Colonial Van Lines Reviews

Regarding pick up, Budget Movers, not the Colonial Van Lines company we hired, missed the first pick up day, with no update regarding the delay. They didn't actually show up until the sun was going down (for real, evening rush hour) on the last day of their scheduled pick up window. With the truck, came a bunch of completely random unaffiliated, uninsured, unlicensed day labors. They were extremely rough with our things, often letting things crash to the floor right in front of us. They claimed to be "done" when there were things left in the house still waiting to be moved/loaded onto their truck. So on and so forth. Horrible and extremely worrisome.

When it comes to your delivery, Colonial Van Lines will call you on Saturday and tell you your delivery is coming on Monday. You take Monday off from work, but Monday comes and goes with no delivery, or calls from Colonial Van Lines, so you call them Monday night and get told the Budget Movers truck's brakes went out (with my stuff on it!) and the delivery is now coming Tuesday. You ask where your belongings are, were they damaged during the catastrophic brake failure? Colonial Van Lines "doesn't think" your stuff was damaged, and they're not sure where your stuff is. It may be in a lot where the brakes are getting fixed, or the trailer could be in a parking lot someplace. They don't really know. They're not even sure what state the truck is in. They don't seem to care, and imply you're being unreasonable asking these questions.

Regardless, you take Tuesday off from work based off Colonial Van Lines refreshed delivery date, but just like Monday, Tuesday comes and goes with no delivery, or update from Colonial Van Lines, so again you call Colonial Van Lines, and again they don't have any information, but the new delivery is now Thursday. You ask if the truck's brakes are fixed. Colonial Van Lines doesn't know. You ask where your stuff is being stored. Colonial Van Lines doesn't know. You ask why they requested you take two full days off of work to sit around waiting for promised deliveries, with no update letting you know the deliveries were going to be missed? Colonial Van Lines doesn't know, nor do they care.

They still don't know the state of the truck, its brakes, or your belongings. It's not their truck, driver, dispatch center, etc. Why would they care. They just want your money, and hired you Budget Movers with a very small portion of it. Your money means nothing to Colonial Van Lines. Your time means nothing to Colonial Van Lines. Knowing where your stuff is, the state of the moving van carrying your things, where your things are being stored, what day your things will truly be delivered, Colonial Van Lines doesn't care about any of that. Period.

That said, if you're the type of person who wants to know who'll be handling your things, what mover your things will actually be with, where your things are being stored, if the truck moving your things is roadworthy, or when you can expect delivery of your belongings, then Colonial Van Lines is definitely not for you. I couldn't regret the decision to hire Colonial Van Lines any more than I do. Working with them is truly a nightmare. Colonial Van Lines is horrible!

Other than that, they gave me two days, from 23rd and 24th, for the pick-up date. But on the morning of the 22nd, they told me that they would be coming to pick up my stuff that evening at 5 o'clock. They gave me just four hours to prepare, so within that period, I packed everything. But that is not acceptable at that time. They mentioned that it was the only time that their vehicle was available and I made my arrangements within those four hours. Still, they should have given me 24-hours notice.

During the move, we felt we were very prepared. But in the end, we probably would have packaged differently had we known. I just marked numbers and what rooms they were. But I wish that if we are packing ourselves, they would give us a heads up on how they want things packed so in the end, it wouldn’t take them longer to kind of redo things. It’s like bedroom 1, bedroom 2, bedroom 3 then we could have packed to match that. Other than that, I had a good account manager who assisted me during the move.

I only have two issues. Number one is we were quoted a certain weight and the weight of our stuff came in significantly lower. The understanding was it was 60 or 65 pounds for each extra pound and nobody said anything about the sliding scale so we came in less. Instead of getting credit for 65 cents a pound, we got credit for 30 some, and that wasn’t clearly explained upfront. So, that was negative for me. Another thing was that we got contacted by four or five different guys. There was the initial salesperson, then a quality person, then a scheduler, and it just got to be a little bit too much. I know they were trying to do a good job and follow up, but it's tough if you bounce between a scheduler and a packer and a QA person. If we would have had one contact, it would have made life a lot easier. That would help us would be an improvement for what we've been.

Even though it was a couple hundred-mile move, they wound up being the team who brought the stuff to my place and again, they were very courteous and very organized. I told them where I wanted it to put items, and they checked with me before they left if there was anything else I needed. They were fine. Colonial gave me an estimate and they were very honest about how it would change a little bit depending on the weight. Everyone that I talked to said it was just an estimate, and the price could go up if I had more things than I had put on my estimate or if things weighed more. So they worked with the weight and my actual cost was slightly more than the estimate, but not very much more. Also, they were right on with the time frame.

According to, Anthony, who sold me on Colonial Van Lines, our things were to be loaded onto colonial Van lines truck and NEVER taken off. That was a lie. That was a feature that I was definitely adamant about. The driver never notified us of their impending initial arrival in Oakland and showed up in a Uhaul truck. We were still packing and had to ship many more items via UPS because they did not make the truck.

After numerous phone calls and requesting of the weight and threatening to take our complaints higher, ALL OF A SUDDEN they have the paperwork detailing the weight and final amount our bill would be. After constantly telling me that the paperwork had not been received by the driver, even 2 minutes prior to another agent changing that story and telling me that the paperwork had been suddenly received. This was on November 14th, 2019 too. The contract is for the minimum amount that they would book for...$2,000.

The move IS from Oakland, Ca to Fishers, Indiana. The driver gave us an estimate of $3,800 before he left the home and BEFORE he weighed our items, but AFTER they had loaded the truck! I'm angry and I am feeling scammed. The entire operation seems disjointed and not working the way it should be working while handling people's property. I am disappointed, and very, very upset with Colonial Van Lines. This will not be my last review. I'll save those for when I ACTUALLY receive my items.

My fiancé has a farm in Wisconsin that’s over a mile off the road, and it’s going through cornfields and all kinds of odd terrain. We bought a place in Georgia, and we were exiting all the stuff out of the Wisconsin farm to move it to Georgia. So, it was a pretty complex move. The moving coordinator seemed to not be too concerned with any of that and seemed perfectly fine with whatever the conditions may be, and right away said that they could work that out. They would have a shuttle, and they’ll bring the truck in, and have the guys come and do the packing.

The crew was fantastic. They called us in advance, and they got to the house around 7:00 or 7:30 in the morning. They worked steadily and without taking any breaks. Those kids never batted an eye. They just continued packing, packing, and packing. Everything was packed meticulously. So everything that Lauren promised kind of came true. When we finally got our delivery in Georgia, everything was ship-shape. There was not one broken or missing item.

One of the things that we kind of lucked into that was really, really great was the team that packed us had to take the goods to some depot in Chicago. But as luck would have it, they were really, really busy this time of year and the good never left the truck that they were packed on. When we required the delivery to be made in Georgia, one of the original little guys, William, was still with the truck. The other two changed, but they were great too. William remembered what came out of what room. So we were lucky that our stuff was not shifted around an extra time, which was really nice. We loved our first crew, so having little William involved in the second crew was a gift. We loved that.

The only thing that happened was in the beginning, our days got mixed up so I was scrambling at the last minute. Then I didn’t know that they sent a small truck. When they coordinated the time to come out, there was this great big semi-truck and I thought that they unloaded my furniture from that one truck and reloaded it. I was a little surprised. But the movers were super guys. They put the things where I wanted and they really helped. Monica was great as well. It went very smoothly. I had a great experience so I’m happy.

Another thing was the bill that they made was around 3,500 pounds for the weight. But when the actual weight receipt came, it was 500 pounds lower. They deduct weight for the truck, so it was on the lower side. I told the guy what the initial estimate that we made, so he called the place and he spent about 15 minutes with them. Then he cut the weight that was recorded and that was on the paper, and he put in a higher weight. I told this concern to the team, and they told me somebody gonna call me back. After that, nobody followed up. But I was fine with it. I’m getting my reimbursement, so it doesn’t matter to me.

They were always in touch with me. They'd always call me to let me know where things were. The only hitch was on the pickup day. The driver was supposed to come between 10:00 and 12:00, and he came after 1:00. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but it was from an old folks’ home, and the old folks eat lunch during certain times. It was difficult to negotiate that. But that was a minor concern. Other than that, everything went well.

I can't tell you how impressed I was with their work ethic - they never stopped except to eat their lunch, and they moved - and I mean moved all day, every hour. They communicated along the way of their progress, and arrived exactly when they said they would. And the unloading experience was as excellent as the loading experience. I recommend these two guys without any hesitation. You would be so lucky to have them. I hope companies that contract with moving companies for the relocation of their team will seriously consider Colonial Van Lines. If they are consistently like my experience, then they can't be beat. And regardless, ask for Benny and Mikal as movers, and Lauren as your initial representative - you truly can't beat that team.

One more thing, I was charged an extra fee on both pickup & delivery because they had to use a smaller truck to get into both areas then had to transfer everything to a larger truck then back to a smaller for delivery. Funny thing, the same smaller truck picked up & delivered. The 2nd man even told my husband how nervous he was in the mountains & that he had never driven to AZ before. So they charged us extra for something that was never done. I would NEVER use them again! Also funny that their system won't let me give less than 3 stars, I was going to do 2 on most things.

