International Van Lines

Made the move so much more stressful than it should have been. Charged over double what the quote was (booked through International Van Lines but they contract it out to a 3rd party who was terrible and rude) but once they have your non refundable deposit you are stuck with them and screwed. Had 3 pieces of large furniture broken and many small items broken as well as missing items. We also received 6 large boxes of someone else's stuff. Have not rec'd any insurance settlement and what they are supposed to pay was a joke anyway. To top it off they were extremely rude and threatening. Do yourself a favor and skip this company and a lot of headaches!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8000

I was willing to pay more for what I hoped would be a stress-free experience. Arthur, my point person, promised a smooth process. In the end, the movers broke 23 items, with a value of $3000. IVL wanted to refund only $200. The payment was a mess. And it took over 8 weeks to get a final invoice, and 4 weeks for the refund process to begin. I was told that I would have support throughout the process yet Arthur disappeared after the first payment went through. I have moved many times in my adult life. I understand that moving is stressful and that there may be a few items broken. This was just a pure disaster on all levels. It's too bad as the individuals at IVL generally seemed to be nice people. However, nice did not translate into a good or worthwhile experience in this case.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6400

IVL contracted with a local company, YRC to pick up my packages as I was moving to Europe. I had to leave my apartment on a Sunday, and the move was scheduled Friday.

When Friday rolls around, the shipper pushes the pickup window multiple times. On my final call to dispatch, it turns out the driver marked the pickup as complete and left for the day. YRC apparently does not do business over the weekend, dispatch had left, so I was left with a bunch of boxes that had to be moved by Sunday, but couldn't be moved until Monday. I immediately rescheduled for Monday.

When I attempted to call the rep handling my account, I called his office and personal line, and I also called IVLs customer service line. I received no answer, nor return call, in spite of leaving messages about my plight.

On Monday, YRC once again pushed the date to Tuesday, when they finally picked it up 4 full days late.

I took this to IVL and requested some compensation. They denied any responsibility, since all they had done was scheduled it - how could they have done anything wrong?! Their policy is not to provide any compensation for unforeseen delays. Just the foreseen delays, I guess.

I went back and forth about this with them, until they strong armed me, saying that I could either pay, or pick up or have some other shipper pick up my stuff from its locations 1000 miles away from its original location, and 10000 miles away from me.

So, since I paid full price for a discount rate service, I bring this to you - If you need to move internationally, look elsewhere.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1800

I recently used IVL to relocate from St. Louis to Boston. Their quotation was higher than others but since my company was reimbursing me the cost, I decided to use a higher rated company. The whole experience has not been positive after I paid the 25% deposit. My moving rep was slow to respond to questions and to my request for estimate updates. The subcontractors who came to actually perform the work did not do a good job. Many broken items after we unpacked and at times items were just jammed into the box. The auto carrier was a nightmare as well. Didn't show up on the date as promised so I had to leave my car with my friend. And then the car was delivered 2 days ahead the earliest delivery date (since we haven't arrived yet). This was a stressful experience and not worth the money we had paid for this service. I would NOT recommend IVL to anyone who is looking to move across the country.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $11100

I wish I could give this company 0 stars. My experience was a nightmare. I was quoted one price based on the amount and size of my items and then charged another (double!!!!) when the movers actually showed up.

One group of movers yelled at me upon arrival to the drop-off storage location and said he "refused to do the job" based on the location of the storage unit. Multiple items were also destroyed during the move.

Calls and emails went ignored by IVL for WEEKS even after being told a refund decision (in my favor) would be made quickly. I was then told to contact the carrier even though I had only ever spoken to people at IVL.

This was an absolute disaster from start to finish and I cannot emphasize enough that you should avoid this company at all costs.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9800

NEGATIVE STARS!!!! Worst experience with a moving company that we have ever had. READ all the poor reviews: I can attest that the reviewers are speaking honestly about their experience with IVL, because that was our experience as well. Once we signed the contract, we could not get a hold of ANYONE via phone or e-mail. They would not respond. They hired a sub-contractor to do the move, and it cost us $7,000 more than what was quoted. Pieces of furniture were destroyed in the move (a chair, and coffee table), and others seriously damaged - the worst being a quarter sized chunk of wood being gouged out of the top of my formal dining room table (mahogany) , dents, scratches and chips to master bedroom furniture (also mahogany), and the top of my dryer looks like someone danced on it, it's so dented. We were told that we could expect delivery on our items in a three day window, but the contracted moving service stated that they had 30 days to deliver our things so they could not guarantee the delivery window that IVL gave us. Fortunately we did get our things delivered only two days after the window of delivery we were originally given. I would NEVER recommend IVL - EVER!!!! The ONLY positive experience was with my car which we had them transport from Colorado to Alabama. We were able to communicate with that division by phone (they would actually pick up instead of the calls going to voice mail - or call back in a timely manner), and everything went smoothly. Overall, I highly suggest you go with another moving company as IVL was not worth the money they charged or the stress we incurred.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $19000

