DO NOT USE COLONIAL VAN LINES! "0" STARS IF ALLOWED. PAY MORE AND DO NOT USE COLONIAL!! JUST READ THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS ACROSS THE INTERNET TO SEE HOW COLONIAL CONSISITENTLY FAILS. My mistake was to not read the reviews before contacting with Colonial. Colonial Provided the Worst Moving Experience as compared to 5 other moves in 10 years my family and I have had as member of this US Navy. This move was from Louisiana (New Orleans suburbs) to the suburb of San Diego, CA. Colonial's salesman oversold and under delivered. Significant lowlights of the move included: - The move started on Tuesday 13 Nov and was completed on 17 Dec 2018. 35 DAYS! Terrible!! - Colonial Salesman stated that if the truck could not take everything, a second truck would be dispatched the "very next day" to complete the pick-up. - Colonials Internet survey of my house photo's online resulted in an estimated weight of 10,300 lbs. Although I agreed with this weight estimate as I had rid of furniture over the last few years, I still asked for an on-site survey just to be sure. The Salesman said it was completely unnecessary and a real person on site was not required. - Colonial Salesman and their QA Rep were repeatedly told that my average weight for my last five moves as 12,600 lbs and always utilized one half of a truck. - On the day of the move, the Sub-Contracted mover "Cal Van Lines" arrived with "3" other houses on household goods on the smallest truck in their fleet. The truck had less than 1/3 of its capacity space available. - Colonial had contracted Cal Van Lines to pick-up an additional house leaving not enough room for my household goods without regard for my space and capacity requirements. - The movers estimated my total weight to be 13,500 for which I had to sign a revised estimate. - When the truck was full I called Colonial about when the second truck would arrive and was devastated to hear that there was not going to be a second truck. My Colonial agent recommended that I get a Uhaul and figure out the rest of the move on my own. - The total weight ended up being 10,300, well under the revised contract weight of 13,500. - After pleading with Colonial Management about the position they put me I had to sign another contract for pick-up on 18 Nov for what was called a "overflow" shipment. o NOTE: If Colonial had not had Cal Van Lines overload the truck with the additional houses, I would not have had to contract a second truck and pay all the additional costs. - After the overflow shipment was picked up on 18 Nov I was told that it should arrive no later than Nov 24th. Follow-up calls throughout the week resulted in no information on exact ETA, weight or cost. Only info I was provided was the truck had to go to Northern California first before dropping off my shipment in San Diego. - On Nov 30th, I was called by one of Colonial's managers to let me know that despite her team telling me the shipment was in Northern California, it was actually still in Louisiana in a storage facility. The shipment was supposed to leave on 1 Dec and be in San Diego on 5 Dec. - Colonial personal and managers DID NOT KNOW WHERE MY SHIPMENT WAS FOR OVER 8 DAYS!! - After dozens of calls and getting tossed around like a hot potato from one rep to another, the shipment arrived with over 25 plastic bins broken, boxes ripped and many items damaged and scratched. The most expensive item damaged was a $1282 Elliptical machine (console panel crushed). - Colonial also tells you one thing at the beginning of the move and changes their story several times regarding delivery procedures. Colonial significantly inflates the estimated weight at the beginning of the move and at the end of the move you have to; o Meet the Moving Van driver at the weigh station for truck weight. o Return to your house to unload. o Go back to the weigh station for another truck weight to find out what your shipment weight was o BUT - YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR ALL OF THE TOTAL WEIGHT. My Estimated Weight: 6,510 lbs @.65lb = $4,225 with a $1,495 deposit/$2,730 due at delivery. Actual Weight: 4,820 lbs @ .65lb = $3,122 - $1,495 deposit = $1,627 owed. Colonial still collected the full balance remaining due for 6,510 lbs minus a $400 reduction for a late delivery ($2250). From here you have to wait for the Truck Driver to FEDEX the original weight ticket into Colonial before a refund is issued ( - The final insult from this failed Colonial move is the claim process only allows .60 per pound meaning the 118 elliptical machine will only receive a $112 reimbursement for a $1282 claim. - It's been over 3 months and no reply yet from Colonial on my damage report. Summary: I would NEVER recommend Colonial Van Lines because; 1. Sales Department cannot back up what they sell on paper or good faith statements. 2. The Internet Survey does not work. Must have an on-site survey to have an accurate weight assessment. NOTE: The internet survey does not read more

55330698..I picked Colonial because I heard some good reviews, though every moving company has good and bad reviews sometimes you have to take a chance,and I gambled on Colonial at first I was skeptical but as time went by they worked with me and till time to move and waiting for my furniture I was happy with the movers,no problems went smoothly, the supervisor was friendly and on the money,Affordable was affordable. Thanks you Juan Q. read more

55563148-CO-A Great job. Good communication and professional! Quick delivery and overall good price. read more

Colonial is currently under new management. The new team resolved an old issue and is concerned with the satsifaction of their customers. My stars are strictly for the resoltion of my issues. Christian and Desiree were the best. My matter was resolved in a timely matter. I have a lot of respect for them for correcting the wrongs of their contractors. So, Yelp removed my review because it wasn't detailed enough. Here are the details. We scheduled a move from Pittsburgh, PA to Sacramento, CA. They sent someone to the house to provide an estimate, after comparing offers, boyfriend selected them. I handled all the paperwork, contract was in order and a time slot (window) was given. The move was paid in full. Days prior to the actual move we were suppose to be contacted with the exact date and time. We were assured that we were to be moved by a specific date. Flights were made based off the latest date. As the date approached they couldn't find anyone to take the load. The subcontractor that was found couldn't do the requested dates. So, we ended up missing flights and had to book others. Since we had to be in California by a specific date , we contacted another company and we were moved the very next day. Go figure, we paid less and that was with paying extra since it was a rush move. When we contacted Colonial we initially received the run around until we got a manager. The manager agreed to refund everything but the non refundable binder. I explained since services weren't rendered by the latest promise date they couldn't keep it and if they wanted to challenge it, they could do so from my attorney. All charges were refunded in 24 hrs. I posted a review of my experience. A year later we were contacted by new management to take a survey about the experience and to provide feed back. A year after that, we were contacted again. They apologized for the experience and shared the new process that were put in place since my ordeal. I worked with both Christain and Desiree and they are striving to turn things around. We haven't needed their services again but I would use them if I had a need. It's something when a company says we dropped the ball, we apologize, and let us show you we deserve your business. They attempted several times to get a hold of me by phone, email, and yelp. The email they were using was outdated but their persistence is what allowed me to give them the time of day finally. read more

