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American Van Lines
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American Van Lines Complaints 81

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6:29 pm EDT
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American Van Lines customer service

Can not get a straight answer or even a call back for that matter. Picked up our stuff five days and no one can tell us where it is or when it will be delivered. Getting very angry...will call every 20 minutes until they get sick of me...

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AVL, aka, SNAFU
US
Oct 11, 2011 10:48 pm EDT

Danni6676, you are welcome to finish telling your nightmare in hell on this AVL complaint site and other AVL complaint sites.

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Oct 05, 2011 7:37 pm EDT
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Dear American Van Lines Customer,

We apologize for the issue you are currently facing with our team. Your review is very important to us. Please call [protected] to provide your basic information and we will promptly look up your job number and answer your questions.

Again, sorry for the delayed contact. Please call us and we will provide you with the quality service you expect and deserve.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Customer Relationship Manager

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American Van Lines over charge

I am owed a refund and I can not get a response from AVL.
I have called and left VM, I have called and requested to speak to managers and been hung up on, I have emailed Don Otis and gotten nowhere. I would like a refund.

1: I was given a "Binding estimate" of $2489.05 7/1/2011, -Paying $1034.88 in deposit.

2: I called (Mid Aug) requested for the movers to pack my kitchen dishes, a few paintings and mirrors, "maybe up to ten". He quoted me $175.00

3: The pick-up date was set for Aug 19, but was flexible to the 20th. I was called on the 19th and told they would not arrive until the 21st. A complete inconvenience, I had to clean my house and fly out, I was left with NO time.

4: The two men that came to my house were nice but could not speak any ENGLISH. They left, I received a text stating I was over weight by 720LBS. @.83 per LBS = $597.60

5: I received an email from Customer service stating my remaining balance is $($2408.71) WTF?

6: I requested a reweigh because I was not sure if the weight was correct -Aug 2011

7: I was contacted on Wednesday 31/08 by "John" from Trans-United Logistics saying that they would arrive Friday afternoon or Saturday. I was contacted on Saturday at noon by "John" who was RUDE, Yelling, and being VERY vulgar, would not even let me say a word or ask a quewstion and unprofessional, saying they would not arrive until Sunday 8am-12, at 11:58 Sunday 4/09 I got a call from the driver saying they would be south of my house at the weigh station in approx an hr (weigh Station was 45 mins away from my house)

8: I paid $2408.71 in cashiers check to the Driver (or they would not release me my belongings) and then followed them back to the weigh station, I was only over 540 LBS (not 720)= $448.20. not $597.60 diff of $149.40 not the 331.34 I HAD to pay over...
Still... somewhere they tacked on $182.03?

I have reported to BBB and am waiting a response, I also feel I should be compensated my distress and extra work I have had to do just to get my goods moved. "I'm sure that will never happen"

I will NEVER recommend anyone use AVL for anything!

Quoted price: $ 2, 489.05 total paid: $3, 452.59
Deposit - $ 1, 043.88
Remaining = $ 1, 454.70
Add packing + $ 175.00
Extra LBS + $ 448.20
Total owed = $ 2, 077.37
Total Paid $ 2, 408.71
Refund due $ 331.34

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 27, 2011 5:09 pm EDT
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Dear American Van Lines Customer,

We apologize for disappointing you during your move. We thank you for your review and would like to communicate with you about issue.

Our team understands that pricing was an issue, but we currently cannot locate your job number. Please call us at [protected] so we can investigate your move and work with you to achieve a mutual resolution.

We look forward to improving your experience with our team.

Sincerely,
AVL Customer Relationship Manager

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movinghelperfor you
Yuma, US
Sep 21, 2011 6:18 am EDT

Make sure you file a complaint with the FMCSA. Binding estimates are binding. That means they are what they say when you sign the document. No later on changing the price. FILE A COMPLAINT NOW. Also write complaints on a lot of other moving websites.

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Im a current employee of american van lines to be more specific a driver. American van lines is affiliated to colonial van lines. Moving squad. Relo van lines reason why im giving this info out its so all of you out there do not hire none of these. This company will rip you off !!! They make us theyre drivers do fraud on the weigh scales so you pay triple...

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American Van Lines worst movers ever

- My furniture is badly damaged and/or stained.
- The pickup occurred one day late. The delivery occurred nine days late. American Van Lines offered me $200 in compensation which is 2/3 of their stated compensation rate of $30 per day (X 10 days).
- I missed two days of work (16 hours) due to scheduled pickups and deliveries that did not occur (my current salary is $53.61 per hour). No one called to inform me that the dates had changed.
- It cost me approximately $80 for lodging on the last day of the pickup window. After I called numerous times to ask of the driver's whereabouts the drivers finally responded and kept pushing the pickup time later and later into the evening. They eventually did not show. Had they informed they could not make it vs making empty promises I could have cancelled the hotel for that night.
- It cost me approximately $84 per day for three days of lodging AFTER the delivery window closed.
- I was forced to sleep on the floor of my home for six days AFTER being forced to check out of my hotel due to their being full AND due to the company only offering me $30 per day (which they did not honor in their compensation offer) for being late which would not cover the cost of a room.
- After spending several nights on my floor I now suffer from back pain which forced me to take additional days off of work.

As a federal agent and former member of the US Air Force I have relocated across country on several occasions throughout my career. I have yet to file claims or seek compensation as of result of ANY of my previous moves. As a man of integrity I can honestly state American Van Lines has afforded me the absolute worst, costly, and stressful moving experience in my entire career. - AVOID AT ALL COST -

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LizHolt
Caraway, US
Apr 24, 2013 11:21 am EDT

I don't even know where to start complaining about these people. BEWARE of this company, they lie, they sub contract and don't tell you that, everything they say is a lie! From the estimate to the pick-up to the delivery, everything was a lie! My movers din't even speak english, they were rude, broke stuff, did not arrive or deliver when they said, wanted cash(not)! When I did call several times and complain they finally reimbursed me a lousy $145.00 which didn't even cover the cost of my time complaining! Just know EVERYTHING they tell you is a LIE! I am turning them in to the Better Business Bureau and I suggest if anyone else has had a bad outcome with this company, please do the same.

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yeah, right!
US
Sep 21, 2011 6:36 pm EDT

The day that American Van Lines follows through with what they say, is the day it will be cold in HELL!

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 19, 2011 9:27 pm EDT
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Dear Customer,

American Van Lines apologizes for inconveniences caused to your moving plans. We understand that you had an unpleasant experience with us, and we thank you for your review.

We want to correct our issues as quickly as possible. Please contact us at [protected]. We want to look up your job number to investigate what went wrong and we also want to know if there is any way we can further assist you. Our team is at your disposal. Again, our apologies for not meeting your expectations. We look forward to communicating with you.

Sincerely,
Customer Relationship Manager

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4:08 pm EDT
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American Van Lines nightmare moving experience

