Green Van Lines Moving Company- Dallas

Recently moved from Dallas to SC

Used Green Van Lines because they had what seemed an easy move combination for a "climate controlled" storage unit + moving my items when ready. My furniture and things came in two shipments to SC (no idea).

Shipment 1. They arrived two weeks late. Majority of items broken, stained or torn (e.g. leather couch). I was devastated but called and prayed the next shipment of my items would come in tact- was promised by the company they would “take care of it”. Shipment 1 was about $4000 worth in furniture, but more importantly things like grandmas recipes and heirloom Christmas ornaments. I triple packed each and labeled all glass items FRAGILE.

Shipment 2. Nothing came broken, but nothing really came. Majority of my items were missing, around $3000 worth on this shipment alone. I’m pretty sure they’ve already been sold on Craigslist. They also tried to drop off several items (children's bike, outdoor chairs, ladder) to my place that were not my items.

The driver seemed to be extremely tired and... not coherent. He saw someone on the street walking by and offered him $50 to "help him out", bringing a stranger into my place without my permission. I felt unsafe to say the least.

The company seems to take no responsibility and refused to answer the phone after me reporting the incident. I needed up looking up my drivers DOT number and found that his license was expired and he had been fired 2 times previously. Green Van Lines acted like they didn’t know about it and quit answering my calls. I’m about $7500 out- and this is for furniture for a two bedroom apartment.

I think the picture speaks for itself. DO NOT HIRE GREENVAN LINES

https://www.greenvanlines.com/about-us-our-story/

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7000

I must say choosing a moving company turned out to be a much more difficult task than I would have ever thought!  You go on one website and just get hammered with phone calls and e-mail's from so many people you never heard of in your life.  Green Van Lines stood out among the rest starting with my initial phone call conversation with Misty and ending with their amazing customer support.  The price they gave me was honest and very accurate.  The movers were great, happy bunch of guys that knew how to do their job!  Overall greatly satisfied and will definitely recommend them to anyone planning on making a move!  Thanks Green!  .

Service cost: $2382

BEWARE!!! This company is a fraud. We had our items picked from Fort Worth, Texas on September 29, 2023, and they were supposed to be delivered to us in Michigan on October 14th, 2023. This never happened. The company ignores communication and has refused to tell us when we will get our belongings. It has been over a month and we still have to sleep on a mattress on the floor and live out of suitcases because they haven't delivered our stuff as paid for, and promised. I received ONE call back, after dozens of messages, and it was October 17th and Beau Talley stated it would only be 5-7 more days until delivery. Well, that came and went, and we still have nothing. BEWARE!! Do NOT use this company. They have also had their BBB verification revoked due to poor business management.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

I had a long distance move from Texas to Florida. I scheduled Green Van Lines to pick up the week before my friend and I made the drive so that my furniture and I would arrive within days of each other. The pickup was great with the exception of the foreman being a bit of a [EDIT], but that's pretty customary. They were quick, efficient, and I was prepared for there to be an increase in cost as I knew that I had more than I had estimated, according to the foreman, $340 worth. They were in and out before noon and I was told to expect my stuff between 7-10 days (Wednesday-Friday of next the week), but the delivery driver would call later in the week to confirm.  Monday morning the driver calls and says it will for sure not be delivered on Wednesday- either Thursday or Friday depending on traffic. I called him again on Wednesday to see if we had a more specific time frame. This time I was told, "definitely not tomorrow". So Friday it was. Come Friday neither the driver or the owner were returning my calls. No furniture. I finally got a call around 5:00 saying the delivery will be there the next day. Typically not a huge faux pas, but in this case I was going to be driving 2 hours away to take my friend to the airport to return to Texas that day. I was told that even though it was the driver who was late I would be charged a storage fee, a shuttle fee, and a redelivery fee if I was not home and they made it clear they would not wait. They also told me that 7-10 days is "just a guess" they can take up to 2 more weeks if they would like and can show without notice. So unless I were to take 2 weeks of paid vacation and wait for him, they could charge me for whatever they'd like. After paying to reschedule my friends flight, move it to a different airport and waking up at 5:00 AM to take her so I could be home for the afternoon delivery, the truck STILL doesn't show up on Saturday. The driver's excuse was traffic on the highway. The exact highway I was driving on. The highway that was completely void of any other cars. Management didn't seem to care that he had taken his own personal vacation. The driver shows up on Sunday, quickly unloads my stuff. Boxes labelled "fragile" are smushed and ripped apart, about a third of my dishes are shattered (yes, they were bubble wrapped), My TV stand is in pieces, the legs of my bed broken, the actual shelves of my bookshelves are gone, box of electronics missing, and to top it off, he says my couch will not fit in the door, so he leaves it in my front yard along with mounds and mounds of garbage he left and drives off. After cleaning up the trash he left in the yard, I had a friend come help me with the couch. It fits. I would have been better off using another company, doing it myself. Heck even throwing the furniture out of my second story window into a dumpster would have been better. I can't warn people enough. Never use Green Van.  .

