I strongly recommend you to read this before making your booking with this company: I had recently a moving experience with this company fromMississauga, Ontario to Vancouver, BC.When I received my stuff, the furniture like sofa, dresser, and night stand were damaged substantially. A kitchen box was missing. All my boxes were deformed and in each box, I had broken items, although I bubble wrapped the dishes and fragile items. It seemed to me that someone intentionally wanted to damage my stuff.For example, there was a big hole (bigger than 12 inches diameter) atthe back of my dresser which there is no way for it to happen unlesssomeone intentionally had hit it by something. Considering the weightof my dresser (about 600-700 pounds) I had paid about 350-400 dollars(including taxes) for its shipment and it was broken, which means Ilost the moving fee and the dresser itself. The same thing was true formy nightstand. The top drawer of the nightstand was also broken frominside, which made it useless. About the sofa, although I paid the company extra to wrap it so it didn't get damaged, about two inches of its leather had beenremoved and the cover at the bottom was torn up. The glasses of mytwo coffee tables were broken and I had to pay more than $114+car rental fees to buy new ones (even not with the same quality). I also had precious picture frames, dishes and other kitchen appliances broken although they were bubble wrapped carefully and put in the boxes. my losses in this moving due to the company's horrible service exceeded $2000. It is noteworthy that the company charged me an extra $60+tax for the warehouse fee which was not part of the contract. When I contacted the company, they mentioned that the eligible payment for my damage loss is $22.

Ruined most of our stuff, denied everything. Hung up on me twice when I politely and respectfully asked when they'd be following up. Accused me of harassment. Worst. Company. Ever.

Company Response:

For this particular move, the service for a personal effects relocation was requested in January 2011 for a service date in March 2011 in the Vancouver region. The client filed a claim for damage, and after an offer was tendered the matter remained unresolved, and later became a legal case in small claims court. The disparity between the claim amount offered and the compensation amount requested was that the move was not additionally insured beyond the basic $.60 cents per pound coverage. The difference in this case was that the client went to small claims for his 2011 move in 2013. Though most claims left unresolved are voided after a year, the pending legal issue was attended to and resolved in the amount of $650.00, with a check issued March 28th. After the court had submitted documents establishing the resolution of the matter, and the claim check had been mailed, the client began to call our sales office still requesting status of the claim – a matter that was no longer in the hands of our claims department as it was a court case – and this matter had been resolved to the satisfaction of the court & the client. The claim had already been closed, and the sales office, which has nothing to do with initiating or resolving Freight Claims, began to receive repeated calls during the week of April 1st to 5th with the client stating he didn’t feel he was being treated fairly, once calling multiple times per day requesting to speak to the agent he originally scheduled with who is no longer employed with us, as this shipment is over two years old. The court had resolved clearly resolved the matter, claim is settled, and a check issued.

UPDATE APRIL 9, 2013 - We have come to a mutually agreeable settlement amount for the damage and lost item. We had the assumption that the outmost care and responsibility was with Across Canada Van Lines to ensure our things, that we entrusted them with, would arrive in the same condition as they left and that they would all be delivered with no loss and there would be no damage to the residences moving out of or into. We were not offered any extra insurance, nor were we told about the insurance on our items. If we had the option, we would have put extra insurance as most our furniture is less then 2 years old. We also did not have the opportunity to not ANYTHING on their paperwork as the men at the location in Red Deer left with the truck and the paperwork. They did not consult with us before leaving, just telling us, call Monday and they will take care of everything. As the movers were unloading the items, we noticed many items damaged. NOt slightly damaged, but destroyed beyond repair. We took pictures of the items and asked for a contact right away to the moving personnel on site. They said they could not help us in any way and that it was no problem, call the company on Monday and they would re-imburse for the damaged goods. We also noticed that our boxspring for our queen size bed was missing. IWE HAVE had no bed for over one month!! They lost a boxspring! Ruined the house door, 2 brand new dressers for my kids! and want to give us $600! We promptly called the company on Monday, Feb 25, 2013 to tell them what happened. They refused to discuss anything with me and said I had to correspond by email only with their customer service department. We followed up as they asked, with quotes and pictures of all the damages. They offered to pay us a portion of the damage, not even enough to replace the lost BOXSPRING!! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! AFTER USING THEM AND PAYING A LARGE AMOUNT, I HAVE MISSING FURNITURE AND EVERYTHING THAT MADE IT IS DAMAGED, AS WELL AS THE HOUSE WE MOVED INTO! They don't care at all to replace or compensate their own mistakes. ALSO CHECK THEM ON BBB, if you think I am one of a kind experience. This is what small claims court is for and I urge everyone on here to consider BBB complaint or small claims court to stop them.