Nightmare – do not use american van lines – here’s what I went through:
This was the worst moving experience I have had (And I have moved 4 times in the past 5 years).
When I first spoke with my representative, don otis, regarding a moving quote, I was told that since I was one of the first people to be booked on my particular trucks, I would be given "customizable" delivery dates — a 5 day window instead of the usual 10-14 day window. My contract showed that pick up was to be on june 22 or june 23 and delivery between june 25-29.
On friday, june 17, I received a call from customer service. She said there was going to be a truck coming through oklahoma city on monday, june 20. I was asked if there was "any way" that I could have my things packed and picked up 2 to 3 days early. I was on vacation that weekend, changed plans and came home to oklahoma city early to finish packing. I took monday, june 20 off work since they were coming to pick up everything, and I booked a hotel room for both monday and tuesday night since I still had to be in oklahoma city for work and I did not expect to have a bed (Or any other belongings). I was told the pick up would be between 9am and 12pm on monday, june 20.
No one ever came on monday, june 20; I also never received a call from my representative, from customer service or from the driver explaining why they were not there to pick up my things. At 12:15pm, I called avl customer service, who had absolutely no explanation as to why my pick up did not happen. They claimed to call the driver, but "could not get him to answer his phone"... This went on all afternoon on monday, june 20. No one, at any time, was able to get in touch with the driver.
Tuesday, june 21: still absolutely no explanation as to why my pick up did not happen. I had spent hours on hold with customer service with absolutely no responses or explanations on monday, so on tuesday I called my representative, don otis, and asked him to try to help get me answers. After several hours, I received a call from don, who said he had spoken with my driver and that my pick up would be between 3:30-4:30 pm on tuesday, june 21. (In the meantime, kevin, from customer service, called to ask if my pick up had gone smoothly the day before — the lack of communication and irresponsibility of avl was such that your own customer service rep, the one assigned to my particular move, did not even know whether or not my pick up happened. At 4:30pm, still no one had arrived and I had received no explanation. A total of 16 calls were made on june 21 to customer service and my representative, and not a single straight answer was given to me. I was given the driver's phone number on that day as well; I made 8 calls to the driver and sent 2 text messages; linton (The driver) did not answer a single call or respond to a text message. He finally called at 9:06pm on tuesday saying that he was still over 3 hours away from oklahoma city and would be there the pick up my things at 6am on wednesday, june 22. Why was I told that pick up would be between 3:30 and 4:30 pm if at 9:00 pm the driver was still 3 hours away — I received nothing but lies all day long.

Wednesday, june 22: after swearing that they would be at my house at 6am, the driver/van did not show up until 6:40am. To make matters worse, it was one of the most unprofessional situations I had seen. The driver had an adult assistant/helper, as well as two children, ages 10 and 11, who helped them carry boxes and load the truck — unprofessional. The kids were yelling and screaming going up and down the stairs, awaking neighbors.
When speaking to linton, the driver, I asked why he was 2 days late without ever calling me. I also asked why he had not answered his phone whenever customer service and dispatch had been calling him for the past two days. He said that he needed to get more gas for his truck and that avl had refused to allow him to charge any more fuel on his fuel card, so he got mad and refused to drive or answer his phone.
As a driver for a huge, national company, I find it very hard to believe that #1. The company is not aware of gas mileage of their trucks and do not give the drivers money for fuel to cover their trips, and #2. That the drivers actually run out of gas this often (As you'll see below, I was told on another occasion that the driver "ran out of gas" and this is why he was late with the delivery). He also said he was in a place with poor cell phone reception and this was why he hadn't answered my calls — I don't believe you can find a single place in the usa that doesn't not have cell phone reception for up to 12 hours at a time — again, endless lies.
During my pick up, I asked linton when he thought my things would be delivered in florida (Again, my signed contract said june 25-29 were my delivery dates). He said he did not know about the delivery date; when I told him about my contract, he laughed and said the company "lied to me" about customizable dates. He called dispatch right then and when he got off the phone he said dispatch told him my things would be delivered by the 29th of june. He finished the pick up and was one his way.
Thursday, june 23: I received a voicemail from kevin with customer service, "confirming" my delivery for "6/29." he also said, "of course, if there are any changes, we will call you."
As my confirmed delivery date approached, I made my way to florida. On june 28, one day prior to my, again, "confirmed" delivery date, I had not received any calls to tell me a time frame for my delivery the next day. I made 23 calls to customer service on tuesday, june 28, and at no point that day was I told where the driver was. I also called the driver 4 times that day and sent him a text message — no response at all. After spending the majority of the day on the phone with customer service, kevin from customer service called at 7pm and said my delivery would most likely now be on friday, july 1.
Please note: throughout my quote, pick up and delivery disaster of a "process", I was told repeatedly about "confirmed" dates, promised to be called if there were "any changes to the schedule," and at no time in the entire process was I notified of changes without first spending hours on the phone trying to get information. There was not a single instance of customer service taking initiative and calling to notify me of changes. Kevin assured me he would call me back on a daily basis, and not a single time did he follow through. I eventually spoke with a customer service "manager", andrea, who also promised to make note of kevin's behavior and she said she personally would call me back at the end of the day with information... Again, absolutely no response from andrea as well.
Thursday, june 30 - saturday, july 1 — a constant run around of lies, lack of answers, confusion. Again, the driver "wasn't answering his phone", I was never told where in the country the driver was, and my delivery date somehow would get bumped by "a few hours" to "the next day" on a daily basis. I understand that things come up — delays, flat tires, running out of gas... But the amount of times I was given the same excuses is unbelievable. Kevin told me that they ran out of gas and that was the reason for the delay — running out of gas may delay things by 3-4 hours, but in no way do I believe this is what resulted in a 4 day delay past my "customizable" dates of june 25-29 as listed on my contract. Over these days, I called avl 19 times and received no definite answers; I called linton, the driver, 2 times with no answer
Again, I still received no answers regarding where he actually was and why he was 4 days past contract.
When linton finally did arrive, at 3:30 pm on sunday july 3 (With contract delivery dates of june 25-29), he again had the same two young children with him. After a few hours, it appeared that most of my things had been unloaded, the movers had not come up with boxes in over half an hour, and I was unpacking in my apartment. Linton had not come up for me to sign the final paperwork. I was about to have to leave, so I went down to find him.
When I walked downstairs, the avl truck was still outside but linton was nowhere to be found. Then I saw the two young kids carrying boxes up the stairs of another building of the apartment complex. I walked over and found a man in a budget rent a truck and told him I was looking for my movers. Right then, I saw linton coming down the stairs of the neighboring building. He laughed when he saw me and said he was "doing some moonlighting, a little extra side work." — he had not yet finished my job yet he had found a way to make extra money on the side helping to unload someone he did not know. I told him I now understood why he was 4 days late.
Linton came upstairs and I signed my paperwork; I assumed he then went on his way. Over an hour later, I realized that I was missing a table. I immediately called and sent him a text message about it, then walked outside... Only to see that his truck was still there! He was still unloading for other, random people, delaying all the other avl paying customers whose things were still on the same truck mine had been on — completely ridiculous and unprofessional.
I have never dealt with a more unprofessional, disrespectful and unorganized company. Save yourself from stress and fury – use someone else!

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yeah, right!
US
Sep 21, 2011 6:43 pm EDT

Gee, looks to me like Kevin of Customer Service, and Andrea, Customer Service Manager, knew about this disaster. What did they do? NOTHING! and NOTHING!

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 20, 2011 4:05 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Dear American Van Lines Customer:

We apologize for the discouraging and unpleasant experience you had during your move. We appreciate the time you took to submit a complaint since it has made us aware of very serious issues.
We would like to communicate with you about your move urgently. Please contact us as soon as possible at [protected]. American Van Lines would like to rectify the inconveniences caused to your move in a prompt and efficient manner. Please accept our apologies and allow us to improve your experience and satisfaction with our team.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
AVL Customer Relationship Manager

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7:50 pm EDT
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American Van Lines theft

Moving is one of the most stressful things, you put your trust into complete strangers and hope that they live up to their company's name and treat other people's life belongings as if they were their own. I called this company for me and my 2 toddler daughter's big move from Miami, FL to New York without knowing that my 1500 dollar move will end up in a lost of over 5, oo0+ dollars and depression. Being a single mother of 2 little girls i wanted a better life so i decided to relocate. Our entire lives were placed in a warehouse for a Month, it was picked up a week before our move so we will have it upon our arrival, instead we got NO calls for an entire Month, i had to call weekly to know what the status was on my delivery. When finally a Month passed and my stuff arrived, i was told by the driver that one box was not delivered and left at the warehouse due to the claim that something had spilled in the box, only to find out it was the box with my kids' gaming devices, $2, 000 worth of devices, ipods and games for the PSP, Nintendo DSI and New Nintendo 3D my oldest got for her birthday the month before the move. Not to mention all my furniture was damaged, it looked as if my belongings i worked all my life for were involved in and earthquake...treated WITH NO CARE! I was told by John the driver that i had 30 days to claim my property (the box) so when i called the next day i was told per the CSR rep that the warehouse manager "threw the box away" Who gave him the right to throw my property away damaged or not? As a result, i filed a complaint on their website according to their process and have yet to get a call back...it is a daily struggle and a very sad situation especially knowing that i am unable to replace those things my kids loved most. I am reporting this company to the BBB as well as filing a police report, very rude and UNPROFESSIONAL people working there and i will do EVERYTHING in my power to make sure the public knows about this. DO NOT let it happen to you and your family. They simply DO NOT CARE.

