Canadian National Van Lines

After 20 years in the same home, we accumulated more than we realized. Downsizing was no easy task, but the moving crew handled it with expertise and care. They were incredibly organized, helping us sort through what needed to be packed, moved, or stored. The team was patient with us as we made decisions on the fly, offering advice and assistance at every step. When it came to the actual move, they carefully packed up our memories, from old photo albums to delicate heirlooms, making sure nothing was left behind or damaged. Their kindness and professionalism during such an emotional move truly meant the world to us.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5333

If I could I would give CNVL a negative star rating. Stay away!!

When looking for a moving company I got quotes from many different competitors. CNVL talked a good game. They are very friendly and professional when emailing and gave me a good feeling about the company. After deciding to use CNVL, I asked if they would meet competitors pricing. They responded that they would. I sent 4 different competitor quotes but CNVL would not match as they said they where a better rated company so charged more. I figured ok, they must be good. Then on the moving day I got a call from a mover, caller display said it was RAM movers and that they were confirming the address for the CNVL move. I wrote CNVL and asked why RAM was doing the move - they said RAM was their partner company. So I sent CNVL a quote from RAM that was a much better price than CNVL. They responded aggressively that ‘CNVL is taking the contract and the price is SET!! We will not change it. If you want to cancel, tell us now’. Meanwhile they had waited to respond until the movers had half loaded the truck with my stuff - I was moving across the country and on a schedule, I couldn’t stop the move, they had me in their pocket and they knew it.

The movers seemed to do a good job. They specifically wrapped up my high quality barka lounger, very nice large clock, a very nice tower light and my recently purchased lawn mower in black plastic wrap. I met them a the scale before and after loading the truck. It seems to go pretty well. They put my belongings into storage.

They left with my stuff the end of July. We then travelled to Ontario, started my new job and lived out of our holiday Trailer until we found a house. We bought the house but had to wait until oct to move in. The movers arrived the first week of oct, as scheduled. The first thing the mover made me do was sign the sheet that everything had arrived safe and sound. My mistake - please don’t sign anything until you are sure everything is there. CNVL will take advantage and make you pay. They unloaded the truck - I had a lot of stuff. Very hard to keep track of everything as it is coming off the truck. I watched one of the movers kick a shelf of the truck - it broke, he did not apologize. They were very grumpy by the time the truck was empty. Two of our kitchen boxes that were labeled fragile were smashed. Many of our boxes and bins were ripped, dented and collapsed. Almost every piece of furniture was scratched and broken, we found more broken pieces here and there throughout our boxes. The backs of two of our armours were ripped off. Broken handles on my electric tools, broken wheel on my tool chest, missing latch and handle on the same. Broken and missing legs on dressers and armours.

AND all the items that were nicely wrapped in black wrap (possibly marked?) suspiciously missing. Every. One. Of. Them!

After this they asked me to submit a claim - they then took a full 10 weeks to get back to me. They claimed the deductible was more than the claim but out of the goodness of their hearts they would pay me $55.

A terrible moving company - stay away, and please tell everyone you know to stay away.

They will NOT do a good job moving - it’s not even them doing the moving!

They will NOT give you a good OR competitive price.

They will NOT try and find missing items or make any concessions if your items are ‘lost’.

Do NOT trust a word they say!!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7891

I was skeptical about finding affordable movers who also offer quality service, but Canadian National Van Lines Company proved me wrong. They moved my family and me into our new house, and the service was top-notch from start to finish. They offered an affordable rate that fit within our moving budget, yet there was no compromise on the quality of work. The movers were careful, respectful, and got the job done efficiently. Definitely the best affordable moving option around!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5333

Moving into a split-level property was difficult due to the quantity of stairs, but the movers managed it without incident. They expertly traversed the several levels of the property, positioning the furniture exactly where I needed it. They also took the effort to deconstruct and rebuild some of the larger items to guarantee they would pass through tiny doors. Their problem-solving ability and attention to detail were amazing. By the end of the day, everything was in order, and I didn't have to worry about anything. I couldn't have wished for a more seamless experience.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5400

I had to relocate for a new job in another state, and the movers were quite helpful. They arrived on time, packed everything efficiently, and ensured my belongings were safe for the lengthy flight. I was concerned about the cross-state relocation, but they handled it wonderfully. My furniture and boxes arrived without incident or damage. They even helped me move the larger furnishings into my new home. I'm very glad I trusted them with such a significant relocation!

