Colonial Van Lines
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Our recent moving experience with Colonial Van Lines was highly unsatisfactory and was compounded by the company's claims processes that appear to effectively limit their compensation obligations. The cost for our interstate move of approximately 500 miles ended up at $14,361.67 - more than $3,000 higher than the original quote because of "additional packaging charges." We packed most items ourselves yet the moving crew decided to repack numerous items at their discretion levying an additional charge. The moving crew also did not take care in adequately protecting many expensive furniture items, which were damaged during the move including a cherry work desk, a living room couch and outdoor patio chairs. Prior to the actual move, we paid an additional premium to declare a higher value for our items hoping to protect ourselves from damages during the move. However, the higher coverage value comes with a $1,000 deductible. The damage claims process required extensive information and photographs of the damaged items along with a bill of lading. Based on our calculations the damage to our furniture exceeded several thousand dollars. After carefully following the company's claims procedure, many months later we were offered a "settlement" of $450 with the requirement to sign a full non-disclosure agreement. We expressed our displeasure with the offer but received no further communications with the company. In our view, much of our dissatisfaction could have been avoided with better upfront communications,, particularly on charges for the move. Needless to say, we cannot recommend this company for any interstate moves.

Whatever you do, do NOT use this company to move your belongings. They will lose them, damage them, lie to you about prices, up-charge you, and ghost you. 1. They were weeks late on promised delivery window 2. They moved my belongings 4 times before it arrived to me. (That I know of.) 3. Many, many pieces of furniture has been ruined or broken, including my TV (despite it being in a protected box) 4. They ARE a broker, despite assuring you they aren't (Colonial Van Lines did not pick up or drop off my things, Apex Moving did.) 5. They lost many of my valuable possessions. Boxes, furniture parts, shoes, hardware for my bed, legs to multiple tables, expensive pots and dish ware. All of it is just gone. 6. They added over $600 in fees after pickup, claiming that 17 boxes were used to pack my things (completely false) and when my things were finally delivered, they wouldn't release it all until I agreed to pay the remaining charges that I didn't agree to. (I was given a small discount from the brokered movers of $140 towards the $600). Once we loaded everything, there were only 4 boxes that were used, not the 17 I was charged for. I've been trying to work with the company for over 2 months now with finding my things and receiving compensation for the damages. The manager I was working with was let go and no one called to tell me so I was ghosted for weeks. I keep being told they will reach out to dispatch and that dispatch will get in touch with me to find my things, but dispatch never does. I'm heartbroken that I spent thousands just for this company to lose sentimental items that I cannot replace. Learn from everyone's mistakes on here and just use someone else.

They are a terrible moving company. I moved from LA to CA for work. The delayed my delivery 3x despite giving me a 1 week window since pick up. I was forced to alter my plans in order to wait for their delivery but they kept delaying it. They attempted to discount my final amount, however, I already paid them. Right now, I have $60 that they have yet to send back my way. It's been over 2 months and nothing. I even spoke with their manager, Bruce, who said he'd call me to discuss compensation after they send only ONE mover to deliver my stuff, the truck driver. I had to hire outside movers to help unload my things. I was truly overwhelmed and disappointed by this company and hope you reconsider another.

DO NOT HIRE COLONIAL VAN LINES!!! They do not care about their customers, use shady tactics, nothing they said would happen did, only cared about the money, didn't pickup or deliver as we were told, every person I spoke to read scripted responses for every interaction, additional fees and deposits extorted from me with threats of not delivering if I didn't pay, contracts only protect the movers not the consumer so beware before signing and have an attorney review! This experience was dehumanizing, anxiety attack inducing, highly stressful and very unprofessional! When our things were finally delivered by a third party contracted out by Colonial, our boxes were all crushed, things were broken and dirt and debris caked over everything!!!!!!! They didn't care and don't care and probably will read this and still not care! Nothing short of a full refund on my deposit and a full written apology would come close to making up for the absolute lack of respect for our hard earned money, unprofessional handling of our items and complete failure to execute the move as conveyed. Even after I expressed my severe disappointment and asked to be contacted by management many times nobody from Colonial ever did!

Absolutely awful! Avoid at all costs. They are a broker acting like a mover. They sent my contract to Posh Moving Services of Las Vegas. Disastrous! First, they gave no information as to how long they would take to pickup my stuff. I was all packed at 8am as I was told. They didn't finish until midnight in THE SECOND DAY! I had to sleep on my floor! Second, they gave no notice of when they would deliver, just 30 minutes. Third, there was so much damage! Bookcases destroyed, entertainment center dusted, and boxes marked fragile came crumpled! I'm glad I took out the Full Insurance, but knowing them now, I'll bet they won't pay. Finally, they told me three days ago, they would send me an updated price via Rerates, but they did not. I paid full price to Posh. Get your act together!

I hired Colonial for a move from NJ to Illinois. They assured me that they are not a broker and are the actual Movers. They will tell you that "we have a DOT number and you shouldn't deal with brokers"...They are %100 brokers. I promise a company called APEX Moving will show up at your move. Colonial will be nowhere in site. When Colonial gives you a date on when your belongings will be delivered, make sure to make the date as close as possible. Example: If they say your stuff can be delivered August 4 - 11. Your belongings will come the 11th. It gives them more time to look through your stuff. Since Colonial Van Lines gets their cut as a broker, the first thing APEX will do is try to upcharge you. They tried charging me 2700 to box up my televisions which were supposed to be already included. The driver must get a cut of whatever they upcharge. They were supposed to come to my house with a tractor trailer for moving a 5 bedroom house. They showed up with a box truck. They taped my furniture to the back of the moving truck. They will pack up your belongings onto the truck, than unload your belongings at their facilities, search for any valuables, repack the boxes, than pack up your stuff in a new truck and send it to you. Make that make sense. The worst part, they blatantly stole an 80inch TV from me. One TV just disappeared. They will steal thousands from you and than send you a settlement for a few hundred dollars. That's a great business plan. Steal a lot more than what you are paying out. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

BEWARE!!!! Do not hire this company for your move!! If I could rate a zero I would. I don't want more people to go through the nightmare we did. We have moved 9 times in the past 26 years, and have never experienced such a horrible moving experience. I don't even think the people who packed our belongings were even movers. They had no idea how to pack. They just put breakables and electronics all together in boxes with no wrapping. They also left our house a mess. Trash everywhere, spit out sunflower seeds on the floors, bottles with sunflower seeds left everywhere, spilt soda on the floor that they walked through and got it sticky everywhere. My husband bought them pizza and they left pizza crusts on the window sills. Not only were many of our belongings broken upon arrival, they forgot a portion of our things at our old residence. Since we moved to a different state, we are now trying to figure out how to get that stuff to us, let alone out of the house we are trying to sell. We have been told many times they were taking care of it, then suddenly they stopped communicating with us, won't pick up any of our phone calls, nor return any of our calls. The movers who picked up our stuff and delivered our stuff never gave us any paperwork or an inventory list. This whole process has been a complete nightmare and I can't believe there are companies who conduct their business like this. So shady!! If you are looking for a moving company, I can't stress enough to stay away from this company!!!
I'm updating my review again. I stand by everything I said before - the resolutions department is very nice and helpful, and definitely improved my experience. However, it's been 6 months since my move and I have still heard nothing from the claims department. In my contract I fully insured my move, and would have expected to hear from them within 6 months. read more
Business owner information
Al D.
Manager
Paige,…
6 years ago
They moved me at the end of Dec. With a company called R & R moving. They tried to over charge me by $3800 they ruined 70% of my things. Irreplaceable things were stolen. I was never able to get my money back from them. I posted pictures on Google they have over 22,943 views. So if your interested go look. Do not let this company move you! read more
6 years ago
The reason for my update is to praise the resolution efforts from Donna. She was able to get a partial refund for my poor experience with Colonial Movers. She was very empathetic to my concerns and expeditiously addressed them. I recommend that she leads a "mandatory" customer service training workshop for all employees of the company. Thank you, Donna! read more
Business owner information
Al D.
Manager
Twana,…
Ok. Here is my final review on the resolution process only.... I just received my resolution refund this week. It took longer than expected but, Ms. Donna did make good on her promise to refund me. For Colonial making their wrongs right, I will give them 5 stars. read more
4 years ago
Do not use them. Sounded great when I was initially booking. Getting things picked up was the initial challenge, but the real problem is they are 2 weeks past the delivery date with no ETA. Moving from Colorado to Virginia. Called me weeks ago and said it would be delivered the next day and gave me a 4-hour window. With 15 min left I called and was told the truck was broken down. They have had our household items on a broken-down truck for a month now. They would just keep saying no updates on delivery, but any day. Finally, discovered the truck is still in CO. Lies on top of lies. I could have gone with a less expensive company, but initially Colonial seemed like they had it together. Definitely not the case. Have been charged for things they did not do. Have had to purchase items because they have missed their delivery deadlines. They are not responsive, and really don't care. STAY AWAY! read more
2 years ago
the broken all my furnitures and lost screws for my beds. and the offer me $600 . after i refused the offer. they send me alot documents to sign. read more
5 years ago
I highly recommend Colonial Van Lines! I used them a few years back for relocating my furnitures from Atlanta to San Diego. I had 5 all glass tables, drawers, full length mirror and display cabinet and all 5 were delivered with care without-1-damage! In addition to glass furnitures, every furniture was properly repacked, driven, and delivered into my new home in San Diego without me having to lift a finger. Once you get a quote, are assigned to a manager and you pay a portion of the cost, the subsequent actions are merely you picking a date and directing where to place furniture inside your new location. read more
Business owner information
Al D.
Manager
Ronnie, it's great to hear about your wonderful experience. Thank you…
8 years ago
Donna Rose with Colonial Van Lines has done a great job of resolving my prior experience. She has made multiple attempts to connect with me about My experience and had done her best to make sure that I am satisfied. read more
3 years ago
Absolutely the worst moving experience I've ever had (and I've moved a lot!) we paid to have the house packed, they showed up 2 days later than was promised with no packing material and a small rental truck. This forced us to leave furniture behind as our house was closing that day! On delivery, they were also later than promised. We paid extra to have items moved up the stairs, instead they dumped everything in the garage. We had 2 damaged trees and damage to our neighbors lawn from their truck. I have multiple damaged pieces of furniture and many many boxes that were missing.... which didn't surprise me as they showed up with someone else items on the truck that they left with us. Very unprofessional movers, no communication and everyone just blamed someone else instead of taking responsibility read more
4 years ago
The movers they hired to do the household were great But they are contract workers they don't work for Colonial Van Lines read more
8 years ago
Al responded to this post and reached out to me. After conversations with him, he worked with the sub-contractors to get us refunded for our lost stuff. I am satisfied with the way my complaint was handled by Al and team and it changed my perception about Colonial. read more
Business owner information
AL D.
