Colonial Van Lines Reviews

However, I did notice that the final cost exceeded the original quote by approximately 25-30%. Despite this discrepancy, any issues I encountered were swiftly resolved. Overall, the service met my expectations, and I would give it a solid rating.

On the day of the move, the movers were excellent. They completed their task as expected, ensuring everything was handled efficiently. There were no issues or surprises during the process, and I was satisfied with how everything was managed.

All in all, they provided a reliable service, and I would recommend them to others seeking a trustworthy moving company.

My interaction with the moving coordinator was seamless. Since I was in the process of selling my home, we organized everything using the online gallery of my belongings. This made estimating the inventory straightforward, and the process was quite smooth.

On the day of the move, I had pre-packed all items, which made the movers' job efficient. Their arrival was marked by clear organization, professionalism, and respectability. They were thorough in their process, checking every item twice for accuracy.

I would easily give my experience a top score. For friends or family considering a stress-free moving experience, I’d definitely recommend Colonial Van Lines for handling everything efficiently, reducing the hassle and worry involved in the moving process.

The crew in charge of packing and shipping was excellent. Even though there were delays owing to inadequate help, and consequently, the uptake of my furniture was late, they packed professionally and ensured safe delivery. Although the delivery team was shorthanded, resulting in minor nicks and scratches, it wasn’t anything significant, and the overall setup was still highly professional.

Despite everything, the late timing of pickup and delivery, and the unexpected cost, left me a bit unimpressed. While Colonial did manage to accommodate my move from Oregon to California, communicating along the way, there was a significant mix-up, mainly around the waiting period for our convenience. I found the overall experience satisfactory but found the hike in costs and logistical mishaps quite frustrating.

I was genuinely pleased with Colonial's services, and the mishap with the brokers should not overshadow the service they provided. This was my first major move, and despite the hiccups, Colonial did well.

Despite this, the moving crew that arrived was incredible. They were friendly, extremely helpful, and went above and beyond in assisting with a few extra items without charging us additional fees. They managed the move effectively, in record time, and ensured that nothing was damaged.

The delivery was impressively speedy as well. Although informed it might take within 2 days to deliver, we received everything the same day, and everything was safe and undamaged. The final cost was spot on, aligning exactly with our expectations, which instilled confidence.

However, the misleading initial promise about their service model—that was less favorable. While I would rate the movers hired by Colonial as a 5 for their exceptional service, I'd give the company a 2 due to the inaccurate information I received. The experience left me uneasy and made me question the transparency of their operations.

However, despite the efficient support from Kurt, the pricing model was less straightforward. We faced charges from the movers directly (with specifics, and inability to proceed before payment was their request) because of walking distances at apartments being longer than anticipated. Moving my daughter from one apartment to another across states for university meant additional charges not initially disclosed, which was frustrating. As someone in the funeral home industry, where costs are clear upfront, I was surprised by the way additional fees appeared so abruptly based on arbitrary “feet” measurements rather than clear regional pricing units.

Complaints about pricing issues aside, moving day went without a hitch thanks to Dennis and his helper. They handled everything professionally, moving from Florida to South Carolina efficiently while consistently communicating, which I appreciated immensely. Despite the confusion with costs, I still found their service well worth recommending, and Colonial Van Lines certainly still earned my trust and repeat business.

Overall, Colonial Van Lines impressed me except for their unimplied fees. If the pricing structure were more upfront, I would've considered the experience perfect.

Regarding the actual move, the pickup in Oregon went smoothly and was professional. Everything was organized until delivery, where I encountered some confusion with the inventory tags being out of order. This meant I had to manually verify that what I received matched the list. Nevertheless, aside from this mix-up, their service was satisfactory.

The transportation covered around 2,000 miles from Oregon to Ohio and took roughly a week. This timeline fit well as I had some personal delays—leaving after pickup and my shipment arriving the day after I reached Ohio. Throughout the move, I appreciated the communication from Colonial Van Lines, with regular updates keeping me informed of the progress, which contributed greatly to my overall positive impression.

On moving day, Colonial brokered out a team from Dallas who effectively kept in touch with us, arrived a bit earlier than planned, and worked efficiently. The team comprised three movers who successfully packed up my entire house, completing the task within the expected timeframe. It was seamless.

Additionally, due to certain constraints on truck sizes, the movers had to use two vehicles instead of one. This seemed more cumbersome for them, but our experience remained unaffected. Overall, my experience was positive, and I would certainly recommend Colonial Van Lines with confidence.

My move was from New Jersey to North Carolina, and it was refreshingly efficient. They picked up my belongings one day and delivered them the next. I prepared most of the packages, and they helped pack what was left. The crew was diligent, which made the process smooth. The initial representative was incredibly insightful as well, assessing my needs just by viewing pictures I had posted on Zillow to estimate moving fees accurately.

On pricing, Colonial's estimates felt reasonable and honest. I’ve already shared my positive experience with several friends – I’d definitely recommend them. All interactions, from customer service to the moving day, left me very satisfied. If I were to rate them, I'd gladly give them top marks for their service and website usability. Overall, Colonial Van Lines stood out as a dependable choice for my move.

The pickup and delivery went smoothly and were as expected; I can't say I have any complaints. The entire distance covered was 1,150 miles, and I was quite satisfied with how the move was handled. Colonial Van Lines did a solid job, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to others.

The moving process was from Florida to Illinois, and despite the distance, I found Colonial Van Lines offered a competitive rate. The inclusions in their package were impressive when compared to other movers. I had a mixed requirement for packing; some items were pre-packed, while others needed attention from the crew. They managed both tasks effectively, ensuring a good experience on both fronts.

Overall, I was pleased with their service.

During the inventory estimation, it was done completely over the phone. The representative asked for details room by room, such as the furniture I had, and although I initially told him I had a one-bedroom apartment, adjustments were made as we went along.

On the moving day itself, I was taken aback to find that a different company handled the actual move, which was unexpected as I thought Colonial Van Lines would be in charge of the entire process. There was also an extra charge for a shuttle that I wasn't expecting, further adding to my dissatisfaction. However, the moving crew’s performance was commendable; they handled everything efficiently both during pick-up and delivery.

As for the timelines, I had to wait almost a week for my belongings to arrive after moving from New York to Florida. The arrival time was inconveniently late, which was a problem given local restrictions.

Though the moving team was proficient, the disjointed communication and delays ultimately left me rating the experience a 3 out of 5. It wasn’t awful due to the crew’s professionalism, but notable improvements in communication are needed. While I hope others have a better experience, I would hesitate to confidently recommend Colonial Van Lines without caution.

Moreover, the drivers, who played a significant role in the experience, performed exceptionally well. Their professionalism added great value to my moving experience.

I didn't find anything lacking in their service; everything was well managed from start to end. Considering my seamless experience, I would strongly recommend Colonial Van Lines to others.

On moving day, everything went as planned. I communicated with Colonial representatives mainly electronically, which I found efficient. They kept me informed throughout the process. Their subcontractors contacted me the day before regarding their arrival window. They showed up on time with the correct amount of supplies like moving blankets and tape, packed the items efficiently, and then left for the move without any hiccups.