Company Response:

After reviewing the circumstances of your move, I apologize for the miscommunication between the moving staff and the main office. Normally, if it is a weekend delivery, the movers are instructed to inform clients that they will need to take up issues of damage/missing items with the booking agents directly. In most cases the delivery moving staff are simply the last supply chain of service, having reloaded the goods from the nearest terminal, so they are not directly involved with the damaged or missing items that normally occur in transit. In this case, the claim filing with our Freight Claims Dept. is the next course of action, but as a household goods mover we do not directly provide or sell cargo insurance policies. As per our contract, the transit coverage is based on the weight of the damaged items and is offered at $.60 cents per pound, We Do Not offer value based cargo insurance, and this move, as booked with ACVL, included the standard coverage of $.60 cents per pound with a $350.00 deductible. These terms are outlined in the contract, as signed by the customer at the point of pick-up. Again, I apologize for the poor experience during delivery, and though the movers could have explained the protocol are bit more carefully, it is harder for customers to receive timely service information regarding a delivery issue, whether it's damage/missing item/late arrival on a day when our office is closed. For missing/lost items, we do have a lost & found section for household items that are mistakenly separated from their shipments, and often it requires some time for the freight terminals to fully search for the items that may be left behind. Once again, missing items along with any damaged items can be submitted as part of the claim filing. Sincerely, Jacob ACVL

Worst experience I've ever had with movers!!! I've used many movers over the past 10 years and this was the WORST I've encountered. They were 5 hours late for pick-up, damaged all of my wood furniture, and ignored all emails with regards to refunds of damaged furniture. DON'T use this company they have no regard for your items, your time, or the fact you're PAYING them for their service.

Company Response:

In regards to this local Vancouver move, I apologize for the miscues on the time arrival. Unfortunately, for pick-ups in this region the arrival times - ETA's - that we advise are estimated based on volume for the day, traffic & weather issues, and the delays that may occur at other delivery obligations. Normally the window for arrival is 3-4 hours, but 5 hours, if this was the case, is excessive and not our policy to keep the customer waiting this long. The drivers do call the customer when faced with such delays. As for any damage to items during the relocaton process, the customer needs to fully document the damage via pictures and a description and submit this information to our Claims Dept., since these items are used, previously purchased household goods. As long as we receive proper documenation of the damage that occured during the move, our claims department can assess from there and offer a settlement amount. Since we do not offer value based transit protection for same day local moves, the transit coverage is $.60 cents per pound, and we advise clients that require additional insurance to use their homeowner's insurance or purchase a value based cargo insurance policy from the many insurance brokers that offer coverage for transportation. For claim filings, our contract states that the transit coverage is set at $.60 cents per pound. Sincerely, Greg ACVL