Manager
Subhanker B We are unable to locate your file can you please call our…
3 years ago
My move with CVL was the absolute WORST experience I've ever had with any business, professional organization, or association across any industry. At initial engagement, I was not presented with any options aside from a Binding Estimate that locked me into a contract that charged me based on a calculated weight, as opposed to my actual inventory weight, which was 1,883 lbs. less than their calculations. They did not adjust my balance for the difference. I never knew I had an Account Manager until 3 days before my move. Turned out I was dealing with a salesperson for the entire 4 weeks leading up to my move who kept claiming "I got you" but made no notes on my account even after 125 exchanges to confirm inventory (with photos), make updates and confirm agreed services. I had to review the inventory list multiple times because they kept including things that didn't exist! I was assigned 2 different Account Managers in less than a week and they added zero value. They were unresponsive, unavailable and misinformed every step of the way. I was told I would receive 24-48 hrs notice before pickup and delivery and neither happened. I got 1 hr notice before pickup from the driver and was stood up the weekend they were scheduled to deliver. My inventory was all labeled as "SC" (scratched) at pickup, which is not true. Even pieces that had no damage before OR after were still labeled as scratched to proactively remove liability, just in case. When they finally delivered, the driver refused to re-assemble items that were disassembled and boxed by the carrier at pickup, claiming they were not allowed to touch any boxes that they didn't pack. He pointed to an item packed in its original manufacturer's packing and said "that doesn't look like our box so I can't touch it." Aside from that, some of furniture was indeed scratched or damaged and some fragile boxes were just shards of glass. No final documentation was provided for my records after delivery was complete. read more
8 years ago
From the first contact by the booking agent to our account manager and the follow we had a very pleasant moving experience with Colonial Van Lines. They showed up to pack us in the time frame they told us. We were very concerned about our grandfather clock being packed and surviving the 2100 mile move from Florida to Colorado. The clock made it without a scratch or any glass being broken. We called about a claim for a chair leg and it has been handled promptly and professionally. I would recommend Colonial Van Lines from Fort Lauderdale to everyone. Jeff read more
4 years ago
Donna helped us resolve our issues with Colonial. We will give her 5 stars. She did this in a timely manner.
8 years ago
I am so like alot of these other stories. Bad bad move maybe 2 or 4 boxes that were not reopened, smashed,stuff taken from them,items broken,items packed like a 2 yr old did it. Just who the hell is Colonial????? I sure would like to know. I know that they are supposed to be the sales people? I do know they ARE NOT the people I hired to load my furniture and belongings. I first get a call after the BINDING ESTIMATE (ha ha yeah right) saying our rig cannot make it down your Rd. Mind you I was living in town at the time. I digress they tell me it will cost me an additional $300.00 per load another truck has to make! I told him not my problem my Rd is plenty wide enough for a big rig. If they can bring logging trucks with cranes on top of them then I think you can do it. They brought a truck with affordable moving on it and my nightmare begins..... They fluffed packed my boxes.(made small and medium boxes look full but mostly empty or stuffed with so much paper....... Plates laying flat platters same quite a few btoken, antique cake platter bottem broken UNWRAPPED! broken. coffee maker missing nothing special just a coffee maker. I have a feeling where it went to and it is my bad for not checking. I digress again sorry trying to make short but so much to say. Deceased Husband's med. Mary Jane was packed by mistake (right sic). Well all but 2 tv boxes and 2 kitchen boxes were left unopened. Including boxes I packed!!!!!!! Such a violation! Any way I found the stuff and it is back in the right hands. I can and will be alittle more relaxed now. Smashed boxes and 60! !!!!! Days later I get most of my shipment. Then they tell me it is $8100.00 instead of $3900.00! F--k--g A seriously? I have to give them everything I have to get the rest of my things. I have 1/2 a bed del.,1/2 a sofa, to sit on lol had to laugh otherwise I will have to hurt someone. None the less to say I payed the ransom and got almost everything back. I need to stop for now getting depressed . read more
Business owner information
Al D.
Manager
Hi Lenora, we are unable to locate your name in our system but would…
6 years ago
Dealing with this moving company was one of the most dreadful and stressful experiences I've ever had. Communication was decent until I submitted my 50% down payment 3 months in advance. From that point on there was little or no communication until three days before our scheduled move, at which point they told us they were going to be a day later than the 3 day window they had given us. Delivery schedule was the same issue. Miscommunication, no communication. Eventually our possessions arrived 22 days after it had been picked up on a move from New York to Florida, well beyond the two week time frame they had given us. Numerous items were completely destroyed or damaged. Upon delivery they told us there would be an additional charge due to extra weight that had to be paid before they would unload. Excuse the pun, but move far away from this company. read more
4 years ago
We used CVL to move from New England to SC in October. Even though it was a very stressful experience due to hurricane season we arrived safely and happy. Donna, on behalf of the owners, acknowledged the shortcomings of their employees who scratched several items. Donna was empathetic and realized our frustration and at each step tried her best to come up with a reasonable resolution. We appreciate this company owner has not ignored our previous feedback and has expressed interest to reach a resolution through Donna who deserves 5 star for her service. read more
Business owner information
Jane T.
Manager
Jane,…
5 years ago
Great experience! The movers stayed in contact regarding scheduling and took great care with my items. They wrapped all my furniture to protecGreat experience! The movers stayed in contact regarding scheduling and took great care with my items. They wrapped all my furniture to protect it appropriately and cleaned up all of their supplies. I would definitely use them again in the future!!!t it appropriately and cleaned up all of their supplies. I would definitely use them again in the future!!! read more
Business owner information
Al D.
Manager
Robyn,…
8 years ago
They were very profesional, David my coordinator was there from the beginning very helpful going above and beyond . The movers were courteous, careful and fast. This is my second time hiring their services and I will do every time I move in the future . The price was fair and within the estimate , no hidden or unexpected fees . read more
Business owner information
AL D.
Manager
The team at colonial van lines apricates your positive feedback and…
3 years ago
does not pay drivers. update , haven't been paid in 3 weeks. dispatchers hang up on you, blocks numbers and hold payment
6 years ago
UPDATED::: 1. Damaged Art Work 2. Missing Boxes 3. The delivery driver told to use" Common Sense" when I asked if the truck could fit into my driveway. This was followed by him throwing the change on the table as I hand was extended to take it. They have yet to provide me with any retribution for being 10 days late or an update on the missing mirror and it has been 7 days and no one has contacted me about my items.. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER USE THEM. IT ISN'T WORTH THE ADDED STRESS IN ALREADY STRESSFUL (MOVING) TIME . This company is a sham. NEVER USE THEM. DRIVE IT YOURSELF. PACK A MULE. JUST DONT USE THEM They have had my entire house packed and in storage for 2 weeks now and it still hasn't left the city I am moving from. They are now blaming weather for the delay, but they had my items for 10 days prior read more
Business owner information
Al D.
Manager
Michael T,…
6 years ago
Currently working with colonial vans to ship my things across the country. I will have a review as soon as things arrive.
Business owner information
Al D.
Manager
Thank you for speaking with us in the Resolutions Department!
8 years ago
569763-CV-A from CA to FL. Service was friendly and helpful. The individual subcontracted companies and movers were all wonderful to deal with and very thorough. My only problem was with the delivery company waiting until the last minute to send over our payment forms (which could have held up our delivery date) but Colonial was very accommodating and helpful in getting it taken care of. read more
4 years ago
Do not waste your money! I chose this company because of the amazing experience I had over the phone with the initial sales consultant Annie. She was so informative and nice taking her time to answer my questions. From there leading up to the move everything was great, I was assigned an account manager names Jason and he called daily to check in with me the week of the move. Then things got bad come time for the actual move. The day of the move the driver Gustavo, and one other "day laborer" came to break down my furniture and then move it into the truck. I have a small 2 bedroom condo with average amount of furniture and about 38 boxes. Well..they showed up with a more than 1/2 way full truck and when I saw the amount of space left in the truck for my things I was immediately concerned. The driver and day laborer assured me everything would fit. Well it took them 7 hours, and they actually could not fit my mattress and box spring so they strapped it to the back of their truck which really concerned me. Come delivery day the same driver arrives, and this time there are 2 day laborers to move everything out of the truck and re build my furniture. This time it took about 4 hours total. They moved everything quickly, but when it came time to put my furniture back together that is when things got even worse. The day laborers left and the driver was still there finishing putting my furniture back together. After a little while the driver comes to me and says that he can not put my desk together and that my boyfriend would have to do it. I told him we paid for this service, so I am going to need him to finish the task, and I even went and found the original manual. He had everything he needed at that point. After about 30 minutes he told me again that he could not do it and that "he is just a driver and not supposed to do this, and that he did not have time." He said that the company would send someone that day to finish it for me. I then called my account manager to confirm someone would be coming and he said he had to check with dispatch and that he would call me back and let me know. Well he never called me back, and this is when my account manager Jason stopped calling me, and myself and my boyfriend were constantly calling for updates. Colonial and Jason never called us from there, they would always say they would but would not. Two days later they finally send someone to build the desk, my boyfriend stayed home from work for this. They said the desk was put together so badly by the driver that it took them even longer to fix his work. In addition they realized there were a ton of missing pieces, and they even mentioned remembering seeing them on the truck. Well they could not get it done in 2 hours and my boyfriend had to leave for work so the job was again unfinished, now 2 days past delivery date. Finally the next day they came back and they said the job was "finished." Well since 60% of the parts were missing (somewhere in a Colonial truck) they desk is barely hanging on by a thread. By this point we were so fed up we decided to take it up with management and see if we could get some sort of refund. Jason our account manager asked for photos which we sent 3 business days ago, and we have yet to hear back from him. In addition to the desk issues, we realized the screws to the slats on our bed were lost (we did not notice before since they placed the mattress on top) and the slats were just thrown together. Also, a dresser with mirrors was cracked. The minor damages were to be expected, but the missing screws and pieces is just unacceptable. The customer service of this company is non existent once the job begins. Beware of them being amazing when they want your money, but once they have it they do not care about you at all. Never again. read more
6 years ago
Please learn from our mistakes and avoid Colonial Van Lines at all costs. I wish we had read the many bad reviews before we signed up with them because we could have saved ourselves a lot of time, money, and trouble. This company grossly overpromises and under delivers. Like most of the people leaving reviews, our CVL estimate was significantly lower than those of other companies. It has become exceedingly clear that CVL purposely gives low estimates only to upcharge you when it is too late to change moving companies. (Also, fun fact, CVL is a broker, not a moving company, so they are not even the ones moving your things, and in turn, have very little clue about when and how your move will happen.) We moved from California to Colorado. When we got the estimate, we were told a shuttle might be required at an extra cost to pick up our belongings, but the pick up driver would tell us. In each call leading up to the pick up day, I asked about the additional charge and was told only the driver would know. On pick up day, 8/5, I specifically ask the driver if he was using a shuttle, he said no. In fact, he wasn't even picking up our things in a branded truck, it was an enterprise rental... We get to CO and CVL calls. They cannot tell us when our stuff will arrive, but they are ready to go over the invoice of what we will pay before they will deliver our possessions. They say the weight was significantly more than the estimate and that the delivery will be over $1000 more. Also, they will charge us for the shuttle because they insisted it was necessary. I tell them about all their previous assertions that only the driver knows and that the driver said it wasn't a shuttle. CVL had no actual record of what truck came and asked us to send a photo. After we sent a photo, they again insisted it was a shuttle, despite what the driver said, and that we would have to pay that and the extra weight cost before they would release our things. Our delivery window of 8/8 to 8/16 comes and goes. CVL called every few days during that window to say our belongings were sitting somewhere in Nevada, there was no driver, they have no idea when there will be a driver, and there's nothing that can be done about it. At no point did they offer anything to make up for the fact that we were stuck indefinitely without any of our belongings. We finally got our things delivered on 8/27, ELEVEN DAYS after our delivery window ended. CVL offered a pathetic $300 for significant delay, which was ironically less than what we were forced to pay for the shuttle that was never actually needed for our pick up. CVL insists that you have to pay everything before they will offload the truck. Apparently, the customers are the only ones expected to uphold their end of the agreement. As the truck is getting offloaded, we can see crushed boxes, dented furniture, and a stand up lamp that was completely destroyed, which makes sense because the movers hadn't even attempted to wrap/protect it. Really glad we paid for all the "extra weight" of our now broken belongings. Our delivery confirmation says "paid in full" and "$0" remaining balance. I received an email a few days ago insisting we owe another $800, the delivery confirmation is wrong, and if we do not pay immediately, they will also start charging us late fees. Apparently to CVL and their movers, the written estimate, shuttle fee, delivery window, and delivery confirmation with their own driver's handwriting and signature stating "paid in full" and "$0" are completely meaningless and don't have to be even remotely followed. Yet, the terms that say they will hold your things hostage until you pay in full for their embarrassingly bad service, that they will pay you pennies on the dollar for everything they break and damage, and that they will give you $30/day for being as late as they want, are non-negotiable. Do yourself a favor, pay more at the outset for a reputable company that will stand by its agreement, treat your belongings with care, and accurately represent its service and fees. I promise it will save you time, money, and a lot of aggravation in the end. Like the others, I will report CVL to U.S.D.O.T. in the hope that others will be spared the awful experience we had, and continuing to have, with CVL. read more
Business owner information
Al D.
