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Palmer Moving Services has been family owned and operated since 1910. We believe our time tested approach of "people helping people" has led to our success over the years. Palmer Moving Services is a top Atlas Van Lines agent & one of the nation's largest moving services companies with over 10,000 successful moves each year. Learn more about Atlas. Palmer is a Full service mover based in Detroit, MI that provides top moving value and professionalism to individuals and businesses. We can help you move across the street, across the country, or anywhere around the world.
Services
Since 1910, we have been the Michigan residential movers providing quality residential moving services where the customer always comes first. Our residential moving services are designed to make our customers' relocation experiences organized and stress-free. We cover every angle of a residential move, and we are the Michigan residential moving company dedicated to the safe and timely transport of household goods. We have a time-tested method of providing our customers with the best relocation services as Michigan residential movers.
Palmer Moving Services is the Michigan long distance moving company who ensures your successful relocation anywhere in the country. Since 1910, we have prided ourselves on our commitment to quality and dedication to our customers. It is this mentality of "The Customer Comes First" that allows us to continually execute cost-effective, timely and efficient long distance moves for our valued customers.
At Palmer Moving Services, we are a Michigan local moving company focused on providing successful and stress-free relocations. We realize that your move does not have to cover a long distance in order to feel overwhelming. We manage every aspect of your move to ensure complete customer satisfaction and the highest quality service.
From one box to an entire house, we can store it with our Michigan storage services. Whether you need to store a few items for a short time or an entire household for an undetermined amount of time, we have the clean, secure and even climate-controlled Michigan storage space available! Don't trust your belongings to the local mini storage - choose the professionals at Palmer Moving Services to watch over your items instead! We have two options for household storage: Storage-in-Transit and Permanent Storage.
Reviews (29)
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Yuanzhe Li
Jun 23, 2022
This is a corporate move from MI to CA. It was all great on the packing day, guys showed up were quick and professional, until. The delivery window is 1 week from packing date + 3 weeks. It could be possible for us to get our household stuff 4 WEEK AFTER PACKING! We still had hope by then. And guess what, we called the driver and turned out he arrived the destination city with our stuff in less than a week after packing date. However, the moving manager still scheduled our delivery date on THE LAST DAY OF THE DELIVERY WINDOW, WHICH IS 4 WEEKS AFTER THE PACKING DATE.

It makes me wonder you guys are playing with the rules and neglecting customer feelings. *** If you have kids or pets, be prepared to sleep on the floor with air mattress in your new house/apartment, or pay for hotel rooms for AN ENTIRE MONTH. That would be fun. *** We tried to call, text, email, nobody responded. If you would like me to take this review back, simply reply to our emails or just answer the call!
Don Taylor
Jun 18, 2022
I would not advise using this company. The people that moved us from MI to GA were great at both locations, but the office staff provides zero assistance. I specifically asked for a "worst case" scenario on the quote to ensure there would be no added charges. Once it was provided, I asked on three separate occasions if this included all potential charges and was assured it did.

Once the agreement was signed and the initial pickup began, they then stated there would be added charges for weekend, overtime, potential shuttling, etc. Stacey was responsive but could do nothing to apologize. I was transferred to someone named Arin and he was nothing but rude and condescending. He basically said the quote was just that, which I understand if I specifically did not request (multiple times) to include any potential charge.

I am sure if this is even read there will be nothing more than another useless apology, as with previous reviews, but truly hope at least one person reads this and decides not to give them their money. Be warned that if you do, you will likely end up charged thousands over what they quote. When asked who I can escalate this to, their response was nobody. I could not reach the owner of the agency, so I will go to the national chain next. Additionally, we are still looking for some missing items.
Katie Lasky
Jan 08, 2022
This is a different review but I felt called to share it. I ran into the crew and I believe the owner of Palmers in NC yesterday. They were returning from moving customers up north and stopped for a rest. We were out for a quick bite to eat. We sat near one another and as we were leaving and saying goodbye to the wait staff, the gentleman from Palmers heard us mention where we were from.

This turned into the most beautiful and authentic connection between four people. I adored the interaction. But what I wanted to post was this. Who we are when nobody is looking MATTERS MOST. You can preach one thing to the crowds but live a very different value system behind the scenes. These two men were class acts, incredible personality but what was most present was their depth to integrity of their word, actions and thoughts.