So far, everything looks okay. The furniture was fine. But I haven't unpacked my boxes because I had to put my stuff in storage at my brother-in-law’s house until I can move in my place. They were really good. The only thing I was concerned about was a suitcase that I really didn't wanna take with me, and I asked if I could put it in plastic. They said, “You could put it in a plastic bin, not a plastic bag.” So, they were very informative. Everything that they told me, it happened. And the quote that I was given was accurate. It was an excellent experience.

I’ve moved about eight times in the last 10 years, and it kinda surprised me that Colonial farmed my job out to a smaller outfit, and they needed the payment upfront. I wasn’t expecting that. Normally, you pay your half or down payment, and then you pay the rest upon delivery. But in this case, I paid half to Colonial, and then I had to pay the other half before they picked up, and then I had to pay again when they delivered. So that kind of shook me. I called Colonial about that, and they said they were sorry and that they forgot to tell me. It's a good thing that the smaller company took my credit card or I would have been racing to the bank that morning. Most companies only take cash when they deliver. But overall, my experience was all right and the account manager that I dealt with was great. I didn’t have a problem with that young lady. She was nice.

When the team came, they packaged up the majority of our stuff and moved everything. The overall delivery also went very well. They came when they were supposed to and were very polite. There was couple and they had several people helping, and they were wonderful. Then, the final cost was pretty close to the given quote. I realized that we had a lot of files and paper, and there was one heavy filing cabinet. My husband keeps every piece of paper ever owned and we didn't talk about that. So, I completely understood why it was a little off. And we weren't surprised knowing that we did have a lot of stuff.

They were way off on my estimates and I was very clear. They called me three times and I told them the exact number of boxes and the size of the boxes, but they missed by close to 100% on the weight. Then right before they picked up, they added like 500 more pounds to the estimate and the payment was 400 bucks. They gave that back in full though. With everything else, they did really well. They shipped my items in its own individual container, which was great. So when they moved it from one truck to another, they weren’t moving your stuff, they would just move the container. The moving coordinator changed a couple of times, but they were always courteous. All in all, it was a very good experience.

This time Karen says they are completing another job in Texas. She says the movers are from Austin and finishing a job in Austin. The movers are actually from Houston. She would not give me their names either. The Movers are then supposed to show up at 6:30 am on 10/27, 10:30 am, they show up. The whole time Karen says they are on their way and then said she didn't say when specifically. Then, Karen does not know when they will deliver and blames the movers. I talk to the movers on the phone as we are not there locally (Colonial Van Lines said that would be fine). We had various people take off work and leave their jobs to go and try to meet the movers that did not show up. The movers, over the phone, said it is dependent upon colonial van lines when they deliver.

Karen said that is not true. Now it is the following Monday and no one knows when my furniture will show up. Karen verbalized that it is in a climate controlled storage unit until they deliver it to Florida. At this point, we ask to speak to her manager. We talk to Sharon, she says she had no idea any of this is going on and will attempt to get to the bottom of it. Sharon did nothing! I called customer service to see if we could go to the storage unit and see our furniture. Customer service calls the movers and our stuff is in the back of a truck and they are back in Texas completing another move. Our furniture is not in climate controlled storage and not on the way to us. They now say it will be the last day of our delivery window for them to deliver.

Alvarez Movers call us Friday to tell us the weight and how much to pay them directly. Our weight went from 7500 pounds to 11000 pounds. Wow! They also verbalize they will not be there within the delivery window and will be there Sunday. They are unable to come Sunday as they got a flat tire, and come on Monday. The movers themselves are very nice and very helpful.

Now to unpacking, we are missing boxes, I have called and complained about all the above issues, nothing has happened. One lady called after I filled out the survey, and offered 250 dollars and would email us the procedure. She never emailed or anything. We have found rolls of newspaper that made many of the boxes very heavy. Why do our boxes have rolls of newspaper in them? All around, it was a terrible experience. We had our house and no furniture and were essentially prisoner to colonial van lines. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! I recommend any other company, any other, literally find any other company!

However, we had a bit of difficulty with the subcontractor they hired. My original estimate was 5,000 pounds. Colonial subcontracted with a moving company out of Chicago called Best Move and when Best Move showed up, they said the weight was 7,000 so I was forced to overpay for 2,000 pounds. It all worked out though. The account manager was helpful in sorting things out when the overage occurred. It could have been stressful had she not told me that they'd just reweigh our items. When my load was delivered here in Idaho, I requested a reweigh and it was 5,000. Colonial was good about getting in touch with the subcontractor and getting my money back.

We were moving from Ohio to Florida. We were closing on the 1st and the movers said to me, “We’ll be in Florida with your stuff between the 4th and the 15th." So, as soon as we closed, we got in the car and we came to Florida because we didn’t know if they were gonna be here on the 4th, but they didn't get here until the 11th. That was fine with me. I just wish that I had had a bit better control of the dates. But everything worked out. They did a good job. They didn’t lose anything and not a thing was broken.

So, I'd tell others to pack their own boxes especially with things like lamps and lampshades and glass things because they really fell short in packing the boxes. I had an antique crystal powder and it didn’t get broken, but they didn’t put tape on it and the powder that was in it was all spilled out in the bottom of the box. I wasn’t happy about that because all they had to do was take a small piece of tape and put it over the top and it would have stayed on the container. I’m just glad that it didn’t get broken because it wasn’t wrapped in anything.

Original Review: Oct. 29, 2019

Do not use this company for your move. If I could give negative stars, I would. What they don't tell you when you talk to the salesperson is that they are a broker, which is deceptive. They are not actually the carrier, they subcontract to another moving company. In my case, their pick was substandard at best. Everything went ok through pickup. Then my things were left in storage for almost a week before being sent to my relocation area. Communication was minimal. When I finally received the order, they had lost 11 of my things, including the parts for my beds so I currently do not have any beds. And three of my things were broken in ways they had no business breaking them. Seriously the bottom shelf is missing from my bookcase. How do you do that? The bottom drawer of my dresser no longer works because the rail for it is missing. How was that removed???

When you call to complain, they have to call someone at their subcontractor. So good luck finding your missing things because they do not do their due diligence in the first place when picking their subcontractors. They did not perform their end of the contract. DO NOT USE COLONIAL. Pick a mover who is the actual person doing the moving.

Original Review: Oct. 26, 2019

Experience at the beginning was okay. A deposit was made but the move didn't happen until six months later. My move was quoted one price then the sub-contractors doubled the quoted price. I was told that the move would happened on a certain date. They didn't bother to show up or call. My account manager for the move was unaware that they didn't show up. When they showed up the next day I asked what happened and they lied and told me that I requested a different day. They didn't put down protectors for my newly refurbished hardwood floors and caused damages to them. It took all day for them to load my furniture and they asked if they could finish the next day. They gave me a window of 5 days to delivery my belongings. When they didn't delivery no one could tell me where my belongings were.

It took an additional 6 days before I received my belongings. The driver showed up then had to call for temporary help and they were inexperience and damaged a lot of my expensive furniture. During the process I had to continue to call my account manager whom was clueless and customer service. They tried to get me to sign a document in order to received payment for late delivery, but this document stated that I couldn't file a claim if I signed. I have never experienced anything like this before. Worst movers ever!

I’m still trying to get everything unpacked, but I haven’t found the legs to the bed and there was a table that an antique radio sat on that’s broken. Also, one of my mother’s china bowls from England she got when she married my dad was broken in half. I thought I was gonna get something in the mail to fill out, but I got nothing. At almost $12,000, the move was more expensive than what they said it was gonna be but we had a good experience.

We ended up reducing what we were going to end up taking, and so we redid the quote, and that meant that I had paid too much in the deposit. They were unable to keep that and apply it towards the final total, so they were going to reimburse that. They wanted to put it back on the credit card but I had used prepaid Visa gift cards to pay for it, and I no longer have those Visa gift cards. And so, I talked to their financial people, and we agreed that they would write me a check. And then it became, once they picked up my stuff, they would write me the check. And then, I would get the check prior to my stuff arriving and I could cash the check and use the balance to then pay for the rest of the stuff arriving. They went ahead and reimbursed the gift card, anyway. And the company refused to write me the check even though it was their mistake.

So, I ended up having to get in touch with Visa and they went back to the recording of the original call to get the card details. And they went to align it up to get the full card number because the reimbursed receipt that they had in their records only had the last four digits of the card, and Visa needed the whole card because it was a gift card. This took a month to figure out. I was very angry. And so, we finally got it all figured out and Visa reissued the gift card, so I was able to get my money. We were too close to having to get nasty with it because at first, Visa said there was nothing they could do without us having the whole card number. It really was the coordinator who figured it all out. She managed to get the card number and get it on. She was great.

Also, everyone told me I could just pay with a card when they drop the stuff off. But when the movers came and dropped them, they wanted actual money. I said, "No! The company told me I could pay with a card." And so, they accepted that. I'll never do anything with Colonial Van Lines again if I moved. I had a horrible time with them. Their saving grace was the coordinator who saved everything.

