerage and does not outsource to other moving companies. This later turned out to be false.

The moving company (Wild Safari Moving) called me the day before our scheduled pickup date (Friday, January 12th) to provide the time of pickup for the 13th. The estimated arrival window we were provided was between 10 am and 12 pm on January 13th. We had to call multiple times to see where the movers were at because it was now 1 pm and no one provided an update. The movers finally arrived around 3 pm.

They arrived in a rental Penske truck with little to no packaging materials. They also didn’t lay down any plastic or protective covering to protect floors/walls from damage. The men showed up without an Allen wrench or basic tools and they asked us to go to the store to buy tools because all of ours were already packed away in the truck. So, we went to Menards and bought some basic tools, and borrowed a screw gun from a family member close by. We ended up having to disassemble our bed frames and desks because there were not enough workers to complete the job in a timely matter (there were only 2 people for a 3 bed 3 bath 1900 sq ft townhome). Total pickup took 6.5 hours to complete. During delivery, we were then told they wouldn’t help us re-assemble our beds because we had done it ourselves and it was a liability. We were pigeonholed in this situation and were forced to do the work ourselves once again late that night.

We called John Allen from First National Van Lines who works in Dispatch immediately to let him know that our belongings were not being properly packaged. He was very quick to dismiss our concerns and told us to “trust the process”.

Like the pickup, there were not enough resources when they arrived for delivery. This time, there was only 1 worker to move in all our belongings. The moving company ended up calling two people locally to help at the last minute; they arrived 3 hours late. Once again, the movers didn’t put down any protective padding for flooring or walls during pickup and delivery. We now have a couple of small dings on the walls of our new home. After watching them drop our dinette table in our doorway and continuously hit the table against our door and walls, I asked them to leave it where it was, and I dismantled it to move it myself.

At the time of delivery, I sent images to Kenny (at Wild Safari Moving) to let him know of the damage and find out where I could submit our claim. Later that day, one of the movers told us that we were being nit-picky about our things being damaged…

It saddens us to see that our brand-new dining table, dining chairs, TV stand, coffee table, side tables, rugs, lamps, computer monitor, and more are now damaged. We decided to spend more money on the moving service in hopes our belongings would be taken care of. However, many of our belongings are now damaged in some form due to the lack of care and packaging materials used by the moving company.

This entire operation was poorly managed, and we did not receive any of the services we paid for and were promised. Moving from Illinois to Nevada started as an exciting new chapter but shortly turned into a very stressful endeavor when dealing with First National Van Lines and Wild Safari Moving.

Two days after I posted my initial review online, I was reached by a third-party mediator to resolve the issue. I was told that both First National Van Lines and Wild Safari Moving had agreed to make the situation right on their end. I agreed to take down my reviews to be civil in the matter.

At first, I was told they rejected any compensation for our damaged belongings and the poor service we received. Today I was just told they would compensate us $1025. I respectfully declined this amount as this doesn’t even cover a fraction of the damages they caused. At this point, we just want to spread awareness about this company because every moment dealing with them has been one lie after another. Don’t waste your time and money on this company.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9670

I moved from san diego to ohio last summer. it was bar none the worst experience of my life. I pre-paid for the move as well as packing services. on the day of my scheduled move, no one showed up. I called fnvl to inquire about the delay and they did not respond. I emailed and received no response. I did receive a call a day later from a moving company in texas stating that they would be arriving two days later to move my belongings. I explained that I had given notice to my landlords and needed to be moved out of the house by said date. they told me that they would send someone out the following day and if they didn’t arrive to call their 1-800 number. the following day, no one arrived. and no one was at work over the weekend to return my calls.

over the weekend, I purchased moving supplies and packed myself. the following monday, I received a call from a third company stating they would be arriving late to move my belongings.

they arrived and packaged up my belongings, while trying to charge me extra for the boxes. I refused to pay extra and counted my items alongside the estimate. there was fewer items in my possession than originally estimated, however, my estimate was mot adjusted as promised by fnvl.

