Great Nation Moving

Let me begin with DO NOT USE THIS MOVING COMPANY! RUN IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION! Pay more, use a uhaul, do anything but hire them. They start off friendly and helpful and once they have your things they turn around and show their true colours. The movers confirmed that MANY customers were angry after this last weekend , so I am not alone in feeling this way.I don't even know where to begin andI  apologize to readers for the length of this review.I moved from Maryland to Chicago and I needed my belongings by the 2nd. I booked my flight, scheduled work according to this and was extremely inconvenienced. When scheduling I told them that they should adjust the pick up date to guarantee that my belongings would arrive on time and they assured me that my pick up date was the date that would guarantee this. I was supposed to get a phone call two days prior to pick up. I did not . I emailed, called, left voice mails because I had questions regarding my move. I didn't get a response for three days, the afternoon before the supposed morning of their arrival, after basically having to flip out that I am paying money and the least they could do was answer my questions which were pertinent to being ready for pick up. They picked up my belongings and didn't provide the weight of the truck . I was told that the weight of the truck empty and the weight of the truck with my belongings would be provided on the monday morning so that I would know my balance.I never received a call. I needed to know my balance prior to my flight because I would have been charged a fee to pay by card and I hadn't set up my bank in Chicago yet. After a ridiculous number of phone calls , emails all day and yet another flip out, I received a phone call a few minutes before my bank closed. The office finally got back to me and provided me with the boss's number because he wasn't calling me like he was supposed to. David the "boss"  told me he would tell me my balance first thing tuesday morning. Tuesday morning I didn't hear from him. I called in the afternoon and he said he would tell me my balance the next afternoon. So, yet again I was left to wait on a phone call that never came. Furthermore, he informed me that he would tell me my scheduled drop off date. My belongings hadn't even moved 2 miles of where I was moving from.When I told him I was guaranteed delivery the next day he got nasty and told me for what I was paying he couldn't expediate the process and he could bring my belongings as late as the 16th if he liked. He snapped at me to call the office if I had a problem with it and they would call him and he would tell them the same thing. I literally was lied to,forced to live like a squater with no clothes, unable to work for over a week all because they were unable to provide a service that they were willing to accept money for.  I had to express my anger via email and phone calls just to get a response and a balance. The balance was provided asking for a lot more money. I informed them that I didn't receive certified weights to confirm the balance. They told me I would get that information when they delivered. They of course did not provide it upon delivery.How am I supposed to trust anything? They lie and are completely unorganized. I have never seen any information that can confirm I wasn't ripped off. Furthermore, they move your belongings with other's. Weigh station documentation is reflective of the total weight and NOT the weight of your belongings. They turned around and told me its their busiest time of year and to understand. IF YOU WERE AWARE THAT IT WAS THE BUSIEST TIME OF YEAR, YOU SHOULD HAVE CREATED YOUR SCHEDULE ACCORDINGLY. I paid money for a service and you shouldn't have taken my money if you were unable to provide it. I was offered an insulting 12 percent discount for their mess up. I lost way more than that because of their screw ups. Who picks up people's belongings without knowing when they will be able to get around to delivering them?That's something that was worked out PRIOR to me paying. How do you have my things for days and then turn around and say oh we still don't know when we will be able to fit you in.I could have stayed in my home or stayed with family and continued working in my office!I do not care what your circumstances are. As a company it is the company's responsibility to provide what they promise, not the customers responsibility to understand when they don't unless I am getting a full refund. I don't care for the excuses, I didn't appreciate the attitude, I didn't appreciate being told that my move was such little money compared to their expenses(their reason for providing poor business. charge more if that's what is needed to value your customers and do a good job), I didn't appreciate being lied to, I didn't appreciate the lack of communication. The list could go on. They need to learn how to run a business or they need to close shop. I laugh to think that the movers had the nerve to ASK for a TIP when they finally came!And a special shoutout to David, a boss who doesn't know how to be respectful or appreciative of/to customers!

