Reasonable Trucking Limited

I would absolutely stay far far away from Reasonable Trucking. There is nothing reasonable about them – from their rates, to their service.

Short version – Reasonable Trucking…
- Has appalling customer service
- will give you a low quote to look competitive but you will end up paying for more than you expected
- doesn’t have proper equipment and will break your items without taking responsibility
- will play with your move date without proper communication
- will refuse to give you your proper documentation
- will check off items from itemized list that were not accounted for

Long version:

I went with the company for my move from Toronto to Halifax on the recommendation of a friend. I should have checked the Better Business Bureau before booking them.

After arranging the details of my move, I received an email saying their truck broke down and they would be coming at the end of the week instead of at the beginning. I received a phone call 5 days before I expected them there asking if they could come right over since they were in the neighbourhood. I said I wasn't ready, and that I wasn't expecting them until the end of the week (I received a call Sunday - I wasn't expecting them until Friday). They said that was no problem, but that they would come the next day or the day after. You can imagine my panic being told I had less days than I thought to pack and get ready for a huge move across provinces.

Since I still had no idea from that phone call when I could expect them, or if they would just surprise me again by saying they were 'in the area' I emailed the office. Joan, the wife of the owner, kept reassuring me that "everything would be fine" even though I expressed my concerns about them coming early, how much extra this would cost me, that I didn't know when to expect them, and that this changed my entire schedule for the week.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with them coming days early was the hundreds of extra pounds (and hundreds of extra dollars) this cost me. As a trucking service, they charge by weight. I had expected to be able to purge many pounds, but with the reduced timeline was forced to focus on packing.

*they charged me 42 cents/pound. They originally asked for 44 cents/pound but I asked for a student discount. Ask to see the weight ticket before you pay - moving companies charging by the pound are obliged to give you a copy. Speaking of the weight ticket, I was told I was only being charged what they were charged to weight the truck ($25). When I saw the receipt I saw that they had only been charged $18. I would also be aware that you probably have many more pounds than you are being quoted. A low quote looks like a cheap move, but you will be unpleasantly surprised when you receive your final bill – go with a company that will give you an honest estimate of what to expect.

But this wasn't all. When they got to my house (an hour and a half later than they said they would be there), they told me their truck wouldn't fit on my street, so they parked around the corner. Because they didn't have a dolly they made some kind of makeshift dolly with a wobbly board on wheels. I saw my boxes and bins tumble off this unsteady equipment least 3 times, including once where I happened to be standing beside it and was able to catch some of my boxes, and another time when I heard a crash and came out to find the contents of one of my bins spilled out into the street. The owner, Gordon, admitted that he has seen my things fall repeatedly from where he was at the truck, and didn’t step in and do anything about it.

When I emailed Joan to let her know that I was very concerned that I would find many items broken, she kept repeating that "everything would be fine." I asked about the lack of proper equipment (they ARE a moving company after all - a moving dolly is absolutely standard equipment), and she let me know that I should feel lucky; the guys had saved me $600 by using a makeshift dolly instead of having to rent equipment. After this fiasco I contacted several moving companies to find out if dollies are standard equipment or if I should have had to pay extra to rent equipment - they are standard and don't believe a moving company that tells you otherwise. I let Joan know by email that I was going to have to check every box/bin for broken items because of the unusual circumstances.

On the Halifax end, Reasonable Trucking showed up half an hour before they were scheduled to arrive. They wanted me to pay the full amount up front and I refused, stating that I would need to check for damage before I paid. After consulting with Gordon, the owner, who is also the driver, I was told that I could pay 2/3 of the bill and they would bring in my furniture. I said that my furniture only accounted for a small fraction of what was in the truck and that I wanted the amount that I was paying to reflect that. The owner was incredibly rude to me, so I called his wife, Joan. She vacillated back and forth between being rude, fake sweet, and trying to convince me that they were doing me a favour. Eventually she agreed that I would pay half up front and half after I had gone through every box. Again she reiterated that I should feel grateful (forgetting, I suppose, that they are a business, providing me, the customer, with a service, for which I was paying, not a favour). I asked what the company would do if I found many broken items as a result of their inadequate equipment, and she told me that she was certain I wouldn't find anything broken if I had done a good job packing, and that a half dozen broken dishes wasn't a big deal anyways (?!?!?). She refused to say how the company would be accountable in the event of broken items.

After a good amount of my items had been brought inside (with me by the door checking every single box and bin for damages), I was told I would have to finish the job in the truck under the supervision of Gordon the owner (who had stayed in the truck the entire time because he is afraid of dogs). So, while I was on my hands and knees checking my belongings for damage, Gordon stood over me, staring at me, and occasionally commenting on my packing job (which was excellent, every breakable was wrapped, with layers in between). It was incredibly humiliating, and completely unnecessary.

After I paid the balance of my bill, Shane, a relative of Gordon and Joan, was tasked with making sure that everything that had a number was checked off the list. When there were leftover items, he just checked them off, saying that he was sure they were inside as everything had been taken off the truck. I said that I couldn’t sign that everything was received on my end because he checked off a bunch (7-10) items that nobody saw enter the house. When he went out to check with Gordon about what he should do about me refusing to sign that my items were accounted for (when they weren’t) he was told he should just take the papers away and refuse to give me a copy. So I never received a copy of my items, and am left knowing that things weren’t accounted for but I don’t know which items.

*I should mention that Shane was actually one of the bright spots in the move. He was kind and understanding even when his relatives were completely unprofessional.

I would use extreme caution when considering Reasonable Trucking. There are many movers out there who are honest and hardworking. This company isn’t among them.