In the middle of a cross-country move and I have no clue where my stuff is or when it will be delivered! No call from driver as promissed

If I could give a 0 star rating, I would. I've moved several times over just as many years, and I have never experienced such poor professionalism and service in a moving company. After reserving movers weeks in advance, I was called and told that the the movers "may" arrive Wednesday or Thursday - no time specified. They never showed. I was then told they "may" arrive Sunday or Monday. Btw, I was out of town and had to scramble to get coverage for it. And then they never showed. I didn't know what happened until I got a call from their cancellation department. I am supposed to move from Virginia to San Antonio first thing tomorrow. Thankfully another company came through for me, as well as incredibly good friends. But this is inspite of this terrible excuse for a legitimate company. DO NOT USE! read more

We just completed our moving with Colonial Van Lines. HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. First of, when quoiting with them I asked if our job was going to be subcontracted and I got assurance that was not going to happen. Next thing we know, the day our belongings were picked up in Los Angeles, they were pick up by a different company. The pickup went very smoothly so I didn't made a big deal about our moving being subcontracted. A week went by and I couldn't get a solid date as far as when our belongings were going to arrive in Dallas. Finally I was able to get an answer and they mentioned it would take them 15 days aiming for a date of 1/31/2018. Colonial Van Lines has very poor communication with customers once they secure the job. Then comes the fact that on a Saturday afternoon 11 days after the pickup I get a phone call from the truck driver that they will be in Dallas the next day to deliver our stuff (on a Sunday). Luckily I was already in Dallas even though CVL mentioned that they wouldn't arrive until 4 days later but as you can imagine no condo building in Dallas allows move-ins on Sunday especially with a less than 24 hour notice... We reach an agreement with the leasing office of the building and they allow us to move on Sunday so we decided to proceed with the moving the next day. When our stuff arrived to the apartment, and the subcontracted company started to assemble our furniture. We noticed that 2 key items were completely missing from our belongings. First the table top for our dinning table and second, a wooden support for the mattress of one of our beds. These items were missing completely and the truck driver assured us they brought everything they had. To make things worst, our coffee table came in broken. Right the way, I had to go to Ikea to buy the wooden supports to be able to sleep in my bed and to also buy the coffee table that they broke. To this date, even though we have put in a claim, I still have no dining table and I haven't been reimbursed for the spendings that I had to make due to their inefficiency and poor management of our move. I wouldn't recommend this moving company to my worst enemy. They are absolutely TERRIBLE read more

As an update, Colonial Van Lines marketing manager, Al Disorbo contacted me to rectify this situation. He apologized for what had happened and stated that CVL would return our deposit in its' entirety. The company showed integrity in doing so, and should be commended. read more

55466368-CO Company was helpful and attentive throughout the whole moving process. Everything was completed on time. I actually received my things quicker than expected for a move that was over 600 miles (only took 2 days!). Customer service was extremely helpful and even the followup was wonderful. I would certainly recommend them. read more

Updated January 2020. Donna from the resolution team fought for me to obtain a partial refund for all the issues we faced during our move. The amount offered to me is significantly less than I what I believe is fair, but I can no longer continue dedicating time to this matter. I am hoping to receive the partial refund soon. I remain an unsatisfied customer. read more

Update - Worked with Donna at Colonial Van Lines who was great at helping resolve the issues.

9/13/16 This is an update of my review of Colonial Van Lines after management reached out to me to arrange the return of my items that were left at my old house, at their expense. I am changing my review to 3 stars pending receipt of my items and will update the review accordingly. 9/29/16 This is a second update and I changed my review to 5 stars because they delivered my items that had been left behind and made every effort to fix the issues. I hope my experience has helped them develop new customer/driver guidelines. I would leave no stars if I could, as my experience with Colonial Van Lines was so bad and I have decades of cross country and international moving experience. After extensive conversations with Oliver of CVL, including discussions of their terrible reviews, and their promise that they would give me personalized service, I chose Colonial for my 1200 mile move from the midwest to the east coast. What a disaster. I never did get the driver's name or the company name, the driver barely spoke English (he was from Bosnia) and his helpers spoke no English at all. They did arrive on time, with 1 day's notice, after I had called repeatedly asking for a confirmation -- I had to close on a house and vacate my existing home, and needed confirmation of a load date from them. First, CVL underestimated my weight by 45% so the driver refused to load the truck unless I promised to pay another $4000 for the move. They arrived at 1PM on a Saturday and I made them leave at 1:30AM Sunday because I was exhausted and they still weren't finished. They returned Sunday morning to finish loading the truck. And I did call my 'dedicated' move specialist, only to find out that she didn't work on Saturdays. And Colonial's office isn't open on Saturdays either -- they received numerous phone calls from me about the additional charges, the driver's new contract, etc., which they never replied to, even after they returned to work. The driver, who believed my load was 45% smaller, came with a truck that was too small, so he was not happy and kept complaining that I had 'too much stuff', until I told him to stop it or leave. I had to keep reminding them that they had left items in the house, like my office file cabinet, and in the end, they left items in the house as they just left and didn't so a final walk through with me. I didn't discover that they had left 4 rather large items in the house until they were already gone. I tried to call both Colonial and their office but of course it was Sunday and they were closed. I have complained to Colonial at least a dozen times and they refused to send a truck to pick up the items the driver left in my house. My attorney will be handling that, along with a sizeable premium for breach of contract. While they said they moved 'the inventory', I hired them to move my household. And if their estimators are so incompetent that they cannot adequately judge the size of my household which I clearly told them, then they need to hire people to do visual inspections and on-site estimates, and not do them over the phone. When they delivered my items I noticed my sofas were wet because their van had a hole in the roof. Surprisingly, few things were broken given how badly the truck was loaded. I think they may have off-loaded the van during the week's time it took them to deliver because the van was very badly loaded -- some of my things fell out of the truck when they opened the door. My picture cartons, which were clearly marked 'do not lay flat' were laid flat across the top of other boxes. Oh, and did I mention that some of my boxes were nearly flattened? And these were new, heavy duty boxes. They also complained that the boxes were 'too heavy', when every mover has told me to pack them full. Maybe the driver needs to hire more muscular, experienced helpers. I will never again use Colonial Van Lines for a move, nor will I ever recommend them to anyone. Their response to my repeated requests for the return of the items that their jobber driver left in my previous house was that 'it was not on the inventory'. They were on the inventory and I am most displeased with their lack of responsibility for the issues their driver caused by not doing a final walk through with me. Further, if they schedule moves on a weekend, their office should be staffed on a weekend. I don't need to speak to my 'dedicated' move coordinator, who never did call me back, within 24 to 48 hours, I need that person on the phone when the driver is demanding a new contract, when they leave my household items at my house and disappear, or are still at my house at 1AM and will be finished 'in a few hours'. This was a terrible experience and I hope that the next person who considers Colonial will read their reviews and believe them because I should have and maybe I would have been more pleased with a different company. read more