If a friend or family member asked for my recommendation, I'd advise them to research different companies and consider several quotes first, as rates can vary based on the company's schedule and capacity. However, Colonial Van Lines is definitely worth calling.

However, I did encounter a concern regarding pricing, which centered around the weight estimation for my belongings. It seemed that the weight assessment might not align with what I experienced, as I was capable of lifting most of my boxes myself at 71 years old. The fear of potential damage also led me to limit what I placed on the truck. Had I felt more secure, especially knowing the professionalism of the driver, I would have put more of my belongings in the shipment, even if it meant a higher cost.

In summary, despite the hiccup with the pricing system, my experience with Colonial Van Lines was positive due to the outstanding performance of the driver, and I felt reassured throughout the move.

The initial moving crew, based in North Carolina, was helpful and even assisted with packing a few last-minute items. Their professionalism extended to the crew in my new location, who were equally impressive, handling everything efficiently.

The accuracy of Colonial Van Lines' quotes stood out, as they did not exceed the estimated costs. I've encountered other moving companies demanding additional fees upon arrival, so this honesty was refreshing. If friends or family ask, I'd confidently assure them of Colonial's reliability, attention to detail, and the care they take with possessions.

Throughout the process, the communication from Colonial Van Lines was predominantly positive, which contributed to my satisfaction with their service. Overall, my experience with the company was quite satisfactory.

I'm happy to recommend them based on this experience.

The moving crew was another standout aspect of my experience. They were punctual and kept me informed about their ETA and any potential delays. Their attention to detail was impressive! They handled our belongings with care, ensuring that I felt comfortable throughout the process. It was a smooth operation, both when packing up and while settling into our new home.

Overall, my entire experience with Colonial Van Lines was outstanding, from the initial phone call to unloading at our new location. I highly recommend their services to anyone considering a move.

My pickup experience was noteworthy. Everything was handled professionally. While the driver did get lost on the way to my house, it wasn't a major issue.

A friend of mine is considering using their services based on my recommendation, as I found them to deliver a positive moving experience. Overall, my experience with Colonial Van Lines was satisfactory.

On June 19th, we received a confirmation email from Traveen ** in Customer Service confirming the delivery date of our furniture on June 22nd. Because our entire move was planned around this delivery date, we called three times on Friday, June 20th confirming this delivery date. Furthermore on the 20th, we were contacted by Colonial to pay the remaining balance even though the contract specifies that the remaining balance should only be paid upon the delivery of the furniture. Upon hearing the good news and confirmation that our furniture was being delivered on June 22, we immediately left for South Carolina in preparation to meet the movers.

The excitement quickly wore off, and the nightmare began. On the evening of the 20th, we received a call from Colonial saying that our moving date was actually moved to July 4th due to a broken down truck. This threw all of our plans into chaos, leaving us stranded in an apartment with an empty house in South Carolina. We called Colonial about this situation and asked to speak with a manager for an explanation of nearly a 2 week delay because of a "broken down" truck. The manager, who would not provide their name, was not able to provide any information at all. They had to speak with their management team, and promised a call back on the following day with a resolution, the 21st of June.

On June 21, we did receive a call back from a manager at Colonial, who again did not reveal her name. We were then told that the truck had actually not broken down, but that the driver was out of hours. Rather than provide a resolution, the situation was made even worse when this manager told us that July 4 was just the beginning of the new delivery window, and that the delivery could take longer. We were lied to about the reason for the delay. There was no broken down truck. A driver being "out of hours" does not explain a 2 week delay.

Immediately, we became suspicious about such a delay. We asked the manager where our furniture was, as we had paid for climate controlled storage, and the manger was unable to tell us where our furniture was. If Colonial cannot tell us where our property is, I can only assume that they have lost track of it. We are now left stranded with none of our property, no idea where it is at, and no solution or even an attempted solution from Colonial. To add insult to injury, we were told again on the 21st of June that we wouldn't have an answer for at least 3 more days. Clearly, Colonial has no idea what they are doing and are likely scrambling to find the property that they lost.

After my initial review, Colonial is now using blackmail against me. They delayed our move again to July 5th despite receiving multiple confirmations of a delivery date on the 4th. Rather than help us, they threatened us and told us to remove this review or they wouldn't compensate us for leaving us stranded without furniture for over two weeks. How low does a company have to be to resort to using blackmail on their customers?

Without my knowledge and contrary to the discussions I had with someone who claimed to be QA manager at Colonial, my move was sub-contracted to ADI Moving from Phoenix, who totally mismanaged my move. Multiple attempts to obtain assistance from Colonial were in vain, as I paid a deposit, scheduled a move and had no other option but to go along for the ride.

In a nutshell, they took two weeks to complete a move that they said would have taken 2-3 days. They completely and intentionally (I have evidence of this) destroyed my boat by slamming the roll-up door on it, so that it would break and then fit in the small truck. After being almost two weeks late, they would not unload the truck unless I paid them in advance, without knowing the state of my items in the truck. They damaged a lot of my furniture, smashed my boat and pilfered my Sonos equipment. After having called them to resolve the issue on many occasions, all that they offered was $146 and then said that I should have purchased additional insurance. Bottom line, according to Colonial, this was all my fault.

I would recommend it. If I had to move again, I would definitely seek a bid from them.

He basically had me list everything. I went room to room while he was on the phone and just told him what we had as far as what kind of furniture she had, dishes, things in the cabinets, all those kinds of things. He was very reasonable. The other people I talked to from other companies were always trying to upsell me where it was just astronomical in cost. Colonial Van Lines was actually about $6,000 cheaper than anyone else. I felt like their consumer advocate was straight up-front with me about what we were going to do, which was very refreshing, so we decided to hire them.

Two of the moving men were actually immigrants from the Ukraine. There was one that didn't speak any English, but the leader of the team, he was great. They packed and moved my mom's whole house in one day. It was amazing to watch. We never would have been able to do what they were doing. We did have one thing because of the communication barrier. We set it up to where we pack everything, there'd be a travel day, and then an unload day the next day in Van Buren. Because my mother is 86. We couldn’t drive her down there that day and then unload. And he understood then. But we are totally satisfied. We'd hire Colonial again. I have recommended the company highly to those who are moving.

Moving day went very smooth. They showed up on time, wrapped all our furniture, and treated it with great care. It arrived just when it was expected in Pennsylvania. We even had to change the date on them and have them hold it for a few days, and that was no problem for them. They accommodated our change in schedule no problem, and then they delivered it the day that we asked. It was the same crew and they delivered it with the same care. They were great.

What I was most surprised about is, a few things had got left on the truck and we were looking for stuff. But then the movers actually reached out to us and said there were a few things left on the truck and they were coming back. They were in another state already, but actually drove all the way back to where we were in Pennsylvania just to deliver five or six items to us. That was very nice of them. They were a great crew.

The movers were courteous and respectful to us and our belongings. The communication was great. We always knew where our stuff was and when that was going to arrive. It was a great experience.

