Traditional Express Van Lines

DO NOT GO WITH THIS COMPANY! It was a terrible, frustrating experience. I just filed official complaint forms to Department of Transportation, the Better Business Bureau, FMCSA as no one in this company responded to my email, phone calls, and complaint letter for the delay, damage, and poor customer service. I also had to call the POLICE as the movers ran off with my property when I refused to pay hidden extra charge in cash at the delivery location when they were already delayed for 2 weeks. The tricky part was that they made me sign some dubious company-specific paper after they loaded my stuff, which caused a lot of problems in the end. Basically, it indicated that there might be additional charges and the delivery date would not be approximate. As I already signed Bill of Lading, which is more the official form that every registered moving company uses with exact costs, and delivery date, I did not pay too much attention to this form. Also, as they brought up this paper after they loaded my stuff at the truck, I could not back out at that point but just sign. I asked the copy of this dubious form but they refused to give it to me and this form basically caused a lot of problems.

Pick-up day: 5 hours late, no packing of furniture which I paid extra for packing, and making me sign some dubious form which cause problem in the end

The moving date was set for Jun 28th, 2016. I was expecting the movers at 8 a.m. but they came 5 hours late without a warning. The mover demanded extra charge for long carry and the use of elevator, which I refused to pay as it was already included in the contract. Then, his attitude changed very hostile throughout the whole loading process. He even refused to wrap my bulky furniture with blankets, which is the violation of the contract. He kept saying he did not have time for that but it was not my fault that they were 5 hours late. In the end, these unwrapped items were delivered in severely damaged condition. Additionally I paid extra for the packing of my mattress spring, but it turned out that the movers did not pack it with covers at all and it arrived with severely damaged condition.

In transit : no notice for 2-weeks delay until the arrival day
The delivery was scheduled for July 9th, but I did not receive any notice until I called the company that morning. The sales representative Greg, who I made contract with, told me that he only does 'sales' and I need to contact Dispatch department in which 'LEWIS' was in charge of. Although I called LEWIS, he had no idea where the truck is and when would be the next approximate delivery date. Every time I called the company, they made me call other people, who had no idea about when the truck would arrive in my location, and no one attempted to be responsible for the delay.

Delivery day: police involved
On the delivery day, the movers, Eugene and the team, arrived in my apartment demanded extra charge in cash for renting a Uhaul, and extra labor for loading and unloading Uhaul. I refused to pay as they did not notify me about the final charges prior to delivery or while in transit and the extra charge was more than 110% of the initial contract paper, which is ILLEGAL by law. Then, the movers ran off with my property saying that they will leave my property at storage at my expense and leave for California. Then, they did not pick up my call so I called Police for Burglary and Theft. (Case #, 0925204-xx). LEWIS, the representative at the Dispatch department yelled and threatened me over the phone saying that I will have to pay for the mover's waiting time and the storage, or I pay the extra now in order to get my shipment that day. I finally called the mover, Eugene and agreed to pay the extra of $340 as I was afraid that they would leave for California and I have to wait another few weeks. When I paid the extra charges, they made me sign the form saying ' I would never dispute this charge', which is also ILLEGAL.

This company is completely UNTRUSTWORTHY and IRRESPONSIBLE. No one would respond to any of the problems and will make you pay $$ in the end.

Service cost: $2200

This was the worst company I have ever dealt with in any spectrum of my life. Their communication was abysmal at best-they were 4 hours late when picking up my things to put them in storage. When they did arrive they were fine on the front end-don't let this fool you though! They had misquoted my move and it ended up costing more than $800 extra than expected. After 2 months of storage, I arranged for my things to be delivered to my (empty) new apartment. I called to confirm on July 28th that they would arrive on July 31 and received confirmation. I called again July 30th to see what time they would be coming and no one answered. Finally, they emailed me back at 8 PM to say that my things would not be delivered until wednesday August 2, giving me 12 hours notice. I was then homeless in boston for 2 nights as my apartment had no furniture or bedding. They ensured they would try to refund two nights of hotel stays. They then pushed back my move 4 hours on august 2 to 7:00. I called the dispatcher 3 times with no answer, so finally I called the customer service employee back who told me they would not be coming until August 3. This was obviously getting ridiculous so they eventually conceded to come at 9 PM (actually not showing up until 10 PM). The next day they told me they owed me nothing and refused to compensate me for the two nights in a hotel, which is obviously absurd because their failure to communicate left me stranded in a foreign city with nowhere to stay. They refused to let me speak to management on the phone, and I was put on hold continuously and was hung up on twice. My mom and I had to take 3 days off of work in addition while we waited around in Boston, which is a huge financial and logistical burden. . 0/10 would NOT recommend ever getting into business with these people, unless you want a headache and to spend over 1300 more dollars than intended! Zero professionalism, zero communication between the different employees, totally fake customer service, and zero helpfulness.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2000