From a retired Air Force Officer: Run, run very fast, as fast as you can from this moving company! Abysmal service. I've had moving companies move my household goods ten times in my adult life--both military and civilian. All without a hitch. All without any damage. This is the moving company from hell. I rue the day I first called them. In summary: the contract was to move us from Eugene, OR to Venice, FL. Our initial contact was with Joseph Barran. He was smooth, articulate, and inspired confidence. However, he's the front man . . . once the contract is secured, he steps aside and you're left dealing with the incompetents. Pickup was scheduled for Monday, Nov 23rd, with Sunday, the 22nd as the fallback date. A week before the pickup date, Colonial Van Lines (CVL) called and said the driver was running late and would not arrive until Tuesday the 24th. We said this was unacceptable. We had to catch a flight early Tuesday morning (reservations made months earlier, for we were bringing a dog and cat on board.) CVL said no problem, they would fix it pronto. When no one called back that day or the next morning, not trusting anyone else, I emailed Joseph (Tuesday the 17th) asking him about the pickup date. Said he'd check with dispatch. The next day, Wednesday, I queried him again about the status of the driver. The following day, Thursday, he emailed to say the pick up was scheduled for Monday, the 23rd. Great, no problem. Right? Monday morning arrives, we're waiting for the driver. 8:00, no driver, 9:00 no driver, 10:00 no driver. Not happy campers. Called CVL about the status of the driver. Called at least three times--got a different person each time. All said the same thing--dunno, we'll look into it. A couple hours later, a call: the driver won't be arriving until the next day--when we're gone. Then I got hold of the driver . . . said he'd be there between 7 and 8 a.m. and be done by noon. So we quickly scrambled to find someone who could supervise the packing for 4 hours in our absence. Neighbors volunteered to help--half a day? No problem. (Packers arrived at 7:00, but didn't finish until 5:00. Five additional hours. At this point, we were steaming and broached the subject of compensation. Darreka Ward (CV) said we could receive $500 in compensation, but she could only authorize $250 on her own. I said we'd talk about it once we were settled in Florida. In Florida: (to be continued in an update) read more

This review is strictly regarding Donna with customer service at Colonial Van Lines. Donna was very responsive to the trouble we had with our cross country move. She showed great empathy with our situation and was able to come thru for us. I would recommend reaching out to Donna if any issues arrive with your move. read more

I would give zero stars if that was an option. Colonial Van Lines subcontracts out with moving companies in the area. The company that was contracted to move my home, tried to extort money from me by holding the contents of my home. They refused to drop off the my items claiming my home weighed more than double the estimated price, based on an unverified weight. Colonial Van Lines took a back seat to assisting me in resolving the matter and made no attempt to advocate for me, THEIR customer. I had to call an attorney and threatened to call the police before the situation was ultimately resolved. read more

Well the movers played well down the stairs with two fragile boxes. One which had my husbands and mine computer packed. They had bubble wrap, cardboard plus tons of blankets and other things such as towels to keep the screens from hitting. Even more paranoid we put another blanket in there to give extra cushion. But do you think they are going to replace it? No. Its .60 cents per pound of the item only. I told the woman I understood if it happened on the truck, but it was from them rolling it down the stairs. Because it wasn't written on the invoice I said something to them, they get off scott free breaking a 2k computer and my sons console who was bubble wrapped and such in the other fragile box. Oh yes btw. The boxes had fragile written on them. The movers were great guys. They made a mistake and was negligent-I shouldn't be expected to pay them for additional coverage with a deductible of 1k if anything is broken when they were already charging me 11k for the move. I ended up out almost 8k in the end but was underestimated on truck so we had to for out another 1k to take the remaining objects that wouldn't fit in the truck. Which me and my daughter had to drive 12.5 hours no sleep to get to my husband and son who went ahead to get our new house key. Colonial not only lured me with honeyed words, they had a bad habit of people leaving the company so we never got our 5 day window we were told we would get. We got less than a 12 hour window. The first man was great, second an aggressive asshat who we demanded to speak to someone else because he refused to answer any questions. 3rd guy sorta answered questions. Gave us wrong list of items. Then charged us 3k more when corrected or no pick up. On pickup, nothing went the way we were told. Then well let's say after that things went south. Our delivery was at 7pm until 1 am. I had to have people come back out because things were not properly together. They are supposed to put EVERYTHING they take apart back together. Nope. My husband was handed the screws to my boys basketball stand and was told it's easy to put together. Now we did feed the guys they busted but. They were also ran hard. Where I had to stop one and tell him it will be ok. Just breathe. I don't like being lied to. Nor do I like being played. That is what happened to me here. Payment of movers, vehicles, gas and food-10k later we are broke. I am expected to replace a 2k computer based on its weight per .60 cents. You tell me how that is right, when they broke it through negligence? read more