It's important but it's not so important that I have to document. I don't have time to go back and try to find things. Another thing that happened was that I gave one person the Items that had to be moved. Come to find out the truck was not big enough, and they were telling me that there was too much on the truck, that they could tell how much the truck weighed. Some things that I expected to be moved were not moved, so I had to just send it to the dumpster, some very good quality furniture. The more I talk about it, the more upset I get.

While delivering there was multiple things broke including my grandmothers solid cedar hope chest had wood pealed off and a very expensive rocking chair arms are cracked and all he said is "we must not have wrapped it correctly". I submitted a claim for all of it and received paperwork and they said, "Well we will waive the weight fee and send the amount of $247" but on another page it said they are taking it off the amount and sending $138. And in calling for a status in April the person said yes it should be $247 and the weights are incorrect so it should be more. When not receiving the updated paperwork in June I called again and this person said no it is correct and if I want anything I need to sign the paperwork and email it back. THEY ARE HORRIBLE!! DON'T USE!!!

Original Review: June 5, 2025

Colonial Van Lines is a SCAM BROKER, they are not a moving company, they are a broker. Go look at their DOT page, max of 4 trucks. IF that's even up to date. They will tell you the lowest price you will hear and then hound you non-stop with promises they will not keep, telling you answers you want to hear but that are just lies. It's too good to be true, stop and find someone else. Don’t want to? Okay, keep reading:

A wonderful opportunity landed in my Husband’s lap, and we were offered a relocation package to move ~1000 miles away. Right away I started researching and getting estimates, having walkthroughs to get an exact price, but I messed up and chose the lowest offer- CVL. We started this nightmare with Anthony D. from CVL, he was great on the phone, assured me they use their own trucks (they don’t), assured me the moving timeline would be correct (it wasn’t) and assured me my BINDING quote would not change (it doubled, and only at the time of pick up was this told to us, and what are we going to do, cancel everything and NOT move?).

We also requested auto transport for one of our cars, and was given a discount since we were also using them to move. Guess what? They never found a driver in the full MONTH and a half since placing a deposit for the auto transport, so last minute we had to cancel and drive the car 18 hrs, wear and tear plus cost of gas and hotels because in a month this broker could not do the one thing meant to do: FIND A DRIVER. Also want to add it took them 2 months to process this deposit refund.

After securing and paying a deposit on the -BINDING QUOTE- (it’s not binding because they lie lie lie and opps, now your rate has doubled and it's moving day so you’re screwed!) We had maybe one or two emails sent reminding us of what to pack, not pack, moving FYI’s, etc, but never any contact about the move itself. Anthony lied about the car transport, lied about CVL using their own fleet- a main reason we chose them, we would have run if we knew they were a crappy broker that cares ONLY about the money. The DOT site lists them as having 4 trucks.

About a week out from the move, we suddenly have a new account manager, zero info on why the change, no info that anything said or communicated with Anthony was transferred to this Ebonie person. We are told and sent in writing on the contract the packers would be there to pack AND load on the same day, the 18th of April. Well, the singular old mover gets there, tells us its just packing today, pick up is the next day…. No, that is not what our contract says- just the start of all the contract breaching this company does. We are then surprised with what is DOUBLE our BINDING QUOTE (see how not binding their binding bs is?), but what are we to do, we already were at the last day in our place, couldn’t say no and scramble last minute for another company in what, 24 hours?

Even the driver knew this company was shady as he broke down every line item and the why. The driver was the only good thing about this entire experience, thank you Dave. He used more boxes than what was quoted, so more money there. This was on me, I should have been watching like a hawk, but he packed like one or two items in a large box and sealed it, while at least two more boxes worth of stuff could fit in there.

While our driver was great, he stayed in communication. The one frustrating thing was they sent one man, one old man to pack an entire 2 bedroom house by himself. Do you know how long that takes? I'll tell you: 10 hours. 10 hours of standing around while a single person packs a whole house, yet STILL manages to pack literal trash and things I said and marked to leave.. Save money and just pack yourself if you’re dumb/unlucky enough to hire this company. Thankfully, when pick up came, he had a helper so things were loaded in about 4 hours.

We were told the 21st-30th for a delivery window, but was promised it would be closer to the 21st- you guessed right, it was not. Our second account manager Ebonie J. called once to inform us when our driver would be there to pick up (she was wrong and not for the first time), and then went radio silent for the following 4 days. Our emails went unanswered, we had no help or contact from CVL during our move.

When we FINALLY heard from her, it was to tell us our stuff was being loaded onto a second truck and she will reach out when they have a second driver…. Panic time, but we have Dave the Drivers number, his response? "Those sales reps don’t know anything, I still have your stuff and will be there on the 26th”. Again I cannot stress how much of a blessing this driver was, he told us on pick up when he expected to be in Vermont, told us he had two stops prior, and kept in communication when he was a day out. The time he said he would arrive was on point. Seriously, just stop reading and go phone Quality Relocation inc, I bet the experience would be much better, more honest.

We were charged ($812) for a Shuttle on pickup and delivery since the complexes could not accommodate a full tractor trailer, however I still have no idea what this ‘shuttle’ even was as my stuff never left the 24’ box truck it was packed in to from the beginning. What shuttle CVL?? A shuttle is a vehicle that moves things from a bigger vehicle to the location…. Which was not the case here, my stuff went from house -> 24’ truck -> house… WHERE WAS THIS SHUTTLE AND WHY DID I PAY ALMOST 1000$??

We actually did get all of our stuff on the date the driver told us, meanwhile Ebonie sends an email stating our stuff will arrive on the 30th…. When all of the boxes have already been unloaded in the new place. Laughable how these people have zero clue how to pick up a phone. Just sit in FL all day doing who knows what, not caring about you, your move, OR your stuff.

Which brings me to the final nail in the coffin: the damage. I will say, Dave with Quality Relocation did a great job wrapping, packing, making sure he took care of our items… however things happen. Out of everything we shipped, just one tv was destroyed (honestly a win in our books with the fact we shipped 3 tvs total). I take the pictures, send it to Ebonie our account manager, who, at the time of typing this, STILL had not reached out about the next steps (edit: I never heard a single thing back from her past this point so, use that info how you will). So, I call customer service who told me to fill out a form, send a pic, and they would get it sent to claims.

Now this customer service agent, Bernedette I., she was as rude as rude can be, as soon as I mentioned damages, and that I had an unpleasant experience. She snapped at me that Ebonie was out and obviously could not see my email (clearly it's my fault for not being all-knowing), and kept harping on that one point after I said I really didn’t care, that’s not what I was calling about. Once I see the form, I see why all the reviews are so angry about damages and the claim process. “I understand that Colonial Van Lines, Inc. acting as my moving coordinator, bears no liability for any and all damaged/missing items sustained during the course of my relocation and agree to forever discharge said organization from responsibility for the actions of the carrier including but not limited to damaged/missing items”. Yeah I am not signing that to say the least.

I remembered seeing Donna in the Resolutions Department mentioned in the reviews where she ‘fixed everything and resolved issues’, so I called back and was able to get her on the line. She was pleasant at least, she didn’t go to the same Rude Customer Service school Bernedette did, she was warm and seemed to care that my $300 tv was destroyed and the measly $60 I MIGHT get from claims was unacceptable. Sent emails to claims and some higher up management, and claims did reach out to tell me the exact same thing Bernedette told me, same attitude and all. They will NOT file any kind of claim without you releasing them from any responsibility for damaged or missing items.

