Connected Van Lines

There are so many things wrong with my experience with this company that its hard to summarize. I give them two stars only because I ultimately received my items… although it took months, lots of unanswered phone calls, lies about the whereabout of my items and a $700 increase to my original price. Do yourself a favor and use a better company or take your items yourself. It took me almost two months to get my stuff and the problems started well before COVID19 so they can’t use that as an excuse for trash service. My move was from DC to CA. You should know first and firstmost that this company is a broker company. They are not the ones actually moving your items and frankly, as I’ve learned they don’t give two sh*ts about you or your items, just as long as they get the payment. The troubles with my order started with a familiar name amongst the rest of the reviews I see online, Kristopher. In my check up call Kris informed me that a few changes to my items in lieu of other items would be okay. For example, more larger boxes instead of fewer medium boxes etc. Kris assured that changes like this would be okay and there would be no issue. This was not the case when the movers showed up. In addition the Movers (NEA Vanlines) also informed me that my bed did not include my bed frame. This is some that everyone I spoke to at the company (Mike Anthony, Josh, Kris) informed me that was included. I called the customer service line (it was 7pm at the time of pickup) and I was shocked to hear this and that it would cause my price to go up significantly, I was told by Victoria that since the movers were there I had to do and pay what they say. And that it would be sorted out later… It never was. The pickup (NEA Vanlines) was awful and the wait made the experience incredibly worst. After storing my items in storage for one month I called them on 2/29 to let them know the address to deliver. Three days later I was told my items are on a truck and would be delivered within the week. Two days later I called back to get the delivery time and was told they didn’t know where my stuff was. Turns out my items never left the storage unit and was still in New Jersey! And they apologized and told me they confused my order with someone else’s. For weeks, and I emphasize that it took weeks, I had to call everyday to see if there was any update on where my items were and I was given “We don’t know”s and “You should just wait and we’ll call you when we have an update”. Mind you I was without a bed clothes etc for 6 weeks! My belongings didn’t arrive in California until Mid April. The drop off movers were not the same movers from the pick up (Thank God) and they were nicer and admitted that they took time off due to the pandemic. But that should have been communicated through the mover company broker or me. They protected themselves in their contract by saying that a late fee is deducted if the items are late 30 business days… which they were only 2 days away from. My headboard was damaged but honestly I’m so done with this company that I’m not going to even go through the claims process. Please Please Please don’t use this company. Save yourself the worry. Carmen (or Karen) is the only person that showed compassion and tried to locate my items.

AWESOME service!!!!! We used Connect Van Lines to service my move. They were reliable, professional, and efficient. The Rep David L was very professional and had GREAT communication. They let us know with plenty of time ahead of the pick up day and were even almost an hour early. They driver was very straight forward and did everything he said he was going to (even went over the top for us and picked up some other stuff we had in a storage unit down the road free of charge!). The Moving Company wrapped all our fragile items (glass tabletop, etc), they disassembled and reassembled ALL of our furniture, and did an OUTSTANDING job staging the home, and most importantly moving it with minimum damage, when I say that I mean they did dent a metal table I had but popped right back out. They even had masks on, gloves, and booties for their shoes to not ruin the new carpet we had put into our just finished home. I would HIGHLY recommend them to any of our friends or relatives, even someone I didn't know looking for a mover. If I was someone looking to get taken care of the right way in this industry then you I should ask to speak to David as well.

At every point of my move, I felt put on the spot and unprepared for the pressure and lies that would happen along the way. This was my first time coordinating a cross country move, so many of you may find different experiences than I did. Connected Van Lines is not a mover, but simply a contractor for movers in our case. They gave us what we thought was a great deal, and the price kept going up and up until we were left with an annoying amount of stuff left in between states and a bill that we probably would have chosen otherwise for. Let's walk through the issues 1) I wasn't given any time to think about the decision. I wanted a night to think on who to go with, but the guy wouldn't let me off the line. This should have been the first and only red flag. 2) The dates were nicely flexible. They kept us updated on when they would expect to arrive, then showed up a day earlier than expected. This put us in a frenzy trying to be ready within 8 hours of the call. 3) Movers did a great job helping to load everything onto the truck, but then ran out of space. While they were loading we kept asking about specifics and they kept putting us off. "We'll let you know. I'm sure it's going to work out. We're experts". Then, once it was packed up "Oops, doesn't all fit. I guess we'll have to schedule another truck. That's going to cost you and you don't get to decide what goes and what stays for the next week". They can't take anything off the truck once loaded, and they didn't keep track of anything when they did load it. 4) When delivering, the guys were great. Put everything where it was supposed to go, and had me sign off on the delivery... Only I was signing off on the "Whole" delivery including the second shipment. That means I'm paying full price for half my stuff. I don't have any leverage for damages or forgotten items from the second shipment. I can't make a claim against any of that because I signed off on the "whole" shipment. Of course, the driver tells me "this is just what I do. I don't know what to tell you" and won't unload my stuff. 5) I should have thought of 4, right? Well I had already called the company ahead of the move to withhold payment until the second shipment, but they say "oh no, we'll take care of it and you don't need to worry" I should have worried 6) Then comes the claims and insurance part to request reimbursement. Well, it turns out that initial shipment (which was great) means I don't have any say in claims against my second shipment. They could have left the whole thing and gotten off scott free. "Claim denied due to signature" is now my expectation instead of "yes, we realize we missed a package". I guess you're supposed to mark off every box in and out and the movers have no motivation to do that for you. 7) All I'm saying is avoid this process as your life depends on it. This may be great if you're a professional mover but for a normal human this is has been one disaster after another.

I am visually impaired and therefore have no choice but to use a moving company. At every point of the transaction was lied to. First estimate was $1900.00 given the date I needed my possessions they gave me a pick up date. Took 3 weeks before they arrived and would have been longer if I had not mentioned the state closing soon for the CORVID outbreak. TV was scratched all up. Desk broken and unfixable (welding is not my thing). Several other items damaged and a missing bag of clothing. During the process i contacted them and their contracted moving company. No one told me they did not do the moving themselves they hired other moving companies a brokerage of sorts. On each contact they raised the price even when I removed several large items to reduce the price they increased it. When all was said and done what was loaded was half of the size and more than double the price 4,700.00 for a single bedroom apartment move. Once they have your stuff you are screwed and they will increase the cost even though they aren't really allowed but if you want your stuff what other option do you have especially with a nationwide lockdown. Spoke to several managers and supervisors which most cases were different. Sent many emails and saved them. Recommended for anyone that likes being screwed over or scammed heavily.

Just finished a move with these guys today and it was definitely a great experience. They arrived on time, and worked very fast. They didn’t argue about the money or anything and completed their task before the time. Highly recommend them! Don’t forget to give them tip!