I wish I could give this company Negative Stars. From start to finish this move has been rife with incompetence, lies, misdirection, passing of buck, phone calls not returned, not even being able to get through when calling (EVERYTHING goes to a voicemail system to include customer support), biding estimate not even close to actual costs (mine went from approx $17k to $27K).

At the time I contracted with IVL, I had extensive and explicit discussions with Justin in regards to my delivery date expectation. I was told they do not guarantee dates but give a 3 day window. The contracted conversation with their booking specialist was that they would pick up my stuff on 25/26 May in Virginia to be delivered in Texas within the agreed upon window of 17-19 June. (22-24 days should be plenty or so one would think)

However a few minutes after the booking conversation, I received the contract by email and saw the 21 day standard language. I called the booking specialist back and I was assured that as with all contracts this was standard language that was printed on all contracts to safeguard for extenuating circumstances such as natural disaster, truck break-down/accidents etc. but was told the 3 day window (17-19 June) superseded that and I could disregard or so I thought

IVL would then go on to apparently subcontract with American Knights Van Lines, which I was never advised they would do. Had I know that, I would have NEVER contracted IVL. I went with IVL because they were very highly rated. This must be another industry where you can buy your rating.

Due to the horrendous customer service and blatant lies being told to me at every step of the way, I can say I have spoken to almost every level of management within the company only to get the same terrible treatment and for them to hide behind their lies. Their customer service has been completely inept at their job.

On the day of pack-out American Knights ( which is an absolutely HORRIBLE company ) showed up and my "binding estimate" increased by more than $10k and was told take it or leave it. They know you wont leave it because it most likely too late for you to re-contract with another carrier. So you're stuck and they know - scam artists). I was informed that they (American Knights) does not guarantee delivery dates and the dates I requested for delivery is what they refer to as "first date of availability". At NO TIME prior to 3/4 of my shipment already being loaded on their truck did they communicate that. The driver goes on to state that the "standard language" of 21 days from "1st date of availability" is what they WILL use and that nothing in the contact negotiation discussions will be honored and they WILL tell you to take it up with IVL. Which I did, only to be told they will "make every effort to deliver on your 1st date of availability. There is very little IVL will/can do and you will not be at the complete mercy of American Knights Van lines. [Just for clarity, for example, you ask for your stuff to be delivered 15 June, they can choose whenever the hell they want to deliver it between 15 June and 6 July. They hide behind this crap and must be the only industry that you pays tens of thousands of dollars to and they can do whatever the hell they want and show up whenever the hell they want.]

Then when you call (vecause they never call you), they will tell you, we will be there tomorrow between 10 and 11. Then 11 comes and goes, you call back only to be told, "oh the driver got mixed up, he wont be there until tomorrow". and so on and so on.

I cannot describe to you just what a nightmare this entire process has been. Do yourself a favor and DO NOT contract with IVL or America Knights.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $27000

International Van Lines (IVL) is NOT a moving company it registered as a broker on the Department of Transportation website (dot.gov). This means that the company will get a contract for your business and immediate sell it to another company.

IVL will obtain the sign contract, after receiving the contract and the large deposit. IVL’s concerns with you as a customer end. The company contracted by IVL increased the price by $1,200.00. Any concerns or question from the customer will NOT be addressed.

Worse than the increase in the “binding estimate”/contract quote, is the total lack of customer service. IVL has no process in place to address customer complaints or concerns, the company is slow responding to emails and returning phone calls. The arrogance of the employees is unbelievable, why should they care they have your money and your belongings.

