International Van Lines

International Van Line review

I should have read the reviews. As most people have written so far, the process to schedule the move and evaluate the initial cost worked seamlessly: the videos of all rooms can be made quickly and upload in no time.

But the problems started when the movers arrived. First four (4) movers were supposed to show up. Only the driver was there. He went through the house and evaluated what we had as if he had not seen the videos or the list of all our items. He told us it could be a little more expensive at the end because people in the office did not have his experience. We understood and signed the document, feeling we had no choice – it was not explained to us before the truck arrived and we were ready to leave our home.

Then they started to pack our belongings… I should have paid attention to this part; I did not because I paid for it and assumed they would do a good job.

Because they were only 2 people, it took two days to pack and load the truck (the second day two more people showed up at different time). Once the truck was packed they charged almost 30% more than what was quoted. We felt trapped and robbed, without realistic recourse. After getting our money, they still ask for tips.. We had to clean the whole house for food bags and boxes, empty bottles, empty rolls of tapes, broken boxes… it took about 40 minutes to clean what other companies have done after finishing their work.

Before leaving, the driver told us that since it was a small move, it should arrived in 4 to 5 days.

Two weeks and a half later, after multiple emails and unanswered calls, we received a text that the truck would arrive at 6 PM! We pushed for the next day – after back and fro, they finally agreed. The local movers were nice but completely clueless because half of the boxes were unidentified or scribbled in Russian. My wife had to stay by the door, opening each box, and directed the best that she could where they were going because nothing was packed logically. For example, my computer monitor was in a large closet type box with cloths, toys, some folding tables and chairs; large boxes – again meant for clothes- have been filled with books. They arrived at 10 am and finished at 9:40 PM.

Around 10 to 15 % of our items have been damage, either by their incompetence in packing, by loading the truck, or while waiting in the staging area (which they told us multiple times while we signed up for their service our move would not stay in the staging area); many boxes have a been stained by a weird black liquid (we did not pack any liquid) or left in the rain somewhere, chairs stained, bed frame broken, frames bent, etc, etc. We took pictures, sent emails and calls to this unprofessional company, and so far nothing.

After death in the family, moving is supposedly the second most stressful time in a family’s life. International Van Line made EVERY aspect of the move worst than it could be. Please, please, avoid them.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $14000

International Van Lines severely damaged my couch, coffee table, piano, desk, dresser, bed and several other pieces of furniture. They ALSO scratched and gashed my floors and walls during the move to my new house by dragging heavy objects across the floor (rather than picking them up) and also banging my furniture into my newly painted walls, which left many scuffs, marks, and dings. I had the damage assessed by a repair company and they said it would cost several thousand dollars to address all of the property damage caused directly from International Van Lines. They refused to pay this amount despite the pictures I submitted as evidence for the claim. I am currently working with insurance to handle the rest of the claim for every damaged object... and the list is extensive.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $20000

Never, ever, ever, use IVL. This is the worst company I have ever worked with.

Starting from the beginning: the representative I spoke with during contracting significantly underestimated my belongings. I was quoted for a little over $8,000.

Second, my pack up and initial moving was outsourced to a third party company - Y & O Moving in the Bay Area. I knew this would be the case, but had assumed that I would at least get reputable movers. This was not the case. They did not come on the contracted day, and instead came a day late. They then failed to pack up half of my belongings, which I then I had pack myself to give to them. I watched them mis-handled my items, including denting multiple pieces of furniture, and damaging many other items. They then charged me an additional couple hundred dollars, which had not been explained, as the representative from IVL underquoted me.

My items were picked up on November 20th. I have gotten no communication when they will be delivered, except that it would be as late as January 3rd. I am currently sleeping on my floor with no way to cook, clean, or anything. I do not have the funds to buy all new items, nor would I want to as my belongings are being shipped. At this point I am considering flying back across the country to retrieve my own items, and drive them myself, as I cannot continue waiting with no updates.

The representative I am speaking to now is incredibly rude, and does not seem inclined to provide any sort of customer service other than telling me "I cannot tell you when your items will be delivered".

This is incredibly disappointing and unacceptable service. I would highly discourage anyone from ever using International Van Lines.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8000

I am shocked at the level of incompetence shown by this company. I went with them for my move from Chicago to NYC because they are highly rated online (by sites like Forbes). And they were the most expensive so I figured - they must know what they are doing. WRONG. Maybe they are fine for a simple residential move involving going from one suburb to another. Who knows. I can tell you they are awful when it comes to moving to and from a big city. As if they have never done it before. And I understand a big city move is a different kind of beast - but I specifically asked them about their experience with big city moves when I was trying to make my decision on what mover to hire and I was told they do it every day and have tons of experience. So that, In combination with their overall positive reviews, made me go with them.

