Howard's VanLine LLC

overcharged . hostage . unprofessional . baitswitch

Told consumers they were not a broker. Atlas Movers showed up early before they were ready. Belongings held hostage for an additional $11,541. Threatened to send belongings to auction on 6/5. 45 days later texted offering a "discounted price" of $9,400 to schedule delivery. Consumer asked for proof they still have belongings, never received it.

Submitted to Trunk 2026-07-28 . See full report

noshow . overcharged . baitswitch

Paid $1,800 deposit via ACH check. Movers showed up three days late. Demanded an additional $10,000 before loading anything. Consumer refused. They drove off and will not return the deposit. Claimed consumer "refused to move" because he did not agree to the higher price. Quoted $3,300, demanded $12,450 (277% increase).

Submitted to Trunk 2026-07-29 . See full report

overcharged . hostage . stolen . unprofessional

First pickup date (6/26) cancelled last minute. Rescheduled for 6/27 in Henrietta, NY. Price immediately jumped an additional $4,500 over binding estimate of $2,709.72. Movers claimed items were antique and needed special care. Demanded $2,200 in money orders at pickup and stated $2,300 due at Mississippi delivery. No paperwork provided after signing under duress while trying to empty deceased mother-in-law's apartment by 6/30. Movers left with furniture and 5 small boxes intended for active duty Navy son and his family in Mississippi. Howard's failed to provide Bill of Lading after multiple requests. Consumer got $1,293 deposit back from credit card company. Filed FMCSA complaint and police report with Monroe County NY Sheriff. Received threatening text from employee named Deborah demanding payment after learning credit card reversed the deposit. No word since from Howard's.

Submitted to Trunk 2026-07-20 . See full report

overcharged . baitswitch

Was told the move would be $3,000 and at drop off needed to pay $500. Was fine with that. Drove down to destination and within a day or two they asked for an additional $5,450. Which does not make sense.

Submitted to Trunk 2026-07-29 . See full report

overcharged . baitswitch

Called three moving companies and got quotes from all. Went with Howard's as it was in the middle. Quoted $3,400 to move equipment from San Diego to Oklahoma. Sent pictures, videos, detailed email with every machine and weight, plus drone aerial shot before they came. Was told no problem. Movers came out, looked at it, laughed, and drove away. Came back an hour later and said they would do it for $12,800. Consumer said never mind, requested deposit back. Howard's refused, claiming consumer "refused to move." Lost $1,800 deposit.

