Grace Van Lines

50 Reviews: Add Review

1. Worst Movers Ever.

   WORST MOVERS EVER. First off, do not believe any of the positive reviews listed on this site. If you notice, every positive review incorrectly capitalizes the company's name (i.e. Grace van lines) in the identical fashion, indicating that these "glowing" reviews are complete nonsense written by the same person (likely the owners/employees) in order to fraudulently bolster their credibility. Conversely, trust in the same unfortunate story that has happened to too many good people, myself included, at the hands of such a poorly run and inconsiderate company. I URGE YOU NOT TO USE GRACE VAN LINES, regardless of the promises they may make.
   
   Below is a summary of my experience:
   
   1.) DELAY:
   
   When I originally booked moving services with Grace Van Lines on June 1, 2015, I was assured that our items would be picked up on June 27, 2015 and would be delivered in Chicago before the 4th of July. I explained to the customer service rep, Debra Casa, that timing was of the essence in the delivery of our goods. She promised delivery on or before July 4th, and it was this reassurance that I based my decision to book with Grace Van Lines.
   
   Our goods were picked up on June 27, 2015 in Boston as scheduled. Kevin, the moving manager with Grace who managed the pickup, again confirmed that Grace would be able to delivery in Chicago within the time frame discussed. No mention of a lack of trucks or a delay in scheduling was discussed upon the pick-up of our goods, otherwise I would have made other arrangements.
   
   Our original shipment was not delivered until July 17, 2015, clearly later than the date promised by Grace Van Lines. Further, our shipment was not complete upon delivery – several key pieces of furniture were not on the delivery truck. These items were not delivered until August 12, 2015. These items were the headboard to our king size bed and the rocker mechanism for our infant’s glider chair. Our bed could not be assembled without the headboard and our glider chair necessary for infant feedings was rendered useless without these items – both were critical for proper use. Our family was once again forced to sleep on the floor for an additional month while these items were found and returned.
   
   The original delivery team informed me that these items were never placed on the delivery truck in New Jersey despite the driver’s protest that they were missing per his inventory check. I again placed daily calls to Grace Van Lines and was informed that my items could not be found at that time. It was not until August 1 that I was informed that the headboard had been located and that it was being shipped immediately to Chicago. At the same time, I was informed that the glider mechanism was likely lost.
   
   The headboard was not shipped as I was told by Grace Van Line’s customer service reps and shipping manager. Indeed, I was later told on August 4th that the headboard was on a truck in route to Chicago. That, too, was a lie. My daily calls remained unanswered, and I was finally informed on August 10 that these items were found and were actually on a truck. They did not arrive until August 12th in Chicago.
   
   2.) CUSTOMER SERVICE:
   After Grace Van Lines picked up our goods in Boston in June 27, 2015, our family began the trip across country to Chicago where we expected updates about the prompt delivery of our goods. I began making status calls to Grace Van Lines on June 30, 2015 to inquire about the status of my shipment. My calls were unanswered. From the period of June 30 through July 7, I made daily calls (sometimes twice daily) and sent multiple emails checking on the status of my delivery, and none were returned. When I finally reached someone with the company, I was told that my goods were in holding in a warehouse in New Jersey and were waiting for an available truck to head toward Chicago. No one could give me an estimate on when said truck would depart and/or arrive in Chicago. I again made daily calls from July 7 through July 14 with similar non-responses. Finally, on July 15, after inquiring about claims and legal action, I was told the delivery truck was on its way.
   
   3.) INCREASED BILLING
   Upon my initial booking of the company with Debra Casa on June 1, 2015, which included a detailed inventory consisting of an item-by-item listing of all of our furniture and a generous estimate of containers and boxes to be shipped, I was given an original estimate of $2,838.00. I discussed, in detail, the address, location, and descriptions of both the pickup and drop off homes. Ms. Casa informed me that the “shuttle service” would not be needed for this job. Further, she informed me that, if it was, any additional costs would be waived.
   When the Grace Van Line manager, Kevin, arrived in Boston on June 27 to pickup the goods, he informed me that the original quote was incorrect. Specifically, he nearly doubled the cost because the boxes listed on our inventory were indicated as “medium” as opposed to “large” – an indication I never gave Ms. Casa – as well as inflated prices based on disassembling various items (thus created additional “items” for delivery). My final quoted price was $5485.72. Kevin then informed me that this was the MAXIMUM amount I could be charged upon delivery. No mention of shuttle costs were discussed. In fact, I indicated that the delivery truck would fit on our street – which it did – to which I was informed that was good enough for delivery of our goods.
   