This company will do everything to ensure you get nothing back from them. After claims got me nowhere, Hope called from escalations to listen to my story again (because communication is not this company’s strong suit) and to tell me the same thing, sign the form and take the $60 MAYBE NO GUARANTEES, or you are SoL. My favorite part of this was my account manager emailing me to say “The verbiage on that form is wrong, but to go ahead and sign it anyway”…. They really think you are that dumb to sign a document that is outdated. Or maybe that was yet another lie to get what they want and screw me out of my money.

I just want my $300 reimbursement for the TV that was destroyed, after paying a premium ($381) to have my items packaged to avoid exactly this. Do yourself a favor if you are looking for a good moving company: DO NOT USE COLONIAL VAN LINES!!!! Save the headache AND tons of money by just contacting Quality Relocation INC, and request Dave if you can. I would absolutely do business with Quality Relocation again as they were commutative, prompt, honest, and caring. Colonial is a broker who only cares about their cut of the money and nothing else.

GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, THIS IS NOT THE COMPANY YOU WANT TO USE, and we honestly got lucky compared to some of these horror stories. And if you’ve already paid and booked with them, now you can always file a complaint with BBB and the FMCSA, which may prompt a federal investigation into their practices and maybe stop this scam of a company. Heck, if you can afford it, cancel and get your money back and find a different company, trust me this is not worth the nightmare. If you were unfortunate to ignore allllll of these reviews, get yourself a lawyer. Now.

Edit: I contacted claims before posting this complaint, and the claims person was all proud how they were able to get me 150$ for the TV instead of the 60$ it would've been. Which is absolutely insulting after all these contract breaches, lack of customer service, or any sort of care. The shuttle cost was a scam, and I would LOVE for them to try to explain how the same exact van that picked up my stuff, carried it on said van to my new place, and unloaded from that van had a shuttle? I sure didn't see a shuttle at loading or pick up, and I have written confirmation from the driver that my stuff was never moved off the van. A lawyer would have so much fun with this contract… DO NO DO NOT EVER HIRE THESE SCAM BROKERS.

Their customer service was very good. They answered my questions, let me know exactly what was going to take place, and they quoted me approximately when they would be there and they came on time. They packed the kitchen while I packed everything else. They came on a Friday and they delivered my furniture on Sunday. Everything went smoothly.

The driver arrived to our new property four days later on the cross country move and was able to navigate a very twisty mountainous road to our new home. Another team, who were all very respectful and worked hard moving our goods including a hot tub, into our new home without any damage or concerns. All in all, everything went smoothly, as expected, and without any surprises and I would use Colonial again.

I understand there are a number of factors that cannot be controlled (driver location, traffic, weather, etc.), but I find it hard to believe that the location of my items is seemingly unknown and that there's no way to find a driver to deliver my items sooner than a week late. When asked if I could cancel my delivery with Colonial and hire another company to deliver my items, I was told that would not be possible, so not only have I spent a large amount on this move, I now have to spend additional funds to either stay in a hotel or buy things so I can live in my house. Definitely would not recommend using this company after this experience.

Around two-thirds of the furniture was damaged in one way or another. Handles were bent, chips took out of wood, and there were scratches. For stuff packed away, boxes had holes poked in them, therefore things were broken inside the boxes. It was very disappointing. Most of my moves, the damage was tiny. This was the worst

I did not contact Colonial Van Lines because I knew the comeback would be, “Oh, it was damaged in storage.” I didn’t want to go through it. I happened to have sufficient funds that I can take care of everything without having to moan with these people. I just won’t use them again.

In terms of the price, when somebody damages all your property, you think, “Boy, that was way overpriced.” If they hadn’t damaged everything, it would have been an appropriate price.

And then he charged me 1,800 for that. When the things arrived, there were damages, but those were expected. We had different movers halfway through. They were there for four days and never the same root of people came through. So, we had to redescribe everything again. It would be nice if Colonial had the same crew.

The representatives at Colonial Van Lines are insolent, arrogant, having absolutely no customer service and lack even a modicum of professionalism. The way that the representatives conduct themselves on the phone is shameful. They speak to the customer with a tone of contempt accusing the customer of being rude when in all actuality, the customer is explaining that they are distraught and overwhelmed trying their best to explain a deeply distressing situation. The move, having been turned over to East Coast Van Lines, turned out to be one of the worst experiences; monetarily, emotionally and physically. East Coast Van Lines held my furniture from the date of pick-up, Dec. 22,2024 until the end of January 2025. The excuse was they could not get a driver for the truck to Florida.

The truth turned out to be that East Coast Van Lines needed to fill an 18 wheeler before the delivery could be completed. My entire move was stored in an 18 wheeler / warehouse somewhere in New Jersey for over a month. During this month, numerous, numerous calls, and emails were conducted with Colonial Van Lines that were handled by the rudest representatives who couldn't seem to grasp the gravity of situation. And trying to get through to a manager or supervisor was next to impossible. The truth was never told me nor could they grasp the fact that I was paying rent on an apartment I could not move into for over a month. Every excuse under the sun was made and there was absolutely no concern for my dilemma. The story was the same, " there are no drivers going to Florida at this time."

The delivery was finally made and to my horror my furniture was delivered damaged. Having been stored for over a month, my custom made platform bed had water damage, the art deco 1920s lamp was destroyed, a small antique table had gauges in it, and a bookcase had its molding broken off the top. The art deco lamp cannot even be repaired or replaced. East Coast Van Lines’ way of addressing the broken molding was to completely saw it off and color in the damaged part with magic marker wood color. There is quite more that arrived damaged. All of this was sent to Colonial Van Lines who told me that if I purchased $2500.00 of insurance I could then submit a claim. The damages total was approximately $4000.00 and Colonial Van Lines would not agree.

Photos were sent with comparable photos of similar items and cost but to no avail. This only added to the insult and injury. Adding insult was that not one representative listened to me with regard to where to send the small refund. I had explained numerous times that the credit card I had used for the move had been closed by me and that the monies were to be sent directly to me. Instead, the monies were sent to the credit card. It was one after the other example of how Colonial Van Lines could care less about me, my move, the aggravation, the emotional distress and damages incurred.

In all my years of working as a professional workforce advisor, I had never experienced such a lack of professionalism, insolence, and arrogance. Nor would I have ever treated any of the clients I worked with in such a manner. And, my supervisor and manager never would have tolerated such behavior. The end of this horrific saga is my advice to anyone who wants to use Colonial Van Lines as a mover, to run as fast as you can from them and find yourself another mover who truly cares about you, your furniture and your business. I would not wish Colonial Vans Lines or East Coast Van Lines on my worst enemy.

On moving day, they communicated well in advance. The truck driver and helper were good, came on time, and took care of everything. They loaded it by themselves, and we didn’t do anything. They were able to complete it as soon as they could, I think in two hours. The move took a week, within the estimated time they told me.

Setting up the move was fairly easy with our coordinator and it was a pleasurable experience. They were very available.

