Atlas Van Lines

45 Reviews: Add Review

1. Great experience.

   I can only speak to one recent residential move, from Southern Illinois to Minnesota. Shelter Moving and Storage, from Evansville, Ind., did a great job from start to finish. They did what they promised, when they promised it. They reduced the price when the load was lighter than expected. The driver, Eric, was diligent and caring. You’re doing well in his hands.

2. Move from Southern California to Texas.

   I moved with Atlas Van Lines a few months ago. My driver was with Slater Transfer and Storage. He was excellent himself definitely 5 star. My only problem was the crew he brought to my home in California. Rude, looked like they were up all night. They smelled of alcohol and were drinking inside the trailer. I have see a few other reviews about what I am assuming is the same crew. Andrew, Gabriel and Joe. I would recommend the driver and his Texas crew but definitely will let everyone know that if you are moving out of California make sure you don’t get this crew. Not to mention they could not finish the job in one day. Loaded out of a storage unit. So when I went back after they left there were several empty 12 pack of beer left in my storage unit.

3. Move went problem free.

   Moved from New Brunswick to Rideau Lakes Region. Kyle did a great job carefully wrapping and loading our furniture. The load arrived in reasonable time the following week in Rideau Lakes region. Brian did an equally great job unwrapping and checking that everthing was there and I good shape. Highly recommend these movers.

4. PA to TN.

   Nothing but good things to say. This company handled everything as well as I could wish. My driver Ralph and his crews are the best. Thanks for everything. If I ever move again, it will be Atlas.

5. Lost items and terrible back end customer service.

   The group that packed our stuff and loaded it were great and the only reason Atlas is getting 2 stars otherwise I'd give them 1 star. Items were packed very well for transit. After the positive pack and load process, that is where our positive experience ended.
   
   Our stuff went into Atlas storage for 2 months and I'm confident if it had not we wouldn't have lost anything. Do not ever allow your stuff to go into Atlas storage. Find a storage unit or storage units to have them deliver your stuff into if you house/apartment on the delivery end isn't ready yet.
   
   Mover beware, do not ever put anything into Atlas storage since we had significant loss and damage ($5,000+ worth). We've used moving companies a couple times before (1 across the US) and never lost anything and had only about $600 in damage on the cross country move. The other move we had no damage and no loss.
   
   I notified Atlas of 2 items I found missing within 1 business day. Atlas did did a trace and took 3 months to respond (Atlas told me is could take as long as 2 months to do the trace).
   
   I submitted my claim a month and a half ago and the only response I received was "we don't have records of the missing items or we show everything was delivered", which I told them day of delivery I knew things were missing and forwarded them the emails I had sent them. I sent them my timeline and detailed report of everything I knew was in storage and a more detailed list of items that were damaged and missing.
   
   I told them I was missing pages of my delivery contents, since I didn't get my copies of all pages and didn't realize this until movers had left. I requested the missing pages, never received a response from the moving company and still don't have the copies of the missing pages (5 months later).
   
   One item missing is a Stihl Chainsaw in a big orange Stihl case ($700+ item). I can't prove it, but fairly certain it was stolen and not lost, since all my other gas powered tools made it (including my Stihl trimmer). I took great care of my saw and it was like new even though it was well used (had new chain, new bar and my Stihl field sharpening kit in the case with it).

6. Moving service.

   Excellent service. Solid ad accurate communication. Took good care of items. Was flexible and accommodating.

7. Worst Movers Ever! do Not Use!!

   Worst mover ever. They misled and lied and to me and broke items they disassembled. I complained to the company and they denied the damages they did. I replied to their email and they ignored me, have not replied to this day. So I complained to the BBB and they lied in every response which were all cut and paste copies, so after a while the BBB just closed the case. DO NOT USE THEM.

8. Unethical . Failure to Comply With Federal Regulations.

   I hired Spirit Movers, from Sarasota FL, an Atlas Van Lines Agent, to pack and move me from FL to CT.
   
   I was given an high season estimate in April/May and then on August 30th, Spirit issued me a slightly lower estimate since I was moving on the off season. I had a small home, am a widower, and do not have alot of furniture. The quote was for $5917.00 for packing and moving.
   1. The packers arrived on Sat. Oct. 7th to pack up the home at around 8:30. They left at approximately 2:00 saying that they could not complete the job because they had run out of boxes and their office was closed so they could not obtain additional boxes. I had extra boxes that I offered to them, but they declined saying they could only use their boxes. They never returned, leaving me to pack 30 boxes prior to the scheduled pick up for Monday. (I had already packed my SUV previously as well, emptying my 1 walk in closet and packing my bike, printer, and suitcases.
   
   2. The packers indicated that they thought that I was going to be charged an additional fee but they told me that they were not authorized to inform me of the additional fee. I was perplexed as to the basis for the additional fee since the company DID NOT FULFILL . their end of the bargain and so they had delivered less services than they had been contracted for; yet I was being told that I was to be charged MORE. The Federal law and the service order indicates that the homeowner can not be charged more than an additional 10% of the quote so I was not overly concerned.
   
   3. However, I did become more concerned when I repeatedly requested information on any potential additional fees - & I NEVER received a response to my inquiry.
   
   4. The day before my expected delivery I received an e-mail with a sign and pay document from Spirit Movers - Atlas' agent. There was no invoice, not itemized statement - JUST A BILL WITH A 33% increase of $1952.00. No explanation. Remember they DID NOT PROVIDE ALL OF THE SERVICES I HAD REQUESTED; yet they were billing me 33% more.
   
