smooth van lines llc

I would say go find a better company to move you. Smooth vanlines picked up our stuff to do an interstate move to Florida. To me it appears they take your stuff back to Chicago and inventory it. After that they ship it off to some 3rd party to deliver it. Driver shows up and says he can’t deliver because a sign said no trucks, meanwhile trucks go up and down the road all the time. Not only this but got told he will need a smaller truck to deliver. So we ended up getting a U-Haul and moved our own stuff into our place. Almost $5k to move your own items and a good bit were busted up. Our brand new washer was dented up.my smoker had a busted leg and we had a bunch of broken dishes. Hard to say was it smooth van lines or the 3rd party.

I don’t typically leave reviews for small family owned businesses that are negative. But for this company I had to. I had the worst experience with them from the beginning. So many additional charges were added. They messaged me and added an additional 400$ to my move because they said they could not use alleys to unload and needed to transfer my items to a smaller truck, when they got here they used the alley by the way. So what it sounds like to me is they wanted to get more customers since my items were put on hold for 12 days and get more money by not only getting a new customer but using me as bait to also get more money by calling it a transfer. They are scammers. To add to the mix I got my tv and it was broken. I am also missing a box from my delivery and received someone else’s box. I have been trying to reach customer service and have gotten an email back from them. So I will post the box here and hope that the owner sees it! I would shell out more money for a different company who cares more because this one will seem lower than the rest at first but the additional charges that aren’t necessary add up quickly.

The lack of communication from sales rep George that frustrated me. First let's talk about the fees everyone is talking about. At the end of it all I'm quoted around $4300 with an original quote of $2725. I was quoted for 300 cubic ft for the big items I was asked about and then 20 boxes. Upon arrival they said they probably will end up using additional up to 200 cubic ft. I had no other choice because they were there already and it was moving day. What am I supposed to do? Deny the cost and leave my things behind? Ended up using 450 cubic ft according to them. I didn't use the 20 boxes, and I had typical one-bedroom furniture, queen size bed, frame, headboard, couch, tv stand, tv, a small dresser, computer desk and chair. I don't mind paying for the space BUT had he been more thorough during quote time then I wouldn't have been frustrated. I wish we spent more time talking about possible costs rather than just laughing and being friendly. Fast forward, I also wasn't informed of the $75 elevator fee from pickup and delivery. I also wasn't informed that any open liquids are not allowed. I had to throw away expensive bottles of alcohol, collections of sauces, and cleaning supplies. I didn't even have time to give them away or put them in my car because I didn't plan for it. Had this been communicated I would've planned for it. THEN out of nowhere I get a message saying it will cost additional $450 for small truck delivery because of the space issue. Fine, but I WISH THIS WAS COMMUNICATED at the beginning. It's INSANE to me that the lack of communication and transparency leaves people vulnerable and minimal choice but to accept it. It's honestly predatory. The dispatch lady was so nice and understanding. Gave me all the information that you're supposed to tell customers. She was upfront and told me all the possible costs. I told her that higher-ups need to have a conversation with George because from what it seems like in the reviews there's an issue there. I requested for them to take pictures and measurements of my items in the small truck. I will be taking pictures myself. At this point I don't trust them. Had they been upfront at the beginning with the costs, I would be happy dishing out thousands of dollars. Giving low prices at the beginning to trap people with minimal information until it's too late is predatory. I was informed by George 5-8 days from pick-up and I should tell them delivery ASAP as in next day so it goes out on the next shipment. He didn't mention that 5-8 starts when it leaves the state for shipment. He made it seem like it was going to get to me by the dates provided. I was even calculating the estimated arrival time on the phone with him. This is why I chose-pick up at May 25 instead of the week prior because I will be arriving May 31. Had I known it's going to take longer I would've chosen the week before BUT NO he said May 25 Memorial day weekend is better. Update: Took about two weeks but it's okay. I want to preface this that this is all my fault for not doing my due diligence in researching about the company. I should've read all the recent reviews. But George was persistent so he got my business. In his words " that's why he makes the big bucks". U-Haul came, guy was by himself and said you don't have much stuff I can do that by myself. I didn't bother taking pictures because I know damn well it didn't take that much space. Paying my fees and moving on. Please research your alley if you're moving to a city, they tried to argue with me saying it will not fit. It can, and property manager said too. Loading dock for West Elm is in the same alley. Anyways, their first excuse was it will block entry ways, no it wasn't going to. Then they said because of the wide turn, I guess the other trucks poofed in the alley. Then I asked if they even saw the alley, they said they looked at Google maps. :) I said I'm going to pay that extra $450. I could've taken pics and videos to prove to them, but I was so over them. They really need to stop preying on people.

