Alliance Van Lines inc.

37 Reviews: Add Review

1. Do Not Use This Business if You Care About Your Items or Good Service.

   If you want predictability and peace of mind with your moving needs, please DO NOT USE this business. 80% of my items of my cross country move were either smashed or materially damaged. I used to be a mover and am really sad about how my items were treated. One item was an antique teak credenza that was put on it end on the bed of the truck with not blanket or cardboard protecting it which resulted is in the item being scratched up the door and drawer braking and the frame falling apart. This item was the reason for the shipment and it great shape beforehand.
   
   In addition to the careless handing of my items, they also quoted me the shipping cost and then when the COD delivery came, it was 50% more at my door step. The also charged me for services that were not provided: long stair carry when I have 4 stairs at the receiving location.
   
   Their claims department continues to not take responsibility or even acknowledge any mistake made. Please do not use this business, there are many other company that will treat your items with care for a reasonable price.

2. BC to Ontario.

   Thank you to the team at Alliance Van Lines. I had two deliveries from Vancouver Island and Vancouver shipped across country to Ontario. The service was impeccable, communications, scheduling, care and attention to any belongings. A brief hiccup with a missing bike, resolved in about an hour. The company really stepped up and all worked out great !! Highly recommend this company.

3. Disasterous cross country move.

   We hired Alliance Van lines out of Ottawa Ontario to move us across country.
   
   Having moved 4 times in the last 20 years we were quite adept at packing and moving a household, and thought we were well prepared for this move. Early alarm bells went off however when they showed up to pack the moving truck. There was quite a bit of damage done to our home as they carelessly bashed furniture off of walls, door frames and trim-work, all of which required repair and or replacement.
   
   When the moving van showed up to our new home it was a much smaller truck than what they used to pack the house, and as a result they must have used considerable force to squeeze everything in. It’s not clear if this was the cause of some or most of the damage done to our property, but in the end we incurred close to $20,000 dollars in damages, some of which was tragically irreplaceable family heirlooms. There was so much force, disregard and disrespect used during transport that they even crushed in the top of my stainless steel gas barbeque. Many of the moving boxes were crushed or folded in so badly that carefully packed and even double packed items (boxes inside of boxes) were crushed, broken and shattered.
   
   We were completely mortified at the degree and volume of damage that was done to our property, like nothing I’ve ever experienced or heard of before.
   
   These people ought to be ashamed to call themselves professional movers.

4. Move from London, ON to Black’s Harbour NB.

   We were initially quoted at about $4500-$5000 for the move, which kept changing.
   
   Though our items arrived in NB within a timely manner, when it came to unloading our items, the moves were brusque, somewhat rude and would talk over you when you tried to explain where you wanted your items.
   
   It was very expensive for us, at over $7500, and we found that they wanted to charge us extra fees for moving our items from the loading dock to our storage locker because it was over 100 steps: an extra charge of about $200-300. My wife and I ended up moving our items ourselves into storage.
   
   Upon unpacking, we found many of our items broken beyond repair, including family heirlooms, and art object collected on travels, despite these same items being packed well in storage in London for over 2 years without being broken. Our Christmas tree was also lost in the move.
   When we called to complain, with pictures of said items provided, no compensation was provided or offered.
   
   A very expensive move, considering what we lost and what was broken AND all the seemingly constant, changing costs.

5. Local move in Ontario.

   Upon booking our move through Nelly we were informed that 30-day storage was available and included in the price. Nelly did not inform us about the type of storage being used so we assumed that our possessions would be stored in a pod until delivery 2 weeks later. We only learned from the movers that our belongings had been kept in a warehouse and that is was handled 4 times, namely: upon pick up, unloaded for storage, reloaded and unloaded for delivery. We believe that the goods were being thrown about instead of carried; otherwise the amount of damage would not have been possible, given that all items were very carefully packed with appropriate packing materials.
   The damage included several furniture items that were scratched and gouged; a damaged sofa bed; a filing cabinet was so badly bent that it could not be opened; cracked lampshades; several boxes of broken dishes, glassware and art work; boxes that were missing - and we also received some items that are not ours. Obviously, Alliance warehousing plan is not working and there must be other unsatisfied customers.
   
   We were charged $4,012.91 for this local move. Nelly did not provide a formal invoice in spite of our request for one. Failure to do so is a suspicious business practice, given that it may allow the company to avoid declaring income for tax purposes. Additionally, we were provided no proof that the weight on which the charges were based is the correct. We believe that the amount charged was excessive considering that, due to downsizing, we had only a few pieces of furniture and no appliances were included in the move.
   
