Ace Moving & Storage- Allied Van Lines

I initially contacted Allied Van Lines for a quote on an interstate move and the local agent in Des Moines is Ace Moving and Storage.  They provided an in-house survey and estimate.  They were on time for this and the quote was reasonable, about $100 cheaper than the competition.  They did not ask for a deposit.  The load date was scheduled and they showed up that day.  That's about all that went right with this move, the remainder of which was an absolute catastrophe.  I did my research for both Allied and Ace before I made any reservations, and I couldn't find anything either too bad or too good on any third party, unbiased websites, this one included.  I went against my gut instinct and booked this move with Ace/Allied. 

     
On the loading day, the movers were over an hour late.  The foreman did not bring the usual labels (the colored labels with printed numbers on it), so he used some cheap colored labels and wrote the numbers for the inventory himself.  I had everything packed so the load was quick at about 2 hours.  During the load the movers broke one of my nightstands, which at the time I didn't care because it wasn't valuable and they were doing a good job up to that point.  The foreman then informed me that the truck was too small and they would need to return later in the day.  I thought this was rather amateurish, them being a national moving company, but I agreed.  They eventually told me that they were able to fit everything in the first time, so I had that going for me, which was nice.

I initially received a date for the unloading at my new apartment in Boston for June 28.  I couldn't reserve the freight elevator that day, so Ace/Allied worked with me to coordinate the unloading day with the availability of the elevator.  They then gave me unload dates of July 3, and then July 5.  I had the elevator reserved.  When I went to confirm the date, I was informed that driver Allied scheduled to transport my stuff from Iowa to Boston never got my furniture because his truck was full.  So my stuff sat in Iowa well after the July 5 date.  I began my new job at the hospital without any of my medical equipment, books, or clothes.  Lo and behold, my stuff was finally delivered July 25.  
For delivery, the driver called the day before (July 24) and said he would arrive at 9 am the following morning.  Well, he arrived well after 11 am and he had a truck that was too small so he only had about 80% of my things.  He had to make a second trip to deliver the rest and he finally finished around 4pm or so.  The best part was that I had to be in work by 3pm and my fiancee had to leave her new job early that day to wait for these clowns. 
In the end, Ace/Allied lost or stole about 10 boxes of mine and damaged 4 pieces of furniture.   It turns out that the majority of the little dot labels that the first incompetent foreman used to number my things either fell off completely or were transferred to other boxes, which had multiple labels.  After going through all my things and taking inventory of what was lost/stolen, I filed a claim for lost and damaged items as well as compensation for late delivery.  The claims process was easy.  It was all online and quick.  However, they compensated me a paltry sum for what was missing, and since they didn't pack the boxes, they couldn't verify the contents so they paid me what an average box that size would cost.  Total rip-off.  
In retrospect, I should have filed a police report and hired an attorney to deal with these companies.  When I retrospect further, I should have never hired them in the first place.  Incompetent, bumbling, unprofessional, slack-jawed clowns that I surmise are failures at most endeavors.  I cannot recommend these loser companies for any moving services and I totally regret that I did hire them. 

July 30th - 2 packers the first day, a third came to help on the second day.  The packers split up around the house working on different areas.  Although I did float around the packers trying to double check, I also had to leave the premises on the second day for about an hour.  The packers commented on how many more boxes there were than were quoted, and it was going to wind up being a lot more than the estimator thought.  They then commented on how they get paid a percentage of the total amount.  I told them I had a maximum price quoted, and they told me it was not on the paperwork.  I produced the email for the main office detailing that it was a maximum price.  Items packed before they knew this were overpacked, i.e. numerous boxes with one item wrapped in 10-15 sheets of paper.  (one such item was a cast!)  After they knew they would not be getting more money, items were merely dumped in boxes with one sheet of paper on top (i.e. all the nails/screws in the garage, drawers from the office combined and dumped etc.)  Again, with three packers in the house, it was very difficult to supervise.  One of the packers commented about a file cabinet that I needed to donate, and claimed that she had a friend who worked in a thrift store if I wanted her to take it in.  I agreed, because we needed it to not be put on the truck.  The packers got it loaded onto their truck themselves, and left quickly for the end of the day.  They sped through the paperwork, (the moving companies indicate that you are supposed to check off each number and box, and the items the packers place in them, although that would slow the process down by several days, and the packers by splitting up guarantee that unless you have one adult assigned to watch each packer, there is no way to guarantee what is in the boxes.  Several of our boxes in the basement storage (already packed in tubs by us) were opened, and repacked to "make sure they were done right".  One box contained my sons' coin collection (which he and my father-in-law finished the week before my father-in-law died).  There are now several missing coins, 6 Peace silver dollars, and 3 Eisenhower silver dollars.  
The movers were scheduled for 8:00 am on that Thursday (Aug. 2).  They showed up late, with a crew of movers who were all new to the job (within a month of being hired).  The driver had wanted to quit that morning, and we heard a lot about how ACE doesn't pay well, sometimes they don't pay on time, they can't get raises, etc.  There was no one clear person in charge.  All the movers just started grabbing things and taking them out.  They didn't put down floor protection, they didn't use pads on most of the items and many of our walls got damaged.  One worker pinched his hand, and left blood smears on the walls.  Because so many of them had questions that we needed to answer throughout the house, we did not stand and check off the number of the boxes (nor were we asked to, or was it suggested).  The truck was subsequently not loaded well or organized.  It was chaotic.  My husband and I wound up helping them move furniture, because they were unable to work together to get it done.  The movers were there until 9:45 at night, and did not get all of it on the truck.  Because our closing was at 9:00 in the morning in Omaha, we stayed until nearly 11:30 trying to clean up some of the damage.
The unloading crew in Omaha was much better (but they do not work for Ace Moving and Storage).  But they were astounded at the way the truck was loaded, and they made no suggestions or requests to have us check things off as they came off the truck.  There were multiple movers taking items off the truck and entering at different points of the house.  Again, if we had tried to slow them down to check, they would have needed several more days.  
Within 10 days, we had every box opened, unpacked and materials out to the curb.  In the course of our unpacking, we discovered at least one box missing (they claim we must have it because we signed off on it).  It coincidently contains our wedding silver and numerous other items.  We also discovered the missing coins.  
Ace did hire someone to fix the damage to the house, but told us for a claim we would need to file with Allied corporate.  They claim since we signed off, we can't prove that they are responsible.  We believe the packers opened the coins and pocketed some out of the book, and grabbed the box containing the silverware.  Our next course of action is to file a police report, and the Better Business Bureau, Angie's List, Yelp, and any other reviews we can to let other people know how truly horrible this experience was.

I think they are locally owned or franchised; the corporate company is Allied Van lines. They were a day late. It is unlikely that I would use them again in the future.