Budget Van Lines

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1. Overall great experience

   I am leaving a good review as I find most people don't do that.
   
   I booked my move 1 month out for the month of December from SF, CA to Seattle, WA. I was concerned using a broker because I read many bad reviews. I even tried to get a quote with Allied Van Lines but they were unorganized with the inventory list, tried to schedule a virtual tour, slow to respond and never picked up their phone.  With Budget Van Lines, I just went on their website and very easily added inventory. The updating part was a bit harder as I has to call or email, but it was easy enough.
   
   From what I learned, Budget Van Lines is like Uber but for trucks. They hire drivers and then hire local movers. I got third party extra insurance in case the items were lost or stolen but tbh it was necessary and a waste of $1500 since most of our stuff was old junk except for some expensive items. I had to pay a booking fee to Budget Van Lines and put down a deposit get the name of the carrier, Southwest Van Lines. I submitted a very detailed inventory list and was on the phone with the company several times and their customer service was easy to deal with.
   
   I didn't hear anything for a few weeks after the booking. The day before the movers arrived, I received both a call from the broker and carrier to confirm the time. On the day of the move, they both called again to confirm. The carrier arrived within the window provided. They took about 3 hours to load everything. We were charged an extra $2K on top of the quote because of items not on the inventory or carrier packing list, which I thought was fair. It seems the other bad reviews were that people underestimated their own inventory like we did. People have more stuff than they realize.
   
   For tje delivery, the driver was optimistic about the delivery date and said it would be delivered 1.5 days later at 9am. Road conditions were bad as it had just snowed across all states, but we got lucky and the roads were clear when we were driving up. The driver did call us a few times to say he was stuck at chain control but ended up getting through. The delivery came pretty much on time. All of our stuff was delivered in good condition. Some stuff got dinged up a bit but it's expected with a move.. Only 1 small item was missing. Nothing else was damaged. Overall, we were happy everything went smoothly given it was an interstate move.

2. Scammers - inflated cost a lot from initial quote.

   This was for an apartment move from GA to NC. We got a budgetary quote of $2270 from Budget Vanlines. Firstly, they came a day later than scheduled. Then the movers revised the quote by adding various charges like extra boxes, extra space, packing materials, flights of stairs, etc. and said the new total is $3125, i.e. $855 extra. None of the extras were valid because the original quote included full packing, etc. with the only exception being 15 boxes instead of 10 boxes. We then learned they are actually contractors that Budget Vanlines hired. The contractors are R&M Transportations. They said this was their estimate and to call Budget Van Lines to resolve it. We had already put down the deposit of $857, so we basically had no choice but to proceed. We called Customer Service multiple times and left messages. They finally returned the call and said they will talk to the actual movers but nothing got resolved. The movers then arrived 2 days later than scheduled. Our couch was not wrapped properly and got stained and the kitchen table was not put back together because they said they had to go to their next job. And finally they had the gall to ask for a tip! This was a terrible experience and I strongly advise not to use Budget Van Lines or R&M Transportation.

3. Takes No Responsibility For Movers They Hire

   When planning my cross country move from Orange County, CA to Huntsvill. AL, I decided to hire Budget, since they are a well known, established company. Initially, I didn't know they were a broker, but that wasn't a problem. The problem is that they hired LD Moving & Storage for my move. Besides being 2 days late picking up my property, there were multiple other issues that Budget did not take any responsibility for hiring a company with less than 2-stars across multiple sites. I can't list all issues I have had, but I moved into my new place on June 18, 2021 and as of July 13, 2021, I still don't have my property and LD Moving has no idea when it will be delivered. I've reached out to Budget multiple times without any assistance provided. Beware and hire another company!!!

4. Scam

   I wish i had done my research as well,eneded up paying over $3500 from my original quoted price,the movers were rude and lazy,they misplaced some items and damaged some...very bad experience DONT USE BUDGET VANS

5. Nope

   Do not. I repeat. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. They lied about the price. Charging us we'll over $1000.00 more than what they quoted us. There is NO communication between them and their drivers. Only some of our stuff was delivered in the first trip. Then they wanted to charge us because their truck couldn't fit through the gate. They switched trucks and our stuff took up less than half of the original truck which would have fit through the gate. There was absolutely no communication on their end dealing with the second trip to deliver our belongings. All around bad experience.