Before booking with Across Canada Van Lines I strongly advise you to read the following; First let me tell you what my situation was: I had a storage unit situated in Calgary, AB. All of my belongings were in this storage unit and I needed a moving company to go into it and move it across Canada to Halifax, NS. At the time, I was already in Halifax. I booked with Across Canada Moving for one primary reason, their estimated time of arrival (16-18 days door to door). They guaranteed this to me, therefore, I booked with them right away because I was living in an empty apartment. They went to my storage unit and picked up my belongings on June 25th. LET ME JUMP AHEAD AND STATE THAT I GOT MY BELONGINGS ON AUGUST 19! 56 days I had to live without ANYTHING in my apartment. Going back a bit, I called them around the original estimated time of arrival to ask them when they were arriving. They had no idea. They ONLY then decided to tell me that their two main offices are in Vancouver and Toronto. When your move is going past Toronto they leave your stuff in a warehouse until they have a truck full enough to make it worth their while to bring it to Halifax. MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING THEY SHOULD STATE BEFORE YOU BOOK WITH THEM. For a month and a half I tried several times to speak with a manager because I was GETTING NOWHERE AT ALL WITH THE STAFF, and they had absolutely no idea when my move would arrive. Everytime I asked to speak with a manager I was simply informed "There is no manager in". When I asked when a manager would be in, I never got a straight answer. One time I was even told, and I quote "Do I make the schedule mam'? No, so how would I know!" I have saved all of the ridiculous e-mails back and forth and I am still shocked at a specific one. After expressing my disappointment and the fact that I could not understand why the company is so disorganized, the reply was "I do not see any being unorganized but there is no reason for you to be rude". They don't care about their customers. Basically this insanity continued until finally they told me it was arriving on a Saturday. (They do not give you more than a 3 day notice and they do not care that people work and need to give their job notice). So I had to take the day as an unpaid day off. How surprised I was when they didn't show up. I ended up re-buying several things that were in my delivery because I had no other choice as I couldn't wait anymore. My stuff came to me 56 days later with over $2000 worth of missing and damaged belongings. They offered me $400 back minus a $350 deposit. THANK YOU ACROSS CANADA FOR A DREADFUL MOVE WITH AWFUL CUSTOMER SERVICE. THANK YOU FOR BREAKING & LOSING OVER $2000 WORTH OF MY STUFF AND THEN KINDLY OFFERING ME $50.

Company Response:

Hi Melissa, I was forwarded your recent email that you submitted to our general inquiry contact, and wanted to send you a brief note. From the beginning, I would say that the emphasis should have been informing you that Nova Scotia is not a frequent point, and that any shipment delivering there would be held in Ontario for an unspecified amount of time in lieu of an eastern departure. These departures are usually far more frequent in the peak summer months when the volume of goods transported is three times higher than during the winter/spring period. Unfortunately, Nova Scotia/PEI trips were less frequent that expected this past summer season. Had you been properly notified of the possible delays involved for your region, you would have had the option to continue looking for another potential carrier or demand a guarantee of a more specific delivery time frame from our staff. Beyond that, you would have no way of knowing that your shipment would not arrive at a Nova Scotia based terminal prior to final delivery. As a result, I am instructing our staff to ensure that they notify the potential customers, at the time of booking, that our main terminal operations are based in Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, as well as our affiliate agents in Montreal, Calgary and Winnipeg. Our staff will be instructed to make it clear that shipments involving regions outside of these areas are subject to terminal hold times that vary depending on the volume of goods we are contracted to ship. 56 days is not the normal operating timeline for a shipment to Halifax from Alberta, so my response to this scenario will be to make it our policy that regions falling outside of our main terminal reach, requiring more than 500 KM travel or over 7 days potential wait time are transactions where our staff are obligated to notify the client upfront that their goods could be subject to further delay, so there is no uncertainty. One consistent aspect of this industry with inter-provincial moves is that approximately 2/3rds of our household relocations come with client requests for storage granting them time to finalize tenancy arrangements in the new province before final delivery. To meet these requests we now have 5 weeks of free storage available for every move –small or large – into Canada or the US. But unless you specifically requested any storage hold time (and your file shows that you did not) then our agents failed to provide you with the proper (potential) time line for your move, and did so by omission. We should have stated before the pick-up that your goods were bound first for Scarborough, ON., and then, at a time yet to be determined, for Halifax on the final delivery truck I understand this is of no consequence to you now, but I have read your complaint and believe that your situation was unfortunate, unnecessary and entirely preventable had our shipping terms & conditions been conveyed with more clarity, and conscientious concern for customer. I apologize for the poor experience you had, and wish you nothing but the best in the future. Sincerely, Don ACVL Logistics Coordinator

