Absolute Vanlines

This company is far from being professional. Moved from Toronto to Calgary and sadly i chose this company to send my belongings with, well not only some items were lost but everything else was badly damaged and of course they dont take responsability for anything. Price was initially quoted at $1200 and i ended up paying $3000 for hidden fees and "extra weight" that they never proved to me. Its been 4 months and still trying to get a hold of the complain department and apparently Melissa is a busy a person. Worst decision in chosing this company. If you are a smart person, DO NOT MAKE BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY. Look up other reviews and see for yourself.

It has been an absolute nightmare dealing with this company. I hired this company to pack and move my belongings from Vancouver to Toronto.
The rough estimate in quote ended up being double in weight and cost when I got the bill.
I was very disappointed after a costly move that a good portion of my belongings was broken due to a complacent move. Everything from a broken record player due to a box being upside down even though the box itself had large arrows on it saying 'this way up'. Movers had put tape directly on my furniture which left tape marks on my couch and sticky marks on my bicycle handles (not sure why tape was put on handle bars to begin with). Huge gouge/rip in my couch even though there was plastic protection covering on it. Desk and book shelves had scratches and dents in it. I had a large keyboard that was to be packed in the box it was bought from. The mover couldn't figure out how to fit it properly in the box with the styrofoam and was about to tape the box with the keyboard sticking halfway out of the box. Thank goodness I happen to walk in and catch that. They used my personal clean linens and towels to wrap up mirrors and my painting canvases. (The company personal through Absolute Vanlines whom responded to my case through BBB said it was because I did not decide to have their blankets etc to protect my belongings. When indeed it was confirmed that was part of the packing and moving package. Regardless it should be included on a $3,000 pack/move for a one bedroom apartment.) The list goes on in regards to other damages.
I spent over a year trying to get costs recuperated from the damages. To the very least have $311 recuperated after their insurance deduction of $350. In the end I got a response from Claims department 'I am sorry that we haven’t got back sooner. Your claim amount does not exceed the amount of the deductible which means no refund will be given. I noticed you already did the calculations sound notice that there is a negative $18 balance witch means if I was to put threw the claim on the basic insurance you would owe us $18 witch I know is not suitable for you. So I am sorry for the damage to some items but at this time there’s nothing that can be done I apologize and I can place a discount on any upcoming moves to you friends or family an personally assure u problems like this won’t happen again.' As a last resort I went through with BBB. They still refused to refund any money back for the cost of the damages. I guess $311 was more important to them then taking responsibility for their damages and caring for a customer. I hope that no one else ever has to experience this. A move itself is stressful enough!

Absolute Van Lines did not show up for my move dated for June 18 from Invermere, BC to Barrie ON. Nor did they call to confirm the day before even after I called to ask. It wasn't until 1 PM EST on the day of the move that they informed that they were not coming. Then they suggested that they might be able to move me four days later but could not confirm until 6 PM that day. I was unable to speak to a supervisor and when I asked to have the number for the head office, the representatives whom I was dealing with told me they were head office. They gave me the complete run around. This company received an F with the BBB and after googling reviews I read so many stories of them doing the same thing to other people. They refused to refund me my deposit and sent me a long winded email saying things like "it's customers like you that give us a bad name" and " there are people like you who just want to ruin our reputation for nothing just because you are angry". At the least they could have done is to give me my deposit back for making me take off a day of work without pay and not showing up. Somehow they think it's the customers who have to suffer as it's "out of their control" when one of their trucks don't pass a random inspection. I am convinced that they just take on more customers than they can service. They require non refundable deposits in hopes that if they can't make the pick up date, they just keep offering alternative dates until the customer can not wait any longer and ends up cancelling and AVL just made an easy $200! I've filed a formal complaint with BBB as I do not want this company to do this to any one else! Do NOT book with this company if you want to actually move.

I had a move done with Absolute Van Lines in January and everything went smoothly. There were some delays due to weather and truck issues but it was expected, nothing will ever run perfectly. My move cost ended up being a little more than expected because my weight was a little more than anticipated and they made it clear when I was booking that the quote was only and estimation and the weight price can change. I was very impressed with the customer service of this company they answered all of my questions and were very honest with me, a lot of companies I have worked with in the past were not honest. I was very impressed with the services and if I ever move again I know who to call.

