Colonial Van Lines Reviews

During the pick up, two guys showed up, and they took all the boxes. They were all boxed up, sealed, and put in a van. There was some artwork, some framed prints that I didn't have boxes for. So, they charged me a little bit extra, and they boxed the stuff up. There were a couple of desk chairs. They loaded up the truck, and within three hours, they were done and gone. I told Colonial that the stuff needed to go into storage because the new house that I bought had not been built yet. I gave them a rough idea of when escrow would close. So, they stored the stuff. Where they stored it, I have no idea. But when I finally got a date, they showed up here.

There was a small hiccup when their truck broke down, and they were going to be a little bit late, but the lady was very pleasant, and I said, “That's fine. I understand.” When we finally got a date, they showed up here very early in the morning, and brought the desk in, and assembled it. I told them to just leave the boxes in the garage. I would bring them inside one at a time, and open them up, and put stuff away. All in all, Colonial Van Lines was very informative. Nobody else called me back. But Colonial made the effort to call me back.

My original pickup window was 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.on August 14th and I had specifically requested an early pickup because I needed to turn in my apartment keys and begin my drive to Oregon. The movers did not arrive until approximately 5:00 p.m. That delay put me in a terrible rush at the end of an already stressful moving day.

At pickup, I was told they were shooting for an August 18 or 19 delivery, something my daughter and I specifically confirmed with the person loading my belongings. My actual contractual delivery window was August 18 through August 31. I planned my move accordingly and even took two weeks off work, in part so I would have time to receive my belongings, unpack, and settle into my new home.

August 31 came and went with no delivery. My belongings were ultimately scheduled to be delivered on Saturday, September 5 — five days beyond the end of my contractual delivery window. During that delay, I received conflicting information about where my belongings were, whether a driver was available, and when my shipment would actually leave. I repeatedly had to initiate contact with Colonial Van Lines myself, and on multiple occasions I was promised updates or callbacks that never came. I also sent emails seeking information and updates and did not receive a response.

Even on the day my belongings were finally scheduled for delivery, the same communication problems continued. I was notified that my delivery was scheduled for Saturday, September 5, between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. I stayed home and planned my entire day around that window. Around 1:30 p.m., I contacted Colonial Van Lines for an ETA and was told I would receive a call back. That call never came. I then called the number that had sent me the delivery notification. Thankfully, that person did return my call and informed me that the driver had been delayed at an earlier delivery and that my new estimated delivery time would be approximately 6:00 p.m.

It is now 5:08 p.m. as I write this review, and I have received no further communication or confirmation from Colonial Van Lines, Father & Sons, or the driver. After waiting five days beyond my contractual delivery window, I am once again left waiting and wondering whether my belongings will actually arrive when I have been told they will.

I understand that delays can happen in the moving industry. What I do not understand or accept is the repeated failure to communicate with a customer whose belongings are already beyond the contractual delivery window. A simple phone call or text takes minutes. Customers should not have to continually chase a moving company for basic information about where their possessions are and when they can expect them.

This move has caused unnecessary stress from beginning to end. After booking so far in advance and trusting Colonial Van Lines with virtually everything I own, I expected professionalism, transparency, and reliable communication. Instead, this experience has left me feeling that once my belongings were picked up, I was largely on my own to track down information. At this point, I simply want my belongings delivered safely and in good condition so that I can finally put this experience behind me. Based on the experience I have had, however, I could not recommend Colonial Van Lines or Father & Sons for an interstate move.

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 attached requirement to sign a full non-disclosure agreement. We expressed our displeasure and declined the offer but received no further communications from the company. In our view, much of our dissatisfaction could have been avoided with better upfront communications,, particularly on realistic charges for the move. Needless to say, we cannot recommend this company for any interstate moves.

Last minute, I ended up having the furniture delivered to my house and then hiring another moving company deliver the furniture to my daughter's apartment with a specific date and time. When I spoke to the dispatcher manager upon my request, he said he didn't know about the situation until 2 days prior to my move. To top it off, I emailed a letter to customer service and the company's owner Aldo DiSorbo and I never received a response back. DO NOT HIRE! No communication if you have an issue.

