HOWARD VAN LINES UNPROFESSIONAL!!
HOWARD VAN LINES UNPROFESSIONAL!!! ZERO stars!!
Do not trust them. I put my info in to get a quote for a move and I knew as soon as I hit send asking me for my phone number and email that it was going to be some stuff. I received a phone from immediately from (Two Movers). The lady said she would connect me to some carriers that could assist which was irritating because WHY did you ask for my info if I was just going to be assigned a company right then. AND this is the second time this has happened. (I called for a quote earlier in the year and when I didn't go with the quote the sales person became really rude. Anyway, here I go trying again...
I'm on the phone with someone who is asking me for room specifics. I told the guy I JUST WANT AN ESTIMATE but he insist that if i give him 4 mins he'll be able to give me a more accurate quote. So I'm exaggerating my items so he can give me the highest quote. 15 mins later he says he needs to talk to his manager....he puts me on hold. When he comes back it's as if he puts me on hold again and I'm now talking to (the dispatcher). He says he has a truck that needs to go to Scottsboro AL and they can deliver my stuff for basically $7500... the original quote was about $10,200. I said no thank you I'm just trying to get a quote. The dispatcher begins to tell me..."you might as well get you a uhaul since you're broke and can't afford the$7500 and do it yourself." Then he told me I have a bad attitude. I laughed because I'm thinking you obviously need this $7500 so bad that you would result to insults. I just laughed it off and hung up. I called back because I didn't get the name of the company at first. I spoke to MIKE who told me that I was talking to ETHAN and the company name is HOWARD VAN LINES. He had all the quote info and was able to read it to me. I acted like I needed to get off the phone because i had what i wanted and Mike said he was going to text me his direct number but I guess he continued to read the comments put in the system and saw I wasn't interested and didn't send it. DO NOT GO WITH THIS COMPANY. If they will stoop this Low to insult a customer this is NOT the company I want to do business with. I will be filing a complaint with BBB. Just FYI when you put your info into an online system they assign you to a carrier. You have NO CLUE who these people are. It is better to just call a reputable company that you know directly. Stay away from Howard.
Pamela Johnson
Avoid at all costs
Hopefully this review will save someone else from being scammed. Please do your research carefully when hiring movers. NEVER use a broker (a moving company that will contract out your move to another moving company). Most “moving companies” with the phrase “van line” in their name are brokers, unless they are extremely reputable, such as Mayflower, Allied, United, etc.
Howard’s Van Line is a broker. This means that they are actually a fake moving company that will use a scam that is unfortunately becoming more common among these fake moving companies. First, they lure you in with nice reviews that are fake (even the 5-star reviews on this page are fake) and a low estimate, and they ask for a deposit, usually more than $1000, which is a red flag in itself. Then, after your non-refundable deposit is paid, they triple or quadruple the price of your move, citing reasons such as extra truck space required for your move. If you cancel, you lose your $1000 to them. If you eat the ridiculous price and proceed with them, they hire another moving company to do your move at the cheaper price it should be, and they pocket the change. My parents unfortunately fell for this scam, which has led to this review.
When hiring a mover, always look for signs that they are a broker. Do NOT proceed if the estimate is not binding. Do NOT proceed if you feel that the deposit is higher than it should be. Visit the mover’s page on the FMCSA database to see if they are a broker and assess how reputable they are. If you visit the FMCSA page for Howard’s Van Line (you can look them up with their DOT number: 4391903), you will see they have multiple complaints for deceptive business practices and final estimates. You will see they only have one single van in their fleet - how does this make sense for a moving company? If you have been scammed by them, make sure to file a report with the FMCSA so that others will be aware as well.
In summary, absolutely DO NOT even think about doing business with Howard’s Van Line. Research thoroughly before trusting a mover.
Steve Y
A team you can trust!
I was switching to a new rental and decided to call Aspire Moving. They brought enough boxes for what I had, wrapped my stuff, and loaded the truck in one go. I didn't have to ask for anything twice. I would go with Aspire Moving again, honestly.
