Summit Van Lines

I provided Summit the actual weight from my move to Austin from Orlando for a return trip from Austin back to Orlando.  The items in the estimate didn't change.  The estimate was increased by 25% anyway.   At pickup I was given the choice of actual weight or the estimate provided.  I selected the acutal weight and was within 50 pounds of my estimate.   Summit wants to deny the latest agreement and still charge to highest price.   They have reneged on the agreement and are holding my furnture hostage for more money.  This is called extortion.   I am drafting a complaint to the Attorney General of Texas and Florida.  Not only is it poor business practice to provide grossly inflated estimates, but it is criminal to extort more money for a move.   I plan on having a sherriff available when the furniture is finally delivered. More to follow.

Service cost: $3000

I verified a pick up date for my move from Memphis to Charleston. 24 hours prior to my scheduled move date, I was told they could not come. I was told they may be able to come 24 hours after the agreed date. While this interfered with my move significantly, I understand things happen. The day of the second scheduled move date, they were an hour late. I was told they would come in, look at my belongings, and give me an exact price. Everything was packed and out in the open. He looked around, gave me a price, and a contract was signed. He also took half of my payment via credit card. I was previously told the average move time was 2-4 hours. Almost 8 hours later, the movers stopped. They told me they needed more money. They underestimed the amount of stuff I had and how much room it would take in the truck. I told him we have a signed contract stating the price and he could not make me pay more. He called his boss, who verified they needed more money. He then asked to speak to me on the movers cell phone. He was rude and pushy. He said he would have his men unload my things and leave them in the street if I did not give him more money. At this point I was in tears. My apartment lease was up, I had no where to go, and I could not move all of my stuff alone. I called the police, to ask if they could do anything. 3 officers showed up, and the movers agreed to continue moving my things. However, he said it was only because he was so tired. His boss still wanted him to unload my things. He also told me he had no more room in his truck and he could not take the remainder of my things. I was then forced to load my car alone. After it was packed full, I had to throw out the remainder of my belongings because I had no more room. This included an old record player. The next day, I was driving back to SC when I was called by the mover. He said he had to deliver Sunday. I stated on my contract the only day they could not deliver was Sunday, due to restrictions of my new townhome community. He said it would be a "very big problem" if I was not available on Sunday. My parents dropped everything and begged the complex to give them the keys so I could move in Sunday. My dad drove across town and the townhome community stayed late to give my dad the keys. 1 hour prior to scheduled delivery, the driver calls and says he is in Alabama and will not be delivering today. I told him he had to have known this yesterday. He was either driving to Sc, or he wasn't. He then yelled and hung up the phone on me. A few days later, my things were delivered. There were dents in every piece of wood furniture I own, and the fragile boxes were thrown about and stacked without care. This was the most stressful moving experience I could have imagined. Please do no use this company. I truly think it is a scam.

Service cost: $1555

I wouldn't recommend this company to anyone, they changed the conditions at the last time on the pickup moment (one man less to do the job but keeping the same time estimate) without telling me and that make them to expend additional hours to do the moving and they charge you by the hour (or fraction even).
 
After talking with two supervisors the only answer that I got is that the rates had changed and there is nothing they can do about it.
 
When I first complain about the changes during the pickup moment, the lady on customer support pressured me and told me that while the guys were sitted they will count as part of the moving time and that I'll be overcharge for that also.
 
They also said that they were going to wrap all my furniture which they didn't and now I have to deal with a different company to make the claim for all the wood furniture that have scratches and dents, one of them even was dropped through the stairs and is badly damaged.
 
If you care about all that you have invested in your house don't use this company, they are not trustworthy nor professional as they call themselves.

Service cost: $800

Dishonest, worst customer service..This is a fraud and a scam company. They will demand for more money to deliver your stuff.. Once you decide and make the move with summit van lines, they will never respond to your email's and or phone call's. The customer service representative are rough's to deal with. The sales people will be good to talk but once to decided and move with summit van lines your problems begin and you have to deal with dispatch, customer service representative's and the driver. This is a fraud and scam company, please beware worst company to go with for moving your stuff and the customer service is horrible. They are completely disorganized and no proper channel for communication between dispatch, customer service, sale's representative's and the driver.