Dispatch Sam kept his word and gave me a locked in deal. He was the most honest person I spoke to. I wish i could of had his assistance from the time i booked the truck until the end of the process. I was able to get things moved out of state hassle free and no broken items. This isn't a bad company. Cheapest i found around my area. Be sure you read the contract thoroughly to avoid any surprises at pickup/drop off. They do charge after 13 steps, elevators, shuttles and long carry.

**UPDATE** The movers ended up showing up within the time frame provided the day before, although it was after the time I reserved my building's elevator. Luckily that was not an issue. The movers were thorough and were able to get all of my items into my home and reassembled. There was some water that leaked into the truck which got on some of the boxes but didn't damage anything. There was also one small bookshelf that was broken but not a huge issue. Overall they left my home clean and completed the drop off quickly which I appreciated. I'm maintaining the 3 star review because of the communication that could have been improved throughout the process. **Original** I'm giving a 3 star review based on the accuracy of all the other reviews. I was very concerned with using Smooth relocation after reading some of these reviews that discussed additional fees added to the total price. If you give them a quote I would recommend providing the most accurate estimate of the space needed and the logistics of the pickup and delivery. Therefore, I was not surprised about any additional fees because my customer service rep Jack was able to walk me through the elevator fees, additional walking fees, and the amount of space needed on the truck for all my items. There were also additional fees for providing COIs and insuring my pickup and delivery buildings which was annoying but I was aware of that after reading the contract. Where I am frustrated is the level of communication and the ability to accurately schedule time of pickup and delivery. It was almost impossible to reliably lock down the date when the movers would come to either destination. If you are in a busy moving season and need to reserve an elevator for a delivery you will be gambling on the availability. The dispatch team was true to their word and had the team pickup my items on my original requested date. All my items were picked up from both my home and a separate storage facility at no additional cost and within 2 hours. Unfortunately, I was not able to receive the same service for the delivery. This was due to separate delivery crews being used for cross country moves. I was happy to receive an email from dispatch informing me that my items would be delivered within a 2 day window that I initially requested. They let me know I would receive a call from the driver 24 hours before they expected to be there. That did not happen, but I received that call from dispatch who told me that the driver couldn't make the call but there would be a 4 hour window when the delivery would be made. Since I needed to reserve an elevator I made the reservation for the maximum of 2 hours that my building allowed. I tried calling the driver the next morning to see when within that window they could reliably show up, which received no response. I called again at the beginning of that window and again received no response. I then called dispatch who told me that they were in contact with him and would be at my destination within 30 minutes. I let an hour go by and did not receive an update so I called the driver again. This time he answered my call but the audio was unintelligible and he hung up halfway through me asking him where he was. I called dispatch a 3rd time and they let me know the driver would be at my location an hour later, which would be after my elevator reservation would be over. I'm currently waiting on my items and will provide an update to the review after the delivery is complete. Overall, I believe this company is trying their best but the communication and logistical planning can be improved. The initial price is very encouraging but I would always expect additional costs and request clarity on what those costs could be. If you can swing it I'd recommend using a more established company that is more reliable, but if you're looking to find the best value for a cross country move I would recommend doing your research and knowing what you're getting into. Smooth Relocation is not the best, but you could do much worse.