Broken (OR FALSE)
Promises
If you have been researching moving companies and have found that
International Van Lines has great on-line reviews. . .
DON'T BE FOOLED!
I made the mistake of believing the positive online reviews and had the worst experience of my life dealing with this company. I eventually discovered some likely reasons for the positive feedback (though the negative reviews are out there in abundance).
Let me explain. . . .
After my move was totally botched, the president of the company offered to "settle" for $15,000.00 and their "legal department" threatened to sue if I published this site. It was suggested by their PR person that we would have to sign a non-disclosure agreement. We were also told that this sort of arrangement was common for them when things went badly. I rejected their offer to silence me with money and ignored their threats so that I could help others finally hear the truth about this company.
Another reason for the biased reviews that I have since discovered is that IVL actively has negative reviews removed from websites. I have had to re-post several of my reviews multiple times because IVL somehow got the publisher to remove them. I'm sure that will continue, as IVL seems dedicated to hiding the truth about their practices. My understanding is that Yelp allows companies to pay them to remove reviews, so probably other sites do as well. Also, IVL only publishes positive reviews on their site, which is grossly misleading. And that's all before you get to the totally fake positive reviews. . . .
If you look at sites that don't allow companies to buy them off--like BBB and Angie's List--you will find much less positive reviews of this company (and Yelp has quite a few negative ones as well, despite IVL's efforts, but you have to use the sort tool to find them, because they get buried under the highy questionable positive reviews, which Yelp categorizes as more "relevant"). To read just a small sampling of genuine, honest reviews posted on trusthworthy sites, go to Honest Reviews of IVL. The bulk of this site is about what IVL did to us, so please, read on.
The company referenced in this site is currently doing business under the name International Van Lines. However, companies have a habit of changing their name when they get bad press. So, to be sure who we're talking about, their contact information is provided below.
www.internationalvanlines.com
President: Josh Morales
Florida Office
Address: 3957, NW 126 Ave, Coral Springs, FL 33065
Toll Free: 855-674-7447
California Office
Address: 15532, Illinois Ave, Paramount CA 90723
Toll Free: 855-674-7447
Illinois Office
Address: 529 5th Street, Northfield, IL 60093
Toll Free: 855-674-7447
A paramount condition of hiring IVL was that all our belongings would be loaded on to a single truck that would be driven straight to our new house, with no one else's belongings on the truck and with no other stops on the way. We were assured that would happen. Instead, OUR BELONGINGS WERE MOVED ON AS MANY AS EIGHT DIFFERENT TRUCK LOADS OVER MORE THAN A 30-DAY PERIOD BY INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS, WHO WORKED ON THEIR OWN SCHEDULES. And that's just one of many promises that were not kept by Internatonal Van Lines. Read more. . .
Grossly
Inaccurate
Cost Estimate
Poorly Packed,
Damaged,
and
Missing
items
inconvenient
and Costly
Time Delays
No
Inventory
Control
After completing an item-by-item inventory of our belongings, we were quoted just under $14,000.00 for the move. By the time the move was completed, IVL had demanded almost $20,000.00 from us in order to get our belongings off the various trucks. Demands for additional funds were made, in each of the three instances, AFTER our possessions were loaded, thus holding our belongings hostage while threatening to take them to storage facilities under their sole control.. THAT'S A 39% INCREASE OVER THE ESTIMATE! And that doesn't include all the other money we were out due to time delays, a lengthy hotel stay, and items not moved as agreed, etc. In all, the move cost us over $27,000.00 due to IVL's incompetence. Read more. . .
The image above is one of pictures that was packed and moved by IVL. The list of things broken and damaged by IVL continues to grow as we unpack. To name just a few, a large gouge was dug into the door of a very expensive, custom made hardwood cabinet; the entire middle support was wripped off a large table, picture frames were scratched and dinged; a one-of-a-kind ceramic sculpture was broken; and multiple boxes and their contents were damaged by improperly wrapped liquids and horrendous packing. We're still discovering items that are missing, such as an upright vacuum cleaner and three expensive pieces of wall art. Read more. . .
Although the packers created what they called an "inventory", the contents of such documents are indecipherable, and on one of the truck loads we weren't even given a copy of those documents. More importantly, there was never any attempt on the part of IVL when unloading the trucks to determine if all the items on the inventory were delivered. The failure to adequately account for all items was made even clearer when we discovered that SOMEONE ELSE'S BELONGINGS WERE DELIVERED TO US AND MANY OF OUR ITEMS ARE MISSING! Read more. . .
We were promised that all our belongings would be transported on one truck, which would arrive at our new house within three days after loading. After that didn't happen, we waited for the second truck, which was also too small for our things. So, we then waited for the third truck, which took over three weeks to come get our things, which, by then, were spread into three different storage units. We were forced to live in a hotel for a month, waiting for ILV to finally complete our move. Instead of the five days of packing/transportation that we were promised, OUR MOVE TOOK THIRTY-ONE DAYS! Read more. . .
The following statements are highlights of our nightmare move with IVL. To learn the whole story, click on "Read more. . ." below or "The Whole, Painful Story" on the menu above.
In A Nutshell. . . .
silenceD
negative
feedback
Long before our move was over but after it was clearly going badly, IVL's Customer Relations Manager raised the possibility of a monetary settlement and non-disclosure agreement. He indicated that they routinely resolve situations like ours in that manner. At that moment I understood why the company's online reviews are predominately positive. After our move was over, the president of the company himself made a settlement offer, which we declined. Read more. . .