I am not one to complain, but please do not use this company. I moved from Quebec to Manitoba, and although initially promised 7-10 days, the delivery took exactly ONE MONTH. That's a lot of time without any possession, especially stressful with the start of a new job. I kept contacting the company with promises of "within the next few days". The company only offered 5% discount after I had complained on numerous occasions. I do not believe this amount justified a 4 week delay. Please do yourself a favor a look elsewhere.

NB: This is a long post. All details are objective and factual. Please read if you are interested in understanding a true story of the quality of service provided by Across Canada Van Lines. I recently moved from Toronto to Calgary. My pick up date was schedule for Thursday June 28th in the morning. I waited all morning, but the pick up truck did not arrive. I e-mailed my sales rep and spoke with a customer service rep to inquire. The first time, I was told that the truck was on it's way, and would be at my apartment in downtown Toronto in 1.5 hours. 3 hours later, after they did not show, I called back to inquire again. Same response: 1.5 hours. By 8:00pm at night, I was left stranded at my place, with ACVL providing little help. By that time, their office was closed and I left messages on the number they provided. I received a follow-up, a few "genuine" apologies, and assurances that my belongings would be picked up FIRST thing in the morning on Friday June 29th (before 10:00am). Of course, they didn't show. By 2:00pm, finally the pick up truck arrived. When I signed the papers, I noticed charges that I was never originally informed of: eg: $30 each ($60 total) for a mattress and box plastic cover, extra $45 for weight scale (when I inquired what this meant, the driver could not provide me with an adequate answer), even though I was told weighing was included in the fee. Ridiculous. Fast forward: I was told multiple times by my sales rep that it would take 8-10 business days to arrive from date of pick up. On July 6th, I inquired as to where my belongings currently were, and was informed they were in transit. GREAT! On July 10th, I inquired again, and was told: "Your goods left Toronto at 6th July and will be in Calgary in 4-6 days." By my calculation based on what I was told, my goods should have arrived by July 10th, 12th or most conservatively, 14th. Because I wanted to pay on visa, I called my sales rep the day before my belongings were supposed to arrive and I paid, and he accepted the payment. I now understand that ACVL's policy is to not accept payment until delivery. Simply put, my belongings did NOT arrive. So I followed up. Here are two e-mails that I sent: 1. July 20th: Hi xxx, "I'm curious as to where my belongings are? In the e-mail correspondence below you mentioned that the goods left Toronto on July 6th and should take 4 - business days. It has now officially been 11 business days and I have not received any notice." 2. On July 20th: "Hi xxx Last time we spoke you mentioned that they had arrived in Edmonton. ...I am very shocked and disappointed with how I have been treated from across van lines. Starting with the unexplainable inconvenience that I experienced when my belongings were picked up, to the misinformation and negligence in timing, to the false assurances that my belongings would arrive in 4-6 days. Given that my bed, etc are in that shipment, I've been having to sleep on the ground, and this is unjustifiable. My belongings were picked up on June 29th and it is now July 20th. This is unacceptable. I would like to speak with a manager to file a formal complaint and will ensure that this experience is well documente for public knowledge to ensure that people are aware of the poor customer service that I experienced. I expect further compensation for this hassle." In response to this e-mail, on July 23rd, the sales rep asked if I was available on July 24th. I responded and inquired on a range of time and was told in the morning. PERFECT! FINALLY! July 24th morning, nothing. When I inquired, I was blamed for not confirming, even though I initiated the conversation, and requested a range of time. It is now July 28th, and I have still not received my belongings, and in correspondence (all of which is in e-mail), I have been blamed for not confirming delivery time, even though I personally inquire and request that my belongings be delivered! This is ridiculous. All I want are my belongings. 90% of what I own is in that truck. My goal is not to slander ACVL's reputation, but to provide a true account of my experience and for your to make your own responsible assessment and decision when choosing them to do business with.

