"So moving is stressful, right? You call a company, get quotes and, stupidly, decide on International Van Lines. Why 'stupidly' you ask?
Ahh, so it begins with a phone c
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"So moving is stressful, right? You call a company, get quotes and, stupidly, decide on International Van Lines. Why 'stupidly' you ask?
Ahh, so it begins with a phone call, on which a nice woman asks you to walk around the house and measure the big stuff. Only the big furniture. Then you speak with Diego, who becomes your best friend for the duration, gives you an estimate, based on what you told the woman you spoke with before, and he assures you that he's added the boxes needed based on the furniture and the size of the house, because he is so very experienced, and friendly, and only wants to help. He even promises to match the price of any competitors if it's lower.(Oh, and last minute he cuts you a deal by taking $600 off his share - after all we're BFFs) right? Wrong! He just wants to get the commission, and his only aim is to give you a low enough quote in order to get the job. (Spoiler: Diego was the least of our problems...)
Alas, comes the day of the move, Diego is somewhere across the country, happy with his commission, while in NJ, the extremely rude driver (Mark) has a completely different estimate. And not by a few boxes... I mean 75% higher than the original quote!!! Because apparently, Diego's estimate was unrealistic, and ""Diego is not here, I'm here"" (verbatim). One small example - I mentioned to Diego 20 big pictures (he told me not to worry about the smaller ones), and on the bill of lading he put down 2 boxes. Naturally, and naively, I didn't know how many pictures go in a box. Guess what?! According to Mark, only one picture per box! But the condescending driver not only estimated the move would cost 75% more than the quoted price but also implied that I lied to Diego. That was the last straw - I asked him to leave.
After much aggravation, and him calling his boss, Shahar, aka Shawn (Sean?) (who said he is also Diego's boss, but when I told him that I want to cancel the whole deal and wanted back my down-payment, he told me to ask Diego for the money) we compromised on additional 37% to the original quote. I did, of coarse, expect some last minute changes to the estimate, it's reasonable, but not close to double the price (before haggling, and removing many things from what was to be taken).Oh, and let's not forget the final disgrace; When it was time to pay, Mark offered to give my husband a substantial ""discount"" if he was willing to pay him (Mark) $750 in cash for doing nothing all day, while the poor packers , whom we naturally tipped handsomely, worked their butts off! Thus, a potentially stressful day became truly infuriating and frustrating. I, of course, would never use them again, nor will anyone I know.
If you choose to work with International Van Lines, do so at your own peril. Or at least be ready for a last minute price hike of 75%.And just one more small note - IVL were recommended by USA Today. Why? I have no clue. My guess is that perhaps they have other, less obnoxious, less greedy, drivers And I can't close this rant before mentioning the wonderful people who delivered my shipment to its new destinations. The truck had no IVL logo, which probably explains a lot.
Move Date:
Aug 07,2023
From:
Powell, WY
To:
Cleveland, OH
Move
Cost: $25903