I would advise extreme caution to anyone contemplating using US Van Lines Inc out of St Louis, MO. We used their services to move from Troy, IL across country to Oakdale, CA in November of 2014. We purchased their in house insurance because the sales representative assured us that our antique furniture and valuable collections would be fully covered.
The movers who came and packed up were efficient and pleasant. They packed up no problem, with some instruction from my husband as to how he wanted certain items packed, so as to limit any damages. When they began to unpack our belongings in California, it quickly became apparent that the truck had been repacked and they had placed bikes and our lawn mower on top of an antique pool table and other furniture with crown molding. As the protective blankets were removed, the damage was plain to see. Just to name a few of the items damaged:
Flat screen TV-huge crack down the middle of screen
Antique pool table-deep gouges in the side of the wood table
Display case-mirror shattered and crown molding from top broken off
Couches-scratches and gouges in the wood along bottom of couch
Dining table-chunk of wood missing from bottom of table
Bedroom Furniture-scratches and gouges in random places on furniture
Arcade Cabinet-scratches, laminate siding falling off as a result of particle board
being smashed
Dryer-had large amounts of dirt and debris inside, would no longer work
Office furniture-leg broken off
We immediately called the sales rep and voiced our concerns and didn't want to pay the driver, but he assured us that the insurance would take care of everything.
That's when the real nightmare began. We were directed to a third party "Claims Deparment" where we had the misfortune to deal with their office manager named Jasmine. We were to provide them with: "estimated cost for repair on all items claimed damaged, make and model of all items damaged, date of purchase of all items and and receipts for all items. If you do not have original receipts, we will need a copy of the same like item with its current value that you can print off the internet". Here we had just moved across the country and were expected to provide them with all this information, as all of our belongings are packed in boxes.
My husband tried to the best of his ability to provide them with the necessary information. After he did, we were never contacted again. Finally we kept calling Jasmine to find out what was going on. After several weeks of this, we received an email saying we would receive $856 as compensation. That's after we paid $750 for the insurance. So we were to receive $156 for close to $8,000 worth of damages. It didn't have any explanation or breakdown of what we were receiving for each item or any other information. We called the "Claims Department" trying to receive a breakdown of items reimbursed. After two weeks of getting the run around from Jasmine, we were sent the same original email stating we would receive $856. After another two weeks of calling Jasmine, and not receiving any resolution, we went back to US Van Lines. They contacted the "Claims Department" for us two separate times and finally after the second time, Jasmine calls us and says she can't find any information as to why they quoted us $856. In fact, she says our file wasn't complete and until we gave them all the necessary information, they couldn't process the claim. But she was sure to tell me several times over the course of the conversation, if we just wanted to take the $856 and be done with it, we were welcome to do that!! Well we finally gave up. This has been the worst experience we have ever had dealing with a company. We have wasted literally hours and hours trying to follow up with both US Van Lines and their third party "Claims Department". So we are taking our $156 and hope you don't make the mistake of ever using US Van Lines for your move.
I would advise extreme caution to anyone contemplating using US Van Lines Inc out of St Louis, MO. We used their services to move from Troy, IL across country to Oakdale, CA in November of 2014. We purchased their in house insurance because the sales representative assured us that our antique furniture and valuable collections would be fully covered.
The movers who came and packed up were efficient and pleasant. They packed up no problem, with some instruction from my husband as to how he wanted certain items packed, so as to limit any damages. When they began to unpack our belongings in California, it quickly became apparent that the truck had been repacked and they had placed bikes and our lawn mower on top of an antique pool table and other furniture with crown molding. As the protective blankets were removed, the damage was plain to see. Just to name a few of the items damaged:
Flat screen TV-huge crack down the middle of screen
Antique pool table-deep gouges in the side of the wood table
Display case-mirror shattered and crown molding from top broken off
Couches-scratches and gouges in the wood along bottom of couch
Dining table-chunk of wood missing from bottom of table
Bedroom Furniture-scratches and gouges in random places on furniture
Arcade Cabinet-scratches, laminate siding falling off as a result of particle board
being smashed
Dryer-had large amounts of dirt and debris inside, would no longer work
Office furniture-leg broken off
We immediately called the sales rep and voiced our concerns and didn't want to pay the driver, but he assured us that the insurance would take care of everything.
That's when the real nightmare began. We were directed to a third party "Claims Deparment" where we had the misfortune to deal with their office manager named Jasmine. We were to provide them with: "estimated cost for repair on all items claimed damaged, make and model of all items damaged, date of purchase of all items and and receipts for all items. If you do not have original receipts, we will need a copy of the same like item with its current value that you can print off the internet". Here we had just moved across the country and were expected to provide them with all this information, as all of our belongings are packed in boxes.
My husband tried to the best of his ability to provide them with the necessary information. After he did, we were never contacted again. Finally we kept calling Jasmine to find out what was going on. After several weeks of this, we received an email saying we would receive $856 as compensation. That's after we paid $750 for the insurance. So we were to receive $156 for close to $8,000 worth of damages. It didn't have any explanation or breakdown of what we were receiving for each item or any other information. We called the "Claims Department" trying to receive a breakdown of items reimbursed. After two weeks of getting the run around from Jasmine, we were sent the same original email stating we would receive $856. After another two weeks of calling Jasmine, and not receiving any resolution, we went back to US Van Lines. They contacted the "Claims Department" for us two separate times and finally after the second time, Jasmine calls us and says she can't find any information as to why they quoted us $856. In fact, she says our file wasn't complete and until we gave them all the necessary information, they couldn't process the claim. But she was sure to tell me several times over the course of the conversation, if we just wanted to take the $856 and be done with it, we were welcome to do that!! Well we finally gave up. This has been the worst experience we have ever had dealing with a company. We have wasted literally hours and hours trying to follow up with both US Van Lines and their third party "Claims Department". So we are taking our $156 and hope you don't make the mistake of ever using US Van Lines for your move.