Yesterday, we sent Colonial a written request asking them to acknowledge that they are aware of the carrier’s Conditional rating, that we notified them of our concerns and requested reassignment because of those concerns, and that Colonial is proceeding with Purple Queen/Posh despite our request. As of this update, we have received no response addressing that specific written request or our concerns regarding the assigned carrier’s Conditional FMCSA safety rating. The representative who contacted my mother said our account manager would be reaching out. We hope our concerns will be addressed and that the remainder of the move goes smoothly. We will continue updating this review as the move progresses.

Original Review: IMPORTANT CONTEXT: Our move has not yet been completed. This review reflects our experience with Colonial Van Lines through the estimating, QA, and pre move process. I intend to update this review after pickup and delivery to reflect the remainder of our experience. I would strongly caution anyone considering Colonial Van Lines to pay very close attention to how their estimate is handled and to read the entire contract, not just the estimate summary.

Our experience started out well with Renee, who made us feel like we were going to be in good hands with Colonial. Unfortunately, that sense of security disappeared as we got further into the process. We have been honest and transparent about our inventory and boxes, and somehow that honesty has only seemed to bite us in the wallet. Our estimate has been changed three different times.

We also told Colonial multiple times that we were still in the process of packing and determining our final number of boxes. We did not pretend that our initial number was final and then suddenly reveal additional belongings at pickup. We have been doing our best to keep Colonial updated as we pack and as our inventory becomes clearer. Instead of feeling like that communication was appreciated, we have been made to feel as though our frustration with the resulting price changes is somehow our own fault because we continued updating the inventory. It is also important to understand that Colonial is not doing most of the packing. We are doing approximately 95% of the packing ourselves. They are not packing our entire household from start to finish, yet we are still dealing with substantial charges and repeated changes to the estimate.

The most frustrating experience has been dealing with Paul in QA. After we added 10 additional boxes, bringing our total to approximately 90 boxes, our estimate increased by roughly $1,000. Our boxes are a mixture of small, medium, and large sizes. When I questioned how 10 additional boxes could translate into approximately $1,000 more, Paul explained that the estimate was based on weight regardless of whether the boxes were small, medium, or large.

That explanation left me with more questions than answers. Ten additional boxes do not automatically contain the same amount of weight, particularly when they are different sizes. Yet somehow adding those 10 boxes resulted in an approximately $1,000 increase. Paul then told us he really was not trying to charge us more. Whether he personally intended to or not, our estimate was still approximately $1,000 higher.

What makes this even more frustrating is the language in Colonial’s own paperwork. The document is titled a “Binding Estimate for Services,” and another section states that the total cost will not exceed the estimated amount provided the customer has accurately described the items and services. Yet elsewhere, the contract says the estimated charges are not a guarantee of the final actual charges and may increase or decrease based on services, quantity of items, accessorial services, destination services, and/or shipment weight. It also lists additional weight at $1.74 per pound. For a customer trying to understand exactly what a “binding estimate” means and what could cause the price to change, I found this unnecessarily confusing.

What made the situation even more stressful was the pressure to sign. Paul was trying to rush my mother into signing the revised estimate because he said he had to leave at 18:00. We were told that if the estimate was not signed before he went home, Colonial would cancel our move. That did not feel like a reasonable amount of time to review a document involving thousands of dollars, especially when the estimate had already changed multiple times. Customers should be given adequate time to understand what they are signing without feeling threatened with cancellation.

What makes that interaction even more baffling is that Renee told us today that Paul was going to call and specifically told my mother not to answer until we knew what was left. Later, when my mother tried to explain to Renee that she had felt pressured by Paul to sign the revised estimate, Renee’s response was: “Well, I told you not to answer his call.”

That response was particularly frustrating. Paul is a QA representative calling on behalf of Colonial Van Lines about our move. My mother should not somehow be at fault for answering a call from the company she hired. More importantly, Renee had told her not to answer Paul’s call until we knew what items were still left, yet when my mother did answer and felt pressured during the conversation, that warning was used against her rather than addressing the concern. If there is a problem with how Paul communicates with customers, that is an internal Colonial issue, not something the customer should be expected to solve by refusing to answer the phone.

