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.

Greenland Van lines made my long distance move absolutely stress free.All the way from Halifax to Red Deer everything was planned so fine!! They picked up goods at 18th of March and the delivery guys were at my door in Red Deer at 25th March.That`s what I call fast!! The pricing was littler lower than I budgeted so that was awesome..I would strongly recommend theses fellows!! Very honest people

We moved from Toronto to Calgary in mid December (2012) and chose Greenland Van lines to help us with our furniture. Not only they did a GREAT job, but they also matched a competitor's quote which was around $100 lower than theirs. Both gentlemen that showed up to pick up our stuff were amazing, nice and did a great job. Unfortunately I don't remember their names but the initials in our receipt is M.D. Anyways thanks a million M.D., wherever you are. As for the agent Sarah Turk, she was great too, helping us with matching the quote. Our stuff was all delivered in great condition except for 2 decorative pieces that were broken, I don't blame them for it, I think it might have been my packaging, and that they were very delicate and should have been more careful when packing them. THANKS FOR THE GREAT SERVICE AND EXPERIENCE GREENLAND VANLINES.

All our arrangements were with Samantha. From the start our delivery date in Saskatoon was October 14 (pick up was Oct 8). The actual men who picked up were great. The men who delivered were terrible. We told them carefully where to put the big furniture, but they put it into other rooms and then complained when we asked them to move them to where we had specified. We had no one to help us and I have a serious leg injury, so we could not move things ourselves. They asked for coffee when they arrived, like why wasn't it ready. They put our furniture in the middle of the room against each other (dressers put facing each other so the drawers could not be opened) When our things were picked up, we actually gave those guys a bonus because they were very good. Then we could not get Samantha to call us with the final weight of our move so we could arrange for the certified cheque for payment. We gave our business to Greenland over other companies because Samantha told us they had a storage facility in Saskatoon and we could put certain things in storage there for free for 8 weeks. We needed storage at the delivery end, so we went with Greenland. When we called on Oct 12 (while driving to Saskatoon) to confirm the Oct 14 delivery, they said it was all set - no problem - but they needed us to speak to Brock to confirm the amount for the certified cheque. While speaking to him he said, "who told you your delivery was going to be on Oct 14?" We said - Samantha. Brock told us we would not be getting our delivery until at least the end of October. We explained that this was unacceptable - I had vital medical supplies I needed on that truck that could not be purchased in stores or even at the hospital (special wound care bandages) from my Toronto specialist. We had nowhere to sleep and no furniture. Because of my leg injury I could not sleep on the floor or even an air mattress because it was too low, My leg became infected and has still not healed. We did not learn until the end of October that Greenland DOES NOT HAVE STORAGE IN SASKATOON as Samantha had directly told us when we booked with her. If we had known this we would have just had them deliver it all at the same time because we needed access to those things. Brock offered to send some of my medical supplies via Purolator. We told him to send 2 boxes that were small, lightweight and had no writing on them at all, only the word CALEA on the packing tape. Brock sent me pictures and I ID'd 2 of the boxes. He sent them. However, if you turn the one box around it is clearly written on the other side "MARTHA STEWART LIVING MAGAZINES". So, he apparently only looked at one side of the box. We were also promised a large discount of at least $1,000 (since we had over $1200 in expenses due to the bills we incurred because of the wrong delivery date). We said we would then give some additional business to Greenland if they gave us this discount because we had some other things that needed delivery. At the point of delivery, Brock would only agree to a $400 discount. At the end of the 8 weeks for the storage of our things in Ontario, we were told they would be delivered by the end of December, but they did not arrive. Then we were told Jan 15th, then the end of January, then the middle of February. It is Feb 28th and we still do not have the rest of our things and they have not returned 6 phone calls and 6 emails. Two bedroom sets were damaged and one of those is a 1930's antique dresser that will cost at least $500 to repair.The address they list online for their company is a Shoppers Drug Mart plaza with no office there for their moving company. The fax number they list is no longer in service. Brock is only working in the office now 1 day a week and no one is returning our calls or emails. In the meantime, we happened to buy our son a new mattress and the fellow in the store asked us who moved us from Ontario, We said Greenland. He said he had moved here from Ontario a year ago and Greenland had also moved him, He said they gave him a delivery date, but no one showed up and he called many times, but ended up waiting for his things for more than 6 weeks, sleeping on his apartment floor with a 2 year old toddler with no furniture, clothes or household belongings. Who thinks a person can move and not need their things for more than a month? That is crazy. And notice that any correspondence you have with them does not list anyone's last names? No last names! What a horrible learning experience this has been. My husband has a managerial job here - my son needed more clothes for school - my husband needed good work clothes. We moved here with a very large dog so we had very limited room in our car and only brought what we would need for the week of travel. I can't tell you the worry and anger my husband and I have experienced as well as the pain from the injury I have which needed those special bandages!! Go with another company that does not outsource their drivers who has a real office address and who keeps their word about their delivery schedule and is not afraid to put their last names on your contract. I can only say that hopefully karma will work its magic because these people are not truthful to customers and the result is not just inconvenience - it is the total disruption of a person's life, It is terrible to be afraid to go to someone for help because this company has our things - things we can't ever replace, It is like being a hostage and no one should have to experience this.

