Moving Experience: Mark’s Move with Allied Van Lines
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In mid-2025, Mark and his wife needed to move from Winston-Salem, NC to Rehoboth, MA for his wife’s new job. Moving from a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment to a larger three-bedroom apartment was an exciting prospect, but like any long-distance move, getting everything ready for the big day was also somewhat intimidating.
Mark was concerned about choosing the right full-service moving company for the move. As part of his research, he came across moveBuddha and the Better Moves Project. In addition to checking out other real customer reviews as part of his research, Mark decided to also participate by sharing his experience in exchange for a $500 stipend.
After a lot of research, Mark ultimately decided to use Allied Van Lines for his move – and they came through with excellent results from start to finish.
Here’s a closer look at how they did.
Move day takeaways for Allied customers
- Communication: Mark appreciated Allied’s prompt and proactive communication. His moving coordinator was great at keeping him updated, and he could always count on timely responses to emails and texts whenever he had a question.
- Pricing accuracy and transparency: Mark’s final cost was the exact same as his initial quote. Allied’s representative was transparent about the possible need to use a shuttle to get items out of his old apartment and included that in the initial quote.
- Timeliness: The movers showed up on time for both moving day and delivery. Mark’s belongings were delivered to his new home in just five days!
- Professionalism: Allied’s moving teams were efficient and treated Mark’s belongings with care. Both the moving teams and Mark’s moving coordinator were polite, accommodating, and responsive.
- Loss and damage: Mark’s television was damaged, but everything else arrived intact. He was able to quickly fill out a claim form after getting in touch with his move representative.
- Would Mark use Allied again? Yes. Mark felt that Allied’s communication and efficiency were top-notch throughout the move, making them an easy choice for future long-distance moves.
Mark needed help moving from North Carolina to Massachusetts
Mark and his wife decided to move for her new job about five months before their actual moving date, which gave them plenty of time to look into their options.
Going into their move, Mark was concerned about belongings getting lost, or getting charged a significantly higher price upon delivery than what they were originally quoted.
Mark and his wife wanted professional help with their move, but they didn’t want to stress about replacing items that were lost or broken because they weren’t handled with care. Family and friends had warned them to do their research, ask a lot of questions, and watch out for moving scams – advice that they took to heart.
Mark’s move at a glance
| Move date | June 20, 2025 |
| Moved from | Winston-Salem, NC |
| Moved to | Rehoboth, MA |
| Distance | 733 miles |
| Move size | 2-bed, 2-bath apartment (1400 square feet) |
| Moving company | Allied Van Lines |
| Moving quote | $5,191.32 |
| Actual cost | $5,191.32 |
Mark got several quotes before choosing Allied
Mark admits he went a bit above and beyond when it came to getting moving quotes. After looking at information on the FMCSA’s SAFER website, moveBuddha, and other resources, he ended up getting quotes from 10 different moving companies. In addition to standard moving labor, he and his wife also wanted furniture disassembly and considered professional packing.
Mark got virtual quotes from every moving company he contacted except for Allied, which conducted an in-person estimate (more on that later). Because each company’s process for doing quotes is different, he felt a little overwhelmed with the process because of their policy and pricing discrepancies.
At moveBuddha, we recommend narrowing down your search ahead of time and getting three to four quotes to help keep things manageable.
Here’s how Mark’s quotes compared:
| Company | Estimated size | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| Allied Van Lines | 5,579 pounds | $5,191.32 without packing $6,757.32 with packing |
| Safebound Moving & Storage | 875 cubic feet | $4,125.31 |
| Mayzlin Relocation | 896 cubic feet | $4,464.00 |
| American Van Lines | 6,686 pounds | $5,298.71 |
| International Van Lines | 807 cubic feet | $4,977.09 |
| Solomon & Sons | 1,001 cubic feet | $5,977.00 |
| Atlantic Relocation Systems | 915 cubic feet | $5,335.50 |
| EE Ward Moving & Storage | 5,201 pounds | $5,565.14 |
| Interstate Moving | 967 cubic feet | $4,673.84 |
| Safeway Moving | 950 cubic feet | $5,638.00 |
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Allied’s quoting experience won Mark over
Even after doing online research, Mark still felt uncertain about which moving company he should choose.
