Atlantic Van Lines

Overall, my experience with Atlantic Vanlines was not positive. The company first quoted me far below what I knew all my items would weigh, and even with an itemized list still underquoted the final cost significantly. The pickup was on time and went well - the movers were very professional.  I was told during the quote/initial conversations that the delivery would be between 4-7 days and would receive a phone call 24 hours in advance. On day 8 I still had not heard anything so I called in to inquire - I was told the truck was delayed and they could not estimate my move day until at least 10-11 days total. I was frutrated that the company had told me 4-7 days and had not even bothered to call me to tell me there was a delay and they stated that they never guarantee times. I understand that delays happen - but good customer service would be to inform the customer! The service representatives were not helpful or even remotely understanding. When I did receive the call that my furniture would be arriving, the representative tried to tell me that my total was $500 more than it should have been! The representative got the quote sorted without apology. Then when I tried to pay by credit card they wanted to charge a 3% fee - which adds up! This was a hidden fee that was not identified in the initial quote when I specifically asked about all possible fees. When the drivers arrived, I handed them my money order and they argued with me rudely that it was the wrong price. They had to call head office (understandable) to get the right amount - but their attitude was quite rude.  The movers chipped the paint off my wall and casually flicked it to the floor, smirked and didn't apologize. Some of my furniture is a little worse for the wear and there are SEVERAL crucial screws/nuts/bolts missing from our bed, kitchen table and armoire.  I would never reccommend this company.

Service cost: $1800

Atlantic Van lines recenetly moved myself and my son home from Halifax to Kawartha lakes, we were really trying to keep the cost low but didn't want to get messed around by a "fly by night company".  We went to one of those estimate websites and filled out the form, I must have gotten 10 responses overnight!  After going through everything and checking everyone out I narrowed down to 4 companies.  I spoke to a aldy named Anita at Atlantic and she put my worries at ease with her patience and understanding of our situation.  The guy who came for the pickup was really nice and parked his big truck right up to the porch, put the ramp on and off they went, in and out in an hour.  We didt have a place to move to right away, so Anita arranged for our stuff to stay at the storage until we were ready.  The delivery was also great, those guys found thier way around the cottage road with only one call for directions (which is pretty amazing in our area filled with fire numbers).  I would highly recommend this company to anyone who needs to make a move on a budget, we only had a few little cheap things broken which we kind of expected in such a long move.  Good Job Atlantic!!

Service cost: $2000

We used Atlantic Van Lines because of their excellent reviews. Not only was our stuff delivered late (4 weeks) but most of what was handled by the professional movers was either damaged or broken. Plus we received somebody else's photographs that have still not been picked up by the company. And there are 10 boxes that are still missing. To add insult to injury, the GM of the company says that if we file a complaint with the better business bureau; "I assure you that if you file a complaintwith the BBB, Atlantic Van Lines will not be able to offer you anything, and the BBB is just a mediator and will not make us pay out anything. You submit a complaint and it is forwarded to us to respond. I assure you that if you do submit a complaint that our response is going to be very simple." How's that for customer service?   .

Service cost: $3700

 Do not hire these guys, at least if you're moving from Edmonton. The service is horrible, the contact is poor, the packing and storage is horrible and damage is high.  1. 7:30AM we got a call that the movers would come between 2 - 4P, they NEVER came or called that day; we followed up and they then came VERY LATE the next day. They almost literally stuffed and tossed the items in with no organization.  2) no matter their promises and the gentle manner of the main office people (Artur and Anita), the move itself was frustrating and NOTHING happened on time.  3) their numbering of our shipments was so bad we thought we were missing 3 boxes; we had only 10 days to unpack everything; they promised to check the warehouse but never called and never did check; 4) there was terrible damage, with holes right through the side of a cabinet, table finishes scraped to bare wood, table tops completely scratched seriuosly damaging a high gloss finish, a dresser with the whole base knocked off and the side looking like it was chewed it was so battered.  There was nothing good about this move except for the fact that the boxes arrived, crushed and dented, a wardrobe box crushed to half its size,but we packed all boxes so the contents were fine.  Rating? punctuality - 0; price - average; timeliness - .5, follow-up - 0, sales people - nice enough, 1.  I actually can't believe that I let them take our stuff..    
Don't use them.  Actually, do whatever it takes to move your things yourself and rent a truck.

Service cost: $1500

This company is terrible.  We were originally quoted for our move $4000, but when we called a week after our pick up to find out the actual price, it was $7000, and our belongings had already been shipped.  We ended up having to pay this amount in order to get our belongings back.  When the delivery truck arrived, we were told we had to sign a paper stating that we had received everything in good shape even before the truck was opened.  When it was opened, we were greeted with destroyed furniture, much of it completely written off, boxes markd "Fragile" were upside down and crushed under heavier boxes, and many boxes and pictures simply never showed up.  This company turned what was an exciting move into a nightmare.  Avoid at all costs.