-Jessica Barbuto

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schippy51
Medford, US
Oct 29, 2011 9:31 pm EDT

Hey AVL Customer Relationship Manager, where are you when I need you? Jessica, I know your pain. I'm going through the same thing with my mother in law right now. We moved her from Arizona to Oregon, she is staying with us until her belongings are delivered. Her home is sitting, rented, empty, waiting for some mystery truck to roll up at any minute. First it was a 3 to 4 day delivery, then another 2 days. Then nothing for a week because...AVL LOST THE TRUCK! They are now in breach of contract but if you read there conditions...that means squat. They will deliver when they choose and charge you what they choose. We have called the police, we know every customer agent assigned to our region by name, the young lady who was "assigned our case" what ever that means has a habit of not answering her phone. When she does answer, we hear the same story. "Let me look into this and I'll call you right back". We called her back 15 minutes after the last call and were told that she left for the day. Nobody within the company communicates with one another, nobody knows where my 71 year old Mother in laws belongings are, no two amount due numbers are alike, I feel like I'm in the twilight zone! Relo? One person told me they were one of the companies that contract with AVL, then I was told that Relo is a term for the type of paper work used when AVL uses a carrier other then themselves? One agent assures us we will get a refund, another a partial refund, another says "we'll have the amount due for you shortly", that was 6 days ago. Now today I hear that we will not be able to off load the truck unless we pay another $3300!?!? And really...will AVL refund that amount to us as they say they will? What do you think? This is by far the WORST choice I have ever made in my entire life, DO NOT HIRE AVL, DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING THEY TELL YOU, DO NOT TRUST THE KIND VOICE ON THE PHONE BECAUSE ONCE THEY HAVE YOUR BELONGINGS, YOU CAN KISS THEM AND YOUR MONEY GOOD BYE.

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 27, 2011 8:29 pm EDT
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Dear Jessica,

We apologize for letting you down during your moving venture. We are glad to take this opportunity to further assist you, however, we cannot find your job number in our system. We will need a little bit more information before we can resolve the matter.

Please contact us at [protected] as soon as you are able and we will promptly assist you. American Van Lines wants to rectify the inconveniences caused to you and your young family. Thank you for your review.

Sincerely,
AVL Customer Relationship Manager

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yeah, right!
US
Sep 21, 2011 6:55 pm EDT

What does being married to an attorney have to do with anything?Certainly American Van Lines doesn't care.
Write a complaint testimony about your ordeal on this site.
They kinda care about that. They seem to have a problem with previous customers "advertising" for them.

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Glad I'm married to an attorney!
Brunswick, US
Jul 16, 2011 6:11 pm EDT

You have my sympathy Jessica. I'm dealing with a similar situation with them right now. I am so stressed out from America van lines, I wish I had done the move myself.

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5:25 pm EDT
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American Van Lines do not use this co.

This company is the worst. They lie, they weigh your furniture four times and tell you each time they re-weighed it the furniture weighs more than it did the previous time. Did my things gain weight while sitting on the truck?
They damage your things and lose (steal) your property. American Van Lines delivered my furniture two days late: on a Sunday - when they originally promised it would be delivered on Friday. I lost a day of work at my new job waiting for the movers, who decided they could not get it there on Friday and called me at 5:00 pm Friday to tell me it would now be there on Sunday. My condo association does not allow move-ins on Sunday. Their reaction? too bad. They threatened to leave my stuff in the street. I had to pay for a maintenance person to come in on his day off plus I had to pay a fine to my condo association because they did not want me moving in on a Sunday. These people could not have cared less.
Use anyone but this company.

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 27, 2011 5:17 pm EDT
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Dear Sir or Madam,

American Van Lines sincerely apologizes for the problems that occurred during your move with us. Our team thanks you for your review and we would like to know how we can repair your experience with us.

We understand how frustrating your move was, particularly because of the issue with your condominium's time restrictions. If there is anything we can do to rectify your inconveniences, please call us at [protected] and we will further assist you.

Sincerely,
AVL Customer Relationship Manager

Y
Y
yeah, right!
US
Sep 21, 2011 7:00 pm EDT

And American Van Lines will always prove you wrong...
with more lies!

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12:36 am EDT
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American Van Lines do not use this terrible moving company

I hired American Van Lines for my move from Salt Lake City to Atlanta and it was a terrible experience. They hired a subcontractor who then hired their own subcontractor. When he showed up at my house he insisted that I hadn't packed my items properly and that I needed to buy moving boxes from him or else he wouldn't put them on the truck. I told him that I was fine with the way that they were packed and I would assume liability for damages. He charged me between $15-25 for each cardboard box. I don't think that a shovel and rake worth about $10 each needed to be packed in 2 boxes for an additional $50 but I needed to move that day and didn't have a choice.

It took almost 3 weeks for my items to arrive and when they did he had lost my new $400 bike. Unfortunately when he picked up my items I had to sign an agreement that lost/damanged items would be valued at 60 cents per pound so after much back and forth with their claims department they offered me $24. I've tried to reason with them hoping that they would see how unhappy I was that I paid over $3000 for the move and they had lost an expensive item. The claims agent told me that "I should think of it like I had gone out for a nice dinner only to discover that I had a parking ticket while dining" and that "overall it sounds like I had a pretty good moving experience compared to most".

I also think that they were not honest about the weight of my items. The weight came up much, much higher than the initial estimate that I was given with a complete inventory of my house even though I gave away many large, heavy items after the estimate but before the move. I'm sure they know that there is no way for you to weight a tractor trailer yourself so what can you do?

Long story short, they know that people don't have a lot of leway when the moving truck is at your house and you need to move that day and they certainly take advantage of people. I would advise shopping around for a more reliable company and carefully understanding the carrier's liability before you sign anything or give them a deposit.

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 27, 2011 8:43 pm EDT
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Dear American Van Lines Customer:

We regret hearing about your dissatisfaction with our team. Please understand that we tried our best to provide you with the smoothest, most comprehensive service. We apologize for the issues that you experienced. We appreciate your review.

If there is anything we can do to further assist you, please do not hesitate to contact us at [protected].

Sincerely,
AVL Customer Relationship Manager

Y
Y
yeah, right!
US
Sep 21, 2011 7:04 pm EDT

Your one of the very few lucky ones that a moving truck showed up!

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4:02 pm EDT
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American Van Lines no truck!!

Do not trust their word! Please do not book with them and make the same mistake we did.
This is happening to us right now as im writing about it. It has been a traumatic n financially stressful situation for us.
They have no system, they sure do confirm ur order and get ur money/payments etc, but their words of delivery are all empty promises that they cant keep..

Me and my husband booked american van lines about 3 weeks ago. Michael olsen from customer service dept told us the moving trucks would come on the 7th or 8th june 2011 at latest. Trusting his word, we made arrangements to fly out from kansas on the 9th june 6am (Early morning) flight. We also shipped our car out with them on the 6th june arriving on the 9th june 2011 (Evening) and booked our new apartment on the 10th of june. Today, on the 7th of june, after repeated follow ups of leaving voice mails and emails to michael olsen in particular, we gave up trying to contact him and we finally ended up called up the customer service. Today, on the 7th of june, we are being told that no truck/carrier had been assigned to our move, nor will anything be arranged anytime soon. Maria from customer service had the nerve to tell us if we could get someone to 'baby sit' our boxes and our home while we left the state. (Btw, we are alone in this state without family or relatives arnd us except frens who have a 8-5pm job who obviously cannot babysit for our goods at such short notice).. The customer service person michael olsen has still not contacted us.

So we are left out in a corner to deal with all this last min rubbish with the manager leon saying he might be able to work on a refund but that still doesnt solve the problem that what is exactly going to happen to our move now? When are they going to come? We have no idea, and neither do they. All the customer service people are apparently trying to work on this case giving it the priority, but had me or/and my husband even heard from michael olsen of the slightest possibility that this move might not happen by the 8th of june, we would have made different arrangements or we would have booked thru some other company right from the start!

