Green Van Lines

15 january 2020, 15:40

**It’s long, but please read this before doing any business with Green Van Lines (GVL)**

GVL completed a move for me from Dallas to NYC. Before the move, Arthur did a great job of selling the company as a whole, their reviews, and the care they provide. He explained the difference between them and brokers, and how GVL had their own trucks and people who handle moves. It sounded great, so I trusted them with everything I own on a cross-country move. I also paid an extra $750 (~$5,800 total move) to guarantee a 5-day window of delivery (normal range is 15-20 days).

This is exactly how things went on my move. No exaggerations.

First, I was assigned to Ross as my contact. Ross did a poor job of coordinating with me and my building in NYC. Often, he would not reply to emails, and when he did reply he would remove my roommate and building management from the emails. Eventually, I found out that GVL didn’t meet the insurance needs of my building in NYC or the state of NY. In NY, you must provide workers comp, and GVL does not do this. Ross left it to me to figure this out.

Then came pick-up day. The movers arrived 3 hours late. Generally speaking, they did a good job. They certainly didn’t pack my fragile items as Arthur told me they would, but they were professional and I was comfortable with the pick-up.

**Here is the important thing about all of the reviews you see on here** The movers told me they couldn’t leave until I completed a survey about their work. This “survey” was a link to a Google Review. They stand there and watch you give the review, which puts pressure on the customer to give a higher rating (remember this when reading other reviews).

Then Ross and Arthur went almost silent for 3 weeks. They wouldn’t answer my calls/emails. I had no idea when to expect my things.

Finally, we’re on the last day of the 5-day window that I paid $750 for, and they tell me they can’t make it. They removed the $750, but I canceled everything else in my life that week, so I could be there for when they arrived. If they would have given me any communication, I could have planned differently.

Then they told me my things would arrive the next Monday at 9 am, then 10 am-12 pm, then 5 pm, then 9 am the next day. Again, I’m canceling everything to meet them, and they can’t give me a trustworthy answer.

Finally, they arrive, and it’s two guys to unload a 2BR apartment. They only accept the second half of the payment in cash (the first half was taken at pick-up by certified check). And they make you give them the cash before they unload. Also, they were not employees of GVL in TX like they promised me. They were an unaffiliated carrier. GVR just gave our stuff to some guys from North Carolina and hoped for the best.

The final unload - Not to be dramatic, but it was gut-wrenching. Every box they unloaded was damaged. Some boxes were half the size that they left at. Boxes marked as fragile were nearly destroyed. It was only two guys, so they were moving quickly, constantly banging our furniture and art against door frames and walls. They were literally throwing boxes marked as fragile on the floor. The only thing that mattered to them was finishing. They had the cash. It’s not like I can do anything. When I finally opened my art, the glass in every picture frame was shattered.

Also, hey told me that my couch and table wouldn’t fit in the elevator, so my roommate and I had to carry them up 5 flights of stairs. The movers did not carry them up 5 flights of stairs, the customers did. Granted, they offered to carry them up for an additional $2K.

Worst customer service I’ve ever received and I have thousands of dollars in damages. It’s difficult for me to find something I own that is not damaged now. Do not use this company if you value your time, money, or belongings.

I don’t write reviews often, but it’s important that companies like Green Van Lines are held accountable to their promises and their work, especially when taking customers hard-earned money.

10 october 2017, 17:44

Great service. They handled my furniture with care and worked efficiently. I would highly recommend them to all my friends and family. You guys rock!