Service cost: $1795

We made a short distance move in June 2014 and Great Nation Van Lines was great.  It was very short notice but they assured us they could meet our schedule.  Four men showed right when they said they would, they were very careful with all our belongings especially the fragile things, and their final cost was $8 below their estimate.  A small step stool got lost in the move and when I brought it to their attention, they ordered the identical step stool from Amazon and had it our hands one day later.  Without question, we would use Great Nation again.

Service cost: $1147

Great Nation Van Lines is supposedly a family owned business that cares about its customers. At least that is what their sales representative Greg Smith assured me when I was getting quotes for our move from West Virginia to Texas. I contacted numerous companies for this move because it was a large move, and where we lived in West Virginia was remote. We didn’t have a lot of choices, but we chose Great Nation because they assured us that they could accommodate our needs.  Unfortunately our move didn’t go well. Never use this company for interstate moves, they subcontract the movers, combine multiple homes in one semi truck and have no control over how your home is delivered. They asked us to take pictures of our road and driveway so they could arrange a shuttle if needed. I sent multiple pictures to Great Nation and when the semi truck arrived at our home the driver threw a big fit because of the distance from the road to our house. On top of that he demanded the balance money up front plus $400 more to unload. He was supposed to arrive at our new home at 8:00am and didn’t arrive until 3:00pm because they broke down. He only had two men to unload such a big move and he had only one pallet furniture dolly. They used our box dolly and then argued that it was theirs when they were finished. It had an inventory sticker on it but he still insisted. It took them until 10:00pm to finish unloading. At one point the driver was so frustrated at how long it was taking that he started throwing our stuff out of the truck. (We had a long list of items that were broken including my mother’s handmade Jeff Zimmerman couch) Because they didn’t have sufficient help to unload, the couch was dropped on its end and the frame was cracked. My son and I started helping them unload because I thought they were going to leave half of our home at the end of our driveway. Worse the driver and Great Nation demanded the balance of our money up front. We had been honorable about every phase of the move. At pickup they hadn’t demanded the money upfront, but at delivery they insisted it was their policy. More over they insisted that we pay the additional delivery charge of $400 because of the distance from the road to the house. It was a nightmare! After a heated argument Great Nation supposedly paid the fee, but the driver was still unhappy. Over the years we have never had to pay the driver until our home was unloaded and in place. This move was a good example of why you hold on to your money until your furniture is in your house and everything is unloaded to your satisfaction. We have moved a lot through the military and in all those moves I have never been treated so badly as with Great Nation. Once they have your money and your home packed on their truck you are at their mercy. In an effort to be fair the crew that picked up did a decent job loading.  They sent plenty of help and used a Great Nation truck. There were a few red flags however that bothered me, such as they didn’t weigh the truck empty before the pick up, they apparently only weigh the trucks once a month or so. Because of that practice there is no way to know if the weight of your move is accurate. Also their inventory list is fairly worthless as far as what is being loaded because they don’t actually itemize.  If our story ended there this review would be favorable. Local moves with this company are probably okay as long as you pack your own home (because they will nickel and dime you to death on packing materials.) We packed our home and were still hit with a $400 packing material charge, but all of our furniture were wrapped in blankets and taped. We had originally ordered two trucks when we did our estimated inventory and there were lawn mowers, ATV’s and a gun safe included, all heavy items. Great Nation moved none of those items. We moved them ourselves. Our move weight however was still over their estimate and because we don’t have same-day weight tickets there is no way to prove it. Another precaution that we didn’t take was purchasing additional damage insurance.  They offer policy that is supposed to pay .60 cents per pound for damaged goods. For all of the extensive damage they only offered to pay out $411.00.  You always have some damage in a move, but we had a lot damaged and most of it I suspect was from the subcontracted interstate movers. Great Nation stored our belongings for a month due to a delay in closing on our new home, but the transfer from their trucks to the Semi would still have occurred. I can only give you the highlights of our experience. If the end of our move had been similar to the beginning this review would be much different. I highly suggest that you think twice before using this company.  .

