Proud American Vanlines

We were moving furniture from a storage facility in Beaumont, CA to our Nephew's new home in Bauxite, AR. The salesman from Proud American told us initially the move would take between 5 to 14 days, and we negotiated a cost of $6,000. They contracted with MMG Moving LLC and our furniture was picked up on July 16, 2021. Because we indicated the furniture could not arrive before July 27th, that started a 31 business days clock to deliver the furniture to Arkansas. We drove from CA to AR on July 24th and waited for 3 weeks for the movers to arrive. We called at least once a week and were told by various dispatchers that the move would take 17 days, 30 consecutive days and finally 31 business days. We gave up and drove back to CA on July 13th. We kept calling dispatch and they kept telling us they were trying to find a tuck and would let us know as soon as they did. The movers finally called on September 1st and said they were loaded and would arrive on September 4th. So we drove back to AR and met the movers on the 4th. The movers were great and did a good job, only one item was damaged. Here is the kicker, the dispatcher called on the 6ht and said the movers were on their way and would arrive in a couple days. Excuse me, we already had the delivery 2 days prior, obviously the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Terrible customer service, do not use this company.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9494

Once you work with this company you can get a better idea why it was such a good experience and professional job. They take time to cater to the individual’s specific needs. They were informative and not pushy arrogant sales personnel. They were honest experienced people with knowledge about the moving process that helped me save a lot of money as well as avoid what could have been a very bad and potentially expensive other option. I have them absolutely all the information I possibly could to make sure my estimate would fall in line within a small amount of money because understandably it is an estimate. We took time to make sure the move went on without a flaw and it definitely did. I was skeptical as anyone else would be but Proud American Van Lines stepped up, did what they said they would and delivered on their word. Worth all of 5 stars.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8750

Proud American was the most service friendly company I have ever worked with. They made the process very simple for someone like myself who had no previous experience. They took time to talk about what items may help to cut cost as well as providing me honest inform regarding pickup and delivery. I was hoping to find a company like this and I finally did. I took time to compare all my quotes and they were by far my number 1. Down to earth good pricing and employees that work around the clock and always put the customer first. The movers were terrific and I can only hope going forward others have similar experiences. Happy I found them highly recommend them.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12000

In atime when it seems like everything is so complicated I found a mover that's made my life so much easier. I

spoke to a few other companies but not one of them was thorough and asked the questions they did.

They were always patient with me and someone was always available 7 days a week i was shocked.

When the movers arrived i had all my boxes packed ready to go as well as my glass items prepped just as my sales rep advised me to and as a result didnt have a single issue on move day. I just wanted to thann everyone who made this possible. Ill be happy to use them again if and when the situation should arise.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $10500

Smooth talking Larry quoted me a low ball amount after a full video review of my house contents. On moving day, three of the most disrespectful men showed up and doubled the quote (so smooth, rehearsed, and scripted). Between the three, one was using my bathroom every 15 minutes doing who knows what. Delivery was painstakingly long, 30+ days. My furniture actually sat in the truck 20 miles from my house because the driver didn't have anyone to help him unload. ?? STAY AWAY FROM THIS BROKER!!!!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $15000

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 was the absolute worst moving experience I’ve ever been through. This company took 3 months to deliver our items and lied countless times about the status of our delivery. I strongly suggest you look elsewhere for your moving needs. Our experience is outlined below.

When I hired Proud American Vanlines, I was assured they were NOT a brokerage and that they in fact were the moving company who would be transporting our items. That ended up not being the case. On the day of the move I was greeted by a completely different moving company. I was told the items could depart as soon as the following day. I made phone calls daily to check in on the progress of our delivery and I was told each time that we were slated to be the next departure and our items would be departing in a couple of days. Cut to almost 3 MONTHS LATER and our items had still not been delivered. I spent countless hours of my time on the phone with both the brokerage (Proud American Van Lines) and the movers (Flat Price Moving) trying to understand what was going on. I was constantly given the runaround. No one would give me a straight answer. Once our items seemed to have departed (not that I had any confidence this was actually true) I was contacted by a man who seemed very distraught and aggressive who explained that he didn’t work for the moving company, but that a friend had asked him to deliver our items to make some money on the side. I was extremely uncomfortable with the fact that this person didn’t even work for the company and was apparently handling our items. It turned out, in fact, that the brokerage put me in touch with the wrong person. So, I was again left wondering where our items were. We then waited another few days until being contacted by a new driver who informed us that we would need to pay for a smaller truck to shuttle our items onto the premises. This was going to be an additional $1400. We felt helpless and swindled. What other options did we have? We paid the additional amount and got our items delivered.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12000

We contracted with these brokers to move us from FL to RI. They are brokers and do not respond to calls or emails half the time. If you cancel they keep your money. Engaging this company cost me about $4K and they didn't do anything as we cancelled them before the move because we were suspicious of their non responsiveness. Buy a wheel barrow and move it yourself before using them you will be happier. We ended up with North American and they were fantastic. They even answered the phone when you called them! Be smart and heed the negative warning reviews...they are real!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9000

This was possibly the worst business transaction I’ve ever been involved with, moving or otherwise. I gave one star because the scale didn’t allow lower. A zero or negative rating would be justified. I came very close to taking legal action against the company. Had I known how close I would come to taking legal action against Proud American Vanlines (PAV), I would’ve documented better, but for the sake of a negative review, my recollections should suffice.