Overall BEWARE, I would not recommend this company. Based solely on the lack of integrity in business practice, appearing as a mover when you are a broker and the poor customer service. If I could have rated the company a zero, I would have.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7302

We did virtual walkthroughs with four different moving companies and decided to go with the most expensive and the highest reviewed company (International Van Lines). They were scheduled to move us out of the house on a Sunday and guaranteed us they would arrive by no later than Monday morning. After Sunday and Monday morning passed we received no word from anyone in the company when and if they would still be arriving; finally, we received a call that night that they would be there Tuesday morning and that the delays were due to a truck axle breaking (although this was never communicated until now). Pressed for time due to the threat of not being able to close on our house, we took their word that they would be there on time and able to move us out before the closing process. Due to their lack of communication and transparency we were unable in such short notice to obtain the service of another moving company. Early Tuesday morning there was no sign of the movers showing up until we got a call closer to the afternoon letting us know they were on their way and there was traffic from another major city over an hour away holding them up. After a chronic lack of communication and every excuse in the book thrown at us, finally the movers arrived in the afternoon on Tuesday. The first thing they did when they came to the house was inform us that they typically receive a 5-10% cash tip, something we usually honor but have never been presented with in such a manner before. A few minutes later they informed us that instead of the $11,000 price that was given during the virtual walkthrough they later told us the price was now $20,000. We did not hide the amount of items we had, in fact we already personally moved 20% of our belongings and furniture. The manager had the gall to tell us this after being three days late and not contacting us appropriately putting us in a very awkward position with the closing and walkthrough of our house happening in mere hours. After a stressful afternoon we had to go to the bank in order to fulfill the new demands given to us. After all the delays, excuses, and utter lack of communication they had the gall to present us with this information as they were packing our belongings into the truck full well knowing we had no other option due to their lack of transparency. While the workers were very hard working, fast and efficient, at this point due to the delays they were not done in time for the closing and walkthrough and thousands of dollars was withheld by the buyers of our previous home while our property was still in the household with the movers, fortunately we were still able to close on the house. Further delays happened when some of the trucks left to go to other households to move and they were lost for hours trying to return back and find the location they were previously at that day. After everything was packed into the trucks and the movers left they informed us they would not personally be taking our property to our destination but we would maybe get it by Friday (three days later). When they left and we moved to a new location we were contacted by the owners of our previous home to tell us that the movers forgot to pack drawers and drawers of silverware and appliances that they were directly told multiple times to pack. Fortunately the new owners were understanding and a family member personally picked up these items and drove them tens of hours across the coast to our new residence. The movers also were not aware that we could understand the language they were communicating in, multiple times they were heard making disparaging comments towards us and scheming about getting us to sign a new contract as soon as possible. It has been twelve days and hundreds of phone calls to every number we had available with not a single return call, voicemail, or message to update us where our missing property is. Finally after the twelfth day we called the number for an estimation on a move and got to speak to a representative that was not only unprofessional and unable to explain what was happening, but hung up on us when we told us about our experience. The only information she was able to tell us is that the company was backed up and our belongings have not even left the state. At this point we are evaluating every option to proceed. But after dozens of cross country and international moves our family has experienced, we have never had an experience this terrible. This moving company as far as I can tell is not interested in giving reasonable expectations to customers or fulfilling their duty to deliver goods safely. We will never use this company again or recommend it to anyone we know that values transparent and realistic pricing, punctuality, basic professional behavior, packing and transporting your belongings on time, or the basic decency of communicating issues on the timeline of the move.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $20000

My experience here was very poor. Although it was limited to pre move communication. They never actually picked up my goods.

I contacted IVL based on their reputation for a cross country move. When it came time for the move date I was informed that I would be notified between 4pm - 7pm EST the day prior to confirm my move.

I received six calls from the mover between 1:47pm and 2:02pm. I responded within another 45 minutes to confirm the move at which point I was told that my move had been cancelled because I did not answer my phone in time...

I spent the rest of the day on the line with IVL asking them to line up a different driver, during which time their support staff laughed at my situation. They did in fact confirm the same driver for 3-6pm the following day, although he called to say he would be there at 8am. The driver I explicitly stated I would not work with after a heated conversation.

Following that they refused to refund my deposit and made false claims about particulars of our conversations, all of which are recorded.

I now need to find new movers, file a complaint with my credit card company, and possibly sue them.

