Sentry Van Lines

Stay away from this outfit.
They collected my administrative fee and then cha ching the extra costs started piling on.
"You didn't tell us the bed had a mattress and box spring, headboard and foot-board. Those are extra. Oh and by the way a "large box" is no longer 24 x 24 x24..its now 24 x 24 x18.
In summary once they collect their administrative fee you are pretty much on your own.
They sent me a "mover" called Mosley Van Lines, from NJ and the pain then reached full throttle. Mosley started jacking up the price before a single piece of furniture got loaded onto the truck. Even Mosley said not to hire Sentry.
In summary I lost approximately 1/4 of my furnishings due to neglect, damage, the mover forgetting items or having to forfeit items before seeing a fourth price increase while the mover threatened to cancel the move.
Sentry Van Lines who collected approx. $1800 in administrative fee did close to nothing to rectify the situation. In fact when I called Sentry the people who arranged the move: Michelle and Mr. Stipe were "unavailable" and instead I spoke to Tanya, who I would say was the nastiest most rude person that I have ever dealt with, although the mover from Mosley who arrived at my home in Florida demanding more cash is a close second.
If I could imagine what a moving company in Venezuela or North Korea might be like, I would imagine a broker like Sentry Van Lines and their mover Mosley. They are a disgrace;pitiful, incompetent, the worst nightmare I ever experienced.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8100

Sentry Van Lines and Mosley Van Lines.. match made in hell! DO NOT USE THEM. They will be calling you and give misleading information and false promises! Both companies are absolutely TERRIBLE. Unreliable and disrespectful. As soon as they receive the money, there is no one to talk to. Everyone is suddenly sick or unavailable. The way they treat customer is a crime. Their license should be suspended. The stuff they deliver is totally damaged and no one is taking responsibility for that. JUST NIGHTMARE. I am sad, that I can attach only 2 pictures.. This how my mattress was "professionally" packed and delivered. There is definitely more stuff to show..

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2800

I gave this company a little under 1000 USD as a deposit for my move. After reading reviews online, I decided to go with another company and therefore cancelled their services in writing. I got an email from them the day after my cancellation request stating I would get a full refund on the deposit. It has been a month and a half and I am still not being reimbursed. I have called them three times already and their answer is always the same: your refund has already been issued. The merchant (my bank) did not allow it to go through and we don't know why. We can't issue another refund. This will be solved, but it will take time. Just keep waiting until our billing department gets back to you. The customer service representative is unable to connect me with her manager or the actual billing department. Moreover, I just hung up with my credit card people and they said they would never allow for a refund to not go through. Sentry Van Lines are robbing me from close to a 1000 USD plus the interests accrued on the account due to their charges. Be ware of them!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $982

I was looking for a moving company and already had one I was going to work with for half the price of Sentry van lines, but I was going out of town and needed my things delivered within a specific time frame which they guaranteed me they could do. They said if you take off work Friday and let us pick up everything we can guarantee your still will be on the shipment out in 3 days and delivered next week. It’s not next week and they haven’t even shipped my things out yet. They lied to me. Not only that, they gave me an estimate of about 2k and then ended up charging an additional 1k on the day of. When they are trying to get your business they answer all your calls at any house, and then once they have it they completely ignore you and all of your calls. I’ve been calling nonstop for two days and only one lady continues to get back to me just to tell me sorry I don’t know where your stuff is. I’m begging you do not work with this company. They are LIARS. They charge for literally everything and you will end up paying significantly more on the day of than they originally tell you. Also your stuff will get there a month after they actually tell you it’s going to be there. I’m already screwed but I hope this atleast helps the rest of you.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2615

I originally contracted my move through Sentry Van Lines since their online reviews seemed to be good. I received a low estimate ($6323) and made a deposit of $2908 that would not be refundable for a year in the event that I changed my mind and went with another moving company. That detail should have raised a red flag right away. Two days before my move, Henry Stripe (“Quality” from Sentry Van Lines) called and conducted a much more detailed inventory, resulting in an updated estimate of $12,000+. An additional deposit of $2215 was required. I was assured that my moving expenses would not exceed this $12000+ amount and might even be less. What a joke! On the day of the move, “Morris” arrived, added an additional 1300 cubic feet to my bill of lading, and increased my moving cost to $18,4124. Morris demanded $7000 in cash “on the spot”. This final amount was based on a total of 3000 cubic feet of my possessions. At that point, I had no choice but to move forward with the move, as I had a flight booked, job interviews, etc. that could not be postponed.

Morris had rented a 26-foot box truck. That size truck holds only 1611 cubic feet (I googled it). The truck was filled, but a second truck was not required. Furthermore, when my possessions were delivered to a 10 x 30 x 10 storage space, the space was not filled (probably 2/3 filled, at best). If my possessions did indeed occupy 3000 cubic feet of space, why was the storage space not filled to the rafters? If my possessions did indeed occupy 3000 cubic feet of space, why was only one 26-foot box truck required for my possessions? To say that I have been overcharged is an understatement.