Manager
Casey,…
8 years ago
****Update**** Al and the resolution team at Colonial Van Lines worked hard to resolve the issues we had with our move. It took some time - be patient - but eventually we found an acceptable middle ground. I must still caution everyone to find out if your move is being subcontracted, and check the reviews for the subcontractor before you make a deposit. ****Original**** We contracted Colonial Van Lines with a move from CA to TN. Colonial subcontracted Cal Van Lines to execute the move. We had the following problems from Cal Van Lines with our move: (1) - Late Delivery (2) - Unprofessional Movers (3) - Irresponsible & Dangerous Packing Job (4) - Disassembled Items Left Disassembled (5) - Inadequate Muscle (6) - Missing Items (7) - Damaged & Destroyed Items The truck arrived two weeks after the early date, and 8 days after the "absolute latest" date. Despite having over 400 pieces to unload, two guys showed up for the job. One was a skinny old smoker who couldn't carry much. The other was so out of shape that he got exhausted and threw up a number of times. They called and asked for more help and were refused. I spent the entire day unloading the truck and carrying in furniture. I also had to reassemble at the furniture and move boxes into the right rooms. When the drivers opened the trailer I saw a number of our boxes had fallen off the stack and were on their sides. About 1/3 of our boxes were shipped on their sides, and another 1/3 were shipped upside down(!!!). Several furniture items are scratched and worn and other items are broken. Our very-nice mattress was wrapped up and strapped onto the back of the truck. By the time it arrived it was wet and had mildew. Bad things happen - I get it. However, if you're in the business of moving people, you should know how to take care of their possessions, move them without damage/loss, schedule trucks, etc. read more
Business owner information
AL D.
Manager
David G we I appreciate your business and we are glad that all of…
7 years ago
Like a lot of the reviewers on here, things started off badly with a no-call no-show on a Sunday. I was thrown off a bit by this and tried to reach my account rep but no one was available since the office was closed. The truck arrived the next morning though. The movers that showed up were Anthony and Xavier. I was moving a 3BR home out of state and had most of my stuff already packed. I had a 65" 4K TV (less than 4 months old) and a couple of other TVs that they packed for me. The estimate I was given turned out to be off by a few thousand pounds but that was my fault. If you hire professional movers, they usually charge by weight, so be prepared to really get that estimate as close as possible so you won't have any surprises. The biggest complaint that I had about Colonial was the lack of communication when the promised pick-up and delivery times were both missed by 1 day. I think it could have been handled better by them. The reason I'm giving them 5 stars is that when the movers arrived at my new home, the truck was packed perfectly. I hooked up my TV and it was just fine. They packed it as well as the manufacturer did when I first got it. They were both friendly, respectful, and hard-working. They both unloaded the truck with great care and speed. They placed everything where instructed (which only took me pointing out where the boxes go -- I had labeled the boxes based on the rooms I wanted them in) and there wasn't a scratch on anything. I was initially put off by the office staff's attitudes, and I still think there's room for improvement there, but in the end everything was delivered in a timely manner and there has not been one broken, scratched, or dinged item to be found. The last complaint I have is the way that the final payment was handled. The initial deposit felt very secure, with the first rep handing it off to a verification rep to get the CVV on the card. The final payment was a piece of paper, a copy of my ID and card, which I argued against giving to them. I ended up giving in at the last part in the interest of just getting it closed up. I highly recommend that Colonial figure out a better way to handle those final payments. I hate that initial promises were broken and that things were handled poorly at first, but the end-result was well worth the initial aggravation. Anthony and Xavier did an amazing job! Thanks guys! To the Colonial office staff, even though we started off on the wrong foot, I sincerely hope that you improve your communication and payment collection methods. If these two things are fixed, I'm sure there will be plenty of 5 star reviews to come. read more
8 years ago
After I posted my review on Yelp, within hours Donna from Colonial called me to talk about the issues we had with this move. She listened to my story about what we experienced and seemed truly concerned and willing to try to make up for a super stressful experience. We are missing a valuable sentimental item and she made several calls and visits to her boss to try to find it. Even though we weren't successful, I believe she really did care and did as much as she could to help us find it. In my book this was great follow up and showed that Colonial did care about their service and wanted to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. I would have loved for this move to be 5 stars from the get-go, but I will give Donna 5 stars for her effort in making things right. Thank you, Donna. read more
5 years ago
Colonial Van Lines is dishonest and unreliable. They completely failed in their contract with me to move my whole life from Colorado to Virginia. Despite having signed a contract on 7/16/21, and being given a moving window of 9/1-9/4, they never showed up, had to be begged to tell me the truth on 9/2, and offered no explanation or compensation for what ended up delaying my move and costing me double. I could not be more disappointed or discouraged that what should be a reputable company could treat a consumer so poorly. DO NOT USE COLONIAL VAN LINES! Lucia Waterman Virginia Beach, VA Job 1024235-CV-R1 read more
6 years ago
DO NOT USE COLONIAL VAN LINES. We saw on the Department of Transportation website that they are a carrier and not a contractor--that is, that they have their own trucks. I guess not, because they contracted Cal Van Lines for our move from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Detroit Metro area. We were told our window was between June 11-21, and that this window is guaranteed, per the shrewd sales person that serves as your point of contact until they actually pick up your stuff. Our sales guy was super responsive, then we were handed off to an account manager, Jared Boomer, who was supposed to call 72 hours before the before the move, during the move to 'check in,' and afterwards for an update. Well neither my husband nor I received any of them. I talked to two other folks from QA and someone else who werejust calling to review inventory and insurance. Instead, I had to call Jared three times over two days to see when the movers would arrive at our apartment to take our stuff away. NOT ONCE did I get a call back, but rather I caught Jared at his desk and he told me he had to check with Cal Van Lines (which was the first time we were told it would NOT be Colonial moving our stuff) and that he'd call me back. Instead, Cal Van Lines called me directly. Jared did not check in at all on moving day, or even 48 hrs like the movers said. So after three days, my husband called and must have had great luck that day because Jared picked up the phone. A week later, I called Jared for an update. I left a voicemail in the AM, then again at the end of business day (6 PM EST). Then I called the next day. And then the next day. He finally picked up and told me he'd give me a call on Day 5 of our window. I called twice, left a voicemail the first time. The same day, my husband called (apparently his number is not associated with our job). Jared picked up again. It became clear that Jared was screening my calls. What Jared didn't know is that my husband had already called Cal Van Lines directly, who told us they would be missing our window. Jared tried to give us a song and dance about how he'll have an update in 6 days (which is OUTSIDE OUR GUARANTEED WINDOW). He then put us on hold and called Cal Van Lines, found out we had spoken with them, and still insisted that he'd give us a call with an update and refused to acknowledge that we'd be outside our window. It has been 10 days since they picked up our belongings, and the truck is still in California. The business is a scam. They make no effort to honor these 'guaranteed' windows. They have an elaborate set up where one person is in charge of one slice of the pie, like one guy responsible solely for upselling you on moving insurance. Avoid at all costs. In hindsight, I would have paid that extra $2K for Bekins. read more
4 years ago
Most of my things have finally arrived in one piece and the nightmare is over. Ann e boyer is a slick little con artist who will try to sell this company as reliable. Don't believe a word she says. Lost a box with priceless art made by my deceased grandfather. Most of the boxes even though they were packed and reinforced very well arrived torn apart. broken valuables that are too light to spend any more of my life on the phone with claims if you give this company anything but a one star review you're a bad person, because you know that they really are terrible but you got suckered into giving them a better rating avoid avoid avoid read more
7 years ago
UPDATE: Donna at Colonial Van Lines Inc reached out to me about the issues we recieved during our move. The company helped resolve the issues and I am now completely satisfied with the service I received. Donna was a pleasure to work with and she made everything right. Pleasure working with her to resolve the issues. read more
Business owner information
Al D.
Manager
Hello Lindsay, Thank you for allowing us to come to a satisfactory…
8 years ago
When I was promoted to my new position at work, unfortunately they would not help with the relocation. I did my own research and found Colonial Van Lines and they were very professional from the very start. They did not give me that salesman feel. I was explained everything and given everything in writing to match what was going to happen. I want to thank you all for moving all of my belongings and not damaging anything in the process. I will and do highly recommend Colonial Van Lines! read more
8 years ago
The Worst Moving Company I've Ever Dealt With Not only were they never able to tell us a time and date for our delivery, when we bugged them to find out when it was happening and they gave us a date, they never showed up. The sales people were unresponsive once the deal was done. We also had to tell them 5 times what was being moved. We never got an accurate estimate or an actual weight for the shipment - even though you are charged by the pound. Avoid these guys. In the years that I've had moves (local and cross country) I've never encountered a company so unprofessional and incompetent. read more
8 years ago
Initially we were overcharged for some packing materials that we did not use. The initial quote and final bill were in line with what we expected aside from the packing materials. Donna from Colonial Van Lines went above and beyond to satisfactorily resolve the issue. The entire process was professionally handled and delivered in the time frame promised. All items were delivered in the same condition they were in at pickup. Items that were disassembled were reassembled at drop off. All of our items were placed as we instructed the movers and had no issues. read more
5 years ago
This is an update to my original review of Colonial Van Lines. After reading my review, Donna reached out to me and asked me to call her for a resolution. I don't know of any other company that has a resolution specialist dealing with customer complaints and helping to resolve their issues. Donna was patient, courteous, and she heard me out with each communication. She was empathetic and worked relentlessly to provide me with a satisfactory resolution. Based on her efforts and professionalism, I give her 5 stars. For the company, I upgrade them to 3 stars as much of my issues were with the movers and not CVL. With Donna's help, they took responsibility for their lack-luster customer service and has offered some renumeration for my ordeal. I am please with their follow up and follow through and this satisfactory resolution. read more
Business owner information
Al D.
Manager
Hi Pamela,…
5 years ago
What a turnaround!! I was not pleased with my move and Donna from Colonial Van Lines reached out to me and promised to do her best to make it right. To be honest, I was very doubtful and barely gave her the time of day. Let me tell you that she truly impressed me by the lengths she went to so that I would not only be satisfied but happy. She truly does what she promises and will turn the most critical skeptic (me) around. read more
Business owner information
Al D.
