Colonial Van Lines review: do not contract with colonial van line movers 4

Do NOT hire/contract with Colonial Van Lines Movers! They are a SCAM moving company.
They hire 3rd party movers who don't have to adhere to your contract with Colonial Van Lines. They will add additional bogus fees that you have to pay or they will not deliver. Bad Customer service, lies and broken promises.
I hired Colonial Van Lines to pick up furniture on either May 13 or 14th 2011.
May 13th -No Pick up, informed would be May 17th.
May 17th -Informed truck stuck in a ditch. NO pick-up.
May 18th -Colonial Van Lines or CVLs suggested I add a shuttle service for $251.72 because driveway very steep. When movers arrived they had no idea what a shuttle service was.
Construction workers were waiting at house for furniture to be removed. I had to hire them to move all items to bottom of driveway where truck was parked. They also assisted movers in loading truck.
May 18th -informed delivery would be week of May 25-June 1st.
May 24th -informed delivery would be May 26th. CVLs gave me final price which included SHUTTLE SERVICE. I protested. I should not have to pay for a service that I did not receive. CVLs said "agent" was refusing to deduct shuttle service. I was SHOCKED! CVLs said it was "AGENTS" right to charge. I had contracted wth CVLs, not "agents". Found out they use 3rd party movers.
May 26 -CVLs says delivery May 27th, they would not charge for Shuttle Service
May 27th -CVLs says delivery delayed to June 1st.
May 31 -CVLs says delivery delayed to June 2nd or 3rd.
June 1 -CVLs says I have new price -added in $150.00 Bulky Item Fee for rug.
I gave size of rug to Rosyln Dubbs when itemizing items to be moved and told NO additional fees. I specifically asked about additional fees because I have read in reviews about last minute fees being added. She said NO ADDITIONAL FEES. I protested added fee. CVLs says "agent" had right to charge bulky item fee. I was told if I did not pay the movers would not deliver
I spoke Stephanie, a supervisor and she said she would look into it. I told her I was concerned because delivery date kept changing. I told her I had an obligation out of town June 8-10. She said no problem because I would have my delivery that week.
June 2 -Kyle in Customer Serive asks if I had heard from drivers. He said movers would be at house June 3rd guaranteed. He said he would call me first thing in morning as I was his priority. That is a quote. I took day off from work. I did not hear from Kyle or anyone else from CVLs.
June 4 -Tanisha in customer service calls, says movers would be delivering on Tuesday, June 7th. Kyle would call Monday and confirm times.
June 6 -Tanisha calls to say delivery would not be June 7th but June 8th. I told her I had already told CVLs I would be out of town June 8-10. She said, and I am quoting, " well, you didn't tell me!". OMG, Does she really work in customer Service? She said "agents" were NOT told I was out of town those dates. This is unbelievable and insane customer service.
I asked for the $30.00 a day reduction for everyday delivery was outside guaranteed delivery date, which was June 1st. CVLs said they didn't have to pay because I was not available on June 8th. What kind of BS is that? I was in shock. They are a week outside promised delivery and they blame me?
June 7 -Tanisha called and said delivery would be June 11 or 12th. I asked for final dollar amount due and told her I did not want to pay bulky item charge.
June 9 & 10 -left msgs for someone to call me so I would know final amount. No one called me back despite leaving 5 messages.
June 11 -CVLs says no delivery until June 16th and working on final price.
June 11 -"AGENT", Trans United, called to say delivery June 13th. I asked for final amount due. They had added more fees, Bulky charge for rug taking up room in truck and added a $150.00 heavy rug labor fee. I protested. Since they had agreed to deduct shuttle fee, they decided to make some money another way by adding more last minute fees.
June 13th -told delivery 1pm -3 pm. CVLs says "agent" would not remove heavy item labor charge for rug, even though men I hired helped them load it into their moving truck. They would not remove bulky item charge, even though I had not heard of this fee before & told when I signed contract, no additional fees by Rosyln Dubbs in sales.
My husband took day off from work to meet delivery truck.
June 13 -NOON - Leon from CVLs calls, delivery would NOT be that day, but the next day, June 14th between noon and 3pm. He did not care my husband had taken day off from work. I asked about late delivery fee being deducted from total. He said drivers said they were set to deliver on June 8th, but I could not take delivery. Delivery now 13 days late and still blaming me. For 20 days they have been making delivery promises, and because I was not available June 8th they are using THAT to avoid reduction as stated in contract? CVLs said nothing they can do because "AGENT" would not deduct fees.
I thought my contract was with Colonial Van Lines? This is a total scam and there is absolutely nothing I can do.
June 14th.MORNING -Tanisha says she spoke with "agent", Trans United. She was confirming they would be at my house between noon and 3pm THAT DAY.
I protested fees again. She said I would not receive my items if I did not have their money and they would NOT unload the truck. What a total RIPOFF!
June 14th -11:30AM Leon informs me that delivery would NOT be that day. OMG!