Some of the calculations were pretty far out there but the Colonials Van Lines' supervisor on site did a really job explaining it because I gave him a hard time. I understood it. It was fine. We worked it out. It was worth every penny of what I paid. They showed up on time and the stuff came on time. The young man who was the crew leader on site was great. He had a lot of poise, so I was really very impressed. My colleague moved at the same exact time I did, and the moving company lost her furniture, and she didn’t have furniture for three weeks until they found her stuff. I moved to Delaware and I had my stuff before she had her stuff.

The coordinator I worked with was very good. However, there was a miscommunication. Maybe he told me and I just didn’t hear it. I thought he said it was okay to leave all the clothes in the dressers, drawers. But when the movers got there, they said that we had to put them in boxes. So, we scrambled to do that, but we got it done. It would've went smoother without having to do that. The one who helped me during the move was very good. In the end, nothing was broken. I packed everything myself. They didn’t do any packing.

When we got here to Florida, the guys bringing in the stuff off the truck were careful but they didn’t call out any numbers to me unlike the last time we moved where they had stickers on everything, although that was another company. So, it was like a mad dash to find the numbers. And the guys who put the numbers on up in Philly, they put them on the top, they put them on the side, they put them on the bottom, they were all over the place. So, that took a little time and I felt bad for the guys here in Florida because it was hot out that day and they stood there, held the heavy thing while I search for the number. That was inconvenient although not a big deal really. It would've went a lot smoother if I didn’t have to do that. They could suggest that to their subcontractors.

Betty and Carl

It was beyond what I expected. They set a date range and they beat that. The customer service kept checking-in with me to reassure me that everything was good, and my furniture was okay. The account manager contacted me pretty much every step of the way. If that person was out, which happened a couple of times, they had a backup person and they let me know who that was. I was very, very happy. I was not too prepared when they got there to pack me up because I had two surgeries over the summer, and Colonial Van Lines took care of everything. They were great.

Best Price Moving's load up team (Best Price Moving is subcontractor) were rude and moved through my home as if they owned it, even took a door off hinge without asking. The delivery was AN ENTIRE WEEK past the deadline given. The delivery team for Best Price Moving was markedly better than the pick-up team and come to find out they didn't work for BPM - they were local freelancers (for lack of better term).

Among one of the first things brought into my new home was a desk that wasn't mine. "Was this desk weighed with my things?" I asked and was told emphatically, "No it was not" by Colonial Van Lines. How can they be so sure when they weren't the company to weigh it? How does this lady even think she can get indignant with me because I had the audacity to question her answer? It is the worst feeling to be in a new city and not have your belongings, to be required to pay for everything before your things can be delivered, and have a total lack of trust in both Colonial and Best Price Moving. Reading reviews of BPM and Colonial, my case is one of many. Beware and work with them at your own risk.

I also felt uneasy because the guys weren’t American. They were Russian, and were speaking Russian to each other all the time. It took them three hours to load stuff that I thought should’ve been loaded a whole lot sooner. This is not my first move and with my other experience, it would’ve gone a whole lot faster. They picked up on the 3rd and delivered on the 22nd which was the around the last day of the window. That meant I had to stay in a hotel for 19 days. I had to have a special handicap room for my sister so it was an ordeal. But everything arrived fine and I was glad to finally get in my apartment. All in all, I had a pretty good experience with Colonial. They always answered my questions and kept me informed all the time. But sometimes they would tell they’d call back but wouldn't. Nevertheless, I would recommend them.

Update: the redeeming quality of working with Colonial was due to the efforts, patience and diligence of Donna **, a great asset to your firm. Thank you, Donna!

She got Cal Vanlines (the company that physically moved everything in the truck), to provide $125 for me to purchase my mother a wheelchair that she could use in the interim, while we waited for our original wheelchair to be returned a month and a half later. She also got Cal Vanlines to send emails to the same customers in the truck, asking if they had any of my belongings, many of which were not responded to, but at least she got Cal Vanlines to send them out. In the end, I got the wheelchair, my bike, and the vacuum returned, which looked like they had been through a war - the wheelchair and bike were damaged. I was only missing 9 boxes and a small table. (9,16,36,37,40,62,85,103,104)

The problem is, Colonial Vanlines has no control over what happens to your belongings, and as long as Colonial VanLines utilizes outsourced companies, like Cal Vanlines (who has changed their online company name, probably due to the same issues), I cannot in good faith give them a 5 star rating. I will split the difference and give them a 3. My advice to anyone moving is, even though it is a stressful and busy time, mark all boxes so that they are easily identified - colored tape, etc, and also notate for yourself what is in each box so you know exactly what is missing (they ask, like you are suppose to recollect the contents of each box). I am still missing kitchen items, computer hardware and software, some of my father's important documents, and camera equipment. Even if you submit the paperwork to have the liability insurance cover the damage or loss, it is a mere fraction of its worth. I do thank Donna for doing all she could.

Original Review: First of all - Colonial Van Lines is a broker - they outsource the heavy lifting to a company called Cal Van Lines. I moved from CO to NYC the end of August. I was missing 17 boxes, as well as my mother's wheelchair, a mountain bike, a table, and a Dyson vacuum. I was also told that 3 other people in my same truck were missing their items as well. Cal Van Lines left the paperwork at my house for the girl that they moved right before me, I called and asked her experience - she said they were bringing furniture and boxes into her home that were not hers. I also have 4 large boxes that belong to other people en route.

They are meticulous about doing their inventory and putting stickers on each item - and everyone in the truck has different numbered stickers - so they can definitely see which items belong to a client and remedy the situation if they want to. They just don't want to - they tell you to fill out the liability insurance form - which in no way covers the value of your items.

Since Colonial Van Lines is just the middle man, they have no power and no information about your inventoried items, so they pass the buck to Cal Van Lines. They are incredibly good at the beginning and at collecting your money, but if there is a problem - things go down the drain real fast. I've been in constant contact with both Colonial and Cal Van Lines for over a month now, and I still don't have my mother's wheelchair, or any of my other items for that matter - which are high value items. I'm trying to be patient as they say it, "takes time" to remedy all of this - in the meantime, my mother suffers everyday, and they continue to let these guys accept other jobs so they keep driving across country instead of being able to correct their mistakes. If this is, "The Nation's #1 Moving Co," then I never want to move again.

During the move, we did most of the packing but their movers packed things like oversized pictures, mirrors, and highly breakable stuff. While they brought everything to the new location in generally good condition, we had one desk that was smashed to pieces. The ramp collapsed when they were bringing it on the truck. We didn’t get any extra insurance and so we're limited to 60 cents a pound and that table weighs 100 pounds. Still, it was a fluke accident and it's not gonna be a big deal.

Original Review: Sept. 18, 2019

We contracted with Colonial Van Lines to move us from Ma to NC in late April store for 30 days and delivering end of May. The supposed estimate was a joke even though I went through room by room and we called numerous times to adjust our list as our moved was coming close. Because of their bait and switch tactic as well as just plain deceptive business practices the cost was thousands of dollars more than quoted, roughly 25-30% increase. Their communication to their customers is a joke. Unless you call them you never know what is going on.

To give you an idea to start they were to show up to load at 3 pm to load on a Sunday afternoon, they showed up eight hours early. Now this may sound great but we had plans with our children that day to say goodbye as we were moving away. All those plans had to be cancelled as we could not leave when they were loading. Was told by loaders unless they did extra added on cost packing they could not guarantee thing would not break. Reminding you we had already gone piece by piece for the estimate which extra packing was never discussed. It is not like we could call another mover as we needed to be out of the house as it was sold. The old bait and switch. Well played Colonial Van Lines. No one called to see how the loading was going although they promised someone would.

Our stuff was in storage for 30 days as we waited for our home in NC was completed. About 5 days before our delivery date we got a phone call to confirm date. We said yes and assumed our things would be delivered on time. Stupid us, after numerous calls with the only answer being, "We have a five day window," all I wanted was a date but. They would say is, "We have a window." Well you guessed it. On the last day of the window I had to call. And got, "Oh it will be five more days."

At that point I demand to talk to the owner who not only blamed everyone but himself using excuse like, "Oh the government waits 30 day," or "This our busy season." etc. Oh yeah and threw his employees under the bus as well. The capper was him using profanities towards me for expecting him follow contract we had with his company. Mind you had had the called 10 days before to check on date, I was told by the guy that handles shipping that they knew at that time they could not deliver on time. Bad business practices plus just deceptive practice.

We had numerous damages do to the poor handling of our things, their answer again was delay, deceive and stall this process. Our damages are around 8,000 replacement costs. Still three months later still trying to get reimbursed. So if you add hidden and added costs (bait and switch) and damaged goods our move with these so called professional costed us over 11,000 over their professional estimate. Find a different mover. Do yourself a favor both stress and financial. Do not use this company.