   When our shipment finally arrived on July 17, 2015, and as the truck was parked in front of our apartment in Chicago, I was informed by the delivery team that an ADDITIONAL $1215.00 was immediately due for a “shuttle fee”. No such fee was ever agreed to, and no such fee was approved by me in advance. As my items were being held hostage, I was informed by the delivery team that my goods would not be released until this fee was paid, and I could “take it up with claims” after the fact. Again, no such fee was EVER discussed or agreed to until the moment of delivery.
   In total, we were billed $6,700.72 - $3,862.72 more than originally quoted – for a job that was delivered late, incomplete, and damaged.
   
   4.) INCOMPLETE SERVICES
   When the first of our items initially arrived in Chicago on July 17, the delivery team lacked the tools to properly reassemble our couch and day-bed that was disassembled by the pickup team. They left the job without assembling these items per the contract.
   
   Similarly, when the headboard and glider assembly arrived on August 12, I was told by the delivery team that assembly of the bed and glider chair – which had been disassembled by the pickup team – would be additional cost. They refused to assist in assembly without cash payments.
   
   Both services were incomplete as per the contract.
   
   5.) DAMAGED GOODS
   As mentioned in the Claims Procedure Package, several items were damaged or were missing critical pieces upon delivery. They include:
   - Grill – missing leg pieces
   - 2 Ceramic Stools – destroyed – packed by movers
   - Baby Gate – destroyed
   - 2 bookshelves – destroyed – packed by movers
   - Various missing hardware for furniture
   
   6.) LOST GOODS
   Several key pieces of hardware to our couch, TV stand, and cabinets were never delivered. These items were lost and never accounted for when they were disassembled by Grace Van Lines personnel either upon pickup or transport. These items no lack their intended purposes, including an inability to install shelves in the various cabinets and TV stand, and our couch is now missing several legs and screws that make it stable.
   
   7.) CONCLUSION
   
   The lack of professionalism, lies, improper billing practices, and poor performance of Grace Van Lines during this move was entirely unacceptable and likely in violation of federal moving regulations and industry standards. I would expect to be compensated for the various degrees of hardship placed on my family, including extreme delay, relocation expenses and hardship, and damage, not to mention hotel costs and other related expenditures, for their various material breaches of our agreement.

2. Worst experience.

   This is the absolute worst moving company and would not recommend them at all! My initial conversation with Debra was great and she was a wonderful sales person. She could sell snow to a snowman. I had several questions regarding certain items to be shipped and she was very reassuring the items could go on the truck and offered packing tips. She should not consult in packing tips. We need the items delivered asap and she said we would be put first on the delivery (wrong). Initial quote was in line so we decided to move forward.
   
   I had given Debra a complete inventory list of every box, Rubbermaid container with the size and contents within, plus all furnishings. She told me she has never received such a detailed list. It didn't do any good for the job. List was given to the pick up crew too.
   
   Pick up day. They arrived 3 hours late. Lead person on the job Kevin kept reassuring me that he was a professional mover. That was false. Once our items arrived we found out how UNprofessional he was. Our price for the move now goes up $1,650. We have no choice we need to move forward and pay the additional fee. We had six cases of sealed bottles of alcohol and antique crystal decanters which I was concerned about the transport. The bottles were wrapped in paper, placed into compartment boxes and placed into Rubbermaid tubs. Both Kevin and Debra said no problem with putting these in the truck. Somehow these mysteriously disappeared and did not make it to Florida. Someone had a great party on my expense. Plus kept the tub of cleaning products to clean up after their party.
   
   Delivery: Several calls numerous emails to Ivette 20 days later our stuff arrives. I was shocked at the condition of the boxes and Rubbermaid containers. They were damaged beyond reuse. The truck was packed and then smashed like a garbage truck. The delivery crew, a husband and wife team, I don't remember their names but they were amazed at the damage. They could see how upset I was and they were very understanding. Furniture broken beyond fixing, scratches on furniture, and the missing items beside the liquor and decanters. Flat screen television packed in a moving box specifically for tv's damaged beyond use. Looks like it was stepped on. Several calls to Ivette to locate the numerous missing items was useless.
   
   Claim: Followed their procedure on the claim. Claim submitted Novemer 5, 2015. It has now been 92 days later and still have not been reimbursed for the items damaged and loss.
   
   I DO NOT RECOMMEND GRACE VAN LINES AT ALL. THIS IS A HORRIBLE MOVING COMPANY AND THEY DO NOT FOLLOW UP WHEN THERE IS AN ISSUE. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR A MOVING COMPANY.