There was no communication between the company and myself. I was told I would get a call, 48 hours in advance, before the movers would arrive. Never happened, period. I had to call the company three times before I finally got a call 1 hour before they were scheduled to arrive. The week my items were scheduled to arrive I called in order to get an more accurate estimate of when the truck would be here. I was told that my items would not arrive until the next week. I spoke to customer service, who, kept telling me all the "issues" that happened. Unless I called- I would have been waiting an entire week for a truck that would not show. I was told I would get a call at the end of the the week to tell me where my items are, according to the customer service: "That's the least I can do." I agree with the least part- I now will have to ship a suitcase back to Texas- because they are a week past their date. I do not recommend them if you are moving across country.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1500

Guys - I thought about sharing my experience about my move by partnering this company, which has been my biggest mistake ever and by the way..my delivery of goods are not yet done and I am still waiting :) so you can imagine the real situation.

1st of all they will give you a small quote accessing list of items and size and when the truck comes over, they increase the expense by almost 50%..my original estimate was $3000 and I am paying $4500 as of today..

2nd, trusted that above increase in cost is due to logical reasons, I was expecting to get my delivery in committed date..2nd mistake :) its been 14 days already and now when I call the call centre, they stretched time by another week without any specific reason.

3rd, customer care, sales representative, manager of the shop..all are big time lier. Trust me, its so unpleasant talking to them and hoping for a solution is being highly optimistic..

I would force you (kidding) not to go for this company and better go for the reputed ones and do read the contract 2-3 times before you sign on the final document as they change dates and timelines as well..

Hope this review helped you to go for a better option. Cheers!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4500

I needed a moving company within the week (in the middle of the summer) and began to panic. I spoke to 4 or 5 companies before speaking with Traditional Express. They gave me some great tools to screen out the brokers and other predatory companies. After doing my research on all the companies I was getting quotes from, I ended up going with Traditional Express. While they were not the cheapest quote, they did have the best reputation and I felt the most comfortable with how they fully explained the moving process to me. they insisted on sending a person to my home to ensure there would be no surprises on moving day. They were actually the only ones who sent someone to house to view all the items. We did have to correct my inventory a few times before everything was confirmed but finally got it correct!
The day of my move went quite well. Josh, Tony and Omar were very nice and worked quickly. Everything went as it had been explained to me and I was very comfortable leaving NY to go wait for my stuff to arrive in North Carolina. Two days later I got the call from dispatch that my goods would be arriving the next day. Everything arrived the next day and I was moved into my new home in no time.
Traditional Express was a great choice for my move. The service was wonderful and, since we worked out a few discrepancies with my inventory before the move, there were no surprise "additional charges".
If you are looking for a mover, I would highly recommend Traditional Express.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3800

Run away as Fast as You Can -These people are dishonest scammers and use the contract to extort money from you both after loading your goods and then again immediately before delivery. I felt like I was dealing with the Russian Mafia.
They tell you anything you want to hear verbally and then rely on contract to take your money. They low ball the bid and once loaded demand 30% increase once they have your stuff.
They were three weeks late on dates they committed to verbally and then even with that were over a week late even by contracted date.
They are too small a company to adequately handle cross country moves with limited resources.
Note all the reviews - only 1 stars and 5 stars. The 1 stars are real.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

For my upcoming move from Queens to San Francisco Icalled many movers and decided to go with Traditional Express Van Lines based on their delivery timetable (they promised 5-18 days) and a quote of $3000. Long story short, I just received my goods nearly one month later and almost $2,000 more than quoted. After loading my things in their truck, the main guy told me that he and his two movers expected a tip (he said that average was $100-$200 each!!) my husband gave them a smaller tip, but we looked at each other in disbelief. This was the first time, in all our moves, that a tip was ever requested. We just wrote it off as a New Jersey thing! After 2 weeks, and no word from the movers, I called to check on the ETA of our stuff since my apt complex needed me to schedule our move/reserve elevator and such. Each time, I was given excuses for the delay, from Dept of Transportation licenses to clients needing shuttle services, etc, etc. Every time I called, I got the run-around. ‘it should be soon’ I was told. Finally, after 25 days I was given a 1-day window (with no time to reserve my move with my apartment manager). I was also told that the 18 wheeler couldn’t drive into San Francisco and that I would have to pay them an extra $450 in cash for a smaller truck!! Today, two guys show up (neither of whom can speak much English)!! The move took twice as long as it should have taken since they had to use a different elevator and meander through three different attached buildings. I could go on and on, but I don’t have the energy. All I ask is that you Please Do Your Research!! I wish I had read these reviews.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

