Great Canadian Van Lines

I hired Great Canadian Van Lines to move furniture from my cottage in Ontario to my son's home in Alberta (plus a stop at hour home on the way). When I retained the company, I told them that I would be flying to Alberta to take possession of the goods and delivery had to be within the agreed-upon time frame. GCVL set six days within which they agreed the furniture would be delivered to correspond with my flight arrangements.

Several days before the move, I was asked if the pick up date could be delayed by one day. I agreed on condition that the delivery time frame would not be affected. I was assured it would not be.

On the moving date, with no previous notice to me, another moving company (#2) showed up telling me that they had been hired to pick up the goods and put them in storage until the driver from GCVL was able to pick them up. Moving company #2 said that because the driveway was not accessible and they needed to utilize a pick up truck (that we provided) to shuttle the goods, there would be an additional charge. GCVL charged an additional 2 1/2 hours(at a cost of $352) even though the entire pick up took only three hours.

The goods sat in storage for six days. After the driver from GCVL picked up the goods in Ontario he ran into weather problems that he advised me delayed him 24 hours. The goods did not arrive during the six day time frame promised - the time when I was scheduled to be in Alberta. They arrived 2 days late. GCVL said that the weather caused the delay, however if the goods had not sat in a storage facility in Ontario for 6 days there would have been no issue about the timing of the delivery.

I had to return to Ontario for a work commitment before the goods arrived. I explained that I would have to fly back to Alberta to accept delivery (no one was available on the day the goods were now going to arrive and there were family heirlooms that I wanted to inspect on delivery), and I would like to be compensated for the extra flight. After many emails GCVL said they would pay $50 a day for the 2 days the goods were delayed "as a courtesy". I explained that would not come close to covering the cost of my extra flight. GCVL told me they were already waiving the $505 charge for putting the goods into storage in Alberta, as no one was available to accept delivery on the day they were arriving. However, GCVL was aware from the time of booking months earlier that delivery had to be in a certain time frame. It is unreasonable to expect someone to be available beyond the agreed-upon delivery dates.

I returned to Alberta to accept delivery from moving company #3 - the third company now involved in moving the goods. A number of items were missing, including a brand new as yet unopened toolbox and a storage bin that included an antique coal oil lamp that was a family heirloom. An antique chest and other items of furniture were damaged.

Although the claims department was relatively helpful in dealing with compensation for the lost and damaged items, the whole experience was a nightmare. I would definitely never use this moving company again and would not recommend them.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2875

Do not use their service and here is why:

On warm month of Jan 2020 which I'm told it is not busy at all. Based on how their "GOOD" reviews, talks etc..decided use the full service package, signed contract on 14th and later fully paid on 25th of Jan of the amount 6100CAD, .. Move from Winnipeg to Montreal, in the email promised with good weather should deliver on Jan 27th after pack on 20th which is 7 days delivery period, at the end "with no snow no rain no terrible weather at all" conditions, arrival Feb 3nd, delayed 8 days, almost homeless count day by day.

Nearly 10 items partly destroyed or missing such as dining chair, shells, kitchen ware, office desk legs etc. After spend 2 weeks back and force, takes another 4-5 weeks to refund but refuse to admit their mistakes.

No such thing as response in 48 hours, every time takes more than 3-4 days until we call in.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6100

We had a great experience with Great Canadian Van Lines. It was our first time using a professional moving company, and we were moving from Ottawa to Calgary, so we had many questions about the process and Sara and the team answered all of them thoroughly. Ken and Dave handled our furniture with care and nothing was broken or scratched! Given the elevator in our new building needed to be booked in advance, they were very accommodating, giving us an approximate window for us to book the elevator for, then making sure to arrive at the small window. Also, after we noticed a small scratch on our wood floors, Great Canadian Van Lines was quick to reimburse us for the cost of the repair. We highly recommend this company - great service!

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2980

I had the worst possible experience with Great Canadian Van Lines. I had experiences with other moving companies and this company sat as an example of the bitterest moving experience in my head. I used their service to move from Montreal to Vancouver. I received my furnitures with deep scratches all over , my TV frame was broken on side, many of my appliances were malfunctioned due to mishandling. Many of dishes were broken. The company does not care about wrapping your furnitures and are super ignorant.

HIGHLY NOT RECOMMENDED !!

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2230

I can't say enough about how Emily, Kathy & Amarettos looked after us. These guys did an amazing job for us, they accommodated us with an earlier pick up date from what I had scheduled and stayed touch with us throughout the entire move, even giving us the driver's cell phone number so we could stay in touch with each other. Everything arrived in good condition and the guys delivering were great, even helping us with a couch reassembly which was not part of their agreement. The best part is, they are Canadian Owned which is hard to find and we love to support Canadian Owned Companies.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5016

First, I have to say that I felt sad that Jeff wasn’t working there anymore. I just hate doing business at the end of the the moving with someone else. I felt that some misunderstandings came up and that made my bill $1000 more that the quote I had got for a 2 bedrooms appartement. I’m expecting that they have experience with quotes after doing the job for 30 years! I don’t mind an adjustment in the price when the weight is done but that one was way too much!

Besides that, the crew at the office and the movers were very polite, returning calls and kept in touch with me before arriving at destination. My goods were taking care and no dommage done. Thanks to all!....

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $3600

We moved from Revelstoke to Vancouver Island. After searching reviews on the internet we finally settled on this company. Prior to the move, all dealings with the company were extremely positive. The video call for the estimate was very thorough. On the day of the move,the team were calm, friendly and professional and immediately lifted the stress of moving. Everything was carefully loaded and unloaded. Questions were answered patiently. The move took four days, and in that time we got to know the team. They worked extremely hard and I would have no hesitation in recommending them.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $15000