When our things arrived at our new location, a couple of things didn't show up and some other things were broken. We didn't buy special insurance as I never expected things would disappear or be smashed or dropped. That was pretty distressing. Moreover, Colonial wants pictures of things and of course, those things are gone. They wanted us to weigh things as well which is kinda difficult. I also misunderstood how long I we had to make a claim and get everything in place. I thought we only had 48 hours but then I called them and determined that we had a longer period of time. Still, it's hard enough getting moved in and organized. Going with Colonial has been very unpleasant and I still feel a lot of frustration with the whole experience.

We received about 12 hours notice of crew arriving to pick up our goods when we were promised at least 24 hours. What's worse, it was a day early! They told us it was our right to refuse, but no other crews would be available for two weeks, so we had no choice but to accept it and take a vacation day from work to load along side them. Upon delivery, despite us providing an unheard of 6 weeks notice of our requested 5-day delivery window, their truck showed up in the last 12 hours of that window with HALF of our goods. Did I mention it was delivered in a U-Haul? Two workers showed up to do the unload. May not seem unusual, but, in comparison, we had 5 workers on the loading end and it took them 10 hours to load our goods, which were already packed in boxes. They requested payment in full before they would start unloading and the bill was approximately $1600 higher than we were expecting.

My husband spent 2 hours on the phone with their financial folks, who offered little explanation and reinforced that if we didn't pay, not a single item would be unloaded off the truck. We were originally told that our goods would be in storage in Southern California until we requested deliver at a new location. What makes the delay harder to accept is that our goods were moved a second time to a storage facility in Eastern Washington within 10 miles of our new house 3 weeks before our delivery date. SEVERAL of our items are missing or were broken beyond repair, probably because they had moved so many times. They lost critical parts of our furniture that have rendered them useless and didn't complete the assembly of several items they had disassembled. This was part of the contract, and they are requesting us to pay for services never rendered!

This negligence nearly caused a severe injury to my son who went to move an armoire they delivered and it almost toppled on him because they never attached the top to the bottom with the bolts that belonged there. Instead, they left them in a "cup" that was made from two empty tape rolls they'd fastened together. After several attempts to contact the Colonial Van Lines to figure out a resolution, we have no resolution. They repeatedly state lingo about their policies and procedures. I'm not optimistic that this review will improve our horrible situation, but I hope it may prevent any readers from selecting Colonial or West Star and ending up in the same situation we are in.

Prior to selecting Colonial Van Lines, we had narrowed it down to two companies who, on paper, were offering the same thing. We chose Colonial because their sales staff convinced us that we were going to get a more personal service. Quite the contrary...They farmed our contract off to an equally horrible company, West Star Relocation, delivered a disastrous, incomplete service and have no accountability to make any amends. Hiring Colonial Van Lines was one of the biggest and worst financial decisions we've ever made. Don't make the same mistake.

Then, on the drop off side, it was very professional and very well done in Chicago. They were there early that I didn’t even have my keys yet to get into my apartment, so I asked them to give me a half-hour. And everything came in one piece. I would use them for another move and would recommend them to anyone. Some people may back away a little bit just because of pricing, but I think it was a fair price. Besides the pick-up, everything about the process was great.

Original Review: Sept. 7, 2019

Horrible experience and this company does not care. If you are a military family, stay clear!!! We lost thousands of dollars because of this company’s actions and failure to account for it. The measure of a company is not how they act when everything goes right, but how they respond when things go wrong. They will promise everything and follow through on nothing. On our official military move they showed up days late, too small of a truck. We were forced to throw away dining room set and patio set. They also “lost the weight tickets” in the mail.

We set this move up months in advance because it was peak season and they were great until it was time to show up. They could never confirm when the subcontractor would actually show. Well they would confirm, and that timeline would blow past. If they were honest and communicated, then I could have used a contingency action. However, once they failed to show up the first day I was stuck, and customer service was nowhere to be found. When the subcontractor did show up they said they only heard about this move hours early (no planning there). Now I have to work with DoD to figure out how to make up for their incompetence and not even sure they will reimburse without weight tickets (which make sure me wonder how they could defend the charge). It was a nightmare and they don’t care a thing.

There were a couple of minor issues but nothing to the extent that I would not use Colonial again. With the hiccups we encountered, some were handled better than others. Aside from the sales rep, I also talked with two other people throughout the process. They were trying to get me into a timeslot that was kind of near date. Based on what I told them that we were moving and all the packages, we went through that several times. The guy was very patient with me in doing that.

They charged me a little bit extra - the minimum weight. I was just under that weight though. But they said they would charge me 4,000 pounds because to get onto the truck at this date, that was kinda what they needed to do. I said it was fine. It wasn't a big deal. But they couldn't make the date and they pushed it back two days. At the end of the day, it didn't make a difference. But I was looking for a little recovery on that cost. They doubled the price but they didn't come in on the date they said. I asked that they charge me for what I have but they didn't do that. The sales rep couldn't get that accomplished. I talked to somebody in customer service and that conversation started off a little cranky because they were confirming if the movers came and if I was talking about a different date. I was like, "What are you talking about? We had this date."

It was a little bit of a date issue. Everybody I dealt with was trying to be helpful. My big thing was they charged me for 4,000 pounds when I had 3,000 something pounds. They charged me for a very particular date range and it was two days past that when the movers came. But they explained to me that it was near a holiday and it was the same truck. It was just delayed. I went with it. The movers came within the ultimate window I needed them to come. They also did a really good job so it wasn't a bad experience.

The only person that didn't really do a great job was the woman who had the title of account manager. I was not quite sure when the movers were coming. The logistics person who I was talking to left off saying he would do his best and promised that they would be there by Sunday even though I requested Friday. That was when we last talked. I was supposed to get a call from the account manager 48 hours before the truck came. I never got that call. Process-wise, that's where the improvement should be.

This account manager was a little MIA at times. After the move, she called me about the move as if it didn't happen yet. She didn't have an update or she didn't have the right paperwork. Maybe she was new and she was just making mistakes. But she called me twice after my move to ask me about the prep for the anticipated move. I told her that it's been almost a week later. I had already moved. They came and I was done. That part was the weakest link.

Those two little hiccups aside, I would recommend Colonial. Overall, it was a positive experience. Moving is really difficult, emotional and physically draining. But everything came. Different moving teams came to my home because they do a little handoff. It was a different team that delivered my stuff and when I arrived at my new location. But both teams were super fantastic, especially the guy that came and picked my stuff up. They did a tremendous job. They marked everything and numbered everything. They wrapped things that needed to be wrapped. They really took care of what needed to be taken care of that I didn't have ready. And they didn't charge me a lot. There were no extra charges too.

My moving coordinator was fantastic. She was there when I was asking her questions. She was walking me through the estimates and provided outstanding service. The quote was not that accurate but that was my fault, not theirs. I added more stuff. I underestimated the number of boxes I was gonna need to be transported and there were a few last-minute decisions in taking more stuff than what was planned. The final cost versus the estimate was different but I wouldn’t blame it on her at all. I would absolutely recommend Colonial Van Lines to friends.

Fast forward to seven days after loading the truck. Colonial has no idea what has happened to our stuff. They claim we signed a document stating our first available date for delivery is Aug 22 but the copy of the Bill of Lading contract says Aug 17. I scanned and emailed a copy to our Colonial rep. Let's see if anything happens.

Even with this excessive load time, there were several items left behind (as noted by a neighbor, so we knew they weren't lost). We were told that WE had to make the 12 hour drive (6 hours each way) to prove that they left items behind. To do this we had to take pictures of the items, submit it to the company and only then they could schedule a truck to go pick them up. We drove there, took said pictures and put them in our own truck to bring back home. I ask myself, why did we pay to have movers? This move, resulted in thousands of dollars worth of damage/missing items that have never been accounted for.

A claim was submitted to the company, with pictures and full documentation. Complete with before and after images, documentation from the movers themselves etc. It's been over 10 months and I have still not received any refund, explanation or communication beyond the fact that they are 'still looking into it'. This case has also been submitted to the BBB, but Colonial Van Lines has not responded to them either. I wish I could go into more detail, but there is a word limit. That said, I urge people to NOT use this company!

Everything was very pleasant. The moving coordinator kept me up-to-date on how everything was going. I received several calls before the actual move. Then once the move happened, they called me just to check in to see how things were going, to update me on price and other information. They told me exactly what to expect when the movers got there. They gave me an estimate on the arrival time of my items but then also followed up with the moving company to ensure that I got things down there pretty quickly, because I had reached out to them fairly early to ensure that my move was put together. So, based on everything they said, I was ready to go. Things happened as they had said, so they were accurate. They also told me exactly what I need to prepare, so I was prepared for everything.

I had them come in and pack multiple stuff for me, so all I really did was just took some stuff down, started breaking some of them down and had it organized in different areas. They did all the heavy lifting with that. Moving can be a very difficult task and I’m grateful for their help in making the process as smooth and as easy as possible. If I had a friend that was moving, I would definitely recommend them.