My mover I had hired 2 months prior to my move-out day had cancelled on me 2 days before my move. I was beyond stressed! A friend of mine had used Traditional, so I decided to get a quote from them. Bill & Elvin were a pleasure to deal with throughout the estimation process. On move out day, the guys were absolutely terrific! Everything was wrapped and padded to perfection. Delivery in NY was 2 days later than expected, & I was reimbursed $70, which I thought was nice of them. I will be referring anyone I know to this company, thanks again!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5500

This move went well above my expectations. The crew is very professional and did right by me frin beginning to end. I'll admit that I was apprehensive towards hiring this company because they have mixed feedback, but I do know that ultimately I can control the outcome of my move to a certain degree. So that's exactly what I did. I made sure the movers had everything they needed and made sure all my expensive electronics and furniture were secured. Being aggressive towards protecting my valuables rubbed off on the movers and in my opinion increased the likelihood of protecting my things. So the move went extraordinarily well. I'm very satisfied with my experience.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3160

If there was any possibility to give negative rating I would have done so. Their team is unprofessional and unethical. During the calls they even did not refrain from using the f**k word.
For my job relocation I had to move from MA to CA and I was looking for a mover who is trustworthy and reliable. After contacting few vendors I selected one who gave the lowest quote (as governed by my company's policy) and it was not "Traditional Express Van Lines (DOT: 2373664)". Later I received a call from Elvin (sales rep) as a follow-up to the quote shared by him and he matched the price given by the other vendor. The service was agreed at an estimated cost of $2791.26. A binding moving estimate was given for the same with the detailed inventory list and location details.
As per the initial email sent to me I was scheduled for pickup on 08/29/2017 and per my discussion with Elvin on 08/28/2017 everything was set for the same date. However, later on I was told by another member from their team (Tina) that it was rescheduled to 08/30/2017 between 9:00 am - 10:00 am EST, but no one showed up, neither I was given any update till I myself called and followed up to check the reason for the delay. Now after speaking with Tina again I got to know that the dispatch team is engaged with another small job and hence the pickup is further rescheduled on 08/30/2017 between 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm. However, on the day of pick-up the cost was increased to $4600 to provide the service for the same inventory list stating different reasons like the previous estimate was given by mistake by the sales representative, the software used to arrive t the estimate was not correct etc. I could sense something is not right and hence did not accept the revised price. The driver (Vladimir) was extremely rude and he left with the truck without even informing me and leaving me stranded on the day of pickup. Later on I sent an email to cancel the order and refund me my $300 advance which was fully refundable as per the cancellation policy (The cancellation policy stated "Cancellation and Refund Policy: Deposits refundable for cancellations"), but I have not yet received my refund from them till date.
The same inventory was moved to the same place by another vendor at a cost of $2306.20.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2791

Initially I had went to moving.com, to get some quotes for my move. The response was absolutely overwhelming. Once I had a free moment, I called Traditional & got in touch with Richard Russo. He seemed knowledgeable & was very helpful throughout the process. After doing a visual estimate, we had agreed on a price and on move day there were 4 gentlemen from the company who worked tirelessly throughout a cold day. The crew did a great job, which was a big relief - being able to see how carefully the gentlemen packed everything, made the process a lot lighter. Delivery came within a week, which was 2 days earlier than expected. (I'm not complaining) All in all, they honored their price & only 1 item was damaged in transit, which we are going through the claims department currently, to get reimbursed for. Will definitely recommend them.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9200