After I took delivery on my possessions, I found out that Sentry Van Lines was only the “broker” who secured my business, and that Leadership Logistics was the company that Sentry Van Lines hired to supply the movers to do the job. Morris, as an employee of Leadership Logistics, was the person who overcharged me. As I am sure you have guessed, Diana listened politely to my complaint and told me that Management would be contacting me soon about this issue. That was 10 days ago, and they still have not contacted me – no surprise there. I also corresponded with “Admin” at Sentry Van Lines, who was rude and insulting at first, but later offered to help me with my grievance against Leadership Logistics. It has been 48 hours, and I have not heard from him either.

For those of you out there who, like me, have been the victim of overcharging and deceptive business practices bordering on fraud, please submit consumer complaints to the following agencies:

• United States Department of Transportation
• Your State Department of Consumer Affairs
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• American Moving and Storage Association
• Better Business Bureau

In addition, please post negative consumer reviews on the following websites:
• Yelp (“Leadership Logistics”)
• QQmoving.com (“Leadership Logistics”)
• Leadershiplogisticsinc.com (“Leadership Logistics”)
• Sentry Van Lines (or the van lines company that you hired)
• MyMovingReviews.com

I would also encourage you to contact your local television stations and air your views with the consumer activist on staff. Let’s not allow these dishonest and unethical business practices to continue unchecked. Stand up and make some noise – if for no other reason than to warn other people to avoid these businesses.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $18414

We just landed in Boca Raton, Florida yesterday from Beverly Hills, California and we are officially settled into our new home. This whole moving cross country experience was exhausting from top to bottom, but our representative David made this experience 10x easier than expected. We received 3 total quotes and we chose Sentry Van Lines because of the thoroughness, accuracy and professionalism that was brought by David and his company. We are doing this review for you David because you deserve it Bud! Sentry Van Lines did everything as told to us and we received the experience as stated. I must thank customer service and dispatch for assisting us on every phone call as well. You guys did a tremendous job I wish I could tip your representative and team that we didn't meet. We couldn't of asked for a better experience and we thank you endlessly. You are getting all of my employees relocation packages David!! My family and I are thrilled to be in our new home to enjoy our new chapter in life. Thanks again Sentry! We appreciate our experience more than you know.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $14500

I would highly recommend! Being able to receive such services at such rates is not something that happens to everyone. Very few people get to experience such amazing relocation's. I happen to be among the few and I have Sentry Van Lines to thank for that. I believe in diligence and excellence. I believe in being given real value for money. That explains my keenness and necessary precautions when I was hiring out a relocation company. I needed everything to work my way and the only avenue for that was by hiring professionals. I went to Sentry Van Lines and they turned out to be the exact kind of people I needed.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7500

I was very skeptical at first, but I had no reason to be! These guys are amazing. They were punctual, polite, and extremely careful with all my stuff! Even with my antique items that meant the world to me. I was pleasantly surprised. I was nervous to move to another state halfway across the country nonetheless! But thank goodness this company made it a breeze for me! Seriously, they took all my stress, worries, and hassle away. I was free to concentrate on my job and my changing responsibilities. Even the customer service was phenomenal. I had no wait and a very sweet and polite agent who helped me with everything I needed and more. I had a lot of questions, but she answered them completely and sincerely. I recommend this company to anyone who is moving long distance. They’ll make it a breeze and stress free. I can’t say it enough. I had nothing to worry about with them!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

I'll keep this short and sweet. They are mover with pride, integrity and service to please the customer. I have yet to see or experience a company in any industry that is service based do the amazing things that they did to make sure we we're thrilled and completely satisfied with the moving process. I will most definitely recommend using them to all who are just fed up and finished searching for a legitimate moving company. Sentry van lines is the way to go!

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1677

I was not looking forward to moving out of my studio and figuring out how to get all of my stuff down to Florida.. But Sentry made it extremely easy for me! Setting it all up was user-friendly, their communication was great, and they took great care of my haul. I was really impressed at how seamless the process was, experiences I’ve had in the past with other companies were a nightmare in comparison. A big thank you to all, and especially to the crew who helped me with pickup! Highly recommend this service to anyone who needs reliable, quality moving assistance.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2177

Do not use this moving company! I can't stress enough. Their quotes are way underestimated the true cost. When they show up you will wind up being liable for four times the "binding quote". Then who knows when, or if, you will ever see your items again. If you're lucky you will, but they will hold it for ransom until you pay the huge bill way over the initial quote. You get what you pay for. Use United van lines. For one, it will cost you less, and you will know where your stuff is and receive it much sooner. I repeat use Sentry at your own peril. Call up United and sleep well knowing your good are safe and in ethical hands.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8500

Over the course of working with this company, the cost for services increased twice. I originally asked for a quote for 850 cubic feet of space. I was given that quote and asked to list a "few" of my items just to get the process started. I received a quote that wasn't the most expensive nor were they the cheapest. 2 days before the move I received a call from the "quality control" guy and after going through each piece, he quoted me $2k more than the original price. His reasoning was that there were only a few items listed on the original quote. After negotiations that was reduced to a $1k increase. This was still more than I was okay with, but given the move was 2 days away, I had no choice.