Service cost: $7000

A big thank you to Atlantic Van Lines for their great service.  I had a small move from St Andrews, NS to Guelph, ON and they offered a great price and amazing service.  My move was not bit but they treated me with the same amount of respect as any other customer.  The sales reps were great.  I had my stuff in storage in their warehouse for about 5 months, and had visited the warehouse.  Facilities were clean and the staff was very helpful.  They let me bring a few items in to add to the stored goods and didn't charge me anything extra.  I had met the office staff and the girls were very nice - I probably know all of their life stories by now..lol
The price was very fair as well, especially for storage.

Service cost: $2190

In my opinion this company did a good job with our long distnace move.  I had a few small items that were damaged, but in general everything that was important to me and my family we recieved in great condition.
The best was that everything did arrive on time.  The last time we moved with another van lines we waived over 4 weeks to recieve our stuff and no communication.  This time it was easy to track our shipment, and we were able to have our possesions back fairly quickly.
 
I wouldn't hesitate to use them again. 
And I would recommend them due to their customer service.
B. Lei.

Service cost: $3987

We moved from Markham, Ontario to edmonton, alberta. Estimated cost by salesman was $4000 and actual invoice value was $9850. Poor estimate by the saleman in spite of actual verification of articles prior to providing an estimate.  When the goods got delivered, many articles were missing including boxes containing expensive items, bedroom sets, etc. Looks like Atlantic Vanlines sub contract delivery to someone and delivery folks service was totally unprofessional. They did damage walls at the time of getting the furnitures in. Above all these hardships, Atlantic Vanlines response to claims were pathetic and totally un professional. It is now more than a year of my move, yet to recieve even a single penny for the lost goods or damaged wall in the house. Worst nightmare for me and my family. Will never recommend this to anyone.

Service cost: $9875

Atlantic Van Lines was the worse company I have ever dealt with. I originally got a quote for a two bedroom with no big appliences for 825 that was with 30 days of free storage and they would wrap my items free, I packed my own boxes. When they got to Ontario 7 days later, they then proceeded to tell my my new price was 2727.40 almost over 3 times more then I was quotes, they had sooo many hidden fees. Less then 30 days after I got a call saying they had my stuff they told me my month of free storage was up. They said the free month started from the day they picked my stuff up even tho they had told me that it would be in a staorage unit for 30 days not in the back of a truck. They wouldn't even tell me where my stuff was until a month after they got here. Worse company ever. Liasr! I would never recommend this copmpany to anyone. RIP OFF!!

Service cost: $2800

WORST COMPANY EVER .. this company has no way to track a shipment, their attitude on lost items is lets wait and see if it shows up. The insurance is a JOKE, you cannot insure individual items only the entire shipment, so any loss is divided by the total weight. They "weigh" your items without you present so no way to verify the weight. We weighed ours as we were packing and there was a 1200 pound difference to their total. They charge you for a reweigh which you also are not present for. On the lost item they settle at 60 cents per pound but they also have a $395 deductible (for what I don't know, they LOST the item). To make matters worse when you agree on the lost item weight, they still charge you for the delivery of that item even though you NEVR get it .  The customer service is abysmal, starts out OK until there is a problem and then Anita the manager is never in the office, nor will she return phone calls.  Our only resolution was disputing the charges with the credit card company, oh yeah, they also charge you a 3% surcharge for using a credit card….. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

