On July 23, 2013, I contracted this company to move our personal belongings from Guelph, ON to Calgary, AB. The pickup date was scheduled for August 10, 2013 at the predetermined and agreed-upon time of 10am EST.
On August 10th, 2 movers arrived at 2pm EST – 4 hours late. After quickly looking around the house, we were informed by the mover that we were required to use their boxes, rather than our own. He told us these boxes cost $36 each. At the same time, he informed us that the cost to have our TV boxed would be $75 – we had already wrapped the TV with bubble wrap as instructed early on – and there would be additional charges to plastic wrap our mattresses and box springs.
My husband immediately called Meghan at Absolute Vanlines, the company to whom Multicity contracted in Ontario, to dispute the charges for boxes, TV wrapping and other furniture packaging, as no one at any time shared this information with us – in writing or on the phone – when booking services.
Meghan put the onus on the movers themselves, while the movers put the onus on Absolute Vanlines. Either way, she agreed that no one informed us in advance, and she assured us she would remove those charges from our bill. She said all we needed to do was sign the paperwork as is, submit it to her at the office in Mississauga, and she’d make the necessary adjustments.
After 5 hours of very slow loading, we found ourselves caught between a rock and a hard place – it was after 7pm, we were now way behind schedule, as we prepared to leave the moment we were finished packing (presumably around 1pm), and so we reluctantly trusted Meghan’s instructions and signed the paperwork. The truck left and we hit the road for our 5-day drive.
It was our original understanding that the truck was loaded and on route to Calgary, AB. Meghan told us they’d recently opened up several new facilities across Canada, and that our things would be stored in Calgary, and would be ready for us when we decided to have it delivered to our new address.
When we arrived in Calgary, we called Absolute Vanlines to speak with Meghan about the discounts she’d promised on the day of pickup, and to enquire about the CAT weight scales. Before moving, we completed a very comprehensive list of items, boxes and the like, and their associated weights. We used weights found for furniture online at stores from which they were purchased, and we over-estimated the weight of boxes. Our calculation was approximately 2200 lbs. – which we knew to be on the high side. Absolute Vanlines claims the weight was 3820 lbs – a massive discrepancy.
In any event, we brushed that issue aside and instead focused on having our things delivered to our new location, which we took possession of on August 20, 2013.
During our conversation, Brock, the manager at Absolute Vanlines, first told us Meghan wasn’t in that day and would be back the following day. As the conversation progressed and we told him about our experience, he then told us Meghan was on leave of absence indefinitely and that he was in charge.
Still in shock and recovering from the sudden tragic loss of my 13-year old cat, who didn’t survive the stress of the move, I was quickly frustrated by Brock’s attitude when he told us that we “had no proof of what Meghan said,” and that he had a signed contract for the full amount, and that was that. When we attempted to resolve the issue and appeal to his humanity about the situation, he quickly cut us off and said, “No matter what I say or do, you’re not going to be happy, so I’m not going to bother. If I give you $50 back, you won’t be happy. If I give you $1000 back you won’t be happy.” He continued on to say, “Ok, fine, I’ll give you $50 because they were late.” To which we replied, “$50 per hour?” He laughed and said, “No -- $50 total. Look, I’ve got a signed contract and that’s what you owe me.”
After much persistence, he finally agreed to remove the charges for the boxes – a $215 charge – at which time he said, “I expect you to post a very positive review online for this.”
When we began enquiring about our delivery date, we learned that our things were actually being transported to Edmonton for storage, not Calgary. Worse, we learned that our items didn’t leave Ontario until August 15th, 5 days after being picked up.
At long last informed that our belongings had just arrived in Edmonton – that was on the 30th. It then took another 4 days to set up delivery. That puts us at a September 3rd delivery.
That’s 24 days from pickup to delivery.
This timeline is unacceptable. We put our trust in this company to handle our cross-country move with professionalism and care. Instead, we have been treated terribly by the staff working at Absolute Vanlines – we’ve been misinformed, disrespected and ignored.
The continued over-promising and under-performing have cost us a great deal of unexpected expense, as we have nothing here in Calgary. We were forced to buy second hand pots and pans, cutlery, and other kitchen essentials just to get by with the bare minimum. To avoid sleeping on the hardwood floors, we had to get air mattresses, second-hand bedding and pillows. We had to buy towels and 2 fold away chairs so as not to sit on the floor when awake.
Meghan – who, by the way, was back in the office the day after she was “indefinitely on leave” –eventually removed $100 from the price of the move. She has continued to tell me one thing on the phone, only to disappoint and not follow through days later. For example:
Aug. 26th: I spoke with Meghan on the phone and requested a copy of the weight scale paperwork, a revised copy of our bill, and a note on our file stating we would pay after items were unloaded. She assured me she’d have all 3 items to me via email that afternoon. “Not a problem at all,” she said.
Silence... I followed up on the 27th ... silence... Finally on Aug. 28th, she replied (48 hours later than promised) – with just one of the 3 promised items.
DELIVERY DAY:
The truck arrives, and of course has the original bill in hand with no notice that we'd been given slight discounts. So we wait while he calls his boss, etc., etc. ...
As they unload, the mover on this end tells us he *should* be charging us for living at the end of the hall, farther from the elevator. But he didn't.
They began dropping our items in the centre of the apartment, and as we start looking thru things we realize what we feared most has come true.
All my expensive crystal is smashed, as is my good Dansk dinnerware. Our couch is missing altogether -- it's just not on the truck. They broke 2 legs off my antique chest ... and we haven't even finished unpacking yet, so who knows what else we'll find.
RUN, DON'T WALK, FROM MULTICITY MOVING AND ABSOLUTE VANLINES. In my opinion, their collective behavour is likened to sociopathic criminals.
And here's the best part ... they guy in charge of the claim we'll submit for loss and damage ... Brock at Absolute. You've GOT to be kidding me.
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