Service cost: $12

I chose “Great” Nation Moving based on numerous reviews. And their website is impressive, leading us to think the experience would be ‘flawless’. When our move was finished, I realized I had not done enough research. This is my 8th move. More items lost and damaged than the other 7 combined, by a long shot.
Our move from California to Colorado was well-planned, and painless except for the move. Based upon conversations with Greg, we set a date one month in advance for moving out, and moving in. They allowed one month for a 1,300 mile move (3-day drive), in case of “weather or breakdown, etc.”. The weather was perfect.
We had to be out by Thursday, Feb. 22. As of Monday, 2/18, we still didn’t know when they would be moving us. Their website promises “…we will keep in touch through the entire process…” Monday 2:34pm, David Yanoff, the owner in Maryland, let us know they’d be loading Thursday. Hardly “stress-free”!
The day they were to show up, we were greeted by a man who appeared to be under the influence – he could barely speak coherently. He said he got the job from Craig’s List. All 4 packers were from Craig’s List. Hardly the “experience” promised on the Great Nation website.
Then the moving van showed up. Not the fresh-looking one on the website, but one with faded paint. The movers weren’t from Great Nation. They were from Triple 7 Movers in Las Vegas. THEIR reviews are much worse, and we didn’t know moving our home possessions would be farmed out to a third party.
The packing process started relatively smoothly. I didn’t hover and see how things were packed. As the packing continued, things got worse. Somebody shoved a piece of furniture into the corner of a wall, breaking a 12” x 4” chunk of the corner (photographed). They offered to fix it, but time was getting late, I had to get a professional job done (by OUR standards), as the people were moving in the following day. $75.
I had a four-piece desk I had moved in a year earlier. The “professional” movers couldn’t figure out how to move it (?), so left it. $2,800. Also, no credit for desk they didn’t ship (estimated 150 cf). They took a lamp, printer etc. off the desk, and hid them in a closet. They didn’t do a walk-through (he says he did, but if he did, how did he miss the lamp and printer, etc., and barbecue outside, and boxes in the garage? They had to come back days later to pick those things up. David stressed this was at his own expense. Wow – YOU left it behind, but I’m supposed to be impressed you paid to pick it up, after they left it behind?? “Eye for detail” as the website notes?
2/23 3:25pm – text from David “Got ‘tour’ message about the items left behind I am truly sorry about that”
We were told it would be a “direct move” from our former home to our new home. If that is true, why did the truck break down in San Francisco, 55 miles in the wrong direction?
2/25 11:21am – Raam texted me, truck broke down.
2/28 9:20pm – Another text, truck still in the shop. “David said he would get another truck from the leasing company today.”
3/1 – Tried to find out from Greg, David and Raam where our stuff is, how is it, and when do we get it? No answers, had to file police report since our possessions may be stolen?
3/1 7:28pm – text from David – “All is safe”
3/1 7:38pm – text from David – “I do apologies (sp) Things like this happened (sp)… I am not happy either”
3/2 11:20am – David gave me location of truck. It’s not in San Francisco, it’s in San Leandro.
3/2 – 4:24pm – “Just got word the truck is ready.” What happened to “another truck” 2 days earlier?
3/4 11:50am – text from David, “No worries. I am here if you need me”
3/5 – Truck is in Cheyenne (Wyoming, 3 hours away)