The two-person crew would receive very high marks from me for anybody who wanted their references. They worked very hard. They were very professional, very diligent in their actions, and caring.

They are very trustworthy. We watched them closely and they took care of our personal goods as if they owned them themselves. Their honesty was impeccable.

They asked what was being moved, how many rooms, how much furniture, how many stairs, and things like that. They put together an inventory that we agreed on before the move and gave me a quote based on that.

The crew was great. I have no complaints. There were no damages. We used them twice, and both times they did a great job. They were diligent and professional, got our things where they needed to be on time, and exceeded our expectations.

The communication was great. The movers themselves were friendly and they gave us an account manager who called us beforehand to let us know they were coming and checked in with us throughout the process. If I ever do another cross-country move, I will definitely use Colonial again.

Their moving coordinators were very pleasant. They were very informative about all the questions that we had. They made the process very easy for us from start to finish. From corresponding through email and in person, everything was really smooth. The movers did an excellent job packing up all our belongings and getting everything on the truck.

We had ultimately decided on an exclusive truck that was not shared with others. All of the belongings were carefully wrapped and protected with moving blankets. The truck left on a Saturday and arrived the following Wednesday to be unloaded. Jayson and his team mate took great care in placing furniture and boxes where we needed them. As we started to unpack, he even helped to remove empty boxes. We are very pleased with the overall experience and highly recommend the company. We ended up actually paying less than anticipated after the virtual walk-through.

Original Review: March 3, 2025

I regretfully share my negative experience with Colonial Van Lines. My son and I contracted them for an interstate move from Ohio, to New York, New York, which has been an absolute nightmare. On February 28th, they picked up our belongings, but instead of completing the delivery as promised, they transported them to Maryland. Despite numerous attempts to contact them and resolve the issue, Colonial Van Lines has been unresponsive and has failed to route the delivery to New York.

We paid a deposit already charged. The lack of professionalism and communication from the company has caused significant distress and inconvenience for us. I strongly advise against using Colonial Van Lines for your moving needs. We are still awaiting the resolution of this matter, and the company has shown no intention of fulfilling their obligations. I hope they are held accountable for this unprofessional conduct.

Original Review: Feb. 22, 2025

I know this is a long shot, but it is worth a try. In August of 2023 I used Colonial Van Lines for a move from CA to OK and at least 2 boxes went missing in the process. I do realize it was my responsibility to check but I was in a very bad space (spouse had just passed). That being said if anyone out the has a box of cast iron cookware and/or a box of hanging items (including a suede coat with fringe). I would appreciate knowing they found a good home. Yes, I would love to have them back but I can't afford a reward. Yes, I did reach out to customer service but that did not go well.

Their pricing was generally fair, although there was an extra charge for walking more than 75 feet from the truck to our house. However, everything arrived without damage, and the movers placed our items where we requested, without any issues. While I was generally pleased with their service, there were a few challenges in trying to get a hold of someone to answer our questions, as it seemed like we had to go through multiple contacts. Since this was my first cross-country move, I would still recommend Colonial Van Lines for their smooth service.

Original Review: Feb. 10, 2025

Colonial gave us a pick up window of 2/10-2/12. Today is 2/10 and no one can tell me when they are coming! This is unacceptable. Every week they have told me the next week they will know. Then definitely by Friday 2/27 we will know our pick up. Then we will know our pick up date by Saturday 2/8!. Each and every time, I had to call them. No one called me. Today is 2/10. The first day of the contracted window and, still, no one can tell me when our house will be packed up. I now have zero confidence in this company and am beyond stressed about our household goods.

Original Review: Jan. 21, 2025

Their line (moving) crews were personable and efficient, however. Unfortunately they don't run the company. Run--don't walk, away from this company. If I could give a negative (number) rating on this company, I would.

When the furniture arrived the main mover cornered me twice trying to get me to give him the tips - before the unloading was done. When I said no he got angry and threatened the driver who told me the mover made inappropriate financial and sexual comments about me. They do not vet their movers. UNPROFESSIONAL, inexperienced and really unbelievable that a moving company could do such a bad job.

During the quoting process, everyone at Colonial was friendly and helpful, but I found the initial quote to be quite different from the final cost, which was double the original estimate. This discrepancy created some anxiety, especially as we were moving across the country. We also noticed a $300 oversight due to mislabeling on our receipt, but this was eventually resolved.

Regarding how they handled our items, I was pleased with their meticulous packing of our furniture. However, some items, like a glass lampshade, were not properly labeled, and I still haven't found it. Despite this, the rest of our belongings were packed safely and securely.

I would describe Colonial as friendly and reliable. The moving crew was professional, efficient, and very friendly, especially Evan, our truck driver, who did an excellent job.

Overall, I'd rate my experience as around 4.5 out of 5, mainly due to the discrepancy in the quoting process and the mislabeling issue. However, the quality of service and the professionalism of the crew were impressive.

When they arrived at my new address in October 2024, JR Moving Corp did not bring a full load but they wanted full payment immediately. I told them no way because all of my things are not on the truck. The boss told the movers to stop unloading until full payment was made. It took 3 separate moves over several weeks to receive all of our things. My Michael Armini bedroom set had scratches on it and the blanket used to wrap my dresser had melted onto the wood and couldn't be removed without taking the finish off of the woodwork. They made holes in two of the chairs of our outdoor patio set and scratches on the table top to the point that it had to go to the dump, the wheels on my credenza were missing resulting in scratches in our new hard wood floors. Our Tempurpedic king mattress wasn't stored properly resulting being unusable, boxes soiled and wet, broken dishes and miscellaneous items broken, scrapped and damaged walls.

The list goes on.... Their customer service was horrific the claims department was horrific, the management team was of no help to us at all. They offered us $198.00 for the damage they caused. We told them that was an insult. Their final amount they offered was $494.00 and we needed to sign a document saying that we wouldn't give them a bad review. We declined saying that "HUSH" money was not good enough. We highly recommend that you do your homework so that you don't have to go thru the experience that we had. If we could we wouldn't have even given them a 1 star review it would be a lot less.

Original Review: Jan. 11, 2025

I contacted Colonial Van Lines for an across country move more than a month before I needed to move. The people I talked to were most helpful and scheduled the pickup and window of delivery for the move that seemed reasonable to me. My move was complicated because I had two destinations, but they seemed perfectly willing and able to accommodate that. They came on the pickup day scheduled and loaded everything with attention and skill. I was impressed. I had put in a tracking device into my belongings so I can see where they are, I thought it would be fun to see them go across the country.

However, we are now past the last promised delivery date for the order and my belongings have not moved since the day they picked up my stuff and brought it to their local hub. This means that my belongings have no chance of being delivered even a week late due to the time it takes to go across the country. I have called them numerous times about this with no satisfactory explanation as to why my things have not even started their journey across the country. This is stressful because the items were packed with the dates they promised in mind which means I cannot have use of them when I had been promised. I'd prefer not to have to write a review like this after the first part of their work was so positive, but not even starting to move the items even now, after the due date has come and gone means that their service has resulted in stress, inconvenience, and financial problems for me.

