Bekins AMS Relocation

Wow! Wow! Wow! That is all I can say about our move with AMS Relocation Services. We were referred to them from a friend, and their services exceeded all our expectations. From our first consultation/​meeting with Cameron, their estimate guy, to the loading of the truck to the unloading, they went above and beyond. All their personnel were professional, patient and hard-​working. They answered every question, took great care of our belongings and were just amazing.
I would heartily, heartily recommend them. Their prices are competitive and they do an excellent job. Thanks, AMS!!!

The family-​owned business handled our move from the Bay Area to Arizona. It was a great experience. Both loading and unloading crews were careful, helpful and so nice to work with. Our driver, Greg was a gem of a guy (grandson of the founder). We had no problems and would hire them again in a heartbeat.

Our family’s move from CA to GA went beautifully due to the top notch staff at Bekins. Burlingame folks were the best — esp Tom Wozniak — and our driver Dan went above and beyond to hire great teams who were very efficient, professional and courteous. Highly recommend!

Big thanks to Bill Evans and Jaime and the crew from AMS Bekins! The crew was very friendly and patient and did a terrific job. We were moving into two adjoining buildings (half of our stuff went into a garage for storage), and they were very accommodating when we had to switch boxes from one place to another. Recommended.

My wife and I have moved more than twenty times, each time with a major national moving company. Of all our moves, our move with AMS Bekins was by far the worst ever. Perhaps we have been lucky not to have experienced only good-​to-​great prior moves. We are expert move planners and knowledgeable move customers. This was definitely not our first rodeo, but it was most definitely our first Bekins Goat Rodeo.
AMS Bekins won our business to load us out from our Bay Area apartment and to store our household goods until we selected our final destination. We communicated with AMS as our plans became clear, and made arrangements to advance the original delivery window, which AMS said would not be a problem.
Any company that wants to survive — let alone thrive — in today’s highly competitive marketplace must communicate openly, clearly, and accurately with its customers. In contrast, AMS Bekins operates as a poster child for businesses that treat customers with disrespect, hostility, and as though they are doing you a favor vs. valuing your business and providing quality service. The moving industry has long had loads of problems in their dealings with customers. As our experience reflects, AMS and it’s national parent, Bekins Van Lines (Indiana), is totally committed to taking the LOW ROAD in customer service. If you have an issue, it’s your — the customer’s — issue. An aggressively defensive and hostile customer-​be-​damned response awaits your inquiries and complaint.
If you are considering employing AMS (or, for that matter) any Bekins Van Lines agent, we strongly recommend that your seek other options. Our experience is not unique (check the majority of other AMS customer reviews below and elsewhere). The pattern is clear. Mover beware!
AMS gave us false information about our goods being picked up from their storage facility on 1/​25, and then lied multiple times for the next two days before finally letting us know on 1/​27, that, contrary to their confirmation, a driver/​truck did not pick up our load on ¹⁄₂₅ and they had no date for pick-​up. Meantime, as they knew, we left the Seattle area, where we had been staying temporarily, to drive to the destination only to learn that we had been hung out to dry, our goods were held hostage, and without a delivery date. There is NEVER any reason, excuse or defense for lying to customers. Period. There is much more I could share here, but the key point is that, from the customer perspective, AMS is completely unreliable as a resource. They fail every possible measure of responsible business practice, especially in today’s transparent customer-​centric environment. On top of dealing with AMS, it turns out they do not fall far from their parental tree: Bekins Van Lines played the same «customer is always wrong» and turned a deaf ear to us at every turn. Above all, based on our experience (and that of others) I recommend that you place BVL at the bottom of (or better yet, off of) the moving companies you may be considering. They all talk the talk, but very few of them walk the walk. And our experience proves that AMS is among those who haven’t yet learned to walk.