   In addition to the exorbitant price for incompetent service, we had to deal with movers who extorted from us another $120.00 in cash - supposedly payment for 'walking' from the truck to the condo. The 'spokesperson' of the trio threatened us with having to pay $300.00 if we chose to make the 'walking' payment directly to the company. In other words, these crooks extorted some easy cash form two senior citizens.
   
   We have submitted our claim plus photos to Nelly to forward to the company 'Claims Adjuster'. We have not heard from the claims adjuster - and wonder if one exists given that Nelly seems to be the only individual representing the company.
   
   Based on our dismal moving experience, we cannot recommend this moving company to anyone.
   L. Jones, Ottawa.

6. Spineless and deceitful company.

   Moved from BC to Ontario.
   
   Our dealings were with Nelly (apparently the GM, but can't quite wrap my head around how they let her run the show). She was extremely accommodating and kind until we shipped our items. We expressed repeatedly that we needed the delivery on a specific Monday. Over the phone she continuously expressed that we would sort out the delivery of stuff closer to the date, leading us to believe that we'd arrange a time a few days before. Once we had already left BC and were driving across the country, we were told by another representative that they only delivered to my area on Thursdays & Fridays. At NO point did Nelly share this information with us. If she had, we would've booked with another company or adjusted our travel dates to line up with the delivery. I whole heartedly believe that she did this on purpose to secure our business. We were also travelling across the country with limited access to email at certain stops, and when we requested a phone call to discuss the matter she refused and continuously emailed knowing that we may not receive the information until days later.
   
   Once we finally received the delivery, they lost a book shelf. They require a $425 deposit to make a claim on lost items, as well pictures. The book shelf wasn't worth that much money and we were told by one representative on the phone that "the company likes to work with clients, so let us try and find it first and we'll go from there". We were told Nelly would follow up with us, again she lacked the backbone to make a phone call (we never made verbal contact with her again after my stuff was delivered, probably so she could have email records of her now saying things that were never expressed over the phone). They never provided us with a claims form and Nelly didn't even make it sound like they tried to find my lost furniture. She never provided any follow-up.
   
   I'm writing this review in hopes of saving at least one person from the stress it caused me to use this company (And frankly, to cost them as much as they cost me) Nelly provided the WORST customer service I've experienced in a long time.

7. One of the worst experiences of my life.

   I first contacted Alliance Van Lines at the beginning of May 2019 to book my move from Manitoba to Ontario. Initial quote (for min 1000lbs) listed a fixed $450 charge for the 1st 500lbs, “Chargeable Weight” fee $275 ($0.55/pound for 500lbs), "Scale Fee" $50 and "Destination Fee" of $75. Total (pre-tax) = $850.
   
   I asked detailed questions when I initially spoke with Nelly (General Manager) over the phone. I specifically asked how charges were calculated. It was explained that if my shipment was over on quoted weight I would pay extra/pound, which makes sense. However, I WAS LED TO BELIEVE THAT CHARGES WERE BASED ON ACTUAL WEIGHT. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. I specifically asked about extra fees and was NOT told that they add extra weight onto true weight of items to “account for space and movers”. There also turned out to be many other extra charges, for example paying with credit card or having more than 5 steps leading to your door.
   
   Once I submitted an inventory list (beginning of May), my quote changed to 3665lbs for a total of $2315.75. Upon receiving this quote, I expressed concern with it being hugely overestimated and provided weights for as many items as I could. I was given an updated quote only slightly lower. I estimated I had between 1500lbs and 2000lbs. I even went as far as bringing home an industrial scale. After weighing approximately 90% of my items, my total weight came to 1081.65lbs. I had to request an inventory list several times before the weights allotted per item were finally given to me. They added weight to each item, for example, my shelving units from IKEA totalled 107lbs and were listed as 200lbs. The reason given for this was “When we move any shipment, we need to make sure that we accommodate the appropriate amount of space, labour, time and materials to perform the move properly.” When I initially called (and before they had my $200 deposit), it was NOT explained that they arbitrarily add more weight per item and that cost is NOT based on true weight. Quoted rates become the MINIMUM you pay. No scale ticket provided if it is under the quote, which very convenient for Alliance Van Lines so that the customer does not see how much they have been over charged.
   
   Initially my customer service experience was pleasant and positive. Once they had my $200 deposit, it changed to rude, condescending and unprofessional. When I was phoning to request a detailed list of how they calculated my quoted weight, the tone was one of annoyance and the person kept talking over me and repeating “read your contract”. At one point I had called and someone answered the phone by saying “Alliance Van Lines”, followed by about 15 seconds of unexplained laughter. I requested to speak to someone above a GM and was told that there is nobody above a GM, that I could only speak to another GM. When I asked to speak to whoever hires the GMs/ does their performance reviews, I was told this would be the owners. I requested their contact information and was given a flat-out “no”.
   