it took THREE WEEKS for my items to be delivered. when my items were received, the boxes looked as if they had been through a rock tumbler. and a few items had been damaged.

i contacted fnvl and they explained they were no longer liable for any damages.

i posted a negative review on this website and they called me immediately asking me to take the review down. I explained that I simply wanted reimbursed for the
packing and supplies I had pre-paid and reimbursed for the damages. they agreed.

i naively took down my review and never heard from them again. I sent several emails and left voicemails and never received a response.

a few weeks later, I attempted to write another review on this webpage, however, reviews were
not being accepted because someone was attempting to leave multiple reviews from the same ip address. READ: THE POSITIVE REVIEWS ON THIS WEBPAGE ARE BEING LEFT BY THE COMPANY! I have, almost a year later, not received any reimbursement.

this company should be prevented from doing business. PLEASE TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2500

When I contacted FNVL I asked for a visit for volume estimation and they said they have a reliable system for such calculation: the 1st calculation was done and after listing all home goods they brought with an calculated volume that now I understand was very sub-estimated in order engage customer with a lower price.

First estimation was 1550 cu-Ft with a cost of around 8000$. I signed a contract with a rate of 6.24$/cu-ft and made a down payment of 3500$ with order number 3028288.

One week before day of moving the FNVL Quality manager called me to check again all stuff to make sure that truck capacity is the right; and of course recalculating the cost: at first one can thing that difference is around 5-10% but in my case it was 25%, but the cost was increased by 50%, now the cost of moving was 12000$ and I made another down payment of 750$.

One says: ok I think I could make a mistake listing stuff initially but now number should very precise.

They said 2-3 days before moving dispatch will contact to you to reconfirm date, time vehicle capacity: "it never happened", no one called to me neither by email. I tried to contact quality manager (never reply immediately any call), I texted him and also sent him an email: no answer at that moment.

Later (during the night before moving) quality manager contacted to me via text msg saying that he would fix that thing to make it possible moving in the morning of next day: I felt like he was doing a favor to me.

Day of moving came, a truck of 4000cu-ft of a company called Condor moving service showed up; it was not “First National Van line “ which means that FNVL was doing intermediation for the service, it was a company called "Condor Moving Services". That company proceed to pack and load stuff; and surprise : there was not 2000cu-ft but 2950cu-ft: a difference of 1.9 times from original and about 1.5 times of 2nd calculation.

My budget for moving was around 12,000$ and now I had to pay 19,000$ and no flexibility with any volume in truck as said by the seller at the moment of contracting .

Once again I tried to contact quality manager, with no answer and I texted him about the situation (no reply again). Suddenly supervisor told me he won’t charge such percentage as a favor for me and he asked for tips to the guys that packed stuff (at the end of the day I paid same % as tip).

The goods were moved as planned; but since truck had such size (4000 cu-ft), it was impossible to get to new location therefore a shuttle service was needed. The driver called to me to tell me that such extra service would cost other 2500$ for it (as it was stated in original contract with FNVL).

Driver also told me that I could do by myself but he would deliver my stuff without blankets and protection at the place of delivery and I would take the accountability of moving without proper protection and also reassembly stuff at home: I tried to call quality manager and also texted: Never replied.

I had in mind contracting a U-haul truck with professional movers that would cost around 1200-1300$; however T&C 's commented by driver in regards of furniture protection made me take his last option

On the day of delivery I saw exactly I had in mind: driver came with the 1600 cu-ft capacity U-haul truck and 3 helpers that Never had worked with moving goods (3 handyman).

At the end I had to pay 21,814$ for this service which was quite a lot different of initial price and my budget.

Later, I upload a review to different web pages and a FNVL contacted to me to start an arbitration process, then a 3rd parties company "Powellaribtrationgroup" contacted to me to revew the case and work on my behalf. After 7 weeks of wasted time there was no added value, this guy said what I already knew "you have a signed contract and real volume is correct", so Powell artibration group supposly negotitated a rebate but at the end it was a ridicolous amount which I rejected.