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5466

The relocation involved moving a family heirloom—a grandfather clock that had been in our family for decades. The movers were very professional, taking the time to carefully disassemble the clock and pack each piece separately. They ensured the pendulum and weights were securely protected to avoid any damage during transport. Once we arrived at the new home, they reassembled it with precision, making sure it was leveled and ready to start ticking again. Their expertise with such a delicate and meaningful item was truly impressive, and we were so relieved it was in safe hands.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5444

NEVER AGAIN! Worst moving company. They low balled our first quote so we chose them. Then after we signed, our rate went up by 1100$. The guys arrived on our moving date and just seemed more concerned about how many boxes of theirs they could use to jack up our bill. We weren't aware we had to pack up our couch cushions etc. They dropped a few of our boxes but it wasn't until we got our things to calgary the extent of the damage. They broke our tv, speakers, boxes were crushed. We submitted a claim, it took 6 weeks and we are getting $35 for ALL of the things they broke.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2800

Last November ,we moved from Vancouver BC to Quebec city , The guys shown up and help us packed the garage and other stuff that we haven't pack up yet. As soon as our stuff was in the van and counted the number of boxes, they ve got me to sign on the list ..
I basically sign that everything happening to my stuff while "they" are handling it ,is at my own RISK .
Abigail Bain is the woman with dealt with. It took a month before we received our stuff. 3 Turkish guys dropped off our stuff . the boxes were all smashed ,everthing that was not solid metal was broken, cracked or scratched, from TVs to dishes, looks like all boxes that we wrote "fragile" on them were looking like they ve been kicked around by a professional soccer team, trust me.. Im NOT exaggerating .. They ve told us that it wasn't there fault, they were just the drivers and our stuff as been handled in a few hangers.. They ve politely told us ,looking a bit sorry for us too ,to fill up a claim and the company will take care of us .
It was very hard to deal with them. They were never there to answer and went they did they were misleading us to another person . Finally we did sent all the pictures and details on all the broken items to the right person " Ellie Newman" She came back with a 95$ to cover for all the damage they have done .. It is more around 19000$ worth of damage .
Our total bill for this moving nightmare ( 10000$ ).

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $10000

I paid for a move from BC to NS.

When the furniture arrived in NS, the boxes were damaged/dirty/distorted/holes, my furniture was dragged/scratched and they had written on my personal belongings with permanent marker!

And then to top it all off, their employee publicly urinated at the location!! Touching his private part and then proceeded to touch more furniture!! Disgusting!

When I tried to resolve issue with the company they would not help and only asked that I fill out a claim form.

AVOID THIS COMPANY

I have proceeded with a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. I am also pursuing court action.

What disgusting behaviour. Unprofessional company.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2200

Thieves , Rude , Liars you name it , the worst company I’ve ever dealt with. They literally Ruins my things , they agreed on a price and then put me in the corner 2 hours after the pickup and ended up paying double. They delivered my stuff missing and open boxes. Furniture is ruined . Tried to discuss with the driver he acted as a mad person and left my things at the garage as they needed extra money to drop off upstairs excusing that it’s more than 100 ft long. It’s a company run by a Gang. Avoid Avoid Avoid!!!

Move size: Studio Service cost: $1300

My move: from Vancouver to Calgary, during covid restrictions.

MOVERS: very rude and pushy about tips. Not attentive.

- The movers said they would be at our storage facility sometime between 10am – 4pm. This is a huge window for me to sit and wait at. Then, they don’t even show up until 4:45pm. I had to phone them multiple times to see if they were still coming and they were rude each time saying they already told me they were coming. Not once did they give me any more of a specific time frame to expect them.