3. Should you use Grace?

   Should you use Grace Van Lines? I was offered about $100 total restitution for the delivery I received. You can read the following initial claim letter and decide for yourself. (There was another similar that went toward an appeal for a second reviews of my claim). Note: If nothing had been broken/lost, the letters still would have been sent. I did not include all "exhibit" images but a select two that show poor packing (upside down and sideways boxes..there were many more than shown) and one of the many severely damaged boxes/bins.
   
   
   "Dear Sir or Madam:
   The following letter details my complaint over service, damage, and loss on my move using Grace Van Lines. I am seeking half my money back due to an absolutely irresponsible delivery. My cost
   for the move was $8701 plus $1,000 in tips for a total of $9,701. I am seeking a reimbursement of $4850.50 for poor service. Restitution for any itemized damaged items I demonstrate in this claim would be included within that reimbursement.
   
   
   Why I chose Grace Van Lines:
   After much trauma in my family’s life, I was seeking nothing
   short of professional service for my move. The last thing I needed was more stress. I did a lot of research, found 90% excellent reviews from various sources and had the praise of an acquaintance who used Grace for a more local move. For many of the few negative reviews, the company responded to the review in a professional, courteous manner. After calling many other companies, this was new to me. I read their information carefully and chose them knowing I could have gotten a cheaper price, but also knowing I needed something to go as smooth as possible in my family’s life. My rep at the company, Richard, assured me Grace ran a tight ship and I would have a customer-pleasing move.
   
   From the Grace Van Lines website:
   “Being a small company, we understand the importance of high quality services and customer satisfaction. We uphold these values and encourage you to forward all your comments and advice to our customer care desk. Our customers can rely on timely and cost effective moves. This explains why we are the number one choice moving company in New Jersey and its surrounding areas. We do not overbook our services and instead focus on the specific needs of individual customers; simply put, ours is a service with a personal touch. The crew at Grace Van Lines knows all aspects of the moving industry as they have been working in the industry for many years. The management goes to a great length to make sure that its employees are competent and uphold the values of customer satisfaction and high quality service delivery. You can trust us to move your stuff without
   the fear of pilferage or breakages.”
   
   This is NOT the type of service I got, primarily in the storage and delivery process. In fact, short of losing all my stuff or everything breaking, I can’t imagine it going worse. I paid top dollar for the
   outcome I feared most.
   
