Greenland Van Lines

You get what you pay for. After researching a total of 8 different moving companies, I settled with Greenland Van Lines (GVL) because of their low rates and their good rating (at that time) with homestars.com and the BBB. This turned out to be a mistake.

On Aug. 8, 2012 I had my first contact with Samantha regarding my move from Hamilton, ON to Chilliwack, BC. In our telephone conversations I had emphasized that due to my work situation, it was very important to me that my goods be delivered on Oct. 9. Samantha assured me that this was no problem, and in an email that she sent to me on Aug. 20 she even said that my goods could be delivered before Oct. 9 if necessary. On Aug. 21 we finalized the moving dates. My confirmation was GL-1293, with a pickup date of Sept. 26 listed on the invoice. In an email dated Sept. 25 she again assured me that "you will receive your goods by October 9th."

My wife and I, together with my in-laws, drove across Canada and arrived in Chilliwack on Oct. 8. I called in the morning to enquire what time the movers would arrive. I had to ask my question to four people before the fourth one, Matt, told me that the truck had not even left Toronto yet! No explanation or apology of any kind was given. I was told to forward my email correspondence with Samantha to Sarah for review. Sarah wrote back an hour or so later. Again no apology or explanation of any kind was given. Instead, she wrote that she "reviewed the emails and there is not (sic) email dated for the 25th of September. The emails are all for the month of August." This is blatant nonsense, and in any case was irrelevant to the fact that I was promised twice in writing that my goods would be delivered by or on Oct. 9.

When I called again on the morning of Oct. 10, I could not get hold of Samantha (surprise, surprise). I talked to Matt again, and he did not even remember the telephone conversation I had had with him the day before. He said that "there will probably be some form of compensation." At that point in time compensation was the least of my worries. I was supposed to start work that week, and my entire office, my books, and all of my work clothing (suits etc.) were on that truck. There was no indication as to when any of it would be delivered.

After that last phone call all of my emails were ignored, no matter who I send them to. My phone calls were also ignored. It is interesting that when I got my wife to call from a different number on Oct. 11, they did pick up. I then took over from my wife and demanded to know what the problem was. All they could offer me was excuses. "Samantha is not available." "The company owner never comes in." "Our manager is in the hospital." And so on. On Oct. 15 I tried calling again, and again my phone call was ignored. By that I mean that I was not even redirected to voice mail as I was before, but the phone simply kept on ringing. Clearly my number was being screened.

At this point we had no idea what to expect next, whether our goods would arrive in a week, or two weeks, or a month. And we had nothing in our new home. Everything – bedding, clothing, cutlery – was on that truck. This situation caused a great deal of distress for my wife, who was seven months pregnant at the time and was really hoping to get settled into her own home and prepare for the arrival of our first baby. We ended up borrowing some air mattresses and bedding from the neighbours down the road, and some tables and chairs from my church. I need a suit for my work, but that was on the truck as well. I ended up spending over $500 on new work clothing.

On Oct. 16 I finally got an email from Samantha. Apparently my load was heavier than they had expected, so it had to be split across two trucks. Given the fact that I was only moving a small basement suite, and given the fact that I had provided her with two written weight estimates that had been provided by other moving companies, this was not a plausible explanation. I think what really happened was that our load was added on as an afterthought. It was shipped piecemeal to fill up the remaining weight on their outgoing trucks, with no regard for the promised Oct. 9 delivery date.

Finally, on Oct. 23, the movers arrived. This was a full two weeks after the promised delivery date of Oct. 9. It also happened to be the day that my inlaws had to return to Australia. They left for the airport an hour before the movers arrived. We had to stay behind because the movers were coming. As a result we were not able to see my inlaws off, and they were not able to see us settled into our new home.

After taking inventory of our boxes, there appear to be nine boxes missing with books from my library. I filed a claim for them on Nov. 20. Since the boxes were owner packed, I knew they did not qualify for anything beyond the $0.60/lb. basic coverage. What I did not know was that there was also a $350 deductible on top of that, which would have left me with $55. Nevertheless in an email dated Dec. 24, Brock (the manager) offered me a $250 goodwill compensation (there was nothing in there about compensating me for my other expenses, such as the $500 in work clothing I was forced to buy). On Jan. 31 he wrote again to say that the claim had been finalized. It is now April 17. I have yet to see any kind of compensation.

My only positive experience in this situation was with the two men who delivered our shipment. They were fast, friendly, and professional. However, they were employed by a different company which apparently is subcontracted by GVL from time to time. My rating of 0/10 is no reflection on these hardworking men, but on GVL itself.

There are some things in life that are not worth saving money on. Moving cross-country is near the top of that list. I will not be making this mistake twice.