At one point during my conversation with Paul, I became frustrated and told my mother that we should just consolidate the boxes into fewer, heavier boxes: “If they break their ** backs, they break their ** backs.” I will acknowledge that the language was colorful and that I could have expressed my frustration differently. However, I was not swearing at Paul, insulting him, threatening him, or verbally abusing him. I was making a frustrated statement to my mother about consolidating our boxes. Paul nevertheless threatened to end the call because he “doesn’t like cursing.”

There is a significant difference between verbally abusing an employee and using profanity in a frustrated statement that isn’t directed at that employee. Moving is a stressful process involving thousands of dollars, people’s possessions, tight schedules, and a lot of uncertainty. I would expect someone working directly with customers in that environment to be able to distinguish between those two situations. Unfortunately, our latest interaction with Renee was no better.

We contacted her because we were unhappy with how the move was being handled and wanted to explain why. Rather than feeling heard, I felt as though our frustration was being treated as unreasonable because we had continued adding items to the estimate, even though, again, we had repeatedly communicated that we were still packing and trying to determine our final box count. During that conversation, Renee repeatedly tried to talk over me while I was attempting to explain our concerns.

I want to be completely fair about what happened next: I raised my voice. By the end of the interaction, I was yelling because I was trying to finish what I was saying without being talked over. I wish I had handled that differently, and I take responsibility for raising my voice. Renee then hung up on me. I can acknowledge that I should not have yelled while still believing that an unhappy customer should be allowed to finish explaining why they are unhappy. Being repeatedly interrupted while already frustrated escalated an interaction that did not need to escalate.

What bothered me most was the implication that our dissatisfaction was essentially our own fault because our inventory continued changing. We told Colonial from the beginning that we were still packing and figuring out exactly what we had. We have made a genuine effort to keep them informed rather than hiding additional items and surprising the movers on pickup day. There is a difference between explaining to a customer that additional inventory affects the price and treating that customer as though they have no right to be frustrated by repeated, substantial changes to the estimate. I also find the contrast with our initial conversations with Renee particularly disappointing. She initially made us feel reassured that we would be taken care of throughout this move. Once we actually became unhappy and tried to voice our concerns, our experience was very different.

Another thing I wish Colonial had been more upfront about is who may actually handle your belongings and how they may be transported. Our paperwork specifically names a separate company as the “Designated Agent” and states that Colonial may use agents or independent subcontractors on orders. It also says that unless you purchase exclusive use of the vehicle, your belongings may be temporarily stored, offloaded, reloaded onto a different vehicle, consolidated with other customers’ shipments, or transported by a subcontractor.

I do not necessarily have a problem with consolidated shipping. We understand that interstate movers may combine loads. We all know you are doing it. What I have a problem with is making basic information about the process feel difficult to obtain when Colonial’s own contract spells it out. Just be transparent with customers from the beginning about who may transport their belongings and how the process works.

The dates are another example of why I recommend reading every page carefully. Our estimate gives us an estimated pickup window of August 26 to August 28 and an estimated delivery window of August 28 to September 5. However, deeper in the contract, it states that these dates are not guaranteed without purchasing Premium Guaranteed Service and that Standard Service can allow a delivery period of up to 30 business weekdays beginning with the first date available for delivery. That is a pretty significant distinction for someone planning an interstate move.

And this is not a cheap move. Our current estimate is $7,473.69, including more than $1,300 in accessorial charges, one of which is a $998 shuttle charge. When customers are spending this kind of money, I do not think it is unreasonable to expect clear, consistent explanations about what they are paying for, who is handling their belongings, and when they can reasonably expect them to arrive, especially when the customer is doing approximately 95% of the packing.

Moving across state lines is already stressful and expensive enough. Customers should not feel like keeping a company updated about their inventory is something they will later be blamed for when they express frustration about the resulting price changes. They also should not be pressured to sign immediately, told their move may be canceled because a representative’s workday is ending, or repeatedly talked over when they try to explain why they are unhappy.

Our experience with Colonial before our belongings have even been picked up has involved three different estimates, an approximately $1,000 increase after adding 10 boxes, confusing language surrounding a “binding” estimate and weight based charges, unclear communication about consolidated shipping and subcontractors, a much broader contractual delivery timeframe than the estimate summary initially suggests, pressure to sign before 18:00 under threat of cancellation, being told by our moving coordinator not to answer the QA representative’s call until we knew what items were left and then having that warning cited when we complained about feeling pressured, a QA representative who nearly ended a call over profanity that was not directed at him, and a conversation with our moving coordinator that deteriorated to the point that she hung up while we were trying to explain why we were dissatisfied.

