Armstrong Relocation Co Illinois LLC

The move was a nightmare--one of the worse experiences of our lives (and worst move in 12 different moves). Both Armstrong (agent) and United Van Lines were to blame. The highlights: We were guaranteed arrival of our goods within 8 days of pick-up. But stuff never arrived. We were told they were too busy and couldn't find a driver. Day after day they gave us the same story and said they didn't know when our stuff would leave Chicago.  After 10 days delay OVER the guaranteed date, I contacted the Chicago Tribune and they ran a half page story on our dilemma.  Guess what--next day we got a call from United Corporate saying they suddenly found a driver! Our stuff arrived 11 days AFTER the guaranteed date...for which they compensated us only about half of our living expenses. And the only reason we got our stuff when we did was because of their negative publicity in the Tribune.
But the worst was yet to come. One significant box was missing--two pieces of high value, signed original artwork that, because we labeled it as high value, they promised would get extra care.  The pieces never showed up. They  were worth thousands of dollars and irreplaceable. Well, TWO MONTHS AFTER our move Armstrong told us they found the items. They were still at Armstrong, apparently. When they delivered the "lost" box a week later, we discovered it had been repackaged in a different box. We opened it to see our valuable artwork was covered with mold and water damage! And, of course, the frames were totally ruined as well. No heads up from Armstrong execs, no apology, just "here it is." Long story short, we were able to salvage the original prints thanks to an expensive restoring process, which took weeks and which United did pay for. But this was inexcusable--Armstrong and United showed absolutely no care for our belongings, particularly the "extra value" things. We also had several pieces of broken furniture and broken/chipped glassware among the items that they packed. 
 
Clearly, Armstrong/United overbooked (we had signed our contract many weeks before the move) and did not honor their delivery "guarantee." What a shameful way to run a business. And their care of our valuable  belongings? A joke. I can't say what they will be like for an inter-city move, but interstate? Based on our nightmare experience, draw your own conclusions.

They showed up 2.5 hrs late because they had not gassed up the truck in advance and got lost/no directions.HS kids could do better than that They could not pull into the loading dock, as promised, as the truck was too tall and they were not given the size truck I was told would hold the 3 crates. Had an incorrect bill of lading. Did not have the 3 crates/containers on the truck for which I was charged a premium cost for "safe" delivery. Avoid Scott Johnson, an estimator, whatever you do. A slick operator who lies and does not return calls even on moving day when everything went wrong!! He promises and says one thing and then hides when the scam comes unglued. Same goes for his so-called move coordinator, Amanda Puchta. Could not reach her either. Did finally receive an opportunity to speak to Corey Anderson, Pres., and Kate Durkin, United Customer Service. They tried to be helpful and were helpful finally and the company in Sarasota, Yarnall, was very good as were the crew who moved me in down here. Blame entirely is on the shoulders of Scott Johnson for his falsehoods, misrepresentation of services promised, and lack of communication. Do not deal with him!

They quoted us about $1500 to pack, and we had 90% of already packed, but they ended up billing us $1500 anyway to pack the little they did.  It seemed like they used a h*** of a lot of paper to increase their box count.  If humanly possible pack yourself.  Get everything into boxes and tell them it will be ready.  They will try to scare you into letting them pack.  Don't be intimidated.  Pack up as best you can and whatever isn't packed they can take by hand the throw it in the truck.  They work for you.  if you?re not completely packed, tough s*. 
They take excessive care moving things.  For instance they wrapped the easy chairs in cushions.  We could have told them not to worry about
it.  all of this padding everything takes time.  ok they should cover the glass, and take reasonable care, but that?s it.  our stuff is not that valuable.  We were just moving into storage locally, so we didn't need everything protected like a Van Gogh painting.
Now we can't find our TV stand.  we're ready to put up the TV, but no stand.  They probably just threw it in some random box.  They charged us $125 to pack the TV, and lost the stand.   
Make sure you tell them how you want it stored in the storage unit. For instance they should have put all the mattresses and furniture in
the back of the storage unit.  Leave the boxes and clothes near the front where we can get at them.  I didn?t realize they were saving the mattresses for the front, w**?  I did catch them putting dressers in front of everything, which I made them move to the side. 
10x30 vs. 10x 20.  Some people said 10x20, others said 10x30.  I went with the 10x30 because they couldn?t guarantee that everything would
fit.  It would have been a disaster if it didn?t fit and they had to move it again.   They were charging $177/hour. 
Turns out the 10x30 was the right decision.  I was able to bring out a lot of the boxes where we can get at them. 
We could have made all the arrangements with the storage place ahead of time so that we are not wasting time on moving day signing all the papers, getting the code, the lock, etc.  I should have gone over there that week and talked to them. and it was wasting time trying to decide 10x20 or 10x30.     And they didn't think they could fit their semi truck into the storage area, so they wasted time with that.  The girl at the storage unit seemed to think they were bs'ing us to waste time. 
And they forgot to pack the front closet.  so we had to cram that into our van during the walk through at closing.  what a nightmare!

It went very well.  They did an excellent job and were courteous and fast. There was really no damage.

First, a salesperson came out to our house & gave us an estimate for the move based on how much stuff we had. The estimate ended up being just an hour short of the actual time taken, which is pretty good. Armstrong also had the lowest hourly rate of the 4 companies we got estimates from. A 3-man crew came & did the job efficiently & competently. They took care to protect our belongings, and even threw in the packaging of a mirror for free.

They were pretty personable. They had a seamless process. They sent a person to meet me. He did a good job. He was quite open about the pricing. He made sure that he got me a good team of movers. He transitioned me over to the service superior who was very responsive about the entire process, from planning to changing schedules many times. There were slight damages in terms of scratches. They repaired everything they could and I had taken insurance. They had a new program for electronic products. They also guaranteed that all my electronic units would work. So when my TV wasn?t working, they gave me a check for the fair market value. I felt that was great. They set up my home entertainment unit. Their competitors had given me for quotes for lesser amounts, but I felt strongly about the service and quality provided by Armstrong Relocation. In addition to that, the protection provided to electronic products was a great deal. They came later than I expected though.