   The Issues:
   1) I was told by the Pick-up Captain (Michael), by Richard (rep), and by the the Delivery destination sheet I had to sign (Exhibit A
   – yellow sheet), that my delivery would probably arrive in
   4 to 7 business days, but that worst case scenario is 14 business days from earliest delivery date. Please note that this is noted in BLOCKED type for Southeast deliveries. (see Exhibit A –
   yellow paper). Then, when calling about the delay, I was told by someone that, no – that’s wrong, it could be 21 business days. And in the fine print, it says 30. Yeah, I know … fine print, fine print, fine print. But if I cannot rely on heavily marked type on the agreement, why is it there? Why was Grace telling me 14 days? My stuff arrived in about twenty business days.. the afternoon
   before my kids started a brand new school and I started a brand new job. I had to buy school supplies that I already owned that were stuck on the truck, as well as other household items
   because after many promises, I didn’t know when my stuff was coming. With a house/garage full of boxes in very questionable condition, it was just wonderful starting a new job. On top of it, the extra care we had to take in checking boxes we weren’t planning to unpack yet and preparing this claim has cost me many hours that should have been devoted to my freelance writing and social media jobs.
   2) When I asked about the process my stuff would take to go down, I was told by the Pickup Captain (Michael) that everything would be taken off the current truck and moved directly onto the
   truck that would make the long distance drive along with a number of other clients’ stuff. How many clients would depend on size of loads. Then truck would wait until full and a driver was
   assigned to go down. Clearly, that didn’t happen. From the condition of my boxes, it looked like my stuff was literally thrown from place to place and when calling to find out about my delivery, was told my stuff was in a warehouse. When we asked about the possibility of people’s stuff getting mixed up, we were assured that plywood partitions were placed between clients’ belongings on the truck. The delivery truck did NOT have partitions, and didn’t even have a strap to divide
   our stuff. I have a picture of our stuff mixed in with another client’s stuff (Exhibit B). In fact, the movers unloaded two items into our driveway that were not even ours. Luckily we noticed.
   3) The truck was packed so poorly that the two local movers who met the truck, and the driver, and the delivery captain (Alex) were horrified at the way the truck was packed. Alex took pictures. The stuff was packed so haphazardly that once the middle section of our stuff was unloaded, the left side toppled, including our two-piece china cabinet, which fell on one of the guys. My husband and the other moving guy had to free the poor guy under the pile. Why my china cabinet was loaded toward top of the truck in the first place seems pretty stupid. (Exhibit C
   –aftermath of avalanche left side. Cardboard wrapping and blue blanket are my china cabinet.) The china cabinet itself was not damaged, however, the two glass shelves that were packaged separately (by Grace) had damage. Not sure where they were in truck. (Exhibit D)
   4) Many of our boxes (cardboard and rubber or plastic) looked like a gorilla had been working the warehouse and/or loading the truck. There was clearly little attention paid to boxes marked
   fragile. Some of the lighter boxes and/or fragile were on bottom of piles. I counted at least eight that were loaded upside down or sideways. (Exhibit E - sample of upside down boxes)
   Some of the boxes were truly outrageous – clearly thrown around more than once. A couple of the cardboard boxes were unloaded as if carrying a heavy baby because the box was going to fall apart. Most of my cardboard boxes started out brand new and the few that were not were in good shape. (Exhibit F – this pile of images illustrates the horrible treatment of our belongings)
   Because we planned on using storage in the garage for some stuff, we are also out a bunch of plastic/rubber
   boxes that can no longer be used.
   5) My boxes must have done a lot of tumbling and opening due to their condition and due to the fact that we found the contents mixed in ways we never would have packed. For example, at
   least four holiday boxes were involved in some sort of mess. I found xmas stuff in the Thanksgiving bin, empty ornament boxes in two boxes, with the ornaments that were in them at
   pickup scattered throughout other boxes, and broken charger plates. One ornament, I never found. There had to have been an upset and people just chucked stuff back in boxes. (Exhibit G
   – various shots of the mix ups). Another box, full of models, packed carefully, had hardcover books on top of the models.
   No way would we pack books in there! On top of it, box was cracked, suggesting it had fallen, was thrown, whatever.
   (Exhibit H)
   6) Three of my items that were boxed in their original sytrofoam packed boxes were okay, but their boxes looked like they went through a war zone. I know they did not leave my NJ house that
   way. And the box that was also wrapped in thick plastic that holds my wedding dress was also damaged. Dress is fine, luckily. But why should there be this much damage to this many boxes in
   one move? Not professional. Someone was in a big rush.
   (Exhibit I)
   7) By the time the truck was almost empty of our stuff, one of the movers came out with a few handfuls of loose Lego (my son’s prized possession) and later, my confirmation Bible! It had been
   packed by us inside a tight fitting book box inside a box of books. But there it was on the floor of the truck, its individual box never found. Seriously?
   8) There are all these warnings on paperwork about being home and available when the truck comes and fees for making the truck wait. Yet a) we were supposed to be called an hour before the
   truck would arrived and were not—luckily we were arriving home just as the truck arrived at our development and b) the truck couldn’t unload for over an hour because the local moving guys had not arrived. Perhaps they weren’t called in a timely manner? If I have one good thing to say about our delivery—and I truly only have this one—the two guys that met the truck, other than being late, were super professional and polite and hardworking. I found it odd that there were only three guys to unload the truck, with the local guys doing most of the work, when there were five guys in NJ for pickup, but whatever. It did take a long time to unload the truck and the delivery captain couldn’t get out of here fast enough. The local guys left before we could tip them. I hope the delivery captain gave them their share as he said he would.