Gregory Hall
If I could rate a -10 I would
If I could rate a -10 I would. DO NOT GO WITH THIS MOVING COMPANY. They told me that THEY would be moving my household goods--reassuring me that THEIR van with THEIR name would be outside of my house loading my belongings. HOWEVER, they didn't notify me that they ended up subcontracting out to another group--who also ended up being several days late, arriving on the morning of a flight I had booked for SEVERAL DAYS LATER to ensure we'd have extra time in case of a fluke. That secondary group was HORRIBLE and Howard Van Lines did absolutely nothing. Their customer service was the hardest to get ahold of (try calling 5+ times multiple days in a row, leaving voicemails, AND emails) and would ghost me for WEEKS. When the subcontracted company, Handle With Care Moving & Transportation LLC (based out of Georgia), arrived, they said my quote was nothing close to what I actually had. They scammed me out of several thousand dollars and they said they would only take CASH or MONEY ORDERS. I had to go to the post office to get money orders because I couldn’t possibly get THOUSANDS IN CASH the morning I was about to hop onto a flight!! These people are horrible. Never ever ever work with them!!
THIS IS NOT A BUSINESS WHO CARES FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS. TERRIBLE BUSINESS
Catherine
These guys are dirty criminals
These guys are dirty criminals. They loaded my stuff, then demanded an additional 5k. I said I would forfeit the deposit and told them to unload everything and they just left with all my stuff and are now holding it hostage in New Jersey. It is part of a much larger criminal organization of people who run move scams. DO NOT TRUST THEM NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY. They stole everything I own.
There is an active criminal investigation in the state of New Jersey. Look up Farah Al-Ibrahim. He is the mastermind behind this shell company. He was deposed in 2019 and forced to pay restitution, but has since continued his moving scams.
Peter Kapteyn
Great job!!
Aspire Moving did a great job. All the bulkiest items were moved safely. Once at the new place, there was no mix-up in the offloading, and all things arrived the way they were packed.
Stanley Huffman
DO NOT use Aspire Moving under any…
DO NOT use Aspire Moving under any circumstances. They lie, cheat, and scam people. They claim to be professional movers with uniforms and background checks — but that’s a total lie. They are just brokers who farm your move out to random third parties.
The movers they sent were careless and damaged my walls, broke my bike, lamp, ruined my dresser, and pretty much broke most of my chine because they toss your boxes and furniture around with no regard — and then take zero responsibility. Too boot, I was up-charged twice for services I already paid for. No one answers the phone, no one calls back, and no one takes ownership. A total bait and switch operation.
I honestly don’t know how this company sleeps at night, lying to people and taking their money. This was the most stressful, dishonest, and infuriating moving experience of my life.
John H
Overall Ok!!
The guys from Aspire Moving did a good job moving my workstation equipment to the new location. All the large desks and the printers were handled without any problems. I appreciate the hard work they put in for my company.
Angelo Mayer
Howards Van line is not a reputable moving company
Howards Van line is not a reputable moving company.
Sales department will give you a low ball binding estimate and increasing estimates a couple of times with each department. On the day of your pickup the movers will double or triple your cost and if you don't have a plan B or don't care if you lose deposits you already have into it then they force you into paying thousands more. This is price gouging. Why Howards Van line or any other moving company for that matter is allowed to do this to customers is beyond me. Very dishonest with no regard in scamming customers. Pure greed.
Jojo
AVOID HOWARD'S VAN LINE AT ALL COSTS
AVOID HOWARD'S VAN LINE AT ALL COSTS. They are scammers. They quoted me a really good price on the phone and pressured me to make a deposit to book the van. Then when they showed up they more than tripled the price (I had more stuff but less than 50% more). I had no choice but to pay at that point since they already had my deposit and I had no alternate plans for moving. They also lost my jacket somehow. This company is full of scammers and I will be suing them in small claims court.
Michael Pang
DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE THEY ARE…
DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE THEY ARE SCAMMERS. I went on the Internet in search of a moving quote and started getting cold calls from different movers. I received a call from a guy called Jason that works for the company and the way he spoke was nothing short of a performative honest blue collar guy that has your best interest in making your move as smooth as possible. That is the only time anything smooth happens with this company when they’re taking money from you.we had agreed on a price and for them to come on the 30th of November and they came on December 1 to pick up my stuff. The stupid Driver that they probably subcontracted told me that he couldn’t pick up my TV that I had already accounted for in my inventory and then I had to pay an extra $600 for them to take it. Upon looking at the reviews, it seems that this is their modus operandi. A service rep called Cody told me that it will take between 3 to 7 business days for my things to arrive and I haven’t received it yet and we’re going into the third week. These people are the epitome of incompetence and unprofessionalism. As a customer you will spend 100% of the time chasing them. They will never take initiative to keep you in the loop. Do not waste your money patronising these people.
Jamal
Awful -- Lost & stole items
Lost & stole items. Lied. End up dealing w/ 3 cos to get moved done & they charge each step (up to $1K ea time. Started at 2.5K/ended at $5K. Meets moving co reputation of stealing, lying, being awful. In the end, they don't care. Website says stuff about treating customer like family, that they care. I trusted them; don't make the same mistake.