Have never written a negative review so please consider if I am doing this I have reflected on it for quite some time.
I’m still shocked at the service I received from this company. When scheduling initially I received two different quotes. My first quote was significantly lower even though I had much more to move; needed items packed; received a second quote after doing significant purging I had gotten rid of many of my items. After some persistence the quote was adjusted to match the original quote. (You think it would’ve been lower)
When the moving crew arrived at my residence; they took multiple long breaks even though it was a relatively quick move. Was lots of time spent on the truck, listening to the radio and talking on the phone about personal matters. They innaccurately added multiple hours to the move, could not locate many of my items, and the inventory of items was not matching up. I attempted to reach Office management multiple times and nobody was available. The foreman refused to assist me in reaching anybody even though I requested that he ask a manager to come out to the move to document my missing items.
During my move oil and grease was tracked throughout my home damaging some of my items. I immediately reported to this to the company and was told simply to file a claim. On the same day of my move while the movers were here I emailed that some of my boxes and items are missing and the movers couldn’t find some of the things they remembered packing. (The same company had packed me up for my move ironically) I was told once again simply to file a claim. I followed up repeatedly and I was put off for a few weeks being told nobody was available to search the warehouse and just to keep looking for my items. I found this very interesting because one the movers remembered packing some of the items himself but admitted he couldn’t find them. Once again I was told to file a claim.
I paid extra to have moving insurance. I assumed because this was a four diamond company there wouldn’t be problems but if there were this would be honored appropriately and that I didn’t need to photograph every dish that was packed every coffee cup, every video game, etc. The movers actually suggested I not even be in the area while they were packing for safety reasons.
I should have. Upon arrival to my new residence there were multiple missing items.
I Asked the crew to stay to help try to locate my items including the ones that did not match up on the inventory and they refused to do so.(at least the foreman on the job) as they did the majority of the packing and labeling of the boxes they should have been able to assist with locating the items that they packed. Unfortunately boxes were not even labeled properly.
Bottom line is several of my items were missing and several were damaged. I have children that lost all of their electronic equipment. I found that quite interesting that entire box of all electronics would be missing. I am missing shelves to bookcases that are no longer of use. I have a chair that is destroyed (I have original pictures prior to the move showing it in good condition) The same thing with the lamp that was missing; foreman said it was probably in the box marked lamp and I tried to communicate that was impossible because it was a floor lamp and not tall enough; he told me to search the other boxes in the garage that it might be in there. Keep in mind that there wasn’t a box labeled lamp in garage and I am extremely disabled and couldn’t move the boxes myself.
I kept contacting the company and was basically told to keep looking and file a claim. The very day these things happened I took photographs of the damage; the footprints were huge and clearly not mine I am 5 foot two. I was told to file a claim, however they never honored the claim.
My daughter had a hanging unit for her bedroom. They actually taped it to a toybox. While the mover was moving it in he banged the unit against the wall and actually broke the hooks off; I pointed it out to him and he laughed and told me to get superglue!
In addition the claims process was a nightmare I must’ve spent 80 hours getting pictures together documenting everything looking up quotes, getting repair quotes and waiting for responses. It turns out this insurance company isn’t really an insurance company they’re simply somebody that gathers all the information and submits it back to the moving company who then basically denies everything.
I am still shocked that the moving company wouldn’t even honor the items on the moving claim that they initially acknowledged. Especially since they packed, stored and delivered. They were the company responsible for my items not myself.
When they do make you an offer which is about 10% of what you have reported they don’t even give you an itemization.
I have rugs and furniture damaged, and missing items.
I am a single disabled woman and have no money to repair or replace my children’s and household items.
Devastating.

I submitted a request for a quote last night.
Bekins has called me 6 times so far this morning. 3 of the calls came one right after the other. Whoever was calling didn’t get the hint when I ended the first 2 calls after 2 rings.
One request should equal one call. OR even better one request should equal one email with a quote or a request for more information.
I will not be using Bekins because I have no desire to constantly called by their representatives.

Follow-​Up: My Bekins experience has been revised to zero stars. The delivery was botched and had to be rescheduled to the following day. I delivery finally completed at around 9 PM because there were only two movers. Several items were damaged including expensive wine glasses and a display case. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND BEKINS.