I am not claiming that I handled every interaction perfectly. I didn’t. I became frustrated, I used profanity in a conversation with my mother, and during my latest conversation with Renee, I lost my temper and yelled. I can own those things. But acknowledging my own behavior does not erase the reasons we became frustrated in the first place, nor does it change the pricing, contract language, repeated estimate revisions, pressure we experienced, or communication problems described above.

Renee initially made us feel secure about choosing Colonial Van Lines. Unfortunately, the experience that followed has done the opposite. For the amount of money customers are paying for an interstate move, clear communication, consistent answers, adequate time to review documents, transparent pricing, and the ability to express concerns and actually feel heard should not be this difficult to get.

My delivery arrived 4 days late than promised. To make matters worse, the final cost was approximately $1,000 higher than my original estimate. Again, Ms. ** assured me that they have this down to a science with estimates and their quoted estimate is what you pay nothing more. However, upon delivery I was informed either I pay the bill or they take my belongings. The bill must be paid before they will even start to offload your belongings.

When I spoke with Jose about the increase in the final invoice, he informed me that because Colonial Van Lines gave an estimate for a king size bed with headboard and footboard, that there was an increase in weight because my king size bed with headboard and footboard was a canopy bed. That explanation felt unreasonable for the increase, especially since I had provided accurate information about all my other items. I was never asked about a canopy bed as it is a king size bed with headboard and footboard.

As a Doctor of Nursing Practice, I believe in never allowing emotions to override sound judgement. Unfortunately, the way this company handled my move tested that principle. Then, when my belongings finally arrived, the delivery crew attempted to charge me additional fees because there was an elongated walk up to my home-another unexpected cost and surprise that was never disclosed by Ms. **.

My experience with Colonial Van Lines was filled with poor communication, delayed delivery, and unexpected charges. I will never utilize this company to move a lamp for me. I strongly encourage anyone considering Colonial Van Lines to do your research before trusting Ms. Shena **, Jose or any other employee with this company. Based on my experience I can never recommend Colonial Van Lines.

Come to moving day, we find 1: they did not put our washer and dryer on the list like we asked, and had to pay more money. 2: the movers show up with a 26' Penske truck. 3: They are not colonial van line workers(they subbed out like they said they wouldnt). 4: Were not prepared to pack anything as their paperwork did not have partial pack on it like we paid for. So now we had to pay for the moving materials and the labor for them do so which was almost another $2000 on top of the original.

5: Of course they force you to pay the bill before they touch anything on the truck once you reach your destination, so once everything was off the truck and unpacked we found broken furniture, furniture that was not wrapped that should be, mold on a mattress that got wet, glass broken and boxes crushed including ones labeled "FRAGILE" that were on the bottom of stacks, and brand new articles of clothing, still in boxes, missing. I 100% would not recommend and give a 0 out 10 stars. I would not even recommend this company to my enemy if I had one.

P.S. If you still decided after my family's horrible experience with this company to choose them, please do your best to not deal with "Brian **", he will lie to you from the start of your conversation to the finish but make you believe it. If you need him for anything after the day he seals his sale with you, forget it. He is no more than a greasy salesman who apparently gets his jollies off by screwing over the average American family. I can't speak for the rest but I only imagine they are all the same. I would also like to add that it has now been well over a month and after putting in our detailed claim report for all the broke and missing items with Bruce ** and Devonya **, we have know been ghosted and can can not get any reponse after days and days of emails and phone calls.

Toshiba ** - Claims manager

All listed above I hope this reaches you and see the type of people you have working for you, if you are already aware you should be ashamed to run a business like this and for the record, the company I work for relocates employees all over the country multiple times a year and I will be sure to pass this along within my company and make sure it reaches well outside of my company to ensure you don't do this damage to anyone else.

I currently have back issues from sleeping on an air mattress. Their compensation offer was $30/day for each day late. The loading of the furniture was professional but was NEARLY THREE WEEKS AGO! The auto move was the only smooth part of the process. I would ask that you take this in consideration in your future recommendations and provide me with any advice for my future dealings with this company.