Service cost: $1580

The initial move estimate provided by Summit Van Lines for our cross country move (NJ to AZ) was $3,750, including packing.  They were scheduled to arrive on Friday, March 9, 2012.  On Thursday, March 8, they called asking if they could arrive in the next 2 hours, which was extremely inconvenient since I was trying to do much of the packing myself and also had to clean our house.  Two movers arrived later that day with their truck.  Everything was fine until they decided to call it a night around 10 p.m.  They left the house to go sleep in their truck that was parked on the street and I proceed to vacuum.  About 20 minutes later, one of the movers called my cell phone and asked me to come downstairs as he had a favor to ask.  He and his colleague then asked if they could borrow my car to go get some dinner.  This was completely unprofessional and I felt like they were taking advantage of me (how could I say no when they had all of my belongings in their truck & under their care?!).  My car was returned unharmed, but I felt incredibly uncomfortable and had to wait up 30 minutes until they returned.  The next morning they resumed their packing and I discovered they had missed packing the basement and garage.  When I pointed these rooms out to them, they went ahead and packed them, but rushed through it carelessly.  Liquids (like car cleaning substances) were packed with valuables that could be stained.  Once they had finished packing, they explained to me that, based on the volume of our belongings in their truck, they would likely charge me so much money if they bothered to weight the truck, that it would be in my best interest to settle the account at $7,700 and let them skip the weighing (this was in their best interest, according to them, because it would save them a couple hours required to drive to the weigh station and conduct the weighing).  We had had other movers conduct in home moving estimates that included "not to exceed" price caps, so I knew the $7,700 was well over the highest cap we'd received (which had been $6,000).  I'm certain they were trying to take advantage of me again.  I haggled with them and we settled at $5,500, in the range of the other quotes we'd received.  I was frustrated by the whole experience at this point and was only further shocked when the 2 movers who had borrowed my car and then tried to scam me unabashedly asked if I was going to tip them!  Again, I felt I had no choice but to comply, despite the fact that I didn't think they deserved any tip at all because my experience had been so awful.Things didn't get better in the month that followed.  First, it took a full month for our things to arrive.  Second, Summit never contacted us with any sort of update and the two times that I called to get a delivery ETA, they were completely unhelpful.  I initially called Summit on March 19 since we hadn't heard anything.  At that point, the customer service representative could only tell me that our things would arrive within the next 14 business days of the pick up date (March 9), they could not tell me whether our things were still in their storage facility or were already in transit.  I called again at the end of March, since Summit still had not contacted us, and they could provide no more information than reiterating that our things would arrive within 14 business days of the pick up date.  I called Summit once more, the week on March 30, since the 14 business day mark would be the end of that week.  Again, no information and the customer service representative only told me that he would escalate the case with his manager.  I asked him to have his manager call me directly, which, of course, did not happen.  Summit did finally contact us on April 3 to tell us that the truck with our things would arrive the next day.  I thought this was also poor customer service--they only provided 1 day of notice that one of us had to be at the house in the middle of the day to receive our things!

Service cost: $5500

I was told that my move will cost 1500 regardless of weight if I don't add any additional items. But once they loaded everything he said that it will be by weight, wich came to 2100. They charged me for disabling my furniture and they used boxes for furniture which I was charged 400  for although I was told that they will assemble furniture free of charge. They got involved third party and whenever I tried to call them to solve my issues they would tell me to call the third party and solve it with them.  If you want peace of mind never do business with them. This is the most dishonest company I every had to deal with.  Upon delivery they will first collect the money in cash then they will allow you to inspect your belonging, if there is any damage then you have to call and call and call. With no result.