Way to Go IVL.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6000

My comments are based on my current move situation. I am not sure how IVL made it on the list of best long-distance moving companies but they're far from it. They are quick to quote you a price (which will be far from what the guys loading up the truck will tell you after all your stuff is in their custody) and will not answer the phone, return your call, or respond to an email. None of them will. I've tried the three people that worked on my move and their customer service line. Regarding the price, the initial quote seems high but reasonable (I guess). When the guys are done loading your stuff, which is another company (Wayflowers Van Lines in my case) they will tell you that whomever quoted you that was wrong and that there are things they can't be stacked on top of each other; therefore, the cubic feet is more than what was quoted. Then you'll hear that if they cut down the cubic feet it will come out of their pocket. My initial quote was ~$5,100 and is now ~$9,300. I did add some stuff at the last minute but not $4,200 worth. No lie, I could have bought all new stuff for what they are charging me. Of course, I can't get anyone on the phone to discuss this or to give me an idea of when my stuff will arrive. I will say this, the guys from Wayflowers did an excellent job packing up the stuff. It took them a while but they did great work.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9300

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

We hired IVL for my move from Minnesota to California in August due to its good review. Big mistake!

- The movers came one day later than what's promised.

- I was charged $7000 more than the original quote (~100% more) on the day of moving, even though the list of items I provided was pretty accurate.

- Various miscellaneous charges: packing fees, material fee, stairs. I emailed IVL specifically about these fees before the move and I was told there was no such additional fees.

- Two missing boxes. One missing glass table top and a broken TV that I paid extra for IVL to do a special handling.

- A number of damaged items, scratches on furniture.

- Talked to both IVL and the actual carriers. Nobody was willing to take the responsibility.

Stop using IVL!

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

DO NOT USE INTERNATIONAL VAN LINES. We had an absolutely horrific experience with this company. They were great and easy to work with on the front end—that’s how they get you in. We used them to move our belongings across several states and also stored our belongings with them. We were moving during COVID and searching for a home was more difficult than anticipated so we ended up storing our things with them for 5 months. This was our primary mistake. DO NOT USE THEM FOR STORAGE. Once it was time to move, they gave us an insane time window (we gave a preferred date. They “tried” for that date but stated it could be up to 21 days after that!!!!). Our stuff arrived over a week after our preferred time even though I called and spoke to someone at the company who said they should be able to get it to us on our preferred date. My experience is that everyone at that company will say what you want to hear to get you off the phone.

When our stuff arrived is when the real problems began. Notably, several of our belongings were not on the truck, including our big screen television, a very expensive family heirloom rug, one of our dining chairs (can’t have a set with one missing), several of my son’s toys, our patio chairs, and a few other things I can’t even remember right now. Obviously we were very upset and worried our things had been stolen. Though they worked to return our things, their communication was abysmal. The moving coordinator, who was the only person I could get to respond to me, was horrifically rude to me on multiple occasions. He didn’t let me know what was happening (when stuff was arriving, what steps they were taking to retrieve our things) and other staff simply ignored me. I had multiple messages be ignored. When I escalated things to speak to their complaints department, they were initially great (as with all of my experiences with this horrible company), but then went on to ignore me and leave messages unanswered too. They did return our TV and rug (most important things to me), but naturally our television arrived broken. They hid behind procedures and red tape saying I signed such and such so they weren’t liable and “just fill out the claim paperwork.” So our TV was just broken and we were not reimbursed enough money to be able to replace it. They never found our dining chair (which makes our dining set now unusable so more $$$$) or patio furniture or some of my son’s toys. They claim to have gone to lengths to find these items, but only communicated the steps they took after I was so angry and upset about what was happening, it did not help to hear they had called customers on the route to see if they had my things. Why not tell me that you were doing this from the start? It would have helped my experience to know what they were doing to help, and I only learned what they were doing after I complained and harassed people to respond to me. It shouldn’t be this difficult to communicate with people.

I waited to complete my review until I was done with the claims process. I haven’t even mentioned all of the belongings they broke in the move. Needless to say, after we spent over 5 figures with this company, they reimbursed us $700. That won’t even replace the TV with a comparable one much less the dining set or fix any of the things that were broken (my grandmother’s China cabinet for one). The claims department attempted to be reasonable but they also dropped the ball in communication. Letting emails go unanswered, saying things would be complete the next day and then not responding for 11 days, etc. I felt like a piece of trash during all of my interactions with them. They do not care about their customers and just want to get your money and get rid of you. I cannot beg you enough DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. It was an incredibly awful experience. No one should cry because of how someone at a moving company speaks to them. No one.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $11000

