Bekins Van Lines

Pros: professional, competative rates, not the cheapest, great sales and crews.
Cons: not the cheapest, needed to call a couple times with a question

We have used Bekins for 3 moves and my parents used them for a move into storage and then into their new house. We have never encountered the problems that you hear about. Our salesman was friendly, knowledgeable, very detailed about what to compare when getting the other bids. Our packing crew was nice, they did a good job, nothing was broken. And all the crews we have had for the move itself were wonderful. Moving into a new house, I was paranoid about the walls getting bumped or the carpet getting soiled but the crews used every precaution to avoid that.
There are so many companies out there and Bekins has the reputation, history and value. They are always the cheapest but comparable. I would recommend them to family or friends, sure moving is not free of problems, stress and some rough times but it isn't a nightmare either.

Pros: competitive pricing
Cons: They misled, lied, and stole from us.

Bekins Van Lines was bad news from the beginning. We moved from Davis, CA to Cincinnati, OH. They didn’t pick-up our stuff within the window of dates given. I was told by the sales rep that my shipment would be transferred onto a truck, from the origin, and taken directly to the destination by the same driver. It turned out that my goods were moved from the first driver's truck, at the origin, to an unknown warehouse, before it was picked up by a different driver, one week later. Upon delivery, the furniture was in fair condition, but the boxes were severely damaged. Not only were the majority of boxes crushed and torn apart, but many had apparently been re-packed by the movers. Several items were placed in random boxes; one box was completely empty, though it had obviously been re-taped by the movers. I suspect that during this re-packing process, several items were not returned to us. Because of the nature of what is now lost, I strongly suspect that these items were stolen by a Bekins Van Line staff. Among the list of missing items, most were small electronics and priceless collectibles.

Pros: No problems during pick up of furnishings.
Cons: Customer service non-existent once they had our stuff. Don't use them!

All was well when our furnishings were picked up...HOWEVER, our furnishings were delivered at Midnight on the last day of our "window", after we had spent 16 hours sitting on the driveway of an empty house, with an over-tired, bored 5 year old. Virtually no useful information during this time. It was impossible to inspect for breakage by the single light of the garage and the drivers said "we can't stay while you inspect. We have to head back to Phoenix (2 hrs away) for an 8 AM pick-up." Stupid me, I signed their waiver, with their assurances that Bekins would make it right." Of course, they didn't. Don't ever use them.

Pros: I wish there was something positive to say.
Cons: The whole experience was a nightmare.

I'll sum it up. Bekins performed the worst job possible. From the local company Gates movers in Sarasota, FL., we worked with Steve Gates to the corporate office in Chicago. They want the business but that is it. Our stuff was 3 1/2 weeks late to CA. Every time we called Gates they told us to call corporate Customer Service to find out the status. When we'd call corporate Customer Service they couldn't tell us anything either. We'd get postcards in the mail or an automated call telling us there was a new arrival date (this happened 4 times) and we'd call Gates or Corporate and would get no new information - the people apparently are as up to date as their postcards! No response, no information, no apologies. The packing was shoddy, the driver in Florida and the local office Gates left our stuff in Florida for 2 weeks without contacting us. Use anyone but Bekins.

Pros: Able to ship just three items.
Cons: Poor packing, poor handling of items, not punctual.

We needed to move three items from Las Vegas to Atlanta, we went with a company that contracts out extra space on trucks, so we didn't have a choice in the final company used. I wish I had done more research. Bekins packaged our items, 3 pieces of dining room furniture, they were packaged improperly, and all items arrived damaged. One of the items was even dropped. The internal form from Bekins even stated that the items were improperly packed. The furniture was wrapped only in the heavy seran wrap. During shipping they got very banged up, dented, scratched, broken glass, and two doors were damaged.

In addition the furniture arrived late.

The insurance was through the third party contractor, so I do not have experience with the Bekins Claims area.

Pros: Professional, Efficient, Honest and Inexpensive!
Cons: None

My estimator Nancy arrived on time. She was very knowledgeable and understanding. She printed our estimate from her little computer right after her walkthrough of our house! The packers, Mitch and crew, arrived a day before the move and spent a lot of time packing very carefully. The Driver and crew came the next day about midmorning and they worked consistently hard all day and were done by the early evening. Our stuff arrived in Georgia on time when we were there, nothing was damaged and everything went very smooth and professional. What more can I say? A very stress-free and professional move! There might be some bad apples out there but these guys know what they are doing!

Pros: None
Cons: Will not honor anything promised.

I was moving with my family across the country and made a mistake of using Bekins Van Lines as a carrier.
First, estimate has changed, of course increased, before they even picked up the staff. Second, they were one week late in delivering the staff. When, however, they did deliver, turned out the two parts of the bedroom set were destroyed and could not be repaired.
It has taken me more then eight months after the claim was processed to find out that Van line will not stand behind their commitment and reimbursed us for the set according to the original receipt.
This company operate without any integrity and I would not recommend of using them.