Manager
I am very sorry for your inconvenience, Debbie. Please call the…
8 years ago
From beginning to end the contacts were helpful: clearly explained, quick follow up by email of the agreements made. Price was in the middle compared to the other estimates I received. The gentlemen who picked up my items were courteous and explained everything very well. The guys who delivered were also very good. Rebuilt all the furniture that had been taken apart and placed all items in the indicated spaces. Only two minor points of critique, therefore four in place of five stars: The delivery exceeded the indicated time window by twelve days. This had no serious consequences for work or personal life, but was quite annoying. I did not receive advance notice of when the delivery would take place, therefore the movers had to wait outside for some time, before I could conclude a meeting and rush home. Again: no disaster but should have been better. read more
8 years ago
Update: the customer service representative Teheria who was apparently assigned this case has still not contacted me. Additionally, I received pictures of additional stuff left behind from the movers from the tenants who moved into our home this morning. This entire saga is becoming hilarious in a Im-not-laughing at-all kind of way. See additional pictures of stuff left behind in our kitchen cabinets below. read more
6 years ago
Do not hire this company. We had a signed contract several months ahead, and then on the day of the proposed move, I had no information from them and had to call 5-6 times to get any updates on when they were planning to come. Then it got pushed five days later, with no assurance that they could even do it that day. On top of that, when I called the customer service person and they were extremely rude. I never write reviews but this one was warranted. read more
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Review Highlights - Colonial Van Lines
“It was only because of Donna's efforts that I was able to put the situation in perspective and move on.”
Mentioned in 202 reviews
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5 years ago
Job ID: 1067154-CV-R1 Update: Changing to 5 stars - I spoke with Donna, their resolutions person, and she was incredibly responsive, understanding, and prompt. She was also direct (in a good way!) and managed to resolve all of my issues. I used Colonial Van Lines to move from Minnesota to New York. Discussed with the agent moving timelines and inventory and had set a pickup window of November 26th-28th. I got a phone call on Wednesday November 24th from someone filling in for the agent I'd had letting me know there was some issues and that they would have to change the pickup date to either November 29th or 30th. I had been trying to finalize my plans to get to New York and coordinate it, and I agreed to switch it to the 29th. This was the first issue. Because when I called or spoke with Colonial again (I believe this time it was back to originally assigned agent, although I ended up dealing with 3-4 different agents all throughout the process, which was concerning and part of the problem) they said they saw it was scheduled for the 30th, and had no record that the 29th was mentioned. I had already taken time off from work to deal with this, and so I was less than pleased, but there was little I could do. On the 30th, I kept waiting for the movers. I called Colonial and they said that the window had been pushed from what we had originally discussed and would now be later. When I called back later, the agent said he would check with dispatch and let me know if there was any update. I had already had flights and other plans scheduled at this point, and so I was getting anxious. The agent called back and said that the truck was broken down/stuck in Wisconsin for repairs and that they would try to guarantee something for the next day. I panicked and got upset because they were just dropping this well into the second delivery window period they had mentioned, and because I had already spent quite a bit of money between plane tickets plus the deposit (plus updates to the deposit after double-checking inventory) and so the agent said that their manager had said they'd reimburse the cost involved with me having to adjust my travel plans (and I want to emphasize that they offered that unprompted). They waited until I had called for an update to let me know this. So I adjusted my travel plans (which involved a not-insignificant cost in fees and new plane tickets). The movers showed up the next day, and looked at my items, and added an additional $900 or so to the total quote because it looked like I had a lot of stuff and that it would be heavy, with the caveat that they wouldn't know the final cost until after they got things back to their facility and weighed them (in the end there was no change to the final amount). They proceeded to take items and start loading the truck, and left, and I got a call from the agent later that night confirming that they'd picked things up and confirming the delivery window, and confirming the reimbursement of travel plan changes. The items were delivered by movers a week later. In between that time I had two calls, one with someone in the Colonial finance department and one with a woman who worked for the company they contracted with to do the moving. Both times I mentioned the reimbursement and both times I was told it would need to be discussed with a manager and they would escalate it. The finance person told me that no reimbursement or adjustments would happen until after delivery of my items and after payment. The finance person also said that I was wrong about having incurred additional costs because he reviewed the information and there was $40 less I was charged due to less packing materials used (and completely ignoring that I was discussing the amount of work I had to miss and the costs in changing travel plans) All of the agents I spoke with said they were making notes and would escalate things to the manager. I emailed the agent I originally spoke with about a week after the delivery, who had guaranteed that he was making notes and that things would be escalated to the manager and who had originally told me the manager authorized reimbursement. He said he put in a customer service request to have them speak with me, and that all he saw in the notes was that I had wanted to speak to a manager about late pickup and expenses I had incurred due to lateness I told him I was concerned that that was all that was mentioned in the notes, ,considering the number of people I had spoken with, the guarantees that things were being documented, and that they had offered to reimburse in the first place. I followed up again a week and a half later and was told that the agent had escalated things to customer service and they were responsible for their own correspondence. Late, costly, and incredibly uncommunicative. I am also not asking for much with reimbursement and which THEY offered in the first place, and which is why I didn't just drop it in the first plac read more
2 years ago
You might as well burn everything rather than hire Colonial Van Lines, because you will end up with a pile of damaged items, and they will not take responsibility. If you have no other choice but to hire them, file a Dispute with your Credit Card, as that will be the only way to get any refund on their despicable service. Over $60K in damages as a result of how THEY loaded the truck and stored our items. This is what their Website reads 'professional movers trained by Colonial Van Lines would come to our location, load everything in a professional manner, treat my move with the respect and attention it deserves, because 'our movers know how to pack a truck', and then UNLOAD in any manner in which we requested, and boxes would be placed in any location that we requested, and items dissasembled at pick up would be reassembled at delivery" "we teach and test our moving team to "pack it, stack it, but never crack it" "Before any driver, mover, or packer trains in the field, they must get past the moving instructors at CVLU first". "We teach a strategic approach to loading and unloading your home contents. At CVLU, packers and loaders are taught to look beyond just securing load and consider how the truck will be unloaded on arrival, and, in what order". None of this is true. This was a business move. Before hiring them, during 3 weeks we spoke at length with Moving Coordinator and his Supervisor, everyone understood what was being moved. We hired two containers costing us over $25K. We were concerned about having two moving trucks showing up at the same time, but Moving Coordinator confirmed that truck#1 would pick up "one day", truck #2 would pick up "the next day", and on delivery, truck #1 would deliver on "one day", truck #2 would deliver the "next day". Truck #1 picked up June 8 Truck #2 picked up June 9 and never showed up on June 11, or June 12, or 13, 14, 15, not even the last day of the 'estimated window", June 18 I began calling Colonial Van Lines on June 12 asking the whereabouts of the second truck. They did not know. I called and emailed over 50 times in 5 days, each time they make you feel as if you are bothering them, making things up, or like you misunderstood something, or you did something wrong... so I stopped calling. Truck #2 eventually showed up 4 weeks later. Each day our business was closed, we lost $2K daily in revenues. What happened? Colonial subcontracted my move to Posh Moving, who after loading, drove 3 hours and put all our items in a rat infested warehouse for 4 weeks without my knowledge or consent. All our tools, equipment and merchandise were in a warehouse with temperatures up to 140 degrees, Colonial knew that our merchandise was packed in styrofoam boxes and containers, yet they decided to put all this in a warehouse... and with that excessive heat, the boxes warped, some even disintegrated. when their professional movers 'reloaded' these from the Warehouse to a moving truck, no care or thought was put into that process, because the boxes were thrown into the truck Colonial Van Lines website reads that items disassembled at pick up would be assembled at delivery. Not one fixture or bookcase that was taken apart at pick up was assembled upon delivery. Instead, the movers wanted to charge me extra to put the shelves and fixtures back together. Things that were not disassembled at pick up, were taken apart at the warehouse, and upon delivery, the pieces/parts were nowhere to be found. We ended up with many fixtures/furniture that we cannot reassemble due to missing parts. No 'professional mover' showed up... Truck #1, was a Driver with her brother and three laborers they picked up at Home Depot Truck #2 , The service was NOT performed by Colonial Van Lines using Colonial Van Lines fleet/equipment. It was PICKED UP by two un-vetted pot heads hired by POSH, that were smoking marijuana in my bathroom all day, and loading our boxes into a Ryder Rental truck. Although we informed them NOT to tape or wrap the Styrofoam boxes, they did so anyway. Neither the PICK UP or DELIVERY followed Colonial Van Lines Service Standards as defined on their website. As I ponder on this move, I realize that the issue is that the website is all lies, wishful thinking, and that the Moving Coordinator's task is to get a reservation... get that deposit... sell you on the service.... and then, Colonial does not care at all what happens after the deposit is taken. These are not 'trained movers', these are unvetted laborers, I hired Colonial professionals, and got who knows what... one time workers that have no relationship to Colonial, don't care what happens to the furniture/fixtures/items, they toss, dump, throw boxes, all marked FRAGILE, with no care whatsoever, because they answer to nobody in Colonial. None of these 'movers' were trained by Colonial Van Lines University, and the people that showed up had no clue how to pack a truck, Monkeys could of done a better job! read more
8 years ago
MAY 29, 2018 UPDATE: Our final furniture was received on May 21, 2018. After my reviews and escalations, I was also put in contact with Al who has done all he can to mitigate the situation. We will be receiving $$ back from that we paid to the moving company who proved incapable of delivering timely and without damage. I can say that Colonial has stepped up to try to mitigate the issues arising from these contractor's failings, as well as the internal problems at Colonial. (original review below) This company has been terrible. They happily quoted me a move fee in November 2017 and provided me a pickup window. Colonial directly collected ~30% of the total move fee. Here's what they don't tell you: they do NOT have their own trucks, drivers, and movers. They subcontract with companies in your local region and they have ZERO ability to hold those contractors to any sort of accountability. Colonials preferred company failed to pickup within their window, causing me to go into a new month in the apartment we were to vacate. Extra rent had to be paid- had to reschedule cleaners and carpet cleaning, now to be done w/o my presence since I had to get on the road. Then, they said the pickup drivers were to be at my home within a few hours ... three days in a row. They failed to arrive two days in a row and came very late on the third day. (I had to put my husband on a plane to get to his new job in time since he now wouldn't have time to drive 2,300 miles and arrive as required.) I was told by Colonial (Dona) that despite the late pickup, our delivery window would not change. So, I began my (now solo) drive across the country with 2 cats, a dog, and a very full vehicle late on a Saturday night. 4 days after I had planned to begin the move. I arrived safely and began "roughing it" in our new home. Air mattress, two camp chairs, a folding table, etc. Sufficient for the anticipated couple of weeks w/o the bulk of my household items. The week of our delivery window arrived, Dona at Colonial called to say that "next week" would be when our items actually were delivered. I wasn't happy but I was relieved at least that we should have everything before Christmas and New Year's. However, I subsequently received more follow up calls and then even more calls, each advising of further delays. All the while Dona assured me our items were safely stored in the moving company's warehouse and not, in fact, stolen. Dona at one point requested I pay the remained of the (now discounted) move fee in anticipation of our items being delivered so "the movers don't give you any problems about it". I refused. Said we'd pay once our items actually arrived. They didn't arrive for another 3 WEEKS. In that time, Dona call me again and told me that our items were NOT in the moving company's warehouse. THEY NEVER LEFT UTAH. These movers loaded a truck, left my home, and them got some random storage unit and left my household items -- childhood piano, wedding dress, photo albums, other irreplaceable mementos, along with furniture, kitchen implements, etc. -- all just in some RANDOM STORAGE UNIT in Utah ... So -- the movers and Colonial had been lying for nearly 2 months. February 4, our stuff was delivered. Damages to several items occurred. Additionally, this company who delivered tried to deliver several items that were NOT ours and did not have all items that were ours ... but they *promised* they'd be back in two weeks with my couch and the rails to assemble my bed. They additionally required full payment, no discount. I wasn't going to argue since I wanted my things. Fast forward to today, we still don't have all our things. Colonial has offered to refund 30% of the total move cost but that doesn't begin to cover the extra expenses of living w/o day-to-day items in order to eat in our kitchen, and live normally. I put a post on Twitter and did hear from "upper management" at Colonial. I was promised a call back 1 week later with a resolution. Then they asked me to update/remove my tweets. I declined until I saw real results. The very next day, I received a call from Dona (or original rep) that I should just file a claim for our missing items since she just didn't know when their preferred move contractor could deliver them. That timing is highly coincidental - I declined to update twitter and then they stopped even trying to get me my things. The one week promise from "upper management" expired yesterday. No calls back. No solutions or resolutions offered. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. THEY HAVE BEEN DISHONEST AND DEMONSTRATED AN TOTAL INABILITY TO FULFILL THEIR COMMITMENTS. read more