Discovering how the moving industry operates in today’s world is a real eye-​opener.
Companies like Bekins, United, Allied, Mayflower, etc. are not what you would expect from a brand name. Those brand names are just that… a brand or a front for an independently owned company that uses said brand for the consumer to trust said company. Great caution must be exercised when hiring a mover.
Your worldly goods are in the hands of a driver who is an independent contractor working for «said company», not the brand company like Bekins. AMS Relocation in Burlingame, is who we chose. The driver then hires what’s known in the trade as «floating cash agents» who actually move your furniture. They have no accountability to Bekins or AMS. In our case, the driver hired floating cash agents from a moving company in Fresno. None of the 3 guys moving our things had ever met. Sadly, very sadly, the driver who was responsible for overseeing and supervising the movers was mostly missing in action. He was present but that’s as far as it went. The driver is also responsible for providing all packing materials like boxes, plastic wrap, tape, blankets, etc. On our moving day he forgot the plastic wrap and tape so our new sectional was not wrapped in plastic before the dirty moving blankets were thrown on. Luckily, one of the movers brought some tape.
It got worse from there. It’s a LONG story but suffice it to say our move overall was more stressful than it had to be due to bad management and oversight and the system moving companies operate within. In a nutshell… one hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing. When you arrive at your new address a whole new group of «floating cash agents» unloads your things. More stress. It’s really convenient since no one can point a finger at anyone because no one knows who caused what damage to what piece.
I will say by some miracle more damage wasn’t done. There were plenty of scuffs and scratches and dents and dirt on white pieces furniture. There were items that had to be thrown away like our expensive foam topper for our king size bed. It had been wrapped in tape and nothing else.
Here’s the best part! They expect you to file a claim. This really lets them off the hook. When slipshod service is provided they know ahead of time you will file a claim, then the ins. takes care of it… if you have the stomach for going through the claims process. Chances are you won’t since it will suck hours, if not days or weeks from your life.
I will give high marks to the packers who came the day before the actual move occurred. They were fantastic and packed our valuables like dishes, pottery, breakable, etc., better than I would have or could have. They were the only reason 2 stars was given otherwise it would have been zero.
Be afraid, be very afraid. There is so much more to our story but I can’t stand to think about it.

Ever since watching Legally Blonde and seeing the Bekins truck, I was sold. Actually, what sealed the deal was when I met my favorite person, Jim Diskin. He did my first move and he is a very detailed person. As I researched other moving companies, I felt Bekins was the right choice and I felt I got a fair estimate. The movers were all professional. This time around, I emailed Jim right away and asked him to come out. He came out the following week and gave me an estimate. I did get 2 other estimates and felt I was getting ripped off from the other companies. (1 estimate was low and one estimate was high — stating I had over 4000+ lbs more than what Jim stated) I told that other moving company you got to be kidding me! (The person who came out spent 10 mins) I trusted Jim’s estimate on weight as he spends the time to evaluate what’s in your home (opening every cabinet door, drawer, etc.) and knowing that he was once a packer, he knows his stuff. Jim is honest and I knew in my gut I wanted him. He worked so hard to get me on the calendar and I ever told him I’m willing to pay extra for a guarantee load date (packing is done 1 day, then load another day). With the weight of my job, Bekins couldn’t promise me anything so he contacted corporate but I got turned down. I wasn’t going to take no for an answer and eventually was able to work it out with having my stuff sent to storage. Seriously, I felt like I was telling Jim, I NEED you & Bekins to do my job! During the entire process, Jim kept me up to date on everything. He also called me during my move/​load day to make sure everything went well. Who does that anymore? Once the sales done, it’s done. Not for Jim. He genuinely cared that I got a proper pack/​move whether from them or someone else.
Move day: Tim, Jeremy & Reginald were such an awesome team! I was so thankful that Bekins sent them (I called to tell Stacie that I want them to move it across the country!) The team was professional and moved as quickly as they could. Tim was so pleasant and fun to talk to. He definitely delivered a white glove service. You can tell Jeremy is a pro. Reginald took it for the team and crawl in the storage area to grab heavy boxes and etc. They were also so nice to my kids who at times were in their way. Everyone did get a sticker from them as a stamp of approval. Thanks Bekins for sending them! When we come back, we want the same team! Thanks Jim for your help and not giving up on me :) You deserve to be recognized.