   9) LOSS:
   During the unloading process, we kept getting distracted from checking the box numbers coming off the truck. Personally, I thought the moving captain should have been doing that, but between photographing all the damage and unbelievable box stacking and doing preliminary checks in boxes, we didn’t have time. Then, when my husband suggested we do a count
   with the captain, he said he didn’t have time, he had to go. On top of it, he did a rush job putting our dining room table back together, leaving two screws unused and then one fell out later. Our BBQ grill, rocking chair, and one folding desk/table were
   left for us to unwrap. So my husband and I did a check against the inventory list ourselves and found 25 missing numbers. A
   few were double numbers, a couple of boxes were numbered twice. But we do believe we are missing some boxes. I couldn’t tell you what, other than a kitchen box of cleaning products and
   kitchen do-dads and one Xmas ornament mentioned earlier. But we are hoping most of those numbers are missing due to error in putting on the stickers and not that we are missing things we
   aren’t thinking of and will suddenly realize later. List of missing item numbers attached to back of this list. We contacted Grace and after a lot of run around, finally the warehouse got back to them to say they didn’t find anything. We contacted Alex who said he would check the truck further down their run, but he didn’t find anything. I can only hope boxes didn’t go to people who didn’t
   realize they didn’t belong to them. Without the partitions, anything could have happened.
   10) DAMAGES:
   Look, we don’t expect to get through a move 100% unscathed. If I had a couple of glass items break or a simple scratch on something and didn’t witness numbers 1 – 7, I wouldn’t even bother to call the moving company about it. But this experience has cost sanity, loss of time adjusting to living in a new state, stress, money in the way of purchasing things we already
   owned on the truck that we didn’t think we would need during our first two weeks here, putting this whole claim together and more money ($19 for the images we had to have printed). This
   experience has truly sucked. I would have been better off paying less to take my chances with a less revered company. I should have gone with the company my father-in-law suggested, whose
   best review was three stars and had hundreds upon hundreds of
   one star complaints. I would have paid far less for similar results, or maybe gotten the surprise of a pleasant experience.
   The following broke / was damaged during this move:
   - Insignia 47” HD TV
   – gouge on screen. Packed by Grace. (Exhibit J) Sorry one of pics is blurry, but Alex (delivery capt) took pics of this too.
   - My Bob-o-Pedic foam mattress. It was folded in half at delivery and still has yet to go back to normal. There is a huge bump in it, the top seems to have separated from itself at corners. Ruined.
   (Exhibit K) Alex also took pictures of this. I don’t understand why it was packed like this in the first place, and then it sat like that for nearly a month.
   - Secretary Desk: Made by my grandfather. Scraped/gouge on bottom part. Packed by Grace because I wanted “professionals” to make sure it was safe. (Exhibit L)
   - Disassembled wooded table. Piece came off. (Exhibit M)
   - Shattered Xmas glasses (Exhibit N)
   - Broken Xmas decoration (Exhibit O)
   - Chair leg loose/ bent outwards. Fixed, but packed by Grace (Exhibit P)
   - Broken off clasp on garden tool box (Exhibit Q) Tools found on floor of truck
   -Shattered Etch a Sketch toy. (Exhibit R)
   -shattered lantern (Exhibit S)
   - broken giraffe (Exhibit T)
   - Shattered cake pedestal cover glass (Exhibit U)
   - Music box wooden edge damaged as was box (Exhibit V)
   - Bottom of Charbroil BBQ unit bent on ends and middle (packed by Grace) (Exhibit W)
   - Four margarita glasses shattered (Exhibit X)
   - Plastic punch bowl (Exhibit Y) cracked
   - Several Gargoyles chipped or scuffed. All had been wrapped carefully in bubble wrap. Yet there was stone/clay debris at bottom of bin. Did it all fall out at some point? (Exhibit Z)
   - Mickey Snow Globe figurines broken off. (Exhibit AA)
   - Broken moose from another Christmas box (Exhibit BB)
   - Coalport Bone China salad bowl. Was wrapped packed very carefully, labeled fragile and in rubber bin. Damage to bottom of bin. (Exhibit CC)
   - Broken fairy wing (Exhibit DD)
   - Broken ceramic hot plate (Exhibit EE)
   - Diploma frame glass (Exhibit FF)
   The amount of damaged items across so many boxes/bins is ridiculous. This is not moving with care. While I list some of the bigger ticket items on your claims form, many of the other broken
   items I do not have receipts for as they were gifts or very old. Some, like the chargers mentioned earlier in a Xmas box will be hard to replace at that price I got them at. In short, I have no interest in being nickeled and dimed by the pound for my damages. If there was not so much damage to containers that would be one thing, but my belongings were clearly handled like garbage and transported without proper partitions and restraints. They were stuck in a warehouse too long when they should have been put directly on a truck as I was told. They were clearly thrown around and stacked without regard to “fragile” notes, weight and size. I would not have this much damage without the poor service.
   11) I would like to believe that my experience is an abnormality in Grace’s service. After delivery, I went back on the review sites I
   had gone to where I found such glowing reviews. I thought maybe I had made a mistake—that I had looked up the wrong company. What I found was
   that from the end of June through the beginning of August, scathing reviews had suddenly surfaced which sounded much like my experience. I believe the company took on too much work and
   couldn’t meet its workload without shortcuts. Maybe they outsourced to lesser companies? I don’t know. What I do know is that I did not get the customer dedicated service I was promise
   d. Including tips, I paid almost $10,000 for this move. I want half my fee back. I could have made multiple trips with my two cars back and forth from Jersey for less aggravation and money than
   this. Thank God I sent most of my good china and crystal on ahead with people going down to FL ahead of us. No doubt, I would have lost much of it.
   