Original Review: Aug. 18, 2019

I booked an interstate move with Colonial Van Lines 4 weeks before my move. I was contacted by the company the Friday before my pick up and told my truck broke down. The day of my pick up, 4 days after they learned that the truck broke down, they still had not found a truck for me. At 3pm the day of my pick up, still no truck and I had to be out of my apartment in 2 days. They told me that they might have a truck for that Thursday afternoon. I had told them multiple times that I had to be out by Thursday morning.

When I spoke with the cancellation department the guy actually said the military complain the most when moves are cancelled. He clearly does not care to understand that military members must comply with orders. Delaying my move was not an option. I will encourage all service members to avoid Colonial Van Lines. They do not support our military. I ended up having to rent a truck and hired movers to help load. Colonial Van Lines made this the most stressful move I have ever had.

The subcontractor recently admitted to Colonial that he has a couple of our items, but he has made no attempt to deliver them. He has lied many times to us and to Colonial. We are out a lot of money to replace what was lost or broken and we cannot replace the heirlooms. Recently Colonial assigned a customer service rep to help and she is trying, but the subcontractor is also stonewalling her and lying to her. To her credit she is trying to get some reimbursement approved.

Original Review: We hired Colonial to move our household contents and one car from Syracuse, NY to Savannah, GA in April 2019. It is now August 2019. From beginning to end it was a disaster. They subcontracted the move to a company in NY City. They showed up late and had to do a rush job of packing. They lost the car. I had to do my own legwork to locate it because Colonial was unable to locate it, and it was delivered five days late.

They broke several items, and they lost a number of boxes, chairs, pieces of exercise equipment, family heirlooms (that can never be replaced), power and hand tools, kitchen appliances, etc. They keep lying about delivering lost items just to keep us off their backs. They have in effect stolen from us and are hoping that we give up. Colonial takes no ownership of the problems that they caused. I cannot stress enough my disappointment with Colonial.

We thought we were gonna have to postpone the move, and then we decided we were gonna go ahead and move, but Colonial had already put a hold on our move. One of the coordinators that we talked with when we had to postpone kind of misinformed us. We called to ask about moving the move and we were told that our move was set in stone and it can’t be moved. But it was resolved pretty quickly. They ended up picking us up on Thursday instead of Tuesday. But the mover, Jose, was very kind and considerate. They did a good job with wrapping all our furniture. We have a couple things that are a little scratched, but that’s to be expected when things happen. But overall, we are very happy with them.

Even though my requested delivery date has not changed since BEFORE my items were picked up, I have a 17 day window with no transparency of where my belongings are (this is more concerning given the poor reviews of the company who is actually moving our things). I have found customer service to be horrible. From a salesperson who basically lied (certainly omitted important details), to a customer service representative who has been rude and unhelpful - I have 100% lost patience. Now I can't even get through a general customer service line to talk to SOMEONE who might help me.

My only issue was the pickup and the delivery times. We were delayed for over a week on our pickup and when movers finally got here to do the pickup, they didn’t get finished after 10 o’ clock at night. The pickup and deliveries, which were coordinated with their vendor, were a little rough but they compensated us for that. That was my only dissatisfaction. Otherwise, they did a good job and they got our furniture there in good condition. Overall I was very satisfied.

I called Colonial when the movers weren't around at 5:00 and told their manager my complaints. Apparently, they stored the truck in St. Louis where my pick-up location was until the last day of my range. During that time, there was a leak in the van and so a couple of my things got wet. I dried them out and things ended up being fine. While, all the administration about which I talked to Colonial with was really good, they should consider a different moving truck.

However, my experience with the coordinating manager was very poor. I was quoted $5,000. The girl called me and she was very rude telling me that there was gonna be an additional $5,000 so it ended up being a $10,000 move. I told her I’d already paid a deposit of over $2,000. I asked her what would happen if I couldn’t pay that 5,000 right away. It was the same experience I had with another trucking company. They're gonna hold my mom’s stuff ransom. So, I asked my mom if she could pay for it and I would pay her back ‘cause that was supposed to be my gift to her which they were fully aware of.

Then the girl wanted me to screenshot my credit card and my ID to finish paying it off which I was very uncomfortable with because there are hackers that can get into your stuff. I told her I couldn't do that. I couldn't afford it anyway. I have a daughter with autism so most of my money goes to her speech, her occupational therapy, and all her other things that she needs. Another over $5,000 would've killed me. Because of the increased money, my mom had to use her money from the sale of her home. Now I’m paying my mom back.

It was a large move. My mom had very little furniture but a lot of boxes, so they charged my mom per box. Though there were a lot of boxes, there were zero appliances so I don’t see how the boxes put that much weight on the truck. Also, the guy said he couldn't put his truck in the driveway. He could’ve if he had backed down all the way to the fence to get the stuff out because her driveway was about a quarter of a mile so he had plenty of room. They charged my mom for a shuttle fee which I thought was absolutely ridiculous. Then they forgot a furniture so my husband and I had to load the furniture in the back of our truck and meet the driver off the freeway so he could include it. And they broke down things that they weren’t supposed to break down so I ended up just throwing them out. It was just awful at the end and I was so pissed.

But there were some frustrations. First of all, were moving during peak moving time which was on the 1st of June. Cara, the person that was coordinating all the pick-up and delivery, told me we were gonna be picked up a day late, which was not a happy thing. We were paying a certain amount of money per day to stay in the house so it was gonna be very late. She asked a few questions about our neighborhood and told me that the truck would not be able to come up. Carlos and his boss and I had already looked at those logistics and they agreed that they will be able to pick us up at the house. But Cara disputed that and said they were going to have a shuttle truck and that would've added expense to it. That upset me.

I called Carlos back and he intervened. It took a little while but he convinced the movers that they can get into the neighborhood. So he helped solve that problem. The company that came out was subbed and they didn't know how long it was gonna take. I was not happy with the money I was gonna be spending to stay in the house and the inconvenience. I asked if they could find another truck. Carlos came to the rescue and subbed out to First Choice. The guys were very professional and they worked like Trojans. They were great to work with and we interacted well and loaded up our stuff.

Then, I had to take our cat to Mississippi and started out. My wife called me in a panic when she found that we had forgotten to pick up two more boxes and she had no room in the vehicle that she was gonna follow me in. I called the driver and he said, "No problem". But I didn't want him to come back into the neighborhood 'cause it was a little tedious getting in. So I turned around and went back, helped my wife load the boxes and she took them down to him. He told us not to worry about it. They were in a weigh station and they explained to us that the amount could change, depending on the weight.

When Carlos estimated, he pulled up my house on Zillow and went room by room and asked questions. I explained everything was going to be loaded. But after that had happened, we realized that we had left off several things that we added on to the load so I expected the bill to go up. Then the guy from First Choice said they were going to end up being two days late instead. Then he said, "But I've got the weight ticket here and it looks like you're gonna be about $600 or $700 less". I thought that was great.

True enough, they delivered two days late but he apologized. They were ultra courteous and got everything here in the house. My wife and I agreed that there was no way we could've done this by ourselves. We had some very fragile stuff but nothing was broken, except for a leg of a chair to the breakfast table which was very minor. With that big van load of ultra fragile equipment, they did an amazing job getting almost every bit of here undamaged and I was just amazed.

Even though the delivery was subbed out to First Choice, it was through Colonial and I didn't hear anything about the late delivery, late pick-up from nor being underweight from them. I called Carlos and he did some investigation. He first came back and said I was due $180. But the driver told me $600 or $700. Carlos said that the driver quoted the poundage. I'm happy with the move but I was aggravated that I had to get up with Colonial to find out about the weight. I also thought I should be reimbursed something for the three days, the day late pick-up and the two-day delivery. I tried getting up with Colonial but they never got back with me.

It was over a week and a half and I kept having to hound people. Finally, someone called me asking me how satisfied I was. I told them I was really happy with the move except for the lateness and the rudeness of the dispatcher, Cara and the weight that I can't seem to get covered. She assured me that she would take care of it and I would hear something the next day. The next day comes and goes, I didn't hear anything. So I called back again and the people were very nice. They said they would have the rep call me back and she finally did. She apologized and said that the total is $180 for the weight and I would receive $30 for each of the days that was late. So it was a total of $90 plus $180 and I would be reimbursed on my credit card. We finally got that done.

At first I was told there was a 2 day pickup window and 10 day drop off window, which while annoying, would allow me to make travel plans. When I officially booked, this became a 4 day window, but I was assured I’d have a customer service agent assigned to me and plenty of notice to get the elevators I needed in my building. This was a lie. They came the last day of the window, and gave less than 24 hours notice. In addition, had they come on the early side of the window and delivered the next day, they wanted $500 to hold my stuff overnight. But of course, they could also take 10 days to deliver and I would get no money back for that inconvenience. I had been assured that they did everything in house and Colonial Van Lines employees would be moving my stuff. This was a lie. A subcontractor, quality relocation, handled the actual move.