Pros: Nothing
Cons: Liars,slow in everything they do,bad customer service

Terrible company! Late on pickup, and 14 days later past required delivery date our stuff is still not in Texas, so my newborn baby, and my husband and I are sleeping on the floor! Being in the military and moving across country is stressful enough. Customer service is terrible!! I would seriously avoid and spend money elsewhere or if military do it yourself!

Pros: Cheap
Cons: All above - not worth a fraction of their quoted price

I have had the move from hell with Bekins - BMS Holdings in Houston. PLEASE read this - my experience is very consistent with many postings here!! I have moved internationally, and domestically many times - got multiple estimates - Allied told me - beware of Bekins!!

They turned up late, the truck was too small. valuable furniture was very badly packed. They left with holes in my house walls (and weren't going to tell me); scratches in the wood floor.

At the destination we were held at ranson to be paid fully before they would offload the truck!!!! We got very close to calling in the police. During all of this - NOBODY, especially Randy Baker and Jeff (general manager) would return or even acknowledge calls.

All in all - this is the worst experience I have every been subjected to...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not use this company. I'm not the only one to say this..they may be the cheapest, but it's really not worth it. Don't think you can hold them accountable for anything - they are all contact staff and will not take accountability for ANYTHING!!!

Pros: none
Cons: inept, incompetent, lying, dishonest, misrepresent, slow to resolve, frustrating

We moved from California to Tennessee and unfortunately chose Bekins as a mover. The contracted delivery date was blown by two weeks. When we asked why, we were told that they had no drivers available, which is a definite drawback to a delivery company. Repeated attempts to hold them to the contract date were met by incompetent or uncaring agents. Resolving our complaints, not to our complete satisfaction, took months. We joined a host of others who have made formal complaints to the Better Business Bureau. This was the worst business experience we have had in 48 years. I have no idea why or how this company is still in business.

Pros: They have trucks and equipment.
Cons: lack responsibility, integrity and commitment to the customer.

I'm only sorry that I took the advice of a friend and called these guys. They're okay on the front end, but you better be ready for crap on the back end. They may be alright for in-state moves, but from my interstate experience, I would have done better to rent a U-Haul and had done it myself.

Pros: NONE
Cons: Poor customer service all around and a complete waste of money!!

Bekins should be put out of business for good! Their staff is incompetent. They used a horrible and lazy vendor to crate my glass dining room table. I had to call my sales consultant 3 times to force the vendor to crate the table as promised. The office administrator never returned my phone calls when I had questions. The drivers were totally incompetent and did a horrible job moving my precious belongings into storage. On top of that, Bekins quoted me 4 different cost totals for my move. I'm so glad my move is over but next time I'll definitely do more research. If you want reliability, honesty, and excellent customer service from a professional moving company, then PLEASE stay away from Bekins!!

Pros: NONE
Cons: They are experts at Ripping you off.

Read this carefully, because you must NOT use Bekins ever. They broke my 50 bottle wine refrigerator, my 6 disc cd player, a nightstand, a mirror, a lamp, a single disc dvd player, my 32 inch tv, 3 bottles of wine, and more. Guess what they think my settlement should be: $177.00. Yes, you read that right, $177.00. They are trying to insist that I only had basic coverage, when I chose full coverage. I wonder if I will ever get just compensation for what they broke.
Also, they hired a bunch of day workers to unload my items, these guys were bumbling idiots and had no experience with moving.
DO NOT EVER USE BEKINS.

Pros: Driver was helpful and courteous.
Cons: Deceptive advertising and promotions Lots of promises that won't be fulfilled.

I have moved frequently and chose Bekins for my latest move as they made a number of promises and kept none. They quoted an estimate (said to be an over-estimate, but they never weighed load or re-calibrated after packing so I over-paid there. I asked for and was charged for packing of some bulking and fragile items which they 'forgot' but did not remove from my charges. They promised to deliver packing boxes to my house which they did not do. They promised to clean my house after my moved as an incentive to use them, but they did not resulting in me having to fork over additional money to new owners. This last failure really bothered me as it takes very little to broom clean a house once all the furniture is out -- esp as house was sparkling clean when it went on the market (I estimate that it would have cost them less than $100 -- of a $4000 moving charge). Once they have your money, neither the local company nor the national company will respond.

All in all this was my worst experience with any moving company. If you have a choice use Allied.

Pros: absolutely none
Cons: surly, clumsy, disrespectful, slimy, liars, unprofessional, unhelpful, worst experience ever.

Driver was surly, moving assistants had no experience and damaged items as they hauled them (more like dragged them) out of the house. Driver arrived with different contract from the binding contract we had signed, claiming we had to pay $500 above the initial contract because the moving coordinator had misquoted us. Company "moving coordinator" didn't follow through, was misleading and unhelpful. Lied to us by saying over and over again that they had a driver lined up, then suddenly, oops, they wouldn't actually have a driver available at all. Storage facility unacceptable conditions, as our electronics were fried after a month in unmoderated temperature.  Bekins had our shipment for a FULL MONTH before they could coordinate a driver to bring it to us. Then they nickle and dimed us on reimbursable expenses. Nightmare experience.