Service cost: $2800

Today, when you go home, take a moment to look around your living room. Take a good look at all your furniture, your favorite chair, maybe some pieces are still not fully paid, or maybe some of them have been in the family for a while. Go to your bedroom and do the same. Think about how much money, effort, and time, has taken you and your family to gather all the items that make your home be home.
Now close your eyes, and imagine every single piece of furniture with a visible scratch and, for some, imagine that small pieces of wood have been peeled off. Imagine your lamps with broken shades, or darkened with spots made by an oily substance. Imagine one of your kids bed gone, and the dollhouse that made your daughter happy last Christmas vanish.
That’s the experience I got with Atlantic Van Lines, for over eleven thousand dollars, plus broken and lost items.  
I will begin by saying that I have moved about 22 times in my life. Out of those 22 times, I have hired professional movers only 10 times. Well, make that 9, because the service I got from Atlantic Van Lines has not been professional at all. Here’s why:
On July 15th, 2013 I confirmed my move from Edmonton, AB to Waterloo, ON, scheduled for August 10th. We were excited about hiring, for the first time, a professional service to take care of the move, from packing to delivering. We didn’t know the rules, so we asked at least a couple of times what should be done before the move, with the same answer both times: “nothing, don’t worry about it”.
Friday August 9th: Even though we were told to expect a phone call to setup a time for pickup we didn’t receive a phone call all day. When I called, around 16:00, the answer was “the schedule is not finalized, so by the end of the day you will get a call”.
Saturday August 10th: For some reason (we thought we hired a professional, serious company), we hoped someone would show up. Around 11:00 am, my call was picked up by a person clearly annoyed by my inquiry, saying in a rather rude tone that they would show up between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm. Around 3:00 pm the same person, now even more annoyed and more rude, said they would show up before 5:00, assuring they would have the truck loaded in one or two hours. This person didn’t even asked me who I was, neither looked up anything on a computer; she just brushed me off. Of course nobody showed up. My emails to customer service remain unanswered until now.
Monday August 12th: After a very stressful Sunday, we finally made contact with Atlantic Van Lines. Early in the afternoon they sent somebody to pick up our items. We had to sign the paperwork for our new home, so we were already in Ontario, and were forced to ask friends to be at our place to make sure the movers would take everything. Movers warned immediately about two things: the truck was not large enough to take everything we had, and it would take 10 hours. Atlantic Van Lines did nothing about it, and sure enough, it took 10 hours and some items were left behind. Our friends had to pitch-in packing stuff to make things go faster. Of course I had to get rid of my wines and liquors, because Atlantic Van Lines neglected to let us know they would not take those items, even though we asked more than once if there was something we needed to know. A standard letter would suffice, you would think, but that’s professional thinking, too high level for this company.
Tuesday August 13th: They came back to pickup the rest of our items. The surprise of the day is that when I talked to the manager of Atlantic Van Lines (Lucy), she knew nothing about our case, even though we were told (by Farah) she was aware of everything.
Friday August 30th: Items were delivered at our home, after 17 days (14 in transit, and we were told 5 to 10 days in several occasions). We paid the trucker. What we found later was shocking.
Two broken book cases (broken in half, literally), two missing bicycles (delivered a couple of weeks later), my daughter’s dollhouse missing, one of my kid’s bed missing (also delivered a couple of weeks later, with some damage), more than half or our wine glasses broken (why? Because they packed them underneath pans), things thrown into boxes carelessly, stained boxes with an oily substance, no lamp made it intact, broken adjustable legs of the stove, most of the furniture with visible marks of being hit or mishandled, and the list goes on and on…

I have never seen a display of such unprofessionalism and bad service by a moving company. Clearly the people doing the work are not professional movers. I have seen professional movers before, and these are not it. To be fare, it is not the movers’ fault. These are guys hired and sent to work with no training, no experience, and they are doing what they can to get things done.

Service cost: $11000

I would never recommend the moving company that I used for my move from Brantford to Sarnia. I was originally quoted $925 (500lbs included in this quote) 26 cents per lb. They told me that I had 3890 in weight and I look at my stuff and wonder where the rest of it is because I can't see everything weighing that much. At the end of it all, I paid $2225.00. They charged me $75 per half hour for waiting for payment before my things were unloaded. They told me my price at 7pm (after my bank was closed) and sent the movers to my place before the bank opened the next day to be able to charge me the extra. If I was 5 minutes late they were going to charge me an additional $75. I offered to do a e-transfer and they had the excuse that their accountant doesn't arrive until 10am, so I couldn't do an e-transfer. They wanted me to use my credit card but they were going to charge me an additional 3% for processing fees. So, I had no choice but to wait until my bank was open to get the bank draft. The movers would not unload one item until they received payment in full for the move. I was also charged Warehouse handling fees and when I asked the representative from the company about that, and I had to remind her that I was loaded one day and delivered to the next morning, she said "it wouldn't have come off the truck." then she said "I will talk to the accountant and get that refunded to you" I also informed her "I want the 13% for the taxes you charged on that as well" When the move was done, I noted so much damage to so many items. I lost over half of my grandmother's crystal from England, the one and only plate I had left from my grandmother they broke, wine glasses from Germany 4 out of 6 broken (things with sentimental value), my pantry the bottom door was ripped off and the back was totally off (they handed me the nails to fix it on my own), gauge marks on my speakers, fireplace credenza (which is less than a year old) gauge marks on a decorative table I had a my door, major gauge marks on and pieces of wood missing from my bedside table and probably more damage if I really looked around. Their response was "You will have to put in a claim for all the damage" "I will send you the claims form to fill out", I haven't received it yet. I asked for a copy of the CAT Scale weigh in and a copy of my bill without all the white out, still haven't received anything. Other than getting everything here, I would never recommend them to anyone. I thought that if I used a professional moving company, I wouldn't have any damage but I will say I have moved many times with friends and family over the years with a lot less damage done to my things.

