Beltmann Relocation Group

I moved with Beltmann (San Leandro) from Alameda, California, to Placerville, California, April 13, 2015. Everything seemed to go fairly well with the pick-​up, although the driver wanted to deliver the same day and I had specifically requested April 14, so I declined. Three men arrived early the next morning, April 14, and moved so fast placing furniture that I could not keep up with them. When they were finished, they requested I sign off on a paper which said everything had been delivered and was in order. Since I had had no time to inspect the delivery, I signed but noted that i had not inspected.
Consequently, over the next several days I discovered damage to antique furniture and that my television was missing.
I attempted to file a claim but was unable to because it requested that I identify the items by inventory number and my carbon copy of the inventory was not readable. When I returned to the Bay Area in May, I received a clearer copy and subsequently filed a claim along with photographs of damages.
Since then, until November, 2015, I have nagged for payment, complying with Beltmann’s and Anthem Claim Management’s repeated requests for more information, such as photographs (already provided), original costs, replacement costs, repair costs, etc.
Anthem Claim Management finally provided a «release and settlement of claim» form in November that requested notarization and to be returned to them. I dispute in particular their estimate of $ 30 for the television («has little or no value» because of age, despite the fact it was in fine working condition and I would have to replace it), but after seven months I was too tired to argue about this. Anthem stated that Beltmann would pay the amount due on this claim.
That was almost two months ago, and nine months since I moved and I have yet to be paid.

Pretty solid other than the crew that packed up my things in SF. For example, they didn’t mark any of my bed parts, so the crew in NYC who unloaded my stuff had to figure out how to put my bed together without any idea of what they were putting together, wasting a lot of their time. The guys in NYC who unpacked my stuff were great, and the driver was also efficient and exactly on time. The agent who estimated the move was also on time and quick– no problems there. Overall, it was a pretty good moving experience!

I have had a terrible experience with North American Van Lines, and their agent Beltmann Relocation Group. This is a story of late deliveries, a violent delivery driver that forced me to call the police for protection, missing valuables, 75% of all furniture damaged, lack of urgency to help solve things, etc, etc. I have moved at least 10 times before and have never had as bad of an experience moving as the one I have had with this company.
The only thing that was about right was the person that provided the estimate. But don’t let that fool you. Things go south very quickly after you’ve signed the contract.
Feel free to write to me and I will be happy to provide more details.

ORIGINAL REVIEW FROM APRIL 29:
working with beltmann started out on the right foot: i was given a business referral, the estimator was polite and on-​time. after that, however… they fell apart.
to start, the movers were 2 hours late because they were double-​booked and my appointment was pushed. zero apologies were made and there was nothing done to either give me a refund or discount.
then, they had promised my things would be held in seattle so that when i arrived, they would be easily accessible. instead, everything remained in california for approximately TWO WEEKS outside of the delivery window. that’s right, TWO WEEKS LATE. with zero communication unless i called to chase them.
repeatedly, they promised refunds and discounts and it is now 2 months later and i have yet to receive anything from them. the communication is severely lacking. they are disorganized and EXTREMELY disrespectful. there is absolutely so follow through and the only way i could get a response at all was to call them every day.
i will never again use beltmann relocation and suggest you look elsewhere, too. i’ve moved across the country 3 times and highly suggest using mayflower instead. i wish i had gone with my gut and stuck with a company i had used previously despite a higher quote.
UPDATE AS OF MAY 8:
after countless emails and unreturned phone calls, i have confirmation that my refund check has been issued and sent. clearly, i’ll believe it when i see it. that being said, the beltmann relocation group contact has requested that i «retract» some of my words here. funny how that works, huh?

