Wheaton Van Lines

We just moved to KS from MD under Military orders.  Wheaton moving personel "lost" an enire patio set, shed, and other patio items.  They left my daughter's dresser mirror in someone elses house which arrived destroyed a month later.  All cost was estimated at around $2,000.00.  They send me a check for a whole $143. bucks.  DO NOT sign the limited liability form for $0.60/pound or that is what you are going to get.  There is a thing called goodwill, it may seem they are saving money..we'll see at the long run.  The MD local sales company, Rainbow movers were not interested in my problems.  Awesome. 
I have attached before and after Wheaton, great Americans.

Service cost: $8000

The sellers were finally moving out.  This company was in charge of their moving and packing.  This company continually blocked my driveway as I was moving in and had to be asked over and over to move their trucks out of MY drivewas so MY movers and cable guy could get in and out.    I asked them to move their truck out of my driveway so my cable guy could leave and they waited for about 5 minutes before they moved their trucks.  I guess their time was more valuable.  The black employee even use the "F" word at me.  VERY unprofessional.  He should be fired, how dare someone come onto my property and swear at me!!  This crew moved as slow as possible and were on my property for 10 hours.  The seller didn't have much as far as goods to pack, so I don't know what took so long.  This crew was so RUDE and unprofessional!  Wrods cannot express what a joke this crew was, rude and unprofessional.  They attempted to leave a large bag of trash on my property but my husband told them to remove it.  RUDE RUDE RUDE!!

Service cost: $1000

This was a miltary move for us from Oklahoma to Texas.  Worst movers ever.  The packers broke several things while packing that Wheaton did not cover.  The movers "packed" items for us that were left out and never arrived.  They then began to take things out of our trash can to take with them and yelled at me for not understanding how it is to be poor.  They argued the whole time at the house and began throwing boxes.  Told Wheaton, never heard back.  Six months after filing a claim, we can not get a response via email or phone or written letter.  Got a response when I called to speak to a supervior and the agent called me within like two minutes.  Almost like they don't want to pay and would rather us transfer to the military for damages.  Items missing, such as power cords and attachments to electric mixer not covered. Basically told so sad, get over it.  I am very disappointed. Noone was on time, either for the inspection, the move or delivery, Wheaton seemed not to care when we mentioned it. .

Service cost: $1000

I've been in the Army for 15 years and this was the worst PCS move I've ever experienced.  I don't have anything bad to say about the workers from my first pick-up because they were nice and professional.  The workers from my second pick-up were OK but not as good as the first.  This takes me to my household good items.  The female from the second pick-up broke my dinner glass.  She apologized and told me to make sure I claim it later then she threw the glass away.  Fast forwarding till now.  My items were delivered and some of them were damaged. The lamp and vase were broken to pieces (see below).I took pictures for my claim and after a week of it sitting in my garage I threw them away. After a couple of days go by, I finally get a letter from Wheaton saying I need to keep my broken items.  REALLY!!  Are we living in the stone ages.  I sent my claim over the internet so they received it the same day so why couldn't I have gotten this letter through the internet via email so I could have reacted in a timely manner?  I feel as though they do it on purpose so they don't have to take responsibility!  My bed was assembled wrong by the workers that delivered my things so now the baseboards are breaking.  All of this I put on my claim along with the pictures.  I called JESSICA YOUNG and informed her of all of this and she did not have the common courtesy to be honest with me about the situation!! Next thing I know I'm getting a letter from Wheaton (JESSICA YOUNG) saying that they decline responsibility for my items they broken (even the glass their worker broke)..I'M VERY PISSED!!  The reason is because I threw them away..REALLY!! Who do you know keeps a house full of broken things.   I might have been scammed but this is not over!!  I did not hire you the Army did so with the thousands of dollars ($5000) they are paying this company the least you could do is make sure the Soldiers that fight for your freedom household goods are delivered properly and if you break things its OK no one is perfect but YOU SHOULD OWN UP TO YOUR MISTAKES AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!!  No military person should have to go through this and again this is not over!! .

Service cost: $5000

We just had a wonderful experience with Breda Movers/Wheaton out of IL. We had household items in storage for over a year with Breda, then needed to coordinate an out of state move which included shipping 2 cars. Breda managed to take care of our stuff in storage, get it loaded onto the van, come to the house and load the items we had there and add 2 cars. They got everything into a 53 foot trailer. Loading went well and very efficiently - we were really impressed. When arriving at our house in PA, unloading also went well and efficiently. The driver and his assistant were great - it took them 11 hours to unload us, place things, etc. I couldn't have asked for a better team. Thank you Breda/Wheaton, couldn't have made our move without you!

