Midwestern Van Lines

Gouged us for an extra 2,000 dollars on the way out the door after taking 10 hours to move our stuff out. The argument got really ugly and although I don't have a bad temper, I was absolutely furious with them from day one. After 6 weeks they finally called me one day, I was in California on business at the time and told me the stuff would be there the next day. So much for the 48 hour notice. Had to spend 1200 dollars on a flight to race home only to find 4 guys that looked in worse physical shape than me (I'm 60) moving my stuff in. Broken dishes, some very expensive, a broken mirror, movers were so out of shape one of them vomited. They told me that would assemble my beds and refused to do it after they were moved in. The movers were not employees of the company itself, they looked like homeless people. Terrible experience, will be getting my money back, you can count on that. Have the whole thing on video! A lot of stuff was left in the driveway.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8000

Bottom line up front, I was quoted $2400-2500 and billed $4905.58. Also, this company has the WORST customer service of any I have ever encountered and I have been relocating in the military for over 17 years with 11 moves to include overseas deployments. I contacted Midwestern Van Lines and promptly got a return phone call from Mr. Leonard Kennedy (Senior Moving Consultant) on July 17, 2018. I required a long distance move from WA to TX and was quoted approximately $2400-2500 for the move. My household goods (HHG) were in military Non-Temporary Storage and the Navy would not authorize a long-distance release from storage. 10 days later, I was able to get details for a release of my HHG by the Navy and received a new quote from Mr. Kennedy @leonard@midwesternvanlines.com that was also approximately $2400-2500 after my original quote had expired. At that date, I paid my $909.70 deposit.

I received an email with the quote that Mr. Kennedy initially made an error on the paperwork for my moving estimate #3793039 in the amount of $6772.01 (I have the exact amount because my email response was I do not agree to that amount and respectfully request an update). I cannot quote the exact amount of the corrected quote due to the link to my quote being disabled (states.. This job is booked! Contact Customer Service.) at this moment and I did not save it to my computer.

My original pick-up date was July 30, 2018 and I received a call from 720-408-1650 @7:13 pm the night before to confirm a pick-up at 1-3 pm. I also received a call from 786-345-7808 on July 30th @9:45 am to ensure me my pickup was today between 1-3 and to expect a call from my driver Carlos Hillan (253-961-9559). The driver arrived for pickup at 4:30 pm on the 30th but the pick-up docks were closed. They rescheduled my pick-up for August 1st and after the driver initially refused to drive to the pick-up docks stating the manager said she would not have the load ready when he arrives. Nine days passed after my HHG were picked up and I received a message from Adriana D (Billing Department Manager, 800-519-1130) stating I have a balance of $3995.88 and must pay 50% of that balance to schedule movement of my shipment.

I have called the following company numbers over 20 times with records and left messages at each number with zero answers of the phone and no call backs since July 30th until August 17th. Also, I have not heard back from my response to Ms. Adriana D regarding my bill amount.

786-345-7808
786-345-7804
720-439-6312
720-408-1650
800-519-1130
253-961-9559.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2400

DO NOT hire this fraudulent moving company! They took a large deposit from us to move our things, sent us an official looking contract, and never showed up. We've called nonstop for the last month and no one will answer our calls now! We had to rent two Uhaul trucks and move our belongings ourselves. I'm one of the "lucky" ones though. Many people I've been in touch with never received their belongings once these thieves drove off with it!! If they DO show up with your things, they charge you several thousand dollars more before they will unload it.. So they essentially hold it hostage! We thought we did our due diligence when checking out this company, but it turns out they have two BBB accounts..we only saw one of them. Never ever give your credit card information to a company that doesn't do a physical walk through of your home! Research how to determine if a moving company is fraudulent and you will quickly see that Midwestern Vanlines is not one of the good guys!!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4700

Never use this company, ever. So many issues with our whole moving process, moving from Minnesota to Alabama. The first estimate they gave us was around $1700 for our one bedroom apartment. When they arrived to pick up our stuff, they only gave one day’s notice instead of two days like they were supposed to, and they charged an extra $700 because they said we had a few more boxes than the estimate. They only wanted cash or money order, no personal check or credit card. I don’t know how many people have that much extra cash sitting around, or how we were supposed to get a money order if they’re going to randomly change the amount, so they accepted a credit card. We find out later that the card was declined, probably because the bank is not used to us charging that much. Note that we did not find this out through the moving company, we found out through the bank.

