BUYER BEWARE!!!
Laura
Submitted this review about
Direct Van Lines
Review made Live: 8/15/2012 1:53:00 PM
WOULDN'T HIRE THIS COMPANY AGAIN...NOT EVER! The price may be better than other companies, but don't expect to talk with ANYONE from Direct Van Lines after you have given them your money. They sub out the pickup and delivery to a company called Moving Central, and then will never return your call again. My initial contact, Barry, assured me he would be my contact before, during, and after my move. What a joke. He was very easy to contact before my move. Up until I gave my credit card number. Then he vanished...I mean VANISHED! I've left 36 voice mails and sent 12 emails over the past three weeks and half weeks, and not ONE person has called me back. When I call the number I am immediately transferred to customer service voice mail...each and every time. With the exception of the three times when I called from a friend's phone and pretended to be a new customer...and lo and behold they did answer the phone. As soon as I said I was having issues with my move and said I needed to talk to a supervisor, I was transferred to the SAME customer service voice mail (which I have not so affectionately nicknamed The Black Hole). Interestingly enough, after three times with her number, it seems they black listed her number as well and I was unable to get a live person when using her phone. Tried again with another friend’s number and yep…they answered. Until they found out I was an existing customer, and then put me on hold for five minutes after which I was transferred to the Black Hole AGAIN.
They didn't show up for three days after their promised pick up dates, (they give themselves a two day window for their pick up). The pickup dates had been carefully picked to coincide with my leaving Illinois and driving to California. I had specifically told Barry that the pickup days were not flexible, and that it needed to be one of the two days they promised or I was going to have some big complications with my move. He ASSURED me over and over that the pickup dates were "set in stone" as long as I gave a deposit. They didn't show up on the scheduled pick up day (no call, no show!) causing me to have to cancel hotel rooms, re-book plane tickets, etc. The representatives at the company they subcontract with (Moving Central) are a bit better, thankfully, and I have had limited contact with them. They informed me that Direct Van Lines had not given them the correct information and I would need to contact them for any kind of compensation for the delay. When I mentioned I was unable to contact them directly, several of their representatives gave me the impression that Direct Van Lines is notorious for this behavior and a pretty shady company overall (one lady even went so far as to say she wouldn't hire Direct Van Lines to move her bowels!) And while the Moving Central representatives are sympathetic to a degree, unfortunately they are not the ones who took my money, made me the promises, and really have no authority to do anything about it...they are just the delivery folks it seems.