So to whoever whose reading this, firstly, do not book with american van lines. Secondly, do not trust their word. Always have a backup plan, in fact several plans should the move not happen on time. If you guys do end up going with them anyways, I would suggest to have several back up plans ready just in case they come up saying they do not have a truck at the very last minute.

Right now, we have a flight in the next 48 hrs, a house full of packed boxes and furniture to move, without any car or transport to get around the place, a car arriving in our next location by 9th which cannot be changed, and of course, with the existing furniture in our apartment, we cannot get the maintainence ppl to clean up this apartment for new tenants so we have to end up paying for the current apartment and our new apartment. It has been a traumtic journey with american van lines.

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Nan Yielding
US
Feb 18, 2018 10:39 am EST

Our move was more recent (August 2017), but they certainly haven't improved. We continue to find nicks, scratches, and gouges on our furniture, plus broken items that we packed very securely. They broke a piece off a lamp so there's no way to screw in a light bulb and we have no idea who might be able to repair it. The day of moving was chaos, but I won't even go into that. I contacted them about all this and all they did was send a form to be filled out ... and part of what we were required to do is get the repairs done ourselves (new glasses? new lamp?) and send them the bill. Years ago when I moved and used another company, all I did was place a call and they immediately replaced the couple of things that had been broken.

The bottom line is DO NOT EVER call North American Van Lines when you need a mover!

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Nan Yielding
US
Feb 18, 2018 10:41 am EST

Whoops! I DO apologize. I just noticed this is a different company.

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JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST AVL
US
Nov 01, 2011 4:20 pm EDT

AVL Customer Relationship Manager:
Your team KNOWINGLY causes the distressing situations with their LIES!
Then offers idiotic apologies?! Indeed pathetic excuses for human beings!

Two-fold way AVL can PARTIALLY rectify the damages done to me:
1. Re-imburse ALL the monies I paid to AVL & to AVL's sub-contracted moving company, and for ALL my losses, damages, & extraordinary expenses, and for ALL the living HELL on earth AVL put me through and my loved ones!
2. PLEASE GO OUT OF BUSINESS IMMEDIATELY!

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 27, 2011 9:48 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Dear American Van Lines Customer,

Our team apologizes for the distressing situation you faced while moving with us. We greatly appreciate your review, now please give us an opportunity to make sure you are as satisfied with our services as possible.

We would like to look up your moving information and speak with you about the issues that arose. This will only take a few minutes of your time. Please contact us at [protected] and we will work with you to reach a mutual resolution.

Thank you for your time,
AVL Customer Relationship Manager

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Be extremely vigilant!
US
Sep 24, 2011 2:20 pm EDT

Folks who are in the process of choosing a moving company should take the time to compare the extreme difference between the "customer reviews" on AVL's website and the reviews on this website.
In reality, however, American Van Lines, HQ in Scottsdale AZ, is not a moving company.
AVL is a broker firm that hires haphazard movers.
That being said, it doesn't make any sense for AVL to have "customer reviews" on their website claiming AVL was their mover.

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amy kalwara
Fort Montgomery, US
Jul 29, 2011 3:53 pm EDT
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i am having the same problem as you are right at this point. my mother -in-law is suppose to be moving from missouri to ny. they are suppose to pick up her belongings either july 29th or july 30th. she did not hear anything from them and they blowing off her calls and e-mails. she finally go thru to someone and they said she was not on the schedule for pick up. she made these arrangements on july 2nd, gave her deposit, which they cashed quick enough. someone finally got back to her and there is no room on the truck. she is on fixed income and her utilities and phone will be shut off as of the 31st. she had to pay rent and security on her neww apartment, has to fly her friend back to missouri after they drive here. she'll lose it all. freaking unbelievable. amy

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Paula is Angry
Chandler, US
Jun 17, 2011 5:08 pm EDT
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I am making sure I add my comments in today. I am so upset right now I have no words...not only did we get the same shake down as others with the 2100.00 on the spot increase in charges...the original shake down...but the damaged our furniture and lost our clothes..two 4ft tall wardrobe boxes...WTF I am so angry with them and my better judgement. I should have read more on this company and not trusted them up front. Our move happened 6/3 and they delivered our furniture on 6/11 busted up and missing boxes for the Mafia shakedown that we got..now I am having trouble reaching management...

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watchfulleye
US
Jun 09, 2011 1:21 pm EDT
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This is just the start of it for y0u, wait till the price rises and rises. Bet they were the cheapest also. Typical scam and they do this day in day out, they are professionals but not in the moving industry. I look forward to hearing the rest of the story after and if delivery is made like lots of broken items. Believe me I have heard it all before and will hear it again.

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7:56 pm EDT
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American Van Lines do not use avl - worst company ever!

AVL lied to me over and over. They promised 3-14 days delivery. They delievered when I was OUT OF TOWN 21 days later! They damaged my goods, denied the damage, gave false information to my insurance company. They will not call me. I even tried contacting AVL headquarters and didn't get anywhere. They didn't have the proper moving equipment at origin. They didn't blanket wrap my piano as promised, they mangled the piano cord, they broke the bookholder and it crashed down and chipped the keys. They lie, lie, lie.

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Update by Michelle F
Jan 15, 2012 12:21 am EST

Please do not believe a word of this company's reply. They make absolutely NO attempt to please their customers or even to follow through with their basic promises of moving your furniture safely. I am going to court on Friday and assume the judge will side with me. Do not use American Van Lines!

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 27, 2011 7:14 pm EDT
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Dear American Van Lines Customer,

Our team is very sorry for not providing you with the service you expected and deserve. We'd like to speak with you about the issues that arose while moving with us and try to resolve the inconveniences caused to your moving plans.

American Van Lines strives to assure our customers with comprehensive service. We would appreciate it if you could get in touch with us and provide us with your job number so we can investigate and rectify your experience with American Van Lines.

Please contact us at [protected]. We are at your disposal.

Sincerely,
AVL Customer Relationship Manager

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yeah, right
US
Sep 21, 2011 7:58 pm EDT

We can tell of our nightmare experiences with American Van Lines until we are blue in the face. Consumers are still not going to believe that this company can be so horrible...until they book with AVL.
Then they will believe us!

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American Van Lines misleading! please take heed!

American van lines lead us to believe they are the actual movers! American van lines are actually just brokers, who did not care less >after< our contract was signed! >american van lines was instrumental in turning our joyful anticipation for our retirement move into hell on earth!

From pa to fl - before signing the contract: "jonathan," an american van lines sales rep in ft. Lauderdale, fl, gave us a low quote of $1, 800; and said when the truck is weighed, it might be just a little more. If the weight is less, we would be re-imbursed. He lead us to believe that our items would be picked up by their tractor-trailer*. (More below)
We questioned the sales rep about such concerns as to why american van lines has such terrible consumer complaints on websites. He had what seemed to be an acceptable answer for that, and for every other reasonable, delving question we asked. He gave us a lot of assurance about avl's entire moving protocol.
The sales rep questioned us about our distance from >phila. And bethlehem, pa.< then he "checked" something, and our moving date was focused on the availability of an "american van lines" tractor-trailer passing thru our area. We signed the contract, and paid what we owed in full, which included extra payment for avl to pack some of our electronic items.

After signing the contract & paying, another american lines rep called to tell us we owed approximately $1, 000 more... (Despite our choice to eliminate some heavier items). We paid. Note: there was no truck weight at this time.
Having continuing conversations with the sales rep, he was fully aware that we had contacted our local police, who agreed to block off some streets to accommodate the tractor-trailer*
We made confirmed, fully-paid, non-refundable travel plans for the day after our expected move, which was well over $2, 000. The sales rep was fully aware of our plans.