Service cost: $9478

6-15-2018 we contracted with Wheaton World Wide Moving through their local rep in Phoenix AZ to move a few rooms worth of furniture and artwork to our house in Minnesota. We wanted the delivery on or before 7-4-2018, however Fulton Moving and Storage, a local contractor of Wheaton, explained that was impossible but he could deliver the items approx. 7 days after the July 4th date. We were fine with that. So we had Fulton Moving pack and pick up our belongings and keep it in storage for a few days until our items were loaded on the truck for delivery. I gave the company a very detailed list of items to take. We had our property manager and Realtor there overseeing the items taken. We also contracted Fulton Moving and Storage to pack the items. Some of the items they packed were dishes, artwork, custom bedding and custom drapery. FINALLLY on August 6, we received most of our items, absent two Specialized Bikes road bikes. We called the driver a day later to let him know the bikes were not delivered, he said he already knew. He did not bother to let us know this and wanted to play point the finger of blame between himself and the local moving company, Fulton. He claimed the bikes were not on a scribbled inventory report, yet somehow he knew to load the items, hmmm. At any rate, he had the bikes just no way to get them back to us. August 8, I received a message from Jasmine in claims indicating they would call me back later that afternoon with more info on my bikes. No call back of course. Crickets until I call them on Monday Aug 13, 2018 at which point they STILL do not know how to get the bikes back to us. At this point, we simply had the credit card company reverse the charges for delivery from AZ to MN. We will buy new bikes with the money we held back for delivery. Additionally, we hired this firm to actually pack our items. They advertise professional packing. LOL!! I received custom drapery and custom bedding rolled up in a ball, stuffed in a medium size box with some pots and pans. Yes, pots and pans. Yes, also a medium size box, it should have been a large wardrobe box at minimum. Naturally the custom items looked like they have been through a war after Wheaton’s packing. The moral of the story? Don’t use Wheaton. If you have valuable items and want a smooth delivery you get what you pay for. Go private, have only your items on the truck.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4300

P.S.A. if you want the world’s worst moving experience of your life or of anyone’s life, hire Wheaton World Wide Moving. Their motto is “We Move Your Life”, it should be we will ruin your life. Now that we have all of our belongings I am writing this. Fear of retaliation by Wheaton encompassing more damages and more missing items kept me silent until now. But the 32 days from pick up in CT to the final delivery in Mississippi is behind us now, and I feel like people need to know what happened to not ever have to go through what we have.

When moving 1200 miles away, literally across the country, you have an important decision to make with a moving company. You have to have faith that everything you own will be handled with care, you have to trust that the company you are contracting and paying a large sum of money to sees you as more than a paycheck. Wheaton and Altherton are not who you can trust and have faith in. Moving/buying a home is one of the top stresses of your adult life. And for us this was supposed to be one of the happiest times of our lives, purchasing a home and property of our dreams. For 32 days it was not complete, we were unsettled. We were forced to buy things we already owned to not continue to look at the house of our dreams empty and unlivable.

Below is a summary of what transpired:

On 3/26/21 , CJ from Altherton & Sons Moving & Storage (Franchise of Wheaton World Wide Moving) came to the home to give us a quote to move our almost 6000 square foot home belongings in Manchester, CT to Booneville, MS. We were supplied a quote on 3/30/21 for $9,700 based on an estimated weight (16,400 lbs).

On 4/18/21 we locked in the dates of closings (CT and MS) and relayed this to CJ to lock in the pick up on 5/20/21 in CT with delivery in MS on 5/24. We were assured this would be done with a 53’ tractor trailer.

On 5/20/21 Altherton representatives arrived at our home in CT at 9 a.m. in two 20’ trailers. Around 4/4:30 p.m. they ran out of room and had to rent another 20’ truck. At this point we were told that they would be unloading the three trucks into another truck (53’) in the morning to go to MS. The multiple handlings of our home belongings was not discussed nor was it mentioned in the contract.

To understand that this company not only breeched the contract but have disrupted and put undue financial, physical and emotional stress where it was not necessary. There has been zero care and concern for my family and the results of Wheaton’s actions, no matter what approach we took to try to get them to resolve the matter quickly.

