Heartland Van Lines

I have never moved to another state outside of moving for college, so the search for movers was a difficult one. Of course I read reviews, made phone calls, and took estimates but I was overwhelmed with the process. When I called Heartland, I spoke to several nice customer service associates. They walked me through the process of what exactly I should be looking for in a moving company and gave me all their licensing numbers so I could do further research on them; while their estimates were competitive with everyone else, their transparency was the deciding factor for me. I felt comfortable and put down my deposit. I was moving from Texas to Oregon and had no final address so for a small fee, they stored my things until I was able to give them an address. This prevented me from the hassle of finding storage units in Texas AND Oregon. The movers were all very professional and handled my things with care. I worked with Avi the entire time and he kept in touch from start to finish. I understand that things break during a move, so I took exceptional care to pack my own items and marked «fragile» and «top load» so if anything broke, I knew it was on me. Everything arrived perfectly in tact.
Only two gripes during the entire process, which were both IMMEDIATELY dealt with. 1^st, the driver of the truck was extremely rude. He called and yelled at me during the transit of my things (I was in the middle of a Target and initially had no clue who I was speaking with); when I finally figured out who I was talking to and realized his complaint was that I was to only work directly with him, not the corporate office, he HUNG UP on me and i had no clue when my items were to be delivered. I called the driver right back with no answer; I tried the next day and when I still couldn’t reach him, I called Avi and he got my delivery estimate for a Sunday around 12. Well, that got pushed back till 7pm (which was fine as I got to watch my football game) but the driver made sure that i knew was extremely inconvenient to him. I even offered to push it to the next day but he was short, curt, and cut me off in conversation. I also made sure to tell him their were 12 steps leading up to my home but he immediately complained that I did not tell him and that I owed him more money, which I refused and told him I would take it up with Avi. Avi professionally fielded my complaints and dealt with the matter himself and I didn’t need to pay an extra dime. The men who actually moved my things in were extremely nice and professional. I understand it’s hard work to be a driver but customer service is key for me. 2. The hardware for my bed wasn’t delivered, which was heartbreaking after sleeping on an air mattress for almost a month. Again, I called Avi the next morning and he and one of the local movers ordered and paid for the parts AND assembly. Everything came safe and sound. If I choose to move again, I will definitely work directly with Avi and Heartland Movers.

They made my move from Chicago to Boston a nightmare. Prior to the move, my contact at the company was very responsive and helpful. The problems began when it came time to pick up my stuff. I was given a Friday-​Monday window for pickup, and was told dispatch would call at least 24 – 48 hours to tell me they are coming. I didn’t hear anything by Thursday night, so I thought to call my contact, and was told they were coming the next morning. Not a major problem, but I would have appreciated more notice as promised.
The major problems with my move relate to packing. I paid an extra $ 750 for packing, which was to include careful wrapping of fragile items, such as art, furniture, and ceramic items. I was shocked at how many items were broken when they arrived because of the poor packing work by the movers. First, my lead crystal coffee table top did not even show up. There was a note in the bill of lading saying that the table was broken, and I was supposed to receive a call to discuss claims. Nobody ever called. Needless to say, I was very upset because the table is worth over $ 1500. I don’t even know whether the table was truly broken rather than stolen because it never showed up.
Second, they packed all the art and diplomas in a box together without wrapping anything, leading to scratches on some pieces that render them unusable, and a shattered diploma frame. This art that was damaged is not replaceable and should have been wrapped (as I was promised on the phone and in the contract). Third, my dining table arrived with a large chip out of the top, rendering it unusable. Fourth, the wooden feet on my leather bench were not wrapped and one was completely broken. Fourth, they packed several extremely fragile ceramic items in a box with books and other heavy items WITHOUT wrapping them, leading to multiple breaks and glass all over my belongings for me to clean up. Fifth, the packers threw open cosmetics bottles and salt/​pepper shakers into a bin with other household items, leading to a major mess.
On top of all of this, the delivery for my belongings took much longer than promised. The company told me the move would take 5 – 7 days, instead they arrived in 15 days. And as before, they did not provide 24 hours notice before coming.
In sum, they broke many of my items due to poor packing (despite promising careful packing of fragile items), were shady in not delivering an expensive table, and took far longer to deliver than the estimate they provided. I would not recommend hiring them under any circumstance.