BEFORE YOU BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY READ MY REVIEW. Traditional Express Vanlines changed their name a few days ago to Safe Muuv to evade the update of my review. I am going to do my best to shorten this review, but I can't promise anything. So let's get to it! I initially contacted Traditional early this year about a move from Maryland to California. I called them to get a quote and I spoke to Sam. He was very nice the first call and then the second call he began pressuring me to pay so I decided to do research the company. What I found was shocking. All the raving reviews were fake! YES, THE REVIEWS WERE FAKE! What I noticed was that the same people (numerous people) had given raving reviews to other trucking companies in the same week. (Please see the screenshot of my initial review). After posting my review the company tries contacting Yelp stating that they had never spoken to me before and requesting that Yelp remove my review. So I had to prove to Yelp that I had, by sending the quote. (Yup, I still had it in my email. Thank you Google.) After they were unsuccessful in having it removed I get an email on 2/4/18 from Mitch asking for me to call him. Mitch tells me that he is the owner, he fired Sam and he would like to make things right. He begged and promised me that he would give me a better quote than before and he would apply a discount. I told him I had already booked with another company and he asked me to cancel. Sounding so convincing, I canceled and received my down payment back. He also asked me to take down my review until my actual move and swore to me in a bragging way that Sam made them look bad and they were this awesome moving company. So I changed my review stating that we were working to resolve the previous issue and that I will update after my move. Mitch asked me to give him a list of my items but to make sure we had no mistakes on the price, per his request, I sent him a list and pictures. He then gave me a quote. I was happy. March 2018 came and I contacted Mitch via text and told him that I decided to sell some items including the couches but we had more boxes. (Please see pictures attached) He said, "oh well let me adjust the quote". He did. Fast forward to moving day April 28, 2018, I had to call him because I had not heard from anyone. He apologized and said they should have called me the day before. The movers finally showed up and after they get everything on the truck, the mover says "Mitch did not put the right size items on the list" and that I would be charged more because "the items were bigger than notated on his list" He also said that we had more boxes than Mitch told him. He then added $743.10 to the quoted price. Stating that we had 875 cubic feet versus 625 cubic feet. Amazing! May 5, 2018, We also booked with them to have my car picked up. Yeah, you guessed it, no call no show. (please see screenshots of conversation.) So I had to, at the last minute, find another company to bring the car to Cali. I had been texting and calling Mitch for days and days no response. May 16, 2018, I was contacted by the driver and told me he will be at the storage in 15 minutes and if I was late getting there it will be additional $150. I then told him to stop yelling, that I was one block away and I will be there. I get to the storage and he tells me that he doesn't think he can pull in the storage because there is a dip on the entrance and that he was leaving with my belongings and you guessed it. I would have to pay more money to get it. Long story short I had to call the police. He then changed his mind and said he was going to try to pull up over the dip. I said ok. I then followed the manager down the aisle to my unit. After 10 mins we realized the driver wasn't coming, so we both went to the front entrance and the drivers truck was stuck on the curb. The police arrived and spoke to both of us. The driver tried to get the officer to agree that I should then pay $300 for a tow truck. The officer informed the driver this would be a civil matter. After the tow truck moved the truck out the driveway the driver then tried to tell me I had to pay more money for waiting time because his truck was stuck. I begged and pleaded with the driver to give me belongings. He refused. The officer then informed him that he is supposed to be a professional driver so it was his responsibility to make the decision on how to drive his truck. He still refused saying I need to give him more money. I called Mitch several times he would not answer. I called the company and Bill answered and said that Louis will be calling the driver to work this out. Finally, Mitch text me accusing me of making his driver pull into a space that he knew he couldn't. To sum this up. They put my items on the street and I had to get a Uhaul and move everything to my storage. Then I get a text from Mitch asking for more money. (See screenshots/pictures of conversation.) Oh I had broken items as well and missing items. See Pictures on Yelp.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3210

Working with Traditional Express Van Lines has been a wonderful experience. And in the moving industry, consider this a glowing compliment. The movers were on the same wavelength, communicated proficiently, and coordinated my belongings from Point A to B without any issues. I’m very impressed and satisfied with their level of professionalism throughout this move. My belongings safely made it inside my new California Home. I would recommend Traditional Express Van Lines for being transparent and well coordinated. Thank you kindly!

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3650

I consider this a jam packed move. Packed full of surprises, determination, and positive results. This is due to the movers vitality and willingness to overcome obstacles. They ran into some issues down the road but found tangible solutions by maintaining their composure. Even though the pick up time was slightly delayed, they made up for it in the area of drop off. Drop off was quicker since they had to make up for lost time from the pickup. It was nice seeing this in action and coming to a success. Thank you so much for your help.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2700

This company has mixed feedback, but I’m not surprised in the slightest. The moving industry provides a great deal of challenges, and certainly everyday isn’t going to be perfect. But despite the imperfections that transpired throughout my move, the movers did a good enough job to not break or damage anything. This is partly because I expressed how I would be in discontent if anything happened to my precious, irreplaceable things. They agreed to be diligent from the very beginning, otherwise I wouldn’t of hired them. Overall, the move was orderly and I would recommend this company to anyone looking to move. If you walk into any move expecting perfection, you will be sorely disappointed. There will always be unexpected problems. What makes a good moving company is how they respond to those problems.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3400

I had a fantastic experience with Traditional Express Van Lines. I appreciated their cooperation and willingness to communicate consistently through this move. There were some tough aspects of the move, but they were able to successfully push all the way through. That’s more than I can say for most moving companies out there. My things are safe and secure, and I didn’t end up overpaying for my items. It’s safe to say that Traditional Express Van Lines is an optimal choice. I highly recommend them for your moving needs!