If a friend asked about my experience, I'd say Colonial is one of the better moving companies I've worked with, particularly for interstate moves. They are punctual, professional, reliable, and offer great prices. The only issue we had was a scheduling conflict on delivery, but they were accommodating and flexible in resolving it. Overall, I would recommend Colonial Van Lines despite the one broken item. Their website could have provided clearer information about coordinating with a third-party company, but it was generally helpful.

The movers were thorough and accommodating, even crafting custom boxes for items. They worked diligently and were pleasant to interact with, communicating effectively about the moving process. The actual move took about eight hours, and despite one small picture frame and a glass desk top that didn't survive intact, everything else went smoothly. The crew arrived in Raleigh ahead of us and were prompt in unloading as instructed.

Overall, my experience with Colonial was positive, though stressful as moving can be. While the initial customer service was outstanding, there were minor issues with communication during the move. I appreciated the team's hard work and would advise future customers to clarify terms about the weighing process and truck expectations, as the lack of a branded Colonial truck threw me off initially. Despite these challenges, the process was more straightforward than anticipated, and I'd recommend Colonial with a few caveats.

The interaction with Colonial’s moving crew was decent, though the day of the move was frustrating due to repeated schedule changes. I ended up being their last pickup and drop-off, which I believe contributed to the crew's fatigue and subsequent mishandling of a few things. There was minor damage to a bookshelf, and they disassembled my small sofa, causing issues when reassembling it.

If asked by a friend or family member, I would definitely recommend Colonial Van Lines. They arrived when expected for both packing and delivering at my new location in Florida, keeping the entire move within the estimated time frame.

I would rate my overall experience with Colonial Van Lines as excellent.

Our move was due to work-related reasons, which required precise coordination with dates because we had to start work in Ohio soon after arriving. The Colonial representative I spoke with helped me estimate our load item by item, which felt much more interactive than just being handed a price without discussion.

The moving day went smoothly despite some logistical challenges. Our moving team was fantastic, led by a very organized and communicative person. Even when they had to reposition the moving truck, they kept me informed. Their work was efficient yet courteous—they listened to feedback and even assisted in correcting my minor packing errors.

When it came to delivery in Ohio, the only downside was the timing. It took the maximum anticipated time to deliver, meaning we had to stay in a hotel for a bit longer than expected. Still, seeing the same friendly team who loaded our stuff was comforting. They placed everything perfectly in our new home, and the delivery went quickly, clearly benefiting from easier access to the truck.

I rated my experience with Colonial Van Lines highly, mostly due to the outstanding people I dealt with. The customer service stood out as exemplary. While I felt the weight cost might have been slightly inflated, the overall offer was comprehensive and justified the expense. Colonial Van Lines delivers a real, human-centered service, with employees who sincerely respect both their work and their customers’ belongings.

On moving day, I was pleasantly surprised by how efficient the team was. They didn't mess around. The coordinator was excellent and knowledgeable, ensuring everything was handled smoothly. The crew was friendly, responsive to our needs, and efficient, completing loading our 2800 square foot house in about three hours.

Overall, I'm very pleased with their service. I would rate my experience a 5 out of 5. Although they lost a cord for one of the recliners and a glass table ended up broken, these were minor issues for me. They fulfilled all our moving requirements and were very helpful throughout. I would recommend Colonial Van Lines to friends and family.

I found humorous that we had stuff from other people's moves which we kept telling Colonial. Also, I thought they were gonna help me assemble some of the things. But other than those, I was pleased and would recommend others to use Colonial. They are trying to break into the market against some big competitors. Their trucks are more modern and I like the aspect of a female driver. She did a very good job of communicating. She called the day before letting me know the time she was coming. When she was on the road, she updated us of her status and when she was getting close to Arizona, she let us know the time when she expected she'd be there. I asked if she could hold off a day and she did.

Original Review: Dec. 24, 2024

I used Colonial Van Lines to relocate to another state this past weekend...bad mistake!!! I did my research and thought I had chosen one of the top moving companies which would offer me professional moving services - however, I received the opposite. I scheduled my move a month in advance which they recommend.

The week of my move I received confirmation emails & calls to confirm my delivery and inventory. I was informed that the movers would be at my house on Friday, between 8 am - 12 pm. Around mid-morning, I received a call that the movers would not be coming to move that day due to an overload of their morning pick-up. When I learned this news, my stomach dropped and I had so many thoughts going through my head. Thankfully, my flight was not leaving out until Sunday morning. My stress level increased. They assured me that the movers would be at my house first thing Saturday morning - Saturday morning came, and they did not arrive until after 2 pm...my nerves were shot at this point, thinking it would be another delay.

Once they arrived, I was relieved, but the nightmare started. Once the main moving guy took a tour of the layout and my things, I learned that things were not communicated correctly to them as he was surprised of some of the fragile things that I had that would need additional packaging/boxes which would cause my price to go up - the price was almost doubled. Of course, I expressed my frustration, and I received a call from the finance guy to talk through and he said he would have a meeting and get back to me since nothing could be done on the weekend. The main moving guy had 3 guys meet him to move my things.

Overall, I learned that 3 movers were NOT professionals but more so some guys that were quickly hired to do the job and on the "road to recovery". They did not handle my things with care. Not only did they scratch my hard wooden floors, but they also dented my pantry door by moving my sectional out as the guy was struggling so it fell directly on my door - almost leaving a hole. Also, before even moving my huge floor mirror that was in my primary bedroom, one of the movers fell on it and it shattered. In addition, while bringing down my washer/dryer, they did not put any padding on them, so my dryer is all scratched up (more so the glass door) and I pray that they're both still working as they handled them harshly while taking them down the stairs. I had to instruct them to handle my things with care and add some padding at which it was too late at that point.

My walls were marked/scratched up by them carelessly taking things down the stairs. Thankfully, I already had a painter then touching up my whole house as I will prepare to rent it out. It's so many things that went wrong and was just unprofessional. As mentioned earlier, they came around 2 and started close to 3 - the mover (notice I did not say "movers") did not leave until after 10 pm. Around 8ish, the movers were in the back of my house moving some things out of my garage and in from the lower level. After a while, I noticed that the main contact mover was only there moving things.

I asked what happened to the other movers and he said they had to leave as they lived in a boarding house and had a curfew...of course, I was in disbelief!! When they started initially moving - they placed most of my artwork in a closet near the front door - I guess to put them in one spot and to package once they handled the bigger items. Fast forward, as my mom and I were checking things to close out the night, we happen to open that closet (which the movers had closed the doors) and all the artwork was still there!

Meanwhile, the one mover was still outside struggling to finish up the job. Also, I noticed that my elliptical was forgotten as well. At this point, I informed the mover, and he said, he really didn't have room on the truck and would need to get more packaging materials for the artwork that was left and rearrange things on the truck. He asked if he could come in the morning to finish up the job. I was just in shock!! It was late, I'm stressed, tired, had to get up in several hours for an early flight so I had to leave my house keys with the mover (a stranger) and trust that he would handle what needed to be done and secure my place safely once done.

I will point out that the main moving guy was nice and really had patience with his workers but I wish he would have made better decisions with the selection of his movers. In summary, I hired a moving company to ease the majority of the stress that comes with moving but they caused ALL of the stress and definitely increased it all around.

