TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE! !
A few months ago, I moved from Cardiff to London because I had obtained a new job in the city. I decided to make this move over the Easter weekend, as it would have given me time to settle in London. I have no family in the UK, or even a car, and so I had to use a removals company. After doing some online research and contacting a few companies in the area, I decided to go with Alliance. Initially, it seemed too good to be true, but after constant communication with John, I was assured that this was the best deal for me. When negotiating the terms a few weeks in advance, John was promising me the world in order to get my business. At one point he even told me that he could take me in the van and I would save on a train fare to London. Something inside me told me that I should have had a backup plan, but I put a lot of trust in alliance because of the reviews online (average 4.5 star), and after speaking with John.
He quoted me around £210 for the relocation of my possessions, and I paid around 50% of this two weeks in advance. When I made the payment, there was no confirmation to say they had received anything for two days, until I had initiated the contact.
In the final week leading up to the removal date, I had heard nothing from Alliance. We had agreed a time of 9am to pick up the goods from my flat a few weeks in advance, but there was no more communication from them about this for a while and it was making me worried. My removal date was during Easter on Saturday 31st of March, and by Friday I was trying desperately to get in touch with John and Alliance. All I wanted to do was confirm that 9am slot and he was not answering any of my calls or texts. Eventually, I managed to contact a colleague of his, and he said he would let John know. Still, I heard nothing from them for another two hours. At 17:30 on Friday 30th March, John texted me saying that he was not coming the next morning at 9 and he had to cancel my order. He sent me a link to anyvan.com and then asked for my bank details so he could refund me. I couldn't believe this was happening, it was a bank holiday, and it takes weeks to organise something with any removals company. Every other company was closed at this point, and I was in deep trouble. I was also panicking because I had made arrangements with my current landlord in Cardiff to come and pick up the house keys at 9:30am on Saturday. I had also made an arrangement with my future landlord in London to pick up the keys in the afternoon. Both landlords were going on holiday on Saturday night, so this had to be done that day!
I have noticed, since this happened, that there is one other review with a very similar story to mine online, and in that situation, the person was just completely ignored and didn't even receive their refund. (Read reviews on other websites such as Yelp!)
In my situation, 3 days had passed (since cancellation) and there was no refund in my account. At this point he was still not answering my calls, so I wrote a message to John saying that I was going to inform the police if he does not refund me by the end of the day, and sure enough, he responded to me within 20 minutes!
I was very fortunate, because I managed to get my girlfriend's father to drive down from the Midlands at 7am to Cardiff, and take my stuff in his car to London. His car could not fit all my possessions, and because of my tight schedule with the landlords, I ended up throwing away a lot of my possessions. I was lucky in this situation, but you may not be so lucky, so DO NOT take the risk if they are slightly cheaper than another company! I should really sue them for all my losses, but I don't want to spend another cent on this company. Normally, I wouldn't bother writing a negative review, but this type of unprofessionalism from a removals company can destroy you.
I would have used the words SCAM in the title if I had not received my money back, but at least John gave me the refund. Thanks John! Giving Alliance one star is generous. read more