I wrote a review of Beltmann on 2÷23÷15 and I need to update it for accuracy. After my negative review, I was within hours contacted by a Loss Specialist, Martin and by Connie in the San Leandro office. They were quite concerned about my items being lost and about my Unilocal review. Martin said he would look into it and let me know. Several days went by and no word back from him. Eventually I heard from Martin and he had found the items that were irreplaceable and he thought some other items had also been found and he was looking into that. He made arrangements for the box containing those items to be FedEx-​ed to me. A couple of days later that box arrived and the mirror that was in it was shattered all along one end. Martin did call to make sure the box arrived and I thanked him but also told him about the shattered mirror. Connie also called to see if I was getting any happier about the situation. She also asked if after the new search was completed and I had been reimbursed for any items not found, would I re-​write my Unilocal review telling people that all the issues had been resolved. I said that I would do that but that I still think the whole process was completely unacceptable. She said she’d call me the next week to check on the progress. I never heard back from her. Meanwhile, Martin said to take the broken mirror to a glass repair place and they would pay to have it repaired and he would call me in a week to tell me about the other items. He never called. I emailed him. He said he’d get back to me. He did get back to me and I asked if he’d found anything else. He said he was still looking and if he found nothing else we would work out reimbursement for the missing items. He never got back to me. I emailed again and inquired. He emailed back and apologized and said he would call the next day. He never called. I have my painted artsy mirror, now broken and my 3 other items. I have no idea if other items were found even though it was implied they were. Martin has never arranged for reimbursement for the missing items — (step ladder, stainless steel kitchen rack, retro folding wooden chair, small wicker chair, plastic shelving, Weber grill). All of these promises of assistance that came to (almost) nothing are almost worse than the items being lost in the first place. In conclusion, I say «BEWARE of this company. Hire someone else. Spend your $ 6700.00 with a different mover.»

Just moved my house and family from SF to Connecticut, courtesy of the Beltmann Group and Alliance. Here’s what we learned and a few props for the outstanding individuals we worked with. I would definitely recommend Beltmann.
Lessons Learned:
— Do as much of your own packing and prep in advance, so that when the packers come, you can spend all your time directing them, or helping label boxes so you know where key items are
— If you live efficiently with highly organized drawers, closets, etc. — the estimate you receive may be on the low side, as your belongings may be fairly dense but out of sight.
— Even If packers seem to be taking an extra long time wrapping stuff, double-​wrapping, etc. — you’ll be thankful on the receiving end when nothing is broken.
— Put down protective cardboard on hardwood floors in key areas you wish to protect, as they will get heavily trafficked, with high risk of scratching or wear/​tear.
— If you are going to need to store items at destination before receiving them and taking ownership (our move-​in house wasn’t ready for 2 weeks), make sure the storage quote accounts for the driver arriving early, rather than later, in the window afforded for transport. (e.g. — the driver going cross-​country may take from 1 to 2 weeks).
These People were AWESOME:
— Connie McMartin — our move coordinator. Responsive, professional, courteous, resourceful.
— Dean Felton — our sales guy and estimator. Very helpful and personable, though his weight and volume estimate proved very low. Fortunately, we had a price gaurantee in our quote so there was no downside to us. However, it did end up taking much longer to pack than expected based on his estimate. That made for longer days and a bit more stress. Dean is an industry veteran
— Packers: Ernie Garcia & Troy Walker — very good. Took their time to ensure thorough and safe wrapping. On the young side, but conscientious and professional. Even though it took them several extra hours, that was mostly a function of the under-​estimate of volume. Results: not one single item that they packed was broken.
— DRIVER: Peter Manna — absolutely the best. World class. I would proudly recommend Peter to my family and to my closest friends. He and his crew of 4 additional packers were truly outstanding. Utmost professional, courteous, very very fast, efficient, and masters of the trade. Peter kept everything running like clockwork, kept the day on time, finished early, and was a true pleasure to interact with. They even made the day fun. Not one single item that they packed or moved was broken. 15,000+ pounds worth, and over 500 boxes. Wow.
BELTMANN
— totally stood by their price guarantee, even though the weight and volume turned out considerably higher than their estimate. Nice to see integrity like that these days.
— Very competitive price (nobody was lower)
— can’t imagine better crews

DO NOT hire them to move or deliver furniture. I don’t write reviews often, but would hate for someone else to have a similar experience. We bought furniture online and the company delivering the furniture was Beltmann. They made only one attempt to move the furniture into the apartment and said they would not be able to do it. I asked them to try another angle or remove the legs from the furniture and they would not. They were not able to offer any other suggestions or help me find someone to move the furniture. I spent over an hour trying to find someone else to move it, meanwhile the dispatcher was very nasty and unhelpful on the phone. I understand they have other deliveries, but I was very inconvenienced by having to make other arrangements myself and especially did not like the way she spoke to me on the phone. HORRIBLE! The next time I order furniture I will make sure it is not delivered by Beltmann.