"moving day"... With an avl confirmed pick-up date via e-mail & verbally, a tractor-trailer never arrived! Instead, avl had sub-contracted a small u-haul co. Truck out of bethlehem, pa, which was 3/4 filled with another person's items. They could not take our items, & they departed. Only having our cell phone for communication, we called avl. For 6 agonizing hours, we begged "marie," "ed," "leon," & customer service to send another truck. >non-chalantly, they all repeatedly kept saying there was nothing they could do!< and they often kept us on hold for indefinitely! Our cell phone was running out of minutes. Since we had a contract, we persisted until 9 p. M. We then tried to get another mover, but it was too late.

Due to avl's care-less attitude, we then had to deal with many disasters - with one being very critical - that happend between 9 pm, and the time we had to continue with our travel plans the next early a. M.
Our home was up for sale and had to be emptied for carpet layers scheduled for the following day and for a showing the following monday.
At this point, we had no idea what was going to happen!

Over a week later, american van lines chose to sub-contracte a small moving co. Out of philadelphia (

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chris frank
raleigh, US
Jan 19, 2012 9:46 pm EST
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This company is a rip off. Their contract is a scam. They told us they would show by 9 am but we never heard from them. At 2 in the afternoon we hired a different company. Two hours later, after we raised hell asking for our deposite back, they called saying they were on. The way. Very clever, because in the contract they say they can show up within 24 hours of the time specified. So by them calling ten housr later, they could keep their deposit, because they claim we were the one who canceled. Never mind that we had to be out of the house by 4 pm. They are rude ### rip offs. Never ever trust theses people.

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 27, 2011 7:37 pm EDT
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Dear Sir/Madam,

We are very sorry to hear of your stressful moving experience. Our team apologizes for not delivering the comprehensive service you expected and deserve. Please accept our request to work with you to resolve this issue and gain your satisfaction. We will need more information about your move in order to investigate.

Contact us at [protected] and we will further assist you. Thank you for your review.

Sincerely,
AVL Customer Relationship Manager

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yeah, right!
US
Sep 21, 2011 7:33 pm EDT

Ooooh myyy gosh! These complaints get worse and worse!
I'm now at the point of saying that American Van Lines is a filthy, disgraceful, unconscienable, disgusting, shameless Broker company!
I don't think a group of people anywhere could be any lower!
I feel so sorry for what American Van Lines did to these older folks! So sad...

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5:13 pm EDT
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American Van Lines delayed delivery

What a mess. This company has the poorest customer service I have ever experienced. They lie and do not give a dam about the customer. They will not escalate any problem to anyone in authority and will not give a specific answer to any question! Read the following to learn what kind of service they provide. We were quoted 4-10 days delivery after pickup. After 8 days and no calls except about final payment, I called to find out when our shipment would arrive. THEY DID NOT KNOW! Finally got a guarantee that it the delivery would be made in three or four days. I had to call again to see what day and time the truck would arrive. Was told that truck was going to be here in two days (Friday) and they would call with the time. I had to call again (Thursday)because had not received a call from American Van and found out less than 24 hours to the scheduled delivery that they would not deliver until Monday. Started calling all the companies involved (found out that there are at least three separate companies handling my move) and finally got ahold of the driver. He said he would deliver on Monday. Called the driver on Sunday to get a time for the delivery on Monday and he said he would be arriving between noon and 3pm on Monday. At 12:30pm on Monday I again called the driver and asked him how close he was and he said that the company (American Van Lines) was supposed to call me and tell me it would be Tuesday. American Van Lines picked up my furniture on March 23 and today is April 12. Still no furniture! Supposedly they are on their way right now - we will see if they lied again. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY!

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movinghelperfor you
Yuma, US
Apr 13, 2011 5:17 am EDT

Welcome to the Club, they have scammed a lot of people. You can go the the SOS of Florida and look up their name. You will find the owners name and if you search that you will find all of the other company names he operate under.

But you got what you paid for, and probably ended up paying more than quoted.

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1:52 am EDT
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American Van Lines misleading service

Last week i scheduled a move with Don Otis of American Van lines to have a pickup in Greenville, SC and drop off at Richmond, VA and Midlothian, VA. This move was taking place on Friday, March 18th and was dropping off on Saturday, March 19th. I was advised by Don that the movers would take care of any disassembling and reassembling of any items needed.
I recieved a call that the movers would be in the area around 5pm, the call was from a lady representing Best Moving group. The first problem is i was NEVER advised that we were going to be using a sister company during this process. The second problem is the drive from Greenville, SC to Richmond, VA is only 6 hours. If the stuff was picked up Friday morning around 10-10:30 how did it take that long to get to Richmond, VA? The company advised us that the cost went up due to packing the items ( I later found out that additonal items were put on the truck and thats what the price up, why was this not mentioned in the call?).
The movers arrived in Richmond, VA at 6:45pm ( in a unmarked truck with no business name) and began bringing the items for that location. 1 of the items was a couch which the mover said he could not get up the outside steps and in order to get inside would have to disassemble the actual couch. Once brought up he said he would be able to reassemble and advised of the process...are you serious? we were told this would be a handled situation! The entertainment stand was not put together as well.
They did leave Richmond and arrive at Midlothian and dropped off the necessary items and then stated that one of the other movers had the reciept and to call the main number to have it e-mailed to me. This was a very dissapointing and unprofessional move and i am doing everything I can to report it. I have just discovered a site called movingscams.com and I am about to to report this incident.

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Brittskee27
US
May 30, 2011 3:23 pm EDT

To say we were dissatisfied with their services is a vast understatement. This company is HORRIBLE. First, they called us the week of our move and doubled the estimate they'd originally given us, putting us in financial hardship with no option to hire another company because of the late date. Then, on the day of our move they attempted to charge us for a shuttle service to move our things from storage to the moving van when they were clearly told exactly how large our storage facility was ahead of time. Lastly - and by far the worst part - their driver continually told us he would arrive on a certain date and then called each of those days to say he would arrive a day later. We will move ourselves next time and are disgusted by their complete lack of customer service. Do not hire this company for your move.

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sraghura
Dallas, US
Mar 19, 2012 8:07 am EDT

I was supposed to get my furniture moved from overland park, ks to dallas tx - it has been 10 days now and i have no clue where my goods are - i have raised 3 tracking requests on their website, called up at least 40 times till now, and end up leaving a message everytime to their voicemail system which is never cleared i guess. Customer service is non existant and I can't believe that a 500mile trip takes so much time! and this after they came a day ahead of my pick up schedule and threw my move into haywire. will NEVER EVER use their services again, i only hope these people deliver my furniture in full before i move to another city.

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Husker18
US
May 26, 2011 12:28 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Worst company ever for anything.
Contracted a month in advance and paid ahead to coordianate move.
They did not bring American Van Lines truck to your house. They try and find some other carrier.
They forgot about my order and there was no truck, and then lied that they couldnt find a truck.
They are a trucking company. Go out in the parking lot and get a truck.
They had a month notice.
Do not recommend.
Worst experience ever.
Don't worry, because they offer this: I'm sorry.
That always helps.
I hope they go out of business

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Ed MurrayIV
canal fulton, US
Jan 18, 2011 5:04 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I am a Veteran that just got out and hired American Van Lines to move my household goods. I had a very specific schedule that needed to be adhered too because i needed to ensure that i could have a friend or relative available to receive . They ended up arriving 48 hours early in the middle of a workday, instead of calling me they began to call family and harassing them, i received the first call from my 57 year old father that involved threats to the property that i had overpaid to have moved. When i was able to get in touch with the driver it was the ugliest conversation I've been a part of to date. He was very disrespectful to my about the fact that i am a Veteran and proceeded to inform me about how much of a piece of trash i am (THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED). When i called costumer support they told me that they where doing me a favor and the company has nothing to do with the drivers, all they do is dispatch. Finally we came to terms to put my property in storage until i could arrive and they stated that it would be placed about 5 to 10 minutes from my new residence, it was over an hour away and the storage company had nothing but horrible things to say about the movers when they deposited the property. This company is not only bad but they take pride in how bad they are, unless you are a glutton for pain and financial strain i recommend staying away from these clowns.

