Proud American Vanlines

In my process of going online and looking for interstate moving companies I came across a company called proud American Van lines. I didn’t know much about them as I have never moved before I guess you could say I knew nothing about any moving company. The sales rep that took my car had been doing this for well over 10 years and he knew all the inns and outs of the business I instantly felt comfortable and exchanging my information with him. Based analysis experience he was able to tell me the best ways that I could save money as well as protecting myself in the event of an on for seen events. Amount of stress this company took off of us was without a doubt outstanding. The movers are very friendly and very mindful as they work their way through my home. Once on the road we were in constant contact with them and knew exactly when to expect them. The price we paid was less than we anticipated but at the same time moving is expensive so it’s important you make the right choice. I’m all about supporting America and any American bass company and most importantly I wanted a company that can speak to you like they were my friends and treated like family and that’s some thing either have or you don’t and they had it and as a result earn my business and another happy customer.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6500

I contacted three companies for a move and Proud American Van Lines gave me the lowest rate by a few hundred dollars. The initial salesman, Larry, made me feel comfortable. He was a little long-winded, but was reassuring and easy to talk to.

My main frustration with the move is a poor job of setting expectations and communicating. I was told that I should provide a two-day pick-up window and that 9-out-of-10 times, the first day is selected. I set a Fri-Sat window. On Tuesday I got a "quality assurance" call to confirm my inventory and was told on that call I would probably get my pick-up time on Wednesday, but maybe Thursday at the latest. We heard nothing on Wednesday or Thursday morning, so I called Thursday around midday and was told that I'll hear later the day because "we always schedule these after 3 p.m." Fine. We waited until around 5 p.m. and still heard nothing, so I called again, and was told our planner is finalizing the time and will call us back any minute. Finally, minutes before their office closed at 6 p.m., I got a call saying the pick-up will NOT be on Friday, it will be on Saturday, and they still don't know the time yet. Same drill on Friday, we waited all day and called a couple times and they never had an answer. Again, minutes before the office closed Friday, we got a call with our pick-up time for Saturday.

For delivery, we were told this would be a "3-to-10 day window, but should be much closer to that three-day range." I set my delivery window for Aug. 1 - 10. Again, we didn't hear anything from the company, so I had to be the one to call. I called Aug. 2 and was told by the rep that they don't have a time yet and she mentioned "my delivery window only opened yesterday," like it was ridiculous that I wanted an update at that point. Many times, including this one, the customer service rep sounded put out that we were calling asking for updates on pick-up/delivery. We did finally get our call late in the day Aug. 4 that the delivery would be Aug. 5. So that's five days into our window, which isn't terrible, but we were again hoping for something a little sooner given we were told it's usually within the first three days.

The movers themselves were good. The pick-up movers were very good (three people). The delivery movers were a little slower, possibly because it was only two of them, but they were fine.

We had one small duffel bag go missing that just had some medicine and toiletries in them. We also had a full-size mirror go missing. We filed a claim and are still waiting for a resolution. All in all, if we don't get a resolution on those items, at least they were smaller ones that we can live without--it's not like a nightmare situation.

So all in all, the movers were pretty good, we only have a couple minor items missing/damaged, but during a stressful period, our frustration was often intensified by a lack of proactive communication and poor setting of expectations. Maybe the timeframes are much more prompt and we were just an unfortunate case. But I would've felt much less stressed if the company set expectations better on timing and kept us in the loop more proactively.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4500

I know that Proud American is a broker, but I would expect them to help me through the claims process when their chosen carrier screws up.

Proud American set me up with Flash Moving and Storage out of Los Angeles. I was expecting delivery on April 2, 2021, but my stuff was actually delivered on April 19. That delay was obviously very disruptive, causing missed work and the additional expense necessary to effectively “camp” in our new house for nearly three weeks.

And once the delivery was made, I found that Flash Moving had broken or just flat-out lost a bunch of my stuff. Like furniture that just plain disappeared. Like a TV - that I was charged to “crate,” which turned out to mean “wrap in a moving blanket and tape up in a broken-down cardboard box” - that was dropped and crushed. Like a bookcase that completely exploded. Like some fancy enamelware pots that went “poof” along with most of our bakeware.