The movers called and told me they would arrive sometime between 10am and 4pm. They showed up at 3:35pm and didn't finished until almost 10pm. They guys were nice, but they immediately identified there wasn't an "elevator charge" on the contract and it would be a long distance carry. I disclosed the elevator charge and the distance to both Sentry representatives, but somehow that didn't make it to the contract. This cost me another $1k. Again, nothing to do at this point. We had to get our stuff moved and it was too late to find someone else.

I was quoted that it would probably take about 2 weeks to get it from Seattle to Austin. As we approached 2 weeks, the time frame grew to 3 weeks and then eventually to 4. Apparently there was a "delay" and then the driver took a wrong turn somewhere.

The day before delivery, the driver called asking if he could pull a semi into our neighborhood. I told him that the streets were fairly wide and as far as I could tell it wouldn't be a problem. The driver showed up the next day and pulled his truck under our tree that hangs over the street. He immediately jumped out of the truck and began telling my wife that we would be responsible for the damage to his truck. He was being aggressive and rude to the point where my wife no longer felt comfortable speaking with him. I went to speak with the driver and he did the same thing with me. It eventually took me getting aggressive with him before he backed down. He didn't seem to understand that it was his choice to drive the truck under a tree.

When we received our things, there was quite a bit of damage. Boxes clearly marked "fragile" had huge holes in the box, bookshelves were broken, metal bed frames were bent/scratched and we didn't receive a rather large box.

I give them 2 stars because we did receive most of our items and the movers that picked up our stuff were nice, but otherwise it was a pretty bad experience. When I would call to get an update on delivery, their customer service team was generally rude and uninterested in my concerns. I would not use this company again.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6000

I recently moved from FL to TN, it was a last minute move for my business, and this company helped me out so much, am not one to write reviews but I have to admit they made my life easier, Thank you Frank for your honesty. And thank you to the movers who took care of all my things. I got delivery 7 days after they picked me up like promised, and price only went up because I decided to pack some pictures, truly amazed to see there are still honest people in this world.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2177

I left one star because zero was not an option. These people are not mover, they are brokers. I hired them to move my college son across the country, they stood me up 12 times, blaming it on the carrier. This left my son in Seattle with nothing but an empty apt. while trying to start college, they could have cared less. Then they made unauthorized debits to my checking acct., claiming they had switched card vendors and it was a vendor error. They said it would take 7-14 business days to return my money and refused my phone calls. I had to file a fraud claim with the bank to get my money returned. STEER CLEAR OF THIS COMPANY.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $2400

We just landed in Boca Raton, Florida yesterday from Beverly Hills, California and we are officially settled into our new home. This whole moving cross country experience was exhausting from top to bottom, but our representative David made this experience 10x easier than expected. We received 3 total quotes and we chose Sentry Van Lines because of the thoroughness, accuracy and professionalism that was brought by David and his company. We are doing this review for you David because you deserve it Bud! Sentry Van Lines did everything as told to us and we received the experience as stated. I must thank customer service and dispatch for assisting us on every phone call as well. You guys did a tremendous job I wish I could tip your representative and team that we didn't meet. We couldn't of asked for a better experience and we thank you endlessly. You are getting all of my employees relocation packages David!! My family and I are thrilled to be in our new home to enjoy our new chapter in life. Thanks again Sentry! We appreciate our experience more than you know.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7000

If you are moving do not call Sentry Van Lines in Billings Montana. We had a binding contract (their wording, not mine) to move us from Texas to South Dakota. We paid them $927.00 down. And for that money they brokered our move to a moving company in Texas with an F rating. We were over 3 months without our furniture and belongings. When I reached out to them they blocked my number. I sent them a letter to the address on the billing invoice and it was returned undeliverable. I would give these people a double F rating.

Patricia Boren, Belle Fourche, South Dakota.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4151

One star is even too much. This is hands down the worst moving company I have ever worked with in my life. I have moved at least 7 times in the past 10 years and I have never been treated so poorly. They were terrible at communication, most of the time I had no idea what was going on with my move, regardless of how many times I reached out. Upon arrival - which was delayed without any notification, my belongings were beyond damaged. The movers were irresponsible and did not want to do the job and treated my belongings as if they were taking out the trash. My nice furniture was destroyed. I then had the miserable experience of working with the claims department, which the "underwriters" worked for months (4 to be exact) to disprove the damage, although it was done in plain sight, and they refused many of my claims. I would NEVER recommend this company to anyone, and I have sent an email to my company to ensure they never partner with them again. Their interactions with me along the way, were atrocious and they treated me as if I was the problem. Never once was I apologized for in regards to what I experienced. Matt Fisher was awful, rude and completely disrespectful. I never take the time to write reviews but I never want anyone to experience what I experienced.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6500