American Van Lines Reviews 328

They contracted out my move to some third-party in violation of our agreement after increasing the cost estimate by 1K each time we talked after we had already committed and couldn't swap to another business. They broke a ton of stuff and have ignored the claim I submitted 3 weeks ago. I can't get anyone to answer the phone or pay me the money owed.

Update on Dec 1: They still haven't paid me anything, but they are starting to offer me low amounts of money. It's been months of back and forth. They are the worst.

The office staff and driver were reliable, knowledgeable and professional. Our move went smoothly from beginning to end. Thank you.

Broke and left scratch marks on furniture, then tried to cover it up with magic marker. Lost items such as glass shelves, tool box with tools. Boxes had large holes in them. Took 2 hour lunch time while unloading. Didn't arrive when they said they would.

Worst experience of my life. The van showed up after days of delay late on a Friday night. Then we had to move the whole house in a few short hours and also clean the whole house and be out by Saturday (due to closing restrictions on the new house in our new location). Then the driver said they could not fit all our stuff into the truck unless we paid extra money. Pure extortion! After we paid, they suddenly became helpful again and agreed to move all our stuff. Then when the items arrived at our new home, many most expensive items like tv, desk, piano etc were damaged. Our family piano had a leg broken off. But yet we paid extra to move the piano! Family pictures came off the truck with broken frames etc etc etc.

Very good service, prompt with no problems

As so many Others have mentioned, the Company Routinely Doubles the Quoted binding-estimate price, on each User, once they Show-up at your place and know that it is too late to Back out. Worst Experience, of any Moving company in 40-years. Do NOT TRUST!

They are Trying to Improperly have my Review deleted. Seems the Common Theme

The pro's, sales and flexibility to pack and load on a short timeline. The con's, the tacking on a week's storage when we took 2 days to travel the 900 miles and when packing you did damage furniture and pack items which were in the garbage. We're still looking for items crammed into boxes packed by American.

Very satisfying on time and nice people i recommend

Great service

The people were great to work with. They help to make the transition smooth.

My experience with American Van Lines started off fine when dealing with Alex F as he was personable and helpful (initially), but this soon changed as he couldn't even respond to an email where I was asking for help on my delivery. Everything went downhill after they picked up my items. Communication became spotty and unreliable—I had to repeatedly reach out just to get basic updates, and even then, the responses were vague or delayed.

The delivery was late by several weeks from the agreed upon date of 8/8 (received 8/28) which was communicated with both Alex and my originally assigned customer rep Bryan. I was left completely in the dark, unsure of where my belongings were or when they would arrive. What made the situation worse was the lack of transparency. After pickup, the timeline kept changing without explanation, and additional charges were mentioned without clear justification. It felt like I was dealing with a company that didn’t value honesty or customer peace of mind. I got a hold of an agent on 8/8 asking about the timing of my delivery for the day since I had to pay an elevator reservation fee to which I was told I should have canceled, and it was on me because they never called the day before confirming my delivery. No one bothered to inform me ahead of time that there were any issues, so I called daily for about 2 weeks. Over this time, I learned that Bryan was no longer with the company and Rudy G was my new contact, but I never received any communication around this even as I was calling having issues. He was able to send me the final portion of my bill so that I could pay them, however getting a call back or communication was asking a bit too much. I had spoken to a random CSR asking for an update, to which she confirmed she saw notes that I had confirmed the agreed delivery with TWO different employees prior to my pick up and then she mentioned Rudy called me to which I laughed because I couldn't even get an email back at the time. I was fed up at this point that I requested a supervisor to discuss my frustrations.

Rita O was the supervisor who called, validating my frustration and saying she would look into my delivery more, but did note there were mechanical issues with the originally scheduled truck. Had this been communicated, I would have been fine because I'm a reasonable person, but this wasn't. The day Rudy finally gave me a call, he was instantly defensive and condescending on the call trying to tell me there were no notes. He went on to say that the driver had a death in the family which is the reason for the delay, to which I said "bull shit, I don't believe shit you're saying because I was also told you called me and this is the first that's happened". I had finally snapped because these individuals are awful at customer service and will gas light customers for their inability to carry out the tasks they are paid to do. I had to call Rita several times from this point where I complained about Rudy and said I wanted someone else to handle my delivery. It was almost as though she saw the transcript of our conversation because her tone changed once I voiced my dissatisfaction and concerns. When I asked if they would reimburse me for repurchasing items since I had a trip and things plans she said they weren't liable, but could I say the same if I withheld payment because of whatever BS I wanted to say. However, I should've known it's a tone from the top issue because she barely followed up as promised and couldn't even respond to my email on the day of delivery since I had to pay my outstanding balance where I was told I would receive a discount.

I had to call customer service because Rita was refusing my calls and emails. They got a hold of her to which she forwarded an agreement reimbursing me a measly $600, but I wouldn't be able to leave negative reviews or talk about this awful experience. Since I relied heavily on reviews, I decided the money was whatever at this point, but voicing the unprofessionalism of this company and doing all I can to blast their poor standards meant so much more. I expected professionalism and reliability, but unfortunately, American Van Lines failed to deliver on both. I would not recommend them to anyone looking for a stress-free moving experience.

