Horrible experience working with them
Ashley Slover
Submitted this review about
Great American Van Lines
Review made Live: 12/4/2013 5:17:00 PM
I had been trying to move to Chicago for over a year, so when I finally found a job and started planning my move, I did a lot of research on moving companies. I found this one and they have great reviews, so I decided to call. When I called for a quote, I spoke to Nathan, who said he was an owner. I walked through my 1 bedroom apartment and listed off all of my items to him. He gave me a quote of $1300, which was a great price. I told him that I was starting a new job and wouldn't be able to take time off during the week, so I asked if I could schedule a delivery date on a weekend and he said that was fine because they have two trucks that go to Chicago per week, all I would have to do is schedule that with the dispatchers before they come pick my stuff up. So, I signed up, paid my reservation fee and was happily on my way. When I called the dispatchers to schedule the delivery, they informed me that they won't actually guarantee a delivery date like Nathan originally stated, so I was a little upset but I was ready to figure it out when the time came. About 1.5 weeks after I made the reservation, the move day was here. They were scheduled to come between 9am & 11am on June 1st and I was actually flying out that night, so the timing worked great. They called me on Friday, May 31st and left a message for me to confirm. So, I called back and left a message on their machine (I had left messages before and they called back with no problem) confirming my move and as long as they didn't need anything else from me, they didn't have to call me back. Saturday morning rolls around and at about 9:30am, I hadn't heard anything yet, so I called them to see when they would be coming. I spoke to Jason, who then informed me that they weren't coming because I never confirmed my reservation. I was in a state of shock. I told Jason that I had in fact called and left a message saying it was confirmed. He apologized and said that one of the owners was working alone on Friday and he was busy so he never checked the messages and ended up canceling not only my move but another customer's as well. I told him that I still needed them to come at which point he informed me that they already sent my truck out to someone else. He offered to schedule me on the same day for 3pm - 5pm but like I mentioned before, I was flying out that night. I couldn't believe what was happening. Jason was very nice, especially when I started crying over the phone but I just couldn't believe what was happening. I tried to cancel but realized that I would never find another moving company for a same day delivery. I ended up finding a friend to come stay at my place while they move me out and went ahead and scheduled them for later that afternoon. Then came time to schedule the delivery. I got a call on Sunday, June 2nd from David asking if Tuesday, June 4th would work for delivery. I was so excited because that was only 3 days away instead of the 7 - 10 days, and luckily, I wasn't starting my new job until Wednesday, June 5th. So, I said YES! Tuesday rolls along and I call them in the morning to see when they're coming and I spoke to both Jason and Kevin, who informed me that my stuff was never actually put on the truck to be delivered. They said that I had double the stuff I originally told them and therefore it didn't fit. Now, this is AFTER they already took my stuff so they know exactly how much I have. Then they decided to tell me that it was also going to cost me about double what they quoted me. I told them how I went through my items with Nathan, who was the one that gave me my quote but they weren't going to give me my stuff unless I pay the new price. I was going to have to pay them with cash or cashier's check when they come to drop it off or they wouldn't give me my stuff. So, I tried to schedule another delivery date but again, they couldn't confirm when that would be. Finally, a week later, on Tuesday, June 11th, they delivered my stuff. One thing I will give them credit for is that they came at 7pm because I couldn't get off of work. It took them 4.5 hours to bring everything in but unfortunately, my couch would not fit through the front door (there is a closet directly in front of my door). I don't blame them for that, however, they did put a couple holes in my walls as they were trying to move the couch in. I also have chunks taken out of my love seat and desk. I had a couple of broken dishes and a broken mirror as well. At this point though, I was just ready to be done and glad to have my stuff. I would never recommend them to anyone and I will definitely be more careful when choosing a moving company in the future. I can't believe they have so many good reviews on here, I was shocked.