They were nice enough on pickup except for some gross questions about being a single woman, though one clearly did not know what he was doing. After a very long time on the phone, they increased my estimate by 600 pounds. I questioned this and was told it was because their boss was sleazy and that there was no way my stuff weighed that much so not to worry. They were rough with my things on loading, and they refused to wait for the proper elevator despite reminders, which put me at risk for a big fine with my building. I tried holding the elevator for them, and witnessed one use my wood coffee table to slam open the doors. This table is now ruined. My salesperson, customer service person, and the movers assured me that there would be a time-stamped weight ticket from the closest weigh station before and directly after pickup.

I asked to know as soon as they weighed it because I was concerned about the extra weight and I needed to know how much I owed upon delivery. This was a Saturday, so I spoke to my customer service agent that evening who confirmed I had the right to witness a reweigh, but I never got the phone call. After 8 PM that night, a very sketchy man claiming to be the boss called and told me I owed a lot more money, and when I asked about weight tickets, he said it was 1000 pounds over! I asked for an email of the weight ticket. It never came, and Colonial Van Lines is closed on Sundays. The next day, the weight ticket showed that they had not bothered to get it weighed until that morning in my new state. There is no one working at Colonial Van Lines on Sundays, so we were stuck. They demanded a lot of cash, and were very aggressive and rude to my 64 year old mother.

It was clear they did not protect any of the wood furniture, and my most expensive piece is destroyed. This is particularly upsetting because I paid this much for movers in the first place because I wanted my furniture to be moved safely. If I wanted to destroy it, I would have moved it myself for 1/3 the price. The next day, I received an invoice for EVEN MORE MONEY despite not having a single valid time stamped weight ticket. I was assured that Colonial Van Lines would look into it and would rectify the weight ticket situation. It has been 2 weeks, and there has been no resolution. They told me they would send claims forms and investigate the weight tickets, but they have since been ignoring me, which makes me question whether they are complicit in the subcontractor's schemes.

I spoke to Donna who was able to get a small settlement amount off from the FIRST issue. Now I have this. Spoke to her today and she literally repeated everything she told me the first time. How this is peak season, they are so sorry, and making excuses. Then they declined me going to pick my own items up so my things are being held hostage because of someone else. I took my first review down but I am putting it back up because this is sickening now.

No offense. I could give two you know whats to what type of season it is. This company did not disclose that when they quick to snatch your money quick, fast and in a hurry out of your account. I paid 4k for a service to be rendered not for a bunch of excuses and delays then you offer small amounts of hush money so people won’t see these reviews. It's not right. I have no other words than I regret making this decison with this company. This company has been more stressful than the actual move getting here. I am at a point where I am ready to file all these charges as fraud and buy new items. I am just so disgusted.

Original Review: July 19, 2019

This company was by far the worst experience of my 6 interstate moves. Please don’t get scammed like we did! During the sales/on-boarding process everything seemed great, but when it actually came time to move, we realized that numerous things they told us were lies and days past our "latest" pick-up date, a truck FINALLY showed up to get our things. That was when the real issues began, and the nightmare continued right up until the very end of the move. Major issues with this company included:

—They asked for a huge deposit upfront with no in-person estimate given. This is a huge red flag and was part of their deceptive sales practices. Dave, our sales rep, assured us that our estimate was "binding" even if we had more boxes than expected, but when the movers showed up, they demanded $3200 more than our original estimate. When we tried to update our inventory prior to the movers showing up, Paul was evasive and never responded to multiple calls and emails.

—They sent a driver who had just gotten out of the hospital, making him drive hundreds of miles with our goods while still having health issues.

—Dave assured us that the company would take care of a street parking permit for the truck but never did, so when the truck showed up, it couldn't park near our house and the pick-up alone took all day.

—Shanee misled us about their insurance policies, costing us huge money and lots of extra time spent re-packing our goods.

—“Customer service” was rude, defensive, and evasive through most of the process. Alexis, the rep we spoke with the most, gave us bad or outright false information multiple times and often asked US about the status of our move, where the driver was, etc. Colonial was ultimately just a needless and incompetent middleman that made it FAR more difficult than needed to coordinate with the contracted driver and crew.

—We had to deal with 7 different representatives for each “step” of the process, and nobody could answer all of our questions.

If they seem cheap, it’s for a reason—avoid Colonial Van Lines at all costs!

I asked them where the furniture would go from there and they said to a warehouse in Hackensack, New Jersey, until they could get a larger Allied Van truck, to bring it to Colorado. However, when I got my stuff about two weeks later, things ended up missing or broken. They broke a leg off the couch, and there were some china that was broken. My air compressor was gone, and there were only two flat-screen TVs, whereas I had four. Everything adds up to about $1,000, which doesn't hurt me, but I called Colonial and they said they were gonna look in the warehouse. That was about four weeks ago and I have never heard anything else from them.

I'm satisfied with my experience. I've got enough stuff. I just don't like the method. It wasn't like moving from one house to another house. It's moving from a state to a state, and furniture had to be handled too many times by too many different people. Though the people who loaded and unloaded these stuff were very good, what happened in-between is a travesty.

The rep I dealt with was very good then there was a lady who took over after the initial scheduling and she walked me through all of the moving transactions. But I was concerned about the day before the move. I was told that I would have a 48-hour call but I only had a 12-hour call as to when they were gonna pick up. And it was after hours of the company so I couldn’t call them to verify. When they came the next morning at 8 o’clock my time, I tried to contact the moving company but they were in Florida and nobody was at their desk until 10 o’clock. I could not verify that this person was actually my mover because he didn’t have a truck that said the van line’s name on it.

Finally, I got a hold of somebody who told them his name and they said that was him. I asked him for his driver’s license but it did not match the name he gave them and I was a little bit concerned about this. So, I spoke to an associate at Colonial Van Lines and they said that the name that he gave was his nickname. Still, I was very leery to let him go ahead, so I called another representative to verify his employment because you could have picked up this paper at any truck stop where my stuff was.

In the end, the guy did the move and he was really good. I packed everything and he wrapped the furniture that I brought. I had some furniture that was handcrafted by my grandfather and I requested it to be double-wrapped and made sure that it maintained the integrity in which it left the facility. They were fine when they arrived and there were no scratch marks whatsoever. I also gave the guy a large tip when he got to Arizona. I told him I would if everything came in right and everything came in on time, and they did.

Original Review: July 15, 2019

I rarely write reviews. But it would be a disservice to other prospective Colonial Van Lines customers not to share a review in as many forums as possible. I’m a senior professional. One dedicated to helping companies shape their brands, their offering and ultimately succeed in fulfilling their mission and vision, grounded in what’s ultimately most important: quality products and service that deliver on what they promise, grounded in exceptional customer service. Our initial experience with Colonial Van Lines, with Thorna **, when exploring our shipping options, receiving a cost estimate and executing the contract seemed to have gone smoothly.

From the moment the truck and drivers arrived it went down-hill. From careless handling of our boxes and treasured furniture pieces to suspicious weighing of the trucks, missing weight tickets, additional $574 in charges that could not be confirmed as accurate, holding our shipment hostage until we paid the additional charges. Upon delivery, smashed boxes, broken designer dresser, ruined, scratched and cracked designer chair, stereo equipment that doesn't even turn on anymore, broken glass… The list goes on. We couldn’t have been any more careful in packing our items. Everything was bubble wrapped, reinforced with foam and all delicate pieces additionally wrapped in padding. The boxes looked like they were driven cross-country under the truck not inside. It was clear that the handling of the boxes was done with absolutely no regard for people’s property.

It’s sad to trust a company and other people with your property only to witness that they really don’t care at all. Once you hand over your deposit, they really don’t care. Lastly, I’ve been dealing with a manager by the name of Monica who has been diligent about reading me and writing me scripted talking points in response to our concerns. But it’s evident she also doesn’t care. It’s now been two weeks since our boxes and furniture were delivered and the weight ticket is still “being located.” Two weeks for a driver to email or text a weight ticket. It’s absurd and unacceptable across the board. We trusted Colonial Van Lines with our property and we deeply regret it. I advise that you look at other options if you would like your property in the hands of drivers that care.

Fortunately, a local company, was able to move my household at the last minute and put everything into storage. I had to pay additional money for the extra move, and I am incurring daily storage charges. Colonial did say they would reimburse me for the additional moving cost but nothing in writing nor nothing about the storage fees or any other reimbursement. Colonial wants me to agree to a pick-up date and they will recalculate cost at END of the move when they have my household items and furniture, or I can submit a claim - unacceptable. I want everything in writing. Have spoken with a person in the resolution department regarding the reimbursement and compensation, daily calls but no updates - main excuse - it's our busy season, supervisor in meetings all day, etc.

I feel it is very reasonable for me to expect a new contract with recalculations in writing prior to my authorization for the move. During this fiasco I left several voice messages and emails for my broker/agent at Colonial Van Lines and not once has he contacted me. But he was nonstop calling and emailing when he wanted the contract signed and deposit made. He was not truthful and misled me when he told me Colonial Van Lines owned the trucks and the drivers were employees - they hire third parties and hope for the best.

Here it is three weeks later, I'm in California with nothing and my household items are still stored in Connecticut. Additionally, my car was shipped, organized by the same broker/agent and when I got into my car it stunk of cigarettes. I do not smoke. Obviously Colonial Van Lines does not give a damn about their customers, total disregard for my inconvenience, and no concern for an older person who put her trust in their company.