   Overall, I find this company deceitful and customer service is horrendous. To make things more transparent to clients, they need to make it clear that prices are not based on ACTUAL weight of items. PRICES ARE SUBJECTIVE AND BASED ON WHATEVER WEIGHT AMOUNT THE GM WOULD LIKE TO APPLY TO EACH ITEM BEING MOVED. In the end, I chose to move with a Ubox through UHaul. At least here I had the peace of mind knowing that my items were only being handled by ME. I have read multiple reviews of Alliance Van Lines damaging/ dirtying property or losing items altogether.
   
   One of the worst experiences I have had in my life. Moving is stressful enough, Alliance Van Lines makes it a true nightmare.

8. Alliance Van Lines Review : (.

   My wife and I used Alliance Van Lines (Scarborough, Ont.) to move from Ontario to British Columbia in the fall of 2018.
   On the morning before the arranged pick up day, Alliance decided to increase the cost of the move by almost 50%.
   They had never visited our house, and as such, had never seen what needed to be moved. They said that they were working on “their estimation” of what a typical four bedroom house would consist of (not very professional by any standard). At this point, they tried to negotiate the moving costs however we decided to cancel their service and started looking for an alternate moving company (which needed to happen in the next 2-3 days based on our schedule). Needless-to-say, we were unable to locate another moving company on such short notice, so we decided to give Alliance another chance.
   Upon contacting Nelly, she went back to the original price and we decided to proceed with Alliance (bad move on our part, no pun). My wife and I had carefully packed up most of our personal belongings, furnishings, etc., so all Alliance had to do was load their truck and we were on our way.
   The day of loading the truck went well, however we later learned that all of our belongings would be unloaded in Scarborough and then transferred to another truck for the trip to BC. Note: after our belongings were picked up they were weighed, however Alliance would NOT disclose what our contents actually weighed. (Alliance had a set rate which they based on a minimum load of 15,000 lbs. I.e. if the load was more than 15,000 lbs. you were charged extra, however if the load was less than 15,000 lbs. there was no reduction with their fee) .
   Our belongings arrived in BC and again were unloaded and reloaded into another truck for final delivery to our new home. Seems to me like too many opportunities for stuff to get broken with triple handling, and guess what I WAS RIGHT !!
   On the day of the off load (I was not able to be there due to work commitments), my wife was left to direct the movers as to where everything should be placed (pretty easy job because we had clearly labeled each box as to where it should go), but this didn’t happen. There were over a dozen heavy boxes that were just dumped in our garage for us to move. In total, they took less than 3 hours to off load the truck . . . kind of alike a dine and dash, which all happened AFTER they had been paid for the move.
   As we unpacked boxes and positioned our furniture, we found that numerous items had been damaged, and that some boxes/items had never been delivered.
   This is the point where everything went down hill with Alliance. When we questioned about the damaged / lost (stolen ??) items we were advised that we should have taken out the “extra insurance” to cover these losses as the standard moving coverage only requires Alliance to pay $0.60 per pound.
   By our estimation, the damages / losses were in excess of $3000.00 (this included a damaged $2000 paddle board that weighs only 18 lbs. and would have netted a claim settlement for $10.80). After nearly 3 months they offered a mere $95 as our TOTAL compensation. Hardly acceptable, but we were stuck.
   The real irony of this is that we had to unpack, document and photograph all damages / losses within 10 days of the off load, yet Alliance took almost 3 months to process our $95 refund.
   Word of advice, DON’T USE ALLIANCE VAN LINES, but rather look for a more reputable, professional moving company.

9. Move within Ottawa.

   Moving from a house to condo we were initially given a quote of $800.00. We packed everything outselves. We were told we would get labels and the truck would be weighed. At first movers said they would load our things 1 day and deliver in 3 days. Then day before move said all on same day. Day of move 2 guys arrive at 1:30pm. No labels, no straps, no blankets to protect our furniture no weighing of truck. Our belongings were then unloaded atcondo. More like dumped. The cost $2 200. They did not live up to contract never asked how move went. Check your contract.