Along with their commitment to serving this world. When we are trusting people with our belongings, keepsakes and special memories, their true character- well it matters. I would trust these men and refer them to the world. Truly left me smiling to see they way they showed up when nobody was looking.
Kris Mbah
Oct 29, 2021
Palmer had great communication, planning, and execution throughout the packing and delivery of our home. We moved 150 miles and Palmer made it feel like we moved across the city. They'll seamlessly take care of your needs!
Mark Micale
Aug 31, 2021
We had a very monumental move with a lot of fine furniture, paintings, and sculptures. Terry wrapped each and everyone of them with great care and attention. He and his crew were prompt, courteous, and willing to please. They worked all day long and never even took a lunch. I can't recommend this team enough!
Dhaatri Kuchipudi
Aug 10, 2021
The staff that came and packed our stuff were friendly and great! The people that delivered our items were wonderful. Everyone in between have been horrible to deal with. Our " move manager" is not at all responsive. We are missing 3-4 of our items and boxes. And half the stuff that did make it damaged in some form. They do an extremely TERRIBLE job of tracking these items down and are very slow and unresponsive about it.

Then you have to deal with another company called Atlas for the claims and reimbursement and they are even slower! The worst $6,000 ever spent, over priced for an extremely poor service.
Mallory Hinz
Dec 01, 2020
Moving is always hard. Moving in the middle of a pandemic? Extra hard. Unless you're working with Palmer. I've had to move twice over the last six months - including a few months where my belongings were in storage - and working with Palmer made the whole process smooth and stress-free. I've now worked with three different teams of Palmer movers on move-in/move-out days, chatted with a few coordinators, plus trusted my belongings to their storage facility - everyone has been professional and kind, my belongings were treated well, and the moves were quick and easy.

I have nothing but great things to say about the entire team and the experiences. I don't think I'll ever work with another moving company or attempt to move by myself again. Thank you for everything! (and, if you're reading this review to evaluate what moving company you'd like to work with on your upcoming move - PICK PALMER! great and fair prices, top-notch coordination, kind and professional movers)
John Salter
Apr 23, 2020
Palmer Moving Services did a great job moving us to our new apartment. They showed up on time, went right to work, and even moved a couple extra things that were not on the original estimate. All the movers were careful not to damage the furniture or anything on the premises. They actually finished the job a little sooner than we expected. The price was very fair and I would hire them again and I highly recommend them if you have any moving needs.
Jay J.
Apr 16, 2020
They stored our furniture and moved us 1500 miles. When we unpacked, I called to ask how much time I had to submit an insurance claim. They told me 6 months. When I submitted a claim I was told I was too late. They lost about 5 pieces and damaged more to the tune of $3500. I wrote the owner and was told it was my fault for not submitting on time. I would not trust the guys.
Maggie B.
Feb 16, 2020
**DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY**. I wish I had read the reviews before using them We had them come for a short distance Michigan move. The movers were incredibly nice guys. There were some mishaps along the way, a big mark on the wood floor, a small chunk taken out of our new dining room hutch, lighting fixtures damaged, etc. We figured, no big deal, things are bound to happen, and it was obviously unintentional.

They also broke my absolute favorite dresser that was unfortunately unrepairable. We were also missing 1 of 2 of our kitchen island chairs. We pointed it out immediately, and they said they didn't know where it went? We were frustrated, but figured that's what insurance was for. ***until we found out they wouldn't be covering the missing chair (and we had to buy two so we had a matching set!).

For the insurance claim, we had to make a million follow up calls with them over the course of FIVE months because their company was so horrible with responding. Finally, I spoke to Jeff Palmer himself, and was absolutely shocked at how rude he was! I was also shocked to hear he knew about our situation. Jeff was completely nasty and unprofessional, and would accept ZERO responsibility.

He refused to reimburse us the $700+ and instead offered a $100 credit (i think he maybe settled on $200).which to date WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED. Before this incident, we were told they video taped our home upon arrival. We asked to view this video, so they could see the two chairs, and they just firmly said, no they wouldn't be viewing it? To make matters worse, once the guys left, we saw they left pieces of furniture in the garage.

We had pay kids to help take them upstairs into the rooms. Then we went back to our original home to look for the chair, and while we didn't find that, we found a ton of things that they didn't pack and move. My husband and I had to make several trips back to pack everything and move it ourselves. It took days. It was so incredibly stressful.

Once I told Jeff about our mishaps, simply and kindly stating if I were an owner, I'd want to be aware in order to improve my company, HE APOLOGIZED FOR NOTHING, not one thing! So again, do yourself a favor and DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!
Raquel Boler Morris
Jun 01, 2019
This moving company was exceptional! They were on-time, efficient and a joy to work with. Gary, the team lead took the time to make sure that all of our needs were met. The move took 3 days and we had very huge and fragile furniture items that were handled with extreme care. The team was professional and worked hard and fast. They were organized and detailed. I would recommend this company and definitely use them again.
Ben C.
Dec 28, 2018
Overall I had a pretty great moving experience with Palmer moving from Ann Arbor to Oakland CA. They're the local contractor for Atlas Van Lines. I was a bit leery of using a contractor of a large carrier, thinking that my stuff was going to be first loaded by the local carrier, then re-loaded by the long-distance hauler, then re-loaded again and dropped off by a third party.