- Tried to pack my soft-shell guitar upside down into a wardrobe box with metal bars and tools (I took the guitar out of the equation and home with me to move myself)

- They put our decorative mirror in same box as free dumbbell weights (it cracked)

- Were very hussy about not receiving a tip upon pick up. I was not prepared to tip the loaders, as we expected the people who loaded our belongings to be the same people who drive and unload them in Calgary – we planned to tip them after the safe arrival of our belongings. (THEY ARE NOT THE SAME PEOPLE to load/drive and unload your things).

- The movers who unloaded our belongings gave us extra stuff – things that probably belonged to another person’s move, or junk that they just didn’t want on their truck anymore. (more garbage for us to hold onto until the claim was dealt with)

- During covid times, none of the movers were cautious or respectful enough to wear masks around us.

CNVL STAFF: email contacts seem polite and usually respond fairly quickly to email.

- However, they would not put us in direct contact with the claims department; they insisted on acting as a stepping stone. The claims department takes average of 8-10 weeks to respond (which is way too long to be holding on to all the damaged/garbage items that were delivered to us)

- It took longer than 10 weeks, and multiple follow up emails with CNVL to get any reply from the claims department. From that, the total amount of money offered back to us for ALL the damages was a mere total of $50. This is nothing compared to the full damage cost of all.

They broke everything:

- Newly refurbished dresser has massive dent and multiple scratches across top and sides

- 2x ikea kallax shelves (1 brand new) now missing sides and show scratches INSIDE the shelving areas.

- Glass mirror shattered

- Leather sofa shows large indent and scratches along top surface of pillow. This was BRAND NEW!

- a broken glass mirror, part of a steamer and several bed sheets that do not belong to us were delivered

OVERALL: if you MUST use this company, I recommend:

- Don’t let them pack anything for you. Pack it all yourself.

- Be present and supervise everything they touch. Don’t let them slide your leather sofa on cement from the door to the truck.

- Take lots of before and after photos. Cover your butt.

- They will fill a FORM when loading the truck, stating how many boxes/shelves/items etc and give it a number code. Make sure you know what code they are using!

o They used the same code for ALL of our things, saying EVERYTHING WAS ALREADY DENTED AND SCRATCHED. This was a lie. This lie cost us a lot when filing our claim form. Most of our furniture we were moving because they were brand new. Lots arrived with scratches and dents, etc. If they were in the condition they arrived in before we moved we would have chucked them out or sell them cheap in a garage sale rather than move them. They were completely destroyed.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3000

Gave it one star because there's no zero option.

A recent move from Comox to Edmonton resulted in thousands of dollars in damages, questions about how they occurred and a less than acceptable response from the company.

I understand that accidents happen and items get damaged from time to time, but that's not what happened in my case. The extent of the damage to so many different items shows, at minimum, complete incompetence and willful neglect on the part of Canadian National Van lines and their staff, or perhaps the deliberate destruction of customer property by those same staff. Neither scenario reflects well on Canadian National Van Lines and should be a deterrent to anyone looking to hire a mover.

We ended up with a ripped mattress, footprints on the furniture, shredded table edges from being dragged, spilled food on the table because it had been used, food stains on the mattress cover, crushed and broken totes and the family heirlooms they contained.

How are they not embarrassed? Just brutal.

They wanted a claim form filled out immediately but now are trying to tell me it could take 10 weeks to hear back. That isn't going to happen.