Proud American sent me the carrier’s claim form, which I dutifully completed -- in May. It’s now August, and I’ve gotten no response whatsoever to my claim. After multiple calls and emails, I got Proud American to send a single email to the carrier to jog them along. Still no response. And now, despite more calls and emails, Proud American has gone dark with no further follow up. And of course the carrier hasn’t followed up, and there’s no way to contact them since they don’t have a website and their phone/voicemail doesn’t work.

And while I know that Proud American is not the carrier, they are the ones who set this up and sold me on support and a seamless move. I would expect them to step up and help me resolve this instead of passively sitting back and blaming the carrier.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $25000

The quote we received from Proud American Vanlines, LLC was doubled once the team they booked from On Track Movers, LLC reached our apartment, including $1500 of added fees. Not enough materials were brought to support our move and the packing assistance we paid for up-front was virtually nonexistent. Our multiple outreach attempts were ignored until we escalated to the BBB (and all that got us was a claim form for the furniture they broke).

Proud American starts with long calls to inventory all your belongings and verifies everything again weeks later. We needed a full pack job for our apartment because we had a 4-week old baby. After requesting an overestimate to avoid any surprises the day-of, they quoted us over $9,000, paid with an initial deposit of 40% with the other 60% split between pick-up and drop-off. The agent spent a lot of time explaining why payment needed to be in irrevocable formats (not checks or credit cards) and that they would not be able to drop off our belongings until the money cleared from pick-up. We now have to assume that this was to make sure we would be helpless against the last-minute demands on us, once there was nowhere else to turn.

They were late with the insurance documentation standard for NYC moves which wound up requiring multiple revisions and the team did not arrive until 3/4 of the way through our two-day moving window. Upon arrival, the foreman told us that the quote we received would need to be doubled to over $17,000. We needed to vacate our apartment and no one at Proud American would answer our calls, so we maxed out our ATM limits to gather the new round of funds. We were charged $700 for a "long-walk" fee, even though they were able to secure parking directly across the street. We were also charged $300 for having an elevator—a fact that had been communicated in every conversation with Proud American. It was at this point we learned that Proud American had contracted our move out to On Track Movers, LLC.

Despite those multiple inventory calls, none of that information reached On Track Movers, LLC. For example, we have two bookcases listed under furniture—not a single book box was brought (the standard boxes they used all split due to the weight of books). By the end of the night, the team was wrapping plates in our trash bags. As we unpack, it's clear whole drawers were just thrown into boxes with no packing even attempted: computer monitors without any support in boxes with exercise equipment, a box of 150 colored pencils exploded and snapped many into pieces.

As they were unpacking, they told us of a previously uncommunicated policy that prevented them from reassembling our crib due to liability. It turns out that they had not followed our clear instructions on how to disassemble it, and also lost several pieces of necessary hardware—rendering the crib completely unusable. They were similarly negligent with our table and bed, leaving screws and pegs in the wood, allowing them to fall out in-transit or be snapped off in-socket. The pieces for the bed were put in a bucket and then a box, so they simply laid the platform on top of the frame and did not tell us that none of the hardware was currently holding it together. We only discovered this days after, when we unpacked that box and found all the bed's hardware.

Among the broken items were a TV stand with glass shelving that shattered in-transit. The crew kept insisting it was still functional, and had to be begged to take the broken glass away with them (again, we have a newborn). We are still finding chunks of glass embedded in the exteriors of boxes as we unpack.

Hardly any box after the first few could be called intentionally packed, and we do not understand how the quote we received could have been so different from the final amount. If we had rented a 26' moving truck for three days, hired six movers (we received only four) and paid them $50/hour, that would amount to only half of our first quote and a quarter of our final cost.