The only good out of this story is that I was given a drop delivery window of 12/23-12/26. The main mover did deliver my things yesterday (Monday) and the 2 movers had done a way better job than the 3 movers he had in GA and were professional, efficient and timely as they finished the drop-off in 3 hours. I pray that as I unpack my things I have no other damage as I learned yesterday that my dining room table is damaged as well when they delivered my things.

I talked to Colonial yesterday about my experience and they only took some money off for the extra packaging I needed that was communicated, they will be giving me $200 for the delay in delivery pick-up date, I talked to their department that handles the damage claims to start that process (which I dread as I don't want the run around) and I was told I would hear from upper management in 48 hrs....nothing yet! I will NEVER use this company ever again or recommend them. This company should not be rated as one of the top moving companies as they do not provide professional moving services. My bill started out around 5k and ended up close to 10k.

The drivers could not get the big truck into the apartment area so they had to load it into a box truck and then transfer it into their semi. That was an extra charge and we knew that. The two guys who packed us up were good. I went to Las Vegas and I knew where my things were. It looked like it sat in a warehouse for a while so they could get a load formulated. I wouldn't think they'd put my things just on one semi. I got a call from the delivery guy two days before he got here saying he was coming. Then he called on the day he came. He kept us in the loop and hired somebody to help him unload when he got here. Both of them were good and efficient. They knew what they were doing. We had a list and the boxes were all numbered. So, we could check them off as they brought them in.

I worked for the State of California and we moved 13 times in 34 years. So, I was very familiar with moves but never a long out-of-state move like this was. Before, I never had to do anything. The office took care of the moves. I was a little apprehensive with this one at first but it was as good as it could get. I knew that it would not necessarily be Colonial Van’s hauling it here and unloading it. But they were in charge or at least responsible for it. I never had a need to check with them at all. A lady called a week after we were settled in here and she wanted to know if everything worked out. It was a comfortable follow-up. The one thing that probably made us feel as good as anything was when my daughter stuck a tracker in a collapsible wheelchair that we have. She called and told me where they were and how long it sat in this warehouse. I would recommend that to anybody.

We didn't know what time the movers were gonna be coming. We got a call at about 3:00 or 3:30 in the afternoon that said they were gonna be there in 20 minutes. We had gone through many things and discarded a lot. Furniture that we knew that she wasn't going to need had already been removed from the home so the two movers simply started packing everything when they showed up. It's just glassware, dishes and pots and pans, and things that she hasn't used since the move and probably never, ever will use. Three-quarters of what she wanted packed was put away when we got to her new apartment but it hasn't been touched. The movers did a great job. They got there at about four o'clock and were done by 9 pm. They worked like crazy. They worked harder than I've ever seen anybody work.

There was a lampshade that was missing, which we have not heard anything about. And she had a large 55-inch TV that was damaged in the move and didn't work anymore. It's a flat-screen TV and they can be fragile and this was a big move. I filed a claim but I've not heard one word from Colonial. I’m disappointed that we got no response to the request regarding the television, so my mother had to buy a new one.

We were coming from Elkhart, Indiana to Houston, Texas. My daughter traveled from Ohio to Indiana to go and pick up the things that were left. She found the jewelry and it was still in the house. We also needed to have our car shipped and our grandson paid to have all the things that were left behind, as much as he could put in the car, and have it shipped for us. So, it worked out all right. We also had a couple of pieces that were broken, but nothing major. I started to file a claim but then I didn't because they were just electronic parts like the air fryer and a crock-pot that was damaged. But during that time, we were in a hurry in trying to get things and get where we needed to be, moving across country. Other than that, the movers were very good.

The sales representative spoke Shakespearean English for once. But Colonial was easy to deal with. They were very friendly and always got back to us. It's a nasty business. It's not easy. There's a lot of moving parts and Colonial did as well as you could possibly do. I spent 4,000 and I had no issue with the price. What I consider to be a big headache in my life turned out to be not a pleasant experience but certainly smooth riding. All my furniture was in a truck. I was driving to South Carolina, Chicago and they gave me a window of 48 hours when they thought they could do it. It worked out. So it was nice.

They were excellent with the stuff that I had them wrap. I had packed the majority of the stuff myself, but they wrapped my glass table tops, lamps and my pictures, things that I needed special handling. They wrapped them and used blankets on all my furniture. It was great. They were very careful with everything. I had one thing that was damaged, but I had packed it myself. So, it wasn't anything due to them.

Things were the same on delivery. I was moving cross country and driving myself, and they got here a day before. They had contacted me and said, “Hey, is there any way we can bring the furniture?” I'm like, “No. I haven't even taken possession of my house yet.” They were like, “Okay. That's fine. We were just checking.” So, then as soon as they could deliver it, I let them know. The same driver was there and he was Johnny-on-the-spot.

We had a couple hiccups with unloading. It was putting the furniture back together. They couldn't find some of the screws and he immediately got on the phone, contacted the guys who had taken it apart in Arizona. And they told him exactly where they had put everything. It was inside a drawer. So, any little hiccup that I had, they had an answer for immediately. They were really good people and they were very professional.

The transport was longer and ended up being a lot more money than what they told me. They quoted me 10,000. We have a lot of stuff and we were going across the country so I knew it was gonna be up there a little bit, but it was 8000 more. They said it was because of more items than what I said, which was not true. I even have two very heavy tables that I told them about. I was off a couple pounds here and there with different items, but not almost double the price. I was very upset about the pricing. There were also a couple little broken items but I was able to fix them.

Unitemized Bulky Item Charges: I was charged for "bulky items," but when I asked for an itemized breakdown, none was provided—even though I repeatedly demanded one.

Colonial’s response to my concerns was beyond appalling. Rather than addressing my complaints professionally, they offered me $100—but only if I signed a "full and final settlement" agreement that would prohibit me from leaving reviews or sharing my experience publicly. This is a clear violation of the Consumer Review Fairness Act, which protects consumers’ rights to share honest feedback. To make matters worse, when my items were finally delivered, they were incomplete. The driver had forgotten several items, requiring a second trip two days later. Communication during the entire process was atrocious, and they took no responsibility for their many failures. Colonial Van Lines appears more interested in silencing dissatisfied customers than in providing professional service. Do not trust them with your move. They lack transparency, ethics, and competence. There are far better and more reputable movers available.

The only thing is they hire subcontractors to come help them move, and one of them was very subpar. I told him all about it. He's someone I would not want to move my wife's very expensive antique furniture ever again because he didn't put a lot of care into it. I had to stop him from moving some stuff and let another guy take over. The driver and the other contractors handled it professionally. They were terrific, didn't have a problem with any of them except for that one gentleman, who was sketchy when it comes to moving stuff that is very expensive and very old.

We have a very expensive grandfather clock that's worth well over $30,000., and he was carrying it like he would carry a piece of luggage and not being as careful as I liked with it. My wife has a cabinet from the 1800s that has the original bow glass in it from the 1800s. That's not the person that I want carrying those types of cabinets. I told that to the driver, and they handled it.