Final comments

1-It is understood that the rate of 6.24$ is used to cover small differences (5-10%) of original quotation, but 90% difference is a big mistake and I feel that I overpaid for such service

2-FNVL original Volume estimation is much less than real one, it is done ir Order to sell their service

3-Volume system used by FNVL was not reliable at all since there was a big difference on final volume in regards of origin and 2nd calculation

4-FNVL uses 3rd parties company for the service, they are intermediates and get the money for selling the service

5-FNVL is the worst on communication with customer

6-Quality manager provided poor support when needed

7-The supposed arbritation was a wasted time, I personally felt this guy was like another FNVL employee.

This is my first and last time I use FNVL for transportation of home stuff and I don’t recommend this company for transportation of goods due the way how they sell their service.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $21814

Here's our story. We received a binding quote from First National Van Lines for moving our very small 700 square foot one-bedroom apartment in Philly to a small apt in Brooklyn. Their guaranteed quote was for $2,000.00 including fuel charges. Final bill came to $5,268!!

First National who acted as a mover broker assigned the move to Prudential Van Lines. Prudential used an arbitrary method of assessing the extent to the goods to be moved and only informed us that the invoice would be increasing from the $2,000 binding contractual amount to $5,268.00 AFTER THE GOODS WERE ALREADY LOADED ONTO THEIR TRUCK. In other words, our possessions were held hostage after they loaded the truck and informed us that based on their arbitrary cubic foot measurement, the price would be more than doubling! However, they are required to inform us of an overage PRIOR to moving our possessions onto their truck. They failed to do so.

See Pg 5 from the below government website:

Binding Estimates, US Government Dept of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/Rights-and-Responsibilities-2013.pdf

"A binding estimate guarantees that you cannot be required to pay more than the amount on the estimate. However, if you add additional items to your shipment or request additional services, you and your mover may: agree to abide by the original binding estimate, negotiate a new binding estimate or convert the binding estimate into a non-binding estimate . If the mover does not give you a new binding estimate in writing, or agree in writing to convert the binding estimate to a non-binding estimate before your goods are loaded, the original binding estimate is reaffirmed. Under these circumstances, your mover should not charge or collect more than the amount of the original binding estimate at delivery for the quantities and services included in the estimate."

Per the above government policy, the total charge should have been the originally quoted $2,000.

After complaints to First National over the phone and in writing, they informed us that their firm quote was no longer valid since we added more boxes and furniture. But how on earth could the charge for moving a 700 sq foot apartment increase from $2,000 to $5,300?? Obviously, this appears to be some kind of scam. To prove this, we requested a new firm estimate based upon the precise items that were actually moved from Philly to Brooklyn. Guess what? The new estimate came to $2887.11 rather than the $5,268.00 we were charged. In good faith, we offered to pay $2,887.11 but First National's attorney refused to respond to our request.

It gets even better. Per the terms of their contract, in order to dispute the charge, we were required to first pursue this matter through the American Arbitration Association (AAA). We spent $200 to file a case through this organization. Guess what? First National is not even registered with this organization! The AAA requested that First National pay the required fees and register with them in order to proceed with our arbitration case. Guess what? First National never responded to their repeated requests.

So we now find ourselves having to deal with the mover, Prudential Van Lines, who holds our money. We are planning to take them to small claims court in order to recover over $3,000 in overcharges. We will likely take First National to small claims court as well.