A lot of things can get lost or damaged in the shuffle, and it's easy to point fingers at someone else as the problem. But that turned out not to be the case. In fact, the same guy that picked up my stuff was also the driver, was also the guy who dropped it off when I got to California. I'm not sure if that's the case for all moves, but it worked out great for me.

He showed up in the full 75-foot semi, which was a tight squeeze on my little street, but it worked out. Scott, Shondra, and the rest of the team were very professional and communicative through the whole process. Pick up and drop off occurred exactly when they said they would. Nothing was damaged. And the prices were better than other quotes I got. I'd use Palmer again and I'd recommend it to others.
Pd C.
Oct 17, 2018
My Palmer experience has been very frustrating. From Palmer to Atlas to Palmer again. I would not recommend this company period. I must give a star, but they don't deserve it. Terrible terrible from the beginning until the end. And be aware, they are niceeeeee.
Alfred Brock
Jun 25, 2018
Clean, safe truck yard. Very busy. Use caution. Wide selection of office furniture available. Professional installers with high quality workmanship.
Nicole E.
Mar 04, 2018
This is the second time I have used Palmer Moving Services. Both times, everything went very well from beginning to end. Everyone was friendly and professional. Will definitely use them again!
Joe L.
Mar 01, 2018
We recently used Palmer to move from one house to another in Oakland County. From setting up the initial consultation to moving day, Palmer was on top of things and kept in touch with us. Movers showed up on time, were very professional and took excellent care of our items. Unloading was seamless and they even helped me take a heavy item we already had at the house upstairs without an issue. I would not hesitate to use the team at Palmer again and recommend them to anyone who asks for a referral. Thanks again Palmer!
Jd C.
Dec 17, 2017
Still just lies, lack of professionalism and most importantly no integrity. Even though Wayne promised full re reimbursement for all of the expenditures I've had to make to rid my car of the ant infestation that Palmer had it delivered to me with, I have received nothing. I even have voicemails and text messages that confirm Palmer taking responsibility for delivering my car with an ant infestation and promising me to reimburse me.

But Wayne and the Palmers have gone completely silent. Nothing but crickets. All I can say is no integrity no integrity no integrity. Unfortunately for me given Palmer is in Michigan and I moved to Pasadena they know it will be quite the inconvenience for me to come back to Michigan to take them to small claims court. 12-16-17 Your are crooks! I am astonished and shocked at what crooks you are.

Not only do you refuse to communicate with me and provide me with the promised reimbursement for the ant infestation problem that you delivered my car with but you have now convinced Mont way auto shippers who you contracted with to also stop communicating with me and not to pay me the promised reimbursement for the expenses I have been incurring to remove the ant infestation that you delivered my car with. Crooks, crooks, crooks, crooks.

Where is your integrity? Where is any ounce of professionalism and accountability? I paid you over $7000 for your services and the entire situation was a disaster from the beginning to the end.
Don M.
Oct 15, 2017
More problems moving then all other companies I've done business with combined Broken items and only pay for 20% damaged Broken art work that couldn't be replaced which cost thousands, only paid a few hundred Wrote the owner and left several messages.no response
C. C.
Sep 11, 2017
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! If there was an option for less stars I would use that. I had a HORRIFIC moving experience with this company! I was relocating from Michigan to Virginia and had a traumatizing experience. Their salesman, as noted in a previous review, promises many things that will not occur. Upon arriving to my home to load, the driver and laborer were 2 hrs late. However, when my items were delivered to Virginia, the driver and laborers immediately got into a PHYSICAL and VERBAL ALTERCATION!

As a single woman, it was terrifying to have grown men arguing in my apartment BEFORE even moving items into my home. I was frozen in terror and did not know if me contacting the police would increase tensions or if I would not get my materials, so I did not contact police. The driver FIRED the two laborers and then moved items into my home alone.

He continued to yell about the situation and it was incredibly uncomfortable. I received a call from the company in the process and I told Jessica that the situation was terrible. I contacted customer service and even spoke to the Vice-President of the company. Originally the VP promised me a partial refund and then NEVER provided it! The customer service manager also sent me an email (after several emails back and forth) and basically said they were not liable to provide me with a refund because the situation was not their fault.