Do not under any circumstances hire this company to move anything of any value. And warn your friends from coast to coast. After reading some of the reviews, it seems the destruction of property is business as usual for this company and low-balling the compensation offered to their victims is considered just a cost of doing business.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1700

I wish I would not have to be doing this review, but I am giving one start, because I cannot go any lower than that. I hired their services, including packing. It was a three bedroom house. Initially they have a competitive package, not necessarely the cheapest, but competitive. In the day of the moving (for the big 3 bedroom house) a truck showed up, with ONE guy to do all the packing and loading. I immediately called them, and they told me that one person could do it. The guy started at 8 am and ended at 10 pm. I obviously helped him a bit with the loading, while I was looking after my toddler. The packing was obviously poorly done. They do not offer you a date for the moving, instead they provide a wide window of time and you have to find a way to arrange your schedule (which I am not going to complain, because it was said beforehand and I accepted). For the receiving is the same, a wide window of time, that makes it challenging for you to organize the receiving.

All the good stuffs happened came when I received my things. Among the extensive list of damaged goods I can highlight two LED TV's, one TV stand, one dresser drawer. The best part is that I was offered a CA$ 30 compensation and after complaining, it was raised to CA$ 50, while my losses exceeded CA$ 2000. They have their terms for insurance, however, nothing justify how poorly the packing was done and how inappropriate the handling was. Run away from them, even if you have to pay more to another company.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $13000

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. I had such an awful experience with Canadian National Van Lines. This company is a joke, they have no communication with you and when you do finally get an answer from them if half truths and one tiny bit of information at a time. They over quoted me by 500 LBS to what my actual delivery weighed. But of course they do not tell you their min charge before they have all your belongings already loaded on the truck when its too late to dispute anything. They then held my stuff in storage and had no communication with me, then charged me to hold my stuff in storage. Total scam. Save your self money & stress and go with another company.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3555

We are seniors and looking for a move for a fair price. I contacted a few inter provincial moving companies for quotes and this company offerred me the most reasonable cost. I chose them because in the beginning I was told there was no extra cost and they would provide 30 days free storage. Well when the drivers arrived they charged $75 extra to bring items from the basement. Worst of all upon delivery there was a warehouse charge and the drivers wanted $300 extra to move furnitures upstairs and into the basement because each staircase has two tiers. We were utterly shocked and did not have enough cash on hand so we only paid them to move some furnitures to the basement and have our neighbors to help us out in getting few bedroom furnitures upstaie because the drivers would not do it unless we pay the 150 extra.

I complained to the company and they will not refund any stair fee but reluctantly refunded me the warehouse fee which they should not have charged me in the first place.

Please be aware if you have stairs in your old or new home make sure you prepare extra cash or you will be held hostages like we were. Utterly disppointed. That is $75 per stair or $150 per two tiered stair if each tier is more than 5 steps I remember. What a rip off.
I will not recommend this company NO WAY.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $2000

We were moving from BC-NS everything at first went smooth. They came and got our stuff early and were very nice. The horror story started about 3 weeks into the move. The original price was around 2000 based on our weight. They send us an invoice saying it weighted a 1000lb more then it did. (We weighed it ahead of time to make sure we wouldn’t be scammed) after telling them this they “re-weighed” it and realized they had included there moving equipment in the weight and dropped the price back down.

Then, as stated in an email they sent me, the delivery was suppose to be between oct 14-23. When it didn’t arrive I called. They said I must have misunderstood and it would actually be a week later. Super rude lady

The icing on the cake. They said they would come between 1-1:30. They were 5 hours late.

Just overall rude and annoying.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2400

I had a similar experience to some of the other users with damage and an extremely low payout. They offer $.60 per pound for damage of the contents, but what isn’t explained is that it is per piece, so if you have a $3000 piece of furniture they outright damage or destroy, that weighs 60lbs, you get a paltry $36.

They were 6 weeks to get my belongings across the country after telling me it would be about 3 weeks. They lost pieces of my patio set and that took and additional 6 weeks to get. They took 8 weeks to process my damage claim and came back with $55 for about $10k worth of damages.

Ellie constantly referred to their coverage, but that doesn’t help the fact the movers take zero care when handling your belongings. I witnessed our custom table being drug along the floor of the trailer. I yelled for the guy to stop and lift it, but he just responded with “no English”. I feel that a word like stop should be understood from a safety stand point.