Read the reviews on this company. I wish I had listened and not hired them. They begin by telling you that the account rep will be with you from start to finish-first lie. They said the quote was binding and if it weighed less you would get that deducted. Another lie-they try and charge you more by the pound and never are able to "find" the weigh in papers. They won't open the door of the truck until you pay the balance. No you can't see your stuff and they won't take a bank check (even though the contract says they do). They want a money order or Credit Card. They broke almost everything. Things that were bubble wrapped and well wrapped. China-plates-TV- -EVERYTHING. They lost pieces of our electric bikes so we can't use them. The people they hired to unload must of come real cheap because they put together my son's bed but didn't screw the boards in so the first night he fell through. They put everything no matter what the label said in the garage-piled with boxes. As a concession, they said they would send a crew here to fix everything and bring the boxes out of the garage. After rescheduling a few times, one man showed up. He said he was allowed 4 hours including traveling time. He lived 1 1/2 hours away.... So for the hour he was here he worked really hard. He was the only good thing about this experience. I wonder about the 5 star reviews on this site. But then I saw someone say the BBB gave great reviews. They didn't... The experience from start to finish was horrible and the stress they caused was terrible. DON'T USE THEM. I'm going to try and post a picture of a blue china set and knives that was with my things. They aren't mine. I've asked them a few times what to do with it but they don't answer. So much for my stuff co mingling with other customers. read more

I would not recommend using this company. What you are told is going to happen does not. We were told that they had looked at our address on google and could have an 18 wheeler and 4 movers pull in load up and be on the way. What we got was two men in a rental truck, that took 3 days to load and 7 days to deliver. The "movers" would say that they'd arrive at your house between 11-1 and then show up at 4. Not professional at all. Stay away. read more

My mother spoke with "Donna" and she was trying to bribe her into giving the company 5 stars to pay her back what she was owed. This company is very unprofessional. Would call the wrong person listed and when she would call back the company would call back two days later. They never showed up for the job they were providing and made my grandmother have to extend her lease due to their incompetency. "Donna" went on and on about how great she was and how her customers give the company 5 stars just for her customer experience, however that is wrong and gives people in need of assistance the wrong idea. Absolutely ridiculous they would try to get us to give them 5 stars just to get the money owed to the apartment just because they never showed up for the job. Definitely wish I could give zero stars. "Donna" should probably follow up on the movers who need to complete their job instead of harass customers to give a false rating. "Donna" couldn't even confirm my mother's name even though she had put herself as the first person to contact. Just assumed the last name was the same as my grandmothers. Absolutely unprofessional and would NEVER recommend. That is not "good customer service" that is scamming. Don't let them sucker you into giving them 5 stars they don't deserve just to get your money back. Just don't hire them. How can I give 5 stars to a job that was never done? read more

Colonial Van Lines handled my recent 2000 mile move from one end of the country to the other; and there was a lot of damage and loss to my belongings. Frankly, I was angry, and frustrated, and wasn't expecting much in the way of satisfaction...figuring I would have to take a deep breath, chalk it up to a learning experience...and move on. Then Donna from the Resolutions Dept. contacted me; she was concerned and sympathetic; and most importantly, she stayed in touch during the process. She was the bright spot in an otherwise difficult transition; professional, caring, and knowledgeable. She was careful to have enough documented information to be able to negotiate a satisfactory settlement on my behalf. Now I am able to "move on" in my new home...thanks, Donna. read more

I was quoted on 3000lbs based on a description of my furnishing. I counted and weighted my self and ended with 2,500lbs. A week before the shipment I was convinced to increase the count to make sure there wouldn't be problems with space in the truck. The new weight ended up being 3800 and this was the weight THEY ACTUALLY REPORTED as being reported. I HAD to pay to get my furnishings. The cost increased by 50%. What a bad taste this moving company left. read more

They truly deserve 0 stars but you have to give them one to post a review sadly. DISLIKE. Beware, this is Moving Brokerage and they are EXTREMELY unprofessional and do not know the first thing about customer service. Below is the cliff note version as I am not going to write everything as it would be a trilogoy! I hired them to do my move from GA to VA and they subcontracted out the delivery to a local moving company that doesn't have the funds to have the proper Certificate of Insurance to move my 5,000 pounds of belongings into my condo building. They have dragged this on and on and continue to dissapoint and do not seem to care I am sleeping on an air mattress and have paper plates and bowls etc... Colonial Van Lines was made aware of the C.O.I. requirements prior to the furniture being picked up in GA but failed to hire the right 3rd party. The 3rd party decided to show up with a U-Haul truckand pretend to be "my friends" and do a self move in since they were unable to obtain the proper insurance. They were turned away by the building and had to put everythign in a storage unit. I was assured by Yassina on 5/18/15 that I would have the C.O.I. requirements in my inbox on 5/20/15 and then delivery on 5/22/15. On 5/19/15 I received a call from Yassina stating the 3rd party was unable to obtain the C.O.I. and we needed to come up with another plan. She asked that I get a quote to have a company that met the C.O.I. requirements either A) meet them at the building and do the move or B) pick up my belongings from the storage unit and finish the move. I called back with the completed task and shared it with Yassina within 2 hours. She then called back to say they were going to take one more day to figure this out.... BAFFLED by this news I was! On 5/20/15 the 3rd party Route 66 figured out he could have ONE mover do the move into my condo WITHOUT the proper C.O.I. Colonial Van Lines and Route 66 believe ONE mover can move 5,000 pounds of belongings into a condo unit and not get hurt, damage the building, the condo unit, MY BELONGINGS and do it in a timely and effective manner! I'M AT A LOST FOR WORDS! I took it upon myself to hire JK MOVING (who I HIGHLY RECOMMEND after all my research and interacton so far) to be at the condo unit to move my belongings into my condo unit. I feel that Colonial Van Lines and Route 66 did not comply with their end of the contract nor provide the services/goods in a timely mannger nor give me any kind of customer service. They are willing to compensate me $525 for all the troubles this has caused me. This doesn't even cover the PROFESSIONAL movers coming to do the job I hired them to do in the first place!!!!! DO NOT HIRE THEM! MOVE ON, IF NOT YOU"LL BE SORRY! read more