It started when I first submitted a request for bids online in late October 2021. PAV responded immediately (literally within minutes) via phone late at night, a sign that I initially interpreted positively to mean responsive customer service. We went through an EXHASTIVE inventory of everything in my studio apartment. I provided pictures of every room and every closet. Again, I interpreted this as a sign of diligence and thoroughness.
After a day or so of questions and answers and sending pictures, I received a quote, put down a 40% deposit, and was given a three day time window in which the move would occur. I was told that the movers would call a week before to confirm the inventory and then again three days before the actual move to confirm the exact time. When the one week window was broached, I called to inquire why I had not been contacted yet. Then I was informed that I would be called WITHIN one week of the move—not one week before—a potentially big difference. Then I was called not three days before the move, but the day before. I tried to tell the gentleman that I thought I would be given three days notice. He got curt with me and hung up. I called the number on the caller ID and got a voice mail in Spanish, which I don’t speak. I called PAV customer service to explain the situation and confirm the time, and then I scrambled to pack since I was initially expecting three days notice.

When the movers came (December 17, 2021), they informed me that the move would cost $2,000 more than initially quoted. Since I had exhaustively accounted for everything in my apartment, there shouldn’t have been any surprises about the final inventory. They even tried to tell me that my bookcases were “non-standard.” As a bibliophile with a 1,000+ book library who used to build bookcases with my grandpa, a master carpenter, I found that explanation preposterous. Regardless, I was on a timeline and didn’t have much choice but to pay. The movers were hurried and left a trail of furniture parts and other belongings in the hallway while they were moving. When I admonished them to be more careful, they didn’t speak English. They requested a tip and then sneered at what I gave them as insufficient. As we parted, I confirmed my cell phone, delivery destination, and final payment amount, $1260, which was different from the initial quote of $1278, but it was close and less, so I didn’t complain.

On December 23, 2021, I got a phone call followed by an email from PAV. They were urgently trying to contact me. I called them back and was informed that my belongings were “enroute,” a word that I’d hear a lot of in the coming weeks. Since PAV picked up my belongings the previous week, I expected it to be in transit by then, but didn’t understand the urgency in contacting me: We wanted to hurry up and tell you that we have nothing new to report!

When I finally arrived at my new place on the agreed upon move-in date, December 29, 2021, I contacted PAV to inquire as to where my belongings were. I was told that the truck was in Dallas and would arrive in the next few days. The following week, I called again. This time, the truck was “enroute” and would arrive in the next few days. Then, within an hour, the estimate was updated for the following week.
At some point during that exchange, the final quote changed back to the original quote, $1278. The differences between the first quote and the last weren’t material, but it showed that the “team” within PAV wasn’t diligent, or communicating, or both.

The end of the following week arrived and I again contacted PAV. They said that the truck was again delayed. I told them that I was at the end of my rope and laid some ground rules: My belongings would be delivered the following week. I’d give the movers a money order for $1,278—as per our agreement--and if there were any additional delays or charges, I’d call the sheriff, my attorney, the Better Business Bureau, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. PAV acknowledged that they understood and that there wouldn’t be any additional surprises.

The following week, PAV assigned someone to personally track my case. She informed me that the driver of the truck had Covid and that they were looking for an alternative driver. I was happy to be getting what seemed like timely, accurate information--for a change--and accepted the reason. A few days later I was told that my belongings would be delivered THAT DAY and that I was going to incur an additional charge because the driver wasn’t able to get in touch with me. Not only had I been assured that there would be ZERO additional surprises, but I’d RECONFIRMED my cell number when the movers picked up my belongings and I hadn’t been contacted on my cell phone, so he was clearly either incompetent or simply trying to extort more money out of me. I called PAV fuming and to its credit they took care of the issue and I didn’t incur any additional charges.

When the movers arrived, there were only two of them, a light crew for all my gym equipment and books. I helped them considerably, or else they might never have finished, and tipped them well. They had to carry several heavy boxes up a flight of stairs. The initial movers over-packed the boxes since there were no stairs in the first move and why should they care? It was going to be someone else’s problem at the final destination. Also, the movers didn’t reassemble my furniture, as promised. They were told that they weren’t informed that they’d be responsible for reassembly and they had another move to do. Why would they have been informed? There hadn’t been any effective teamwork or communication to this point; why did I expect anything to suddenly change?

To PAV’s credit, they negotiated with the movers to reimburse me $150 for their failure to reassemble my furniture. When I inspected my belongings, several items were damaged. When I went to reassemble my furniture, several parts were lost. On my wire shelves, fully one-quarter of the necessary plastic sheaves to secure the shelves were missing. One or two parts I could understand, but one-fourth of them? Also, they lost my ironing board.

In short, PAV failed to deliver on price, time, and service. They were three weeks late, endlessly surprising me along the way with false time estimates followed by surprise arrivals. They blindsided me with $2,000 in charges and tried to blindside me with more. Finally, they damaged several of my belongings, lost others, and failed to reassemble my furniture, as promised.

Not only do I not recommend PAV, I consider it a criminal enterprise that shouldn’t be allowed to exist. They give you a low ball estimate to secure your bid, then farm it out to the lowest-cost movers, who in turn try to extort more money out of you with surprise charges. Then on the back-end they over-promise with their delivery estimates and then get you your belongings just in time to not run afoul of the thirty-day Federally mandated arrival window. Then your stuff arrives with no warning, over-packed, damaged, and disassembled.

PAV doesn’t deserve your business. They don’t deserve to be in business.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $6000