The second and larger issue is how our items were placed into their storage unit. Items wrapped when picked up in IL were unwrapped and haphazardly shoved into the storage unit. The deliberate act of unwrapping fragile items (like televisions) and smashing them into a storage unit without any care in handling them, is gross negligence. According to the contract, we should be entitled to replacement value for those damaged items packed and unpacked by their movers. Colonial Van Lines will not reimburse us for these items and has offered only a very small percentage of their value. The "white glove" promises made to us by sales were not the services we received. It was very disappointing! These photos demonstrate just three items that were initially wrapped, then unwrapped and significantly damaged while in their care.

I had already made arrangements to leave after the first day. So, I had to leave the keys and the movers dropped them off with my Realtor after they finished at 6 o'clock the second day, which was kind of concerning. Apparently, everything got packed okay, but I wasn't there to see the end of it. The guy who was driving told me that things were hanging off the back of the truck. I lived on a hill, so they couldn't bring the big moving truck up. They said they were going to have to do a shuttle and it was kind of strange, because they ended up using the same truck that they packed it in to bring it all the way from California to Oregon.

I was under the impression they were supposed to transfer it to a larger truck. I had been told my belongings would probably fit in a 10x15 storage unit, but when they were close to Oregon, they called and said it wasn't going to fit, so I had to arrange a larger unit on the fly. Then, they said they were about 90 minutes away, but they didn't arrive until two days later. They said they had to go to Washington, but it was past where they were supposed to leave my stuff.

The movers did a good job of unpacking but I also had to pay extra because the larger storage unit was more than 100 feet, which they had to carry. I had to wait because where I was going was not very near where the storage unit was. When I checked the storage unit a couple of weeks later, everything had arrived safely and looked good. It wouldn't have fit in the smaller unit, and the guy at the storage place said they did a good job unpacking everything, though it took them a long time.

Moving day was very good. They called me many times in advance. I was in control of everything. I talked to the driver to provide some direction and instructions, and I received everything right on time, as scheduled. The moving crew was very good. There were three gentlemen. They did a great job, taking everything down out of the truck, and they placed some of the big items where they were supposed to be, and everything else was in the garage. Colonial Van Lines was on top of the job. They keep you informed every two or every other day about what's going on in the process. It was a very easy and stress-less approach to something which is usually very stressful.

The worst part hasn’t even been trying to get restful, consistent sleep on the hardwood floors for nearly a month, working 8 hours a day on folding chairs with no monitors or work equipment, or even spending way too much money on takeout while we wait for our dishes and cookware, which we’re beginning to fear will never arrive. The worst part is Colonial's absolutely cavalier attitude after charging us nearly 10k to move our belongings and then proceeding to sit around for nearly a month.

When we’ve called to complain, they remind us what a big old favor they did us. After all, they upped the $30 dollars a day they were going to give us for every day they went past the delivery window to a whopping $50. When I said that wasn’t acceptable and I had a hard time believing they would not be furious if they were in my shoes, customer service then proceeded to lecture me about the tone of my voice. How dare I care that everything I own is missing for nearly a month after paying thousands of dollars — shame on me, I suppose.

And if you think a 50-dollar penalty a day isn’t enough to light a fire under anyone who wants nearly 10 grand from you, you’d be absolutely right. At this point, not only have they not made an effort to give us an estimate as to when the truck will arrive, they’re just calling us to tell us they’ll call us later. Or sometimes they say they’ll call us later and they don’t.

In any case, at this point, everything has been affected. Neither one of us has slept well without our bed, we’ve spent so much money on food and belongings we need but we already own, and it’s affected BOTH of our work. We are so tired and still trying to care for a very sick relative on top of all of that. Please avoid this van line if you care even one bit about customer service.

During that time, when I realized I was gonna let go of my deposit, I checked with Colonial. The guy I talked with was very helpful. He agreed with my assessment of what was going on and that it had been misrepresented. He said things to get me to switch to them and it sounded good. He told me they could get everything onto one truck and set me up with people who showed up and did a good job. It was a single truck move, although it wasn’t what I expected. And the van and the people weren’t from Colonial.