What folks need to realize is this, Colonial is a broker. That's it. No more no less. The sales people are very polite, the managers and supervisors are as well. The issue with this group is who they contact to do their deliveries. This is why there are mixed reviews. Colonial does not know them, don't employ them but contracts them. Our belongings were untraceable for weeks. Colonial couldn't even make contact with the driver and had 0 clue where our things were. It took a lot of digging and research on my behalf that I was able to locate the driver. These drivers go across the country picking up multiple loads, transporting the last one on their truck to be delivered first and work backwards on the truck to the first load. So the date of delivery is only an estimate. Legally, the company has 21 days (fair and reasonable) from the day you say you're available to get your things to you REGARDLESS of promise date. Gray area......if you're available on the 1st and they guarantee the 10th......your 21 day window begins on the 10th, not the 1st. Their system works in theory, but in reality.....sad. Our things were delivered exactly 21 days from the promise date. Over 30 from when we said we would be available. Things were missing. One piece of furniture was delivered to a previous stop. The driver gave me that person's info and I contacted them directly. This customer informed me that every box, EVERY box had broken belongings, AND at the original pickup, the packing crew left over half of their things behind because " they ran out of room". In the end, Colonial leaves you at the mercy of rogue companies. THEY should do better homework on who THEY hire. God be with you if you have a claim. Know this, once the load is picked up, Colonial is no longer liable. Any claims or adjustments based on timing is up to the driver's discretion. Colonial assured us we would receive a discount for the delay of shipment. It wasn't until the driver was 60 mins away we were told we'd have to take it up with the driver. Our discount for the month delay was $300. Damages are based on weight. So Grandma's crystal vase that they broke will be paid out as a whopping $4. Hire a big boy company. Your personal things are worth it read more

Colonial Van Lines (Relocation Division) provided a HORRIBLE moving experience and left us high-and-dry when we needed help. The company they choose to physically move the belongings was not happy with the pay rate Colonial negotiated with them - and they took it out out on all of our stuff. I even had to help move my stuff in because they didn't send enough guys (or they were taking my things back!). EVERY BOX had broken items and some never arrived... our things were completely lost at one point while Colonial Staff fabricated conversations that never took place... Even the large, non-boxed items were damaged. The whole thing was a horrid experience. When we needed help and reached out to Colonial, no one was available. The rep stopped responding to emails and ONLY when calling the corporate, main line and sending emails to everyone under the sun did we finally get a response. Be warned: after you sign and make the initial deposit, that is basically the end of the customer service from their team. You are better off finding one company that will REALLY handle everything from beginning to end. Colonial pretends they serve consumers but are really more geared for business-to-business moves. Be prepared to pay out the ear and still do everything on your own. read more

Despite repeated attempts at making things right Colonial still has not spoken to me. I am so sick of this company. Hijacked our stuff didn't make any of the promised dates lost part of our stuff broke quite a bit and just an FYI ... USDOT says stay away from them so many complaints. read more

Colonial Van Lines - Broken table one of many - Movers Near Me - Pompano Beach, Florida

Great company to work with. Everything went so smoothly and quickly. Movers were great very polite and on time for pick up and delivery. If I move again you can bet I will be calling Colonial Van Lines to get the job done!! read more

Update Donna from the resolution team called me and took care of my problems ASAP. After talking to Donna I feel a lot better. I originally got a quote and told them let me find out exactly when imp moving and if this is the company I want to go with. During the time it took me to make a decision they called every other day. When my wife told colonial we would go with them they asked for deposit. She told them I would be home that Saturday and would pay deposits then. When Saturday comes they called her at least five times before I got home to make the payment. About 10 days prior to move I went to update my shipment. I added some items and removed some items. I was told that my deposit fee increased now because of this. I told them I already payed deposits and why couldn't this just be adjusted when I got the final weight since the deposit was based on estimated weight anyhow. At first the answer was no but then they said ok. I believe they wanted more for the deposit because they don't get any of the final pay. The company that takes the load does. When it got closer to my delivery date I called Colonial to let them know I had not been contacted yet with a time frame this was probably a Tuesday. My delivery pick up time was supposed to be Thursday or Friday. This is where everything started to fall apart. I was finally told on Wednesday by Colonial my pick up time was Friday 12-4pm and the driver would call me Thursday to reconfirm. Thursday I also got an email from Colonial letting me know my movers would be JTExpress...what but you're not a broker why isn't colonial moving me? I was told jtexpress was part of their network. Thursday no call so I call colonial Friday letting them knows I hadn't heard from driver. Of course they had to call JT express to find out where he was. Driver finally called at noon and said he was 95 miles away. 3 hours later I call colonial saying driver is not here yet. They call JTexpress once again and call me back saying driver is 30 minutes away. After many calls back and forth driver finally shows up at 6pm. We ask the driver if he has the mirror/tv boxes we ordered and he begins to tell us that colonial didn't say anything about that. We should him our paperwork with them on there and point out on his paperwork that the mirror/tv boxes our on there. These are supposed to be padded boxes designed for TVs and mirrors per Colonial. Something I payed $27 a piece for. While filling out paperwork driver and helper go on and on about how Colonial is a broker and it would have been cheaper to just call them directly. Halfway through moving our stuff onto the truck they both talk about how they're tired and want to come back and finish in the morning. We tell them this is not possible due to us leaving Fort Worth and heading to Kansas City first thing in the morning. A two day load was never an option and was never suggested could happen by colonial since we packed everything else ourselves (besides TV and Mirrors) My delivery was supposed to happen on Sunday at 10 am per the driver when he was done loading the truck. Come Sunday 10am no driver. He was still at hotel. He was waiting on his company JT express to process the paperwork and send him final price to unload. About noon the driver finally showed up. Once again they let us know they were not getting payed enough for this job. When I went to make payment I was told they don't take American Express which I told Colonial I would be paying with. I had to use family to make the final payment because I was not told there would be any issues with payment method. My delivery was on Sunday I called Colonial on Monday to ask for reimbursement about the TV mirror boxes. Today is Friday and I can't get an answer yet. The account managers keep telling me there "superiors" are working on it and will let them know something soon. I get told it's a process. I understand it's a process but what is the process. You charged me for items that were not used or even brought to pick up. Some of the questions I have been getting from account manager why didn't you call and say something at pickup? Because the driver didn't show up until 6pm central time and you were closed. Why didn't you call Saturday? Because I was driving across country. Why didn't you call at delivery? Because you're closed on Sunday. I didn't wait a week to call I called the first business day of the week. read more

