United Van Lines review: Cost, services and customer experience

United Van Lines at a glance

United Van Lines is one of our top moving companies. It is a full-service moving company with a long history of providing local, long-distance, international and corporate services to residents and businesses.

Fast facts

What we like

We awarded United Van Lines high scores in our ranking methodology because of its variety of services, long-standing reputation, number of valuation options and online options. The company offers excellent liability coverage, including full-value protection of at least $6 per pound of your shipment and a released-value liability plan for basic protection. The company’s basic protection plan is free and covers damage and loss of your belongings at? 60 cents per pound.

What we don’t like

We deducted points from United Van Lines because of a high volume of complaints, a lack of self-service options and limited availability in some locations. Although United Van Lines is available in most of the United States and Canada, it’s not available in four states, Puerto Rico, or other U.S. territories.

United Van Lines pros and cons

United Van Lines offers long-distance, cross-country, military and corporate moves and all kinds of moving services to help you move seamlessly. At the same time, United Van Lines reviews are mixed. Some customers report a smooth process from start to finish, while others report damaged possessions and denied claims. This suggests that the quality of the movers depends on the movers near you.

Pros

Cons

How much does United Van Lines cost?

United Van Lines says moving a two- to three-bedroom home long distance costs between $8,000 and $10,000 and that a four- or five-bedroom home costs between $10,000 and $17,000.

When we called United Van Lines to confirm cost information, we were redirected several times and told that pricing depends on the weight of the items rather than the home size. The representatives were not transparent about how much they charge per pound, so we averaged cost information from multiple online sources to get an idea of what United Van Lines costs.

Your costs will depend on your specific move. Prices can vary drastically depending on the size of your home, the distance and the add-ons you select. You could pay anywhere between $550 and $17,000.

For example, a one-bedroom apartment with a local move of fewer than 50 miles will fall at the lower end of the spectrum, while a five-bedroom cross-country move of over 2,500 miles will come in at the higher end.

*Cost information is based on averages. Actual costs may vary.

What services does United Van Lines offer?

United Van Lines offers various services to help you create a customized move for your home or business, including local, long-distance, interstate, cross-country, international and commercial moves.

The company has specialty training in packing fragile items through crating techniques. In addition, United Van Lines ships cars, offers junk hauling services after the move to clean up your former home and has nationwide storage facilities.

United Van Lines services

United Van Lines add-ons and optional features

United Van Lines offers several optional features to help you with your move. Each add-on is likely to increase the cost of your move, though United Van Lines representatives wouldn’t disclose cost information when we tried reaching out. You can find out how much your costs might increase by filling out their online quote or speaking with a representative for a virtual assessment.

Debris removal

United Van Lines offers debris removal services within 30 days of delivering your belongings to their destination. The company will send movers to pick up empty cartons, packing materials and waste so you can skip the cleaning process.

Fragile shipping

Whether you’re shipping antiques, artwork, collectibles or other fragile items, United Van Lines specializes in custom crating to help ensure that your valuables are packaged securely.

Oversized shipping

If you have oversized belongings, such as cars, motorcycles and pianos, United Van Lines provides bulk shipping services in addition to your typical shipping services.

Packing and unpacking

United Van Lines offers partial and full-service packing and unpacking services to help you customize your move.

Storage

Not everyone is ready to move into their new home or office right immediately. For those who need a place to store their belongings, United Van Lines works with storage companies so that you can unpack at your leisure. You can use United Van Lines’ mover search engine to find partnered storage and movers in your state and narrow it down by city for a comprehensive list of movers near you.

United Van Lines customer service and experience

If you need to contact customer service, you can call United Van Lines any time Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The company also offers a live chat option and its MyUnited Move Portal app for virtually managing your move.

With 34 customer reviews, United Van Lines has a rating of 1.29 out of 5 from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). According to the Federal Motor Carrier Association (FMCSA), there have been 52 complaints in the last three years. Of those complaints, none were reported as whistleblower accusations, 38 (roughly 75%) reported damaged belongings, and 24, or around 45%, involved claim settlements.

Here are a few positive and negative reviews that sum up shared customer experiences:

United Van Lines liability coverage

United Van Lines offers two liability coverage options and three full-service moving packages for added protection. Here’s how each option works.

Liability coverage options

The two liability coverage options are value protection and released-value liability plans. The released-value liability plan covers each of your belongings at $0.60 per pound. A typical, 9,000-pound home would have $1,800 in liability coverage.

If your valuables are worth more, you may want to choose the full value protection plan, which offers compensation for damaged items or replacements with a similar item. The total value you declare for your belongings must be at least the weight of each item multiplied by $6 per pound.

Full-service moving packages

United Van Lines is very transparent about the cost of their moving packages for full services. Each option gives you extra security and knowing that your belongings are safe from start to finish. Full-service moving packages go as follows:

United Van Lines vs. competitors

Compared to 51 other moving companies, United Van Lines ranks fourth on our list as the best moving company for liability coverage. The company’s full value protection plan provides excellent liability coverage with its $6 per pound liability. United Van Lines goes above and beyond to offer several compensation methods for damaged or lost items, such as extra valuation protection plans and additional delay payments of $250 per day for unresolved claims.

However, you may have other priorities that make another moving company a better fit. For example, North American Van Lines is known for its flexible pricing and may be better for those on a budget. Atlas Van Lines is available across all 50 states and may work best for moves to and from more remote locations, while Suddath Relocation Systems specializes in military moves.

United Van Lines competitor comparison

Methodology

We analyzed 52 moving companies according to the types of services, customization options, number of insurances, reputation, customer service, nationwide availability and more to calculate the best moving companies. The type of moving services and amount of customization options were the most significant factors in determining the overall score, as these features give customers the ability to make their own choices regarding their moves.

FAQs