(Also, none of the insurance options or guaranteed delivery date options were explained to us, and the paperwork was literally taken from our hands before we could possibly have time to read all the tiny print.)

The contract says guaranteed delivery within 30 business days, so we just want a general expectation of how long it will take, because we are in Alabama now sleeping on the floor and have nothing to cook with and so on. So we call the company, sometimes multiple times a day, almost every day. And NO ONE ANSWERS THE PHONE. For two weeks. There was only one phone number where we could even leave a message; for all other phone numbers the voicemail was full. It took over another week for a manager to answer, only to tell us that they would contact our driver and call us back. They never called back and we were unable to reach them again. (I think this person’s name was Jennifer.) Over the course of this time we also tried to email. All of the emails except one went unanswered, and the one response we got over email just told us to call.

Finally the owner of the company calls and asks why we have not paid. It has now been over a month. We explain our issues and he apologizes for the inconvenience. Apparently they’d had a driver for us at one point but because the payment had not gone through, they’d canceled it. Without even trying to tell us. We provide a different credit card for the payment and it goes through. So 34 business days go by before our stuff is delivered, and again, we only get one day’s notice. We are told to expect our delivery between 8am-12pm the following day. It does not come until 12:30pm. You’d think with a four hour window that you created, you could be on time. The drivers initially brought us someone else’s contract and tried to charge us $75 for long carry before they realized they had the wrong paper. They bring the right paper, we get our stuff, they leave. And they leave their packaging supplies, a huge pile of tape, in the hallway outside our apartment.

Two of our boxes were squished, one was partially open, and one contained broken glass from our kitchenware. Our dresser has scratches and one of the knobs is bent, even though they wrapped it themselves with their own padding. That we paid for.

tldr; Never choose this moving company, it would almost certainly be easier to do it yourself. Perhaps it would be okay if you withdrew thousands of dollars in cash from the bank to be prepared for ridiculous random last minute upcharges. But there is NO EXCUSE for a company not answering their phones for OVER A MONTH.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $2400

I hired Midwestern Van Lines for a move from Washington to Florida - and it was a very bad experience.
The packers were nice enough - but towards the end of the job they started hiding things so they wouldn't have to pack them on the truck. This still surprises and angers me as I type it. I called them on it at one point when I noticed something I know was in the "to be loaded pile" was in the "stay pile." Then I found some other things that were hidden under what looked like trash - and I told them that those items needed to go on the truck. After they left, I found other items that they decided not to pack.
I paid EXTRA to make sure they took care of a specific antique barrister bookcase I wanted to arrive safely. Well, it arrived with a broken glass window. And the delivery guy left it on the front porch with glass all around. He made sure to tell me he didn't break it.
I called several times after arriving in Florida to inquire on when my items would arrive - and I even tried to track my shipment online - but no one ever called me back or responded. POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. No one even answers the phone.
The move took exactly 3 weeks.
When the driver arrived with my things - no one came to help him unload. He tried to unload everything himself! And he was in a huge hurry and did not put boxes in the proper rooms - and some things he didn't even unwrap and remove their moving blankets. I ended up helping him and doing more than I ever should have for the price I paid.
Many other items were also broken - and I can expect some glasses to break and other issues if I packed things poorly - but a large number of items were broken that just should not have been.
The driver also unloaded several items that were not mine - trying to leave them for me. There were no dividers between customers in the truck.
Choose a different company!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6320