   Grace Van Lines rep, Gemma, who I dealt with for delay and damage issues agreed that the service we received wound up very poor. She apologized profusely, but said she could only direct me to movingclaims.net. Please let me know if there is any other information you need. I am one of many families I know from up North who have moved or will be moving soon. Would
   I recommend Grace? Certainly not without acknowledgment of
   them making a huge boo-boo and providing restitution for it. I chose them for their professionalism in dealing with angry reviews no matter how few. I would like them to show that professionalism now. As well, I hope they make good with whoever’s stuff was to the left and right of mine on the truck; As soon as that truck moved on, it must have all fallen to the middle.
   
   In conclusion, to reiterate, I’m not interested in being nickled and dimed for $.60 on the pound for a load of items that would not have been damaged if not for the poor treatment of my belongings. I want a reimbursement of the delivery fee that was supposed to go toward professional movement of my stuff and a management staff that “goes to a great length to make sure that its employees are competent and uphold the values of customer satisfaction and high quality service delivery.”
   I didn’t get anything close to that."
   
   So should YOU use Grace Van Lines? I won't tell you what to do. You'll have to make that decision for yourself.

   

4. Grace Van Lines New Jersey and Florida.

   A Grace team from New Jersey arrived on July 15 to move us out. They arrived five hours later than the scheduled time, and had drastically underestimated the time it would take to pack us and move us out. It ended up being a two day stressful scramble to meet the deadline for emptying the house for the closing. Our goods then went into storage. We requested in August that they move our goods from storage into our new house in Florida around October 21. They actually arrived on November 8. They then found that the truck would not fit around the corner into our street, and had to postpone the delivery, transferring our goods to smaller trucks, and demanding $3000 in cash in advance to pay for the additional time and effort. We had had an estimate of $10,000 in total and the move ended up costing $30,000. When we began unpacking the boxes, we were stunned at the level of breakage: tables with legs ripped off, a chair crumbled into a heap of broken wooden parts, a silver service in pieces, dozens of broken dishes and glasses. Boxes were mislabeled and inappropriately packed, for example, 5 cups in one box, and a sixth in another. The bolts which attach our piano legs to the piano were nowhere to be seen. In fairness, the move- in team went out to hardware stores to find replacement bolts, but were not successful. A disaster over all.

5. Worst Experience ever.

   On July 30th Gracevanlines came to move us from
   75 Berkman Dr, Middletown, NY 10941 to Riverview, FL 33579. I was quoted a
   price of $1581. The Foreman walked through the house called me and told me it
   would be $3,000. I told him if its $3,000 then doesn’t do it he said lets see
   when its loaded it goes by Ft not items. Came to 2989.I told him to unload truck
   he said it would cost that now no matter what. During the move he got into a fist
   fight with the Driver and another in front of my wife they were throwing furniture
   at each other and were cursing like sailors my wife Patti Corcoran who suffers
   from anxiety and was a mess. At the end my wife went to bank to get the money
   because she was told she had to give cash. At the bank the foreman followed her
   into bank and demanded she give $300 cash tip right then and he was so loud
   that the bank teller wanted to call the police.
   This is not acceptable and I wanted my stuff returned and
   was told it couldn’t be. We are asking for a refund of $1,000 for the way we
   treated how our stuff was treated how my wife was treated and the damage to our
   chairs because my dining room suit will never match.
   
   This is the worst experience I have ever been through.

6. Not so good overall experience.

   Hired Grace Van Lines to do my move from New Jersey to Florida . Overall not a good and extremely stressful experience . The quoted price did not match , it was nearly impossible to reach someone once my belongings were picked up , unprofessional moving people upon my location in Florida ( furniture was not put back together ) , very disorganized .. Bottom line they don't care about the customer , all they care about is how much more money they can make out of you !!

7. Grace Van Lines Stay Away.

   At first they seemed so very nice and helpful but trust me everything that occurs outside of the phone call to get your business is a [EDIT]. Rude, dishonest and money grubbing movers. They delivered multiple large furniture pieces broken/damaged and after they left we have come to realize that they did not deliver all our belongings. Trying to speak to someone on the phone about the problem or file a claim makes this experience even worse. And for this they added $800 to the move, asked for tips from an elderly person, threatened to not move belongings without cash in hand, and asked for more tips on the move in at the end. Oh and they also added $600 for needing to move the furniture down a condo hallway .. Thief a and Total scumbags .. Stay far away .. Don't make the mistake we did .. Don't believe the nice talk from their sales people because they farm this out to moron movers.

