On this page you will find reviews on the company Budget Van Lines from real customers. We have filtered custom reviews so that you can really evaluate whether it is worth contacting this company or it is better to contact other movers.
Company average rating Budget Van Lines – 2.5 (calculated based on 187 reviews).
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Unprofessional.
I have never worked with more unprofessional people in my life. I was cancelled on 3 days before my move on Friday evening at 6 PM. I had been calling for 3 days prior to Friday and no one would respond or call back. Later Friday evening I made my other arrangements, and called them to ask for my refund and I was told someone would get back to me; no one did. The following day I spoke to Thomas Aquinas who told me "what part of I can't tell you a time frame don't you understand". I said thank you and hung up. Unprofessional people in any company repulse me. I hope this company doesn't get a chance to treat anyone else this way. Please don’t use them.
Unethical business practice!
On May 23rd I scheduled a move with
Charter Van lines, and they sent a company by the name of Budget Van lines. My pickup was at a storage facility. The drive looked inside my unit that was prepared and ready for pickup and immediately told me that I would have to pay more for my move. $2000 dollars more. I asked him why he replied without reviewing the moving inventory list that he could tell I had more items than listed. I refused to pay an additional 2000.00 more. The drivers truck was filthy, and was old and beat up. The driver indicted on loafing my items, but I refused for fear of my items would be held hostage do that they could get additional monies from me. I tied calling charter Van lines for assistance and could not reach anyone. Both these companies are only out to get your money..
Didn’t show.
Budget Van Lines canceled the day before they were supposed to do the move. They offered no assistance with contingency plans or assistance. We were left with no time to make other arrangements and needing to be out of a place. I had at least 10 phone contacts and confirmations from them in the weeks before the move was scheduled. They took a $700 non refundable deposit and had the nerve to say it was an “estimate” not a contract so they were under no contractual deposits. They are a scam company. Don’t use them.
Zero Stars, But I had to give it 1!!
Zero Stars why? Less than 24 hours prior to my confirmed, contracted, deposit paid move, I had heard nothing from this company. After emailing, I receive a call that they cannot secure a carrier and are canceling my move from Ohio to Texas. And oh by the way it's a holiday weekend..probably why they couldn't fulfill in in the first place. Less than 24 hours leaves you with absolutely no options to secure another moving company, My lease was terminated so basically my belongings had no where to go. Don't.. I repeat, DON'T trust this company to contract your small move.
Budget Van Lines.
I wouldn’t recommend anyone going with a third party like Budget Van Lines.. I was in contact with Mitchell up until my move. As soon as he got my down payment, he stopped answering my calls. Third parties aren’t needed to get a good moving company, but I didn’t know this because this was my first move. If anyone is moving in the Florida area, I would recommend On Time Movers. Very professional and kept me in the loop of pick up and drop off times.
Weight vs. Cubic footage.
We contracted with Budget Van Lines in January 2018 to move some household goods from Maryland to Oklahoma. Vikki at Budget made it clear that they would subcontract the job, and also explained that the cost would be determined by weight. She told us the movers would weigh their truck and then weigh it again after loading. We sent Vikki a list of the goods, and she gave us an estimate of the weight. She explained the estimate was high, and that we would get a refund if the actual weight turned out to be less than the estimate.
Based on this advice we packed the load, mostly boxes of clothing and household goods, in a lot of boxes, keeping the box weights low, to facilitate easy handling. A local moving company, contracted by Puma, arrived on January 17 to load the goods. The driver assured me they had just weighed the truck. After loading the goods the driver and helpers commented that the boxes were light and load was light, and we would likely get a refund. The driver also assured us they were going to weigh the truck again on their way back to Laurel MD where the load would be transferred to a large truck. They had me sign a sheaf of papers, without explaining any of it. I asked for copies and they said they would be sent to us.
Between the 17th and the 25th I called Puma Van Lines twice to ask about the load weight. Both times I was told the person I needed to speak with was busy, but would call me back soon. To date they have never done so. We told the person receiving the goods in Oklahoma to be sure to check the load upon arrival, and to be sure to get the load weight from the driver. When she asked for it the driver told her he did not have the weight, and he told her the charge was based on cubic footage, not weight. And of course the amount we were charged was the maximum weight estimate from Vikki at Budget, no refund, or even discussion of one.