I have never been more angry with a company in my entire life. My communication with Samantha at Greenland began in October. I had gotten a really good quote from them when I was looking to move my furniture and vehicle from Sarnia, Ontario to Edmonton Alberta. I wish I would have done my research.
After the initial email I went ahead and booked with Samantha via phone, I paid my $100 deposit and was told that everything would be set up and that my pick up date was scheduled for Dec 22 and that two days before my pick up someone would contact me to confirm the pick up and set up a pick up time. I was also informed that the total cost of my move would not be charged to my credit card until after my goods were delivered.
I contacted Samantha via email again to tell her that I no longer need my vehicle moved as we were now needing to drive. She informed me that the price of my vehicle would come off of the delivery fee.
The day of the pick up, I called Greenland to see what time we should expect the movers and was informed someone on their end didnt schedule the move properly and that someone would be there on Monday (Christmas eve). After getting angry for the first time, someone called me back two hours after the inital conversation and said that someone would be there between 12-4. So I was happy again. The movers didnt arrive until almost 7pm that evening, with no contract. They loaded all of my stuff in the van, and afterwards told me that they did not have a contract for me to sign, so I just signed their itemized list. I hadnt heared anything from the company about when my delivery would arrive in Edmonton, but had been informed it would take approx. 7-10 days to arrive.
Finally on Jan 10th, after numerous e-mails to Samantha, I recieved an email back stating the actual cost of my move, which was almost double what it was with a Vehicle and that the cost of my move had come off of my credit card, and that the delivery would be here in 6 days. Finally on Jan 18th, I phoned again to find out when my delivery would be coming and the girl who answered the phone didnt bother to actually check my file, she just promised me that my delivery would be here the following day and that someone would call me to confirm a delivery time. Now here it is Saturday jan 19th, No delivery, No phone call the night before, So again I phoned (by the way all of these phone calls are long distance, and costing me additional funds) the little girl who answered the phone informed me that my delivery would be here Sunday or Monday. I informed her that I work Sunday - Thursday and wouldnt be available for a delivery hence the reason I stressed getting it on Friday or Saturday. She told me that if no one is home to recieve the delivery my things would be put into storage, and that I will most likely be responsible for the cost of the storage. After getting quite upset with her she told me that she would make some calls and that I was to call back in 1 hour, because heaven for bid those people cant even so much as pick up the phone and call their customers.
When I phoned back, surprise surprise no one answered the phone!
I still have yet to see a contract, have not recieved any phone calls or emails stating when my delivery would actually arrive, but theyve have gladly taken my money, without completeing the services i was promised, and now by the looks of it, I will have to pay more money to have my stuff that they did not delivery in the time i was quoted put into storage and possibly have another moving company pick it up and deliver it.
I cant believe there are business out there that actually treat customers this way.
For anyone who is planning on moving no matter the distance STAY FAR AWAY FROM GREENLAND!!
These people are very unprofessional] and as it stands right now, they have robbed me not only my deposit plus the price of my "move" but also my furniture.
I will never again in a million years deal with this excuse of a company, and will never recommend them to Anyone.

On September 29, 2012, I contracted with Greenland Vanlines to move my household furnishings from North Bay, Ontario to Calgary, Alberta at a price of 52 cents per pound. I was assured by Samantha that this price was all inclusive and that there were no additional fees. Pick up was to occur on Friday, October 12th, 2012 and deliver was to be November 1st, 2012.

The agreement was made with Samantha through e-mail and phone conversations. Original e-mails stressed that a weekday was needed so children wouldn’t be present on moving day. Subsequent conversations revealed that there was a 5% discount for government employees and that this would be applied to my account. On October 1, 2012 I paid a $200 deposit. I was informed that Greenland would call me 1 to 2 days prior to my move date to give me a specific time. I expressed concern over my 52” TV and was informed by Samantha that since this was the only item requiring additional packing that they would do it free of charge.

On October 5th, 2012 I requested a copy of the contract from Samantha via e-mail that was supposed to be sent to me. I have never received a response to this e-mail. This was the beginning of the communication problems.

On October 11th, 2012 at approximately 4:30pm (day before scheduled move) I had still not received a time from Greenland. When I called Greenland I was informed that my move date had been rescheduled to October 13th, 2012. A manager from Greenland apologized for their oversight and promised that I would be compensated for my final bill, which I was not.