8 years ago
MAY 29, 2018 UPDATE: Our final furniture was received on May 21, 2018. After my reviews and escalations, I was also put in contact with Al who has done all he can to mitigate the situation. We will be receiving $$ back from that we paid to the moving company who proved incapable of delivering timely and without damage. I can say that Colonial has stepped up to try to mitigate the issues arising from these contractor's failings, as well as the internal problems at Colonial. (original review below) This company has been terrible. They happily quoted me a move fee in November 2017 and provided me a pickup window. Colonial directly collected ~30% of the total move fee. Here's what they don't tell you: they do NOT have their own trucks, drivers, and movers. They subcontract with companies in your local region and they have ZERO ability to hold those contractors to any sort of accountability. Colonials preferred company failed to pickup within their window, causing me to go into a new month in the apartment we were to vacate. Extra rent had to be paid- had to reschedule cleaners and carpet cleaning, now to be done w/o my presence since I had to get on the road. Then, they said the pickup drivers were to be at my home within a few hours ... three days in a row. They failed to arrive two days in a row and came very late on the third day. (I had to put my husband on a plane to get to his new job in time since he now wouldn't have time to drive 2,300 miles and arrive as required.) I was told by Colonial (Dona) that despite the late pickup, our delivery window would not change. So, I began my (now solo) drive across the country with 2 cats, a dog, and a very full vehicle late on a Saturday night. 4 days after I had planned to begin the move. I arrived safely and began "roughing it" in our new home. Air mattress, two camp chairs, a folding table, etc. Sufficient for the anticipated couple of weeks w/o the bulk of my household items. The week of our delivery window arrived, Dona at Colonial called to say that "next week" would be when our items actually were delivered. I wasn't happy but I was relieved at least that we should have everything before Christmas and New Year's. However, I subsequently received more follow up calls and then even more calls, each advising of further delays. All the while Dona assured me our items were safely stored in the moving company's warehouse and not, in fact, stolen. Dona at one point requested I pay the remained of the (now discounted) move fee in anticipation of our items being delivered so "the movers don't give you any problems about it". I refused. Said we'd pay once our items actually arrived. They didn't arrive for another 3 WEEKS. In that time, Dona call me again and told me that our items were NOT in the moving company's warehouse. THEY NEVER LEFT UTAH. These movers loaded a truck, left my home, and them got some random storage unit and left my household items -- childhood piano, wedding dress, photo albums, other irreplaceable mementos, along with furniture, kitchen implements, etc. -- all just in some RANDOM STORAGE UNIT in Utah ... So -- the movers and Colonial had been lying for nearly 2 months. February 4, our stuff was delivered. Damages to several items occurred. Additionally, this company who delivered tried to deliver several items that were NOT ours and did not have all items that were ours ... but they *promised* they'd be back in two weeks with my couch and the rails to assemble my bed. They additionally required full payment, no discount. I wasn't going to argue since I wanted my things. Fast forward to today, we still don't have all our things. Colonial has offered to refund 30% of the total move cost but that doesn't begin to cover the extra expenses of living w/o day-to-day items in order to eat in our kitchen, and live normally. I put a post on Twitter and did hear from "upper management" at Colonial. I was promised a call back 1 week later with a resolution. Then they asked me to update/remove my tweets. I declined until I saw real results. The very next day, I received a call from Dona (or original rep) that I should just file a claim for our missing items since she just didn't know when their preferred move contractor could deliver them. That timing is highly coincidental - I declined to update twitter and then they stopped even trying to get me my things. The one week promise from "upper management" expired yesterday. No calls back. No solutions or resolutions offered. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. THEY HAVE BEEN DISHONEST AND DEMONSTRATED AN TOTAL INABILITY TO FULFILL THEIR COMMITMENTS. read more
8 years ago
MAY 29, 2018 UPDATE: Our final furniture was received on May 21, 2018. After my reviews and escalations, I was also put in contact with Al who has done all he can to mitigate the situation. We will be receiving $$ back from that we paid to the moving company who proved incapable of delivering timely and without damage. I can say that Colonial has stepped up to try to mitigate the issues arising from these contractor's failings, as well as the internal problems at Colonial. (original review below) This company has been terrible. They happily quoted me a move fee in November 2017 and provided me a pickup window. Colonial directly collected ~30% of the total move fee. Here's what they don't tell you: they do NOT have their own trucks, drivers, and movers. They subcontract with companies in your local region and they have ZERO ability to hold those contractors to any sort of accountability. Colonials preferred company failed to pickup within their window, causing me to go into a new month in the apartment we were to vacate. Extra rent had to be paid- had to reschedule cleaners and carpet cleaning, now to be done w/o my presence since I had to get on the road. Then, they said the pickup drivers were to be at my home within a few hours ... three days in a row. They failed to arrive two days in a row and came very late on the third day. (I had to put my husband on a plane to get to his new job in time since he now wouldn't have time to drive 2,300 miles and arrive as required.) I was told by Colonial (Dona) that despite the late pickup, our delivery window would not change. So, I began my (now solo) drive across the country with 2 cats, a dog, and a very full vehicle late on a Saturday night. 4 days after I had planned to begin the move. I arrived safely and began "roughing it" in our new home. Air mattress, two camp chairs, a folding table, etc. Sufficient for the anticipated couple of weeks w/o the bulk of my household items. The week of our delivery window arrived, Dona at Colonial called to say that "next week" would be when our items actually were delivered. I wasn't happy but I was relieved at least that we should have everything before Christmas and New Year's. However, I subsequently received more follow up calls and then even more calls, each advising of further delays. All the while Dona assured me our items were safely stored in the moving company's warehouse and not, in fact, stolen. Dona at one point requested I pay the remained of the (now discounted) move fee in anticipation of our items being delivered so "the movers don't give you any problems about it". I refused. Said we'd pay once our items actually arrived. They didn't arrive for another 3 WEEKS. In that time, Dona call me again and told me that our items were NOT in the moving company's warehouse. THEY NEVER LEFT UTAH. These movers loaded a truck, left my home, and them got some random storage unit and left my household items -- childhood piano, wedding dress, photo albums, other irreplaceable mementos, along with furniture, kitchen implements, etc. -- all just in some RANDOM STORAGE UNIT in Utah ... So -- the movers and Colonial had been lying for nearly 2 months. February 4, our stuff was delivered. Damages to several items occurred. Additionally, this company who delivered tried to deliver several items that were NOT ours and did not have all items that were ours ... but they *promised* they'd be back in two weeks with my couch and the rails to assemble my bed. They additionally required full payment, no discount. I wasn't going to argue since I wanted my things. Fast forward to today, we still don't have all our things. Colonial has offered to refund 30% of the total move cost but that doesn't begin to cover the extra expenses of living w/o day-to-day items in order to eat in our kitchen, and live normally. I put a post on Twitter and did hear from "upper management" at Colonial. I was promised a call back 1 week later with a resolution. Then they asked me to update/remove my tweets. I declined until I saw real results. The very next day, I received a call from Dona (or original rep) that I should just file a claim for our missing items since she just didn't know when their preferred move contractor could deliver them. That timing is highly coincidental - I declined to update twitter and then they stopped even trying to get me my things. The one week promise from "upper management" expired yesterday. No calls back. No solutions or resolutions offered. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. THEY HAVE BEEN DISHONEST AND DEMONSTRATED AN TOTAL INABILITY TO FULFILL THEIR COMMITMENTS. read more
5 years ago
*Editing review after speaking with customer service. They apologized and offered a little $ back to update the review below. tl;dr: Colonial's customer service will degrade terribly once they have your stuff. Communication with customer and within the company is terrible. One of their customer reps tried to straight up con me into paying for 500lbs extra weight that didn't exist and tried to get me to show up at a roadside weigh station for a weigh-in that never happened. After the pick up Colonials service TANKED. They stopped answering calls and replying to messages. I had to update my delivery details and when I called my rep he didn't answer or callback. I called back 3 times and after being hung up on someone finally made it obvious that no one had updated the delivery info. On move in day they only sent 1 person who was unable to get some of the furniture upstairs on his own (I offered to help but he refused). He told me Colonial hadn't notified him of the delivery details I'd provided them weeks ago until 1-2 days before and he wasn't able to find other movers in the area. He was great but the move took almost 4hrs for less than a studio apartments worth of stuff. On pickup they'd disassembled some items and assured me they would put everything back together on delivery but that never happened. Before delivery a rep told me I'd need to pay another $300 for a shuttle since the truck couldn't make it up my street despite the fact that my original rep had viewed the location on google maps and confirmed the truck would fit. They had also insisted I pay for a shuttle for my pick up even though I lived on a wide road that regularly had moving vans parked outside of the neighboring apartment complexes and I had to insist it wasn't necessary (they called a few days later still adding the shuttle cost and I had to tell them AGAIN that I didn't need it). The rep laughed and told me salesmen aren't drivers and don't know what they're talking about but I'd still have to pay. Another huge issue - someone working for this company 100% tried to scam me. A few days after pick up I got a voicemail from someone by the name of Franklyn saying the weight of my move was way over weight and I'd likely need to pay extra. When I talked to a different rep he had no idea what I was referring to and confirmed that the BINDING QUOTE that I'd paid for would prevent that so long as I didn't add anything new to my inventory list (I didn't, and actually had LESS than the original estimate accounted for). Well, he forwarded my call to Franklyn who, along with being rude, cutting me off, and mansplaining the basic logistics of moving (despite me telling him this is my 3rd big move and know how it works), told me my delivery weighed 500lbs more than the estimate included. When I asked about the binding estimate he told me that only worked for deliveries under weight. I laughed and said "so I paid for this and it just means you get to keep my money if you over-estimate but I still have to pay extra if you under-estimate?" He told me that was correct. He said I could meet the movers at the weigh station to see them weigh the delivery myself, I said I'd go because I felt I had to since there was no way this was accurate and he said he'd send info on when/ where but he never did. Later that night a different rep called to confirm my delivery date and when I called them out on all the extra charges this rep told me I wasn't being billed for anything over weight, that I had a binding estimate and COULDN'T be charged more and that there was no other weigh in taking place as Franklyn had told me. I told him to get Colonial to confirm this before I paid for/ signed anything else. He called me back hours later asking if Colonial had called me - he'd spoken to them and asked them to call and confirm no extra weight charges - they never did. He had to text different reps while on the phone with me until he got ahold of someone (who was in the middle of dinner) who finally confirmed there'd be no extra charges for the weight but I might have to pay extra for a shuttle. Either it was a scam or Franklyn was very misinformed, either way the worst move experience I've ever had. read more
11 years ago