WARNING-Do not use these movers. They sold us on great service to move two elderly women and DID NOT deliver. To make things worse, they would not make it right. I have spoken to customer service and not even received a simple sorry. They sent 2 men and a 28 foot box truck to move two houses. We were told we would have 4-5 men and of course a truck that could fit all of the belongings. The truck had a bald tire and a light out. They knew this and still loaded up the truck to drive over 500 miles through the night. On top of all of this, and this is only some of what happened, they billed us for the overage of the weight. We signed a binding estimate not to go over the amount given to us. I would never recommend this company to anyone. I thought they would make it right. They are not even willing to reimburse us for the extra men we hired because they only sent two. read more

(Job # 611680-CV-R1) I WISH I COULD LEAVE A NEGATIVE STAR REVIEW. RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY! Most stressful move of my life and we haven't even had a truck loaded yet. We had this move set up for a month. They had given us a 2 day window for someone to show up and move us. Either the 28th or 29th. After no communication with anyone from the company I called them on the 27th to inquire on when they would be here. They told me that they were still coordinating our move and they would get back with us as soon as they knew something. The 28th comes and I call them again because no one reached out to us. They said they were still working on it and would let us know something as soon as they had it taken care of. I ended up calling then 3 times that day and no one could tell me anything. Today rolls around, ( 29th) and I call them again. They asked me if I had any flexability in my time frame. I dont have much. I told them if they could have someone here by Sunday (31st) then we would be ok. They said ok and would call me back. I get a call from Donna the resolution specialist told her of my concerns and she said she would get back to me. 5 minutes later my phone rings and it's our account manager and they CANCELLED! Said they would not be able to accommodate our move and it would be in both of our best interest to find another company! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Everything in my house has been packed up. Washer and dryer disconnected. Fridge disconnected no food or pots and pans to cook in. Travel arrangements made. Time taken off from work waiting for someone to show up. $4000.00 paid in a deposit. We did everything on our end of the contract that we were supposed to do, and they completely left us hanging out to dry. Our lease agreement ends on the 1st of April and we have no way of being out of this house on time. Anyone who has moved knows the time it takes to set a move up. Obviously there is no way I'm going to be able to find someone else in that timeframe. I am appalled by the lack of professionalism of this company ! read more

Working with this company, who is not rated with the Better Business Bureau, to move my things from Cleveland, Ohio to San Jose, California has been a disaster. Darreka, has been our moving coordinator and has proven herself to be incompetent. This company sub contracted our moving to Best Price Moving and Storage, a company located in Chicago with MANY negative reviews on YELP. Their page is filled with pictures from many customers of broken items, missing furniture, and stories of theft from their movers. The red flags started at the beginning when Darreka failed to notify us that the movers expected partial payment on pick up of our things in Cleveland, Ohio, an extra payment over the initial deposit. Our belongings were picked up on March 4, 2017. Originally we were promised a delivery date on March 22, 2017 with a phone call from the driver a day or two before. Days leading to the 22nd, I guess Darreka was unable to communicate with the movers, and on numerous ocassions called to provide an update that their was no updates. Even went as far as asking if I had spoken to them. March 22nd came and went with no idea of where our belongings were or when they were expecting to arrive. We finally heard from the driver on Monday March 27th with a delivery date of March 28th and an estimated time of 1-5pm. Mind you, our moving coordinator, Dareka promised a date between March 29th-31st a few hours before receiving this phone call. Also, the driver mentioned he does not accept credit card and to have cash or certified check for the remaining $1200-- this after I filled out a credit card authorization form for that amount. So I took off from work to be able to accept the delivery. By 5:30pm on the 28th, we called the driver and was told he was stuck in traffic and to expect him by 6:30pm-7:00 pm. At 7:15pm I called to find out that the truck had broken down. At that moment Enrique, the driver, promised he could deliver our things by the 29th between 8am-11am. So I took off work AGAIN to meet the driver. Currently it is 3pm on March 29th and have yet to hear back. I called Darreka to express frustration at the lack of communication, and time missed from work. She showed little regard for the inconvenience and missed time off work this situation has caused. When asked to speak with a manager, she promptly responded to be the supervisor, and would not let us speak to anyone else. This moving company's max compensation for delays is $30/day, a price they are willing to part with. I work in California and make more than this an hour. I had to call off two days which resulted in $600 worth of loss wages. My total compensation will not make up for this. This company will not go above and beyond to meet deadlines and satisfy customers. Avoid this company and pay the little more for their competitors! read more

I selected Colonial on a short notice cross-country move from Texas to Florida. They were very responsive to my request and coordinated my move very smoothly with constant updates on the status of my household goods. My move coordinator, Samantha, was outstanding and very reachable even on the weekends. All of my goods arrived within the time frame requested. Also, for the first time in 11 cross-country moves (using several of the major moving van lines, NOT ONE item was missing! I'll definitely use Colonial for my next move! The only downside in my move is that in haste, I overpaid for my baby grand piano prep. - D.R.Ladd 55485847-CO read more

They did a great job! Arrived on time, delivered on time. Worked crazy hard during both load and unload. Could not ask for anything more. Stellar communication throughout the entire process. I didn't have to worry about a single thing! Would absolutely recommend. (55493569-CO) read more