10. Alliance the worst scammers I have ever come accross.

    My girlfriend and I were moving from Montreal to Alberta from a 2 bed condo , we moved all her belongings into a storage unit before we left . After finding a place to rent in Alberta, we unfortunately decided to hire Alliance Van Lines after seeing there good competitive rate for moving a 3 bed condo online. My girlfriend contacted Alliance explained how many boxes she had and they came up with the estimated weight of 11,000lbs, which she explained she thinks was over estimated. The guy on the phone said we will see when it gets scaled and adjust the price.
    
    Unfortunately, she didn't read the fine print thoroughly, as her first language is not English, which said the cost will be the minimum estimated price and she also believed the words of the man. After finding out which way these scammers worked, I called and asked if I could get a scaling ticket which shows the actual weight to figure out if it was actually near the 11000lbs. I got a reply that scaling tickets are only given out to loads that come in over the minimum weight and that they adjust the weight and the price only in that situation.
    
    After waiting 4 weeks for our stuff to arrive in Alberta, a 3rd party delivery company showed up with her stuff with a bill for nearly $7000 for 11000 lbs of belongings. As the movers where putting the boxes in our new apartment, I weighed every box coming into the apartment on a professional scale I had borrowed from a friend ,(let me add we did not bring any of her appliances tumble dryer, washing machine , fridge , dish washer ect. All the heavy stuff was left in the condo in Montreal ) we just mainly had clothes and furniture. After adding up the weight of all the boxes and furniture, it came in under 5000lbs!! Not only was the estimated weight overestimated by over 6000lbs but all the boxes that was marked Fragile that we had carefully bubble wrapped and tagged fragile ourselves was damaged or smashed inside, (nearly all of them ). We claimed the damages done to our goods and the holes in the drywall and the broken light switch made by the movers. We had the answer, 4 weeks later after we contact Alliance again because no answer, that this was not covered by there insurance.
    
    Also, while waiting to our stuff to arrived, I contacted them and explained the weight and that we where getting into serious debt starting off in a new place and if they could do a goodwill gesture and reimburse some of the money seems as there weight calculation was so far off which they refused.
    
    Its safe to say I will never use this company again and I hope other people don't have the misfortune of dealing with them. They should be ashamed of themselves blatantly scamming people and holding there belongings hostage .

    

11. Move from Toronto to Halifax.

    Alliance Van Lines were fantastic from start to finish. The move was very short notice and needed to have my belongings picked up within two weeks. I phone many other moving companies though, Alliance Van Lines was not the cheapest option they were the only ones willing to make a truck available for pickup. The gentlemen who came to pick up belongings were friendly, fast, and wrapped my all my furniture with blankets. We moved to Halifax, and where my belongings arrived a few weeks later, this was understandable as it was the month of September their busiest time of year. The gentlemen who dropped off my belongings were also fantastic and assisted with setting up furniture and putting things into place. I would defiantly recommend Alliance Van Lines for your moving needs.

12. Move from BC to ON.

    We have move many times thru out the years, so to send four pieces of furniture to our son in Ontario seemed like a great idea.
    The furniture was one year old and in excellent shape, when sent.
    We have no pets and are seniors, therefore furniture was in excellent condition. Items were picked up on time. Transported from BC thru to ON Canada. Arrived in ON on time, but when our son spoke of damage and sent photos to us we were shocked.
    The furniture looked bad, rub marks, small tears and the wood was marked deep and ugly. Moving companies do not do any thing about these problems. On a final note we will never use this company again and of course do not recommend Alliance Van Lines Inc..

13. Great job.

    I would like to say thanks to the entire staff and team at Alliance from the first day I called to the day of delivery had great customer service the movers were nice they were very professional they loaded everything up safely protected everything it arrived when they said and was all still safe and nothing broken when they arrived and unloaded the staff at customer service at Alliance especially Nelly was very helpful and kind and we were always given an update whether it by be by a phone call or email from the drivers or the company we appreciate everything you did to help my mom's move goes smoothly from levack Ontario to Dartmouth thanks so much to the entire team.

14. Horrible Experience.

    I would not recommend Alliance to anyone. They promised to pick up between 4 and 7 pm and arrived at 10:30 pm. They promised to drop off on a Tuesday and instead, changed the day to Thursday (once they already had our belongings). We had to put our life on hold. They compensated $50 for the change in date. Their movers were not professional, actually rude.

15. Move from Ontario to BC.

    We had a very good experience using Alliance Van lines to move our furniture and belongings from Ont to BC. The guys who loaded up the truck in Ont wrapped everything well and were very respectful. They loaded everything themselves too. We didn't have to do anything. All items arrived in BC unbroken. Nothing was missing. The time frame was good too. We arrived in BC and within a week we had our things. Price was also very good. Thank you Alliance!