Desired Outcome: At a bare minimum, we would like an apology from First National, have them acknowledge that they or the mover they contracted made an egregious error, and refund us $3,268.00 in excess charges.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5268

This company provided us with a false estimate and even the mover himself stated that our estimate was completely off and that this company should have never quoted us that price for the inventory list that the salesman created. I was told by the actual movers that I must pay $2000 more than what they quoted me for the exact same inventory. I even told the company that I appreciated how genuine they were during the sales process and they took advantage of that. All we asked for was compensation and we were not given that. This company purposely provided a lowballing quote so that I would sign the contract and then jack up the price during pickup. This was not right at all. I was also told by Kristen that this happens all the time and that they have had an estimate result in $10,000 more than what was first quoted. They deserve to get shut down for this. I hope this transaction was worth the reputation of the entire company. Michale will not return my phone calls and Diane hung up on myself and my husband because she was done trying to deal with the situation. Now I am worried that my belongings will be damaged upon arrival. My whole life is in their hands and I trusted them. I just hope and pray I can afford the rest of the move. I am now out of $2000

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4400

Do not hire them! They gauge prices and they extort you. Read the BBB complaints!! Also, the ones here.

This company is trying to gauge prices and it is keeping my belongings hostage. This is extortion, and I have filed a police report.

All the complaints are for the same reason, trying to gauge hire prices. Very lack of ethics and professionalism.

The delivery date was set to 04/27/2021 and the driver [NAME EDIT] at number 223-221-2940 told me the amount that I was going to pay, the leftover in my contract. However, once the driver saw that I am just a single woman, he showed up but then the driver enters my complex, even though the leasing office and the Maintenance Manager told them that they had semis coming in multiple times.

He said that I needed to pay an additional fee to get another truck to move my things and put them in my home. This address was given in advance, so they knew where it was and I was told that was no issue.

I called [NAME EDIT] at number 973-381-1077 and she told me that it is the discretion of the driver to choose to enter or not, but I know his discretion is just to charge more money and gauge the prices. This was never disclosed to me.

The driver told me that there are cars in the carport and he didn't want to take a risk, again to gauge the prices. Really? What kind of professional is this?

In my contract, I can see how they hype the prices, and of course, not getting back to me is on purpose so they can charge me a storage fee as well as whatever fees they want to.

After they refused, I called Customer Service and didn't hear anything from them. I was told by the driver that my belongings were put in storage, with no further information. I called the next day and finally someone answer from Customer Service and as she declared, this is an emergency that needs to be taken care of.

Unfortunately, I didn't hear anything else.

I kept calling [NAME EDIT] at 213-974-5017 and I am still not getting any information.

This is why moving companies have such a bad reputation and the movers are considered scammers, they just look for ways to overcharged what is was shown in the estimate.

Now, I don't know where are my belongings, I am sure that they are charging me extra money and on top of that, no one is reaching out back to me to give me more information.

I called on 04/27, 04/28, and spoke with [NAME EDIT] and she said she was contacting the owners and will get back.

I called again on 04/29/2021 and spoke with Barb again and she said she was getting in contact with the owner and then with me again, but still nothing.

04/30- and it is 10 am, I still haven't heard, I have no idea where my belongings are or when will I receive them. Called in the afternoon and no one answered, I left a message, no one got back to me.

Now I have no idea where my things are or in what condition if I ever recover them.

I have contacted LAPD and also Austin PD and filed reports respectively because this is unacceptable, lack of ethics, professionalism, and above all theft and extortion.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2670

They are not very transparent, they are not an actual moving company but a third party broker (even the movers said they were shady af) they tell you what you want to hear before signing the contract (which in typical sales tactics they rush and say only valid for x amount of time so hurry) this does not really give time to do research or read the contract carefully. then say its on you. I was quoted (after a thorough detailed list of what was in my place) ~$4200, a week before the move going over again what i was bringing (eliminating a few items from the original list was quoted an addition amount needed (with another payment deposit) and then when the movers came again another amount 3K more. Between the shitty insurance (was told they are insured and I'm covered, true but only $0.60 on the LBS basically getting $6 for my damage $600 TV) and dont even mention that it would be a good idea to get additional insurance...At this point I'm out close to $6-8K more than what was budgeted for the move and it has been stressful AF to deal with 3 diff companies to get things sorted. Also they delivered someone else's tote to me and since it had my sticker they couldn't take it back so now i have to deal with a full giant tote that isn't mine and their solution is to just donate it. sure let me take time out of my day and use my property to correct your mistake and that poor person is now out close to $2K worth of DVDs and CDs and they wont even try to correct it. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND!!!!!!