After my review, I was contacted by Colonial Vans customer service and all my complaints were addressed and rectified. They were very friendly and made sure that the movers hired before were not to be used again (apparently they have been suspended?); in addition they made sure that I would be compensated for lost belongings. Due to this followup, I have updated my rating to 4 star read more

I was looking for interstate mover and Colonial Van line offered a contract which fit the bill. It was all smooth until I was tranfered to billing department to make the deposit on 9/19/18 the total bill amount was not the amount I was told, I immediately brought it to attention and billing dept rep placed me on hold and said my moving representative Anthony Darden would revise the corrected amount. I was about to board the plane so I emailed Anthony asking to email back the correct invoice. However response I received was beyond ridiculous, he said amount he quoted me on was based on one of dates which we discussed week ago. When I spoke to the rep on 9/19 to tell him the date which I decided to move and finialize the cost of moving my car and household goods, only date discussed was 9/26th. I then asked him to cancel the job order because i felt if this company is dishonest about thing like this, I better be off with other. Next day Paul Hughes from company assurance department reached out assuring me that the he will fix the situation and given them another chance. Because of earlier incident with previous rep, I was meticulous about the preocess of move. I disclosed numbers of moving items and my apartment being on 4th floor with no elevator. I asked numerous time if the total we decided will be change, he assured me by saying unless i added large items like household appliance, it will be what it's quoted. I was then supposed to be contacted by dispatcher in regards to appointment time for moving date/time and after sending out numerous emails to its company, my assigned dispatcher contacted me said the moving guys will be here next day@7am, which was 10hrs away. The moving day finally come and when the third party hired moving staff came in, he gave me the invoice with almost $1000 increased from the price, I was told. It was so appalling and since it was 7 am, I couldnt contact company to speak with my dispatcher. I quickly sent email to Paul asking him to response. Meanwhile one of moving staff was throwing up thru my hallway window and they were kicking and rolling down my moving boxes from 4 th floor to ground level. It was a nightmare. The staff said how colonial van line is never good with communication and they were never told about walk up stairs and boxes indicated are all based in medium sized boxes so there will be extra charge. What the moving staff was saying was completely not true, I went over the details with Paul many times. Later that day Mena from the company called asking about the move, I explained to her what has happened, she said she will investigate and get in touch with me nxt day which will be Thursday. There was no follow up and I have left numerous messages and emails and I have not heard from the company. It's 9/29 and I have no idea where my household goods are nor when they will get to my destination. I have not been sleeping because I feel like i have been deceived not once twice from this company. This company is not even a small back of truck company, this is substantial sized operation. I need to get this problem addressed and resolved asap. LISTEN TO OTHER REVIEWS!!!!! I WILL UPDATE YOU GUYS WHEN I DO HEAR FROM THEM, UNTIL THEN I WILL CONTINUE TO WARN ANY PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS. read more

I had a great experience with Colonial Van Lines for my cross country move. I requested a quote online and quickly received a call from Susan who went above and beyond in making sure my needs would be met for the upcoming move. Then I was assigned an account manager, Dona, who also went above and beyond in making sure the moving company that was hired locally did an exceptional job (which they definitely did!) The drop off went really well also. One small item was broken upon arrival but based on horror stories I was hearing about other peoples moves from various other companies, I was expecting much worse. I will be filing a claim on the item, but I feel overall my stuff was well cared for. Colonial Van Lines exceeded my expectations and I definitely recommend them. read more

Horror stories about moving were made at Colonial Van Lines Job ID: 632577-CV I found out the hard way why Colonial is NOT BBB accredited. If you value your hard-earned household belongings and would like to feel they're in good care, or don't want to experience the thought of "will I ever see my things again", DO NOT CHOOSE COLONIAL VAN LINES to come anywhere near your belongings! I could write an entire novel of the debacle that we are currently enduring with the incompetence of this so-called "business". The packers and movers who arrived at our house refused to provide me with an inventory list, a copy of the Bill of Lading, or any other form I signed for them to begin the process. When I called customer service to ask if this was normal, I was told plainly, "if you want your move to begin, you need to sign them". On the second load day movers arrived hours late; with a different, EMPTY truck. When I asked about where the first truck was I was told it broke down and was "in a parking lot at Home Depot". Upon load completion, I would not let the movers out of the driveway until I got some promise of when I would have a copy of the paperwork (which I'm legally entitled to) and where my stuff will be stored. I got the owner of the subcontractor on the phone and was told it would take 3-4 days to process and would be sent to me from Colonial. He also told me that I'm not allowed to know where it will be stored. I called Colonial multiple times to request these documents be sent to me. I finally had them emailed to me after 29 days! Apparently the sub-contractor wouldn't send it in to Colonial. So this meant Colonial had no documentation on weight, inventory list, BOL, or any specifics (not even the state) of where our belongings were being stored or what was removed from our house when it was loaded. Easily stated: Colonial sends subcontractors to my house, they leave with everything (after a horrendous 2 day ordeal) then they don't turn in docs to Colonial. Basic theft, I think! Now get this: when I pressed for the documents to Colonial days later, I was told the 2 men who loaded the truck and took away our belongings had been fired! Who put our stuff in storage? And who had that key? Perhaps these fired employees? Did the employer get the storage key BEFORE terminating them? I don't know. We learned much of this only after our first offload date came and passed with no explanation as to why, which is the reason I began demanding answers. Before we learned of the depths of Colonial's ineptitude, On June 6 or 7 we received a call from Colonial customer service that they would honor our request to have the offload at our new home on 6/13. On 6/12 I called to confirm that we were still on schedule and what was the ETA for movers to arrive for offload. 3 hours later I received a call and was told, "due to unforeseen circumstances they cannot offload tomorrow; we will call you on 6/15 with an update". This is when I sensed Colonial has a problem and they don't want to tell me about it. We pushed hard for answers and it became apparent Colonial had no idea where any of our belongings were, not even the state. So how have they attempted to remedy the situation? With empty promises, flat out lies, extreme incompetence, lack of urgency and lack of accountability. They would not disclose the general location of storage, will not answer direct questions in email and are all but impossible to get on the phone... Oh unless they are after you to sign the original contract. The sales team gives you everything you expect through the bidding process but as soon as something goes wrong, they all point fingers to whoever they can. Zero accountability! It is now 6/21 and we still DO NOT have our belongings. In fact I was told today by 3 people in customer service at Colonial that I would receive a call from the mover tonight with an ETA for tomorrow... I never received a call. It is now 1 am. I have lost all faith in anything they tell me and I beg you to spend you hard earned money for your household move ANYWHERE but Colonial! Best case scenario this company is incompetent, at worst, a racket. Please save yourself the headache and look elsewhere. read more