I moved my elderly parents belongings from Hawaii to my house in Fairfield CA. Connie was my contact person. She was very helpful and courteous and flexible. While I had a couple hiccups due to my scheduling, Beltman, Connie, was very understanding and worked with me to accommodate my needs.
I highly recommend this company for moving. They are kind, prompt, considerate and perform a fantastic service. They took great care of my product, they set up my furniture, they have a quick and interpretable system. The move went very smoothly. And my items were treated with care and everything arrived safe and sound without a scratch!
Thank you Connie and Beltmann. You work really hard for customer satisfaction and I was greatly satisfied with your service.
More moving companies should be more personal and courteous as your company.
Ann
Fairfield, CA

I am writing to share my experience with the Beltmann group. Cliff was our estimator and was very professional. I had other estimators come out and was assessed way over from Cliff’s quote which when my stuff came in across from CA to FL I was 240lbs under. This is important as Beltmann has a contract guaranteed to not go over estimated quote.
Connie was my contact for customer service through the whole experience and was very professional and provided us updates as the winter storm hit the southeast.
The movers showed up on time and was very professional.

We did not use this company because of an unpleasant experience on the sales side. Similar story to those mentioned below. The guy took an hour and 15 minutes to give me a quote. Very thourough, but a bit too chatty I thought. No big deal.
The follow up call was where the wheels fell off. The Beltmann sales manual must be stolen from a 1980s used car lot. How to Sell Stuff — Scare them; Lie to them; make them feel they are an idiot if they don’t use Beltmann. Hey Beltmann! How’s that workin’ out for ya?
The sales gentleman demanded to know why I needed several quotes. He asked the pricing and who they were. I mentioned one name and he said that they are horrible and operate illegally without license. «They don’t even wear uniforms.» Now that is an important selling point that I didn’t consider! What’s really funny is that the competitor is accredited by the BBB, which Beltmann is not, has a California PUC license and has 4.5 stars on Unilocal.Beltmann, you might want to pay attention to your 2 stars. Sales 101 — don’t say bad things about your competitors. It only makes you and your company look bad.
We shouldn’t be too hard on them. You’d be grumpy too if you were a moving estimator. I guess on a $ 2000 move they might make $ 60 commission before tax. We shouldn’t expect too much.

I had a great experience with Beltmann, and this was my second move with them, one with my company and one on my own. Cliff (the estimator) was excellent, very professional, courteous, honest, and responsive. He gave me a reasonable quote and worked with us to plan for our move, and didn’t nickle and dime us.
The movers were great, professional, had all of the right equipment, and everything was delivered in excellent condition.
I would use Beltmann again… a third time!