-Ed Murray

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Apr 10, 2012 7:24 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

American Van Lines apologizes for the delays experienced with delivery of your household goods and any frustration and inconveniences this may have caused. While moving is stressful, sometimes issues may arise to prevent a successful move. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances we were unable to perform as anticipated. Once the information in reference to your delivery becomes available, you will be contacted in advisement.

Our customers are encouraged to file a claim upon completion of their move in the event of any arising issues occurring during their relocation process. Our office will be in contact to confirm your delivery and to inquire about how it progressed. A claims form will be forwarded for you to complete and return to our office for processing in order to address your issues accordingly. We appreciate your business and we look forward to formulating a mutual resolution in reference to your issues.

Thank you

Sincerely,

American Van Lines
Customer Relationship Manager

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younker31
Davenport, US
Apr 09, 2012 3:39 pm EDT

my things are 5 weeks late and still nothing now they tell me the driver that was driving my things is now no longer doing so and they wont give me any other info. Im at a loss a to what to do know!

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Hell with freeze over...
US
Mar 26, 2012 7:22 am EDT

IF AVL were telling the truth, this is what they would say:
1. We are ONLY brokers, not an actual moving company.
2. We attract you with the most assured promises and a very low rate, which is ONLY our broker fee.
We then hire an (irresponsible) moving company to transport your goods, who will charge you thousands of dollars more.
3. You are on your own. HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!HA!

We do not care that we promised you an exact or a window pick-up and delivery dates and/or that your goods are in limbo.
Our customer service and entire AVL staff has no interest in your moving problems. We do not care that your valueables are damaged and/or missing.
4. We make it impossible for you to sue us. (read the contract) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...
5. We have been reported many times to the BBB, and maintain a "F" or "D" rating.
Sorry you had a bad experience with our company...HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHA...

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 27, 2011 10:10 pm EDT
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Dear American Van Lines Customer,

We apologize for disappointing you after you trusted us to service your move. We are deeply sorry for failing to accommodate your needs. Please allow us to communicate with you to reach a resolution. We understand your frustration and we would like to make you as satisfied as possible. Call us at [protected] to disclose your basic information and we will further assist you.

Thank you for your review and we hope to work with you soon.

Best Regards,
AVL Customer Relationship Manager

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 27, 2011 8:17 pm EDT
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Dear American Van Lines Customer:

We are very sorry to hear that you are dissatisfied with our services. We apologize for the inconveniences caused to you and your family. We understand your disappointment and would like an opportunity to rectify the problematic situations and work with you until you are as satisfied as possible. Thank you for bringing issues to our attention.

In order to further assist you, we will need some basic information to look up your job number in our system and work with you to create a mutual resolution. Please contact us whenever you are free at [protected]. We look forward to further assisting you.

Thank you,
AVL Customer Relationship Manager

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 27, 2011 5:31 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Dear American Van Lines Customer,

Our team apologizes for not meeting your expectations during your move. We would like to clarify a few things for you and look up your job number for an update. Please contact us at [protected] and we will promptly assist you further.

Thank you for your time and we look forward to communicating with you.

Sincerely,
AVL Customer Relationship Manager

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3:21 pm EST
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American Van Lines total rip off - thieves and crooks

This company is the worst in the world, they will lie to you, cheat you and hold your household good hostage, much like extortion. Gregory lies, Matthew lies, their drivers lie, the whole company is a group of crooks. The unemployed carnival workers they employee will not pack your house, but charge you for it, will not have enough room on the truck and cause you to pay for another move, will not produce evidence of weight, you can never reach the same person twice, they will pick up your stuff in the dark, leave debris all over your house, and yard and street. They will lie and cheat at every turn. They will even sub-contract your additional move out to another company and then they will jack the price. They ONLY want cash or money orders, it's like handing money over to a convict. They use the f word at will and once they have your stuff, you are screwed. They should not be allowed to use the word American in anything. More like Third or Fourth World Van Lines. Use anyone else, anyone else! You don't want the details of my horror story, but is now my mission to everything possible to see this company lose business and fail. They should all be in jail!

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Be extremely vigilant!
US
Sep 24, 2011 3:56 pm EDT

Keep up the GOOD fight! Does not matter if they believe in a Higher Power or not, eventually their day WILL come, to EVERY ONE of them, and when it does, they will be paying the MOST HEAVIEST price for each and every illusion and hardship that they inflicted on every customer.

I wouldn't want to be them!

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12:07 pm EDT

American Van Lines overcharges, breaks things, horrible customer service

I have to say that I am extremely disappointed with the way our move was handled. I've waited a couple weeks to write this to allow myself to calm down from the anger and disappointment that I felt after our moving experience. You see, it wasn't as if only one thing went wrong - everything went wrong. Honestly if the situation hadn't been happening to me, I might have found it comical just how horrible it went. I've used professional movers twice previously (both times United Van Lines, who you can be sure I will return to for future moves) and have never experienced such poor service, unprofessional behavior, and extreme lack of coutesy as I did with American Van Lines. I've outlined my concerns and the problems I experienced below as I sincerely hope that you take action to prevent this type of experience from happening to any of your customers in the future.

Pick-Up

Movers arrived early morning on day 2 (they called the previous day to say that the packing and loading of the truck would only take 1 day) and movers remained at the house until nearly midnight

Movers arrived without packing materials (no paper of any sort), so they used magazines, napkins, papertowels, etc that they found around my house (when my husband asked if he could go buy them some brown packing paper, they told him it wasn't necessary)

Only 2 movers were on site including the driver, who wore sandals and did not do any loading of the truck except for some heavy furniture

Movers were not careful with any of our belongings or the house - they dropped a mattress outside and broke a large potted plant vase

Mattresses were not wrapped or packed in anything so arrived at the new house covered in dirt

No protective flooring material or banister protectors were used - despite what your website claims

A large statue was thrown in the back of the truck with no box or protection - big surprise that it arrived broken at the new house (driver did pay for this out of his pocket)

When looking in the back of the truck, it looked like a bunch of college kids were moving as so many items were not packed in boxes or protected in any way and were haphazardly thrown in the truck.

The movers took at least 2 smoke breaks every hour may have been why it took them so long.

The truck they were using was leaking so much oil that they used boxes to line the road under the truck.

They left obvious stuff in the house like the vacuum cleaner they had taken everything else out of the closet except that.

In Transit

Our belongings were to be stored until our new home was ready for move-in on August 20, but on August 5, we found out that we could move in on August 13, so we attempted to contact the movers (PS Movers) to change our move-in date. We called them immediately and on that date, we were told that their scheduler would get back to us shortly if they could accommodate the earlier move-in date. When we got no call back we began calling daily and leaving messages but were unable to get a hold of them again until August 11. On that date, we were told that their scheduler would get back to us shortly if they could accommodate the earlier move-in date. Later that day, we received a call that said they would be able to do the earlier move-in date and that they would call back to confirm but they never did. Late on August 12, we received a call that they would not be there on August 13 but would be there first thing in the morning on August 14. We received a call at 2 pm on August 14 saying that the driver was on his way and would be there by 4:30 pm. As my husband had to work that evening, we made arrangements for the move to occur at 7 am on August 15 instead.

On the morning of August 14, while we waited at the new home, we received a call from one of the representatives from American Van Lines with our total amount due statement, which turned out to be 50% higher than the original estimate. My husband questioned the new amount as your website promises that the final amount due would not exceed the quote, but the representative said you have no such policy and that the estimate is purely an estimate.

During the time from August 3 August 11 when we were trying to reach PS Movers, we called our original sales representative to see if he could help us get in touch with PS Movers, but we were told that he no longer had our file and that we would need to talk to PS Movers directly. Glad to see that he was serving as our single point of contact for our move as your website promises.

Move-In Day

No floor protection was used so our new carpets and hardwood floors were covered with black dirt, footprints, and dark dolley lines after the move was complete. I have pictures if you would like to see.

3 movers showed up this time including the driver although again the driver did little else than supervise the other movers.

The boxes did not have clear markings on them to designate where they came from so it was difficult to direct movers as to where to put boxes. Those that did have markings had MK (apparently master closet), GB (although we had 2 rooms packed into boxes with this label), or M (for master). Our kitchen and living room did not apparently have labels.