Company Response:

First of all , the customer was contacted numerous times for the delivery but they rejected it by simply saying they were not available. Also at the delivery date they were not present at their residence and we had to convince them at least have a family member present. We do not understand why they are complaining about sleeping on the floor. Most of their complaint is about the time that took to deliver their goods. Also we have provided them with a 12% discount for the inconveniences that they had during their move. Also we have fixed the packing charges where each mattress covers were charged $15.00 instead of $30.00 which the customer claims. The $45.00 scale fee is paid to the scale stations and the customer was informed that this charge will apply if the shipment is greater that 500 lbs. Also the regular price for the scale Fee is $50.00 After all those compensating actions and the goodwill shown by our company , we would like to express our disappointment as the customer is trying to take advantage of the situation and not telling the truth .

Across Canada works with door express and troy transportations, in my move from calgary to hamilton they pospossed my delivery in 4 times so thats mean to lose working days and settin the parking lot for the truc 4 times. when finaly the moving company bring my things they dropped on the parking lot because they want to charge for the delivery at the apartment , my buildinng has no elevator but they did know that situation. they wait till last minute to discuse that point at the delivery and they want to charge 300 dollars extra for a delivery of six boxes one matress, a futton and a folded dinning table. I think they are in the wrong bussines because they are not realy movers the world movers has not be on their advertises they are cargo entrepeneurs, I do not recomend across canada and theyr asosiated companies to move your loved things

Company Response:

In regards to this delivery, we have a field on our moving contracts stating there are fees for navigating stairs when performing household deliveries. In the case of this move to Hamilton the building was not not equipped with an elevator, and it is our policy to charge $100 per floor for every move that involves loading furniture up flights of stairs. This move was the second one of a round trip that started when the client relocated from Hamilton to Calgary and then requested return service to Hamilton via ACVL a few weeks later, noting the desirable price and service for the Alberta portion. Unfortunately, we do not service Hamilton as a daily point, and can only go out on particular days – once or twice per week – depending on volume, and this led to a slight delay for the final delivery, as we have to contact the client and agree on a particular day for service. Troy Moving provides pick-ups for us in this region when we do not have our equipment in the area. The company Door Express has no affiliation with ACVL, and as a Richmond based company, they used to have the same local contact number that we currently have now so their company name is still displayed in links whenever our local phone number is entered into a search engine.

Our belongings were loaded on one of the Across Canada Van Lines' container on Tuesday, February 21, 2012. It took the movers 5 hours (which included all of their breaks) 5 hours to load a 1 bedroom apt. I was not allowed to help. All boxes, etc were packed and marked. Usually we rent a UHaul, but decided to try ACVL. We left Ontario on Saturday, February 25th, 2012, driving through the US and Saskatchewan to Edmonton, Alberta. We arrived February 28th to find out that our belongings had not even left Ontario. We continued with frantic calls asking when would the delivery be. We were told that on the Tuesday, they could not load our container, so left it in Toronto. The interesting part is that we had to do all the calling to request information. We were NOT kept up to date. We complained about extra billing costs and had some deducted from the final invoice, especially with no delivery and no expected delivery date. To date, we have not received our things. The dispatcher was to call today, March 18, 2012 to let us know when our things will be delivered.....and of course...NO CALL. We have slept on an air mattress and live sparingly. This is challenging as my husband started a new job, I am applying (but my interview info, etc is coming, but not here), plus this is not a way to start a 'new life'. Sleeping on the air mattress and getting up from the floor is painful and challenging as I have arthritis and fibromynalgia. We will NEVER, EVER recommend or use this company again. This has been a nightmare, and it's still not over for us!!!

Company Response:

We apologize for any inconvenience that we may have caused you. The delay was due to unexpected volume of the shipments to Edmonton. We have delivered all your belongings and we have compensated with maximum monetary refund. We appreciate your patience during this time and once again we apologize for the inconvenience.