6. Scam

   4th Google review in my life. This company is horrible. First they don't tell you that they are a broker not an actual moving company so that means any old mover can be assigned to your move with NO responsibility for anything on their part. They charge a non-refundable $532 booking fee so basically they charge you $532 for a dang phone call. Read the fine print because I got screwed out of $532 with NO recourse. They never mentioned in the phone call that this "booking fee" was non-refundable. This is just completely unacceptable and they take advantage of their customers. In this day and age, no one has $532 to throw away. NEVER use this unprofessional, scamming so called company. I will be disputing this with my cc company. I am sooo glad I cancelled before I went through the move. The customer service supervisor Donald straight up told me... "the booking cost is too much and not fair but there is nothing he can do and I should have read the fine print" This so called company is a scam. Most expensive phone call of my life. In this economy... losing $532 for a phone call is not okay.

7. They are rip-off artists

   Please do not do business with this company, they are a complete scam. They will attempt to get more money from you by overcharging you for space that was not even used. They lied and said that their managers don’t have direct lines in place. The employees name is Brian Bailey, he is a scam artist and a liar, they are crooks.

8. Buyer beware

   This company is not an actual moving company- they outsource their moves. Their quotes will be much lower than other companies, and it seems great and professional and above board. But I got a call- the DAY before my cross country move- that the movers had cancelled- leaving me no choice but to pay an additional $800 for the replacement movers if I were to stick with Budget. This seems to be their gig. Everyone I spoke to, from the quote specialist to the one calling the day before my move charging me more were kind and professional- seemingly so very helpful- but this company is so very deceiving when taking your money. I did not trust them to move my things and not charge me yet again more to deliver them. I ended up paying more than twice (for a last minute move-since I had tone out of my apartment) with a reputable company. Do not get scammed like I was. Do not pay a deposit. It's not needed with movers I was told by the more reputable companies.

9. Eli

   I used budget van lines who used Southwest Movers out of Las Vegas to move my household effects from Cleveland Ohio to Valencia California. Eli and his moving partner did an amazing job. They packed everything professionally and there were no damaged items when they were delivered to California. They were fast and efficient and I would highly recommend Southwest movers to anybody.

10. Horrible horrible sevice. please avoid (los angeles to chicago)

    I can't stress what a negative experience I've had with them. ignoring my calls. called me 10 hours before my move to cancel because the truck "broke down" calling them back and they keep ignoring me. Literally just trying to get a refund. When i finally got a hold of someone she said i can take your name/# down and we can call you in a few days? i move tomorrow. Don't use them unless you want to stress the entire process.

11. Spam!!

    My phone won't stop ringing since requesting quotes. Have received 28 calls from all over the country (was only supposed to be matched with four moving companies, which would have been fine) as of the time this review was written; most of which have been spam/scams/hang-ups and have no way of stopping them. Just spoke with someone at Budget Van Lines (who claimed not to know anything about distributing my quote/personal information out to everyone even though I'm pretty sure that is how they make their money as a broker) about removing my number from their list; but since it is already out there, not sure it will do any good. Thanks a lot Budget Van Lines ..

12. Beware Budget only in it for the Broker fee, not quality of your move.

    The experience started off well. The person booking my cross country move seemed kind and motivated. They asked for a detailed inventory list to ensure the best quote and accurate delivery window. I provided the EXACT number of boxes, totes, lamps, chairs, etc. and the quote was off by $2,000 ($2k over on an $8k quote)!! From the inventory list I provided, there were LESS items that actually went on the truck. Once I had signed the original quote, customer service started to go down hill. The movers are supposed to call a day or two before the move, they never did. In fact, Budget switched the movers a day or two before the move and never provided the updated contact info. When Budget booked the move, there was a 3 day window for pickup and we noted I had to be out by Noon on the final day (due to selling the house and giving up possession). The movers showed up 15 minutes before Noon and were half staffed. I had to have other help come in to meet the deadline. No refunds or discounts provided by Budget and no real help in negotiation with the movers they booked. Also the original person that helped in Customer Service would not take my calls during the move. Beware with Budget. They are only in it to make their broker fee and don't really care about your experience or the accuracy of their information. If you have the chance to work with Vicki from Las Vegas, run for the hills, don't. Choose ANYONE else.