All boxes, even fragile ones, were loaded onto a dolley that was yanked up several concrete stairs to get to the house I am truly amazed at how little broke, but I think it was more luck than purposeful.

The glass top of a desk (that had not been wrapped at all) was completely shattered in the truck.

At least 1 handle is now missing from every set of drawers we have and the movers were unable to locate them in the truck.

The mover lost the screws to the bed so had to go to Home Depot to buy more.

The driver gave us $300 out of pocket and promised to send a check (that we have yet to receive) for the remainder of the items his crew broke.

Im sure Im forgetting some of the atrocities that we experienced during this move, but you should get the picture from the above. Overall, it was very disheartening to have our move handled by PS Movers as your website claims Unlike out of state moving companies that may contract individuals to relocate you, all of our long distance movers are full-time American Van Lines employees. If this was really the case, why did PS Movers not have an American Van Lines truck? And why did the American Van Lines customer service representative say that he no longer had our file?

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Sep 27, 2011 8:08 pm EDT
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Dear Leah,

We are very sorry to hear about your unpleasant moving experience with our team. Please accept our apologies for the damage and delay. We hope that we still have time to rectify the issues for you and work towards a mutual resolution.

American Van Lines appreciates your review. Please give us an opportunity to speak with you about the issues that arose during your move. All we ask for is your basic information so we can look up your job number. You can reach us at [protected]. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
AVL Customer Relationship Manager

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6:27 pm EDT
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American Van Lines harassing phone calls

Gregory from this company is really rude, harassing, and has a mentality of a 5 yr old. If you answer the phone he gives you a hard time about what you know and considering I am a woman, he thinks I am stupid. When I answered the phone the last time, I told him I booked with another mover and he said really, not even going to give me a chance to beat it? I told him he couldnt, he said really, how come? I already saw his estimate of almost 2200.00 dollars to move a 2 bedroom apartment from Florida to Missouri which ended up being about weight and not about CU FT like most movers.
I again told him I booked with another company and he said, "Good luck with the balance on the other end!" and hung up.

Nasty A**, DONT USE THIS COMPANY, THEY ARE SCAM ARTISTS!

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American Van Lines American Vanlines - Nightmare

I was moving from FL to IA. I was searching for a moving company on the internet and came across this stupid American vanlines. They claim that they are "BBB" rated moving company. I trusted that.

I was contacted by Adam Docktor from American Vanlines and fixed the price and date of movement.

They came one day late to pick up the items. That time itself I smell like it's not going to be as easy as I thought.

After reaching IA, i tried calling them to find out the estimated delivery date as the items were not arrived on the date they had mentioned.

Each time I call their customer service, I used wait for a long time(about 40-45 min) for some one to receive the call...but it was never happened.

I emailed several items to the person (Adam Docktor) wo find out the status. He simplay says, call customer service and the respnse was never positive.

It's been 29 days that they picked up my items in FL and I am still waiting for my items. God knows when I will be getting the items.

Don't trust this company...

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NatashaAVL
Fort Lauderdale, US
Mar 16, 2010 5:07 pm EDT
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We are deeply apologetic that the customer experienced any delay in receiving his shipment.

All of our customers are given a delivery spread so they know when to anticipate the arrival of their household goods. We make all efforts to adhere to the delivery spreads we provide each of our customers and when we are not able to we compensate them accordingly.

Deliveries may sometimes be delayed based on when a customer moves and how much they are moving. Customers who move very small loads to more remote areas, such as IA may be prone to delays more than customers who are moving to high traffic areas or have larger loads. We do explain this possible delay to all customers who this would apply to prior to agreeing to service their move. Either way, our office always makes sure customers are aware of any delays and compensate them accordingly.

It is not only important for us to meet each customers expectations but equally as important is how we handle the cases where we may not have.

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First, they claimed that our house is 1200 square feet, which it was not. Upon review of the measurements, our house was actually 925 square feet. We were charged $500 extra for supplies and they didn't even pack everything! We had to make 4 additional trips to the house with two cars in order to gather everything they did not take. I understand that they...

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11/06/2008, We chose American van lines as the mover to move our house stuff from St. Charles, MO to Broken Arrow, OK. The actual weight was 2182 pounds. But when the semi arrived, they told us 4136 pounds, if we did not pay them, they would not unload. We called American van lines immediately that night, they admitted their wrong doing, and promised to...

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American Van Lines complete nightmare

In July I went online to find movers to move me from KY to SC. Michael Mowatt with American Vanlines contacted me and gave me an estimate of 1800 dollars, I told him I was on a fixed income and could not afford it. He quickly talked to his superiors and asked what could I afford, I said 1500. I signed the agreement and prepared for my october move. 2 days prior to my move I was contacted by a 'Danny' from American Vanlines, informing me that I had to sign additional papers before the trucks could be sent out, i read the papers and immediately disagreed with the new amount of 2165. Danny assured me and my partner that these papers were only precautions and that I would not have to pay these amounts, also that a refund would take several weeks to process. Against my better judgment and because of this coercion I felt I had to force these documents. Now I am at my new location and being told another price. I was TOLD that my weight did go over my 3000 pound quote by 1000 pounds but my moving price DOUBLED. This whole ordeal has been a complete nightmare.

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Stoney Smith
US
Oct 12, 2022 10:22 am EDT

Very rude very foul mouth very racist seem to be on drugs there can smelled like drugs and all Brandon dates wa his name

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AVL Customer Service
Pompano Beach, US
Nov 13, 2012 12:19 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Our team apologizes for failing to meet your expectations and reported displeasure with your overall interaction with American Van Lines Relocation Division. We value you and your shared feedback and it will definitely assist in our current efforts of improvement to our company entirely. As the information you have provided us with is insufficient to locate your account, we urge you to contact our office so that we can fully address your concerns. Please call us at [protected], providing us with your name and the job # number that was assigned to you by your booking representative.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

American Van Lines Relocation Division.

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Fight Against AVL!!!!!!!!!!!
US
Aug 07, 2012 2:32 pm EDT

American Van Lines is NOT a moving company. AVL is a "moving service, " which hires BROKERS to take customers' money, and then the AVL BROKERS hire a shoddy moving company.
"moving service"...see AVL website.
North American Van Lines...supposedly the same owner.

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pc386
Palm Coast, US
Jul 28, 2012 3:05 pm EDT

your first mistake is leaving stuff off the moving list. that extra hutch you may have 'forgot' about in the garage turns out to be 150lbs. at lets say .59/lb is $88.50. these movers are contracted and need every penny they can get. now leaving 1000lbs of furniture off the list is taking money out of their pocket if they go ahead and throw it into their truck, which is a payment in it self. be truthful and include everything you want moved. each piece has an average weight. when they do your estimate its an average weight. 1500 to move your 3000lbs of stuff about 400miles? not to mention the labor of pad wrapping and loading and unloading? your an idiot. but hey there's always those craigslist movers...good luck filing a claim with them. also all American van lines trucks are labeled American van lines. if a plain white truck shows up then its not American van lines. maybe north American van lines which is a totally different company. or again those craigslist guys.

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Glad I&#039;m married to an attorney!
Brunswick, US
Jul 16, 2011 6:04 pm EDT

I am in the middle of having the same nightmare experience with Amereica Van lines. I am so stressed out because I'm getting the run around about the arrival of my furniture and they've charges me an extra 500 dollars. Be warned, these people are all nice and accommodating until they get their deposit, then they can't be bothered with you. I'm hoping I get my stuff Monday, and then I'm reporting them to the BBB.

