International Van Lines

I had a last-minute corporate relocation and called the company that moved me last year to find out they were out of business. My company selected International Van Lines based on their reputation. IVL handled my whole move, including packing, crating, and moving my two cars. My experience with IVL was the best out of the few moves I've done in the past. Moving is always stressful, but they managed to relieve a lot of my stress by doing what they sold me on. I was pleased with Justin my rep and would work with them again if needed.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6580

International Van Lines wasn't my first pick, mainly because their price was a few hundred more than competitors. After researching all three companies, I was speaking to, I decided on IVL. The other two were brokers with a horrible reputation, and I didn't want to deal with a broker. IVL came to my house in their truck and did an excellent job packing and loading. The whole process went pretty smooth minus a one day delay which was a non-issue. Their movers were super polite and worked their butts off to ensure my things were packed properly. All in all, I was delighted with the experience and would work with them again.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4852

**BEFORE YOU BOOK, PLEASE READ** The emotions I experienced throughout this process and after.. Anxiety, anger, fear, extreme stress, feeling that I have been cheated and stolen from. Have you ever been so angry and frustrated you wanted to cry..? I have not.. until this. I had no idea a business could ever bring this level of emotion out of me. This was a nightmare.

If there's any industry in major need of disruption, it's this one. I don't know how else to describe this business.. they act like gangsters who threaten to hold your stuff and.. oh my god, you must expect additional hidden fees. They give you a three week window to expect your things, a two-day arrival window as a "heads up" and a four hour window the day before.. not the day before they are scheduled, but the day before they show up. It's Monday.. the day they're scheduled to be here. I have taken off work. They call me on the day I'm expecting them to arrive to tell me they're actually coming Tuesday morning between 8am-12pm. It is such short notice and I have a doctor's appt in the morning that I cannot reschedule. It is necessary to get my prescription. I'm only able to do 9:30am-12pm. Tough luck! Absolutely will not reschedule. They charge me $150 for being unable to be there at 8AM. Alternatively, they'll either have to give you another two-day window where you need to be available at any time or they'll be charging me extra. They expect complete flexibility from you, but do not expect an ounce out of them.

Their idea of "customer service" is to reroute calls, put you on hold, direct you to voicemails that go unanswered. If you're persistent enough, you'll speak to someone in dispatch who will blame you, call you a liar, will essentially quiz you in expecting you to know the names of everyone you spoke with along the way and lastly.. nothing will be resolved or answered for and you'll likely be paying an extra fee. The employees here are professional finger-pointers who will shift blame to the next person and eventually they'll be combative with you. I am not an angry person, but I was pushed to actually loose my cool and I raised my voice. I was threatened by the delivery driver that he would "beat me up" (used other language) the next day when my delivery was to come if I raised my voice again. I said "did you just threaten me?," and he said "I don't make threats. This is a warning." At the end of this, I am so beat down and just ready for it to be over. I work around this person's schedule, I reschedule my much-needed doctor's appointment to meet him at 8AM. My plan was to get him in to start loading stuff and I would run to the bank to get cash while they were working. The bank didn't open until 9. After all of this, they refused to work until I had the cash.. so sat there for an hour.. and charged me $150 for not having the cash ready upon arrival. Talk about getting kicked while you're down.

Lastly, the hold you to the strictest level with every single thing on the contract.. THAT THEY DON'T ABIDE BY. I am supposed to get 24-hours notice before a delivery comes and that was most certainly not the case.

