2 Aug 2025 · MoveAdvisor
1.0 out of 51.0
In April of 2023, Allied Van Lines picked up my belongings from our 4 bedroom house in South Carolina, stored them for 7 months, and delivered them to our house in Santa Fe, NM on November 23, 2023. Prior to the move, I told the mover that my belongings included a large number of old and rare books- most of which were expensive and difficult to replace- that needed careful handling. I also bought insurance (extra care protection) for the books with a valuation of $150,000.00, documented in my contract. There were more than 400 cardboard boxes in the move, and the cost of moving and storage was $61,847.
It took weeks to open all the boxes, but when I did, I discovered that 110 of the books were missing, and an additional 21 books were severely damaged. Many pieces of furniture were badly damaged, and many of the boxes had been crushed by the movers.
Allied conducted a trace/search for the missing items, but could not find them. They had lost my items.
Using an inventory of the books that I had made prior to the move, and consulting websites such as Amazon and AbeBooks, I calculated what it would cost to replace the books, which came to $44,289, well under the $150,000 coverage that I had purchased from Allied.
I submitted a claim to Allied, but they refused to honor the insurance (extra care protection) that I had purchased from them. Instead of using any reasonable valuation of the books, they calculated their reimbursement as if the boxes contained ordinary household items rather than rare books, and calculated their reimbursment at the rate of $125/box. And they based their reimbursement of the damaged books as if their age prior to the damage made them less valuable - but in fact the opposite is true, old and rare books are more valuable. Their total offer for the missing and damaged books was $5,576, less than 13% of what it would cost to replace the books.
I filed an appeal with Allied, but they refused to rethink their offer.
In other words: I informed Allied that the moved items included a large number of rare, valuable and expensive books; they assured me they would treat them carefully; I bought insurance (extra value protection) form Allied, and told them (in writing) that the valuation of the books was $150,000; they lost 110 of the books and badly damaged 21 books; Allied refused to honor the insurance I bought from them and calculated their reimbursement as if the boxes contained ordinary household objects rather than expensive books, and calculated their reimbursement for the damaged books as if old books were of little value - despite a careful analysis of the replacement costs of the books. Allied refused to change their calculations after appeal.
Allied lost and damaged my rare books, ignored their responsibility to honor their insurance (extra care protection) that included $150,000 coverage, and gave me less than 13% of the true replacement value of the books. They badly damaged much of my furniture as well, and many of the boxes were crushed. Allied did not take care of my belongings as promised, despite knowing that they were valuable, and refused to honor their insurance responsibilities - acts that could be described as deceptive and dishonest. STAY AWAY FROM ALLIED!!
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