Service cost: $2000

So moving is stressful as is and this company made it worse. We scheduled a move from one city to the other ( about 30 miles) and we hired them for the heavy lifting as we moved all the little stuff ourselves. TheMovers kicked a hole in our dry wall, and to make matters worse, they didn’t even tell us about it! They tried to cover it up with our 5 gallon water purifier and let us find it later that day! We paid them A LOT of money for this move and common decency obviously doesn’t apply to them! I don’t recommend this company as you have enough stress moving now we have to pay for a wall on our old home before I final walk through. I would recommend another company to anyone looking to move!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1700

This company has scammed me!!! they honestly dont give a damn about the customer after the payment is made. I paid the full amount of $5,136 plus provided a tip of $400 to the movers. I purchased valuation insurance upfront as well.

1. The sales rep- Kevin told me initially that he would be the only person I would need to speak to. After I had booked my move, he only texted back, and always asked me to contact Diana at helpdesk for anything after that.

I had confirmed with Kevin on text whether they could include the Tip amount in the invoice, to which he replied -"Yes". I have proof on messages.(Attached below)

Finally, they did not send me the invoice with tip included. Diana tells me that Kevin is not in finance, so he can't commit to anything in accounting.

2. Diana cannot be reached. I have sent numerous emails, left numerous voice mails, but she does not return calls. (Attached emails)

3. Our stuff was picked up on Oct21st from Dallas and reached San Jose on the 10th of Nov. (14business days, the last day as mentioned in the document)

4. The LED TV is damaged, The legs to the platform bed are lost and the dining table top is scratched. I have been calling and emailing so I could file a claim (Note: I have prepaid for $21,000 of insurance), but they won't respond nor give me a claims number. It is now 2 weeks since our stuff arrived and we cannot even reach them.

5. Diana at helpdesk asks me to submit an inventory document, I have all the paperwork given to me at pickup and delivery and a signed inventory list is not there. Why don't they have the document??

6. Diana told me she needs to wait for the driver to submit the paperwork, to even give me the claims number. I texted the driver and he said he had turned in paperwork a long time ago. It's now 2 weeks since our stuff was delivered. (Attached message screenshot from Driver)

I have paid $5136 plus a $400 tip. Also bought valuation insurance. Now this company is not reachable through phone or email since two weeks

Please Avoid this company if you want to save yourself and your family from harassment!!!!!!!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5136

In May 2013, I contacted this moving company and they came and gave binding estimate for the move. A month later they called me and said they have to come a day earlier and I agreed. On the moving day, they tried to charge me for packing material, but they did not cause I have included that in the contract. They packed my stuff, and they were nice that day. However, they did not do a good job packing,as few items were damaged at delivery: broken IKEA table and 2 lamps.They delivered my furniture in 1 week. The problem is I had missing headboard and bed slats , so I had to buy a new bed. They also lost a research tube poster, and table legs. My mattress had oil over one of its edges cause it was not fully wrapped.The worse problem was that the delivery person. When he drove in to my apartment complex, he requested me to pay him the final amount plus 125 long carry fee. I agreed and gave him 700 in cash (they don't accept check or credit card at delivery). The total was 655. He refused to give me the change back and said I have to pay him a tip. I told him I will decide at the end of the delivery but he refused to give me the change back.The company agreed to pay me 200 for the missing parts of the bed but not more than that. Then they called me and started annoy me cause I complained about them.
This was a very annoying experience, and I would never use this company again.