I was moving from Boston to Vancouver and Absolute Van lines gave me the lowest quote, so I was unfortunate enough to choose them. They gave me a range of dates (between the 27th and 30th of July) that they would collect my things. I was left a voicemail on the 27th saying that they would confirm with me the following week when they would collect my stuff. I told them I had received a voicemail with dates already confirmed for pick up, and had already booked these days off work so that I would be available, I could not switch anything around. They replied that they were training someone new and the initial dates I was given was a mistake. I managed to make myself available the day they were suppose to collect my things, they never showed up. I rang them the following day to ask what was going on, they said that they were going to collect my things later that day, and failed to show up again. I asked for them to return my $100 deposit back, and they also failed to do that. I had to switch companies last minute. Don't let their low prices reel you in!

We booked a moving van with them to collect our belongings from Banff, AB between the 29th and 30th October.They called on Friday 25th October to say they were on their way, of course we told them you cant, you are 5 days early and we are not ready. The next day they called again (Saturday 26th) and said we can come today or not until next month. This was at noon and they were coming at 3. I called my wife home from work and we got everything packed up and ready outside our apartment. They called at 3pm to say there were nearly with us, they were in Saskatchewan to which we informed them they were actually 10 hours away 'Oh' they said 'well be with you on Monday'. So we lugged all our belongings back in the house. Monday came, and at about 10am they called to say they were on their way. 30 minutes later we got a call to say they werent, as that van was needed elsewhere, they would be with us on the 1st. After explaining to them that we needed to be out of our apartment on the 31st and that we originally booked it for the 29th or 30th, they agreed to send it on the 30th or 31st. The 30th came and went and on the 31st we called them to see when they would be with us, they said theyd call back in a few minutes. 1 and a half hours later we called them back and they told us theyd be with us between 4pm and 7pm, we got everything outside the apartment, again, convinced that it couldnt happen again. 8pm came and went and no call. We brought everything back in again. The next day we called to see what happened. The driver had lights out on his truck so it was a safety hazard, fair enough, but where was our courtesy call telling us he wasnt coming? so then they were coming yesterday between 3pm and 4pm. We called the company at 3.30pm and they said he was 25 minutes away, again we got everything out of our apartment, and once again they didnt turn up. We left to go to my brothers house in Calgary and called them today for our deposit back and they told us we couldnt have it. Thats 5 times them saying they were coming and not turning up, no phone call updates, no apologies, and then no deposit back. This is the worst company weve ever had the misfortune of dealing with. We just wanted our $100 back and are quite willing to forget the rest of the money weve spent covering for their incompetence and bad customer service

My wife and I hired Absolute to move our furniture from Alberta to Ontario, and overall we are pleased with the quality and service of this company.

The day of the move, the guys who arrived were a bunch of yokels, about 18 or 19 years old and didn't speak any English. I watched as they tried to jam our $1,000 dining room table through the doorway without removing the legs. Every time I offered to remove the legs for them they shooed me away. Their foreman was aggressive and a bit rude. Other than that, though, they got the truck loaded quickly. I understand the company sub-contracts work when they need to (as in this case).

We drove across Canada and awaited our stuff in Ontario. After a couple of weeks I received a phone call from Absolute that our stuff had arrived in Mississauga.

I asked for the final invoice, which had doubled from the original quote. Almost all of the extra cost was in weight, which I had under-estimated. There were a few other costs as well, such as a fee for stairs and things of such nature. Because I had been expecting about $1,000, and the final price was closer to $2,000, we just didn't have enough money to pay for it all right away.

My wife and I were sitting on the floor of our new place and sleeping on an air mattress. My uncle, who knows Mississauga well, and I went to the Absolute offices and spoke with Meghan, my representative, and Brock, who might be the owner.

They were very friendly and professional and Brock is a decent guy who was willing to negotiate a mutually-acceptable final price. We brought it down to $1600 and arranged a move for the coming weekend!

The movers who delivered our stuff were so much better than in Alberta. There, eight young guys who didn't know what they were doing had manhandled our things into a truck. Here, two very professional Jamaican guys carried everything in (we helped where we could) in just over an hour!

These two guys were friendly and obviously knew what they were doing; they didn't even touch the walls when moving the sofa!

Unfortunately the yokels in Alberta had already damaged our dining room table and put a big hole in the arm of our new sofa (when they took the furniture in Alberta it was all unwrapped, but when they delivered it everything was nicely wrapped with no damage on the wrapping, so I can deduce that all the damage came from the Alberta side).

Meghan, at Absolute sent me a damage claim form and we're waiting for the results. Nevertheless, the quality of the movers here in Ontario, coupled with Meghan's helpfulness and Brock's willingness to negotiate make this a great company. Add to it the fact that we got our stuff from Alberta to Ontario for $1600 and it is one of the best-priced companies around!

I highly recommend Absolute Vanlines for moves in Ontario, but because of the damage and the dummies in Alberta, I have to give them 7 stars instead of 10 (but all 7 of those are for the Ontario end).