6/20, Father’s Day we received the additional 15% of our belongings. This equaled 88 total boxes. This was likely closer to 25% than 15%. Most of the boxes were damaged so severely that we feared the worst and in most cases we were 100% correct in doing so. Boxes with dishes were rattling with broken pieces before entering the house. Simply the boxes had been handled 6 times and stacked at least that many times if not more, and carboard boxes do not have the ability to withstand that much abuse.

To summarize, contract date of pick up was 5/20/21 with a final acceptable day of delivery 5/26/21. Final delivery received 32 days after pick up and 25 days after last acceptable date of delivery per the contract.

With so much on the final delivery we had to do all the work all over again. After moving things in every cabinet, every drawer, every closet, every outbuilding on the property we have finally completed this process. We are mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted. Mostly we are sad and still dumbfounded. None of this needed to happen. All of this could have been avoided. If they could not do the job they should have been honest from the beginning. We would have found another company that could have done it. And when things went badly from day one (pick up) there was no sense of urgency to rectify the issue. We were held hostage, as were our things.

Friends and family, PLEASE, do not use this company. Do it yourself. We wish we had.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $9700

Where to begin. I was lied to by the salesperson that visited us in the home we moved from. (Thanks Jeff H) Bekins will not use Bekins employees to load/unload though they will say they do. Bekins will not place your mattresses in a plastic bag contrary to what Jeff told me. Bekins will not load the truck heaviest on the bottom. I should know, I weighed every box on a commercial scale and wrote said weight on each box. My mattress looks like it was dragged through the truck. The movers all wore shirts advertising other moving companies! and the icing to my negative experience paying Bekins almost $19k? I financially supported and rewarded a company that utilized child labor. Yes, you read that correctly. Bekins used child labor to unload the truck, right up until I saw this and told the driver to make sure that kid isn't lifting another box or we're done. That poor kid was here all day. He was used as a translator. He was in our home to use the rest room. If he had slipped on the floor or when the movers dropped my dresser on the hardwood floor damaging both, what if his foot was under it? Then he sat in the truck, what if something tipped over hitting him in the head. Bekins corporate replied to my email and said....they investigated and because he was the son of one of the three adults, the matter is closed. Not even an apology. So, $19k and my piano is all busted up with keys that don't work or rest properly, my mattress looks like an old dirty rag, my dresser has had its finish scrapped right down to raw wood, my hardwood floor has a sweeping arc indentation in the wood with the finish worn down to raw wood and my daughters bed support id cracked in half, just to name a few of the things they broke but the president of The Wheaton Group consider the matter closed. Sure, I have a damaged claim in process but weeks later and all they have done is to send an antique toy repairman to my home to evaluate the damages. I sent the pictures of the child that was on-site and holding a moving dolly (before I told the driver that child is not being put to work on my move or we're done) to the state agency that investigates child labor. I also sent it to a few NGOs that investigate the exploitation of children.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $17694

We moved from Washington state to Little Rock. We had the person come out to give us a number for moving she stated 8000 dollars. When we arrived the price increase to close to 13000. So our stuff is now being held hostage, we have been trying to make payments, but unfortunately that has not been working out as I have terminal cancer and we got hit by the tornado. We have tried to get loans, but because we just moved here and my husband has only been working at this job for a few months we can’t get a loan. We also had to buy new clothes, some kitchen stuff, beds, washer and dryer as I am on chemo and need to be able to wash clothes if it leaks.

All of this money that we had to use to get the stuff we needed could if went to pay on our bill if they were willing to help come up with a solution. Also to make payments I can only call, but that makes it hard as our phones are off due to having to find an alternate place to stay and having to pay for that. I’m just running into brick walls and getting nothing but threats from this moving company. I was also told that storage is costing us 500 dollars a month and that supposedly is 1/2 off until this month than what it is going to 1000 dollars a month. These companies need to be regulated and be held to what the price that is first given to their customers.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $13000

Do not use this company. My family's 150 year old cherry wood dining room table that I had just had refinished to send to my daughter arrived with deep gashes on one leaf and one leg broken all the way through with the driver (or someone with Wheaton) having attempted to repair using wood glue and duct tape.  I had mistakenly accepted a $500.00 deductible on the move and so my reimbursement comes nowhere near the cost of repairing and refinishing for the second time in 3 months. I had asked them at the point of move to take special care of this piece, as it was a family treasure and had just been lovingly brought to perfect condition. What did they do, toss it in the back of the truck?? .

