Cancel

Open app

Search

Colonial Van Lines

2.2 (1.4k reviews)
Closed Closed

Services - Colonial Van Lines

In-state moving

Out-of-state moving

Colonial Van Lines Photos

You might also consider

Recommended Reviews - Colonial Van Lines

Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
Yelp app icon
Browse more easily on the app
Review Feed Illustration

Reviews With Photos

Damage on Motorcycle
Tristan W.

If you're considering using Colonial Van Lines, we strongly recommend reading this first. Our experience with this company was frustrating, expensive, and deeply disappointing--and we want to help others avoid the same situation. Before we signed the initial agreement, Colonial Van Lines was in constant contact--calling often and answering quickly. But once we signed, it suddenly became incredibly difficult to reach anyone. On moving day, the final charge was way higher than expected and felt like a bait-and-switch. They had gone over everything with us on the phone and gave us an estimate, but when the movers arrived and everything was already packed, the cost nearly doubled. At that point, we had no realistic way to back out--we had already packed everything, informed our landlord we were moving out, and had travel plans like a hotel or flight lined up. Even so, we asked if we could delay the move given how drastically the price had changed. They told us that wasn't possible because they had another move scheduled immediately after ours. We felt completely cornered and had no real choice but to sign the new paperwork. They claimed the weight of our belongings was much higher than originally quoted--something we had no way of verifying. We encourage any reader to look up typical long-distance moving rates and decide for themselves whether $1.73 per pound for a move from Southern California to Chicago--especially with all packing done by us--is reasonable. They also gave us a three-day pickup window, which made planning nearly impossible. We were already into day two without knowing if they'd come the next morning or two days later. Then there was the "shuttle service"--a smaller truck used in areas where a full-size truck can't access the building. The price for this jumped from about $830 to $1,454, and when we asked why, their finance person literally said no one really understands how their system calculates those fees. As for the actual delivery: we had packed our cologne collection in a sealed plastic container. Strangely, all of the cheap colognes made it--but all the expensive ones were gone. The container arrived completely dry, with no signs of leakage or damage. We'll let the reader decide whether it's more likely that only the expensive bottles somehow broke without a trace, or if something else happened along the way. Our motorcycle was improperly secured during transport and arrived damaged. Now I'm busy filling a police report and raising a complaint with FMCSA because of the theft and gross mishandling. I've made it my mission to warn others about Colonial Van Lines. If this review helps even one person avoid what we went through, it'll have been worth it.

Sum C.

I hired Colonial Van Lines for an interstate move in 2023 and they put all of our belongings in storage and we pulled them out of storage in 2024. It is 2025 and I am still dealing with CVL and their lack of integrity. If you care about your stuff, definitely look elsewhere as you can learn from my experience and that of the other unhappy reviewers here. Most of our belongings have some damage memory from the move. Upon delivery of the items I realize that Colonial Van Lines had outright lied to me about storing my high-end piano properly. I had been promised the piano would be moved with a piano board, stored in a temperature controlled facility with blankets, and crated. I found out that the piano was not stored in a temperature controlled facility, or on a piano board, and had been stored on the keyboard side, slanted. I had told the company early on that I would be willing to hire somebody else that specializes in moving these types high-end musical instruments, and was told that it would be best to keep everything together. When the movers were onsite, I was told that they didn't have the materials to do the crating, or the manpower to perform it. I had to go purchase blankets myself to wrap the piano with, and they told me "don't worry, we've been doing this a long time." In the end, when we brought the piano into the house after storage was complete, there was extensive crushing damage, cracks, and numerous dents in a very high end finish. Contacted an attorney to help me with a demand letter, and Colonial Van Lines has not reimbursed me the expense of repairing the piano, to the tune now of $40,000. I am still awaiting a response from CVL counsel, and their BBB response has been that they have made an offer -- it's expired, and that it was based on 500 lbs -- when the piano weighs close to a ton. An updated offer and a response from counsel, the BBB, or the FTC is still ongoing and the next step is preparation to file suit with a local FL litigator who is ready and willing.

See all

6 months ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Business owner information

Photo of Moving S.

Moving S.

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of K Z.
0
66
25

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 5
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

1 year ago

Business owner information

Photo of Moving S.

Moving S.

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 9
Thanks 4
Love this 2
Oh no 3

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 4
Thanks 1
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Business owner information

Photo of Moving S.

Moving S.

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Business owner information

Photo of Moving S.

Moving S.

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Helpful 4
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

9 months ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 3
Thanks 2
Love this 0
Oh no 1

1 year ago

Business owner information

Photo of Moving S.

Moving S.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 8
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 3

1 year ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 2
Thanks 1
Love this 0
Oh no 1

1 year ago

Business owner information

Photo of Moving S.

Moving S.

Helpful 3
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

2 years ago

Helpful 3
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

1 year ago

Business owner information

Photo of Moving S.

Moving S.

Helpful 4
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 4
Thanks 1
Love this 0
Oh no 1

5 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 8
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 2

1 year ago

Helpful 4
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

5 years ago

Helpful 7
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 2
Photo of Anne F.
3366
1129
7031

5 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 21
Thanks 0
Love this 22
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 5
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 4

3 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 0
Thanks 1
Love this 0
Oh no 0

11 months ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 2
Thanks 1
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

1 year ago

The 5 stars are for Donna from the resolution department of Colonial Van Lines whose troubleshooting was effective and efficient.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 3

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

5 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 11
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 3

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 3
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1
Photo of Jim D.
15
5
4

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Al D.

Al D.

Helpful 2
Thanks 1
Love this 0
Oh no 2

Page 3 of 35

Ask the Community - Colonial Van Lines

Do colonial van lines really own a truck?

No they contract out to other companies

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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 203 reviews

Read more highlights

You might also consider

Red Jacket Moving and Storage - Mattress wrapped

Red Jacket Moving and Storage

(12 reviews)

red jacket moving did an incredible job of moving me in florida... they were efficient, friendly,…read moreand extremely professional. i would recommend them without hesitation and will definitely be using them again in the future. these guys are amazing an definitely go above and beyond any expectation. this work is on another caliber and excellent!

Very bad experience…read more Movers were 20 minutes late. Then they had no mattress/box spring covers as promised when i got the quote. I had bought some originally when going to move by myself without movers but then wanted to return them since i had to book movers and they were to provide but they didn't have any so had to use my own (extra $20 out or my pocket). I was literally moving just across the street and had only a few things to move --- a bed, 2 bedside tables, dresser, standing desk, 0 boxes bc had moved everything else myself already. Out of those few things they moved- they damaged my wood bedside table (part of a matching set so now can't use both of them) and damaged my bed frame. I have pictures of both the day before with no damage which proves they did the damage to both. Also keep in mind i only used 2 hr of the 4 minimum i had to book with them. So they only had to work half the time and move a few items and still those few items got damaged just from moving them to an apartment building next door. They offered me $60 for the damage, i felt i was owed at least $200 discount but all they would come up to was $100 off. Do NOT recommend. Wish i had just finished my move myself without hiring the movers at all

Colonial Van Lines - movers - Updated May 2026

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...