My experience from the get go was awful. First I told them they needed to get a parking permit for Chicago. This comes from the city and would block the parking in front of my house on the day of the move so that no one can park there minus my movers. They told me the customer is responsible for that. Nope. Not in Chicago. You are not allowed to request that kind of parking permit as a regular resident - the moving company has to do it. It’s clear on the City’s website and I even called to check (and confirmed IVL had an account already with the city making this process even more easy). I told them that and then it was like - oh yeah, we reached out to our person in Chicago and you’re right. So they said they would handle it. 1 day before the move I get a call that the movers were coming the next day. “Where’s the parking permit?” I ask. After some back and forth they tell me they thought I was getting it and there had been a misunderstanding. WTF?! Luckily, I live on a pretty wide 1-way street in the city and I asked my neighbors if they would mind moving their cars for my movers. If I hadn’t had this particular situation, it could have been a nightmare. As you can see, things aren’t going well and we haven’t even made it out of Chicago.

Fast forward to 3 months later when I am ready to have my items delivered to me in NYC. I live in a midrise building in NYC. I was told I needed a certificate of insurance from the movers (a very, very common request). I told IVL about this a month in advance of the delivery. Considering how badly they mucked up the pick up I figured the more time I give them, the better. Here is how that whole process went:

1) month before first possible delivery date- I tell them I need a COI and provide the requirements (and that my building doesn’t allow weekend moves). I am told they noted both requirements.

2) week before - I ask them for an update on the COI since I have heard nothing. They ask me to send them the requirements again.

3) a few days before - I ask again. Nothing. I then get an email updating me my delivery is on the way. I tell them over phone and email I need the COI or no delivery can happen.

4) day before - mover calls me and tells me he can deliver as soon as Saturday. Remember that other requirement???? No weekend delivery. Guess no one told him. I tell him and I tell him I have no COI.

I know this is a godawful long review so I’ll try to wrap it up now. I literally asked for a COI at least 5x from different people. They literally kept asking me to send them the requirements as if they had never heard of it before. Not kidding. I was calling and emailing constantly over a 24-48 hour timeframe. I had to take on the job of coordinating with the delivery guy because no one was doing their job. I finally got that COI at 5:30pm on a Friday night. I had to beg my building manager to review it over the weekend so that the mover could come on Monday. Oh and there were all kinds of extra charges that the delivery guy charged me that was never mentioned up front.

It all ended up kind of okay in that I got my stuff and it was generally in okay condition.But the move only happened because I did their job for them. I paid them to coordinate this move and I did all the coordination. They are seriously the biggest bunch of incompetent people I’ve ever dealt with. And no one followed up ever to ask me how the move went, if the COI was ironed out, how my experience was, etc. I think it’s pretty obvious why this company doesn’t ask for reviews.

Moving is one of the most stressful things you can do. They made it 100x more stressful. I would never recommend this company to anyone - unless you enjoy stress, wasting your time saying the same thing over and over again to a brick wall, and calling and checking your email every 10 minutes praying for a helpful response.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

We made the mistake of trusting International Van Lines with our move from Illinois to California. There were many, many issues with customer service after they had our money, and careless movers did serious damage to our belongings. But, the biggest problem was that the final cost was 60% higher than the quote

The price of the move was raised by about 35% two days before our move, when we had no other choice but to move forward with it (our house had already sold and we needed to be in California for work). The cost was raised another 25% on moving day after our belongings were loaded onto the truck. They demanded payment by cash or check.

Beware International Van Lines.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $13000

BEWARE!!!!! Weststar Relocation via Allied International Van Lines will scam you! They (Rick Gray) will come into your home and will give you an estimate, then on the day of your move, Weststar Relocation will increase the amount by thousands and will refuse to move anything until you pay. They will damage your furniture, then Anthem (their claims management company) will go out of their way to make sure you are not reimbursed. Also, upon delivery, their driver, Azizbek Akhadov, shook me down for an additional $350 in cash to pay a 3rd party to move my furniture into my home. DO YOURSELF AND YOUR FINANCES A FAVOR AND LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR A MOVING COMPANY.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $13000