Quite obviously, this whole thing was a scam. I spoke with Kelsie at Budget, who told me that I must have signed a paper changing the load from weight-based to cubic footage. Since I never was told what I was signing, nor received the paper copies, I cannot confirm this. Kelsie at Budget told me she would check with Puma about the switch in computing the charge, and call me back. She never has done so, and it has been more than 2 weeks now.
There probably is no legal recourse to the well-played scam by Puma and abetted by Budget. All that I can do now is tell our experiences to everyone we know, and to never contract with either company again. Vikki at Budget touted their reputation for honesty and had me look on-line for verification. That may be true, as far as it goes, but they didn’t support us when we told them about how this scam was played out by Puma. “We just contract with them” I was told, and there was nothing they could do about. If you are considering contracting with either company, we urge you to exercise extreme caution. While their behavior may be technically legal, it is most definitely unethical and a scam.
Stay away from this broker.
On a whim, I decided to try Budget Van Lines. I input my information based on a promise of an immediate quote. As they say, if the service is free, then I'm the product, so I reasonably expected them to re-sell my information. Here is the catch - after giving them my information, the immediate quote may as well have been zero to infinity. Then, predictably, the first of many calls and text messages starting hitting my phone. Each company wanted detailed information, and each request an on-site visit by an estimator. Ask yourself - are you going to let some random company load up the contents of your house, and just drive off? Obviously not - you are going to have to vet each of these companies - check reviews, reputation, BBB, etc. I could easily spend time on Google finding these small movers, vetting them, and soliciting quotes for 2-3 of them. I don't need a broker selling leads for $3 to every mover in the country. Waste of time for me, and a waste of money for their clients (the movers). Avoid these people, just do your own search.
Do Not Book!
Be warned do not book. You may think you are saving just a few hundred but this company is unprofessional and should be shut down. The day before my move they cancelled! Without any help or suggestions on how I was Going to get from New Orleans to Washington DC. I wish I would have never went with them and used a professional trusted mover for a few hundred more.
Abandoned by Budget Van Lines.
We booked a move for a 1-bedroom apartment from Searcy, AR to Reno, NV including loaders and unloaders. We booked the service and paid our deposit in early November. We chose the 3-day pickup window to be December 17 – 19. On December 15, we received a call, which we assumed would be notification of the delivery date for the trailer. Rather, it was Budget informing us that they couldn’t find someone to pick up our load and that they didn’t think they could get someone there anytime that week. We were shocked that they would do something so unprofessional, especially when we had booked the move well in advance. I would never use or recommend Budget Van Lines!!
Virginia to Nevada.
I moved from VA to NV and decided to used Budget Van Lines. This is my first time to contact a moving company bcoz I have never moved this far. I spoked with agent Ryan and told him all the stuff I needed to move and he said I would only need 4 feet of space. Ryan explained to me that the truck will come to my apartment and I have 3 business days to load my stuff and 3 business days to unload. The truck came and Budget carrier was Estes SureMove. This carrier was so reliable bcoz they came on time and left on time. The agent said that it will take 6-8 business days to arrive in NV. The Budget customer service agent Dolores McBride was the most helpful person bcoz not only she explained the details on how to load my stuff, she even sent me pictures on how to properly measure the space i'm using. Thank you so much Dolores. Another Budget customer service agent Nate Kenny was also helpful in making the shedule so I can unload my stuff from the truck. The truck arrived in 7 business days. All my stuff came without any damage and I was so pleased. I will definitely recommend Budget Van Lines if you're thinking of moving.
Timeliness.
I recently moved from CT to CA and used budget van lines. They have a service of renting only a part of the truck. When I called them the agent Matt asked for an inventory of all my stuff and based on that he said I would need only 8 feet of space. He said the truck will come to my house and be there for 3 business days to load (by myself). The truck came on time and they and left on time. The customer service agent Dolores was very helpful in tracking my truck. They said the truck will arrive CA in 7-9 business days and it did arrive in 7 business days. All my things came without any damage. I am really please with their service.
Wyoming to Colorado.
I would never use this company again. What the sales person told me for the cost of the move was not true. Even on their invoice it says "total cost" and then there is a broker fee below it that is not included in the cost. Additionally, Mitch, the sales guy, told me everything was included in the move. When the carrier, Southwest Van lines (I suggest going straight to them) came out and loaded everything they tried to add all kinds of additional charges. The driver was professional and did not charge me. However, when I tried to get a hold of Mitch at Budget again, no response. I called the customer service manager Donald Battles. He was polite and promised a call back from Mitch's manager. No such luck. I have left several messages for Donald for the last few weeks and not return call from him either. This company is a total bait and switch company. Don't fall for their pricing, it won't work out for you.