Service cost: $2500

I would suggst you do not use Summit Van Lines if you have real interest in knowing what it will cost you, or even close to that, before hand.  I did the most thorough job I could in that regard given there was no on-site estimator in this area that could come and look at the job first.  I gave a very detailed inventory to Yousel and was told that in doing so I could get a "Binding" cost of services, and not just an "estimate".  Well, there is nothing binding about a "Binding" cost of services as I found out later.  The binding cost was $2600 for about 5200 lbs of items for movement from North Carolina to Colorado.  My inventory list had 127 items on it, to include an accurate couunt of all boxes by size so that Summit could more closely estimate the weight.  I really felt that if they knew what they were doing, they should be relatively close in estimating with a very detailed and accuract inventory count.  I was told that as well by Summit.  After all, this is their business.  WRONG.  The loaders showed up in a 28 foot Ryder rental truck, proceeded to fill it approximately half full, and inform me that I had 1000 cubic feet of goods and the revised cost would be $4700 (which included a $350 charge for having to use a shuttle truck since semi's are not allowed in the development - this was not discussed prior or included in the original estimate by the way so please take note).  Only a mere $2000 off of the original "binding" cost of services.  I was told in response after I expressed my extreme displeasure that, "but you actually had 150 items in your inventory, not 127 so that could account for some of the difference" - REALLY, are you serious with that argument?  My inventory count went to 150 from 127 largely because they break the beds down and tag each indivudal  piece as an inventory item (headboard, footboard, side rail, side rail, supports, box spring, mattress) so while on my "binding" cost of services my inventory shows 2 beds, the number of inventory items for the 2 beds is actually 16 or 18 items on the inventory assembled during loading.  So much for that logic.  Anyway, long story short, I told the loader to go weigh it and I am waiting to hear what that will be.  I would describe this as either intentional bait and switch, or really, really poor at estimating.  I am expecting the next problem, aside from this cost difference, will be failure of the goods to arrive in Colorado in "very likely 6 to 8 days" as I had been assurred on several contacts with customer service.  I guess you do get what you pay for and I should know better, Summit was far more reasonable in the estimated cost to move these goods than other companies I checked into and that should have been my first clue that it was not what it appeared.  At $4600 I could have used for not that much more several companies that would have taken the goods right from loading to the destination, then at least I could be sure I get them timely.  In this case who knows and I am likely looking a $2000 more than expected in costs. In fairness, the loaders were very professional, polite and efficient.   Good guys.  Too bad they work for this company and are left to deliver the "bad news" to the customer like this while those in customer service make everything sound rosey right up until the move!! My advice - if you are going to use Summit, only do so if there is an on-site estimator in your area who can come to your location and give you a good estimate (I hope).  I would not do this otherwise unless you like to roll the dice.  And, don't waste your time on the "Binding"cost of services - that is a marketing ploy that is spun to make you feel better about how closely your actual costs will match with the estimate, there is nothing 'binding' about it.

Service cost: $4700

Both drivers (pick-up and delivery were 2 different people) were straight to the point (no nonsense type of guys) when answering any questions that I had. I am unsure if I was overcharged or not, as my quote was $1723.04, but I actually paid $2700. I had to purchase about 5 boxes from the driver because I ran out, which added to my cost. The driver that picked up my items advised me that I could either take the binding fee he was quoting ($2700) or I could allow them to weigh out the truck with my items on it, and then I would have to pay the total actual weight of my goods at $0.48 cents per pound. He advised me that by looking at all of my possessions he could see that it would be approximately $3,000 to $3,500 that I would have to pay if I chose the weighted option. The driver did pack all of my furniture very well and with great care, which I greatly appreciated. When I received my goods 2 weeks later, one piece of furniture was broken: my tv stand. Prior to packing we figured that this would happen because it was made of pressed wood, so it was understandable. I am also currently waiting on a box that was missing from my collection. The driver that delivered my items unpacked very quickly, and had everything inside my apartment and put back together in about 2-2.5 hours.

Service cost: $2700

I have never had a migraine as bad as when I was dealing with this company. We were moving from Atlanta to Houston and decided to use this company based on a recommendation. (Thanks a lot) we scheduled a pick up on a Saturday but decided to wait a couple days more. So we rescheduled it to Tuesday from 12-2PM. On Tuesday morning, we hear the door bell ring at 9AM. The bf wakes up and surprisingly, the movers are here. the movers had an accent. Im guessing they're Russian?? I don't know. Whatever, it didn't really bother us. Except the fact that we weren't finished packing all the small stuff. So the bf sent them away for an hour.
An hour later, they came back and starting packing all the big stuff (TV, furniture, etc) the packing and loading took all day. We didn't have an address for the movers because we have not signed a lease yet in Houston. No problem because the manager said they can put it in storage. We paid a deposit and tipped the movers $100.
A week after our move to Houston, we sign a lease and sent in the forms via E-mail to Summit. They said that it would take about 2 weeks for our furniture to come in and that they would call us a day before they arrive. 2 weeks go by and NO call. We called Summit and asked where our stuff was. The woman on the phone said she never received it. I informed her that I spoke with someone and they said they did receive it. The woman then says she will call me back after she figures it out in the morning. NO call! So I called her back the next day and she said she just opened the E-mail ((face palm)) Okay whatever just deliver the stuff.
2 weeks later the movers called me the day before THANKSGIVING and asked if they could deliver our stuff on THANKSGIVING day. I don't know about them but this is a major holiday that most Americans celebrate! Also, our concierge at the condo would not allow heavy traffic on that day anyway. We told them they had to wait until the day after Thanksgiving. They didn't sound too happy but who cares.
Our stuff finally arrived the day after Thanksgiving and I was relieved and happy because I could not stand to sleep on an air mattress anymore and I couldn't wait to hook up the TV. This time, there were different movers than the first.
TV?? What TV?? We had two flat screen TV's that were not delivered. Broken mirrors and a broken china cabinet. Also, we counted and 2 boxes were not delivered. What the flying F! I was so pissed but after all the stress this company has put me through. I was over it! We did not tip the movers and sent them on their way. Good bye..forever! The only good thing is that the movers accidentally left his tool box at our place.