Job# 55354503 My moving experience was so bad, I created a yelp account just to warn others. We had issues each step of the way, and once you sign the contract with Colonial good luck getting your representative to return your calls, and don't expect anyone else to try to help you either. We were given a 2 day moving window and told we would find out at least 5 days before our move day, the actual date. We found out the night before at almost closing time, after multiple calls a day for 5 days straight. We booked our move with a binding agreement on weight (based on a visual estimate). Everyone I spoke to except the manager in the booking department told me it was impossible to have a binding estimate based on weight. I'm not sure if other representatives didn't have access to view my contract, or if they just didn't read it. But it's hard to have any confidence in the customer service area, when they can't answer basic questions about your contract. One reason we booked with Colonial was for their insurance. After we booked our move and signed everything, and passed the 5 day window to cancel, we were informed Colonial's company they used for insurance would not cover our move (even though we had been told they would.) Colonial outsourced our move to another company and that company they booked was going to store our belongings in a building without liability coverage. To late to cancel we had to find third party moving insurance on our own. We were told we would be packed and moved in one day (this was to pack everything, but we packed 80% of our things). The day of the move we expected the moving company between 8 and noon. To our surprise a different company showed up on our door step. We had been given a company's name and amount ahead of time for the cashiers check, but apparently they changed the company the day before the move and just didn't inform us. The movers also showed up around 5:30 instead of between 8 and noon. All day as we were awaiting the movers, no one at Colonial could tell me anything except "your representative is on the other line, and she will call you back when she has a chance!" We didn't pack our dishes because we didn't have the special double corrugated dish pack boxes. But to our surprise, the movers didn't bring any dish pack boxes. They just packed the dishes in regular boxes - our belongings are still in storage, but I am nervous to see how our dishes survived. The movers said they would be back the next day by noon, but showed up at 2PM. They said they would be done by 7PM, but finished at 1AM the next morning. The delays by the movers caused us to have to change hotels for our commute to our new location, cancel appointments to see houses, and really cramped the amount of time we had to clean before moving. On top of everything the movers did not use rugs to protect our hardwood floors, dinged and scratched door frames and walls, left packing tape stuck to floors, as well as all the leaves they tracked throughout the entire house. After our horrendous moving experience Colonial Van Lines has been less than willing to work with us. They are still hard to contact, the person we are trying to work with usually has a full voicemail so we can't even leave a message, and doesn't return calls in a timely manner. We have been trying to work towards a resolution with Colonial, but 2 months later, they are offering us $100 and each time we try to address specific issues we had, we are told they will look into it and get back to us. It's already been 2 months, not sure how long it takes to review calls, and contact they company they outsourced to??? Save yourself the headache and additional stress. They don't care what they promised in their contract, and their customer service is amazingly worse than you can imagine. read more
4 years ago
UPDATE 4/24: I am amending my review as Donna from the resolutions department has reached out and worked to resolve my case to my satisfaction. Thank you, Donna! I hired Colonial for my move from Austin, TX to Atlanta, GA for a 1-Bedroom Home at the beginning of April 2023. Quote: I received my total move estimate from sales person Anthony on 3/23 totaling my estimate $3,494.32, I signed the paperwork, paid my deposit of $1,687.18, and agreed to a 2-day pick up window and 10-day delivery window. It seemed straight-forward. Quote: I was advised that Colonial charges for the weight of items and mileage of transportation, as well as the amount of steps that the moving team takes from your home to their moving truck-I have moved many times before and never came across this, but fine. FYI Colonial subcontracts their moving teams with other companies, where they load your items into a truck, unload your items to their warehouse, and re-pack your items into a new truck to your destination-that is why they provide a 10-day delivery date for the arrival to your new home. Days Leading up to the Move: I received a call from Ashley, the moving contact for my account go forward, who prepped me for my move, went over the details, and confirmed my pick-up window. Pick Up on 4/1: The subcontracted moving team of 2 arrived within the pick up window, were very kind, wrapped my items well, and did their due diligence - they were the only positive of this moving experience. In reviewing their ledger before signing off on the pick up (before they are able to move anything) they had updated charges- adding items to the itemized list, moving materials, and long carry (145 feet from home to truck). I was fine with this, as I had expected these charges. What I was not fine with, is their updated quote/ledger charged a $1.48/lb charge for my items vs. a $1.15/lb charge that I was quoted. With estimated weight of the truck being 3,208 lbs/cuft., this significantly increased my quote. According to their new ledger, my estimated charge upon delivery was now $4,474.40 instead of $3,613.22 -which both delivery charges were already higher than my total estimate of $3,494.32. Time In Between Delivery: I could not receive a clear answer regarding expected delivery date in Atlanta - I moved with a suitcase and was eager to have my things again. Apparently there is a breakdown in communication and files are not promptly updated-I did not learn about my delivery date until 24 hours before delivery, when the subcontracted team (the same team from pick up) texted me letting me know. I had called many times leading up to this to try to receive an answer from Colonial who had no idea when my delivery would be and could not pin point a date for me. Ridiculous. Delivery on 4/8: The same team arrived to my new home but had different paperwork in the account from Colonial which did not match their delivery quote - before we could move anything, they were calling Colonial to try to rectify my owed amount. NO ONE FROM COLONIAL WAS WORKING TO HELP THE MOVING TEAM SOLVE THIS! Because they could not get in touch with anyone from Colonial, they advised that they had to charge me $4,603.22 (delivery quote of $4,474.40 + a long distance carry charge of $128.82) in order to offload my items from the truck, and to resolve the misquote that I received with my account manager and resolutions team. The moving team acknowledged that Colonial completely messed up my quote. My initial total move estimate was $3,494.32, I paid a total of $6,290.40 (1.8x my estimate), and I should have paid a total of $5,239.16 (1.5x my estimate). I have been awaiting a call back from James since my delivery on 4/8 (9 working days now) after leaving many voicemails. I just want some communication to understand my review of the rerate-I have receipts. read more
8 years ago
UPDATE to review: I received a phone call from Donna Rose re: my review. She told me she wanted to help reach a satisfactory resolution regarding my move and asked me to give a detailed accounting of both of the situations outlined below. She was professional and empathetic and appeared to be taking detailed notes as I spoke. While I cannot know the outcome of the mover who harassed me, she did stress several times that this behavior was unacceptable to Colonial which I appreciated. Regarding the tripling of my packing costs, she said she would be conferring with her manager and would call me back. I received a call three hours later wherein Donna stated she had spoken to her manager regarding all aspects of my move and she had been authorized to refund me $700, which is basically the additional amount I was charged for packing. I very much appreciate Donna's effort on my behalf and the speed of the resolution to my concerns. I gave them a 3 on Moving.com but am downgrading them due to follow-up contact from them that was less than optimal. 1. I had three conversations with CVL reps regarding what was to be moved. Movers arrived to pick up my items after I was on the road and told my designated sub that the cost of packing was now tripled. Why? I don't know. I was not physically there and could not do a walk through re: their claims. When I asked on the phone the only thing they could point out (and the only item ever mentioned in subsequent phone calls with CVL) was a TV STAND that is approximately 44" high and with a 44" base and two shelves that are 33" and 22", respectively. I was also told by a CVL rep that someone named Roxie had made an adjustment to my account. She then put me on hold and came back to say she couldn't refund me because I agreed to the extra packing. When I AGAIN asked for an explanation of what caused my packing fees to triple, she mentioned the TV stand and nothing else. 2. MeToo experience with the movers. While I know the were a subcontractor, they were acting as reps for CVL at the time. I am a newly single woman who has moved to an entirely new area of the country for work. During the move-in, one of the movers would wait until the other one was gone and then start telling me how beautiful I was. He asked for my phone number so he could "fix my bed". He asked to use the bathroom while the other mover and crew chief were heading downstairs at the end of the move, then came over to put his arm around me, pat my shoulder and ask me for a tip. I did report this to the CVL case manager (who, in her own, was one of the few bright spots I had with CVL in that she listened, made extensive notes and passed the info up the chain). 3. No box count with the crew chief. When I asked about items he would say that everything was there. By the time the move-in was complete I just wanted the harasser to leave because I was feeling distressed and frightened so I signed the form. 4. The most recent call from CVL. A rep called me after I posted my review on Moving.com which includes all the above info (this is the same rep who said their was an adjustment on my account and then never explained it). Her first question out of the gate was if I could change my review to 5 stars. Really? I have listed sexual harassment as an issue and you want me to raise my review stars for you? How incredibly...tone-deaf at the least. While other people may have had better luck and experiences with CVL, I thought this experience should be posted as well so people can have multiple pieces of information to consider when making a decision about what moving company to choose. read more
6 years ago
DO NOT HIRE COLONIAL VANLhired colonial van lines for our move from California to Texas back in November 2020. We paid our deposit, solidified a 48 hour window of time for pickup in January 2021. They advised that 24-48 hours prior to the pickup window, they would call and tell us exactly what day of the window they would be coming. Less than 24 hours prior to contracted pickup window, we still had not heard from them, so I called to inquire as to if they were coming the next day or the day after, as per our contract. The case manager, Jared, advised me that they could not locate a driver and they could no longer adhere to the contracted pickup dates. He asked if there was flexibility in pickup days to which I stated "no" since we sold our house and have to be out so the new owners can move in. I advised him that this was unprofessional, unacceptable, and their ability to not find a driver was not my problem since scheduling people's moves is the exact premise of their business. He put me through to a supervisor, Kenya, who was incredibly rude and offered zero solutions to this problem other than saying they could refund my deposit money or hopefully, maybe, possibly find another driver in 10 or so days! How this company remains in business by screwing families over at the last minute is beyond me. Calling around for backup moving companies this late in the game is going to cost $1000's more, not to mention the stress this has caused on my family. I have a newborn, a toddler, and a 100% disabled veteran husband and the stress this has amounted to is ridiculous. What is the point of signing a contract, paying this company a deposit to secure our moving dates, only to have them say the day before that they can't perform their end of the contract and leave us scrambling? No apologies were provided, nor were any reasonable solutions offered. Essentially I received a "whoops" we can just refund you or we can pick up your stuff weeks from now, but even that they couldn't confirm. This company had months to figure out the dispatch schedule for our job , on the contracted dates, and I find this completely unacceptable and unprofessional and in breach of a contract. Sharon, a customer service manager, emailed me and stated that "sometimes things don't work out" in regards to them bailing on their contractual pickup dates and that she would offer me $150 as well as our deposit back. Again, $150 doesn't begin to cover the extra hoops and monetary inconveniences we had to endure in order to stick to our moving timeline with less than 24 hour notice. She also insinuated that since we had "no flexibility" in our pickup dates that this was now our problem. When you close escrow on a home and have to move out, in order for new owners to move in, there is understandably no flexibility. I'm not sure that Colonial Van lines grasps the concept of moving a family home, since they can just back out of their contractual duties whenever they see fit. Accepting money for a move and then not providing the service is the exact definition of consumer fraud since we paid a deposit to secure our move out date , as well as signing a contract, to ensure a smooth transition to our new home in a different state. I would never recommend this company to anyone who is looking to move. Their customer service is less than acceptable and they will leave you high and dry. **Update- I am increasing this review to 5 stars due to Donna in the resolutions department who was the only person at this company who truly provided excellent customer service , and was able to provide reasonable compensation for our troubles. read more
8 years ago