We moved from San Francisco to Seattle and had our belongings shipped over by Beltmann Group of San Leandro. The sales agent Cliff Biermann came to the house and gave us an estimate which was $ 400 above their competitor National Van Lines However he promised to make the delivery a week earlier than National Van Lines. Since we had two infants, we felt it was worth getting our belongings a week early and pay that extra $ 400 to Beltmann.
Our stuff was picked up on 19^th and were told that we should have our things on ⁸⁄₂₆. On 22^nd, we got a call Lani Ching (assistant) that our stuff will not be delivered until 30^th. She said they have a 5 day window to deliver and truck routes are changes accordingly and its is now scheduled to deliver on 30^th. We did not make a big deal out of it and also in the contract which we signed it was stated that belongings will be delivered no later than 8/​30, so they were still within their contractual obligation. On 29^th our credit card was charged for full amount. We assumed that meant that our belongings had arrived in Seattle Storage and on schedule to be delivered the next day
On 30^th, when we did not hear anything, we called Lani to check the status. She said it will be now delivered on ⁹⁄₄ instead. And when we pressed for details, she revealed that our stuff has not left California, it was still in their storage. She said that she is trying to get it shipped asap and it was clear from her voice that they forgot to ship our stuff.
Immediately Cliff Biermann calls and tries to give some excuses which was clearly bunch of lies. Once he realized that this time we were really upset, he promised us to refund $ 450 and he said over the phone that «it was his fault» and if he has to he will pay from his Sales commission if Beltamm group does not agree to the refund amount of $ 450. He promised the refund amount will be credited back to our credit card within a week
Finally we got our belongings on ⁹⁄₄ which was actually 10 days late. The truck driver told us that Cliff Biermann totally forgot to schedule the shipment of our container. It was only after we called them on ⁸⁄₃₀ that they rushed to schedule the shipment.
Anyways, now coming to the refund that was promised by Cliff Biermann. We waited another week before we called him to find the status of our refund and this time he completely changed his tone. He was rude and said that he cannot approve the refund and hung up .
Bottom line, Cliff Biermann is unprofessional. He is only interested in the sales, after that you are on your own. I will not use this company nor recommend them to anyone else. I wish Unilocal allowed me to give Zero star

The estimator Cliff is very professional. He was friendly and knowledgeable during the home visit, he answered all my questions. Even when he’s on the road, he’s still on top of things– very responsive on email!
So far, he’s making this whole entire cross country move process very seamless and easy. The quote I received so far is very competitive compared to the other movers around the area. I’m seriously considering this company due to Cliff and his friendly office staff despite the history of bad Unilocal reviews. (looks like most of them were from a previous ex– estimator)
I’ll post my comments once this entire process is complete. Hopefully my gut instinct is correct and the content of my 1 BR apt makes it in once piece cross country.

I never actually moved with Beltmann but scheduled a local move when I began escrow. I was initially told that, since it was a local move, no home visit was necessary and scheduled the move for the only saturday when I was not working that month. I confirmed this several times and was then told that I would need a home visit for an estimate. I was unable to schedule this due to my work and was told that the original «worst case scenario» and hourly rate would apply. All fine by me. I called to confirm a couple days before the move and was told intially that all was fine, then called back and told I would have to reschedule the following week. This was not possible for me and ultimately went with another ot the highly rated moving companies who was able to schedulel me at the last moment.

Squints P. is lucky. He/​she decided not to use this company based on the bad experience with the sales staff. I had the misfortune to have Beltmann conduct my international relocation based on a corporate replocation.
If you want to move office files, bricks, or the in-​laws’ hideous china collection you want to avoid inheriting, by all means select these guys. If you have anything fragile or dear to yourself, stay as far away from these people as you can. You can see a clear pattern here from other reviewers: delays, unprofessionalism, price gauging, poor service.
Tom Wickman, the «surveyor» was so much delayed that he had to cancel the appointment and come the next day. That was a waste of my time and should have been a warning sign already. He estimated that he can load and pack my 2BR condo in one day. Accordingly, I purchased air tickets for the evening of the following day.
On the scheduled packing day, Beltmann decided that they can make an extra buck or two by doing another move before mine. Instead of 8am, they arrived around noon with 3 people. Vern, the leader assessed correctly «no way we can get this done today». He actually packed pretty hard, which I cannot say of his cohorts. Those guys took all day to pack up a closet and a bookshelf and spent more time in the bathroom than packing. By end of the scheduled day maybe half was packed.
The worst part is their absolute carelessness about your personal belongings. My damage lists extends over 2 pages, 90% due to unprofessional packaging:
— open box of detergent put over clothing
— glass picture frames tossed into boxes without padding
— posters tossed into boxes without protection
— refused to box expensive furniture despite my explicit demand
— tossed my art projects in a big box as if it is garbage.
— etc etc
They finished at 7pm the *following* day, the day I had to depart. 26 hours behind schedule. Because I had to deregister and load my cars the second day, I was not able to supervise the move, which resulted in a nightmare upon delivery: out of 5 shelves, 3 were damages and one lost (!). Accordingly the unpack crew left me with a pile of boxes and the comment «you don’t have many shelves». Thanks to you!
On top of all this the crew also got into arguments with the building manager, which resulted in a hefty fine. It is sad that such unprofessional and careless people stay in business. I honestly have nothing better to say about this move. I hope you can avoid the same experience by choosing a better provider.