13. Do not use, literally leave you high and dry.

    Due to covid-19, my dad could not come help me move like we had originally planned. Therefore, I decided to hire a professional moving company for the first time to help me in my move. I contacted a few companies and ended up deciding to use budget van lines because the sales representative (Trevor) contacted me the same day and quoted me a pretty good price. About two weeks prior to my scheduled move, I contacted the alderman’s office of my district to inquire about parking permits/no parking signs for my move. I was told by them that since I had hired a company, that the company/carrier would need to apply for the permit. I contacted budget THAT DAY and told them what the alderman had told me. They said they would look into it. The next day I was involved in a 3-way call between someone from budget, a woman from the carrier, and myself. They said it seemed unusual (that usually it’s the customer’s responsibility to obtain the permit) but they told me they’d look into it and get back to my by Monday. Monday came and no call/follow up. By Thursday, I hadn’t heard anything so I tried calling budget again to make sure everything was ok. I spoke with a woman who again said they’d look into it and get back to me “right away”. No call back. I called over the weekend, no answer, had to leave a voicemail. I called again on Monday (now the week of my move), left a message, no call back. I call again on Tuesday because now it’s 2 days before my move, and I want to make sure everything is ok. Again, the girl says, “she’ll look into it and get back to me”. Next thing I know, a rude woman from Las Vegas calls me back and states she is a manager and is only getting involved at this point because “the customer is responsible for getting the permit and now the carrier has canceled my order due to me not doing what I was suppose to do”. I’m flabbergasted at this point. I explain to her about the alderman and what they’d said and how I’d called 2 weeks ago to bring this up to budget..how I’d had a 3-way call with the carrier..how no one got back to me even though they said they would. She was rude and tried to blame everything on me saying that I should have known I needed to get the permit, that whoever I spoke to (at the alderman’s office) was wrong, I should have called the county clerk’s office, etc. I asked why this wasn’t told to me 2 weeks ago or any of the other times I’d called..she informed me that there was no record of me ever contacting them in my file. WHAT?! I blew up on her because that’s super shady. I told her I’d submit my phone records with proof. I also said how frustrated I was that she was putting this all on me when THEY ARE THE EXPERTS! I’ve never hired movers before, I don’t do this everyday. Why wasn’t I told from the beginning (when I placed my order) that I needed to get a permit? Shouldn’t they know what is needed if they are the professionals? Why didn’t anyone ACTUALLY look into it and get back to me about it? At that point, she wasn’t willing to give me my deposit back (800 dollars) because she was still blaming everything on me and she said, “she was trying to find another carrier to take the order and I’d be liable for any parking tickets/citations they might get because I didn’t get the permit”. She also said she would call me back before she left that day because I needed to know if I needed to make other arrangements. Needless to say, I started scrambling (less than 48 hours before my move) making other arrangements the second I was off the phone anyway. After I secured other arrangements, I attempted to call that same Las Vegas manager back to get my deposit back..was told by a different manager, “Douglas” that she’d already left for the day. Well that’s nice. I thought she’d promised to call me before she left for the day..after all, that is what she said. Douglas did end up giving me my full refund, but this company is completely pathetic. They do not care about their customers. They have no problem leaving you high and dry and scrambling 2 days before your move. They should be ashamed.

14. The disaster and the heart ache.

    Last August( 2019 I hired Budget Van lines to move a few household items from San Jose, CA to Wallsburg, Utah.
    
    They arrived in a most hap-hazard truck with a driver that could not speak English. There items broken, my valuable 1800 weaving loom did not arrive, and the slats to a twin bed were not there. I know they were all loaded. There was a hand written note of what was to be delivered. Budget referred me to Transunion to settle the case and either get me my items or send me some cash. Transunion was ignorant, rude, unresponsive and never helped at all. When I called budget to get some assistnce with them they were oh so nice up front but did absolutely nothing to help me find my things. I spent $200 dollars to get new slats and a broken side board made for the bed and have never heard about my loom. I get a heart ache everytime I think about it because this loom meant a great deal to me. I haven't done a thing about it ( I worked on it every week for two months ) since late October because my husband went to the hospital for pancreatic cancer and we have been deeply involved in his care. I am going to hire an attorney to get some help. I am 82 years old and I want my loom or at least enough money to purchase a new one. I do not like these people. Never ever use anyone who passes off the job to someone else - and the someone is not even known to them.

15. Scam Alert!

    Mover beware! This Company will give you a low-ball estimate to secure your business. Then the movers will show up and tell you it is going to cost you thousands of dollars extra. By budget van lines estimate was $1800 and it went up to $3675 and I brought LESS furniture than I intended when we did the virtual walk though. And the relocation expert who provided the quote never returned my phone call when I called to question the price difference on on moving day. And the company they hired to do the job were unprofessional. The driver ran down a neighbor’s mailbox when he was backing up because he was talking on the phone. They only sent one moving man to do the job and the local guy who was supposed to help him walked off the job before they even started. So a neighbor had to help move me in. Do yourself a favor and find a reputable moving company who will give you an honest binding estimate upfront. This is a total moving scam!