Details below but here are the highlights * No 24-48 hour notice with a 4 hour window * Inaccurate pricing and hidden fees * Truck not big enough to fit all of my belongings had to leave things behind * terrible communication * sold my contract to the same competitors they advised me not to trust that was offering a lower rate * drop off late with NO ETA. * broken furniture at drop off *piled all items in one room and did not reassemble any furniture *Offered financial compensation to take my review down or update to 4 stars. Latest update: Colonial has a person whose sole responsibility is to call unhappy customers and offer monetary compensation to update their review stars. They wanted to pay me $1,000 to update my review to a 4 or 5 star. I refuse to do this. People should have an honest view of how a company does business. And they should not be bribing people to scam other people. I DID NOT take the money and WILL NOT change my review. $1,000 does not even cover the items I had to leave behind, the damaged items, and the time lost much less the stress that they put my family through. So many empty promises at the sale. David my sales rep seemed so knowledgeable that I went with Colonial even though they were 1000 more expensive. He promised me I would get a call 48hours before pick up with a 4hour window. There is a 2day pick up window. It is noon on day 2 and they still don't have a pickup time. They do not call to update at all. When you call they simply tell you they cannot get a hold of the driver. I was told they have their own trucks. Turns our they sent my business to a third party. Unreal. At this point I have left a 1700 deposit, missed my daughter's graduation, missed two full days of work, and still am not sure if they are coming to get my stuff. Worst experience ever! I am now terrified that my belongings are not going to arrive as promised either. So many reviews of people whose items took much much longer than expected to arrive and arrived damaged and/or incomplete. I will update my review as we go through the rest of this process. Assuming they really are going to pick up my things. Update: Movers arrived at 430pm. The truck they came in did not have enough room for all of my items. I had to choose what would and would not be going. Sales rep never told me I had to wrap my coffee table and dining tables so there was extra charge for that. They also charged me extra because a semi could not pull through (could have if they had come on time and the gate was open). I spoke to Hames at colonial and asked they cancel my contract and refund my 1700 deposit as these extra fees were not agreed on. He said I could sign to pay the extra or forfeit my deposit. I had no choice but to sign to pay an extra 1500. REALLY IMPORTANT. ... WHEN I SPOKE TO THE SALES REP I TOLD THE I WAW GOING YO HI WITH EXPRESS VAN LINES WHOWAS QUOTING 2K LESS. HE TOLD ME I SHOULD NOT GO WITH EXPRESS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT REPUTABLE AND HAVE HADTHIER LICENCE REVOKED 6 TIMES. COLONIAL SD MY CONTACT TO EXPRESS VAN LINES! THEY CHARGED ME 2K MORE AND SENT THE SAME PEOPLE THEY TOLD ME NOT YO GO WITH! Once we got all of this settled and they started loading it was 6pm. The movers were polite and worked quickly. They were upset that it was late and they were tired. They complained but got it done. Update: just received a call today from Colonial stating that my drop-off will be late. My belongings should have been delivered between May 26 and June 9. Now it will be sometime after the 12 but they do not know when. They have no control over delivery since they sold my contract. Update: The truck arrived and the crew unloaded all of my belongings into my front room. This included all of my furniture that was never put back in the room it belonged much less reassembled. My boxes were broken and open. My custom made dining chairs were broken, and the underlining of my couch completely torn off. I have not yet opened my boxes to see what else they destroyed. read more

Instead of having my husband move our four bedroom home like he wanted to I opted to have Colonial handle the whole process and it was a good idea. Everything ran smoothly a with the exception of one box of cups that broke during the move but it is no big deal. I will recommend them to my parents when they move down this summer. We are very happy with the service provided. read more

Colonial Van lines (CVL) took a 30% initial fee for our move. When we paid this fee, it was our understanding that this was a deposit for a move to be completed by CVL. This fee actually ended up being a finders fee for them to book us a third party. None of their trucks, drivers or crew were involved in this move. There were many calls with Colonial Customer service, but all of these calls were to give me fourth hand information from the 3rd party who was supposedly in contact with their truck driver and most of this information was later found to be incorrect as dates, times, and locations did not match up with later calls from CVL, calls to new driver and/or in-person information from the crew. If I had wanted to hire an unknown, unrated mover I could have done that without their fee and been ahead by being able to directly call that company for updates rather than going through CVL's operator calling 3rd party's operator who calls the driver. They were asked specifically "I will see a Colonial truck with a Colonial crew?" and the answer was "Yes, our truck, our crew". When they showed up to load a day late, it was a 3rd party who I couldn't even find the name of on Google or Yelp. CVL had a credit card on file, but the driver that showed up insisted on a personal check. They then took an extra 7 days beyond their first "confirmed delivery" call to actually deliver my goods, at which point I was required to pay cash or a cashiers check. Every day that this 3rd party was late, Colonial called me with an update claiming just one more day due to maintenance, then mechanical problems, then crew problems, then just 'late'. They refused to refund any portion of their fee, claiming that they had to be even later than they were and even them would only refund $30/day, not a refund based on my costs for their lateness. The third party truck also had no divider and the crew had no tools to do assembly of furniture. read more

in order to receive a refund, required to update review. Have rec'd multiple calls and emails to check to see if I would update review. They seem a little impatient when the ball is not in their court. So here is their update: Rec'd $435 refund for the worst customer service experience we have ever had. read more