8. Unethical salespeople, amateur movers, and rude/indifferent cust svc.

   Unethical salespeople, amateur movers, and rude/indifferent customer service representatives. That sums up our experience with Grace Van Lines. I initilally spoke with my New York salesman more than once and asked him for an in-home price quote twice to ensure that I was not underestimating anything, but he refused and assured me that he had done 2-bedroom apartment moves from New York to Texas many times and that my phone-quote was accurate and that I would not face higher moving costs on the day of my move. On the day of my move, however, I was charged approximately double my phone quote. Had I known Grace Van Lines would charge me so much for my move, I would have never given them my business. Furthermore, upon inspecting the moving truck on moving day, I noticed that our boxes and furniture had several large gaps in between them, which surely contributed to the increased moving biil. The movers also packed several things that my wife told them not to pack, and did not bother to place any labels on the boxes whatsoever. They even came without adequate tools to dissemble our most basic furniture and asked to borrow my power drill! In addition, my Grace Van Lines salesman guaranteed that my belongings would arrive within 7-10 days of our move date, and my wife and I created an entire schedule around that timeline. On the 10th day I called customer service and found out that our belongings had not even left New York yet and customer service rudely told me they had up to 21 business days from first available delivery date (not even the move date!) to deliver my belongings and that I can expect my belongings 21 business days from that date. Neither my salesperson nor Grace Van Lines customer service denied that that 7-10 day time-guarantee was given to me when I was placing my deposit, but they outright refused to honor the agreement and offered me no recourse except to wait. This new schedule forced several unexpected expenses on me to purchase new clothes, books, and materials for my kids' schooling; new clothes for my new job; temporary furniture and bedding; etc. Not to mention the great strain and hardship it brought upon my entire family. Upon our finally receiving our belongings five days later than had originally been guaranteed, we found several of our belongings damaged. Our vacuum cleaner was broken; our wooden rocking chair was split in two pieces; our mattress was disfigured; and our box spring was crushed in two corners. The movers delivering our furniture did not even have a box cutter knife to remove the taped blankets from our belongings and asked to borrow a knife from our kitchen! Finally, the movers who delivered our furniture spent more than an hour trying to reassemble our baby crib and treadmill, but in the end told us that they can't because there were missing nuts and bolts from both. Unethical salespeople, rude and indifferent customer service department, and amateur movers. This is what you can expect from Grace Van Lines. The absolute worst moving experience of our lives.

9. Would not honor the contract.

   We chose Grace Van Lines based on customer reviews, which were overwhelmingly positive. My husband called and was quoted a inexpensive figure to move our family of six from a 2200 square foot home. We found it unbelievable, so my husband asked the salesman to come out to our home and assess our belongings for a more accurate estimate. Ivan, the salesman, came to our home. He was very polite and respectful. I showed him every room in the house, including storage and garage. He came back with a quote for our move. It still seemed low. My husband told him to make the quote higher. We finally agreed at a price of $2900, which the company calls a "binding estimate." Between the time Ivan came to our home and the time we moved, our circumstances changed. We got rid of various items, including big furniture items: a sofa, futon, kitchen dining set, baby crib, baby swing, queen sized bed, and two bunk beds. On the day of the move, the movers came four hours late. They took one look at our boxes and said they could never move us for so low a cost. The foreman took a fresh inventory and gave us a new estimate: $5600. This is more than twice the original "binding estimate." They refused to put anything on the truck and they refused to compromise or keep the promises from the salesman.  They said, "Our company will not honor this contract." This was a company mistake. This was not my husband or me underestimating our belongings. Remember, we had to ask the salesman to give us a higher bid. The company should have been held accountable to the promises of their salesman. They left us in a bind--we had airline tickets to our new destination the next day. We had a few hours to find another moving company--one that was more expensive than the original bid, but they were honest and kept their promise. My husband talked to Ivan on the phone and he said that they would be unable to refund our $300 deposit. Luckily, the manager took care of that and the deposit was refunded quickly and in full. The men who came to move our belongings were kind, polite, and respectful. While we feel that the company was dishonest, we in no way hold the actual movers accountable. .