Go another route. They make moving -- an already stressful experience-- a gruesome one. Avoid, avoid, avoid at all costs.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3200

I read reviews for IVL and called them for a move from CA to Ohio. My friend is also moving so we are putting all our stuff on one truck to get a discount because it's going to the same place. I call these people and I talk to a guy who asks me to go through and tell him what I have to move. I say it's a 3,350 sq. ft. house..4 bedrooms plus an office. While on the call I go from room to room in my mind and make a list of what I have. I'm not thinking it's going to be a final list..just sort of an estimate type thing. So, he asks me how big the other house is that we're moving. Even though it's much smaller, I tell him just to double my house. He quotes me $8,700 for BOTH houses. I think that's a really good price and he sends me a contract. I'm still expecting someone to come out and actually take a more detailed inventory of both houses. In fact, he tells me that there should be a phone call and person to come out a week ahead of the move. Well, the day of the move, a truck pulls up that is half the size of a semi. I instantly say, "That truck is way too small!!" We have a conference call and they tell me that I signed off on the amount of 'stuff'. The mover guy showed me the contract.. for TWO houses that I said were 3,350 sq. ft. these idiots had put down a total of 30 boxes!! I had over 60 just with my kitchen stuff. The totally underestimated and then the mover head guy redoes the estimate and shows me a bill for over $28,000 for both houses!! That's $20,000 more than the original estimate. What can I do now? The workers are starting to wrap furniture and move boxes out. And now I have to wire another $5,000+ to the company or else I guess they just take off..who knows? So, my remaining balance is $14,500 which the mover guy says I pay when the furniture is delivered in Ohio. So, my friend and I take off driving to Ohio.. three days out, I get a call from these crooks saying I need to pay them half of the $14,500. I tell them I'm in Oklahoma and I can't do that. So, I got angry at the lady on the phone and just hung up. I'm in Memphis now and have no idea if and when my stuff will show up. I"m now going to call a lawyer when I get to Ohio and see what I can do. Also, they don't have their own trucks.. there were two different trucks over the two days..the small one and then a larger semi to pick up my friend's stuff. I guess they have to unload my stuff and reload it into the larger truck. This has been a nightmare. It's beyond ridiculous. I would have been better off to just sell my stuff and buy all new things once we got to Ohio. IVL may have some good reviews but this is beyond the worst scenario I could have ever imagined. They should have had someone come out to both our houses and look at everything and then give us an accurate estimate. Any lawyers out there want to look at this and tell me if I have a case?

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $24000

Our experience with International Van Lines was terrible. We moved from Georgia and Washington, D.C. IVL doesn't have a clue on what is involved when moving to a metro area, so the moving dates they offer cause additional stress. For example, in D.C. you need to post signs to block the parking in front of your house 3 days in advance. However, the planning is not the worst part of my experience. We had a driver who did not do anything other than sit in the truck. This caused conflict with the moving crew. The driver did not keep track of my boxes or fill out the sheet tracking everything made the move. He simply handed over the paperwork and told me everything was covered. We are now missing a box of expensive electronics. No one from IVL asked me how my move went or thank me for my business. I'm not sure how they generate all of the great reviews posted on line.. Very misleading. My experience with companies such as Mayflower was much better.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12500

We chose to go with IVL because of positive reviews in other places. We videoed our entire house, discussed with them, and got a *binding* estimate. Then, on the day of moving (in a snowstorm without much wiggle room on timing), the movers they contracted with to actually move us (a different company) told us it was going to be nearly $2,000 more than the estimate (about a 25% increase). We delayed by a couple hours to try to work with IVL's compliance team but ultimately had to get our stuff on the road. Despite their estimate being wrong, IVL has continued to say it was our fault - that we must have changed the inventory of what was to be moved. Of course, that wasn't true - we always planned to move our whole home. In addition, the team that moved us left trash everywhere in the house, left urine in the toilet (and the seat up), etc.

Such a disappointing experience that made a stressful situation (moving across the country) that much harder.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $10000