Submitted to Trunk 2026-07-30 . See full report

bait and switch . overcharged . hostage load . damaged . stolen . unprofessional

We started looking for movers in early February. Howards was not the cheapest company, but it was not the most expensive either. February 6, 2026 The salesperson made the company sound honest and reliable. We had also read several positive reviews and believed they were a trustworthy moving company. February 16, 2026 I signed the contract after reading it carefully and asking questions. The salesperson, Robert Knight, assured me that the contract was mostly a formality. He said they already had a truck headed to Tampa and that our belongings would be delivered within a few days. We scheduled the pickup for March 5 because we were closing on our house on March 6. I paid half of the quoted price, $3,321.82, from the total estimate of $6,845.40. Another quarter was due at pickup, and the remaining $1,660.92 was due at delivery. February 26, 2026 As promised, the company called to review our move. During that call, I removed six items from the inventory list. I should have received a reduction in the estimate, but that never happened. Instead, I was told that 40 boxes would not be enough because anything not listed on the inventory would count as a box. To avoid problems, we increased the estimate to 90 boxes, which added about $1,600 to the cost. I paid that amount the same day after being assured that any unused boxes and the six removed items would be refunded. To this day, no refund has been issued. March 3, 2026 The company called and said they wanted to pick up our belongings on March 4. We repeatedly told them that the pickup date had always been March 5. After considerable back-and-forth, they finally agreed to keep the original date. March 5, 2026 The movers arrived in an unmarked truck. Neither the driver nor the crew wore anything identifying them as Howards employees. The driver repeatedly claimed that he worked for Howards. The other workers did not speak English. After walking through our house, the driver said we had far more belongings than expected and demanded an additional $8,000 instead of the $1,660.92 that was originally due. At that point, I felt trapped. We were closing on our house the next day, everything was packed, and I already had a flight booked to Florida. Finding another moving company on such short notice was impossible. Knowing this, they pressured us into paying more. We eventually agreed to pay $4,000 immediately and another $4,000 upon delivery. The final price was now more than double the original guaranteed estimate. March 6-27, 2026 During this period, I called the company every day and sent daily emails to customer service. The responses were always the same: During the first week, we were told our belongings were "in the final stages of being loaded." During the second week, we were told the company had seven business days to move our shipment. During the third week, we were told our belongings had been loaded onto a truck and were on the way. When that story could no longer be maintained, they returned to saying our belongings were still "in the final stages of being loaded." Eventually, I asked if I could simply pick up my belongings myself because I no longer cared about the money. Every representative said they would check, but no one ever followed up. We contacted the Upper Darby Police Department. The officer who spoke with the company was told that our contract gave them an additional 14 days before they could be considered in default. We also contacted police in Fairfield, New Jersey. We knew our belongings were there because we had placed a tracking device inside our china cabinet. The tracker showed our belongings at a Noble Moving and Storage warehouse in Fairfield. The USDOT number on the truck that picked up our belongings was associated with that company. The warehouse was only a few blocks from the address Howards listed as its office, which appeared to be vacant. Fairfield police reported that they could not locate anyone at the listed office address. They assigned a detective to the case, but he was overwhelmed by the number of complaints. We also contacted the New Smyrna Beach Police Department, but they advised us to continue working with the Upper Darby Police Department. March 26, 2026 We received a call saying a driver would contact us with an estimated delivery time and that we should have cash or a cashier's check ready. Since we had heard similar promises before, we were skeptical. March 27, 2026 The driver called and said he would arrive the next day. We obtained a cashier's check for the remaining balance. March 28, 2026 The truck arrived around 9:00 PM. We were then told that payment had to be made in cash or by USPS money order. We explained that we had been instructed to obtain a cashier's check. The driver called his supervisor, who yelled at us and claimed no employee would have told us to bring a cashier's check. The driver eventually left and said that if we could get the money by the next day, he would deliver our belongings, but it would cost an additional $500. Because it was late Saturday night, we were unable to obtain the money. March 29, 2026 Fortunately, a local TD Bank was open. We withdrew $5,000 using our Bank of America credit card, which cost us approximately $350 in additional fees. We called the driver and told him we had the money. He arrived with one helper who did not speak English. The driver called his supervisor and handed me the phone. The supervisor again yelled at me and claimed the additional charge was not $500 but $1,500. I told him we did not have that amount. He responded that if delivery was delayed until Monday, the charge would increase to $3,000. After a lengthy argument, we agreed to an additional $750 because that was all I could pay, and I informed him that the police would be contacted if the situation continued. The driver and helper unloaded the truck, but they did not provide the level of service we had paid for. We had been told our furniture would be placed and reassembled as it had been in our previous home. Instead, the driver said they only unload items and leave. When I asked him to contact his supervisor, the supervisor stopped answering his calls. Before the truck left, we discovered that our safes had not been delivered. My husband checked the truck and found one of them still inside. The driver claimed he had another load and that the safe might be mixed with someone else's belongings. He said he would call us if he found it, but he never did. We later discovered that one of our safes, a vacuum cleaner, and a suitcase were missing. In addition, many of our belongings were damaged, including: A rocking chair, Mugs and glasses, Pampered Chef cookware, Hardware for our kitchen table. The wheels on one of our storage shelves were also severely bent. The metal stems were more than an inch thick, suggesting that an extremely heavy object had been placed on top of the unit during transport. Aftermath Since receiving our belongings, I have repeatedly called and emailed Howards without success. They continue to claim they are looking for our missing items. I filed a claim through the company that handles claims for Howards, no response. I contact the Department of Transportation with a claim, no response. I have contacted our local investigative news team, no response. I also contacted ICE because I believe some of the workers may have been undocumented and potentially exploited, no response. The driver who delivered our belongings told us the company had organized crime connections. Based on our experience, their paperwork, and their business practices, I believe they operate like professional scammers. Their contracts appear designed to protect them from responsibility while leaving customers with little recourse. This move was one of the most stressful and frustrating experiences we have ever endured.