Mary Shefveland
Terrible Experience - damaged items, missing boxes. No clear delivery times. Zero customer skills.
I don’t normally leave reviews, but my experience with Howard Van Lines was so bad that I feel people deserve a clear warning.
I booked my move with Howard Van Lines in New Jersey, not knowing they would subcontract the entire job to 500Move.com. The moment the movers arrived, before even stepping inside or seeing what they were moving, they told me the price would be higher.
Their excuse was that I had a king-size bed and a large sofa — even though I had already listed those exact items on the paperwork when I booked the move. The mover then tried to justify the increase by calling it a “large king-size bed,” which makes absolutely no sense. A king-size bed is a king-size bed, and a four-seater sofa is a four-seater sofa. It was a textbook bait-and-switch: give one price upfront, then raise it when they show up.
From that point on, everything got worse.
The final cost ended up being more than three times the original quote.
While they didn’t promise a firm delivery date, my belongings took almost three weeks to arrive in New York — completely unreasonable for a domestic move. And when they finally reached New York, they hit me with another unexpected charge: a $500 “shuttle fee” to get my items from New Jersey into Brooklyn. This was never mentioned beforehand. The price just kept increasing from Arizona all the way to New York.
When my belongings arrived, the condition was shocking. Multiple items were broken, including my TV, mirror, and vacuum, and a couple of boxes were missing altogether. I have photo evidence of the damage. It was clear my belongings weren’t handled with any care at all.
Communication throughout the entire process was terrible. Neither Howard Van Lines nor 500Move.com took responsibility for anything. Every update was excuses, delays, or finger-pointing.
The entire experience was stressful, misleading, and felt like I was taken advantage of from start to finish. I strongly recommend avoiding Howard Van Lines — save yourself the frustration, the extra charges, and the damage to your belongings.
mark -
Didn't even book them due to unprofessional behavior
I reached out to Howard Van Lines simply to request a moving quote, and the experience quickly became one of the most unprofessional interactions I have ever had with any company.
After I decided not to proceed with their services, the representative I was communicating with began sending me a series of rude, insulting, and completely inappropriate text messages from a personal phone number. His tone escalated from unprofessional to openly hostile, including name-calling and taunting language such as “I’m waiting silly girl” after I stopped responding.
I have screenshots of every message, and the behavior is far beyond acceptable for a legitimate business. No customer should ever be harassed simply for declining a quote.
This interaction shows:
Zero professionalism
Zero customer service skills
Zero respect for boundaries
A concerning lack of emotional control from the representative
If this is how they respond to a simple inquiry, I cannot imagine trusting them with my belongings — or my personal information.
I will be filing a report with the Better Business Bureau and any other consumer protection platforms to ensure others are aware of this experience. I strongly encourage anyone considering Howard Van Lines to proceed cautiously and keep all communication documented.
Christina Lovemesomezar Willia
All promises NOT KEPT
Salesman Greg promised us not to worry about the language in the contract because they are a good company and wouldn't keep our money if we couldn't make the move. Just sign Greg said and ACH the deposit, but you'll get it back if you can't make the move. All lies, that the deceptive company won't back. They are keeping a $1,609 deposit when we notified them about 12 hours after making the deal that we couldn't move forward. They just keep offering us 12 months to use that money and say they have no ability to return the money (of course they don't, as this is how they pay their people to lie). We can'tuse this credit, as we have no need to move, but instead need to take care of our elderly parent and this money is gone.
Jul E
Bait and Switch - Avoid at All Costs
We were contacted by a salesman named Greg from “Howards Van Line” about our move from Boulder to Los Angeles. He promised us exclusive use of an empty truck returning to California for a flat rate of $6,624, saying things like “you’ll have the whole truck” and “we can name your price.” That’s the only reason we agreed to book — it was presented as a guaranteed, all-inclusive rate.
Two weeks later, another representative named Cody called for a “QA” review and suddenly claimed several items were missing from the original inventory. When I reminded him of the flat-rate agreement, he said the company doesn’t offer that kind of pricing and never has, and that Greg had been fired for poor business practices. The new “estimate” jumped from $6,624 to over $9,000, a 50% increase.
We were told that unless we immediately paid another deposit of $1,704, we would lose our truck spot and forfeit the $2,900 we’d already paid. This was a textbook bait-and-switch — promising one thing, then pressuring for more money once you’re financially committed.