Service cost: $1700

Horrible, horrible, horrible! From start to finish the experience with Wheaton was something I wouldn't wish on an enemy. The initial packing was haphazard at best. They were going to leave our belongings out on our lawn overnight because they were ready to quit for the day?!! Arrived in California nearly 2 weeks late. Meantime we're sleeping on a blow-up mattress we bought from Wal-Mart with no fridge, tv, chairs, nothing. The tractor trailer broke an axle in Texas is what we were told. Once our belongings arrive, the axle breaking in transit caused MUCH damage including a custom motorcycle and a computer - the list of damaged goods is too long to list here. There were things missing as well. After filling out laborious forms we received a check for $349.00 to cover all damages. I'm shaking my head as I type this out of disbelief. Needless to say, I went through more trouble to get repair estimates (as Wheaton requested) and resubmitted that claim to them (again as they requested) only to be denied the claim again. Moving is harrowing enough without the moving company throwing your belongings into boxes, arriving late with your things broken, missing, smashed beyond recognition. You will not be compensated fairly no matter what you do, and they may intimate that you're a liar, which, to me, is the most infuriating thing about the incident. Save yourself much stress and money. This review cannot relay to you the nightmare we went through because of this company. Don't make the mistake of picking Wheaton.

Service cost: $18000

HORRIBLE!! They were hired by the government to complete my military move. Multiple items damaged and destroyed including a brand new dresser and lost the screws to my desk. Initial settlement for damages gave very minimal compensation including a replacement value, which was half of what my desk was worth. Contacted Clara Barnett. I told them I didn’t just want minimal money but would like my desk repaired and my new dresser replaced. She agreed and stated they would take my old dresser for salvage. A new settlement was sent to me with no mention of replacing my dresser and exactly HALF the original settlement. Ms. Barnett denied stating they would replace my new dresser and stated the first offer is no longer available. I refused the offer again for reconsideration based on what I was told over the phone. No change. They refuse to answer the requests by Better Business Bureau and Angie’s List. Military members ARE allowed to request a different carrier. I would highly consider this incident when choosing a mover.

Service cost: $5000

I recently moved across the country (Washington, DC to California), and spent ample time researching van lines before deciding to go with Wheaton - boy did I make a mistake. I interviewed five companies (Atlas, United, Mayflower, Bekins, and Wheaton) to compare prices and policies, and as it turns out was flat out lied to by my Wheaton rep (James Gilmartin from Olympia Moving, one of their subsidiaries for the North East).

I had time constraints surrounding my move, and was concerned primarily with being able to have ample advanced warning regarding my delivery and a definitive, uncompromising delivery date. I was assured up and down that I would received at least 14 days advanced notice of my delivery date, and that as soon as my items had been placed on a truck I would be in constant contact with the driver so I would know where my shipment was and would be kept abreast of any problems.

Furthermore, I was told that even though I had to have a delivery "spread" (a window of 5 days during which time I was assured to have my delivery made) I could choose the exact date I wanted for delivery and they would back up my ship date from that to ensure it for me.

About three weeks out from my delivery spread I received a call telling me that my window had to be extended from 5 to 11 days in order to accommodate a new "company standard." Already I thought that it was unacceptable for a delivery window to be that large, but I agreed as I felt at that point that I had no other choice. That was the last phone correspondence I received from anyone at Wheaton without myself initiating contact.

About a week out from the start of my window (on a Friday) I had not heard anything from Wheaton regarding delivery dates and started calling the various phone numbers I had to try and get some answers. After some serious waffling on the part of my "move coordinator" I was finally able to get her to contact the driver who had my shipment and was given a delivery date of the following Friday, and told that my driver would be in touch with me "very early" the following week to confirm and give me details.

By Monday afternoon of the following week I had not heard a peep from anyone, so I called my move coordinator again for more information and was able to get the phone number for my driver. I began calling him with zero response.

Now, at this point I should point out that I had to make travel arrangements for myself and several family members to come down to my new home to meet this shipment, and it was becoming extremely costly for me to not be able to make any of these plans because I had not been given any confirmed dates for delivery.

The following day I spent 4.5 hours calling every number I had before anyone ever picked up the phone, at which point I was FINALLY told that several days prior the truck holding my shipment had broken down, and had yet to be repaired. No estimation of when the truck would be fixed was given, and had I not been doggedly making phone calls I never would have been given that information.

My delivery date ended up being seriously altered, and during the process as I tried to explain to Wheaton employees what had happened and that it was obvious to me that I had been lied to at various points throughout the process I was hung up on, yelled at, and given zero support or options to help accommodate the enormous cost I was burdened with because of their lack of communication and internal issues.