Service cost: $1400

First of all, be aware this company is a broker. They told me multiple times they were not, but they hired another company: Infintiy Movers to do my move for me. Infinity is a 1 star company. Infinity then hired day labors to handle my items. This is all common place for the industry, but most companies don't lie about it. It took them over 2 weeks to deliver from WI to CA, just isn't terrible except they promised much faster and wouldn't communicate delivery windows. Upon delivery and inspection of my items, they is A LOT of damage. I had a few solid wood items (coffee table, bed frame, dresser). All are heavily scratched and chipped. The coffee table has one leg unattached. The headboard of the bed has a crack running down the length f it, which is about ready to snap. If you decide to use these crooks: BUY MAX INSURANCE.

Service cost: $2600

  This is a cautionary tale about Green Van Lines.       For those who would prefer not to read the long version of our experience with Green Van Lines, here is the bullet list summation:  
 Green Van Lines misrepresented the use of recycled packing materials.  They did not use them. 
Green Van Lines misrepresented that they owned the all of the trucks and that it would be just their company handling our belongings from start to finish.
Green Van Lines assured us their bid of $15,200.00  was on the high side and there would be no upcharge surprises, and then they up charged us 58%  - a total of $24,000.00…  $8800.00 more than their original bid.
Green Van Lines did not disclose company upcharge policies in a forthright manner.
Packers left garbage at the moving site despite the promise they would leave the premises with all of their packing debris.
Packers didn’t properly pack fragile items.  Irreplaceable ceramics, pottery, blown glass art, and pictures packed without any wrapping or care to prevent breakage.  One silk wall hanging left on rod and packed with garden tools.  Multiple broken items from what we have unpacked so far.
Packers took my husband aside after I called Green Van Lines to dispute the 58% up charge and told him to tell me to back off of confronting Green Van Lines or else we would be charged more.
Delivery was by a different company altogether and did not use bio-diesel fuel as advertised (see misrepresentation above)
Delivery driver expected us to set up tow truck for unloading tractor that we were up charged for by Green Van Lines at the start of the journey.
Green Van Lines refused to honor federal law that required them to unload our belongings at 10% above your original bid and pay balance when everything was completed.  They required us to pay them a full $12,000.00 (half the total bill) – in cash – before unloading anything from the truck  
Green Van Lines advertises on their website that they provide auto transport, but they do not.  Arthur Fromin, from Green Van Lines, gave us the name of his contact to call who turned out to be from another brokerage company altogether, and he also misrepresented himself, leaving us in dire straits with no car pick up on the day he said the cars were scheduled to be picked up.          
The full story…   When we first contacted Green Van Lines – primarily because of the advertisement on their website that they use recycled materials for packing and used bio-diesel fuel - for our cross country move from central Florida to the Greater Seattle area, we spoke with Arthur Fromin. He cautioned us from getting set up with a moving company that brokered trucks to do the move.  He also told us to beware of fraudulent companies that bid low and then up-charged extravagantly on the moving day.  He assured us that his company owned all of the trucks they used to move clients.  He also promised to bring his bid in high so that we could be assured there would be no surprise charges on moving day.      
Arthur said his company did telephone estimates.  My husband toured the house reporting what was in each room while Arthur recorded the information for his bid.  On several occasions, I overheard Arthur writing down something different than my husband reported.  For example, my husband told him we had a small tractor with attachments.  Arthur wrote that down as a riding lawn mower.  On no occasion did Arthur ask what the square footage of a room was or what we used it for.  Nor did he at any time offer us the option of a visual estimate.  His estimate for packing and moving all of our materials came in at $15,200.00 – substantially higher than the other bids we got, but he promised it was on the high side and would probably come down on moving day…  he just didn’t want us to have any pricing surprises.  We decided to go with Green Van Lines because Arthur seemed to be a forthright and honest person of integrity.  We made sure he understood that – once we closed the sale on Florida property – we would need to be packed and moved within 36 hours.      
