Colonial Van Lines Reviews

We moved from Henderson, Nevada, which is a suburb about half-hour outside of Vegas, to Hillsboro, Oregon, which is west of Portland up in Oregon. So it was an 18-hour move. Colonial offered packing services, but we had recently moved from California to Vegas. All of our stuff was in storage units and already packed. So we didn't need any help packing since everything was already packed. And the stuff that we had used in the meantime, we repacked ourselves.

The quote they gave me was pretty good. The only problem that I had was when I got the quote, I thought it was an all-inclusive quote. But after I had made the downpayment, I got surprised by another person calling me and asking if I wanted insurance on my move. So the insurance ended up being another $3,000 on top of the original price quoted to me. For a move of that length with the amount of stuff we had, I felt I needed to have the warranty. So the final cost ended up being $3,000 more than what I was originally quoted and at that point, I had made a downpayment and had no way to back out if I didn't like the fact that the insurance was going to be an additional 3,000.

When I packed the stuff into the truck, I wasn't there but my father was and he said everything went well. They showed up on time and they did a good job. He had no concerns. They talked to him about a few items that they were concerned about, whether they should pack it one way or another, and they were able to resolve that easily, without having to reach out and bother me.

I had done a lot of moving in the military, and we always had bigger crews than that. So it took a lot longer than I expected and longer than Colonial had estimated. The packing was some of the best and some of the worst packing I’ve ever seen. The dishware was packed extremely well, and there was very little damage to the furniture. But in other places, I’ve never seen this before. They took wardrobe boxes and filled them with stuff. The only wardrobe box they used as a wardrobe box was one we had bought and packed ourselves. Sometimes they used clothes for padding inside those, and sometimes they used nothing for padding at all. We found a family heirloom cuckoo clock stuck between three sewing machines with no packing, no paper, nothing. It was weird. There were at least six or eight wardrobe boxes that were used as haul packing boxes instead of wardrobes.

I had good experiences with the account manager. I called customer service at some point because I had misunderstood the contract about having to make a payment at pick-up, but they talked me through where in the contract I agreed to do that. They were very calm and cordial. The movers were, too, and I had no problems with the moving coordinators. It was strange, though, that Colonial said they were handling everything throughout the moving company. The packers, loaders, movers, and unloaders were from a company called ITX. It didn't feel like it was a single company all the way through, and that's one of the things I expected from Colonial.

The customer service interacted with me extremely well and the actual move was handled extremely well. Moving is significantly more expensive than I had expected. I talked to some brokers and they tend to be more on the discounted side, and Colonial came in right in the same range as those. So, as far as working through a broker or working through Colonial, there would have been no cost benefit to me to work through a broker. And the cost came within $300 of the second estimate on a $11,000 move. So, it is close.

When the truck driver was coming to pick up the stuff, he kept calling me, even the day before, letting me know what time he would be there. At one point, he wasn’t going to make the pickup date, so he called to tell me that. When he didn’t show up that afternoon, I called the coordinator. He said the driver had been delayed on another job and ran out of hours, so he couldn’t drive there, and that he had tried to call me. But I told him that wasn’t true because I had been sitting by my phone the whole time. When the driver finally showed up to pick up the stuff, he showed me his paperwork and said they had given him the wrong phone number. The attention to detail was lacking, but it could have been worse and we still got it done.

Overall, the experience was pleasant. The driver was great and efficient. They showed up, backed up, protected and wrapped everything, and did the paperwork right away. The delivery went great on the other side, too. If you need fast and efficient moving done, Colonial Van Lines is the company to call. Overall, they were responsive, responsible, showed up on time and courteous. The truck driver and Colonial’s communication with the truck driver was perfect at the pick-up, and if he had been given the right number. But on the delivery, he started calling a day before, telling us how many miles he was out and when he was arriving. So, it was a pleasant move.

Everybody at Colonial Van Lines was very hands-on, play by play. There wasn't a moment that I wasn't taken care of. I was kept in the loop with everything. When I was making the reservation, I was trying to make it clear the dates and the times. But with that kind of service, they base a lot of things off of estimates. Whereas, for me, with my moving plans and my flight plans, I don't have estimates. I have exact dates and times. So, aside from everything else, I had to get on the phone and let the office staff know when I needed this moved on a specific date. I didn't need an estimate date. I didn't want them to send any of their drivers earlier than the date that I needed. Because it was going to be a waste for the driver's time, and I didn't really want to waste anybody's time.

