RUN Don't Walk Away from Northern Van Lines
MK
Submitted this review about
Northern Van Lines
Review made Live: 7/8/2012 4:39:00 PM
My son contracted with Northern Van Lines for a move from Washington State to Michigan. Sales person/estimator was Julian. As soon as the deposit was made Julian NEVER answered the phone. Customer Service is supposedly Shelly. She also never answered the telephone. Pick up was 05/31/12. At pick up my son was told the weight was over and it would cost an additional $600. As specifically stated in the contract, "Legally long distance movers per DOT law have 7-21 business days to deliver cross country." 21st business day was 06/29/12. My son started TRYING to contact Julian and Shelly on 06/11/12 to find out the progress of his load; neither one answered their phones or returned his phone calls. In a 10 day timeframe of daily attempts to contact Julian, he finally answered the phone once. Julian's response was the he "put in a request with the dispatcher." When my son informed him this already had been done, Julian's response was "sometimes it takes them a couple days to respond." Since my son started his job and was working long hours, I (the mom) took over trying to find his load on 06/25/12. Both Julian and Shelly did not answer their phones when I called, but returned my call - only because I insinuated in my voice mail message that I was interested in a quote for a move. I requested the dispatcher's name and telephone number. Julian stated it was an "internal line" and "how am I supposed to know if a move takes longer." Shelly was no better. She lied and told me several times that my son's load was in Colorado being loaded onto a truck headed to Michigan, and she was still hoping it made the 06/29/12 delivery deadline. Shelly finally gave me a telephone number she said was for the dispatch office. Over the course of several days I learned that this number was for MCI dispatch located in Colorado. Apparently Northern Van Lines contracts with MCI. This was never before disclosed by Northern Van Lines. After a few days of lies from MCI, I learned on 06/29/12 that my son's property was still in Washington state in a storage facility! After several more days of calling this dispatch office in Colorado, I was finally given the name and address of the storage facility where my son's property was being stored and the name and phone number of the local dispatcher who confirmed that he worked for MCI. The local dispatcher was the only person who told us the truth - he couldn't find a driver to take my son's load to Michigan. When asked if this could sit in storage for months, he replied yes. My husband and I went to the storage unit on 07/03/12 and retrieved my son's property. Between Northern Van Lines and MCI, my son paid a total of $1608 to move his property 9.65 miles to a storage facility where it sat for a month. We are trying to get his money back. Of course, both Northern Van Lines and MCI are ignoring our requests for a refund. What a surprise. We are now starting over with a reputable moving company. We are happy to have his possessions back, although three boxes are missing.
For those that may be considering Northern Van Lines, check out the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration at www.fmcsa.dot.gov. Northern is listed as "OUT OF SERVICE". I made a phone call to the FMCSA on 07/02/12 and was told that "Northern Van Lines has no authority to operate at all."
In addition, at one point there was a Eugene, OR address listed on Northern Van Lines website. I contacted the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to file a complaint and was told: "Please know that this company is not an Oregon company, and its reference to Eugene Oregon has been questioned by ODOT, as the Eugene address previously given is a vacant building." After my complaint with ODOT, the Eugene address was removed from the website. The quote my son received from Julian has a Kansas City MO address. The Bill of Lading given to him at the time of pick up lists a Tennessee address. Who knows where this company really is!
The 5 star ratings given for Northern Van Lines are ridiculous. They cannot possibly be people who have actually had a moving experience with Northern Van Lines. Believe the bad reviews; question the 5 star ratings. I checked Poor in all categories; if this shows up as one star, please know that it should be zero stars!