One last warning for anyone that decides to go with AVL, use caution if you deal with Alex F, Rudy G, or Rita O.

Add $2000 to whatever quote if you use this company. My brother made advance arrangements for an interstate move. The day comes to pack the house out...they dont show. Took him two days to reach someone at the company. They claimed there were truck problems, but could not explain why they didn't call, or why they didn't just get another truck. Finally, 4 days late, they pack him out, then arrive two days late at the new apartment. A week behind altogeher at this point now. Once the truck is unloaded, his adjustable beds were broken, literally missing parts (how?), and a box is missing. They tried to get him to sign off that everything was acceptable!!! Then they offered him less than two hundred dollars in recompense for the two broken thousand+ dollar adjustable beds and an entire box of household goods!!!
This used to be the premier moving company in ths country. It is garbage now. Just don't do it. Two Guys and a Truck would be more reliable!!!

Unfortunately I strongly recommend you DO NOT USE American Van lines.
After a great sales pitch the customer service rapidly went down hill. Date changes, cancelled pickup, rescheduled at the last moment and not a care for my organization or planning. Charged extra on pickup which if I didn't pay they would leave.
Sadly two plastic totes were damaged and 3 totes including one full of treasured vinyl records did not arrive. After much trouble trying to get an agent I've been told sorry but they can't locate the missing items.
No info as to how to make a claim. I'll be reporting them and taking this further.
Beware of this company.

I recently carried out a US interstate move through American Van Lines. My experience was horrific, and I strongly advise prospective customers to look elsewhere.

(1) As of early August 2025, American Van Lines markets itself primarily as a full-service mover, but they also delegate moves to other companies. In my case, they delegated the move to another company (Jackson Movers, DOT #97376).

(2) American Van Lines provided an 11-day delivery window in the invoice, and a 12-day delivery window in the signed binding estimate, yet my delivery was scheduled for a date outside both windows.

(3) American Van Lines did not provide a specific delivery time in our phone calls, even the day before the delivery, even though I repeatedly informed them I intended to use the delivery time to reserve legal parking in my city. This issue was ultimately resolved after I repeatedly called customer service, and emailed both American Van Lines and the agent company.

(4) The agent company attempted to collect a duplicate $400 shuttle fee that already appeared on my signed binding estimate. This issue was ultimately resolved.

(5) Two staff members from the agent company requested, in separate phone calls, that I either prepay in full before delivery or pay cash at delivery, even though the signed binding estimate explicitly allows credit cards at delivery (credit cards at delivery offer more protection to consumers). They backed down only after I repeatedly cited the signed binding estimate, the content of 49 C.F.R. § 375.217(c)(1), and threatened to involve law enforcement.

(6) About four hours before the delivery, the driver stated he would not deliver unless I paid by cash, money order, or cashier's check, even though I had offered to pay by credit card and staff members from the agent company had already agreed the previous day to authorize a payment by credit card upon delivery (consistent with the signed binding estimate). This issue was ultimately resolved.

(7) Upon delivery, several items were damaged: two boxes were partially crushed and soaked with liquid, and my bike had a flat tire.

Before delivery, I filed an FMCSA complaint against American Van Lines due to the timing of the delivery. After delivery, I submitted a claim alleging damages to my possessions, and am awaiting acknowledgement at the time of this review. I strongly advise prospective customers to look elsewhere. If you choose to hire American Van Lines for your move, I suggest reviewing consumer protections (see ECFR, Title 49, Part 375), and bookmarking the FMCSA complaint portal, in case they do not comply with federal regulations during the move.

They moved us from Lakewood, CO to Gray, TN in April of 2025. We had a five bedroom house, and a wood shop in the garage. The moving truck showed up at 10am, and many additional vehicles with 9 workers. The 53 foot trailer was loaded (about 3/4 full) and on the road by 6pm that same evening. The trailer was unloaded the following week at a storage facility in TN, and the unloading with just 4 workers also took about the same time. Blanket wrapping and disassembly at our home in CO took some time. We have finally moved into our home and we have suffered no loss or significant damage to our personal property. The are some minor scrapes. They did a great job moving this stuff on both sides on the move. We used a local mover for getting our stuff out of storage and to our new home. Cheers, Jim

Thomas RAO did a very nice job of organizing the move, telling us how we could help and offered a reasonable price. Ed the Driver was prompt and courteous. The crews on both ends at his direction were very polite and surprisingly careful with all our items. Despite temperatures and rain, they never complained. Ed stayed in touch with us throughout his drive from FL to TX and helped clear up a couple areas of confusion. We highly recommend them.

Good communication re delivery
Safe packaging of my possessions, courteous and fast delivery men.

We got three quotes for moving, and this was the lowest one by far, but the service was great, pick up and delivery, or as requested, the drivers and helpers were very helpful and polite. I will be using American Van Lines for my next move!

Always on time and very professional.i was totally impressed