Lost my items that they packaged, they didn't send movers to unload my stuff at the delivery destination. Extremely rude and useless complains departm I contacted the International Van Lines for a quote. They quoted me $3300 for my move from Boston to Los Angeles. I asked them if they were a broker of if it is their own truck. The person assured me it is their own truck. They said I needed to make sure a large 18 wheeler can park in both pick up and delivery locations. They took 1/3 of the cost up front. On pick up day, some small truck from NY City Movers showed up. They told me the actually company brokered it to them. They did a relatively good job moving my boxes and packaging a couple of my furniture. One of these furniture was a TV cabinet with a built TV mount. They disassembled this and said they would put it back together at the delivery later. I was already unhappy that they showed in a small truck which means my stuff would later need to be unloaded and loaded into a bigger truck for the journey. That's double the stress on my boxes and also I can't see how they do this process whether they simply throw boxes from one truck to another or they give the same care as I watched them. After they loaded everything they said my estimate went up to $5200 and I need to pay half otherwise they can't move. That is a %40 increase. They said I can call the company and complain that the original estimate wasn't created properly. They didn't ask me the right questions to calculate the right cost. Here I feel like this was a bait. They gave me a low estimate so I would agree to their service then once they load everything they can force me for more money. The delivery truck arrived to Los Angeles at 5 Pm at night. No movers in sight. The truck driver started unloading the boxes. It was taking forever, I ended helping him. I would say I unloaded 1/3rd of the stuff myself. He took the payment upfront in cash otherwise he wouldn't unload. So I paid him. At the end, I noticed a part of my TV cabinet which they packed was missing and he didn't assemble it like it was promised. He told me to call the company. I called the company. They are incredibly difficult to get a hold of. I reached a person and they are super rude. They keep telling me they will pay me 60 cents for my claim. Then I said why don't you refund me the money I paid for you to pack my furniture which you lost half and didn't unpack like promised. They keep saying you get 60 cents. And they keep telling me to contact NY City movers which they handed my move to without asking me. I told them I called you for my business I should deal with you. No help. I called their complaint department. She defended the company and 60 cents for my loss. I said why am I calling NY City movers for my complain? I hired you to do my move. She hang up on my face. They should really call themselves gangster movers. If you aren't helping me with the %40 increase in cost and losing my stuff, at lease show some respect and be kind. They are rude. The attitude I got was like we got the money we don't need to talk to you anymore. You are lucky you got what you got. I should have rented a truck and move my stuff myself. I have been treated like this before ever in my life.Oh they also lost (probably stole) my xbox and other things.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5200

Hands down worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. I caught them in a lie about a “broken down truck” which wasn’t the actual case and once this was uncovered they didn’t respond to multiple emails or phones calls while they had all of our belongings on a truck somewhere and wouldn’t provide us any information. Truck was confirmed to arrive Monday and a one sentence email response said they were sorry they have been on the phone but it will be Wednesday or Thursday with no reason why. They rest on the “our contract says things can change and unfortunately they did” yet again no explanation. Just strange in 24 hours delivery shifted 3 days and not one person in customer service will respond and they lie to a paying customer. It is inherently clear they just want your money and hold your belongings hostage so you are put in a bad spot no matter what. They should be respectful they are carrying a full house of an individuals belonging and it is the right thing both legally and ethically to do to keep their customer updated on where their belongings are but instead they ignore multiple emails and phone calls. Our contact Jill B should be taken of out of her role seeing she is far from a customer service employee. Who knows when our stuff will arrive but I assure you if you want to be updated on your belongings, have a company that’s honest with you and reliable then choose someone else. No idea how they are ranked top 3 but their yelp rating is dead on!

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $25000

I moved from Austin, Texas to Atlanta, GA last month. As you can imagine it was stressful and daunting with COVID and other things going on. Mike J. Did a great job and had patients with us. Their movers provided full packing and there were no surprises. Everything was delivered within 5 days and without damage. I was very very pleased with IVL. I don’t normally leave reviews but felt obligated in this case. I would use them again and suggest them to anyone moving out of state.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6300

Working with IVL has definitively been the worst moving experience that I have endured. I would LOVE to give zero stars.

Moving across the country is stressful enough (especially with a toddler, during a pandemic, with a husband who is an essential worker, etc etc). Don't add additional stress to your move by hiring this company. You cannot trust what they say (if they happen to pick up the phone), they will bait and switch you on the pricing, and you will spend weeks of your life arguing with them over the semantics of their contract.

I found IVL through numerous sites that named them one of the best moving companies in the country for distance moves. In particular, they were lauded for price transparency. Perfect.