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8800

Hear me loud and clear! Under zero circumstance should you do business with these scammers. They are not a moving company. I repeat they are not a moving company. They are sheisters who have the paperwork to provide you a dirt low quote for your move but they will not be doing your move. Once you sign on the dotted line, they will then look to hire a moving company in your area and use that company no matter how low that companies rating is to handle your move. First National Van Rentals will now outsource your move to that company and keep your deposit. Once the hired moving company arrives they will then attempt to get theirs by telling you the amount you paid is too low because your inventory is larger than they were informed or they will do your move, hold your belongings hostage and squeeze more money out of you and only deliver once you give them more money. Your best case scenario if you do fall for the "First National Van Rental Scam" is on the day of the move after you realize no one is showing up, you make about 30 calls to anyone you had contact with along the way (Michael Durrell, Will Ables, Daisy), none of whom will answer your calls, respond to your emails or texts. And eventually land on someone after hours and hours of phone calls who will inform you that no movers are showing up and they will provide you a full refund on your initial deposit. You won't get notice or any type of courtesy days before, it will be on the actual day! So if you had to be out of your place the following day, you're now left with the task of finding someone to move your stuff in the next 12 hours, vile scum. First National Van Lines is a straight up scam, read all the yelp reviews, read the reviews on the better business bureau. You have been warned, under zero circumstance should you work with these scam artists. Just animals trying to get your money with zero regard for your time, your belongings. These are sub humans who could care less about you or the things that are most important to you.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

I'm happy to say that the movers were hard-working and professional. Unfortunately, the representative incorrectly calculated our quote by telling us that 3 movers would be able to complete our local Chicago move within 4 hours. The movers arrived two hours late. When they saw our boxes and furniture, which were in the exact amount that we'd stated in our quote, they said they would need NINE hours to complete the move. As a result, we had to wait an hour for their supervisor and an extra mover to arrive to re-negotiate. Once we talked through everything, the crew moved ~1/2 our stuff in 4 hours. When we discussed this with the representative, they suggested that we book the crew for 4 hours the next day to complete the move. We declined and rented a Uhaul to finish the job ourselves, which is what I wish we'd done in the first place, for 10% the cost.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1100

Be very careful with First National Van Lines, they are not a moving company. There are brokers. I first question I asked my rep Andrew ** was "Is your company the only company I will deal with because if not I will find another company?" He answered me, yes, and that he will be my rep throughout our entire move. Not true. So that is how my relationship started with this company. My move happened on a Saturday when a different company showed up to pack our things, so I was not happy and called customer service, Andrew and his supervisor only to find out that they are closed on the weekend so I was stuck with this moving company and out of luck, my house was closing on Monday and I had to accept the new total.

I feel that I was lied to and deceived by this company, after several calls and emails I was told that I was not lied to or deceived. The answer I received from the First National Van Lines was "deceived my ***!" and then hung up on when I was in the middle of a sentence. Terrible experience to go thru and it just seems they just don't care. I gave them a oner star because zero or negative is not an option.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $13000

DO NOT BELIEVE THE FAKE 5 STAR REVIEWS!!! Notice they have no Google listing cause you can’t fake reviews there. Quoted me $4,600 after a video showing of all items in house, arrives and says they made mistake and it is now going to cost $8,900+. They also had us pay for the fridge, washer and dryer then claimed that doesn’t include an additional miscellaneous $580 they have to add for moving a dryer. FIRST NATIONAL IS ONLY A BROKER!!! They don’t even do the move so you have no idea who will end up arriving and how much their cost will actually be. It is a huge SCAM. And you don’t find this out until you’ve already paid the down payment which is non refundable. So we were already in $1,600 and had to move forward with the price even though it doubled from what our contract listed. SCAM SCAM SCAMMMMMM!!!!

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12000