Driver later told me they had a flat tire, were told they needed to replace it. Raam didn’t want to pay for new tire, so they patched it. It blew out 10 miles later. Raam waited a day for a cheaper tire.
3/6 – They are supposed to unload at 8:00am.
3/6 8:26am – text from David, “He is close”
They wanted $1,500 cash. We had to run to the bank to get cash before they would deliver. And still waiting to find balance.
3/6 8:40am – text from David – “Richard unless you sign there is nothing I can Do Rules of my bank and layers (sp) I apologies 10 miles is small drive Thanks”
3/6 9:12am – text to Raam, “When are you coming?” No response
3/6 9:23am – text to David, showing picture of damaged wall moving out. “I hope (today is better) if not I will pay this time”
3/6 – 9:47am – text to David, “No word from Raam, wasting all our time” No response
3/6 – 10:20am – text to David, “You said they were close. He’s half hour way with blown out tire, need to replace. What’s the truth? Two hours ago, they were close??” No response
3/6 – 10:35am – text to David – “You said the truck costs $900 a day. They wasted a day looking for a cheaper tire. Doesn’t make good sense.”
3/6 – 11:11am – text from David – “Hello let me call Raam”
3/6 – 11:18am – text from David – “Just talk to him. … If its too late today he will do it tomorrow first thing tomorrow.”
3/6 – 4:30pm – Moving van shows up!
• Again, four “professional movers” from Craig’s List, no experience necessary.
• I was checking off boxes for inventory. After about 15 boxes, we quit, because too many boxes didn’t have tags
• The boxes were generally well-packed, but not intended to be thrown, or laid upside down. One 32” glass vase was broken, because the box was upside down
• One or more of the “professional movers” left a smouldering cigarette in a box, with wrapping paper. Fortunately the wrapping paper did not catch fire
• We found out that the trailer was reloaded (in San Leandro, during repairs?), which may explain why many boxes were put on the side or upside down.
• Most furniture had scrapes or damage. In our previous move, one coffee table had a small scratch (noted). This time over 30 pieces had scrapes or gouges. One of many damage items is a desk my father (since passed) made in high school in 1932. Generally undamaged for 86 years, until Great Nation Moving moved it.
• An heirloom painting (purchased on our honeymoon in Hawaii) was placed in a big box, with no packing. The frame was damaged. Fortunately, the painting was not damaged
• While David was ‘so sorry’ for much of the circumstances, he has not demonstrated a fair adjustment. The customer is blamed for many things, and GNM isn’t responsible
• After a stressful and much-delayed move, and unloading which was aggravating and stressful for all, the driver was very mad. At 10:00pm when the unloading was completed, he got the truck stuck, tearing up the asphalt and gravel around the driveway. Later, the driver got the truck out very easily, with no spinning wheels or further damage. I asked him what the magic trick was. His reply, “I just calmed down”. The estimate to repair the driveway is a minimum of $1,000. David’s reply – “We cannot be responsible for driveways since we did not anthing ghat a drive was not suppose to do (sp). Please contact your drive installer and ask for warranty repairs.” The driveway has survived 15 years with no damage until an upset driver tore it up.
• I found a sealed box of wrapping tape, 36 rolls. I was charged $5 per roll. David said “Please send the box to (him). No offer to refund the $180, or to pay the postage. I still have the box.
• Over $3,000 of missing items. This is the result of either theft, incompetent ‘professional movers’, or misplaced with another load. David’s response is “I am so sorry. I can not believe or understand. Please file a claim (for $.60 a pound).

3/12 2:20pm – text from David – “All boxes should be there Missing stickers does not mean missing boxes
My reply – “One page of missing items, so far”
3/12 2:31pm – text from David – “For missing items contact Raam He will find them But your items never left the truck So this is not possible”
My reply – “I am not calling Raam. He doesn’t work for me”
3/12 4:17pm – text from David – “To file a claim please visit www.MyMoveClaim.com. They will help you for loss or damaged goods I will talk to Ramm I will check as for the desk compensation to you Takes Time
3/15 7:44am – text to David – “David, I have been writing since the 5th for your decision on the desk {removing freight charge for desk not moved”
3/21 – 11:20am – text to David – “David – Did you contact the other people with loads to see if they have our missing items?”
3/21 12:09pm – text from David – “Yes no one has displaced boxed (sp)” Raam still belives (sp) all boxes at your home I am So sorry”
My reply – “He wasn’t here. He wouldn’t know”
David’s reply – He knows truck was Empty and items left behind he knows he delivered everything {Raam was in Tulsa, David in Maryland. How would they know??} Just file a claim I am again sorry for the lost items”
3/20 – By e-mail I asked David about a charge of $1,100 for ‘additional service’. I asked David for an itemization. “I will ask Raap (sp) for receipt for packing itemized copy.” As of 4/16 I have not received an itemization.
“Check is going on its way for any damages.” As of 4/16, check has not arrived.

