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

Worst moving experience ever. The transaction was smooth at first. However, I set the moving dateabout 6 weeks before our move. I received a call a few days prior to reconfirm the move date and estimated size. I had a backup day as well--the day prior to our move.

Two days before the move, they called and said they overbooked and could no longer guarantee the move days. I could accept a move the same day or nothing. Movers arrive late after getting lost. They then tried to add 40% (300 Cubic feet) more to the size of the move. I argued and called the main office. The foreman,without looking and our items again reduced his estimate by 100 cubic feet when he spoke to the main office. I have no problem if we have more items. Randomly stating our items are oversized (they aren't--we live in the city with smaller rooms) is wrong.

It's a bait and switch. Their estimates use a small size for the furniture and then the price changes when they arrive. They also tried to charge for items that were to be included for free--blankets, packing, etc. Luckily, it was in the contract.

Avoid. Avoid Avoid. They went from the lowest bid to the highest cost.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6000

Unfortunately, I'm seeing similar experiences to mine. I submitted an estimate of what I needed moved about 4 weeks out. The quote I received was $3500 which was the lowest by about $1k. Two days before my move date, they asked if they could move it up a day early, so I hustled to get all my stuff completely packed a day sooner. The movers came on site and started moving my stuff and helping me pack the the last little bit which was about the only good experience of the ordeal. They ended up loading more than I estimated, and it somehow turned into $3500 additional which I was told after my stuff was completely packed basically leaving me with a $7000 bill, twice the estimated cost. Didn't really have another option but to take it on the chin and pay. It feels like a scam that they can tack on double the estimate after you're completely packed with no time to have a contingency. I wish I had called the main office to fight this scam in the moment, but was so completely shocked, I didn't and now can just warn you about it.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7000

Overall our move was satisfactory as the crew Proud American hired were fast an efficient. The issue we have is that it took a bit over a month for our things to be delivered and some items were stolen. We were told it would be delivered 10-21 days after the initial pick up, but after Proud American said no it's actually 10-21 days after the first possible move. Be clear about delivery dates. A few items were stolen from one of our boxes. It looked like it had been reopened while in warehouse. The items were costume jewelry (rings, earrings, necklaces), an old Samsung phone, a bike headlight, and coins in a pouch and cup about $100 worth. As there is no in depth inventory made with Proud American, we cannot provide proof of items. The items stolen are also old, so any receipts would no longer be of existence. Be weary of hiring Proud American as you do not know which movers they will be subcontracting.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6000

When I first found out that I had a revocation coming up I do it every other person would probably do and went on the Internet. I spent hours and hours researching company and the company until finally landing on proud American Van Lines. I also got quotes from for five other companies and something was just off with those I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Proud American Van lines was extremely thorough and putting together my relocation package. I can confidently say that without working with them that I would’ve been another victim do you were moving scam. My sales coordinator Paul took a great length of time to make sure I felt comfortable every step of the way and even help point out things and other estimates I receive that other moving companies just breezed through. It wasn’t just him that made this move goes smoothly it was the other departments like quality insurance and a dispatch that was always available and this is what makes this company move up to its reputation. Please take your time when looking for a mover you don’t realize how easy it is to find yourself caught up in a very bad situation. I’ve had bad experiences in the past with movers so when I come here to document my experience it’s not only to inform but it’s to give praise where praise is due. They were not the cheapest company that I talked to but I was smart enough to realize what would have happened if I didn’t realize what it meant to be under quoted. My moving experience was terrific and it was largely in part to the company and all their time and energy they put into making sure my move went well. So thank you from me and my family and anyone else who is reading this I hope it helps you too.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7400