I move often for work and this has been THE WORST EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! Their customer service is awful and you will be placed in an unsafe situation with movers that become physically and verbally aggressive within your residence. Again, DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE!
Patrick G.
Jul 20, 2017
I would like to bring to your attention my UnSatisfactory experience thus far with your N.A. Van Lines Moving & Storage facility located in Farmington Michigan. My Registration or Order Date commenced on May 11, 2017. Their Salesman that show up to your home, are full of BROKEN PROMISES that will not be fulfilled. Be CAREFUL IN MICHIGAN IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING THIS COMPANY.

My Dissatisfaction is regarding the lack of communication from the Service Team, and the fact that this group cannot accomplish the Goal that my Family hired them for in the 1st place- to Deliver my Furnishing when the Time was needed or when my Home was ready to Move In. Instead this Group in Farmington MI Palmer Moving and Storage, an affiliate of YOUR Business at N.A. Van Lines tells their Consumers when their items will be Delivered- NOT when the Consumer needs the furnishings BUT instead when conveinant for the Moving Company.

And their rationale- We are Under-Staffed - Are Your Kidding Me. WHAT HAPPENED TO " THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY "? From Social Media Outlets to Yelp, TripPlanner, Google Reviews if I chose to do so I could have a field day, but in the end I just want my items delivered. When I booked with this Palmer Moving and Storage - Ken Snyder sold me on the company.

At the time, I knew exactly the date of Packing of my old home, but did NOT know of the Closing for my new destination. I was informed that as long as I provided a 14 day advance notice, my items can be extracted and placed on a truck and regisistered for my delivery date. Well, that did not happen. Then the series of email threads followed with a Delivery date of July 10 where Palmer Moving stated "we think", but we are booked to capacity, to then a Delivery date of July 13th, only to be revised to yet another date to yet another Un-Confirmed Delivery Date Window of July 16 through July 21st!

Now a NEW BILL. FINALLY TODAY JULY 7 - I receive a new Guarantee Not To Exceed Pricing - that is almost $500 more in price with no explanation. See the attached PDF, that I previously signed for a 'Guaranteed Not To Exceed Price". WHAT IS A GUARANTEED NOT TO EXCEED PRICE, IF IT KEEPS EXCEEDING?
Rachel K.
Dec 01, 2016
We used Palmer Moving & Storage for a move from Chicago to Grand Rapids. We couldn't have been happier. The movers were prompt, courteous and quick. Our items were delivered first thing the next day at our new house and everything was accounted for and in great shape. The office staff was exceptional as well in answering our questions and getting us ready for our move. Thank you so much for taking some of the stress away from moving across state lines!
Nee V.
Nov 06, 2015
This company was referred to me by a family friend and I'm very happy I booked with them. From the time I called their office, everything was very pleasant. I called pretty last minute and they were able to fit me in that week. The gentleman doing the quote was extrememly friendly. The office staff were polite and called when they said they would.

They had reminder calls and called before and after to assess my satisfaction. On moving day, my crew of 3 arrived on time and went straight to work, only taking a 15 min break the whole time. I was very happy with this company and would recommend to anyone!
Joshua D.
Sep 03, 2015
Very disappointed in Palmer Moving's handling of my family's belongings and their complete denial of responsibility when I submitted a claim for damage reimbursement. I would not recommend them to anyone. The people they hired to pack our belongings were completely careless and negligent in the care and wrapping of some of our most expensive furniture. Plus, I ended up spending 4+ hours to pack and move my all of the boxes from around the house and get it staged by the front door for them so they could load the next morning because they were short on packers the first day and decided to leave early.

There were a number of items that were damaged as a result of not being wrapped or packaged well. Upon opening boxes, we found other belongings were just lazily placed in boxes without any wrapping or care. I filed a $500 claim for our entertainment hutch (a $3,000 piece of furniture) because they damaged it in the moving process by not properly wrapping it.

Prior to moving, I purchased their "Extra Care Protection Plan" with a $500 deductible and paid a premium for that protection. Rather than acknowledge their negligence or responsibility, and correct something that happened as a result of their carelessness, they denied the claim and said the amount of damage was equal to my $500 deductible policy.

Your people knowingly damaged my property and rather than make an attempt to fix it, or provide some compensation for it, you hide behind your "extra care protection plan", for which I paid a premium for. What a joke! I would never use this company, or their parent company, North American Van Lines, again!
Kt A.
Jul 13, 2015
If you are moving, please save yourself the nightmare and choose any company but this one! I recently moved from the east coast to the Midwest and Palmer made the process very stressful. I realize that mistakes can happen during a move, but their absolute lack of professionalism and customer service is inexcusable. Due to their poor planning, my move was delayed several days almost causing me to miss the first day at my new job.