Submitted to Trunk 2026-08-07 . See full report

stolen . no show . bait and switch . hostage load

Huge Van Lines contracted Howard Van Lines to pickup in Town & Country, MO without us knowing this. Driver was Jordan, other 2 guys could not speak English, Jordan barely could, They were supposed to pickup in a 28 boxbed, arrived in an almost full semi that said Howards. All we get are LIES, can only call CS at Huge VL. Sam (F), supposedly in management, will not take our calls! Howards tried to charge an extra 000 at pickup, we DID NOT pay, therefore they only took part of furniture/items-THANK GOD! We had delivery date from driver, no show! CS (Huge) del date, no calls or del. Owner of Howard Van Lines: Joe Hannoush, 108 Washington Ave # A, Hawthorne, NJ 07506. He denies owning Howards, but shortly after my husband called him, the driver Jordan called Steve and said Joe wanted to know how we got his info! 1st person I talked to was Shane Nieuwsma. Other names in CS (Huge): Jan, Irene, Ann, Nerd, Stef, Dawn, Kim, Debra Fox in processing, Brian, higher than CS. They also use Choice Van Line name.

Submitted to Trunk 2026-08-20 . See full report

hostage load . damaged . overcharged . stolen . unprofessional . bait and switch

Hired Americas Moving and Storage. Was told lies. 1st contract was 6,700. Week before final count quote went to 12,700. Moving day at 5pm Howards pulled in our driveway and said the other company is gone. Boss David gets on cell phone and says the new price is 24,700. When we asked about our 6700 deposit we were told that was with them. I tried to call Bret at Americas Moving and Storage and he stopped answering my calls the minute Howards pulled in the driveway. We had no choice but to pay them. They knew we had to be out of our home by 8:30 am on 5/20. They pushed us to the limit by showing up to move a 16,000 sq ft home with box trucks driving it to unload then coming back for more stuff 3 times in 15 hours. We had no choice because we would have lost 6,700. Knowing what we know now we would have gladly lost that instead of the 35k plus. That was 5/19, our delivery date was 5/22. We were going from Illinois to Georgia. 5/22 came and went, They would not tell us where our belongings were. We were calling every day. Then about 6/13 we got a call while the Sheriff was standing in our living room. Put David on speaker phone as he again told us that they couldnt bring their truck in the sub division, it was against the law so they needed an additional 7,000 cash along with the 7,000 we still owed them. Sheriff spoke up identifying himself and stated Sir that is absolutely incorrect. This is a military sub division and theres 18 wheelers in here all the time moving people. Pull it right in. He then started quoting some crap from his fake contract he said his driver is not comfortable being the 18 wheeler in. He told us and the Sheriffs officer heard him that if we wanted our stuff we would pay. Sheriff watched me count the cash stating he couldnt get involved its a civil matter. Bottom line what they brought was either broken or destroyed and the rest was stolen. When they left they said the truck would be back in the morning with the rest of our stuff and to put our furniture together and clean up the mess they left. 8:30 am they would be here. 8:30 came and went at about 11 I started calling David. He finally answered in the afternoon. He was screening his calls. I told him what the drivers said when they left and we are missing a lot of big ticket items. He had the nerve to say what you missing like 5 things. And said 5 things are you kidding me and I started to rattle off what we were still missing - king size platform bed, king size mattress and box springs, queen size mattress and box springs, patio furniture. He started to yell my men are gone what do you want from me. I said my stuff that I paid heafty for. I tell you 3 times, 3 times I tell you. And hung up. Never saw or heard from them again. Called for weeks after right to voicemail.

Submitted to Trunk 2026-08-26 . See full report

stolen . damaged

We also have lost a lot from Howard Van Lines. A horrible nightmare.

Submitted to Trunk 2026-09-05 . See full report

other

Howards is about to go down in a big way! Theyre going to get you from the owner down to the last customer service idiot hired. You dont ever mess with a Battleship sailor, theyll bite back.

Submitted to Trunk 2026-08-21 . See full report

nondelivery . hostage load . no show . overcharged

They are refusing to disclose the location of my household items. Their contract obligation ended on the 14th of August. Last I was verbally informed was my items were loaded on August 25th.

Submitted to Trunk 2026-09-09 . See full report