I will obviously not be using either company again, but I wanted to make people aware of how this company hooks leads and then abuses that trust when it comes to complete the agreed-on terms of a move. Do not trust your money with Proud American or your belongings with On Track Movers, LLC.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $17395

Unfortunately the day before the movers were supposed to arrive they called and told us they didn't have availability for us and weren't sure when they would. Since moving is a huge deal and there are a lot of moving pieces (leases ending, planes to catch, etc.), it wasn't going to work for us to wait around until they were ready to move us with less than 24 hours notice. They refused to refund our deposit (40% of total cost). Needless to say, I don't recommend.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4750

In a world of unreliable moving companies, we found Proud American to be very easy to communicate with and very reliable. We booked this company for a move from Richmond, VA to Philadelphia, PA. We actually did not wind up using them, but only because their booking process is so thorough, and they were so transparent and communicative with us that we discovered the time frame between pick-up and drop-off would not work for us. They refunded our deposit via bank transfer within 72 business hours, emailing and calling me with a confirmation number for the transfer. I really appreciated their honesty. We worked with Ross, and he was great.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

I was in a bind as the original company I hired was not able to service My move five days before I had to be out of my home. I had no idea what to do at this point, panic had set in. I called 15 companies and no one could help me. Finally found proud American and they saved the day. Their quote was spot on. Of course it was more expensive then the company that bailed on me, but my representative explained that was probably the reason I couldn't get picked up by them, my job wasn't priced correctly. I will say that I will forever be thankful to proud American for saving the day and providing excellent customer service!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $17000

I reached out for quotes from multiple long distance moving services, and many spent the call strictly selling the service to me. Catherin with Proud American Vanlines was more concerned with what would benefit me the most. We spoke briefly about how much stuff I would need to move and she immediately cut to the chase to let me know a rough price estimate and recommended that I would be better off buying new things. It was nice not having someone being pushy about making the sale and not caring about my needs and budget.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4500

Katherine was 100% honest with me from the jump. I’m moving my small studio apartment with barely any furniture. Instead of her trying to just set the move up, she gave me tips on how to cut my cost in HALF because she knew that it wasn’t beneficial for me to use a full moving service. And she proceeded to give me a recommendation to get my things across country at a much more budget friendly cost! Any other company would’ve quickly jumped at the opportunity to take my money, even though they know there’s better options out there and not offered a true word of advice. I recommend this company to anyone moving. Because if she was that transparent with me WITHOUT earning my business, imagine just how helpful and honest this company will be when your belongings and finances are involved. Very happy with the experience I had with this company, thanks Katherine!

Move size: Studio Service cost: $1000

I called Proud American to ask about moving a few family heirloom furniture pieces across the country. Katherine at Proud American was very helpful in helping me find the best and most affordable way to move my furniture, even though it turned out to be with a different moving company. I truly appreciated her honesty and transparency regarding the logistics surrounding my small move. I was very impressed by her knowledge, care and service. She truly went above and beyond the call. I will always check in with Proud American when I need to arrange moving services.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $1500

Im moving from CA to NY. I got an over estimated quote of 4500 for a fully furnished 2 bed that i technically dont even have. My family and I recieved a call less the 24 hours that the movers would be there by 7 am on a sunday (mind you i dont move until the 20th but that was whatever) I stayed up all night packing my whole apartment for the movers to walk in and say that the itinerary was wrong and then tried to say for an extra 250 csq id have to pay another 3k and thats WITH A DISCOUNT. I had to send them away because theres no way i can afford anymore then the price they already gave and now they are refusing to refund me my $2k deposit because its apparently my fault that the itinerary was wrong when Armando was the one who filled it out and said multiple times the price wasnt going to go up if anything it was going to go down. They are all a bunch of liars and scammers thank god i found a new moving company for the same price last minute. DO NOT USE and beware of Armando he seems very nice and easy to talk to but him along with evveryone else that works there is money scamming liars.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4531

I spoke with Tori twice and she absolutely not only saved us a ton of money she came up with alternate shipping methods and car transport that wasn't even on our radar. I can't stress enough that these are the kinds of people you want to do business with. I would recommend her to anyone seeking a quote and advice on how best to accomplish your move and help remove some stress from a stressful situation. She actually referred us to a company that specializes in smaller moves. I'm grateful I found her and Proud American.

Service cost: $1000

This is a broker, first of all. Focus on that and make sure that you're okay with that. They're a broker, and you don't know what moving company you'll get. It could be bad. For me, it was very bad: the moving company increased the estimate by double, and Proud American was totally unresponsive throughout the move. They then use CSI Pros to handle billing disputes, a company with all 1-star reviews on every site, and which tends to give zero dollars for any dispute.

Stay far away from Proud American Van Lines.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000