Moving day came.  A crew of six packers drove up from Miami, arriving just before noon in a HUGE truck that couldn’t make it through our gate onto the driveway.  The head packer went through our home, claiming in loud dismay that we had far more to pack and load than the original bid estimated.  He said they would have to hire a flatbed tow truck to lift the tractor into the truck (a $500 dollar up charge on either end even though the tow truck was only charging $60 - $80)  Upcharge after upcharge.  They said our load would take 3200 – 3400 cubic feet when the original estimate was 2000 cubic feet.  Before they would start packing anything, we had to sign a contract that agreed to pay up to $24,000.00 for the move…  $8800.00 or a 58% increase above the original estimate.  When we asked them how they were going to get us all packed and loaded in the time frame we needed it done (especially now that they hadn’t arrived until noon and spent a good 1 to 1.5 hours re-negotiating the price… and had to walk our belongings out to the road where their truck was), they said no problem – they could still pack and load in the same time frame.  Only the price would go up.  The packers also promised they would clean up all of their packing debris before leaving our property.      
 The first thing we noticed was that they weren’t using recycled packing materials.  They had six people packing our home who went through in a whirlwind of activity.  It was difficult to monitor, let alone assess the standard of their packing technique at that point…  we just had to trust and hope for the best.      
In the midst of this, I contacted Arthur to discuss the $8800.00 upcharge.  I sent him an email, explaining that – while I understood how an estimate can easily vary 10% in one direction or another, 58% seemed exorbitantly high to me.  I wrote that I wanted them to share the burden of the increase with us since they were ultimately responsible for the bidding system they used, and it was obviously flawed to be so far from the mark.  Arthur called me right away and told me all responsibility for accurately describing belongings was on us – that we should have modified the inventory sheet he sent us to make it more accurate.  I told him we had tried to read through the inventory sheet he sent, but the language was idiosyncratic to their system, and we could only trust that he had made a high estimate to adjust.  I told him that Green Van Lines raising the price when they knew we had no other options due to time constraints felt like having the dentist upcharge me while the drill was in my mouth.  In other words, we weren’t happy.  I made it clear to him that our only leverage would be to write reviews and make appropriate complaints based on our experience…  and that I was hoping Green Van Lines would step up and share the cost of the pricing “mistake” with us.  He said he would see what he could do.  I thanked him, and the conversation ended.      
Later that afternoon, the head packer pulled my husband aside and told him to tell me to stop confronting Arthur or else Arthur was going to make him unpack and put everything in separate boxes so that the load would take up as much space as possible, thereby justifying the $8800.00 upcharge.  From that point on, both Paul (the head packer) and Arthur took every opportunity to tell Alan that the way they were saving us money was to not charge more than $24,000.00 which, they said, by their company policy they could.  By the way, the company’s upcharge policy was never disclosed to us before signing agreements.      
Despite Paul’s promise to take all their packing debris and waste with them, they left all of their garbage on site with paper cups strewn across the yard.  When Arthur called my husband later that evening to see how the packing and loading went, my husband told him about the garbage.  Arthur became aggressive in demanding that either my husband say he was satisfied with the packers or agree to go back and meet the packers so they could clean up the garbage left.  My husband was not only busy with other details of our move, he had also cleaned up the debris already.  He felt put in a very awkward position by Arthur and, ultimately, just said he was satisfied to be able to get off of the phone with Arthur.  My husband did ask Arthur if – since we were paying for almost the entire truck ($26,000 was the original price Arthur quoted us to rent the entire truck and get delivery made directly from the pick-up to our new home), could they deliver directly and help us save money on the other end by not waiting an extra 5 days for the truck to make other stops.  Arthur said no.      