review from yelp.com

10 october 2017, 17:44

THEY LOST MY TV & DAMAGED MY FURNITURE1 star because Rocky was an absolute delight over the phone and I hate that I have to write this negative review. However, morally I feel obligated to let others know this is not the company you want to trust your belongings to if they mean anything to you - if you just want a cheap move and don't care how your things arrive (OR if they even arrive) then by all means - this is your place.I moved from Dallas, TX to Manhattan Beach, CA. I should've called the move off the moment it started going downhill but I had faith they would redeem themselves! The morning of my move the movers showed up & the driver/lead had just gotten into a wreck on the way to my place (red flag #1) and was pretty flustered when he showed up.Red flag #2 was when the lead asked if he could borrow my tools as he had forgotten his that am. He could go back to the shop to get them - but it would be another 2 hours before they could come back. Fine - we can use my tool set.4 movers took over 4 hours to load my 2bd apartment (pre-packed // no furniture in the 2nd room - only one bed, one set of couches - just boxes and bins). The lead was distracted the entire time on his cell phone using expletives (red flag #3) as he was calling around trying to get bids to fix his truck. The other mover guys were asking me how much my apartment cost, how much my dog cost, how much my furniture was - it was an incredibly uncomfortable situation for me (single woman by myself) and for the majority of the move I hid in my back room - I tried to help as much as I could but the dynamics were totally off and I did NOT feel comfortable in my own house.The lead was totally distracted on his phone the whole time and up only ended up marking about 85% of my belongings (which I found out on the back end). I won't go into detail on some other uncomfortable situations that transpired but it was NOT a positive experience - there was one amazing man who I truly feel like did the entire move himself - one guy stayed in the truck the whole time, the lead was on his phone the whole time (didn't touch a thing) and then one man up and down the stairs up and down the stairs - poor guy must've been exhausted!Anyways - they loaded all my stuff then the lead came back in (totally disengaged the entire move) and asked me to fill out a survey IN FRONT OF HIM - I politely declined and then he got confrontational - which I cannot tell you how scared or uncomfortable that made me - this was a BIG dude and it was me and him alone in my condo and he's getting upset asking me why I wasn't satisfied with the move and I'm doing my best to keep it together and explain all the ways it went wrong - it was not a good scene.Fast forward to the delivery - (1) they outsourced - they told me they didn't but they totally did. 2 guys show up for the unload - they were polite, great, awesome - put all my things together - no issues EXCEPT - the majority of my furniture showed up damaged, stains on all my white furniture, missing boxes, broken bins, one LOST TV - How do you LOSE A TV?!!? It was a 32" HD TV completely vanished along with my tool set which was in the last box we packed (it had to be as we needed my tools!)The owner of the company Arthur was communicative and tried to locate my missing TV and missing boxes but they never turned up. Because I did not purchase the additional insurance they said they could not do anything about my damaged furniture.  They sent me a check for $250 to cover the missing TV and items in the missing boxes.This was the most stressful, awful, uncomfortable and not positive moving experience I have had and I would strongly advise against using Green Van Lines for your move if you're looking for ease, comfort, reliability and your stuff all to arrive in the condition you left it.

review from yelp.com

10 october 2017, 17:44

Choose another mover!  I can't begin to tell you about the 15 hour ordeal of our awful, understaffed, mishandled move with Green Van Lines. We had already packed most of our house. They arrived late without the  18 wheeler -interstate truck, and only three men. We were doing most of our own packing.  I had to hire another helper with my money.  Arthur, who came out to our home to estimate  and quote was negligent.  The interstate carrier must have cost more than he anticipated, which  was why the truck was not there to load.  Smaller trucks were used which meant our belongings would have to be handled again moving them into the  interstate truck. There were not enough workmen to get the job done. They did not provide the extra packing help until  8:00 PM.  10 hours later. At time and one half pay. Which was not what we had negotiated. Then, Arthur demanded more money, saying that there were more things than he had first estimated.  There were not. This was grossly mishandled.I will not be recommending this company as I had previously done.Jason is a hard  worker and an intelligent guy with ethics. Maybe he needs a managerial role.I will review when,and if our belongings arrive at their destination.

review from yelp.com

10 october 2017, 17:44

I used Green Van Lines when I moved from Texas to California. I chose them because they gave me an estimate after a visit to my apartment for the price, and they assured me that they would not charge more than that estimate. That part was absolutely true. I was also delighted with the care and service they provided when they came to pack up my apartment from Dallas. However, it all went downhill from there. The company did not hire the proper movers to take care of my moving my things in to my California apartment. They expected the driver who had driven the truck from Texas to California to help with the moving and only one other mover was with him to help. My husband had to lift so many heavy things and they did not assemble a lot of my furniture that I was promised would be assembled. It was the worse experience I have ever had with a moving company. I had to constantly call Guy because the driver and the move kept trying to charge my extra to take my stuff upstairs inside my apartment. What a mess. I would only recommend Green Van Lines for local Dallas moves and not out of state moves.

review from yelp.com