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000

If I could give 0 stars I would!!

Do NOT USE THESE MOVERS! BEWARE!! So I recommended these guys to my sister after my tenant had used them. Well while they moved my sisters belongings from her old home to the new home they damaged a marble stoop so my sister had to pay for the broken stoop to be fixed upwards of a few hundred dollars. Igor who calls himself the owner of this company said he has insurance and would issue her a check for the repairs. Now, my sister and her husband are the nicest people on this planet they followed up with him for the check once or twice and he never sent it even though he promised he would. So I got involved bc I felt responsible since I recommended him and after months and months of calling him for the money he ignores my calls. Finally when he answers he threatens me curse ME out when he's the one that owes us money this guy is a CROOK go elsewhere please do yourself a favor hire honest normal business people he is totally a hot headed unprofessional thief!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3300

Ok, so going into this I had very low expectations, since I know how poorly moves can turn out. But, I was pleasantly surprised. This is one of those situations where I’m more than happy to be wrong. Traditional Express Van Lines was very effective during our move. Professional and straightforward through the pick up and drop off process. Anything I emphasized protection on was properly secured with plastic wrap, cardboard, blankets, etc. Everything made it to my new home in LA just fine. I would hire them again if the need arises.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3300

Not only did my movers prove to be friendly and helpful, but they were also knowledgeable and productive throughout each phase of the move. Pickup, transport, and drop off. Each phase went well and there was ample communication to keep me informed of their progress. When a company doesn’t communicate, I become very fearful at what the outcome is going to be. This company was able to communicate and perform quality moving services simultaneously, which makes them a formidable choice for your next move. Highly recommend.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5100

The absolute worst company and customer service. They never answer the phone, they don’t communicate, they lose your ppwk and they apparently overbook themselves. They have had my belongings for 3 weeks now and it’s still sitting in their warehouse and I still don’t have a date as to when they are delivering it. Probably cause that can’t find it. They pick your stuff up take it to a warehouse to get unloaded to be loaded on another truck. It doesn’t seem to get any further then their warehouse. Hopefully I get my belongings and they are in the same shape as they picked them up. Oh and btw they expect tips and will tell you that when they arrive before they pack anything. Maybe because I don’t carry cash and I gave them all I had it must not have been enough and they conviently miss-placed the ppwk and sat on my belongings. Still waiting for my things and it’s now approaching a month now.
FIND SOMEONE ELSE OR DO IT YOURSELF BEFORE HIRING THESE GUYS!!
Oh I wouldn’t have even given them 1 star but I had to highlight one to even leave a review.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2900

I originally hired Colonial Van Lines to move us from Massachusetts to Florida, however, without my knowledge, Colonial subbed the job out to Traditional Van Lines based out of NJ. We were told our furniture was going to be sent to a warehouse in Tampa and we were to call two days prior to when we wanted our home goods delivered to our new home. We called them on February 12th to inform them that we will be moving in on the 14th. When the furniture didn’t come, we resorted to using air mattresses. On the first night, my wife fell off the air mattress and broke her shoulder. I called Colonial to ask about my furniture and I told them of the accident with my wife, I didn’t receive any apologies, they seemed like they didn’t even care, and that I needed to call them back in 2 days and they would update me about the status of my furniture. At one point, they told me it was in Jacksonville in a warehouse and that they would get back to me. The next time I called, they told me it was still in NJ. My furniture finally arrived Feb 25th with $1200 damage to by Harley Davidson Motorcycle, and many items were broken, including some antiques I bought while I was in the UK. Also, many of my brand new toolsets were missing, I presumed stolen. Then, about 2 weeks after we received our stuff, a moving truck pulled up with more of our stuff that they claimed they found at the warehouse. Every time I called them, I got the old “you need to talk to so and so” run-a-round. I was told I could put a claim in, and they said it would settle between 90 and 100 days. I placed my claim for $3200 and they gave me a settlement of $450. They knew they had, because small claims court told me I had to file where the moving contract was signed, in Massachusetts. What a dysfunctional company, both companies. My advice to anybody, put your stuff in a POD, use your own lock, and your stuff will be safe.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5341