I was given an amount to pay and my understanding was that my stuff would be weighed, and if I had gone over what I had gotten a quote for, I would be charged more. I am not convinced that my stuff was ever weighed. The two amounts I paid were reasonable, and I wanted it all to be over with. I don't remember what I was quoted and what it ended up costing me. But it couldn't have gone too far off. I would have noticed that. The movers were friendly, and the experience was positive, but it wasn't what I had expected. It was two guys who had rented a truck from Enterprise. One of them couldn't speak much English, and the other spoke a little more English but not super well. There was a lady who kept calling to check on me and make sure I knew what to expect. I talked with three people from Colonial, and they did a good job of letting me know how everything would work and what I needed to do.

When the drivers arrived, they probably took more than what I had originally listed. My boxes ended up being a lot more, but they were helpful and moved all of my stuff. I was happy with that. After the disappointment, feeling like I had been tricked by the other company, and with Colonial seeming like it wasn't really Colonial but someone they had lined up for me, everything turned out very positively. The movers were very helpful, and in the end, there wasn’t anything to complain about.

One of my biggest disappointments was realizing that moves don't happen in one day. Since it was only a five-hour drive, I imagined my stuff would be loaded onto a truck, follow me to my destination, and be unloaded the same day. With Colonial, it wasn't so bad because they arranged for people who could work within a delivery window that was acceptable to me, and my stuff was delivered the next day. Overall, the move went well. The sales process wasn’t as straightforward as it could have been. But the end result was what I needed. It was a pleasant experience because the people were easy to get along with. They didn't nitpick about the weight or the number of boxes.

The gentleman who did make the move, Jose, was phenomenal. He was the subcontractor that Colonial hired to move the items to its destination. He had a trainee with them, and they were really good. He was teaching him exactly how to do it. I saw him grab everything and double-wrap it. A lot of people don't do that. They just put something over it, and they're done. He took his time and they got there when they said they were going to get there. It was a cancer patient who needed this furniture because that was her last request, and as soon as she got her furniture, she passed away. Jose even took his time of getting out of town on a Sunday to get there as soon as possible because my friend was dying, and she wanted that furniture. He introduced himself very politely, and said, "I've got your furniture here.” He had a big heart.

Some of the companies were insisting upon having a check on one end or the other. And what happened in this situation is I flew from Florida to Missouri and got them loaded up and made the down payment. Then I flew back from Missouri to Florida. And when we unloaded the truck, I made the final payment.

The other two companies I talked to needed a cashier's check on the delivery end, and that wasn't possible because we had not established a banking system yet in Florida for them. Colonial was the only one of the three that would allow me to make payments on both ends using my credit card.

And when you've got somebody moving cross country, and they are moving because of senior memory issues, and we are moving them into a care facility, those bank arrangements, we still have to open an account in their name, and we may never open a bank account here in their name. In today's modern banking world, there's no need to, except that it's almost impossible to get a certified check without a local bank representative. So, that being the final decider, I could pay them.

They did fine. The only thing that they were not upfront with me about, and I was very disappointed in the whole operation, was that I ended up being farmed out to somebody else. It was not a Colonial Van Lines truck that came to the house and picked up the stuff. It was not a Colonial Van Line person who delivered on the other end. They used a company called Florida Movers. Those guys were fantastic. Next time, I'll just cut out Colonial Van Lines, and I'll call Florida Movers. That was the one thing I was really looking for, and the one thing I did not get.

But the service on the pickup end and on the delivery end was fantastic. The workers did a great job. I have no complaints about how they handled any of that. It just wasn't what I was told was going to happen. On both ends of this move, it was impossible to get the delivery van to either the house to pick up or the apartment center to deliver. And so, they had to shuttle in smaller trucks. I thought they would be able to actually get to the delivery end. I anticipated the shuttle in the smaller truck on the pickup end in Columbia. But the truck driver from Florida Van Lines had contracted two guys to come in, and they loaded everything up, and they were fantastic. He just sat and watched. And he had hired them to do all the labor work. And in a day's time, they loaded up that truck and packed everything that had to go in it, and they were ready to go. They did great.

On the delivery end, I didn't find out until three days before I was anticipating the delivery that they decided they couldn't get to the delivery end with the big truck. And so, rather than calling me and saying, “We got a problem, and we're going to solve it this way," they just told me that my load would be delivered on such and such a day, and there would be a different vehicle. No explanation as to why it was at their facility for five days. What they didn't know was that I got an Air Tracker and stuck it in one of the boxes. I knew exactly where my stuff was, every inch of the way.