When we asked them to either honor the original agreement or issue a refund, they stopped responding. The next day, multiple reps called us, trying to get us to “confirm we were canceling” — which we repeatedly said we were not. They then cancelled our move and kept the money.
Since then, we’ve found dozens of identical complaints from other customers describing the same pattern — fake low quotes, surprise increases, and unresponsive customer service. It’s also clear this company has changed names multiple times (e.g. “Howard’s Van Line,” “Howards Van Line,” “America’s Moving Company”) to hide negative reviews and impersonate legitimate movers with similar names.
This company is not trustworthy. Do not book with them unless you’re prepared to lose your deposit or pay far more than the original quote.
Nicholas Werner
I scheduled a move on 10/19/25 for move…
I scheduled a move on 10/19/25 for move date of 11/5 25 and gave a $1742 deposit. I cancelled on 10/22/25 as my move destination was no longer available. And was told no refund. These people are thieves.
Nancy Crosscut
Total rip off
My stuff was picked up with one truck and delivered in two different trucks and I'm missing half of it and paid twice for what I needed to. I could go on and on but this is already given me such a headache for the last 2 days of having to deal with a company and that won't communicate with me at all anymore. I've had to now hire a lawyer just to see where I can go from here I'm so distraught. I paid for my things for years because they were precious to me and now they're all gone because of one company. Who hires a company knowing they're going to pick it up in one truck deliver it to somewhere else and then 5 days later bringing you half of your stuff. The lady was very rude and unprofessional. The unloaders were so careless and expected me to give them $550 cash for their time they say it was because I had to have my stuff in two trucks but I said why did you take it out of the one truck that it started in. Good luck I wish I would have looked at these reviews before I hired this company they're all waiting and willing to help you but once they get their money you're no longer of interest to them. Did I tell you that they got me for over 7 Grand. I want to give them less than one star is there a negative star I'm done.
Kathy Bruno
Howard’s Vanline-Cliffton, NJ
I don’t know why the company name on this page changed to Americas Family & Moving, but their website is still Howards Vanline. Read all the reviews below and you will find the response from them with THEIR actual phone number. Hope nobody falls into their trap..
Talked with Cody from the quality assurance team to verify the inventory and I had more stuff but was not going to take all of my stuff. But instead he added additional items on top of the items I am not going to take with me and gave me a new estimate that was almost double the initial estimate. I asked to remove the items that I won’t take but he insisted to take them iff the list and added bigger boxes instead of small boxes which requires larger cu.ft. He made sure that it could be adjusted by the movers when they come to see the items physically. But after talking with the CSR regarding the move date, it is a locked price and cannot be adjusted. I feel like I was abused that they took advantage over me as this was my first interstate move. It seems like they don’t communicate with each other on what the previous person told me to assure me things will work out great until I pay for the deposit. Then when it goes to the next person, things that we discussed disappear.
I tried to reach out to previous people to make sure if our conversation was still valid because the information I got later was totally different, but neither the sales rep nor quality assurance team answers the phone and let me felt left out while they even said they will do their best to help me with my move. Also realized that when the sales rep reached out with the good review (4.7) from trustpilot that is no longer existing. Very misleading.
The movers they hired told me that they are the carrier and Howard’s Vanline is a broker. And my stuff is even not in the storage unit in the state I am moving to but at the pick up state like I was told when they tried to get me. Another lie. Now they are telling me that they have 30 days to have my stuff delivered to the new place.😂😂😂
yujin lee
Please stay away from Howards Van Line
Howard’s van line is really good at selling you a service they have no intention of honoring. I got the sales pitch that they would take care of everything and an “estimate” of what the price would be based on the information I provided them of the space I was in and items I had.
When they showed up to pick everything up, the guy looked at everything and immediately said it was way more (apparently 3x more) than my contract stipulated. This was news to me since I had already verbally and in writing given them an accurate list of items prior to their arrival. After calling a company supervisor to try and get some explanation, I was told I could either let them take what I paid for (which was off from start due to a lack of calculation on their end) or I could pay the additional cost to take it all. The quote was double what was agreed upon. They also told me that my $900 + deposit was non refundable. So basically they had backed me into a corner. I told them to take the amount we had agreed upon because I was not about to pay the ridiculous amount they were trying to pressure me into. The movers failed to use reasonable packing practices, resulting in a large amount of wasted air space and an inaccurate volume assessment. They just randomly threw stuff in the truck and I was supposed to just take his word for it that they loaded what I paid for.
Oh and they also banged walls and got grease on my door and walls. I hope you will seriously look at these reviews before you accept a contract from this company. Save yourself the headache 🤕
JT