If I could give Bekins zero stars, I would… And I’ve never written a negative review for anything… on Unilocal or elsewhere.
They disappointed me beyond the imaginable. I moved from CA to WA last summer and they damaged quite a bit of my belongings as well as *lost* an important box of artwork that they refuse to believe existed.
Their inventory management system uses stickers to tag your items — while mine were yellow, I ended up with some light blue ones (and I imagine another customer who shared my truck ended up with my yellow ones). Seems antiquated and that they should consider using RFID tags like FedEx. In any case, their inventory list is completely illegible and details absolutely nothing, so when I submitted my claim for the missing box, they said it didn’t exist.
Note that in addition to very expensive artwork from Morocco and the Czech Republic, that box contained artwork that my mother made… Artwork that is extremely sentimental and priceless to me. Not only is all of that now gone, but Bekins said they have no evidence it existed because of their extremely unreliable inventory system.
When my belongings arrived in WA, they were on a *different* truck than the one they were on when they left my house in CA; my guess is they might have lost my box during that transition. I contacted Bekins/​AMS headquarters and while they seem nice, they have done nothing to help make me whole (if that’s even possible).
Worst moving experience i have ever had (and I have moved three times in two years, so it’s not like I have nothing to compare it to). Jennifer G, my salesperson, was very nice early on, bringing me boxes and such, but since this fiasco, she has not been responsive. I paid for extra insurance, but since Bekins refused to acknowledge the missing boxes, that was money down the toilet.
Oh — and one other thing. The five «experienced» guys who unloaded the truck upon arrival said that they couldn’t get my washer/​dryer into my new basement so they left them in the garage. I was in disbelief, but I figured what they said had to be true. Two weeks later, I hired a couple of local gardeners who managed to get the washer/​dryer into my basement. Shame on the movers for not doing their job. Aggravates me even more because I tipped them very well (20%). Had I known they lost my box of artwork, damaged my TV and elliptical, among other things, and were being lazy about my washer/​dryer, I wouldn’t have given them a dime.
I would never recommend that anyone ever use Bekins/​AMS. They will just disappoint in countless ways.

Goodness where to start. A representative told me over the phone that they would contact me to schedule a time for packing. That never happened. I called them, and there operations manager told me we were schedule between 7−8am. The day comes and 8:15 rolls around nothing. I called and the same operations manager tells me his file says 8 – 9, and that they’re barely loading the truck. They arrive at 9:30. In the middle of the move the head mover gets in a huge argument with his assistant (also happened to be his brother) after a few hours or the main guy working on his own. His wife, and HS daughter show up to help him move. I was a little surprised because I’m paying for a quality movers to help. The same thing the next day which was actually the move day, except no arguments. I gave a three because nothing broke on the 400 mile move, and they arrived there around the date and time they said they would. If I had more time to move I would have done better research.

I was very apprehensive about moving 42 years of accumulated stuff from California to Florida. I looked around, read reviews, and feared for the worst. But, I hired Bekins and this is what happened. They showed up on time, built crates for what needed to be protected and boxed up everything else. Done by 5 p.m. The movers arrive right on time and load everything into the van, disassembling the bed and other things that needed to be shipped. I am kept abreast of progress and the van arrives in Florida at the designated time and place. The van is unloaded quickly and professionally. The crates are taken apart, the bed reassembled, boxes stacked and everything excess hauled away. On top of that, the expense was far below the original estimate. I only wish that every move for everyone could be this good. Not one single broken or scratched item. Even the light bulbs in the floor lamp were unbroken.
Was my experience out of the norm? I don’t know, but I will never hesitate to recommend Bekins for moving.

We recently had to move across CA, and Bekins was awesome. After another company gave us the run-​around, Bekins came in and moved us in the span of three days! The packing went quick and was painless — Andres and his crew arrived on time, and wrapped everything up carefully and were done in about 4 hours. The day of delivery, Andres again showed up on time, put all the furniture and boxes where they needed to go, and even helped unpack some of the boxes! They made our move so much less stressful! We would definitely use them again (though hopefully we’re done with moving for a bit!).