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lynng
Hawkinsville, US
Jul 11, 2011 2:35 pm EDT

I am in the process right now of going through what you have already gone through. Nothing but attitude and screw you after they get the deposit. I waited for days to get a time that the movers would be there. My things also were being moved out of storage. My belongings are in Denver, CO and I'm in Georgia. I had to depend on my sister to meet them there. RUDE people. I originally booked with Don Otis. Then like you Jake Pentaloski (sp) from Quality Control called. I told him I wasn't signing the contract as I had questions and that's when things got nasty. I called one of the higher ups, James Willens and it has been a nighmare ever since. The drivers were over two and a half hours past the 2 -4 PM pickup time and then want to get nasty with my sister. I paid $1281 deposit and the subcontractor told my sister to pay 10% down. She told them I'd already done that and they still wanted money, which she did not give them. Lord knows if I'll see my belongings. All this could have been prevented with a few follow up calls to ensure the move went smoothly. You have to continually call them and then they've got your money so they just don't care. I am having surgery on the 21st. I also am on a fixed income and already the sub contractor told my sister the small boxes had to be put in large boxes or I'd be charged for each box. I never agreed to that. I was told it went by weight. My stress level is sky high. NEVER USE THIS COMPANY. You call for an estimate and they force you into giving up your money and signing that contract and it sure isn't in the customer's favor. I just pray I get my belongings as it was packed in a U'haul type truck. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL.

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Sad Sad Sad
Lake Wales, US
Jun 07, 2011 6:21 pm EDT

American Van Lines is a scam company! We, too, looked on line for a mover to move our furniture only two hours away. We knew we could not move ourselves as we were once able to do as in our youth. Before we made a decision, Mike contacted us several times to reassure us their company would be our best and most economic choice. Basically, we chose American Van Lines because of their follow through before we had even made our decision. We exchanged several e-mails with questions regarding supplies, do's and don'ts of moving, hidden costs, etc. We have an e-mail from Mike confirming everything that was discussed at the price we discussed. On Friday, three young sub-contractors in a plain white truck came to our home. Before they even got started the foreman asked for signatures and confirmation of payment to be rendered at the end of the move. When we acknowledge payment of our agreed upon amount, the young gentleman stated we would be charged extra travel time because of our distance and estimated our move would be an additional unknown amount. No one in their right mind would sign for an unknown amount. We contacted Mike and Mike once again stated the amount agreed upon was the bottom line. After several minutes of discussion with the young contractors, the foreman stated they go through this with American Van Lines each and every time they are contracted to move someone. Long story short... we had to move ourselves. Our realtor was there and the contractor suggested to her that she never recommend American Van Lines. He said they lie and cheat. He estimated when they only get to move about one out of every nine customers American Van Lines sends to them because the company has not been truthful with its customers. When we attempted to resolve the matter with Mike, he was conveniently unavailble. We asked to speak with the manager and were told the manager was not available. We asked for a number where we could contact him and were told angrily "I am not giving you that information". The contractors contacted the office manager and the office manager asked to speak with us. While on the telephone the office manager tried to negotiate the price by saying they could do the move for an additional $300. When we turned down the offier, we were told we would be charged a $375.00 cancellation fee. We informed the office manager of American Van Lines that he did not have authority to place $375 on our charge card, he said it did not matter he was doing it. As soon as the telephone call ended, we immediately contacted our credit card company, and sure enough, American Van Lines had already billed us! The credit card company placed the charge in pending and the amount is being disputed! Our move to our new home was absolutely the worst experience we have ever encountered - all because of one unethical company - AMERICAN VAN LINES.

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Theresa B
US
Feb 11, 2011 7:45 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

They told me the same thing and the price kept going up and now i am 400 lbs under the price and beign charged more money than my contract. they told me that if i do not pay they will not deliver my goods. They have 3 days to make a 3 day trip to get me my supplies on time. It has been a nightmare. THey are charging me all of these hidden fees. And the guy Tom who setup everything is no longer at the extension he gave me so he pro. chagned his extension so I could not call and talk to him

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Ripoff city
Clear Creek , US
May 05, 2010 4:29 am EDT

My recommendation is NOT to even call American Van Lines for ANYTHING... They are liars who miss represent themselves to get the sale. I had told Mike Mowatt the very first day I contacted them I did not feel comfortable making the decision so quickly - my first contact made by phone with him was 4/19. I never signed any documents until 4/27/10 but they put a charge of $565.88 on April 19. That should have been my first clue they were miss leading at best. On Friday 4/27/10 I signed the paperwork and agreed on a pick up date of 5/3/10 Monday. On April 30, 2010 Josh calls because he wants to insure my moves goes smoothly - no he contacted me to get more money and another set of documents signed with the price going up a lot. I had not been contacted by anyone since to let me know when my pickup would actually be until Monday 5/3/10 the day I was to have my stuff picked up from my storage unit. Finally got a call from a Tammy with relocation services to inform me the truck would there between 4:00 - 6:00 and that the driver would call me about an hour before arrival. I stayed at my storage unit until 6: 00 the gate to the storage unit closes then. I received my first of nasty phone calls from the driver about 6:45 demanding I come back or I would forfeit my deposit of $1, 289.66 in ADDITION to paying another $250.00 for something. As I am back in route to meet these folks I get 3 text messages with threats and the ever so sarcastic remarks from cell phone # [protected] " Maam i am just reminding you that you are defaulting our contract and your deposit and you have a way to enter the premises with or without the code" I received the first one at 7:00 pm another one from the same number at 7:08 "Ok you have a nice day and your deposit has now been incontempt and the contract has been violated thank you have a great day" I am driving in my car to meet these people that had no consideration of my time and to be sending threatening texts to me while driving back to meet them I was so angry I could have spit nails. Since it was after 6:00 and ALL American Van lines employees had gone home for the day the only folks I could deal with were the actual company AVL subcontracted the work too... The ones sending the texts. My blood pressure was through the roof to put it mildly. At 7:15 I sent the 260 a text asking him to call never did. I finally make it back it's well after 7:20 at this point. I arrived to a PENSKE rental truck with 3 men who were as upset as I was... Then a storm rolled in and all the men and Tammy from relocation services insisted I let them load my stuff in the RAIN onto a PENSKE rental truck to be delivered to there location then the stuff would be again moved off the PENSKE rental truck into one of theirs upon arrival. I would not let them load until the rain stopped since most my stuff is wood and in boxes that lead to more anger from the guys. Once we started loading the truck the guys were ok they did try to assist with how I wanted my stuff dispersed once it arrives to my location. However I did not feel good about all my stuff being taken in a PENSKE truck and unloaded and loaded again since that is when stuff normally is miss placed or broken. I hired movers that I thought would use a semi as I was told by Josh from AVL the day I had to be charged almost double of what the original estimate was that was not such a problem since I had forgotten about some items and wanted to make sure they had room on the semi since other households would also be loaded on the same truck. So my entire afternoon from 4:00 to 9:25 was spent dealing with getting my truck loaded. Today when I called to find out when the delivery of stuff would be the only answer I got was it will be between 5/5 - 5/14/2010. I questioned Mike about the extended dates and his response was that something horrible would have to happen for the delivery date not to be within the first couple days. This has just been the pick up part I'm still waiting for the other shoe to stomp me on my delivery. I will keep you posted... I wish I would have read the review prior to hiring this company. It's been a hard and expensive lesson to learn but one I will not forget soon. One other thing that rubbed me the wrong way was Tammy from relocation services the one who arrange the PENSKE rental truck called me Tuesday morning hoping I think that my mind would some how feel differently about the situation last night. She had the nerve to say to me I think you are confused, no not confused just angry. Then the phone went dead when she did not hear what she wanted to hear. I will write how the delivery goes when it happens. Take care consumer and I hope this helps you avoid the same kind of treatment.

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joebob1232
washington dc, US
Apr 15, 2010 9:48 pm EDT

you signed papers against your will? lol what is this world coming to you're pathetic

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Overview of American Van Lines complaint handling

American Van Lines reviews first appeared on Complaints Board on Nov 24, 2008. The latest review Horrible, shady business from start to finish - nothing like what their website & reviews (likely written by family/friends/employees) indicate. was posted on Feb 16, 2024. The latest complaint Moving from Indianapolis IN to Sedona AZ - job # is 131359 was resolved on Nov 13, 2020. American Van Lines has an average consumer rating of 3 stars from 81 reviews. American Van Lines has resolved 30 complaints.
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  2. American Van Lines phone numbers
    +1 (888) 296-5458
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    1351 NW 22nd St., Pompano Beach, Florida, 33069, United States
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