I called the manager the next day and told her about the TV's. Apparently someone "broke into" the storage and stole some items. What a SHADY company! They thought they were going to deliver whatever and expect me to not notice our TVs are missing?? Well the manager sent over insurance forms to fill out and claim what was missing. We claimed 2 flat screen TVs, 2 broken mirrors, a broken china cabinet, and 2 missing boxes. The crappy insurance that Summit Van Lines has only cover .60/LB. We ended up getting $320. Enough to cover a 32" TV.

DO NOT use them unless you want to go through a lot of stress..and lose a lot of money paying them and replacing your expensive items.

Service cost: $2000

Sales people were great they sold the company well and followed up to make the sale but not much of what they offered was true. The movers showed up early and declared the move would take twice as long as the estimate at 80$/hr and that we had more that they had anticipated. all of our belongings did not fit so we had to also rent a uhaul trailer that my husband stayed back to pack and hitch. I went on to meet the movers at the new house. It then took 5.5 hours to make a 3 ( they estimated 4 hrs) hour drive to our new home where they informed me that we needed to pay the remainder of the bill before they could unload our furniture and they could not use the card they had on file for us that was used for the deposit, and my husband had to be there to use his card, they could not take it over the phone from him. The only way they would take payment is by western union wire!
Orig price was 1000 we paid. 1368..
Never Again!

Service cost: $1368

Overall a good experience. Yousel our Sales Rep made sure everything worked out really well. For what was moved a great deal. Very good communication. Took great care to really cover furnishings. Very much on time and schedule. Peter and Serge were great to work with and really took time with you to find out what you wanted done. They were very fast and efficient in moving everything where we wanted. A pleasure to work with everyone at Summit in a stressful relocation interstate move.

Service cost: $5600

DO NOT EVER CONSIDER THIS COMPANY FOR YOUR MOVE! They picked up my furniture including a baby grande piano on two different days. They put my valuable furniture and piano in storage for almost three weeks without telling me when or where my things were.  They did not deliver 6 boxes- just GONE! My expensive wool rugs were left sitting in water, my boxes water-stained, 6 boxes missing altogether. They dropped my new Yamaha Baby Grande piano! They ripped my off in every way possible and lied about where my things were and when they would be delivered! An Iranian illegal and another young boy delivered my things late at night in the pitch black night. They delivered them in an Enterprise Rental Truck with NO equipment to remove things from the truck. They had to ask if they could borrow my dolly.  Both men had arrest warrrants out for them. I had to call the police as the Iranian was violent and only wanted the cash before he would let me see my things. This move was the biggest nightmare ever!! They damaged paintings, pictures with glass broken, boxes smashed and water logged. Scratched furniture, damaged goods in every box.. they offered me $144.00 in damages and I laughed. I am preparing a civil suit against them. Don't fall for their lies- they are a sham of a company run by crooks. All they want is your money and they DO NOT CARE AT ALL what happens to your things!! They turned everything over to USA Van Lines without ever telling me this.  I called for days trying to find my things and here they were in storage somewhere in water for three weeks!!

Service cost: $2750

I signed a contract April 1 to have Summit Van Lines, INC move items in storage from Falls Church, VA to Ft. Lauderdale, FL.   On April 28, 2014, a Summit Van Lines, INC rep called me after they had loaded their truck that morning, to say that the job would be $3000 and not the “Summit Van Lines Long Distance Binding Quote” of $1080 for 10 crates, 5 carpets and up to 20 boxes because I had more boxes.   When I told them that I did not agree, they told me that they would "do me a favor and charge me only $2,500."  I told them to put the items back in the storage place. It would cost $600 to do that, I was told.    I agreed to pay the $600 because it was still cheaper to put the items back than pay for the move given the new quote.   I thought that was the end of it. To my surprise, I get a call one week later informing me that an 18 wheeler would be at my house the next day to unload my stuff from the storage place in VA.   No 18-wheeler could get through any community in the area. I was told that I would then have to pay $300 for another truck.   The next morning the 18 wheeler showed up, parked on a road some distance away. The driver of that 18 wheeler told me I would have to pay $400 for another truck.   Instead I went to a Budget rental, a mile away and ended up paying $28 for a small truck.   The driver of the 18 wheeler told me I would have to pay $100 for labor to unload. I gave him the $100 plus a $40 tip.   These are the unvarnished facts. I am still thrashing in my mind what I could have done to make this experience less harrowing.

Service cost: $2600