SIRVA Relocation Review (2023)

SIRVA was founded in 1997 and has a global presence, with moving operations in more than 1,400 cities across more than 170 countries.

The moving company has its own van lines, including Allied Van Lines and North American Van Lines. In addition to offering an array of moving services, SIRVA offers specific relocation services.

The This Old House Reviews Team has created this in-depth SIRVA review to help you determine if it’s the best moving company for you. We’ve evaluated service offerings, availability, customer service, and more. You can reach out to SIRVA’s customer service team for a free quote on your move.

SIRVA has the resources of an international company, as well as several company-owned van lines to keep every step of the move in-house. That could suggest a high level of standardized care.

SIRVA provides traditional moving services with its company-owned vans and experts as well as DIY moving services with specialty pods called SMARTBOX.

Pros & Cons of SIRVA

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of SIRVA relocation services:
✔ Professional or DIY SMARTBOX option
✔ Packing material removal done by the movers
✔ Worldwide network of services
✘ Website lacks service details
✘ Only available in nine cities in the U.S.

SIRVA Relocation Services

SIRVA offers a variety of moving and relocation services, both for personal customers and for businesses. The company offers services for local moves, international moves, long-distance moves, and interstate moves.

• Household Goods Moving: SIRVA’s end-to-end management is integrated in the delivery service and uses its own van lines to move household goods.
• Do it Yourself Moving: SMARTBOX is a container that customers load at their own pace that gets moved to a temperature-controlled storage unit or is immediately delivered.
• Specialty Moving: SIRVA provides moving services for special items like pets, boats, cars, pools, and large appliances.

If you choose Household Goods Moving, the following will be covered:

• Packing and loading
• Delivery and unpacking
• Cross-checking with inventory list
• Fragile items unpacked on flat surfaces
• Removal of packing materials and debris

SIRVA has an international presence but currently only serves nine cities in the U.S.:

• Charlotte
• Chicago
• Cleveland
• Fayetteville (AR)
• Fort Wayne
• Minneapolis
• New York
• Richmond
• St. Louis

It’s always critical to consider cost when hiring a moving company. However, there is no standard amount that SIRVA charges.

Instead, the quote for each customer is determined by several factors, including:

• The total distance you’re moving
• The amount and size of items
• Insurance coverage
• Whether you purchase additional services

You can reach out to the SIRVA customer service team to receive your customized quote.

It’s also a good idea to get quotes from other companies so you can compare costs.

SIRVA has multiple pages with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), with each devoted to a specific branch location. The headquarters page is accredited by the BBB and holds an A+ rating from the organization. All of the reviews on this page are negative, which is common for a company in the moving industry given that dissatisfied customers are quicker to post feedback on the BBB than happy customers.

Here is a sample of SIRVA reviews:

Courtney via BBB said:

“Allied Van Lines [owned by SIRVA] has been a nightmare to deal with. They do not know how to schedule moves properly to ensure a customer’s belongings show up on the same day. If the shipment does need to be split up, it could be weeks until it’s actually delivered with no refund or compensation to the customer. The customer service (including Senior Management) is like dealing with a brick wall. Before you consider this company, do some additional research and hope that your shipment doesn’t get delayed. You will quickly regret your decision on this company while they take your money and refuse to compensate. This company deserves zero stars but I cannot submit this review with at least one star.”

Andrea P. via BBB said:

“I recently contracted with Allied Van Lines [owned by SIRVA] to move from Florida to Vermont. I was given a delivery window of June 16-22, and here I sit on the 25th with no belongings. The driver did not get the items to Vermont until the 23 or 24, and now the local delivery group states that they cannot fit the delivery into their schedule until July 3rd. Absolutely unacceptable and the paltry $50/day for failure to deliver on time does not cover anywhere near the cost of food and laundry service for a family that cannot cook anything or use the washer and dryer that they paid to move. We are eating out for most meals, and have to go to the laundromat every few days because we don’t have enough clothes to get through that window of time. Not to mention that we have no beds and nothing to sit on. The astonishing lack of customer service is bar none the worst I’ve ever received from any company in any capacity.”

We suggest that you compare quotes from multiple top moving companies to help you find the best fit for your budget.

If SIRVA does not have an office near you, we recommend going with a company that has a nationwide presence.

International Van Lines has locations in all 50 states and assists with moves both within the U.S. and internationally. For a free quote from International Van Lines complete this form.

The This Old House Reviews Team backs up our moving company ratings and recommendations with a detailed rating methodology to objectively score each company. We conduct research by reading through the company websites, analyzing customer reviews, conducting consumer surveys, requesting quotes, and speaking with customer representatives. We then score each moving company against our review standards for services, contents coverage, scheduling, trailer and container options, additional benefits, and reputation to arrive at a final score out of 100.

To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.