10. Irresponsible and failed to solve the issues caused by themselves.

    Grace Van Lines is irresponsible to customer and failed to solve the issues caused by their internal miscommunication.
    6/12, my moving day in New York, Grace Van Lines forgot my bike in my hallway. I noticed right away and called them. The customer rep Debra said she would arrange the pick up. Since then, Grace Van Lines never had any progress of solving this issue. I called, emailed and left voice message. No response.
    (I Kept calling & emailing & no response)
    7/18, I moved in to my new apartment in San Francisco without any furniture and necessary supplies. They still didn't answer when to pick up my bike and when I could expect my delivery.
    (I Kept calling & emailing & no response)
    7/21, Debra suddenly emailed saying my stuff was on its way to SF. How about my bike? No answer.
    (I Kept calling & emailing & no response)
    8/2, Grace Van Lines emailed saying Debra was out of country and asking me to call the main office. I called and left message. No answer.
    Same day 8/2 evening, the dispatch team told me the delivery was already scheduled on 8/4 morning (less than 36 hours notice). How could the delivery be scheduled without discussing with me? They said changing date would cause extra charge $250. I was left no choice and had to make the last minute day-off request to my employer. 
    8/4 morning, the truck arrived 4 hours late. They charged me another $633 because they switched to a shuttle truck. I was not given any heads up about this "necessary decision". The whole process made me feel they were taking advantage of holding my stuff and didn't give me any options.
    More ugly notes:
    1) The real cost was $800 more than their estimate ($3600 vs $2800), plus $633 shuffle truck fee.
    2) I filed BBB on 7/15. They called me the next day. The first thing Debra told me was to take down my review instead of understanding and solving my issue.
    3) On 8/3, Grace Van lines left a message on BBB "Please advice why the case close as unsolved". That's it.
    4) Their tracking system is an online form sending to a mysterious email account. Then you receive an email saying your stuff is merely telling you "EN ROUTE" or "Awaiting to be loaded". No details. 
    5) I received the first tracking email saying "En ROUTE" and 2 days later anotehr email saying "Awaiting to be loaded".
    Frustrating and worst business service ever.
     .

11. No more mediocre moving companies.

    We move around quite a lot and always get stuck with very mediocre moving companies. We have come to expect now that some of our things will break, some will get damaged and some will be lost forever during relocations. But I was proven wrong by the very efficient movers from Grace van lines. These guys were so professional. They arrived on time and took very less time to finish the packing- loading process. The delivery was made on time to Birmingham, AL. Surprisingly nothing was broken, damaged or lost. It was such an easy relocation from NYC to Birmingham and I only have Grace van lines to thank for it.

12. Very attentive crew.

    I have no shame in admitting that I’m a control freak. I always like taking matters into my own hand and I just love telling people what to do. So it’s no surprise that I was very bossy client for the movers from Grace van lines which was responsible for moving my valuables from Jersey City, NJ to Lansing, MI. The crew of four men arrived on time. They started packing everything up. I was giving them very clear and precise instructions as how to pack each different thing. They actually paid attention to me and packed accordingly. I was very particular about the fact that I didn’t want to pay for any walls or floors damaged by the movers. The movers didn’t damage anything. I am very pleased with their services; I’m a very hard person to please.

13. Run for your life!

    Worst experience of my life with any company ever! Once you make your down payment you can forget being treated like a valued customer. Misleading on delivery date, sent to wrong address, refused to follow up, answer or return phone calls, missing items, damaged inventory, 25 days turn around time, quoted price and actual price nowhere close to the same amount, dishonest, a total disgrace!

14. Adaptable and organized.

    I had to move from Clifton, NJ to Topeka, KS for work purposes and I hired Grace van lines to help with the move. This company has been in the business for long enough to develop resources and services that new companies don’t have. They quoted me a fair price and sent over 4 very capable men. I required the men to be well organized as my valuables mean a lot to me and I wasn’t going to let them take things for granted. I have to say, they performed brilliantly. Every little detail was taken care of. From packing all my stuffs to carrying them out to the vans- everything was done very efficiently by the men. They were very creative with unorthodox pieces of furniture and it was quite nice to see their adaptability. The delivery date was set 7 days later and everything arrived in Topeka right on time. I really couldn’t have hoped for an easier move.

15. Worst experience ever. DO NOT USE.

    Wow where to begin.
    We chose Grace Van Lines based on emails and discussions that our delivery would average 7 days. Emails that assured us that our belongings would be in transit before we were. Our stuff was picked up on June 24th. The amount was 50% higher than what was quoted. I thought it might be. That's not the problem. Ivan our sales person emailed me to book the move saying our stuff should arrive by July 3rd. I understand that there is a window and that can't be guaranteed. As I write this it is July 17th and our things are still sitting in their storage facility 24 days after being picked up. The only response I receive is from their outsourced customer service center saying it will be put on the next available truck heading in my direction. I just saw in this board families picked up after me and moving further then me who already have their things or some of them. I have left numerous voice mails and emails with Ivan to get this fixed and have received no response . If you tell me something is going to take seven days I will pack and provide for double that time. My wife and I have been in an empty house for 24 days and when I spoke to customer service just this morning they even had my 1st delivery date wrong. I have it on all the forms that we would be there on the 1st. We are now buying necessities for our home we already have and spending money hand over fist on things just on basic day to day items. Once they have your money and your stuff you are basically held hostage. This is the worst experience from any industry I have ever dealt with. DO NOT USE THEM. They will treat you like gold until they have your money and then treat you like trash. I hope that this is read and saves someone from making a huge mistake.