We hired IVL based on their great reviews . They didn’t tell us they hired Road runner Transit (NJ) who has a terrible rating. Was over a day late without notice, not prepared to pack us even though we prepaid for packing. Damaged over 1/2 of the things they moved. Mixed up items that werent ours and refused to pick up these things without charging us because they said they didn't care, and doubled the original estimate with no explanation. IVL has ignored our request for explanation or reimbursement. The movers threw a fit when we tried to correct the way they were packing super fragile items, after we started assisting to wrap these items. Everything we packed arrived in piece except for the boxes they crushed. They even broke a piano which we paid a lot of money to move. We think they must have hired these guys off the street as they were clueless how to pack the many fragile items that were listed in the move list to start with. They made us sign documents before they left our house with no backup to the information including additional cost and then held our furnishings for ransom when we disputed the doubling of charges even though we had fewer items than originally listed. They dont return any calls and if a third party mover had not contacted us to say they had a piano left on their truck that wasn't part of their packing list.,(In a totally different city), our piano would have been lost. We were moving my 89 year old mom cross country which was very stressfull for all to begin with. She downsized a lot to make this move so to have the few things she did want to take to move into a 600 sq ft living space be destroyed is heartbreaking.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $11000

What began as an exciting and happy experience quickly turned into something awful. From the actual scheduling of loading the truck we should have seen the warning signs. This mover did come in with the lowest quote, and the assessor was friendly. However, they only contacted us at 6 pm the night before their scheduled arrive. It was then they informed us we needed $7000 up front to begin the move and personal checks were not accepted. We didn't have time to get to the bank ahead of their arrival. The truck they brought was not big enough for the job so they had to do the move over 2 days. The 1st day, they put a huge scratch in our dining room floor (which they denied saying it was there when they arrived), that would end up costing us $500 to fix. They overflowed our toilet in the downstairs bathroom and did not say anything. Simply shut the door, and left; as the dirty toilet water leaked through the ceiling onto the carpet in the basement of my newly sold home. This required more money as I had to have the carpet cleaned and disinfected to remove the smell.

While the movers that returned the next day were hard workers, they did not care much about my belongings. I watched as they banged things together, hit items off my walls (leaving marks), and showed more concern over finishing than being careful with my things.

When we requested our items to be delivered to our new home, we were told they had up to 21 days to deliver from our requested date; we waited 2 weeks in our new home without any of our belongings. The moving van showed up without movers. The original scheduled moving crew was a NO SHOW...so, the driver took to Facebook. They hired a rogue Facebook moving crew to unload the truck. While 3 of them unloaded the truck, 1 of them was walking through the house surveilling the situation. There were many items broken and significantly damaged, that cannot be replaced. My son's bed frame was destroyed. My grandmother's china closet (Bassett furniture) deeply and irreparably scratched in multiple places just to name a few items. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THEY STOLE $5000 cash FROM MY HOUSE. They rifled through our closets and drawers and stole my son's hard earned cash for college; including, money from my husband's wallet. We filed a police report and immediately called the IVL. The company informed us that since we cannot prove the amount of money taken, they would only return the money we had given the movers as a tip.

When they asked the driver about the incident, he LIED. He told them he had searched the guys before they left the premises and he knew they hadn't taken anything. They were long gone before we even realized anything was missing. I almost feel as though the driver was in on the whole thing.

We now are fearful that this group of guys may try to return to our house since they know everything we have in the house; after all, they unloaded all of our belongings off the truck.

I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY TO ANYONE. BUYER BEWARE!

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $20000

Five stars for being the worst moving company we could’ve used. I’ll have to come back and add to my review when I have the energy but I needed to just make note to hopefully help anyone looking into a moving company. This was our 3rd cross country move in the past 2 years and it has been absolutely horrific. Customer service, communication, cost of additional prices, quality of packing our items, and then offering unpacking service only to subcontract out the job to a company who didn’t do unpacking. This company is absolute dog shit and I would never even consider using them even if someone paid me to. If you value your belongings, sanity, and appreciate good communication, reliable customer service, and assurance that your stuff is well cared for .. do NOT hire IVL.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $25000

They are up front and friendly when you contact them. The estimate they gave was way under the actual cost. They "broker" out the move, if you are not in a state where they have trucks. The pickup was just ok, they showed up in a rental truck. It took almost four weeks to get our stuff. The cost was very high, too much for what we had. The communication from the company was not very good. Some of the boxes were damaged. When the items were delivered you could tell they just wanted to get their money and leave. Shop around, you can do much better!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $10300