These people canceled my move on the day we had confirmed for over a week!!!
If you could choose no stars as an option for a rating they’d get 0 stars!!! This company’s whole operation is VERY unprofessional! Everyone we spoke to and worked with from rick the sales man, to the drivers, and the customer service person, was Extremely incompetent and I’d advise that you try Allied movers (They were a Very helpful, fast and hard working team!)

My boyfriend and I moved from Hawaii to North Berkeley and had to have our belongings shipped over. Our service from Kona Trans (the company that packed and shipped our container from Hawaii) was excellent. They told us we should have our things within four weeks. It actually took seven weeks. When I first got the call from Beltmann that our container was ready to be delivered I was at work. I returned their call on my lunch break and was told they would call me right back. Didn’t hear from them until the next day. They asked if they needed a parking permit. I found out that they did not, I had to work the next day so my boyfriend called to tell them they did not need a permit and he was told they would have to call him right back. They never did. It took us a whole week from the day they first called just to get an appointment for our delivery. Finally delivery day came and I called in the morning to verify the time. They stated clearly that it was for that day and the time would be between 12pm and 2pm. We waited at home all day and nobody showed up. Finally around 4pm I called to see what was going on and apparently someone thought our delivery was between 12pm and 2pm for the following day. This was after I called in the morning to verify and everything. They promised to make the delivery at 9am the next morning which they did and according to my boyfriend (I was at work) the delivery guys did a good job, but everything leading up to that really turned us off. Not worth the $ 2000 plus dollars we spent.

I too had the exact same experience as the poster Squints P.
Mr. Tobin showed up 45 minutes late to my home. Initially he seemed like a nice guy and began telling me how great his company was, etc. After his visit, he quoted me (over the phone) a huge price that was unrealistic and 2 thousand more than a top competitor. I informed him that I had shopped around and got a lower rate with a competitor. He demanded to know who they were and then he began to tell me all these negative things that would happen to my furniture if I went with anyone but his company. He gave me a highball price and then wanted to «work with me» after he found out I got a better price with another moving company. And to top off this madness, he has been calling me constantly day and night! This is unprofessional and harassing. Bottom line, this unprofessional behavior is the reason that I will not use this company and if he does not stop calling me, I will report him to the authorities.

I never ended up using this moving company because I had a bad experience with their sales consultant, Rick Tobin.
When Rick came to inspect my apartment, he had a very strange demeanor and was very nosey with papers that I had scattered around the house. Furthermore, I told Rick I was considering another moving company, and he demanded to know who and for what price. He made me feel uncomfortable that I was shopping around for the best price.
After he left he called me with a price that was higher than the other moving company. So I told him that I decided to use the other company and he got upset. He tried to make me feel bad about choosing them, even demanded to know my reasons for doing so. He said it didn’t make sense that I was choosing someone else and hung up on me.
It’s because of Rick that I did not choose the Beltmann Group.

I used this service to move me from California to Philadelphia. They were professional throughout the process. A representative came to inspect my apartment prior to the move and gave me an estimate that was lower than competitors. Moving crew was friendly and efficient. I liked that the same driver would be driving my belongings all the way to Philadelphia.
Due to mechanical difficulties, my items arrived more than a week late to Philadelphia. In addition, the unloading seemed less organized. My driver was friendly and available on his cell phone at all times. A good solution if you’re considering a cross-​country move.