We moved from Minnesota to Georgia. It was a two-day loading because the driver was very meticulous in recording every single thing they were putting on the truck. He was amazing. It took two days to load, which was like Tuesday and Wednesday. We got to Georgia, and they were done. They met us on Saturday and had everything unloaded in a day. The people that the driver coordinated on both ends were very good. The driver was very communicative. When he was first coming to our house in Minnesota and when he was on his way to Georgia, he called in advance so we knew he would be there. It was handled very well.

They picked us up on a Thursday, they loaded us, and then we came from Dawsonville, Georgia to Enfield, Illinois, which is a 7.5-hour trip. We met them the next morning because we stopped and stayed in a hotel, and so did they. We met him at 12:30. They were already here because the owner of the property got here before we did, so he let them open up and start bringing some of the stuff in. It took than two hours to unload, clean up, and get rid of everything. They were incredible. The final price was exactly what it was supposed to be. We had a few extra things. So, it was about $50 higher, but we added some late things, and they calculated and showed me all the paperwork.

Both those guys responded to every question and request that we had. They were very thoughtful about wrapping the things that we thought were important to us. They were professional. I don't know what a professional mover is. But those guys certainly set a good standard. I would recommend them for any moves that others might have, especially if they're going cross-country.

By the time we got to everything, I told my son, “Where is the box with such and such in it?” He was like, “Mom, we opened all the boxes. Not here.” We would search again, and there were no boxes here. There was no way the boxes got thrown in the trash because you have to break the box up and put a string around it for the trash men to pick them up. That was how I knew it didn't get thrown out. I had a medium-sized Home Depot box and I filled it up because I was bringing it to my new home. So, about hundreds of dollars that I paid to bring in to my new house was gone. It was very upsetting. They were calling me and telling me I had to pay this money up ahead. I said, “I'm not paying for anything until my stuff is here.” They said, “That's fine. You could pay a delivery upon myself coming in.” But they were asking for me to pay before it came in. I said, “I'm not doing that,” and I'm glad I did.

At one point, I was almost annoyed with how much they were following up with me, but they should. I was moving halfway across the country. So I wanted to make sure we had all of our stuff buttoned up. They were incredibly attentive, and very pleasant to work with as well. We packed all of our stuff into bins, and then they put it on a moving truck. They unloaded all the stuff off the truck and then they followed up to make sure everything was okay. It was all pretty seamless.

There were multiple stops that they needed to do to pick up so, mine was just a partial truck. And they did a great job of keeping it all together. They drove it to Atlanta and then, the driver came back and unloaded it. It was a very good crew and the truck driver was a great leader to these guys too. He picked up some people in Florida to pack and some guys in Atlanta to unpack and they were very nice guys that I enjoyed. We had some fun chats and they did a perfect job of unpacking and packing everything up. So, I was very pleased. Everything was right on time and efficient. I couldn't have asked for a better crew on both sides.

One of the movers had physical limitation, seems as if he has cerebral palsy and affects one of his arm, so when using the dolly, he dropped the boxes a few times. Around 6-7PM he stopped working and sat around not helping the other movers. One of the mover left at 10PM out of anger saying "my boss didn't pay what I was promised.” I had to help the last two “core” movers with loading furnitures in the dark because the other two guys had left. The truck they brought was too small and could not fit my remaining furnitures. I had to travel back out of state weeks later to retrieve the remaining furnitures.

The loading of the truck was not completed until 12:15AM (the move took 11 hours to complete). When I had Two Men and a Truck during COVID, they were able to both load and unload the truck in less than 9 hours with the same furnitures and less boxes. We were planning to leave early afternoon for our destination a few states away, but had to sleep overnight in the empty house on air beds. For a move that cost over 8K (for 2600 sq feet house) they only offered me compensation for my troubles in the amount of 600 something dollars, which is less than 1% of the total cost.

Original Review: Oct. 6, 2024

There is no way to properly characterize how bad this company is. The other reviews on this site must be fake. “Chicago to Houston, three bedroom house under $3000”. Right. We were quoted $12,000 for a two bedroom home. We didn’t even have room on the truck for half of our things. We had to haul the other half ourselves using our own additional resources. Don't ever do business with ANY mover who doesn’t have the time to come and personally look at your household and quote based on what they see. These folks looked at pictures and then decided to lie, cheat and steal their way out of their obligation. We had some goods from others in our delivery and lost some of our goods. Simply put—get someone else. These guys are a total mess of a company to work with. Stay away!!

1. If what you are moving does not completely fill their huge semi, be prepared to be without your things for some time after the truck is loaded; this includes having an alternate place to stay or being prepared to camp in your new home for several days or a week or more. This also means your furniture is bounced around on a large semi for quite a while, resulting in furniture getting torqued or otherwise damaged, and things like screws coming loose or completely out.

2. Expect dirt, bugs, etc., from the truck and other people's homes to show up in your house on delivery.

3. Make sure the itemized list is complete; this could add many hours (or days) to the loading/unloading process, but you cannot trust the crew will be thorough. You have to identify and note damaged and missing items on the day of delivery or Colonial will deny your claim for compensation.

4. It seemed the crew had never had nice things or, at least, did not know how to be careful in a house as evidenced by the scratches in the hardwood floor and the one guy making himself comfortable in an upholstered, antique armchair in his filthy clothes (!) without asking. Colonial needs to train their crews on how to treat people's property.

5. Be aware that Colonial makes it as time consuming and expensive as possible to file claims for loss and damage; I'm sure this has been very effective in discouraging customers from filing claims as in many cases the cost of the estimates, including transporting large items (for example., a chest of drawers or sofa) to a shop just to get an estimate, could easily exceed the cost of the repair. They will want the date of purchase, make/model, purchase price for every item on the claim. You are expected to get two estimates at your own expense and time and will not be reimbursed. In short, any damage or loss resulting from their actions will cost you, not them, more time and money than you will be reimbursed for. Other moving companies I've used have their own claims adjusters and craftsman who can repair damages on site if needed. Colonial does not.

6. If the driver is John R. and he is working with his daughter's boyfriend, cancel the move and hire someone else immediately. (NOTE: He instructed me more than once to make sure to leave a review and include his name.)

Unfortunately, as is the case with moving an entire house, some items did get damaged. When I contacted Colonial about insurance on these items, my interpretation of their answer was that I'd need to get a replacement cost of each item, which I simply didn't have time for. After some time had gone by, Donna, a representative from their Resolution Department contacted me to follow up with my initial claim call. She explained to me that the replacement cost was only for any damage to the house itself, not the items in question. This was great news!

Original Review: Sept. 22, 2024

The Colonial Van Lines coordinator who helped me was good. The only suggestion I would make is that somebody should come out to do a quote. Because I way underestimated what I had to move, and it ended up costing three times what I thought. That was a huge problem. But they were very good and they were on top of things. However, I had several items that got broken. And the process to get insurance back for those items was so tedious that no one could ever hope to ever get their money back for broken items. I ended up just throwing those broken items away. They have a whole process where you have to come up with an estimate of what the broken item is. Some of them were antique, so there was no way I was gonna be able to replace a one-of-a-kind item. That was my biggest issue with them, other than the quote.