I add some quotes from Great Nation’s website, which was a large factor in choosing to go with Great Nation Moving:
• Every move is handled with great care
• You will receive flawless personalized service
• One of the most experienced companies in the relocation business
• We make things happen. Careful planning, a lot of hard work, commitment to quality, eye for the detail and true care for our customers and their belongings
• You receive nothing but the best possible service at the best possible price. We are here to give you flawless moving experience – without excuses
• Our experience is something that helps us a lot with every single move {Craig’s List movers??}
• You can trust us that we will always find the most efficient and fastest solution for your relocation
• We offer unmatched customer support. We will keep in touch through the entire process so you will know exactly what is happening at every step of the relocation. We know you are not moving experts so we will never leave you wondering what is going on.
• We help you move through the stressful period of relocation without breaking a sweat. Every single move is a big step to achieving our ultimate goal – to become the best moving company in the country.
• Focus on getting settled in your new place. We know that relocating from one state to another is a demanding task. Our well trained moving team can handle every move with ease so you could concentrate on the other important stuff {Craig’s List movers??}
• Great Nation Moving is an expert in cross-country moves. Our full-service movers will handle the packing, loading, driving and unloading for you. With excellent customer service and unmatched quality ratings, you will benefit from a flawless, stress-free relocation, every time.
• From all of the long-distance moving companies, Great Nation Moving is appreciated for its unique approach and attitude to the costumers. We think beyond the boxes and the blankets. Every single member of our moving crew deeply understands your needs and expectations. We know that every one of our customers moves more than just his possessions – you move your whole life with you and our mission is to make this transition go as smoothly as possible.
• We have one of the country’s most dependable moving fleets. We also apply the same level of quality to all of our services in California.
• a big team of professionals providing flawless relocation experience nationwide. It is a fantastic feeling to see all this hard work and dedication paying off and the number one reason for our success are our customers and their satisfaction.
• Why Choose Us? We know what the ingredients of a perfect move are – from the beginning (pre-move planning) to its completion (settling down in your new place). You don’t have to be a moving expert to relocate painlessly and hassle-free. This is our job – the job we love, our mission.
• Mission Statement - Our mission is very simple – to provide the best moving services to our customers, to be second to none in the relocation business, to make your next move as smooth and stress-free as possible.

My biggest mistake was in selecting Great Nation Moving for a move. This has caused two months of unnecessary frustration, damage, and stress – far more of each than all 8 previous moves combined.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $10779

Great Nation Moving surpassed my expectations. Greg provided excellent customer service and gave me a very fair quote and answered all of my questions in advance of the move. The 4 man crew arrived promptly at 8am, and were extremely professional, respectful, fast and efficient. It started pouring rain, but these guys did not complain at all. They put down tarps to protect our carpet, and kept working hard and fast until the job was done. I have no complaints, only praise for this moving company and the people they hire! And the price was very reasonable.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1789

Do NOT hire these people!! The representative gave me his cell phone number but would never answer it when I called him and his voicemail was always full so I couldn’t leave a message. The never emIl you back when you have questions or issues. The movers who picked up my items were rude and overused their packing tape on items I had secured already just to charge me almost $700 more. They didn’t put stickers on all of my items so I’m missing boxes. They completely destroyed my bookcase, fan, and a sentimental vase so I had to throw them away. They broke almost all of my totes as well. I tried calling and emailing the representative to file a claim and it took me calling repeatedly for them to answer the phone. The claim requirements are ridiculous!! They require an estimate to fix the broken items and a proof of purchase. Who keeps every receipt for each item they buy?? They make it impossible to file a claim!! The owner of the business is also extremely rude and talks down to you like you don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know how this company is still in business!!!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000