Hi, This is an update for my previous response. After I submitted the claims form, someone by name Donna Rose from Colonial van lines had called to understand the claim. When I explained the troubled that I had gone through with the move she listened to me patiently and promised that she will talk to her manager and get back with a resolution. She had also mentioned that the management has changed and are working to resolve customer issues. After few days she called me and informed that they are waiving the balance I owed plus they will be issuing a check as a refund for the missing and damaged items. I'm glad that Donna had acted quick and professional to resolve the issue I had been having for sometime now. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This company is all about getting your money. The sales person, after I had the initial quote, kept emailing me every day to remind. Finally, because of the price I chose to sign up with them. She spoke well and told me that she is doing all that is possible to keep my rates low. I didn't have an address for me to receive the items at first. She mentioned that as soon as I find a place, all I have to do is give a call and they will get my stuff. She also went to the extent of saying that if the weight was more than the estimate, they will still honor the agreed price. I should have caught the flaw right there but I missed it. And, I signed the contract. Closer to the move, the account manager calls. She mentioned that once I have a place to move I have to inform her and she will coordinate with the truck and get my stuff. That's when she mentioned that they will have a window within which they will deliver. I said but if I needed it on a specific date, why would I pay for additional days it sat on the storage. She mentioned that I'll only pay for the date I had requested rather than their actual delivery date (I hope they will at least keep this up). The movers came. They were ok. I only wish they hadn't used my plastic wrapper and tapes. The mover told me that they will weight after the pick up and colonial will give me the actual price based on the weight. Ok, I'll at least know the actual price once they weigh. I found my apartment for 9/10 and informed the account manager on 8/27. She had asked me to give two weeks notice so she can work out the time with the truck driver. Today is 9/16(three weeks since I informed), she has no idea where my stuff is and what my final price will be and when my stuff will really make it. They keep telling me that my window to get my stuff starts on 9/10 and ends on 9/22. I don't know why they needed two weeks notice before the start window of that "window" and wonder why the account manager to this minute couldn't get hold of the driver to find where my stuff is and when it will reach me. Someone from colonial called after I took their online survey and told me that their account manager is one of the best and actively working with the driver. The account manager never returns my call or emails. Either the sales team and the delivery team doesn't talk to each other on how they operate or else? Either ways, this is the most horrible moving experience I have ever had. I just hope I get my stuff soon. I'm going to keep calling them up this week. I'll update the review after that. So choose Colonial Van lines if you want to add more to the already stressful move. read more
4 months ago
I cannot recommend Colonial Van Lines after what was, without question, the worst moving experience I have ever had. I hired Colonial Van Lines for an interstate move from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Denver, Colorado, trusting that my belongings would be handled professionally and safely. Instead, Colonial subcontracted the move to APEX Moving Solutions, and the entire process became a nightmare that resulted in extensive damage, missing property, and thousands of dollars in losses. One of my biggest frustrations was the complete lack of transparency and documentation. I repeatedly requested finalized inventory records and copies of signed paperwork but was never provided with complete documentation. Important information regarding valuation coverage and claims procedures was never clearly explained. As a customer, I should have been able to verify what was loaded onto the truck and understand what protections were in place, but I was left largely in the dark. I was told that once the truck was sealed it would not be opened until delivery. However, I tracked my belongings with Apple AirTags and discovered the shipment sitting in Baltimore for several days without explanation. Communication throughout the process was poor and no one could provide meaningful answers. Things only got worse upon delivery. The movers arrived around 1 PM but did not actually begin unloading until hours later. During the delivery process, family members assisting with the move were subjected to arguments and unprofessional behavior from members of the crew. Then came the devastating part: opening boxes and discovering the extent of the damage. A solid wood buffet table valued at approximately $2,500 was destroyed beyond repair. My 75-inch LG QLED television arrived with a puncture and shattered screen, rendering it completely unusable. Personalized wine glasses that held sentimental value were broken. My Giant bicycle suffered severe structural damage. My grill was damaged because heavy tools had apparently been stored inside it, damaging the wheels and gas line. In addition, the movers damaged walls at the pickup location in Virginia and damaged a closet door during delivery in Denver. Even more concerning were the items that simply disappeared. A box spring never arrived, despite its protective cover making it to Denver. An entire Ryobi tool bag containing multiple power tools and batteries vanished. My Subaru Crosstrek crossbars were also missing. Altogether, the losses exceeded $13,000, not including additional repair costs. The most disappointing aspect of this experience has been the feeling that accountability has been absent throughout the process. Customers trust moving companies with virtually everything they own. That trust should be met with professionalism, communication, careful handling, and transparency. Unfortunately, that was not my experience with Colonial Van Lines and the company they chose to subcontract the move to. Based on my experience, I strongly advise anyone considering Colonial Van Lines to do extensive research and think carefully before entrusting them with their belongings. What should have been an exciting move to a new home became a stressful and costly ordeal that I am still attempting to resolve through arbitration. I would never use Colonial Van Lines again, and I cannot recommend them to anyone. read more
6 years ago
NEVER USE COLONIAL VAN LINES!!!! NEVERRRRR!!!!!!!! Read to bottom. I used Colonial Van Lines to move my stuff from a storage unit in New York down to Florida into another storage unit. They didn't have to do any physical packing or I packing. They gave me an expected day and timeframe for the pickup and ended up never showing up. So I took off of work for the day to be there to get them in the storage unit and they didn't show up and my account manager, Jared, was out of the office that day and unable to be reached. Then that following day they said they would show up between 10-2pm, never called to say it would be later. They ended up showing up around 7:45pm. That was just the pick up....I knew we were in for a disaster. Then they lied about the estimate cost and tripled it right away. I never heard back from my original point of contact, Drexel, who said he would be my point of contact the entire time. Complete lie. Then for delivery, they were supposed to show up on a Friday between 10-3...shockingly a no show/no call. So I called my account manager who told me it would be delivered on Sunday between 10-3. Never showed up/never called. The guy physically driving the moving truck, who was a 3rd party company and isn't affiliated with Colonial Van Lines, Calls me on Monday morning and says he never received the address for the delivery, the storage unit number or access code, which I had provided that previous Friday for the original delivery. So I gave him the info directly and he tells me he will be arriving around 4pm for the delivery. It gets better. Jared, my colonial van lines account manager, calls me that same day and tells me my stuff has been delivered the previous day. Then I obviously had to correct him and tell him it was getting delivered that afternoon at 4. They ended up showing up around 7:30. I had my infant with me waiting for almost 2 hours at the storage unit with no call or answer as to where they were. They destroyed a lot of our belongings, my son's crib which is a brand new Pottery Barn crib, is destroyed. They took it apart and cracked all of the wood. When discussing options with the resolutions department, they were offering me $60 for a crib and kept saying I should've expected them to dissemble the crib during the move even though I was told 4 times during the 4 times I went over the inventory list, that they would not be dissembling anything. They actually tried to keep the crib and not give it to us because it was that destroyed. I am beyond upset, frustrated, and shocked by the unprofessional and completely lack of pride this company has. I will never ever use them again and I will make sure people know not to use this company because I don't want anyone going through what we went through. ***Had to update my review to 5 stars in order for the resolutions department to agree to "resolve" my issues and give me money back. Worked with Donna in resolutions. I received a call after I posted the review. Would not give me money owed/negotiated until I agreed to giving them 5 stars on review. So here it is. The moving experience was still a complete nightmare and it makes sense why they hired Donna in resolutions because it's a NEED in their company when the job isn't done well. Just happy this nightmare will be over soon. read more
4 months ago
Colonial Van Lines is the most clown-car, Romper Room operation I have ever dealt with. Run--do not walk--away from this company. For anyone considering hiring them, let me explain exactly how the experience works. First, Colonial is NOT a direct moving company as they present themselves. They are very clearly a middleman broker who collected the money, marked up the price, and then contracted the actual move to an independent moving company that did all the work for a fraction of the payment. Colonial added cost, confusion, and another layer of people to deal with, but no actual value. The entire setup felt like a bait and switch. The communication was abysmal. Their operation seems to run almost entirely on canned emails, scripted talking points, and layers of contacts with random employees. Trying to have a meaningful conversation with anyone was painful. You also get trapped in a ridiculous triangle between Colonial, the contracted mover, and yourself. The two companies seem to have no direct communication. Several times during the move, my Colonial "Moving Coordinator" was calling me--the customer--to ask if I knew the mover's status. Apparently I was coordinating the move for the Moving Coordinator. I lived in a congested city and needed a firm move-out date to secure HOA approval, reserve the loading area, and obtain street permits. They did not disclose until after I was under contract, that they would only provide a vague date range and refused to confirm the actual date until 72 hours beforehand. That 72-hour window fell over a weekend, leaving me scrambling at the last minute to arrange permits and building access. Of course this is for their own scheduling convenience, with no respect for the inconvenience to the customer. Then comes the pricing routine. When you first call, a "Moving Coordinator" walks you through a quick, superficial inventory estimate--usually before you have packed anything or have a realistic sense of what you have. That produces an artificially low number that gets you to sign. Closer to the move, a different person from "Quality Assurance" calls and suddenly discovers that the move will cost substantially more. In my case, the original estimate of 6629 lb later ballooned to 8,344 lbs. The actual documented weight ended up 7100 lbs. Of course no refund or adjustment for the difference, but I'm sure I would have been notified immediately if the weight was higher. The entire process felt deliberately structured to get me under contract with an artificially appealing estimate, then reveal the real price, restrictions, and logistical problems only after I was committed. Colonial was a pointless and poorly coordinated middleman whose main contribution was collecting a substantial markup. Once they had my money, they became evasive, disorganized, and remarkably unhelpful. Save yourself the frustration. Book directly with a reputable moving company that will actually perform the move, communicate with you, and take responsibility for the service you are paying for. read more
6 years ago
Review Update 09/28/2020 Updating the review after speaking with Donna (resolutions manager), who has work amazingly fast to get us the best resolution outcome. It has been a pleasure to work with Donna. Colonial Van Lines provided us with an estimate for an interstate moving that was calculated ONLY on weight, not in volume. We warn the sales agent Mr. Chad C that our items were larger than usual but not heavy. He stated not to worry about since they were going to send an 18-wheeler. On the day of the move a 40 feet truck showed up. We were surprised when our moved was sold to Best Price moving without no one letting us know. we raised our concerns that the truck was going to be to small, and immediately called Colonial Van Lines, who onlyl then told us that the truck was sent based on the cubic weight (but we were sold only on weight not on volume) Mid load, the crew saw that the truck was indeed too small, and left items behind with the promise to pick them up the very next day. It was right then when the nightmare started. Suddenly Colonial Stop answering the phone call, just giving us a call at the end of the day to let us know the goods were going to be picked up the next day. Best Price moving referred us always to Colonial. We had to get rid of numerous items that were on the original packing list in the estimate in order to fit their trucks, again at our financial loss. ONE WEEK later they finally came to pick up the goods. it was a week that we were forced to stay at hotels and have meals in restaurants at our own expense. ONCE they had our goods in their possession they called us to let us know that they were changing the estimate and transforming it to a binding contract without giving us the option of having our household goods weighted at a certified station. Colonial Van Lines forced us to accept it or face more delays. Then the delivery never came. Again Colonial Van lines failed at giving us an estimate on when the goods were going to be delivered. We were assigned multiple Customer Service Managers every day, when they run out of words and excuses they just assign us another person (Mario, Roxanne, Aisha...) We asked several timer to Colonial to provide reasonable accommodation with the only offer from Mrs. Roxanne H of 150 dollars to buy inflatable mattresses so we could "sleep comfortably". Colonial denied every single of our petition and always stated that we needed to place a claim with their claims department. 17 days after the pick up we finally got our items delivered (without Colonial letting us know, in fact they called us to tell us that they did not know when our items were going to be delivered, while we were getting them delivered by a third party company) to our surprise, we learnt that our goods were stored at a warehouse from Best Price Moving for more than a week, without no one going to pick them up. When we got everything delivered, 16 boxes were missing and numerous items were broken. read more
