Sterling Van Lines

Refused to refund the difference between their quote and the excess charge, and did not pay for my mother's broken china. Guaranteed Quote was $506.25 vs charge of $703.13. Mother's broken china was 2 pieces valued at $97.00. Total they owe me is $255.00. When I called,creepy Steve wanted to come over to my house and "Inspect" but did not show up for the appointment. They guarantee their quotes and they have insurance to cover broken items. When I called him back, he was slimy and said that I was not trustworthy. I sent an invoice and no response. Never heard back.

Service cost: $703

I was very careful selecting a moving company this time after my disastrous relocation from LA to Virginia in 2010. I spent a few nights reading reviews, checking the BBB records and talking on the phone with various agents and representatives. I used two different web-based quick-quote brokers to get a feel of the prices. Finally, I selected Sterling Van Lines of Sterling, VA (not to be confused with their namesake in LA, CA), which was not associated with any of the internet brokers. And I did it right. Basically, there are rip-off companies out there, which would low-ball you on something like $75-80 per hour for a crew of three men on a local move, and give you a lot of trouble once the contract is signed, and there are well-reputed movers in the area (the Mighty Men, Georgetown, etc.) which will take $150/hour plus extra, but will do thier job honestly. Now Sterling Van Lines is an honest business with normal people doing their hard job right, but somewhat more affordable than the popular guys. My move was a short one, about 10 miles from McLean VA to Reston VA, with a pretty limited volume of household. We did practically all the packing with my wife ourselves. I called Steve Zupan and he came personally to give me a fairly accurate, written estimation with a "not to exceed" price. The moving crew worked fast, efficiently and were polite. They charged after unloading the last item, less than the upper estimate, and accepted a personal check without any problem. Generally, here is one positive experience in this murky and dangerous area.

Service cost: $591

DO NOT USE THEM.  Steve will come to your house and be friendly and seem likeable.  His moving crew put my things in a storage unit , then a month later moved the things directly to my new house.  They dented and scratched almost EVERY piece of furniture and broke my treadmill.  They came out and put stain on all of the scratches in a weak effort then told me that if I got the treadmill repaired and it could be attributed to the move, they would pay for the repair (not sure how that is a questions since it worked, was moved by them, then didn't work..).  The repairman noted it was damaged by jarring, now Steve is playing games with me.  He told me that if it was undetermined, he would pay for the part and I would pay for labor.  Now he claims he doesn't "remember" saying that.  I remember it precisely because I thought it was strange.  DONT LET HIS LOW PRICE TRICK YOU.  unless you don't care about your belongings.  Such a horrible experience.

Service cost: $1400