Great Canadian Van Lines

Moved from Vancouver to Montreal and went with GCVL because they quoted about $1000 less than the competitors. Well, don't be fooled by this - it's a total scam. They quoted me about $1900 for the move (I was living in a small 600sq ft apt in BC). Only AFTER they took all my belongings did I get an email with the final bill totaling just shy of $3500! How the f** can the quote and final be so far off?? Furthermore, they driver refused to unload or open the truck in Montreal until the balance was paid. So, as the client, you are stuck in this situation with no recourse and they hold your belongings hostage until you pay their inflated price. Also - I moved from Montreal to Vancouver a year before and I shipped MUCH more stuff on the way over and it was more than $1000 cheaper with the company I used to go there. Such a rip off and such terrible service - extortion. DO NOT USE THEM. I wish I had listened to the reviews before booking!

Move size: Studio Service cost: $3500

A MOVING TALE WITH GCVL:

Great Canadian Van Lines (GCVL) is a British Columbia based moving company and seemingly well-reputed. However, my experience with GCVL was extremely bitter.

I arranged my move from Calgary to Montreal in Canada with GCVL as of July 10, 2016. To my surprise, the moving team (led by Amar Nijjar) did not arrive within the stated time of 3-5pm. I called up the driver but the driver sounded unapologetic and relaxed as if nothing has happened. Moreover, the driver was not sure about the load capacity in his truck to accommodate our stuff despite having our move on his list.

Kathy Dorland was my contact person on behalf of GCVL for many weeks. When I reported my experience with GCVL to Kathy via email, she replied and offered me an alternate date (after a long pause). However, based on my poor experience, I rejected my contract with GCVL and asked them to refund my $200 non-refundable deposit. Fortunately, Kathy processed my refund and we conversed over phone. Kathy sounded apologetic but I received no apology email from the GCVL management, further exemplifying their unprofessionalism and callousness in customer dealings. Till date I have no clue about why did the movers failed to arrive and companies like GCVL never disclose the exact cause to their customers (as one might speculate).

I will never recommend GCVL to anyone (owing to their below par service) and warn all prospective customers to be watchful and take lesson from my experience.

For more details about my GCVL experience, I have shared my emails below.

REPLY EMAIL FROM KATHY:

Hi Abhi,

I am so sorry for the delay in loading your goods! We have confirmation from the crew that they can load your goods tomorrow [Tuesday July 12th] in the early evening [5:00pm-7:00pm]. Please confirm if this will work for you?

We will be applying compensation to your Bill of $50./day for the 2 days we are late for the pickup.

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding Abhi, it is greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,

Kathy Dorland
Great Canadian Van Lines
#203 - 669 Ridley Place
Delta, BC V3M 6Y9
Office: 604-540-6683
Toll Free: 1-800-665-0055

MY EMAIL TO KATHY:

On Sun, Jul 10, 2016 at 5:26 PM, Abhishek Ghosh wrote:

Hi Kathy,

I am hereby updating you that the movers (Team: Amar Nijjar) did not arrive at my location today till 6pm today. Firstly, Amar did not arrive within the scheduled time (3-5pm) and said he will get back to me after 5pm (which he did not). Unfortunately, I called Amar again at 6pm but he now came with 2 options:

(a) He is open to come very late today as he is 10-15 mins. away from our address at that time.
(b) He is unsure about his load/space in his van to accomodate our stuff.

I had an unavoidable appointment at 6pm today which I had to defer until 7pm and have to leave soon. Thus, I was unable to accomodate Amar today. I mentioned to Amar to pick up our load by 5pm tomorrow. However, Amar did not commit any time but said someone will get back to me over phone tomorrow (July 11). Based on this situation, I would expect a compensation from GCVL on our move as it failed the first scheduled attempt due to lack of professionalism on GCVL's part.

Finally, please get back to me (by phone/email) as I need to move my stuff ASAP. I am leaving Calgary on July 14, 2016 by 4pm.

Best.
Abhishek.

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN:

Fortunately, my wife had quotations from other moving companies as a back up plan. Thus, I was rescued within 24 hours after the GCVL mishap by a Toronto based moving company (ARMOUR VAN LINES) and to my surprise their rates were reasonable compared to GCVL and provided excellent service.

Indeed, the whole process was a great learning experience for us. But at the end, I laugh at people/organizations failing to adhere to time and display professionalism and worry about their existence in the society. I am happy to reject these kinds from my list irrespective of their societal holdings.

Abhishek Ghosh
scientist.ghosh@gmail.com
ghoshabhishek.weebly.com.

Service cost: $3500

We went with Great Canadian Van Lines because their quote was approximately a thousand dollars less than the five other large moving firms we contacted. Mark Valliant was quick to reply to all my questions & an agent did come to our apartment to create a more realistic quote, which contained a more detailed breakdown of costs then the other companies were providing.
The movers that came were excellent, friendly and efficient. All our furniture was wrapped by them, then all our boxes & furniture was carried down 2 flights of stairs into a shuttle, then moved into the long haul trailer on the outskirts of Toronto. The same driver actually drove to BC, picking up moves along the way and helped unpack here, with another great local guy. These guys really work hard for a living!
There were no hidden fees, no missing items, no broken bits and no surprises, except the surprise of everything going so smoothly (especially after reading so many horror stories on the net).

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5000

Moved from BC to Montreal. 2-bedroom apt but not much stuff, approx. 1500 lbs total stuff (about 50 boxes iirc). We took care of the packing and boxing, so all they did was move everything into the truck. They were organised and it went fine. Our estimate was in line with the actual; this is because we had a really good idea of how much stuff we had. They are a little more expensive than el cheapo and about half the price of Atlas Van Lines so we went with them. The movers were professional and didn't dilly dally. They got everything in and out of both places quite quickly.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2400

Our experience with these movers was a great one. We moved from Victoria to Ottawa, and not only was it cost-effective (a relative concept, and in comparison to other options), but these guys were considerate and reliable. They packaged everything directly from our storage locker, and delivered it and unpacked it right on schedule to our new home. They were careful with our stuff, and the one item they broke (a mirror) they had repaired and returned to us within a couple of weeks.
Strongly recommend this team and we'll be using them again when we head back to BC in a few years.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3700