Moved my parents from San Jose, CA to Phoenix, Az. AMS Bekins gave them boxes to help pack and even packed several rooms for them. The quote was competitive and their estimate was pretty close. They filled an entire 50′ trailer which the movers has skillfully packed like a tetris puzzle. Nothing the movers had packed broke and they were on time, friendly and extremely professional. The actual weight of the truck was 4000 lbs less than the estimate and they were refunded difference.
These guys were fair and honest while doing an incredible job (even helping move some things that weren’t being loaded on the truck for us). The driver and crews were on time (actually a little early) on packing day, load day and even the delivery day.
In short, a large household move went far better than expected in large part due to the services of AMS Bekins. We would definitely recommend their services to anyone.

Everyone at Bekins was so nice so it’s hard to give them a bad review. But at the end of the day I’m missing several boxes so they failed at their one job– getting my stuff from point a to point b.
A few days after they dropped off my stuff– which they totally ignored the fragile– please don’t stack/don’t lay flat warnings, I got a call saying they found a few more of my boxes on another truck. Now that I am unloading and searching for boxes one by one I am finding that more boxes have disappeared. And, of course, one of the boxes contains vintage items that are just not replaceable.

Couldn’t be happier with Bekins. We had a last minute move situation, and we’d never moved in a fashion that required movers before. So we didn’t know what to expect. But Bekins showed up on time, did all the hard work and heavy lifting, and was extremely organized throughout. The inventoried everything from start to finish, packed things up quickly and efficiently, and were sensitive to our neighbors and needs of the rest of our apartment building. Made a very hectic situation easy.

My mom wanted to move from CA to UT so she could be closer to family so she asked for my help in coordinating the effort. After getting three price quotes my mom felt the most comfortable with Bekins/​AMS. Once the decision was made to go with them, I set up times for workers to help her pack and return the next day to load up the truck. My wife flew out to help my mom and said the workers were courteous, professional and quick.
When the delivery truck arrived in UT, the guy in charge, Kelsey, gave me a call and said they were early and wanted to know if it would be all right if the delivery was made on such short notice. I said most definitely. Kelsey and his team of two other movers unloaded my mom’s stuff into her apartment at the retirement center in less than three hours. My wife was with my mom while the movers were working. Once again, she said they were friendly, courteous and really great to work with.
I should also mention that Wendy from AMS worked with me behind the scenes to get things set up in CA and when it was time to take it to the national level, I worked with Rebecca. Both ladies were great to work with. Trying to manage a CA move from UT can be stressful but with all of the people who worked on this move, it was as stress free as something like this can be. I just feel bad for those who had bad experiences with this company because if I had to move from one state to another, I’d select them again.

I want to start off my saying Jennifer G was great. She was helpful through the whole process. She brought us boxes and tape which helped us out. This review is not based on her it’s based on the company’s ethics.
It was clear from the start that they had a bridge to cross to get to my property. It has the weight limit clearly posted on the bridge. The single truck being used could have gone over the bridge but they weren’t comfortable doing that. They decided to move everything out of that truck onto 2 smaller trucks. Costing me an additional 1,300.
I tried everything to convince them to keep it on one truck. I even asked them to half the additional 1,300 with me but, nope it couldn’t be done.
I’m really disappointed. I feel I had no choice. I needed my belongings so they got paid.

Now eight months later, still no resolution from Bekins for a claim that included complete destruction of an expensive teak table and Stickley chair. I must now file a claim for fraud against this mover. I’ve moved cross-​country multiple times and have never experienced the incompetence or dishonesty related to resolving what all agree to be serious property damage. They promised to refer my claim to their insurer. Months later, I’m still waiting. If you can’t operate your business with integrity, why should people trust you with their move? This was a case of appalling behavior on Bekins’ part. I look forward to socializing this with the community to help other avoid a similar experience.