If proud Americans than is on your list of movers I would definitely recommend going forward with them. I originally had reserved the move with another company and two days before they were supposed to pick me up I received a phone call telling me they were no longer able to service my move. I reached out in a panic and contacted a few moving companies I found on move Buddha. I got quotes from four of them and Proud American Van Lines was the only company that took time to explain the details and I felt comfortable with. Moving this time of year can be very expensive and if I had a mover show up and start charging me more i would have lost my mind. They are genuine people who have an amazing knowledge of the industry and put together a move properly. It’s so obvious after talking with them and looking at some of the other quotes I had they were the clean cut best option. Thank you all for making arrangements in the last minute to have me picked up and having a storage option on top of it. They are every ounce of a real mover and will definitely use again if needed.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $14500

My family and I have moved around the world ~20 times so we've experienced numerous movers. Proud American Vanlines is the worst we've ever experienced. Sales guy was nice when he tried to get your money. Once we paid the 40% deposit, everything changed.

Issue #1 Five no-shows

* Paid on 6/4, scheduled for 6/19 move. No show.

* Rescheduled to 6/25. No show again.

* Rescheduled to 6/28 at 9am. No show.

* Rescheduled to 6/28 at 3pm. No show.

* Rescheduled to 7:30pm. No show.

* Then suddenly a random driver called and asked to move our stuff at 9pm in the evening. Seriously? There were furniture to pack. Even if we could move, the neighbors would surely complain. Who sends movers to pack up stuff and move at 9pm? And that's before the driver actually showed up. We turned it down because it was too late. There was no guarantee that the driver would actually show up at all.

Issue #2 Rude customer service reps who yelled at me

* When we called to get help (because of numerous no-shows), the customer service rep yelled at me. "If you're having issues with the move, why don't you call your move coordinator? It's not my problem" (hello? You're customer service agent? You work for the same company?)

* When we called to finally cancel the move (because we were fed up after five no-shows and surprised by their lack of professionalism), another "manager" at customer service hotline yelled at us again. He said "according to our policy, if we missed a window, then we're allowed to reschedule a second window." When I responded "ok but you've missed five windows." His response was "not according to my records. Go ahead and file BBB complaint. I don't care." When I asked him "do you refuse to refund?" He first went silent and then he hung up on me.

* When we called again to try and get refund of the 40% deposit, another (customer service rep agent #3 we dealt with) yelled at us again. Saying "Sure, you're one of those customers that chargeback. Go ahead." Hello? I have never received your actual service? She also hung up on me.

* When we called again to get to the fourth customer service rep agent, she threatened to invalidate my complaint "we're a moving broker. We are allowed to subcontract out to local movers. Go ahead add that to the court paper. Your claim will be invalidated."

Issue #3 Original sales rep disappeared

We called. We left voice mails. We sent emails. No response. It's like he completely disappeared off the face of earth

Issue #4 The quote we signed appeared to have disappeared

We were sent a link to review and sign the quote on 6/4 (before we made the payment). Throughout the no-shows and customer service reps yelling at us / hanging up on us debacle, the link no longer works. I'm not sure what the deal is. Is Proud American Vanlines trying to erase our sales records from their system? Luckily I made a copy of the original quote that we signed, as well as retained a payment record from my bank.

Issue #5 At this point, I just want my deposit back. It is thousands of dollars and we never received the service. Yet because I didn't pay via credit card, I am unable to easily handle the refund through credit card chargeback. This reminds me of why I didn't use credit card to pay in the first place? We did try. But for some reason, the credit card payment did not go through. In retrospect, I should've been more careful back then. Clearly we have no issue on credit limit. There might've been some issues with Proud American Vanlines' system that somehow made it very difficult to pay via credit card. We ended up making ACH transfer which now makes it very difficult to get back the funds.

In summary, if you have too much time in your hands, you would like to waste 10+ days waiting for a mover that would never come, despite 5 earnest attempts of you really trying to make it work... and if you want to experience the worst possible customer service in all of America... use Proud American Vanlines. Otherwise, run, do not walk. Run as soon as you can. Do not believe a word the sales person tells you. Because he or she will disappear once they got your money.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6398