They are an absolutely horrible company. I started by dealing with a satellite office in Virginia for my move, then had to speak with a move coordinator who was in Boston and customer service people and dispatchers who were God only knows where, and none of them ever spoke to each other. There is no chain of communication between members of the company, and that comes back tenfold to their customers. I lost thousands of dollars because of their practices, and would do anything in my power to insure that no one else ever has to go through what I did using their service.

Service cost: $4000

Movers were late. My husband had all boxes waiting for movers in our garage. They would not use the dolly that they had in the truck and carried out one box at a time. Our house was only 1700 square feet . It took them over 5 hours to load the truck. There were 3 guys who talked and smoked cigarettes.then after milking away the time they realized that it would be dark soon they called another group of movers to help them unload it eas at least 8pm. The movers then requested further payment..it It was such awful experience that after 7 years I will never use this company and I will continue to tell everyone I know not to either.

Service cost: $2000

The salesman from Wheaton/Mathers Bros in Raleigh NC quoted my weight at 5000 lbs. which is what the weight of household goods was on my previous move a yr earlier from Denver to Wake Forest, NC. That move was twice as far as this move and cost me just over 4k. Mike added a $515.00 shuttle fee to the estimate because a large rig couldn't make it up my driveway. On the day of the move they sent a 38 ft long van to pick up my stuff, instead of the normal 53 ft truck, charging me an extra $515.00 for a smaller truck. Go figure. Four days after picking up my stuff Mike called to tell me the actual weight was 7800 lbs and they were going to charge me another $1200 to deliver my goods. I ended up paying Wheaton $1700 more than I had payed North American to move me a yr earlier even though the weight of goods had not changed and I was moving half the distance of my previous move. It took Wheaton/Mathers Bros 13 days to deliver my things to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. In that time the truck made several stops in SC and FL before finally coming to me. When they unpacked there was substantial damage to two antique pieces of furniture and the finish of my leather sofa was severely defaced. Wheaton refused to pay for the damage to my sofa, even though I had purchased full replacement coverage. I have moved all over the country using many movers and Wheaton/Mathers Bros was by far the worst moving company I have ever dealt with.     .

Service cost: $5200

First off I want to point out, DONT USE WHEATON!! USE ALLIED!!
The story starts as such.
I was starting a new job in Indiana and I needed to move, I looked at a local agency that recommended Wheaton. Ok. Long story short ALL.. and I mean ALL my boxes that I packed were destroyed, as well as my Grandmaothers furniture that was willed to me when she passed away. Their total settlement, 1% of the total move. I am currently in negotiations right now and have already disputed my credit card purchase with credit company and they will be cancelling the payment. Driver used wood glue and screws to fix my antique furniture. BEST line to hear from a mover ever
 
"I've never fixed a clients furniture in front of them before."
 
SERIOUSLY??
 
I used Allied only 1 year prior and all my stuff arrived in excellent condition.
Again I will state USE ALLIED!!

Service cost: $2368

Furniture was taken in new condition, delivered scratched, marred, and two pieces splintered. Some items missing ie, ten baseball caps, oil painting, crockpot, that we know for sure. In the past as military officer and Air line Captain I have moved many, many times both inter and intra state, always with satisfactory results. This was totally unsatisfactory. Wheaton offered $108 without any inspection, all determined from a distant desk. Stonewalling!! We had taken the minimum insurance as we had had such good moves in the past. But .60 X weight of damaged pieces comes to several times $108. That does not count the missing items. Avoid WHEATON!

Service cost: $6000

Wheaton used subsidiary carriers since they didn't service VT, and they failed to tell us this is how they operate.  2 guys from Wheaton were good & on time; however, they (along with the Wheaton acct rep) failed to tell us we had to inspect everything for damages and missing items, etc. @ time of delivery.  Instead we were told we had 9 months to file a claim, which is what we did.  We had furniture damaged, bottom of a night stand totally destroyed, items found damaged once we removed them from the cartons, and items missing.  I've moved 6 times with all the major carriers and NEVER had an issue like this when filing a claim.  They basically do not take responsibility for anything, and I would NEVER recommend them to others.  When you consider we filled a 52' truck with all our household items and it took them a day & a half to unload everything, no reasonable company would expect the client to check every single item and open/inspect over 300 cartons while the drivers wait. By far the worse moving company I've ever used when it comes to taking responsibility for damages incurred during the move.

Service cost: $15000