ATLAS VAN LINES- A-1 METRO MOVERS- OMAHA

Atlas Van Lines, known locally as Daniel’s Moving and Storage (and formerly as A-1 Metro Movers) in Omaha, NE, moved our belongings from our apartment in Omaha to Meridian, Idaho the end of August, 2013. Our experience overall was not good and I would not recommend this company. We were promised the moving van would arrive on August 23 fairly early in the morning. After some phone calls, we were assured that they were on their way. It was about 10 am when they arrived. What a surprise it was to see that the van was not a van, but rather a rental truck. We were told then that the plan was that they would load up our belongings, take them to a warehouse and unload them, and then arrange to load the van to take our possessions to Idaho. We had not been told previously of this load, unload, and reload process. This makesno sense to us, as there is much more chance of damage from all this multiple handling. The men started working right away, but after a few minutes we were informed that they did not have all the necessary materials to do the inventory as they loaded the truck. The crew contacted the office and it was arranged for another truck to bring the needed items to them. The crew continued working, doing what they could do until the materials arrived. The crew worked hard and got the truck loaded in about 4 hours. I provided lunch for the crew from Schlotzskys and the men were appreciated of this gesture. After the truck was loaded, the crew needed to complete loading of our belongings at a storage unit at a site about 4 miles away. Of course, the crew needed to stop at a convenience store to pick up cigarettes, so that added probably about another 40 to 45 minutes onto the schedule because the store was out of the way. At the storage unit, I realized one of the men did not have much training. A couple times, he actually placed our belongings underneath the truck lift. When another worker lowered the lift, our belongings were crushed underneath. This happened twice before he learned not to do this. As the men worked, this untrained worker complained that he needed to leave before the work would be completed. I found out then that he was a temporary worker they hired. As the men got more of the truck loaded, they realized all our belongings would not fit into the truck, so they called the office to arrange for another truck. At first, there was no response from the office as to what would be done to solve this problem. But after a while, another truck was arranged and the last of our belongings were loaded into it. We were told that our belongings would arrive at destination within 12 days. They could not give us any estimate, not even a guess. They told us that we would be notified the day before delivery; however, we were not notified of delivery until 2 hours before arrival. It took 10 days for delivery of our goods, which was on September 2. Our belongings were promptly unloaded and placed as directed. The crew did work to assemble as much furniture as possible. Our bicycle was not assembled properly, though, and we had to take it to a bicycle shop to correct the way it was assembled and to assure us it was safe to ride. There was damage to 7 items and, fortunately, we did have insurance to cover these. One storage cabinet that was damaged was needed immediately for our use, so I personally repaired the broken footboard at the bottom of it at my own expense. A claim for the other 6 items was promptly submitted on September 6, four days after delivery. We did not hear of any arrangements for repairs until October 3, when an email informed us of a local company to repair our items. Some repairs were completed and arrangements were made for our sofa to be picked up for upholstery cleaning. There were some items that could not be repaired and we understood that a cash offer would be made for us to arrange other repairs or replacements. However, we heard nothing about settling our claim until I emailed them on November 23 to inquire on the status of our claim. Finally, on December 9 an email reply came saying there was no paperwork submitted from the local company that did the repairs. I contacted the local company and they said that the report had been submitted, but that they would email it once again. On December 13 a settlement / release form was emailed to us and we immediately signed it and emailed it back the same day. Finally, an email was received on December 27 apologizing for the delay and telling us that the claim had been processed and a check would be printed and mailed on Dec 31. So the total time it took from when the claim was submitted to the date the check was mailed was 116 days. I honestly believe the company used many excuses to delay settling the claim. In summary, we found some of the crews to be experienced and very hard working; however, the overall experience was very unprofessional and inept at handling the moving of our furnishings.

Estimator was professional and helpful. Loaders showed up on time and were efficient and quick Issue came up when they did not pack the connectors for the dining room table, dresser mirror and pegs for upper section of dining room buffet. They also lost the front posts that hold the upper front section up and broke one of the supports for the posts off of the upper section. When contacted, the company initially claimed that they did not disassemble the table and then when pressed said that they put the parts in the drawer of the buffet. Upon checking, the drawers were empty. I have not filed an official claim to date so I do not know how this will end up. The delivery driver was very professional and tried to assist. The loaders were very basic and did not know to put the drawers back in the desk. The driver did all the assembly that he could and did not note that the desk had not been put back together. But then again, neither did I until I went to set up the room.

They were very careful with my stuff and they packaged it well.

They were punctual, courteous and polite while they were packing and loading our furniture. All of our property arrived as scheduled and was undamaged. The loading and unpacking was a success as well and they did a great job.

The guys did a real good job and they didn't break or damage anything. I thought that was pretty good considering all the furniture we have. They were friendly, hardworking and showed up on time. The company is very reputable and has been in business for along time.