   5. I called the company and was able to get them to reduce the increase to $1529.00 . still a 26% increase & also REMEMBER that the Federal law and the SERVICE order stated that they are only allowed to charge an additional 10%, unless there was a change in the order, necessitating an increase; or there was a subsequent agreement to the increase. NEITHER OF WHICH WAS TRUE
   
   6. However, at that point I had no choice if I wished to get my furniture delivered the next morning.
   
   7. Next morning, the driver tells me that he can not deliver my furniture to my rental because, although the road is wide enough, there are some wires which appear to be too low for his HUGE Van. Which, of course, I did not need for my 1500 square foot home, but Atlas needed in order to move 3 homes cross country. I am told that if I wish to have my furniture delivered that I would have to pay an additional $800-$1000. & they would move my furniture out of the Van and into a smaller truck which would easily fit my belongings.
   
   8. At this point I was already $1500.00 over my budget and being a retired widow I did not have another $1,000.00. So I was forced to put my belongings in storage & I might add that I had to put them in the most expensive storage facility around because they were the only ones opened at 8;30 a.m. AND I had to pay for 2 storage units because they did not have any of the larger ones available as the last larger unit had been rented the day before
   
   The whole reason that I got an estimate from Atlas was so that I could, compare their estimate with the estimates from other moving companies and choose the estimate that fit my budget. What is the point of an estimate if they can end up charing 40% higher than their quote. THIS COMPANY WAS AT THE VERY LEAST INEFFICIENT & AT THE WORST DISHONEST. I prefer to believe that they were simply uncaring and inefficient. Although they did not comply with the Federal regulation of the 10% cap, so I simply can not say for sure..

9. Horrid Moving Service.

   This moving company is horrid. I was moving across a few states. The organization in Atlas is a cluster. The office was not coordinated with the first moving crew was not coordinated with the second moving crew. I had to repeat everything three separate times to each, even though it was written down in contract. The first moving crew was rude and grumpy and spent a lot of time smoking in front of my house. They unloaded all my stuff at a warehouse in between each house and didn't cover furniture like they were supposed to. When the second moving crew dropped off my stuff, the numbered stickers for "organization" were messed up, they admitted. I had to "check off" each number as they came in which was pointless!! because boxes and furniture were missing numbers or had more than one number! The crew leader also constantly and loudly pointed out scratches and marks in my house. "OH HEY DID SEE THIS LOOK AT THIS SCUFF." He wanted to avoid liability but then his crew drastically damage my antique, irreplaceable dresser. I wrote down in the moving contract, told the office crew, told the first crew, told the second crew the bedroom set was delicate and how exactly to handle it. They inserted the accompanying mirror into the back of dresser and ripped out the metal bracket that holds mirror from dresser. GIANT CRACK. I heard them as they did it and they were being careful my butt. It was heartbreaking to listen to these careless guys force-ably jam the mirror into only one of two brackets and ripped it out. BRING IT DOWN THROUGH THE BRACKETS AT THE SAME TIME ITS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. I couldn't get up to the bedroom in time to stop them. This company is the worst. Don't use them.

10. Not trustworthy.

    A man named Bob Savage came to my home last week to give me an estimate. I'm hoping this is not standard practice for them but because of him I will not be moving with Atlas. He was very unprofessional and went through my personal belongings in far more depth than what was appropriate for a moving estimate. He went through my nightstand and every other drawer he could find. He actually got on his hands and knees to dig through the back of my closet and kept asking what was in various boxes. It was an unacceptable invasion of privacy. I think he was trying to find what in my home was worth stealing. DON'T HIRE THEM!

11. Unethical.

    They moved my daughter from Austin, TX to Madison, WI and gave us a quote of 3002.00 with certain delivery dates that didn't work for us. We gave them the last possible delivery date and they said they could do that but it would cost 750.00 extra dollars and we agreed. They called the week of delivery and said in fact her furniture would arrive on the very last day so started driving to meet them. They called the day before and said that it would be a day late which besides being a HUGE problem for us I said I would not pay the extra 750.00 since they did not keep their end of the contract. They told me I had to pay the full amount to get the furniture and take it up with claims later. Before I had a chance to make a claim we got an email saying they would only give us 200.00 of the 750.00 back because they were only a day late. I said this was ridiculous and only an idiot would have agreed to those terms. (I checked my contract and it says nothing about paying the extra and only getting a portion back for each day late). Now no one will talk to me or return my calls. This is a very unethical company and I would tell anyone to RUN the other way from ever entering into a business contract with them.

12. A Murphy's law move.

    What could go wrong went wrong, late for pick up, late for delivery, missing items, damaged items and all we get is we're sorry this had to happen to you.

13. Complete lack of quality on all levels.

    They failed for weeks to tell me a delivery date (despite a commitment at the sales meeting that I would know this before things were put on the truck). Then gave me a date and changed from the 10th of the month to the 5th of the month with less than a day's notice. They knew the date at least 2.5 days in advance and failed to notify me. The entire experience was both unnecessary a nightmare.

14. Move.

    We had a great experience with out move. Our driver Ed and his wife Krystal were vary helpful and went ubove and beyond to accommodate us. Thank you! we look forward to seeing you in our new home!
    Mark and Katie.

15. Another victim.

    The movers were 21 days late delivering my items. Because I was moving to a storage unit (stayed with family until I got my stuff and found an apartment) they denied any money due to me for food and housing. They could not find a driver to deliver my items to Texas. For all the pain I went through to get my items 21 days late - they offered me $250 as an apology off of a $4,000 move. My complaint is not about the local agents but the parent company Atlas Worldwide. They are a horrible company that doesn't care about their customers who are delayed. Do not use them - you've been warned.