Hired this company to move my household goods from Wisconsin to New Mexico, where I currently live. Goods were loaded on 17 May, with an earliest date of receiving those goods of 21 May, and a latest preferred delivery date of 01 June. I paid 25% of the estimate via credit card prior to the company scheduling a crew to pack and load my stuff. The day the crew arrived with the semi-trailer, I paid 50% of the revised cost via bank money order (they had underestimated the cubic footage of my goods), so the estimate was revised upwards. The crew emphasized that either cash or a postal money order would be acceptable payment methods on the receiving end, unless I wanted to pay an extra 5% with a credit card. On 18 May, prior to departing Wisconsin, I withdrew cash and had postal money orders made out for the remaining 25% balance, and brought those money orders with me to New Mexico, arriving on 20 May. On 22 May, I received an email from a company representative inviting me to use an online shipment tracking service. I went to their site, entered my data, and the online response was to wait 3 business days for someone in the operations department to respond with an update or status. On 01 June, I received an email from a representative of their business office stating that a driver had been assigned, and that I should be called within a few days to arrange the details of the delivers. I have not been able to get a live person to speak to when I call any of their contact numbers, either of the sales rep who took my credit card information, the customer service representative who did the final estimate via phone prior to load day, anyone in the operations department, or Adriana in the business office, who sent me the email on 01 June stating that a driver has been assigned and they should call within the next 2 business days. The online shipment tracker was used repeatedly during the month of June, and still no change since 01 June - a driver has been assigned.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

I would give Midwestern Van Lines ZERO stars if I could.. this is by far the WORST moving company I have ever experienced. We were moving across the country on a somewhat short notice, three weeks to be precise. Since my boyfriend was starting work right away in the new state and I would be unpacking the truck myself, we decided to not rent a U-Haul, but to hire Midwestern Van Lines because they move all your boxes into the truck, drive the truck, and unload the truck at your destination.. and the quote was great! Just over $2000 for a three bedroom house! The representative told is that they usually high-ball the quotes and that usually the final cost it lower. And since it would have been practically the same cost to rent a U-Haul after you factor in the gas prices, and it would have just been me loading and unloading, we figured we would rather spend the small amount of extra money and get the extra help for the men loading and unloading- plus then I wouldn’t have to drive the truck myself! They schedule an appointment to pick up, give you a ball park range of when they will be there (usually about 5 hour gap), and tell you to make sure your home- which is common sense. But after they didn’t show up to their appointment FIVE SEPARATE TIMES after I had been sitting there the 5+ hours waiting for them, I kind of lost my temper. I had called and called and called them, but they must have been out of the office that day. And they didn’t have an on call number or anything else to reach them on. I had a lot of last minute things I needed to do, and honestly friends I wanted to see before leaving which I didn’t get to do because I had to sit at home and wait for them.. then they didn’t even show up and wouldn’t call to let us know that they weren’t coming, so all that time was wasted. The last time I talked to them, they were supposed to show up on Thursday, and we were leaving Friday. No call, no show. Big surprise. We ended up leaving the next day anyway because my boyfriend needed to get there to start work Monday. We had to have someone else be at our house when they FINALLY showed up to make sure the stuff got picked up. We didn’t end up getting to deep clean all of our house before leaving (because it’s kind of hard to move around that many boxes and pick up dressers and couches and beds to vacuum..) and had to pay a cleaning company to go in and take care of it. And when Midwestern Van Lines finally did decide to show up, my friend who so kindly helped us out by being there while they picked up, they gave her the bill and it was DOUBLE what the quote was!! It was $4000!! Our invoice had EVERYTHING on it and was priced at just over $2000.. when they came to pick up, we left a few things behind such as our BBQ, washer and drier, a bed, and our microwave. So technically it should have been less.. this is a terrible company, and I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone. Please save your money and do some research on another company!
EDIT- my dad did call them and yell at them for messing everything up and not showing up umpteen times.. and they are giving us a “couple hundred dollar discount” so that’s great, $3800 instead of the quoted $2300 haha.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000