I like for things to be one way and I don't like surprises. When there were other underlying charges that were coming up that I didn't understand, I wish I was able to be made to understand what was going on and what this other stuff was entailing. It was the whole move and the traveling was overwhelming. Every day I got my hands full and I was getting calls. At one point, it seemed like they didn't know if I was sure I wanted to move. I had to be a little stern and make myself very clear about the time and date that I wanted to do the move. Once I made that point clear about what I needed exactly, everything went smooth after. I would definitely suggest Colonial Van Lines to somebody that I know that wanted to move.

Then it came time for the movers. There were two gentlemen, and one spoke English but the other one didn't. But they were both really great guys and stronger than one can believe. I was moving everything out of a storage unit and they could have thrown things but I was amazed at the amount of things that they wrapped up. I had a lot of tubs and they put tape around the tubs. When it was about over, the man that spoke English called Colonial Van Lines to tell them what was going on. Then he put me on the phone, and Colonial sent me the link so that I could pay the money for that. I also got another call from Colonial while the movers were still there. They wanted to know if the guys were really good.

I moved from Michigan to North Carolina and it was a wonderful move. I've never had as much contact as I had with Colonial Van Lines through an email or through a text. I would also get calls telling me where the movers were and when our tentative delivery date would be. When they got to North Carolina a couple days later, the man who spoke English still came and there was another guy with him. Nothing was broken or scratched. Everything was perfect. I watched them load and unload a washing machine not using the ramp. These guys were so strong. They were nice as well. They arrived at 6 o'clock at night and weren't done loading till close to 9:00. I also got another call from Colonial Van Lines asking how things were going. They were wonderful.

What I liked about Colonial Van Lines as far as the charge was concerned was they were good. They were a little bit less, but they were in line. I had no problem ‘cause I knew what I was gonna spend. When I called them initially, their bid was less than what this other company was. But they don't come and take a look at the inventory. You only pay half when they take your stuff then you pay the other half when they drop it off. That's nice.

When they dropped it off, the cost was a little bit more than what they quoted but I didn't realize all the stuff that was in there. I had a lot of things plus a washer and a dryer so I wasn't upset over the fact that the price was a few hundred dollars more. I would recommend Colonial Van Lines because they really got it together. I'm gonna probably be moving again and I'm gonna use Colonial again. I would recommend them as well.

Instead of being on the way to Florida, my belongings were taken to a Posh warehouse in Las Vegas, where they sat for almost a month. During this time, my CVL “customer care” representative repeatedly told me they were “working on” a delivery date but never provided a reason for the delay. Out of frustration, I finally contacted Posh directly and was told that I “did not understand logistics” and that they had to wait until they had a full load before heading to Florida. I understand logistics perfectly well — but it is inexcusable that CVL gave me a delivery window without coordinating with their own agent.

When my belongings were finally delivered on 2/24, the unmarked moving van contained items from other families, and some of my belongings were mixed in with theirs. Several of my items were damaged, including boxes clearly marked FRAGILE that were crushed. My lamps had not been wrapped and the shades were either crushed or too dirty to be used. One carton was so badly damaged that its contents were loose on the floor of the van and had to be handed to me piece by piece. Several of my sealed moving bins had been opened and the contents disturbed. One box of clothing had water damage. An antique mirror and a bookcase were broken beyond repair, dining room and living room furniture were damaged, and the side rails and assembly hardware of my vintage iron bed were missing (rendering it unusable), along with other items.

Posh’s COO told me they searched their warehouse but could not locate the missing items and that he would contact the other families whose belongings were on the same truck to see if they had them. According to the COO, the other families did not respond. I find it hard to believe that if someone received items that clearly did not belong to them, they would not notify Posh. After unpacking everything, I discovered even more items missing — things I know I packed.

To make matters worse, the delivery driver was fired shortly after my delivery and texted me saying Posh owed him several weeks of pay. He had promised to help me get a copy of the delivery manifest/weight list — a legal document I am entitled to — so I could compare it to the original estimate from CVL. I need that document to verify what was actually on the truck, whether I was charged correctly, and whether I received the $30‑per‑day delay credit I am owed. Shortly after I received the text from the driver, Posh contacted me and told me not to respond to him. I cannot help but wonder why they would tell me that.

Now, almost three months after delivery and five months after pickup, I am left with an unusable bed frame, broken and damaged furniture, and multiple missing items. I still have not received the delivery manifest/weight list. CVL has not responded to my request, and while Posh does reply, it is only after long delays — and they still have not provided the information I have repeatedly requested. They have photos of the damage but continue to send slow, incomplete responses, as if hoping I will eventually give up.