I hired them in early June for a late July move from San Francisco to New York City. I first spoke with [NAME EDIT] (sales guy), who answered all my questions and told me about the service. He was super helpful and nice, asked me to describe in detail what needed to be moved, and sent me a very detailed "binding" quote. I asked him numerous questions about delivery to ensure that our stuff would arrive on time. We were planning to spend 3 weeks with family on the way to NYC, and [NAME EDIT] assured me that should be PLENTY of time for our stuff to arrive. In fact, he said, they would have to put it in storage (free of charge!) because it will likely beat us to New York. To top things off, he gave me his cell phone number and encouraged me to call anytime, for anything. It was a fantastic sales experience, and I was excited to hire such a trustworthy company.. This was the only positive interaction I've had with IVL.

We were scheduled to move out of our SF place on July 11 at 9am ([NAME EDIT] assured me they would be there right at 9am). We had everything ready, sent our toddler to Grandma and Grampa's house for the weekend, and booked the loading dock. On the afternoon of July 10, a customer service rep called to say the movers would arrive between 2-4pm. She laughed when I said we had booked the 9am appointment more than a month prior, and said "Yeah..[NAME EDIT] likes to tell people that." We clearly didn't have a choice in the matter, so agreed.

On July 11, 2pm came, then 3pm, then 4pm.. No movers. We called every phone number we had, and no one answered. Finally, at 5pm, the movers called to say they were delayed (no kidding). They offered to reschedule for the following morning, and promised to arrive at 8am and give us a "significant discount" for the inconvenience. Fine.

On July 12, 8am came, then 9am, then 10am.. No movers. At nearly noon, they finally arrived. The guys who did the packing and loading seemed to do a great job. But after 7-8 hours of packing and getting everything into the loading dock, they told us that we weren't quoted correctly and we needed to sign a contract that we would pay 3x what we were quoted. After another hour, they agreed to weigh the truck and price it by weight. Fine.

Throughout all of this, I called the cell phone number that Mike Jacobs had given me, and no one answered. No one in the office answered their phones or responded to emails. We felt like we were being held hostage, with all our belongings on their truck and NO ONE telling us what was happening.

Finally, we get a new quote, based on weight. We agreed that it was fair - about 1.6x what we were quoted, with clear math to back it up. We are thinking now that we can just get our stuff delivered and move on from this.

Wrong!

We are now 3 days out from our move-in date (the one that [NAME EDIT] had said would be "no problem" because our truck would "likely beat you to NYC") and were just informed that our stuff has not even left the west coast. Once again, no one is answering their phones and no one is giving us any information. We have reached out to the complaints department, customer service, TO THE CEO, and literally every other phone number or email that we can find. No one seems to care. Frankly, I think this is a daily experience with this company's customers, and they do not care because they are still cashing checks.

I don't expect any of our stuff will arrive this week, let alone this month. Don't make the same mistake that we did. Do not hire this company.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

This company has horrible customer service. They will lie to you on the phone and tell you it will only take 3-7 days for your stuff to arrive. They will also lie about what day your stuff is being picked up and make you wait for 8 hours before they return any form of communication to tell you when delivery will actually be. They will then place your items in storage, and wait for the last possible moment before they deliver them. If you ask them for updates about when your stuff is arriving, they will ignore phone calls, emails, etc. They know that they have all the power and that there are no "guaranteed" delivery dates. So technically they could legally wait 6 months or 3 years to deliver your things and you would have no way to get them back. DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY EVER.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