We didn't get our vacuum cleaner and a few pairs of shoes so I had put a claim in for that. I really would’ve liked to try to get the vacuum back. Another thing is I noticed that they charged us about $863 for the boxes and packing. That's a lot of money so that’s what I wasn’t thrilled about. They did bring the boxes and they packed some things, but my husband and I packed most of the things. I guess they still charge you for bringing the boxes.

I just moved my mom back and her move was really bad. They gave me a 3-day window as usual, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. I wanted them to make it Wednesday or Thursday but if they came Friday, I would have made it work. They called me Wednesday and told me they couldn't make it that week. It was just a big fiasco. Finally, after begging, crying, screaming and speaking to a million people, I got them to do it Saturday morning. One of the managers called and I said, “Okay, listen to me carefully. When the driver shows up, he cannot say anything like, ‘You have too much stuff. I don’t like your stuff. Your stuff is heavy and it costs more money, and here’s a piece of paper.’”

A guy that can barely speak English came in there and said, “Oh, more boxes. You have too many boxes.” He had a big accent and you can’t really understand him. And he was telling my mom, “It’s gonna cost you more money for all this stuff, and you gotta sign this paper.” It has nothing on it. It’s blank so my mom couldn't sign it. They tried getting ahold of me, but here in Colorado, it was 6:00 in the morning. The driver said he was gonna go to his next stop and then they'd come back. He went to his next job and they had too much stuff. He kept calling that he'd be there in an hour. An hour went by so I said, “If you’re not there by 3:00, she’s not gonna be there to sign your papers because she’s on a plane.” He said they'd be there by 2:00 but he didn’t get there. She was in the car and he pulled up in his truck at 3 o’clock. We were like talking to each other on the phone. She signed the obligatory forms and missed her plane.

They stayed there and packed. There were a lot of people that work there, so they helped watch out for her and her stuff. Most have been packed and they got to the truck and closed it. It wasn’t full. There was still room for some of her stuff and they left. They said they'd be back in the morning. The next morning, we called and they were not there. I called in the afternoon but they were not there. When I called Colonial on Monday, it took several times to get ahold of Donna, the account manager. I asked her when were they gonna take the rest of her stuff. She goes, “What are you talking about?” So, no one even knew that they did this.

I said, “First of all, her stuff is now sitting in a $5,000 a month assisted living apartment. It’s not a storage shed. It can’t be there today. That’s not okay. Who’s gonna pay this $5,000 rent and what are you gonna tell the next people that are waiting for that apartment?” She said, “Oh, I don’t know. The truck is full. You didn’t do the right estimate.” I had changed the estimate early on and they didn’t change that the way I specified that’s why it had the original. It said like 20 boxes, and my mom had like 100.

The salesperson, Tony, who I used the first time, was so nice. That’s why I went to him for the second time for my mom, and he never called me back, not once for the dozens of time I called him. I told him there was more stuff. I was just hysterical for days and days. They were like, “Well, we don’t have any truck. We can’t pick it up today. We can’t pick it up tomorrow. We can’t pick it up the next day.” It was like a week before they picked the stuff up. Everyday, we were waiting for the phone call. I told them that rent was due a couple of thousands of dollars and Donna said they were not gonna pay that. I told her, “Donna, it’s not your decision of what your company is gonna pay. It’s the lawyers and the court who’s gonna determine who’s gonna pay it.” She said it was not that big of a deal. I told her “Excuse me? It’s not that big of a deal to just leave all your crap in someone’s $5,000 apartment?” That’s a big deal to leave all your stuff in someone else’s place.

So, finally, they picked it up and we were wondering how long was it gonna take to deliver it ‘cause we never even got the first load. We finally got the first load this Saturday and we’ve been unpacking that. Now, the load’s coming today it's really quick. We were happy about that. I hope they had a better driver ‘cause the last one that came, he had this stick. He was measuring the whole way. He said “This is more than 75 feet. It’s gonna take me an extra time.” I asked the place. They said, “As soon as they get there, we’ll come check it, and we’ll give them the door that’s closest to your mom’s apartment,” but it’s not close to the apartment. It’s a pretty long one. I think it was 300 feet all the way from the door to the truck to her living room. But I really could care less about their problems after what they did to my mom.

I don't like the way Colonial Van Lines solves problems and the way they didn’t care. I had to spend hours trying to explain over and over and over for them to finally get it. The driver, obviously, was tired and cranky. He was gonna come back then something happened. But they should just own up to it instead of blaming me. They shouldn't go to someone’s house and leave stuff there and not come back. I don’t care what the reason is. And they’re gonna charge me for a second move. I’m like, “Oh, no. You’re not.” I have to escalate and I have to argue. I don’t like to do that, but I have to. I’m not gonna let my mom get screwed either.

So far, everything was fine. I am missing a box but I didn’t call about it because I can't tell what's in the box. I just know what I don’t have in my house. The car delivery was another thing. I gave the driver the instructions and the directions and then the address of the house, but he made me meet him three miles away. I didn't have my car because I had returned my rental, so I had to Uber. So, I had to spend money to go get my car from the drop-off too. I had to go meet the guy, pay the Uber, and then I also got a $1,000 pay cut that one day for the day I took off work. If the company really wanted to reimburse me and make it right, I'm not gonna ask. It's not my job. That’s their job. If they offer it, they offer it. If not, make the mistake twice, shame on me. So, I just won't use them again. I do have someone else who’s moving cross-country and I told them they might as well just go to someone else. I don't want them to lose money too.

The quote was pretty straightforward. They had us go room through room and the number of boxes that we estimated we would need. They were pretty good to follow up about a week in advance to make sure that was still on par with what it looked like we needed to move. We made a few adjustments to accurately maintain our quote. It changed once it was closer to the day of transport, but at least we knew it was going to change based on what we were moving. Everything went pretty well even though we worked with different people throughout the different stages of moving. When it came closer to having the movers arrive, someone else coordinated and just let us know what day they’d be arriving. When we put in claims at the very end, there was someone else. They said it would take up to 3 months to resolve.

The jury is still out on what’s gonna happen with our claim. We had 1 thing missing, a couple of things damaged, and 1 item not put together. We don’t have the pieces for it either. We had to go out and buy new hardware for it. But I would expect all those things with any mover. Everyone was quick to follow up and everyone we dealt with was really friendly. Our account manager was great. She followed up whenever she said she was going to follow up. When I left her a couple of voicemails, she always had someone call me back or she would call me back. She was very helpful and prompt in responding.

And yet again, by the 6th, STILL no driver/truck available to facilitate this move. Still waiting for my refund. Flew back to GA without getting moved. Incredible waste of time, money, and energy. I don't understand how an interstate moving company can completely drop the ball on a simple move?? I'm a military veteran with several moves across the US over my career. This has been my worst experience with movers, and an incredible disappointment. If you're looking into Colonial Van Lines, keep looking, they won't show up when it matters...

The only thing that I didn't like is when they drop things off, they give you a sheet. You’re supposed to be marking things off as they're unloading everything. They unload so fast that you don’t really have time to look over everything. A lot of boxes looked like it may have fallen out of the back of the truck. We’re still missing a couple things, but we haven't actually gone though the rest and I think we got everything. They should kinda give you a couple of days at least to kinda go over things. You’re supposed to go over everything before they leave and check off if you have anything damaged but you don’t even have time to unwrap your things that are completely packaged up before they unpack and leave. We really didn't have enough time to check everything out. It was kind of a rushed process.

I have a digital piano and the guys had to take one of the pedal unit apart to get it on the truck. They held up a baggie and they showed it to me. They said, “Here’s the hardware for your pedal to be assembled.” But I haven’t been able to find that and I really need it. If they could tell me where they put the baggie, that’d be tremendous. It’s a little thing, but I can’t put the piano together without it.

I made an effort to make it as easy as it was possible which means It began to elevate due to my frustration of having to repeatedly tell you the same thing over and over again, frustrating phone system and your people refusing to allow me to speak to a supervisor or even tell me the name of any supervisor and finally having to tell the same story several times being repeatedly transferred to a phone that no one was answering. The most aggravating thing was when Jessica told me she did not ask about the wires and that I did not explain the road the driver should take to avoid those wires, she was lying. Originally it sounded like a standard question.

Today she could only repeat the question several times "Did I receive a call from the driver 30 minutes to 1 hour prior to arrival". When he heard me getting more and more upset he began to yell at me which can be witnessed by the phone call with Jessica on 7/5/19. He said "You are not the only person in America who is moving". He said "More **" when I said "I forgot to tell you about the dresser in the walk-in closet". He said "You've never worked in this heat, moving." I cannot remember everything he said, but he kept sticking up for the driver, I said I did not believe it was the driver's fault. My brother said "She is not blaming the driver". Most importantly, I never received a call back from the supervisor or the promised call from Jessica regarding how the move was going. I asked for the name of a manager people did not know who that would be, But I am paying, what is to me, a great deal of money.