However, the quoting experience with Allied ultimately proved to be the difference-maker. For one thing, the fact that Allied performed an in-person estimate gave Mark a lot more confidence in the accuracy of the quote.
Allied’s representative was also upfront with Mark about the likely need for a shuttle to access his downtown apartment – something that was only included in the terms and conditions of the other movers. Allied included the shuttle in its initial quote, while other movers would only account for it after they were asked.
The in-person representative also gave Mark greater confidence by providing a binding estimate that would be valid as long as their inventory didn’t change, and confirmed they wouldn’t have to pay elevator or long carry fees. After getting quotes for service with or without professional packing, Mark and his wife opted to pack their items themselves (which came out about $1,500 cheaper).
Mark’s moving day experience went great
Leading up to moving day, Mark’s moving coordinator did a good job keeping in contact and responding to any questions he had. Allied confirmed moving details the week of the move, with an expected arrival window given the day before.
On moving day itself, the moving team arrived at 8:45 – well within the 8-9 AM window they’d given. Mark found the team of three movers to be very personable and professional, asking questions to check if anything wasn’t being taken and ensuring that he knew where spare screws or nails from furniture were located.
The team worked quickly and efficiently while Mark worked from home on his laptop, finishing the job in a little less than three hours. As the Allied representative expected, they needed to use a shuttle to transport Mark’s items to the truck, but this had already been communicated and noted in his contract. While Mark was a little concerned that some furniture pieces hadn’t been protected with blankets when loaded onto the truck, he felt that overall, the movers handled his belongings with care.
Delivery also lived up to expectations
Like many long-distance movers, Allied initially gave a fairly broad delivery window. However, after Mark realized that he and his wife would be traveling on one of their potential delivery dates, he reached out to Allied. Their move coordinator quickly confirmed that their belongings would be delivered the Wednesday before their trip – just five days after the initial move date. That Tuesday, the driver called to confirm his arrival time for the next day.
Just like with moving day, the delivery team showed up on time. The driver and his moving helpers walked through the new building first to determine where to park their truck and how to get the items to Mark’s apartment. Boxes and other items were brought in with a dolly or cart. The movers called out which box they had when they brought it inside so Mark could mark it off his own inventory sheet. Unloading and furniture setup was finished in less than three hours.
One thing that caught Mark by surprise was that his driver arrived in a North American Van Lines truck. As the driver explained, this was because NAVL and Allied are owned by the same parent company – but we can understand how this would be confusing!
The only real mishap was that Mark’s TV was damaged beyond repair during the move. When he contacted their move coordinator, she immediately directed him to a claims form, which was easy to complete. Everything else arrived safe and sound. While Mark and his wife wished that their TV hadn’t been damaged, they understood that some kind of damage is inevitable with long-distance moving, and Allied’s claims process worked well.
Best of all, they didn’t have to pay a penny more than they were originally quoted for the move, which had been a concern beforehand.
The verdict – how did Allied stack up?
From start to finish, Allied delivered a great experience for Mark and his wife. A combination of a transparent and upfront quoting process, quality communication, and friendly and professional moving crews gave Mark and his wife peace of mind. Most importantly, Allied treated their belongings with care and provided timely and safe delivery to their new home.
While there were a few small hiccups along the way (just like pretty much every long-distance move), Allied fulfilled their promises and left Mark pleased with the move. Thanks to Allied’s communication and efficiency, he would gladly use them again.
Here’s how Mark rated Allied on a scale of 1 to 5:
- Communication: 5
- Timeliness: 5
- Quote accuracy: 5
- Overall experience: 5
Mark’s advice for anyone planning a move like his
For anyone else planning to use a full-service mover like Mark did, he advises doing a lot of research in advance. This played a big role in helping him have confidence when getting quotes from moving coordinators with different companies and making a selection he felt comfortable with.
By using resources like the FMCSA’s SAFER website and moveBuddha, you can get a better idea of how different moving companies stack up, and which carriers are truly reputable. With a dependable mover and the understanding that something will get lost or broken in pretty much any move, you can be better prepared and have a smoother experience.
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