This is the first time in my 42 years of life that I have ever written a review.. but I have gone through such a terrible experience with this company that cost us thousands that I wanted to take a minute to share this in hopes of helping another family avoid the same scenario I have been in. I did my research before moving from TX to CO. I did calls with 5 of the "top moving companies" and landed on this one based on the estimate and the delivery time. The estimate was based on going room to room through the house and the delivery was based on mileage. I have now been in CO for 2 weeks.. not only has the moving truck not left Texas (which I was originally told it would be here a week ago) but no one will tell me when it is coming. So I'm stuck paying a fortune for hotel rooms with no end in sight. Similarly, my original estimate and my final inventory was the difference of 30 boxes (which I realize is a decent amount) - but the sales guy apparently didn't ask enough questions about furniture sizing because there was no furniture that wasn't accounted for but my estimate went from $8,700 to just under $15,000 (told the night before the move). While the people here are friendly, the accuracy, the "sale", is so unbelievably inaccurate it is actually shocking. I advise you to NOT use this company (International Van Lines/American Knights Moving) unless time and money are not an object for you. Again, I'm not one to leave reviews (this is my first), but in all my years I've never had a worse experience with a company.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $15000

We hired IVL for our move from OH to NJ in July ‘20. It was a complete nightmare. I have listed my experience in detail below in various areas. Hoping it will help others to absolutely NOT hire them.

1. Firstly they tie up with another moving company American knights. This was never told to us at the time of estimate and paying the deposit. Only on the day of our move, we got to know about another company involved. This was painful coz we had to coordinate with 2 companies now for our move and issues and they both were passing the ball around and none of them taking responsibility.

2. Actual cost double the initial Estimate – They charged us almost double the initial estimate cost. The estimate quoted to us by IVL was incorrect and completely off mark.

On the day of loading of our stuff, once all the stuff was loaded They told us the amount of our move will be almost double the estimate. We were completely shocked. On highlighting the issue to IVL, we were given a cold reply from Account manager saying that they can unload the stuff if we don’t agree with the price. After pursuing with her and asking to speak to a senior manager we were connected with the Compliance manager. We were on the call with her for almost 2 hours. The issue was trying to coordinate between American knights and IVL for the increase in cost. IVL didn’t give us logical explanation to the increase in cost. IVL asked us to pay the higher amount on the condition that next week they will review the documents from American knights and provide a reconciliation of the increase in cost. And if the cost is unreasonable they will refund the extra charge to us. After all our stuff being loaded, and being on phone for 2-3 hours we were left with no option but to trust them and pay the higher amount.

It’s been 2 months for our Move now, and we are still waiting for that reconciliation for higher cost. We didn’t get any refund / adjustment in price.

3. No covid safety procedures - When asked about COVID procedures / impact during estimate process, we were told from IVL that company will be taking adequate safety procedures like wearing masks & gloves. However, none of the packers were wearing masks or gloves. This is so unsafe and highly unacceptable.

4. Poor Quality of packing, assembly, Re-assembly – Majority of the boxes were not labelled by the packers at all. This made it really challenging for us to identify the areas where they belonged to. There were multiple kitchen items which were broken and few items never came. They also misplaced the nails for the dining table due to which it could not be assembled. It was so risky the way they used some odd tools which they had and assembled it somehow. But it’s so shaky! Also, they just left the master mattress on the floor after assembling the bed. Just because I didn’t check the master bedroom, they just left without putting it on the bed.

4. Delay in receiving our stuff and lack of communication - Firstly, there was confusion on when the truck will arrive in Ohio for loading. I was communicated 2 dates by 2 different individuals until they spoke and came back with the correct date. This happened in the evening the day before the initial date of truck arrival.

Secondly, once the truck left from OH, there was nil communication from IVL on the estimate arrival of stuff. When I called on the expected delivery date, there was no clarity and no effort on the part of IVL to provide any clarity. Moreover, they just included American knights moving contacts to give an update. I had hired IVL and not American knights moving and expected updates from IVL. After a point it was me interacting with American knights with IVL nowhere in the picture. We were initially told from

American knights said that our stuff will reach in 3-4 days and it took almost 21 days!! But IVL didn’t take any responsibility and they said legally our stuff can take about 21 business days. This was horrible as we had to make arrangements for staying in a vacant house without any household items.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $11000

By far the worst moving company i've ever used in Twenty years. I move every three years and decided to use IVL for my cross country move and I really wish I didn't

This company is unethical with a serious lack of customer service. once you give them your deposit your S.O.L. the account manager will not return any calls. everything is through text messages. They price your move one way and then after loading you up they ask for another 1500 for a 2 bedroom apartment. I'm paying 7,300 for this move, treated horribly and cannot get an update on when my stuff will arrive. Even though they had it for a week. I cannot even make my payment as they promised even though I have written proof that they agreed to it. You only get run arounds if you do get ahold of someone. They don't update notes in your file so you have to keep having to relay the same info over and over.