Needless to say, our experience with Green Van Lines to this point left us wondering if we were dealing with a legitimate moving company so we started reading more reviews.  As we read about more and more negative experiences with Green Van Lines, we decided we’d better make sure our belongings were unloaded successfully before giving them another $12,000.00 in cash. (Did I mention they only take cash?)  My husband emailed Arthur, explaining our concerns based on the 58% up charge and other issues we’d had during the packing and loading phase, and asked for confirmation that our belongings would be unloaded before we made final payment.  Arthur said no.  Arthur said Green Van Lines had to protect itself from dishonest clients who wouldn’t make full payment, and that we would be required to pay $12,000.00 in cash to have our belongings delivered….  We would just have to trust Green Van Lines to do right by us.      
My husband searched the internet and found an article that cited a law that required moving lines to release a client’s belongings for 10% above the original estimate.  My husband sent Arthur the link and offered to pay $5,000.00 when the truck arrived (bringing the total to $17,000.00 which was just over 10% above the original estimate) and the remaining $7000.00 upon completion.  Arthur said no. 
As the only concession Arthur would make to our concerns, we did get permission to board the truck and make sure all of our belongings were present.  Interestingly, while checking the truck to ensure our possessions were there, my husband noted that our belongings took up 2400 cubic feet, only 4000 more than the original bid rather than 12,000 to 14,000 more as Green Van Lines claimed.      
Concurrent to this, we received a call from the delivery guys – two Eastern European fellows who worked for Swift Moving Lines.  Yet another fraudulent claim by Arthur Fromin that their company owned all of the trucks that made deliveries.  The driver said that he expected us to contact a flatbed tow truck and have it at the house for them (Even though we’d been charged $500 already by Green Van Lines to do it)  I contacted Arthur and asked him to show me the language in the contract that required us to obtain the flatbed tow truck.  Arthur replied with an apology and said he would take care of it.  Unfortunately, given our previous experiences, the fact that I even had to contact him about it did not sit well with me.  I believed – and still believe – it would have been left for us to do if I hadn’t been assertive as there is no real Green Van Lines standard of monitoring the move… only a brokerage company that contracts out all of the pieces of the move, collects the money, and leaves the rest to chance.  Again, much different than how they advertise.      
The delivery part of the process was, in fact, the best run part of the operation.  They arrived early and stayed until everything was in the house and furniture re-assembled… except for instances where the packers put assembly pieces in boxes where they couldn’t be easily found.  I asked them if they used bio-diesel fuel, and they said no. (Another fraudulent claim on the part of Green Van Lines)  This was Swift Moving Lines.  I would recommend using Swift Moving Lines far and above over Green Van Lines.      
As we unpacked our belongings, it became clear how the packers made such good time – very few items were wrapped to protect against breakage.  Ceramics, blown glass pieces, wall art…  much of it put into boxes without any padding.  Several of my one-of-a-kind art pieces destroyed (but we didn’t purchase the very expensive insurance.  If only we’d known we were being packed by packers that didn’t care how the items   arrived…  possibly because they wouldn’t be there to answer for it.)  I found one silk wall hanging packed on its rod with garden tools.  They didn’t take the time to remove and fold it into a box.  To be fair, some items were well packed.  It seemed to depend totally on the individual packer – there was no company standard.      
After we had our belongings back in our possession, I emailed Arthur to remind him that I had taken copious notes and would be writing a review and making complaints to the appropriate agencies.  He left messages on our voicemail that he was surprised and baffled by our experience – that no one had ever had a bad word to say him before us.  I referred him to two review websites, yelp.com and reviewamover.com, to debunk that notion for him.  He asked what was required to make us satisfied customers, and I told him a $6000.00 refund would do it.  He said he would forward all of my information to his CEO and asked for 48 hours to make the situation “right”.  I gave him 24 hours.  I did receive an offer from the CEO, Guy Cohen, for $700.00 if we would not submit our review for others to read… which we found to be much too low to merit not placing a review, and now I am making it my “part time job” to make sure no else gets taken advantage of by Green Van Lines the way we were.      
Thank you for taking the time to read this.  Please share it if you know anyone who is looking for a moving company.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at ahnalira.koan@gmail.com      .

Service cost: $24000