Please do not use this company. Randy Peterson was our "senior move consultant" and he was as bad as they come. Initially they were responsive and professional. Then when they came to load up and were 300CF over the quote and still had not loaded up many items we had to tell them to stop as it was an additional $1200 already. We called and emailed day after day trying to get help from them. Nothing. We had concerns, no one listened or cared. We were robbed, we were promised that they would take care of us and they didn't. Over charged, underestimated, broken items, and no communication at all. Read other reviews, please. The ones that give them good reviews I am highly suspect that they didn't write themselves. The ones that are bad are so bad that it can't possibly be that they are all wrong or just whining. We were taken advantage of and our only recourse is to beg you to not use this company. The worst experience I've ever had with a company and that is not an exaggeration in the least. Please share this and do not, no matter what they sell you, use this garbage excuse for a company.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5600

We have not received our items yet.. though they have had them for 3 weeks. They will not answer or return anyone calls. We had a death in the family and need to attend the funeral but have zero idea when our stuff will arrive and clearly need to be here for it. I've left messages about our situation with no response. At this point even if our items showed up plated in gold and with Adam Levine laying in my bed I would not reccomend them to anyone. Communication is huge. Simply answering questions would have me feeling so much more confident in them. But instead they pretend that answering machines are full or extensions no longer exist.. I have called the federal licensing department for movers and if they so much as miss the window of delivery by 30 minutes am reporting them for investigation.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000

This company has the WORST customer service!! Let's start out at the beginning, I spoke with my sales rep, he was very kind. He said they would price match another quote I had received. However, he did not price match, he simply removed things from my inventory list so my estimate would match the other quote I received, which was $2,800. When I noticed this, I reached out to my sales rep to get a more accurate quote to make sure this was still in my budget. He would not give me another quote, instead he kept insisting I wait and speak with Quality Assurance and they would give me a quote. I asked to speak with them prior to my 7 business days before my scheduled move so that I could get my deposit back if I realized it would be out of my budget. He just kept insisting that I would be called by them soon. They did not call me until 6 business days until my scheduled move, the estimate they gave me was very much so out of my budget, however, I would lose my deposit if I canceled. So I felt stuck with this company. I also, had reached out to my sales rep and QA to try and change my pickup date because my lease had to end sooner than I had planned. I was unable to change the date, they assured me that my pickup would be within my 3 day window which was June 14th-16th. I did not get my stuff picked up until the 17th, I had to pay an additional day of rent. When the moving company arrived the driver was on time, but the movers were 4 hours late and very unprofessional. The driver told me my stuff would be delivered in 3-7 days and I had double checked with him I could pay with cashier's check at the drop off, he told me yes. Once my stuff was picked up, I received no contact from the company except a link to "Track My Shipment" I received that link twice. Both times I filled out the form and received an email stating my stuff was still waiting to be loaded. I was very confused because my stuff was loaded on June 17th. I reached out to my sales rep and customer service multiple times and no one would get back with me or answer my question of when my stuff would be delivered. I then asked to speak with management I was told my 3 people they would pass along my information, I never received a phone call from management. I then get a phone call from a Michigan number on July 2nd around 5 pm, stating my stuff would be delivered on July 4th. I then had to figure out how to get a cashier's check on July 3rd when I still do not have a bank in Utah for the movers. The movers arrived about 7pm on July 4th. That is when we found out we could not pay cashiers check and there was no where we could get a money order at that time on a holiday. So they said they would come back the next morning after banks opened so we could get the correct form of payment. Only through this mishap did I receive management's phone number. I spoke to Jennifer in management on July 5th about 8 am. I was on the phone with her for 1.5 hours, she informed me she did not care what drivers have told me and that I spoke with multiple people and received multiple emails from the company with communications on the timeline for my delivery, which I had not. I asked her to forward me the emails she told me I received because she told me she was looking at them. However, she was unable to forward them to me. I also offered to fax over my phone records to show I did not receive a phone call from this company on the dates she says I did. She also charged my an extra $350 for "refusing delivery" on July 4th. I did not refuse delivery. I also am missing multiple pieces from my goods, and have severe damage on my washing machine, lamps, and dressers rendering them unusable. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6200