Service cost: $2225

This is the worst experience I’ve had with any company. Everything in the agreement was broken. They gave me a four hour window of when they would arrive to pick up my belongings; I had to wait 5 hours. I was told that the delivery date would be 2-6 days. They DID NOT say business days and did not say departure was from the city I lived in, not my house. It took them three weeks to delivery my belongings from Calgary to Victoria. I would constantly call and ask where my stuff was and they kept telling me its going to be there in two days, over and over again. They had my textbooks, which I need for school so my grades fell because of them.. In addition, I got charged double what I was quoted and they tried to over charge me by calculating the taxes incorrectly! I don’t think I had a single piece of furniture that wasn’t damaged. They transported my vintage record player upside down, which now doesn’t work. When I asked for compensation they used every excuse they could to not reimburse me for the damage but they gave me a whopping $75 for the inconvenience! Are you kidding me?! I STRONGLY discourage using Atlantic Van Lines. Their customer service is appalling and I was treated terribly. It would have been cheaper for me to buy all new belongings than to go with Atlantic Van Lines.

Service cost: $2300

This was by far the worst, period. I chose to move my 425sq ft apt to a city 375 km away. I asked them for an estimate, etc, giving them a list of belongings. The quote can back at $765 plus taxes. And any other incurred charges. I'm glad I took pictures before the place was packed up, and after it was. Their drivers were over 12 hrs late picking my stuff up. Then the next day, at 5:30 pm, she calls me to arrange delivery.. Which also is not corresponding with the original agreement.. And politely informed me of the cost..$2380! Over triple the quote, saying the scale weight was almost 3000lbs!! Yeah, maybe if you weigh the crate it's on with the three movers sitting on it!! Then she says, "oh we can provide storage for five weeks for free" WHAT?!
..definitely being overcharged, put out, and basically feeling completely violated. Maybe one day I will get my belongings back, and they will be in perfect condition.. But I have lost my optimism. Moving companies are lying thieving crooks.

Service cost: $2381

They lost my couch, a recliner and bed rails. Everything else was there but these three items. The movers who dropped off the my stuff were going to give me someone else's couch, I told them that it was not mine; and I didn't want it.

This company offered me 75.00$ (seventy-five dollars) as compensation for its incompetence.

My advice is to shop around for a better company.

Regards Donna

Samantha was the Sales Representative.

Service cost: $2000

Got scammed by this mover first thing said it would be delivered in 10 days ended up being 21 days and then at my constantly calling for delivery.Before delivery they called the quoted price was doubled and wanted payment immediately and I contested the scaling which I originally figured between 1-2000 lbs they came up with 3800 lbs after delivery I had it re-scaled and it was 2085 lbs but now they will not accept my scaling,excuses excuses about the scaling which another shipper gave me on a public scale. Clearly this mover is in the scamming business and you will never get refunded when you pay them before delivery. In my opinion their scaling warehouse is very very fraudulent.

Service cost: $2440

Overall rating I am giving is AVERAGE, because some parts of our experience were UNSATISFACTORY; and others GOOD:

PROS:
*Initial contact with head office was very friendly and we were offered a quote on the move, with expected pick up date (it was a window of about 5 days). See additional comments below.
*Pick up crew was friendly, professional, and efficient
*All email communications were answered promptly by the general office manager
*Furniture items were professionally wrapped in thick blankets and some other items required to be packed were done very well (see additional comments below)
*Delivery crew was friendly and courteous