When I arrived at my new location, it took weeks for my goods to arrive, and some items were broken and damaged. Palmer's communication throughout the process was nonexistent, they were very difficult to get ahold of, and when you did reach an employee they were rude and acted annoyed. There are far better moving companies out there that will ensure that your move goes smoothly. Do not do business with this company!
Xx X.
Jul 01, 2015
We were one among the unfortunate people to choose this cheating company. You will lose your stuff. Please don't choose them. They will loot away your stuff. I would agree with the other customer and could give a "0". Your shipment will arrive only after a month, that too if you are "lucky"
Ryan F.
Jul 22, 2014
Avoid Palmer Moving and Storage at all costs! While their company may charge less than others, using Palmer will cost you much more in the long run. We encountered unprofessionalism, poor customer service, and unmet promises at each step of the move. Thanks to Palmer, our cross-country move was a nightmare. Many of our belongings were delivered two weeks late.

Despite this, Palmer insisted on full payment and held our belongings hostage, threatening to withhold our goods until we paid in full. Many phone calls went unanswered and unreturned, the truck driver brought cigarettes into our home and was found smoking in our garage, and multiple fragile items packed into boxes and transported by Palmer were broken or damaged upon receipt.

A full description of our experience is below: We were relocating from Michigan to California and contacted Palmer. Palmer sent an estimator to our home and we agreed upon details: price, pick up date of 6/25/14 and a delivery date of 7/2-7/9. On the day of pickup, the driver arrived at 8am and informed us at the end of the day (6pm) that he didn't have space on the truck for all of our things.

We had not added any additional items after the estimator came to our house. As it turned out, only 75% (by weight) of our belongings fit. The driver informed us that "I told Palmer I didn't have enough space on my truck but they told me to just pick-up whatever would fit." The 'overflow' -the other 25% of our belongings--was picked up the following day and transported to a local Palmer storage facility.

We immediately called our move-coordinator to discuss the fact that there were many essential items in the overflow, including our home PC, toddler's high chair, and all of our kitchen supplies/pots/pans. Palmer promised to ship essential items to us to arrive with the main shipment and we singled out 11 boxes containing key items. Despite daily phone calls with our move coordinator and the director of client services at Palmer, these items did not leave the Palmer warehouse until 7/8, 13 days after the pickup day; we received these items on 7/14, 5 days after the end of the promised delivery window.

The rest of our belongings were delivered on 7/21, 12 days past the agreed delivery dates. As a result, we lived in our new home for two weeks without access to key documents and information on our personal computer, without any ability to prepare meals in our home, and our 2 year old son ate meals on the floor. Despite failing to deliver 25% of our belongings in the delivery window, and causing my family to incur significant additional costs, Palmer requested full payment from us.

We were offered reimbursement of a maximum of $200 for supplies. In addition, the director of client services held our belongings 'hostage', stating that payment would be required from us before Palmer would deliver any of our belongings.
Sherri T.
May 16, 2014
Palmer came out to give us an estimate. The guy was on time, and he seemed very professional and thorough. He was also very knowledgeable about Chicago traffic and high-rise moving restrictions. In addition, he promised us a FREE box (a $95 value) for our TV. After we received a second estimate from a competitor, we decided to go with Palmer. My husband called to solidify the contract, and the woman in the office said that she couldn't guarantee that our belongings would be delivered when our sales person had promised nor could she guarantee the free box.

She said she would have to check with the sales person because what he told us was not reflected in his notes. It's been three (3) days, and Palmer has not returned our call. We will not be using Palmer.
Marilda W.
Mar 31, 2014
If I could give them a 0, I would! They are unprofessional, charged more than they had estimated, didn't pack well and didn't put the things properly when they came to our house. When they send the person to do the estimate, they said that we had 14000 pounds! We gave at least more than 3000 pounds away and when they charged, they said that we had 23000!

Maybe we had two elephants hidden in our house when the first guy came! We are Foreign Diplomats and move every four years. I have to tell you that this was, by far, our worst experience!
Karina K.
Sep 17, 2013
My 4 man crew promptly arrived a few minutes before 8 am and went straight to work, Louis and Cullin were two of them. All the guys were very professional and very polite. It took them about 6 hours to move all the contents left in my 4 bedroom house, to pack, wrap and load them onto the 53 foot semi. The guys were fast moving, which is awesome since they bill by the hour.

They took less than a 30 minute lunch break, which was the only break they took. Overall a great experience which relieved me of so much stress. I even got a phone call and a home visit that day during the move to make sure everything was going well. The best part : they came in like $1000 less than their estimate! Awesome! So glad I went with Palmer!