If the items were not stolen and shipping with Colonial Van Lines is safe and secure, then I expect my items will be “found” and returned to me. It’s been months since we made this complaint so I can assure you that SHIPPING with them is NOT SAFE and SECURE! Once the items are returned I will update my review. Read other reviews of people who opted to have them pack and also had items go “missing”. We are still awaiting a resolution... it’s been months!! And nothing. I also find it peculiar how the “relevant” reviews on Google are all four and five star reviews. I wonder how that happens? Scam scam scam. If you found this review helpful please like it.

Original Review: June 28, 2019

Worst company ever, and even worse customer service. Late picking up, late dropping off, no empathy whatsoever and offer only a 30 dollar amount every day they were late, regardless the amount it cost to survive while you wait for your entire life to show up. Stay away from this company, much better options out there. In fact, I suggest you carry your stuff on your back to where ever you are moving to, because I guarantee you'd make it faster than this complete joke of a business.

On the delivery end they were a full week late after the last day of the delivery window. This caused us an extra 7 night hotel expense at $900 total as well as having to change work schedules at the last minute due to the uncertainty of the delivery date. On delivery they attempted to collect an extra $1,900 due to extra weight! I still have not seen a detailed breakdown of the extra charge. No extra items were added to the inventory list and exact dimensions were given to the sales rep at the time of the quote. Sounds to me that they intentionally quoted low to get the business only to jack the price up 45%! I asked several times for one of the owners (it’s a family owned business) or someone in senior management to call me, never received a call. Finally, five days after delivery was made a “supervisor” called. Please everyone save yourself a ton of hassle, stress and extra expense and do not use this company, you will regret your decision.

Anyway, one day he was extremely rude to me saying I needed to book my move ASAP. As a consumer - I understand that the rate I receive may be higher closer to the move. BUT it is NOT the place of the company rep to force me into anything or talk to me like that. I was extremely angry at this tone and decided to go ahead with a different company just because of his behavior. Their services may be good, but they need to learn to talk to their customers.

Original Review: June 4, 2019

My husband and I have moved across the US at least 5 times the last 15 years due to our jobs. Each time we used either Ally or Mayflower. We were moving from Upstate NY to Philadelphia and We decided to save cost and went with Colonial Van Lines this time and ultimately regretted the decision. I will break it down into bullet points:

1. They do estimates and not quotes like other company, which means they could charge more (usually not less) after the move. They do not have a in person to come to your house to evaluate how many things you have. Everything was done through a phone call. Because of that, we were uncomfortable how accurate that might be, therefore we had another company Corrigan to come evaluate. They quoted us to be within 6000 lbs range. Their quote is final and that's the price you pay. We sent Corrigan's quote to Colonial and asked them to beat the price. They assured us that our items should be less than 5000 lbs and could save us $2000.

2. When the movers came to pick up they mentioned that it has to be within 75 ft of the apt and the truck, and will be charged a fee if more than that distance, this was never disclosed to us.

3. During the delivery the driver panicked and kept calling my husband about parking in Philadelphia and caused a lot of stress when he later told us that we should have gotten a permit. This was ridiculous to us and this is usually taken care by by the movers. We did not have any issues with Mayflower when we moved to Chicago city area.

4. The driver later told us that they have to charge us extra bc we have more than 21 flights of steps to the apt by counting the basement to the top, not from the truck to the apt, which was different from pick up. He had no idea how much to charge us since it was a Sunday. He said the office told him to charge us the maximum of $350 and will call us back to sort out the detail and refund us money. Long story short, they never called us and charged us in full of $350.

5. The movers revealed to us that they are just third party and not professional movers. They were not trained at all. They flipped a lot of our boxes upside down, which was frustrating. They severely bent one of our desk metal legs, and the wielded joint was agap, which I decided to document by taking photos. The driver, which we assume was the boss bent the leg back and took another picture. I told him I'm going to submit a claim, but he told me that the claim will never believe me as he bent it back and took a better picture!!! My husband and I were speechless at that point and what just came out of his mouth.

6. They also charged us an additional $1300 as they claimed it was over 5000 lbs, which was not what they assured us the first place. And the Corrigan's initial quote was accurate and they did not go with it just so that they can tell us they could beat the price. Also as we were unpacking we found boxes of stuff that belong to other clients and not us, which lead us to believe we combined other client's boxes with ours and became overweight. We were extremely baffled by their unprofessionalism.

7. The delivery guy tried to charge us 4 additional boxes and packing materials for $150 which does not exist. We packed every single boxes ourselves and suddenly we got charged for non-existing "packing materials" and labors. We were so furious at this point.

8. When my husband tried to call and dispute, they just kept passing the calls along and we were forced to leave a message.

9. The were suppose to put our beds together since they were the ones who took it apart. When I moved the bed to reposition it, 2 metals fell off the bottom frame because they never tighten the screws. We were horrified by how bad they did their jobs.

Long story short, we will never go with Colonial van lines ever again. We have moved to many places. This is most stressful time working with them. Ultimately they did not beat other company's quote, and left us dissatisfied, angered, and frustration. A lot of our furnitures got scratches and chipped off. We will keep working to dispute the claims.

I hesitate to be critical of the moving crew since they were the people doing the work, but they seemed confused at times and overwhelmed at others. They had no cell signal at our new home, and a landline was not yet functional here, so my cell phone was used for several phone calls to their office and photos taken of documents I signed which needed to be seen by their handlers. Oddly, the movers had no appliance dolly, the type with rear tractor treads used to go up and down stairs, so they wrestled boxes and items up and down by hand. They weren't really dressed for the job either, wearing dainty athletic shoes while I was wearing work boots, which were needed in a rural setting where everything isn't paved. In the end they got the job done on time and with nothing broken.

One thing concerned me however. All three crew members stood and watched as my credit card was photographed, both sides, so all could get a good look at the security number on the back. I was glad the pictures were on my phone and not theirs. This card was supposedly certified by Colonial earlier, but with two companies involved, things simply didn't work very smoothly. Save yourself a lot of confusion. Call a local mover, meet them, have them look over your stuff, and you'll save yourself a hassle. Colonial is essentially just an added layer to the moving process, who found a mover and then either ignored me or called 5 days after the move asking if it had happened yet.

When they picked up, it took them about seven hours to pack up. They did a good job from the pick-up. We've already had a house, so I was living at an apartment, doing an away job and then moved back to the house we were in. So, they packed up the apartment, moved everything back to the house. My wife said they delivered things in about five hours, and that was spread out over about 10 days. The only thing is when they delivered, they didn't put stuff back together right. So, they just put it all in. They reimbursed me a small amount, but they did not assemble the furniture back. Other than that, they've done a very adequate job. Overall, I was satisfied with my experience. It was a pretty difficult task. Colonial was well-prepared and the communication was adequate. I got the value for what I paid for the service.

A lot of my furniture was damaged but I'm suing the guy that did my floor. It wasn't because of the moving company as they did what they were supposed to do. It was a very hectic experience, but Colonial Van Lines made it less hectic by being very accommodating and on-time with all their paperwork. I also liked the professionalism of the truck drivers and representatives that were constantly calling me and making sure that everything was on point.

We were able to handle everything on the phone and he really made me comfortable because I was a little leery doing it over the phone. I called him at least four times and he gave me answers, so I was able to go ahead and lock in the moving date, set my flight, and make things work for me. I was also able, just by phone, to plan my flight there as well as the packing, pickup and delivery, and everything was right on schedule. Then, I was able to meet the movers there.

Everyone was telling me that I needed to go there and they would give me a quote. But that wasn’t gonna work for me at the time, so I had a company meet me there. But Anthony was able to, over the phone and by getting a list, give me pretty much the same quote within $100 or $200. And the quote was good. It came in under what they initially told me and Anthony told me to probably expect that. I was ready based on the information Anthony gave me in what I needed to do, so everything was there. I felt really great about their ability to do the quote over the phone and for it be as accurate as it was. It helped me with scheduling and it saved me flight money as well as time off of work.

When the movers came in, they introduced themselves and in a matter of hours, they had me packed and ready. The guys were great and they took very good care of packing my dishes and furniture. I watched them pretty much the entire time, in and out, and I didn’t have any issues with them. They also didn’t track dirt or mud in. I was a little concerned with that.

All in all, my experience was awesome. I hope I don’t have to do it again, but I would refer Colonial Van Lines to someone if they were moving. And people were surprised as they said that my furniture was moved twice and it still looks brand new. I expected something to possibly break but not one single item was broken. As I unpacked my boxes, everything was in place. I also had some scratches on there prior but one of the movers brought out his marker and used it on them. Then, he handed it to me and told me to keep it in case I scratch something. And I did make a couple of scratches trying fix some stuff up.

The entire post move process was horrible with little follow up, follow through and professional customer service. Ironically the carrier service supposedly has been discontinued from what obviously were other issues from other customers. Interesting also is that the only responses on these reviews from Colonial are from positive experiences. This is an indicator of the poor customer service and professional service that is offered when things don’t go well. Please stay away from this company!!!