8 years ago
Colonial has reached out to us because of our concerns and lack of satisfaction. We would like to thank Donna Rose for providing a satisfactory resolution to our concerns. We do give 5 stars to the resolution we received. The initial contacts and contract was quite satisfactory, but as the moving process started they altered all arrangements and required thousands more dollars. We moved from PA to WA. Our packing and preparations took months and we updated our list of belonging on the contract as we packed items. We felt comfortable with this mover up until two weeks before our move, when they changed our moving manager two times and forced us to change our pickup date. Since we had sold our house and had a firm closing date, any change in the pickup date was a major issue. However, we did accommodate their request. They said they would compensate us for this change, which cost us anxiety and $200, but after the move was finally over they merely offered us $50 for this change. On the day they showed up to pickup our belongings they required us to sign a totally new and different contract. It didn't matter that we had accurately described and detailed all the items that were to be moved. We had to sign this new contract, adding thousands more in moving costs, or they would walk out the door the day before our house closing date. We were forced to accept this new contract. We were forced to agree that the "binding estimate" in the original contract was superseded by this new contract. Overall it cost us $6400 more than our original contract. We felt that this last minute change was their plan all along, in order to squeeze more money out of us. Our belongings were to be delivered between the 11th and 17th of November. Each day we had to arrange for someone to be available to accept that delivery. But from Nov. 9 through the 15th we were only able to reach a live person at the office twice, and both times they could give us no information on delivery. We left numerous voicemails and emails, but no one would call us back. No one would give us any information. Finally on Nov. 17th one person, the assistant to our move manager, called to say that they would have information on Nov. 19. On that date, two days after all of our belongings were to be delivered; we were told that the delivery would take place the next day. They offered us, after much discussion, a mere $150 for this three day delay. At one point, weeks earlier, we had asked about the cost of delaying our delivery and were told that a three day delay would cost us $3,304. But because THEY delayed delivery three days they merely offered us $150. The overall move cost more than $20,000 so this $150 is less than 1%, not what we consider a fair offer. Overall we feel this company is not trustworthy. We feel that they did not treat us well, they were not responsive to our many phone calls, and they did not provide the service they had contracted to provide. read more
5 years ago
Edit: Changing it to 5 stars after their resolution manager, Donna, reached out and worked to get a resolution in regard to the customer service issues we experienced. Our claim for damages and lost items are separate and still being handled by the claims department, but I appreciate Donna's efforts and commitment to resolve my issue. If I could give this company negative stars, I would. DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY FOR YOUR MOVING NEEDS. EVER. I'll start off by saying they were 3 days late picking up our items which caused us $300 in rent charges which, of course, they won't cover. They never told us we could pay extra to lock in a confirmed date or we certainly would have. The driver was unorganized and did very little work while the two people he had subcontracted locally wrapped and packed everything. Those two did a great job while the driver took multiple breaks. Then the driver left without leaving us a copy of our invoice. We called him immediately to have him come back or to just stop and we would meet him for a copy but he said "no need - I forgot to give it to you but I got this" Whatever that meant.... Our delivery was two days late. When the driver opened the truck, it was immediately apparent our stuff had been unloaded and loaded back on. How many times? Who knows, but it was in total disarray. I asked the driver for a copy of the item breakdown and he literally told me it was too cold to get it. I told him I needed to verify items as they came off the truck and after a staring contest, he rolled his eyes, sighed and got me the forms. I could see why he 1) didn't leave it in the first place and 2) didn't want me to see it. The pages were a mess with many of the listed items illegible. As they unloaded, we found almost every big piece of furniture was damaged. We have a cast iron table base and that was broken in half. Another thing about this cast iron piece - IT WAS MIXED IN WITH SOMEONE ELSE'S STUFF ON THE TRUCK SO THE DRIVER HAD TO UNLOAD THEIR STUFF TO EVEN FIND IT. I should mention here that this driver kept talking about other missing items from other shipments he had picked up and delivered over the past few weeks. So now trying to deal with customer service, supervisors, etc in this company has proven to be nothing short of time wasting. We keep getting the same answers - they are trying to locate our items. I'm pretty sure we are just going to be out our money because we can't seem to get a good answer out of anyone. I'm not sure who to even go to at this point but I just wanted to warn everyone out there that is even remotely considering using these guys....DON'T. I see other reviews here that someone named Donna helped them resolve their similar issues. So Donna - if you're a real person and you're out there, please give us a call. We could sure use some positivity at this point. read more
1 year ago
I was extremely disappointed with the service I received from Colonial Van Lines during my recent move from California to Oregon. While I understood that household moves can involve a degree of logistical complexity, what I experienced was a troubling lack of accountability, transparency, and integrity on the part of Colonial. Shortly after my belongings were picked up, I contacted their customer service department to request a delivery update. To my surprise, I was informed that my items had already been delivered -- which was categorically untrue. This miscommunication was only the beginning of an extremely frustrating process during which I had to consistently initiate follow-up inquiries to obtain even basic information regarding the whereabouts of my shipment. After a full week of repeated outreach on my part, I was informed that my items were in a "climate-controlled warehouse," but no further details regarding location or delivery timeline were provided. It took several additional days -- again initiated by my own follow-ups -- before I was finally told that the warehouse in question was located in Los Angeles according to the customer services manager Hope. Even then, no one could provide a confirmed delivery date, and when one was eventually provided, it was two days beyond the latest date in the original delivery window. When I asked for an explanation for the delay -- particularly in light of the extended period during which I received no meaningful communication -- I was told there was "nothing that could be done" aside from a $30-per-day credit. When my items were finally delivered, I learned that they had never been stored in a warehouse at all. The same agents (Movers operating under their own business name and under Colonial's carrier license) who had picked up my belongings delivered them and informed me that my items had been on the back of their truck the entire time -- I was delayed only because a larger job took precedence over mine. This directly contradicted what I had repeatedly been told by Colonial Van Lines customer service. When I raised this matter with their team, the response was perfunctory at best. I was offered a $150 price adjustment, which does not come close to addressing the inconvenience, stress, and misleading information I endured throughout the process, in addition the extra financial strain that was placed on me. This experience has raised serious concerns about the professionalism and reliability of their company. I expected -- at the very least -- honest communication, timely updates, and responsible handling of my personal belongings. Unfortunately, none of these expectations were met. There was one employee (Tiffany) that expressed her empathy to my situation, but her hands were tied. The company was subpar and dishonest. I would not recommend Colonial to anyone. read more
8 years ago
I'm updating this review for two reasons. They would not settle my dispute unless I changed my one star to a five star and secondly because we did reach a reasonable resolution. The move was still the move from hell and nothing else has changed. We've had success moving from Atlanta to Martha's Vineyard with no issues. And that's 1500 miles to an island with a ferry to consider. So this under 600 mile moved seemed like it should be a breeze to us. That could not be farther from the truth. We looked at Colonial's reviews and they were mixed. People either loved them or hated them. Right now we leaning towards the hate. If they redeem themselves I will revise the review but right now its a solid 1. My issues: They give you a two day window for pick up and promise to let you know 48-72 hours in advance. 72 hours came and went and then 48 and no word. We called and were told they'd get back to us on Monday, which was the day before the estimated pickup. We said hell no! So we pressed and they finally called back and said 9-11am today, Tuesday. It is now 2pm and still no van. The driver called a couple of hours ago to give a "Courtesy" call to let us know they were running three hours behind. At that time we expressed our concerns and he said they would make up the time. In order to stay on track, we moved everything from the second floor to the first. I MEAN EVERYTHING! We broke down all the beds, rolled up all the rugs, shrink wrapped all the antiques, etc. The driver also so said we were the only one on the truck and they may even be able to get there earlier than estimated. Shortly after that call, we received a call from Colonial saying they were told by the agent we requested to be the only ones on the truck. No true. Everyone told us the entire time, based on the size of our load, we would most likely be the only ones on the truck. And the driver confirmed that. But now because we asked the driver about that they said we're going to have to revise the quote. Seriously? They just wanted to make MORE money off of us. Of course all this happens when there is no hope of us cancelling because we wouldn't get our deposit back and they know we would have to wait for another mover to reschedule. So they have us over the proverbial barrel and we have no choice but to continue. Then to top it off they will only commit to a window of 5 days to deliver. How can you plan for a five day window? Another company came out to do an estimate and when it was Colonial's turn to do the a site inspection, they asked for the previous estimate, sent someone out and low and behold they came up with the exact number of pounds. Exact! How in the hell does that happen? I'm sure they just used the previous inspection report. It's just been a nightmare. read more
8 years ago
UPDATE on this review: Five stars for the resolution of my original issue. I had a positive follow-up interaction similar to Peggy P. I had a bad experience that was addressed by the new management. I was contacted by Donna who listened to what happened and empathized with my frustration without getting defensive at all. She didn't rush me or downplay anything I had to say. Donna recognized the stress that I went through and recognized that Colonial should take responsibility. She agreed to compensate me for my bad experience. This move was impressive to me because it was unnecessary. They know that I am not likely to need another move in the short-term, and yet still wanted to make sure that I had a positive impression of the company and its direction under new management. Given that they can't go back in time, this was about as good a gesture as I could have hoped for. I wish them luck in continuing to turn it around and stay focused on customers. Original review: ------------------------------------------------------------ Worst moving experience I have had. Colonial staff were extremely respectful and helpful when making the initial purchase. I booked two months in advance, and was told to not have any concerns about any delays or troubles since it was so far out. But guess what - they never showed up! They called one day before the moving window saying that they might need to find a new driver. That turned into a different story each day, with them repeatedly telling me it might be the next day before I hear any more information. They continually failed to call to update me with information despite desperate pleas. My moving window came and went. They must have promised 5 or 6 different days to call me back with updates. No calls came. And then when I called back at the time they said they'd update me, my contact person was mysteriously busy / unavailable, or the office was closed entirely. They even tried the excuse "not enough people live in Seattle, no there's no truck traffic there". Eventually I was essentially told to book with another moving company. Well that's pretty hard to do on the same day when I needed to be out of town during the window they booked. I had already made plans and arrangements. Now after having booked a different company with some delay in pickup, I have begun my job and my life in a new city in an empty residence with none of the basics. All thanks to Colonial FAILING to live up to their word. As SOON as they thought there might be a delay, they should have taken it upon themselves to fix it, instead of stringing me along for over a WEEK beyond the arranged time, and then just giving up entirely. Trust no one. read more








