On October 13th, 2012, the movers (subcontracted, not Greenland employees) showed up. No runners were put down over the stairs which were beige carpet. This led me to having to borrow a vacuum and cleaning supplies after the movers left. I was informed that they needed to use 8 mattress bags to cover our mattresses and couches at a cost of $15 each ($120 total. When I said that there weren’t supposed to be any additional charges they said to take it up with Greenland. I was told that packing the TV would be $150 extra. Again I informed them that Greenland said that there would be no charge and again they said that they had no record of that and that I would have to take it up with Greenland.

On October 18th, 2012 I called Greenland to give them my new address and ask what the weight and cost of my shipment was. I was told that they would have to look it up and would get back to me in less than an hour. I did not receive a return call.

On October 20th, 2012, I e-mailed Samantha over several concerns. I mentioned the change in the pickup day and that I had not received any credit for this. I mentioned that I was charged $150 for the TV, even though she had said that there wouldn’t be a charge. I mentioned that my 5% discount had not been applied. Samantha has never replied to my e-mail. I eventually got a hold of her by phone and she said it would be taken care of. I wasn’t given my bill total.

Greenland was unable to schedule my move in; instead they provide me with the contact number of their contractor and asked that I do it myself. I discussed with the contractor that I was getting my keys the evening of Thursday November 1st and would like to do the move in as soon as possible after that. I received a call at approximately 9am on November 1st, saying that they had a window of 2-5pm where they could deliver my stuff; otherwise it would be at least the eighth before they would be able to. I called my landlord and arranged to meet her at 12:30. I received a call from the contractor at 3:30pm saying that they were running late and asked me if I had cash for my move. I told them that I wasn’t told I needed cash or even what my bill was from Greenland. I was told that the final bill was $4,688.04. I went to the bank and withdrew the cash. I received a call from the driver at 5:30pm saying he was late but that they were still coming.

The movers showed up at 7:00pm on November 1st, 2012. I pointed out several problems with the bill, no 5% discount, various extra charges, no credit for change of pickup and my deposit wasn’t credited. They said that that they didn’t care and either I paid in full or they drove away and I would be charged for an additional deliver and that he didn’t know when they would be able to come back. I was also told that I needed to sign the inventory sheets before he was opening the truck. I said that I wasn’t comfortable with that and wanted to do it after checked my items. I was informed that since it was late, that there wouldn’t be time to check things and that I had 10 days to check and file a claim. Again he said either I sign or he was leaving. As it was impossible to reach Greenland that late at night, I reluctantly signed but wrote on that a final inventory check had not been completed. I was informed that all boxes would be left on the main floor (even though they had all been labeled for a specific room) but that they would place furniture in the proper room.

The 4 movers started to bring things in, they were quite quick which was good given the late time, but I was unable to check things off against the inventory listing. I lot of the furniture was wrapped, so the inventory numbers were removed when the blankets were removed. I noticed that the long dresser to our bedroom set was damaged and noted it on the inventory listing but didn’t get a chance to see most items.

I called Samantha about the overcharges and asked that she refund them. She said to file a claim and that she didn’t want to discuss it.

It took a long time to go through everything as the approximately 200 boxes were all put in one room and stacked to the ceiling. It quickly became apparent that my stuff was not in good condition. Boxes were ripped open, plastic Rubbermaid totes had been written on in permanent marker, the knobs on the dresser were bent and unable to be removed, office chair was missing a wheel, shelf had large chunks out of it (they were on the floor beside it, but unable to be repaired), treadmill was damaged and top was missing, table and chairs were damaged and table leafs were missing, couch was broken.

I filed claims for nearly $2000 On November 11th, 2012. I was informed the next day that the process would take 2-4 weeks. On December 4th, 2012, Brock finally agreed to refund $401.20 for the $200 deposit and 5% discount that had not been applied. Funds were received on December 11th, 2012.

On November 28th, 2012, Brock sent me a picture of the missing piece to the treadmill and asked if it was mine. I said that it was. He informed me that it would be sent that week and “within 10 days from its departure it will get there and our dispatch from Calgary will get in touch with you to schedule the delivery”. I’m still waiting and hoping that I will receive this, although my optimism decreases with each passing day. Again Greenland has failed to meet its commitment.

On December 10th, 2012 I received a settlement offer from Brock for $200. I told him that the offer was unacceptable and I wasn’t accepting it. He informed me that Greenland was losing business due to a negative review that I had posted online. He offered to pay $400 if I removed the review. I asked if the ad contained anything that was factually inaccurate. He was unable to provide anything untrue about the review. He said that it would be sent via courier and received in 2 days. I reluctantly signed the settlement offer, stipulating in the document that if the $400 was not received by Friday December 14th, 2012 or if the treadmill piece was not received by December 21st, 2012 that Greenland would be in breach of the agreement. I still have not received either as I write this.

- Greenland does not give a physical address anywhere
- They requested that I remove reviews as part of the settlement process
- They are numerous reviews that: they have flagged as inappropriate; were modified; were removed. This demostrates that they are trying to remove negative feedback to improve the image of the company