When they finally told me, "We don't think we can get in there with this truck," then they had someone else from Florida Movers unload the truck at their warehouse into a smaller truck, and then bring it here to make the final delivery. Once they got here, it was a team of about four workers. They knocked it out in two or three hours, and they did a great job. Of all the stuff that we moved, I only have one thing that was damaged, and it is a piece of art that had wooden leaves glued onto a wooden tree inside a wooden octagon, and one leaf came loose. No big deal.

I can't find anything scratched. I can't find anything broken. They have been going through and unloading as they wanted to, and unpacking things. And sometimes they've had a hard time finding stuff because they weren't there when it was packed. But when they find it, it all makes sense, 'cause it's stuff that was together. All of that was great. The communication could have been better. But the actual work was fantastic.

We paid for packing. Zach said all workers are Colonial employees trained for two weeks in their Florida office. So I asked one of the packers how long he worked for Colonial and he said he didn't, he was just a day laborer. None of the packers were Colonial employees. So they took my wife's carefully hung clothes and stuffed them in a box. They did the same with my clothes, even though we paid extra for wardrobe boxes.

We told them not to take anything hanging on a wall. But they did anyway, leaving the new owners without critical parts. They also loaded the sectional sofa by mistake and when we discovered it, they refused to take it off the truck. I called the home office and told them if the new homebuyers scuttled the sale because the sofa was missing, I would sue Colonial for the lost $1million. Shortly thereafter, the driver said he was ordered to take the sofa off the truck. But he couldn't do it alone and the day workers refused to help, saying their day was over. So I paid them to help the driver. They took it off, but left it outside. I had to drag it in.

The move in went even worse. They broke a $600 swivel chair and a $500 cocktail table. At $0.60/lb, We'll be lucky to get $50 for these pieces. They were supposed to put back together all the furniture they took apart. Well, that didn't happen. Plus, they took all the remotes to all our devices and threw them in a box marked "Parts."

Looking back, I feel we were fraudulently induced to sign the contract and Colonial failed to live up to the many assertions and promises they made about how the move would be handled. They got their money and left us with a massive mess. I have to believe that the only thing Colonial does well is generate good but bogus reviews. My guess is they come from professional review writers in Indonesia.

When the guys came in and dropped my stuff off here, they didn't unpack or set anything up for me. I did it all myself. These guys did not speak English either, so they had no idea what I was saying or talking about. They were rushing to get in and out, and I'm really pissed because I had several things broken, including a brand-new TV, a drawer on my daughter's brand-new dresser, and the back of my TV stand. These guys have no consideration of people's stuff when they're loading and unloading it. The brand-new TV was only a $100 TV, but I spent a lot of money between tipping these guys, and I went out and bought them food. I did a lot of stuff and I should have had better experience than what I had. People should be careful with their stuff and pack them better.

I contacted Colonial Van Lines about that, then I sent an email with pictures like they asked and I have not heard anything back. I’d just seen an email the other day stating that I had to print stuff out and do all sorts of crap, which I don't even know how to go about doing, because it does not make sense to me. I want a refund for my stuff. I've been here for over a month and still haven't gotten any calls.

I wanted my mother to use the time as bring-only-what-you-really-need type of deal. She and some of her friends and family members had already started packing boxes. The movers did the bed, the dresser, and other big items, and they wrapped that up. I had a little confusion ‘cause they were asking for payment for the extra packing material, and I didn't know how that was supposed to go. I reached out to my assigned customer service agent at Colonial Van Lines, and I told her thought I was only paying them at the end when the stuff was delivered. She told me to let the gentleman know and he made the change on the paperwork. Once that was done, I didn't have any issues after that.

Whenever I reached out to whichever department I was dealing with, whether it was the finance department, my customer service person, the person who initially started me out, everybody was great. I also received phone calls from the QC people, to make sure I understood the packing and the date that stuff was being picked up. I have already recommended Colonial Van Lines to a few people. There's one gentleman that used to work with me, and he's relocating. I told him that I had a very pleasant experience with Colonial Van Lines.