Either way, my experience was painful and while I am aware that most companies don’t have a shining reputation, I would hunt for another one when looking for a cross country mover.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $7500

We moved from Calgary AB to Fredericton NB in June 2019 and we hired Canadian National Van Lines for the long distance move. Fearing our items would be damaged or lost from the move, we already sold almost all of our furniture and were left with only the basics and must-haves, as we plan to buy new at our new destination, yet we still paid almost $8,000 for the move - see below for the possible reason of this price.

On moving day, movers arrived and they were fine. However, somewhere between the time these movers left our house to warehouses, loading on and off trucks, many of our stuff arrived broken. Boxes smashed and crushed. 3 out of the 4 dressers were broken, vacuum cleaner suction tube ripped, dial knob of pressure washer came off, side of queen mattress completely ripped open despite we used 4mm storage bag as protection, (you can imagine how your stuff were thrown and tossed like garbage!), lamp shade cracked, so on so forth .. We for sure filed a complaint with CNVL as all damages added up to approximately $1,100. After almost 2 months, we were told that as a courtesy, they would refund us $50, as we were advised of the $0.60 per pound per article insurance policy. Courtney of CNVL who dealt with us, could have mentioned this or even this policy was embedded somewhere in the fine print, but seriously, damages like these caused by a supposedly reputable and reliable BBB-rated A+ moving company is simply UNACCEPTABLE! The $50 offer was an insult of which we declined.

Other than the unacceptable handling of our stuff, after paying the $8,000, we also never got a receipt, e-transfer records from my phone were the only records of payment. We were also never told nor there were any proof of what the actual weight of our stuff was! When asked, Courtney just said our actual load was "within the estimate" so everything was good. All they used to calculate how much they'd charge was from an "estimate form". They emailed us the form prior to the move and we filled out the form "the best we can" and they'll ESTIMATE how much the move will weigh as well as how much space it will take up. This estimate form is useful but god knows this is also how they'll charge you, even when this form is nowhere near being comprehensive!! They warn you to better over-estimate as if the actual load is heavier than the estimated, not only you'll be surcharged but they also have the right to refuse the move due to insufficient space reserved! Therefore, the reality is that we made sure everything was accounted for and plus some just to be safe and we ended up paying the estimated amount even when the actual load was wayyyy lower?! But who knows? as they won't tell you the actual weight!! Such ethics!! This estimate form is nowhere near comprehensive coz not only many items were not included on this form, for many items that were on the form, the form does not specify details such as the size and material. e.g. the form says "shelf" - how many tiers are these shelves? Are they made of plastic or industrial super heavy metal frame?? What if the form uses metal as calculation while ours are only plastic? Using such a form to determine how much you pay and NOT the actual weight is a SCAM!!

Last but not least, when the stuff arrived at our destination, even all boxes were labelled UP or DOWN, movers said they were too busy and wouldn't have time to deliver boxes to any where other than the living room / kitchen, even we have a bi-level home, where you either go up or go down the stairs right after you enter the house. It's the same distance going UP or DOWN. Boxes were piled up in the living room and kitchen where by the time they left, we couldn't open the fridge.

A picture says a thousand words, photos of some of the damages uploaded here - https://www.flickr.com/gp/185046174@N06/4U0250.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8000

We moved with this company twice. The first time was great. The second time was awful. They almost forgot to come pack and pick our items up on our move day. If I had not called to re-confirm the day before they would not have shown up. Will try to manipulate you into paying with a credit card so they can get the 3% processing fee. When I called my bank to confirm what they were saying about my payment options they said CNVL was incorrect, but CNVL continued to argue with me. Two days before delivery they called to tell me they didn't have a truck in the area so had to delay by 2 days and left us scrambling for 2 additional nights in a hotel. The day before my delivery they added another surprise $650 onto our bill for "steps" which apparently they say is a cost buried in the fine print of the contract. They do not believe it is their responsiblity to educate their customers on all costs or ask questions in advance to make sure they have all info needed for giving an accurate cost. Then they will argue with you how wonderful they are with customer service. Never again will I use them.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $12500