June 16th -Leon says he would call me Friday or Saturday with an update.
June 19th -No phone call from CVLs.
June 20th -Leon calls to say he would call in next couple of days to give update. This is a Quote, He said, "this is a very busy time of year".
June 21st -Spoke with supervisor, SARA SANFORD. She said I should have delivery by Saturday, June 25 or 26th. I complained about delayed delivery and added fees. She apologized for all the problems, but said they were my fault because I was not available June 8 through the 12th! What? I was away June 8-10th, AND was told not a problem because I would have delivery before the 7th. Sarah Sanford was extremely rude and condescending. She did not care about anything I had to say. She just repeated it was my fault because they were ready to deliver on June 8th and I was not available. I told her I was available June 11 & 12th. She read me notes Tanisha had written regarding June 11 & 12th delivery. She said I was not available to take delivery. I told her that was not true & I had never said that. I wanted to just cry. She basically called me a liar then told me if I did not pay full amount they would not deliver. All bogus last minute added fees were still included, and not enough deduction for late delivery guarentee. SARA SANFORD said she would call me June 24rd to give update.
It has been 26 days of total hell. Everyday we are told delivery the next day or given date a date and then it changes. I am starting think something is seriously wrong. I have paid a $1000.00 deposit and have $25, 000 in missing furniture and appliances.
CVLs now say I will have delivery on Friday AND are asking what compensation I would like? I only want what is stated in the Contract; $30.00 a day for everyday past contract delivery date and for delayed pick-up.
Leon, the supervisor I am dealing with said I would email a letter with a refund amount of $230.00 for delayed pick-up and delayed delivery before June 8th. The AGENT is only deducting delay fees from June 11th on because I was not available for delivery on June 8th. Leon said I would need to sign the letter and fax back to CVLs and I would receive credit card refund. He said I would have the letter Friday.
June 24 -Received furniture! YEAH! No refund letter received.
June 27 -Leon says working on refund letter & will email it in couple of days.
June 29 -NO EMAIL REFUND LETTER, no call from CVLs. .
June 20 -Received refund letter.
The letter says that all issues have been resolved, that CVLs has issued me a refund, and I will have no further claims against CVLs.They will NOT REFUND the $230.00 promised me until I have signed a letter stating that all issues have been resolved and I have received my REFUND.
It also stated that I agree not to post any further complaints about Colonial Van Lines. I have never heard of blackmail customer service.
I noticed on the "refund letter" that at the customer signature line was another persons' name. When I call to inquire about this I was told they had sent me another customer's letter by mistake.
They said they would re-write the letter using my name.
I'm still waiting for the corrected letter. It's been over 3 MONTHS!
Do not do business with CVLs. You will only end up extremely frustrated; spending a lot more money than you had originally contracted for because they WILL add in additional last minute fees, waiting and waiting for that returned call that will never come, the delivery that will be delayed and wishing that you had called another mover. They use 3rd party movers and are totally unethical by adding in last minute fees.
They have absolutely horrible customer service. Their website says "STRESS FREE MOVES". This has been nothing but stressful from the beginning. They make promises and do not keep them. They say on their website they are customer service driven. This is not just one person or one bad experience...is is over 8 customer service reps and 3 supervisors I have been dealing with. They do not call when they say they are going to call. They do not return phone calls. They keep switching contacts so you have to start explaining everything all over again. But none of it matters because they will do nothing to help anyway.
Do not use - Colonial Van Lines www.colonialmovers.com
RESPONSE TO CVLs online response to this complaint.
I find the response of CVLs true to the values and ethics of their company; full of lies, spinning the truth to make the customer appear unreasonable, and totally unethical business practices.
Please go back and re-read my complaint, then read their response. They left out so many important facts in an attempt to make the whole experience seem to be just a small inconvenience and to make me appear unreasonable.
They said that they reduced the cost because of delays. They did reduce the total due by a few hundred dollars, but they didn't mention that they had added bogus fees of over $325.00 after I was told by the salesperson, Rosyln Dubbs, that I would not be charged any additional fees.
They said pick-up was on May 17th. They don't have all of their facts because the actual pick-up was May 18th.
They didn't mention that they were over 25 days late in their delivery. They said in their response that when they scheduled for June 8th I was not available. That is true, but I informed them on June 3rd that I would be out of town. They assured me it was not be a problem because delivery by June 7th. On June 7th they called to inform me delivery would be June 8th. Now we have a problem. Though I greatly appreciate CVLs for graciously STORING my things for 2 days free of charge, why did it take until JUNE 25 for you to deliver?
They didn't mention that they still have not refunded $230.00 promised me.
Please read responses to this complaint for more information.
Do Not Hire Colonial Van Lines for your next move. Colonial Van Lines also known as Brothers Moving and Storage. Owner: Janise Gabco
CHECK OUT LINKS BELOW TO OTHER CVL REVIEWS ON MOVING REVIEW WEBSITES!