CONS:
-The initial email with the quote did not give any details about insurance or damage. It was only upon pick up that I was required to sign a waiver to agree to a $325.00 deductible on any claim of losses or damages. (I recommend you ASK about their terms of liability prior to engagement)
-There was no communication from the movers unless we prompted them through email. For example, over the phone I was told that I would be contacted when the load would be delivered; but it was only after an additional email that I was finally given a delivery date. This is unacceptable, and I feel that an approximate delivery date should be provided at the time of the quote. (Something I would insist in future)
-The delivery crew refused to assemble our bed upon arrival, indicating "they didn't pay me to do that". So, it appears that Atlantic Movers is sub-contracting the pick up and delivery services.
-25 days from the time of pick up to delivery with no reason provided for (what seems like) a delay?
- The cost of the packing items is ASTRONOMICAL! $10 for a 2' cube; $20 for a 4'; and $40 for a wardrobe box. No matter what, you'll have to pay for some packaging - but when I was purchasing boxes locally for $1 - $3, it's crazy to have to pay 1000% mark up for the mover's boxes! Take my advice, and PACK IT YOURSELF! In addition to the boxes, they charged extra for the plastic wrapping ($40) of the items that were wrapped with furniture blankets. (I would have thought that this was included in the proper security of furniture items.)
- We were not contacted when the delivery time was changed from "between 11 and 4" to "between 5 and 7". I only found out about the change when I called to confirm that they had received my payment.
- One box (packed by me with great care, and plenty of bubble wrap and paper) was clearly marked "extremely fragile" and yet when it arrived, it had clearly been mishandled. Thank goodness my Tiffany lamp was okay, but I lost a shade on one of my antique lanterns.
-One of our antique wooden pieces has a gouge on it that will need to be repaired.

Service cost: $4708

This was our fifth move by professional movers and our worst experience.
They agreed to a 2 day move..pack first day move second day. I found out two days before our move that they were going to do it all in one day. By then I had no choice. arrived at 7:30 am with 3 guys to pack and move a 4 bedroom house. These guys were right po'd when they saw what a big job it was. Consequently the packing was horrible. They filled these huge boxes to the top with NO bubble wrap or paper between items. The guys where rushing so fast to get the job done that very little care was taken with our possessions. They left our new home at 11:30pm that same day and they had no clue what was in the boxes. They couldn't even find our bedding.
The sales guy low balled the estimate by over 3000 pounds. Maybe he was new. Maybe he does it on purpose. Their people are highly trained on the broken record technique "sorry nothing we can do it's policy"
We put in a claim for all our belongings that they damaged and haven't heard a word. We will never use them again.

Service cost: $6800

Never, never ever under any circumstances use this company.
We were quoted. 26/ pound based on approx. 4000 lbs.
They never came to do a visual inspection of our property, we were never offered an alternative. When the 2 guys showed up, they took one look, sent for a bigger truck and another body. We had spent a great deal of time packing, marking cartons, these guys simply made up garment boxes and throwing our belongings into them. They finally arrived at our new home at 7 pm, unloaded, dropped boxes everywhere, unpacked or setup nothing and took off at 10pm. We are filing complaints with BBB and ontario consumer protection office. They lie about what they deliver and moreover you can't trust whatever they claim the weight of the load is. DO NOT HIRE THESE THEIVES!

Service cost: $2900

Moved household stuff from our vacation home in Florida back to Canada with Atlantic and was pretty impressed with the service. The reviews were mixed but I took the time to speak with the sales rep and met with the office staff personally (Alberta office). I hired them and was very impressed with the response time and attention to details. There were some delays at the border but Atlantic helped solve the issues (as I am not currently in Canada). I was happy as I did not want to spend extra $ to fly to clear the goods. Many thanks to Lucy who answered all of my questions and to Jonathan the driver who called when there were issues.
Total weight of the shipment was 7980 lbs and I was pretty happy with the price that I paid.

Service cost: $3900

I dealt with Toronto office. Communication was spotty but they were much cheaper than everyone else. I should have known.

They arrived 5 hours late at pickup.The drivers asked for a tip. After they left, I noticed they marked everything damaged on the weigh bill (just to get out of taking on any responsibility, I was not moving damaged items). They are good movers - no dents in walls and they moved fast - but the business side is a racket.

They arrived early at drop-off and claimed to not be able to bring a truck in so they wanted an extra $350US to transfer to smaller truck. I had no choice at this point so I negotiated to $150 USD just to make the problem go away. Even though they were simply storing these items in a garage and did not even have to unload or go up stairs, they offered no concessions. I just wanted my stuff at this point and wanted to be done with them.

This company is cheapest but they will give you headaches. Moving is stressful enough, why add to your problems with them? Movers are hard to understand also..and they kept counting the cash I gave and coming up with a different amount.

No idea what shape my items are in or if anything is missing but I fully expect there to be more problems as I unpack.

This company has bad reviews for a reason! Please don't disregard like I did, pay a bit more for your sanity and go with someone else.

Service cost: $4650

Worst Company in History. Do not hire them. They quote low depending the guessed weight of your stuff. Weight is ALWAYS higher. Furniture is held hostage until you pay up. My final payment was $4000 ABOVE my quote. Lots of my stuff was damaged beyond repair and I was offered $50 in compensation. Walls and floors were damaged in both homes but they are not liable so they don't care. Do yourself a favour and get a company that comes into your house, gives you a guaranteed quote and has good insurance. You will be happier for it.

Service cost: $6000