Hurricane Irma destroyed your condo.. I'm NOT sorry.
I was surprised Budget Van Lines did not provide a 100% refund when hurricane Irma affected my move. They did not care that my move was canceled and postponed indefinitely due to damage on my new home. They just cared that they receive their $500 booking fee. I will never recommend or use budget van lines in the future. Please look at Golden movers as they are an excellent, caring moving company.
Horrible DO NOT USE.
I filed a complaint against the BBB AND SUGGESTED Everyone should. The reason for such horrible service and missed dates is because this broker takes your money but doesn't actually schedule the carrier until last minute, if at all. The managers lie and they don't give you proper information. Manager Dolores made threats of withholding my stuff until I make additional payments, was told by another employee there wasn't a manager above him (when she called me 2 days later), expected me to forward her emails of our communication, and purposely held my stuff to incur additional charges from the carrier.
Horrible experience.
I've never had such an awful experience. As a broker, Budget Van Lines used Metro Relocations (formerly Pro Movers) as the carrier. When my things were to be delivered, the driver called me and let me know he would be there on Sunday (the next day.) I waited there on Sunday from 10 until 4:30, when he had arrived in town. He had gotten stuck on a narrow street in town and called me, insisting that I walk over to him (several blocks away). Moving is already a stressful situation, and he was barking at me over the phone, seemingly angry when I did not understand his directions. While I understand being stuck is frustrating, the way that he made me feel like it was my fault was unacceptable. I was moving to a new place where I didn't know anyone and I do not know what I should have done differently to avoid this experience. I thought that a moving company knew how to handle issues like this. I had ran out of the house with nothing hoping I could help him, and ended up standing next to the truck for an hour while he asked me to ask strangers if they had access to a pickup truck. After all this, he told me that if I found someone with a truck, he would only be willing to load the things into the truck but I would be on my own to take them into my apartment. I hired this company because I do not have the ability to move heavy furniture by myself. I was hoping for a smooth, easy experience and this was hellish. I just agreed to pay the 300 extra dollars because I wanted to be done with all of this, but I really wish that there was a way this could have been avoided, because I feel ripped off. I had to miss a day of work on Monday to deal with this and I wish I would have been given more notice to do that.
On Monday, the movers broke through a wall on a stair landing 4 steps below the apartment door. The broken wall crack is over 36" in length and breaks through the sheet rock into the spacing between the studs. I politely pointed it out and asked if it had just happened, and the movers insisted that they had not touched the wall. When my landlord noticed the damage, he politely asked if there was someone he could call to discuss the issue. At this point the driver got very rude and aggressive, insisting they had done nothing, angrily yelling at him to "prove it" and making me very uncomfortable with the way he was treating us. My landlord asked him if he could provide him with the number of his supervisor, which made the driver angrier still and he said "like h*ll I'm giving you that!" and basically said that we'd have no luck blaming this on him. I tried to contact the company to report the damage and I was completely ignored. They stopped picking up my phone calls and I had to give up eventually.
The damage was my main problem with the experience, but there were several other things that made me uncomfortable. The driver purposefully tried to intimidate me. He refused to leave until I had signed the form and wrote that I had "checked and received all my property." I did not want to sign anything at that point and just wanted him to leave as he was sort of scaring me with his behavior and I am a young woman living alone. I felt pressured to do as he asked just so he would leave.
When he asked me to check my belongings, I tried to take the inventory list and the receipt upstairs with me and look them over. He insisted that I leave the receipt with him, which made me uncomfortable - I should be able to look something over by myself before signing it.
After my landlord brought up the damage, he got angry and said that he was done. We weren't sure if they were actually done or if he was just angry and wanted to leave, so my landlord asked to check the truck just to make sure anything wasn't left behind. He was very aggressive and refused, saying "you're not touching my truck" and did not allow us to see it. Later, I asked again, and he allowed me to see and it was empty, but I just did not understand why it had to be like that.
He refused to provide me with a copy of the receipt with the updated charges. He allowed me to take a photo of it, but I really would have preferred to get a copy of the receipt as this was an extremely large cash only payment and I wanted to see if I could get anything reimbursed by my employer.
This experience has left me broke and basically just broken down. I'm so saddened it's had to be like this and I would encourage anyone else to stay as far away as possible from Budget Van Lines and the companies they contracted (Pro Movers, Metro Relocations and Dumbo Moving).