Moving is stressful, especially for going cross country. I would highly recommend you stay away from IVL since they have no respect for there customers and only look to rip you off.

My move isn't even complete and I have no confidence this company can complete it without finding more ways to rack up costs.

It would be nice if IVL could do at least one thing they promised when they recieved my business but have serious doubts.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7300

Consumer beware. I paid over 10,000 for a small move (meaning only 2 bedrooms , 1 couch, chair and boxes so not a larger move). The quoted priced changed the day they loaded my items on the truck by 2000.00 yes I said 2000.00, they then charged a shuttle fee of over 1100.00 because they claim 18 wheeler couldn't get into my neighborhood even though the day they moved my items an 18 wheeler parked right next to their moving truck. They also lost around 6 boxes all kitchen boxes and my items were combined with other clients belongings during a pandemic. Please do your research and don't let the big name fool you. Route 66 movers was by far the best move that I have ever had and I have moved a lot. Please do not use IVL for anything. I also shipped a care withe them and that too was a nightmare. Do your research check with BBB and other consumer review areas and go with a smaller company that is reputable and actually cares about the client. Good luck with your move! Again never use IVL!!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12000

My move from California to Florida has been booked for over a month. On Friday, I received an email confirmation stating that the movers would arrive the following day between 10-2. I paid the city to block off street parking in front of my building to accommodate this. I arranged for my toddler and dog to be watched. Movers no-call-no-showed. I had to track down the local company IVL contracted and contact them because nobody from IVL would answer a phone. They say IVL booked the move for the NEXT day. I have a 6 day drive ahead of me with hotels booked along the way. Lost that money for the first night. IVL calls me at 5:15 saying something about a truck getting towed, my move will happen tomorrow. Official arrival window is now 1-3, but “is it okay if they arrive and get started early? 11 or 12?”

Guess what happened the next day. No movers, no update calls, all the numbers I have go straight to voicemail. I’m in actual legal jeopardy now because I have to be out of my apartment; there is a new tenant moving in in 2 days.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3800

We hired them to move from Michigan to California. We were provided minimal detail leading up to the day, when we were met with 2 men with a budget rental truck and a paper contract for us to fill out while they packed our stuff. When we finally received contact from the driver, days after we were told and with none of the requested contacts from the company, we were informed that they had our items on a full sized semi truck, and asked if they could park it at our new home. When we advised there was no space for such a large vehicle, we were suddenly told it would be another $800 for them to "shuttle" or items, which involved another rental truck. None of the provided paperwork mentioned such a charge, and they took most of the paperwork back after delivery, without providing us with our own copies. After delivery we noticed items were missing, and had been advised to contact the representative we had worked with previously. But after nearly two months and multiple calls to different people in the company we've had no contact, no explanation, nothing. I would recommend staying as far from this company as possible.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8035

I have had a nightmarish experience with International Van Lines.

On August 10, 2020, I contracted an international "door to door" move of all my family's belongings from California to Ecuador. Our property was loaded onto a shipping container by the moving company on September 10. As of December 15, 2020 we have not received our shipment, and IVL does not have an estimated delivery date and we received a fine from customs because IVL abandoned our importation process.

We have hired a lawyer and investigator and uncovered multiple errors during the importation and shipping process that have caused more than 70 days of delays and fees to third parties of over $150 per day. We have incurred more than $15000 in storage fees to date and will likely incur an additional $10000 in expenses to recover our property. International Van Lines has consistently obfuscated their errors including when they violated their agent's policies ordering the container shipped before receiving approval from their agents an Ecuadorian Customs, thus causing tens of thousands of dollars in additional damages to me, the customer.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $25000