Arena Van Lines Inc

First of all, they weren't the company I hired, they were hired by them since I was moving far. I had my moving date for September 25, they moved it 2 days, which cause me to have to leave my work 2 days before, however Julie was very nice, and since I didn't have a home yet they offered me 1 month of storage for "free" When the movers came, the extra charges (which I was told I "wouldn't get") started. $150 for mattress cover, which at the end i couldn't keep. 5 time I ask if what was in the estimate was the total I was gonna pay, 5 times they said YES. I was told i should give them a ONE week notice for them to arrange the coming of the truck, I did BUT they took 2 1/2 weeks to arrange it. I called every day and they just said "we don't have people", and one time I was told by Sara "we can't find people that want to go that far". They finally came and gave me a 4 hour window for the estimated time of arrival. When they finally did, they said I'd have to pay 3 time what the estimate said if I wanted my stuff unloaded, plus an extra $150 for making them wait an hour to gather the money. When unloading they took no care of boxes that said "FRAGILE" which scratch, broke and damaged some of my furniture. They lost more than 3 boxes, nightstand, lamps and wall paintings. When I called to tell them, they said to make an online complaint which can take up to NINE months to get a resolution. That is if they can find one, since I didn't insurance, but was told, since day one, I had. Now when ever I call them, they see my number and don't pick up the phone, they just send me straight to voicemail

It has now been nearly a year since we had the misfortune to hire AmeriSafe Moving Services for our move from VA to FL. To call it an unmitigated disaster would be an understatement. Amerisafe is a moving broker that in turn elected to use Arena Van Lines for our actual move. In thinking back it is hard to determine which aspect of the move was the worst because the entire move was a combination of lies, incompetence, misrepresentation, and a text book example of “Bait & Switch”. • Upon contracting Amerisafe we documented, and reviewed the entire house inventory with them after which we agreed to the initial estimate and provided a substantial downpayment • At the request of Amerisafe, we provided a detailed spreadsheet that represented a complete inventory of all furniture and boxed items, including all box sizes and associated weights • to help minimize costs and expedite the process we agreed to pack all household items (dishes, glasses, appliances, silverware, wall mirrors, pictures, etc) ourselves. We even crated especially delicate furniture pieces ourselves. We also disassembled all of the bedframes prior to the move • Amerisafe then told us to begin dealing directly with Arena Van Lines • We subsequently reviewed all inventory spreadsheets with Arena Van Lines and were told that it would take ~ 1 ½ medium trucks. Arena then provided us with an updated cost estimate • On the day of the move Arena Van Lines showed up early evening - they had previously committed to being there in the morning • Upon an initial review of the house items to be moved, Arena insisted that they needed to do another complete inventory assessment. Once the additional review of the house inventory had been completed, the move foreman, stated that the inventory was greater than they had been told and that the loading of the trucks could not commence until we agreed to pay an additional $7,575 over the previously agreed upon amount. The move foreman also stated that his crew would not begin loading until we agreed (in writing) to pay both the balance of the initial estimate by check and further that we would pay the additional $7,575 in cash upon arrival at the new house in FL • We had no recourse other than to agree to the additional cost terms or we would lose our entire downpayment • Prior to the move we were advised by both Amerisafe and Arena that they would handle any/all issues that might arise during the move. Unfortunately, that was a lie. Neither Amerisafe or Arena management ever got back to us regarding our concerns about the new cost and payment terms • The loading of the trucks was a joke. They even left expensive furniture out in the rain during the loading process • Once the trucks were loaded, we were told that it might take up to 3 days for the trucks to arrive. Within an hour after the trucks departed, we were contacted by an Arena dispatcher that informed us that the trucks would now be arriving at our new home in FL the next morning. We were also informed that if we were not there when the trucks arrived that we would be charged an additional “waiting” fee until we did arrive • We are both 79 years old, but we immediately got into the car and drove non stop from VA to FL (920 miles) and arrived at the new house the next morning. What a surprise, no trucks when we arrived • The unloading of the trucks upon their final arrival later that day, was simply a further exacerbation of the entire moving process. It was something akin to dealing with a team of neanderthals…. broken and damaged furniture, boxes in the wrong rooms (even though they were clearly marked) I could go on, but bottom line to this review - it is my opinion, that if anyone ever recommends either Amerisafe and/or Arena Van Lines to you…turn around as quickly as possible and run away as far as you can It has now been nearly a year since we had the misfortune to hire AmeriSafe Moving Services for our move from VA to FL. To call it an unmitigated disaster would be an understatement. Amerisafe is a moving broker that in turn elected to use Arena Van Lines for our actual move. In thinking back it is hard to determine which aspect of the move was the worst because the entire move was a combination of lies, incompetence, misrepresentation, and a text book example of “Bait & Switch”. • Upon contracting Amerisafe we documented, and reviewed the entire house inventory with them after which we agreed to the initial estimate and provided a substantial downpayment • At the request of Amerisafe, we provided a detailed spreadsheet that represented a complete inventory of all furniture and boxed items, including all box sizes and associated weights • to help minimize costs and expedite the process we agreed to pack all household items (dishes, glasses, appliances, silverware, wall mirrors, pictures, etc) ourselves. We even crated especially delicate furniture pieces ourselves. We also disassembled all of the bedframes prior to the move • Amerisafe then told us to begin dealing directly with Arena Van Lines • We subsequently reviewed all inventory spreadsheets with Arena Van Lines and were told that it would take ~ 1 ½ medium trucks. Arena then provided us with an updated cost estimate • On the day of the move Arena Van Lines showed up early evening - they had previously committed to being there in the morning • Upon an initial review of the house items to be moved, Arena insisted that they needed to do another complete inventory assessment. Once the additional review of the house inventory had been completed, the move foreman, stated that the inventory was greater than they had been told and that the loading of the trucks could not commence until we agreed to pay an additional $7,575 over the previously agreed upon amount. The move foreman also stated that his crew would not begin loading until we agreed (in writing) to pay both the balance of the initial estimate by check and further that we would pay the additional $7,575 in cash upon arrival at the new house in FL • We had no recourse other than to agree to the additional cost terms or we would lose our entire downpayment • Prior to the move we were advised by both Amerisafe and Arena that they would handle any/all issues that might arise during the move. Unfortunately, that was a lie. Neither Amerisafe or Arena management ever got back to us regarding our concerns about the new cost and payment terms • The loading of the trucks was a joke. They even left expensive furniture out in the rain during the loading process • Once the trucks were loaded, we were told that it might take up to 3 days for the trucks to arrive. Within an hour after the trucks departed, we were contacted by an Arena dispatcher that informed us that the trucks would now be arriving at our new home in FL the next morning. We were also informed that if we were not there when the trucks arrived that we would be charged an additional “waiting” fee until we did arrive • We are both 79 years old, but we immediately got into the car and drove non stop from VA to FL (920 miles) and arrived at the new house the next morning. What a surprise, no trucks when we arrived • The unloading of the trucks upon their final arrival later that day, was simply a further exacerbation of the entire moving process. It was something akin to dealing with a team of neanderthals…. broken and damaged furniture, boxes in the wrong rooms (even though they were clearly marked) I could go on, but bottom line to this review - it is my opinion, that if anyone ever recommends either Amerisafe and/or Arena Van Lines to you…turn around as quickly as possible and run away as far as you can

They took disassembled our bed without a hitch and reassembled it flawlessly.

The movers I hired were efficient and finished packing and relocating right on time. They made what is always a stressful process—moving—very easy.

This company took good care of me from the first time I met the owner, who was friendly and professional, to the day of the move. The group was skilled and well-trained. It was clear that they worked quickly and attentively.