Upon reading all the great reviews on this site about this mover, I decided to work with them to move my stuff from Vancouver to San Francisco. The move ended up being a total nightmare. Tammy was the person we worked with and she has been an absolute pain throughout the entire process. 1. They overweighed our stuff by 1,000 lbs. Only after we argued and insisted over and over again that they made a mistake did they rescale our stuff to discover their mistake and they never apologized for it. 2. They give you 1 - 2 days notice before delivery. If you want a specific date, you have to pay $500 extra. Good luck coordinating that if you live in an apartment building where you have to book the elevators. 3. They break your stuff. - Boxes labeled with big red fragile stickers all over the place are totally crushed. - My piano was stood up on its side, the back panel broken and one of the keys totally broken. - The brake cable on my bike has been pulled on with so much force that the cable is detached and the frame holding the cable is bent - One of the legs on my tv stand is broken - The back panel of my dresser is detached from the frame - A whole bunch of other knicks, scratches, and broken things that I won't bother listing here. Let's just say they don't take good care of your things. 4. They are not very nice. I got into so many arguments throughout this entire process. I got yelled at by their dispatch guy and their driver. They're just really difficult people to deal with. I would highly recommend you consider other options if you're looking at these people. What happened to me might be an isolated incident, but I really think the fact that this company is so difficult to deal with if things go wrong should at least cause you to think twice before you decide to work with them. My wife has relocated overseas from Southeast Asia to Canada with an entire container of fragile items before without issue so it's not like we've never dealt with a moving company before. This company is not good at customer service. You should never get yelled at in a situation where so many costly mistakes have been made by the moving company. Update: It seems Transcanada Movers has responded to my review with quite a few inconsistencies and blatantly untruthful things. I have all the emails to back up everything I've said. I don't want to deal with this anymore so I'll just leave you all with the list of complaints this company has on the better business bureau <http://www.bbb.org/mbc/business-reviews/movers/trans-canada-movers-in-delta-bc-217203/complaints>. Think twice before you use these guys! Don't say I didn't warn you!
- Approximate cost of services:
- $3,075.77
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- - Customer service - Take better care of your things - Give more notice for delivery. Work with the customer to coordinate the move into the apartment building. - Don't yell or threaten your customer, especially if you're the one making all the mistakes.
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- - Consider your options. These guys were not good at many things. - Ask for the weight scale receipt -
- Company Response
Mike,
After having the opportunity to read the review that you posted, Trans Canada Movers (TCM) regrets that you feel your moving experience with us was unsatisfactory and would like to comment.
I would like to touch base as follows:
When you were contacted and advised of your scaled weight and totals you were surprised that your goods weighed 4519 lbs. You indicated that the total brought you above your allocated moving budget. Tammy took the contract to management and a discount of 200.00 was given to you to help bring the total closer to your budgeted amount. In the following days in your communication with our office you indicated that you believed the weight was incorrect. Tammy explained that we used a public certified scale to weigh the goods and it may be possible that the scale was out. The shipment could be re-scaled and she explained the procedure and that it would be re-scaled at the time it was loaded on our trailer to depart to California. You agreed to this. As soon as the shipment was re-scaled you were contacted with the weight of shipment at 3659 lbs. An apology was extended to you and the contract totals were adjusted immediately. You were provided with the adjusted totals AND were still given the 200.00 discount. This is when you made the deposit on the contract. There was NEVER any argument with regard to having your goods re-scaled; it is of no issue to TCM to re-scale it.
With regard to the delivery in California; it is noted in email communication in the beginning stages of your inquiries of our services that at that point we did not have a departure scheduled for California yet for the beginning of May. Tammy informed you at that time that our next two trips were planned for a departure from Vancouver on Feb 14th and March 7 – 10th. She indicated that she would keep you abreast to any other planned departures that would facilitate your need of a delivery as close as possible to May 1st. At this time Tammy also explained to you that the other option was for TCM to take your goods on an earlier trip, and drop them at a California based company that we have a long term working relationship with. They could delivery your goods on a specific day if it was not on TCM scheduled time in California. Tammy informed you that the cost that the subcontractor would charge to hold, load and delivery your goods to you on your chosen date would be 500.00. Under no circumstances was this delivery option with the additional fees ever forced upon you. It was clearly an option. As it turned out we had a departure that would facilitate a delivery into your area of California right around May 1st. This is when it became as you coined it” a total nightmare”. You became very demanding for an exact delivery date so that you could sign your lease agreement and book your elevator for delivery. Signing a lease agreement has nothing to do with the delivery. While we appreciate that an elevator needs to be booked with some notice, Tammy explained that an exact date and time could not be given until the truck had cleared Customs and has entered intoUSA . The procedure was explained in detail several times that the border crossing is not as simple as it is in a passenger vehicle. The truck contains several shipments and Customs goes through all of the paperwork and shipments one by one. As you are aware Customs has the right to unload and inspect any customer’s shipments, it is impossible to give an ETA until this is completed and the truck is in USA. The customs clearance can be as quick as 2 hours or it can take 2 days. You were informed that once the truck clears through Customs the driver calls all of the stops on his docket and gives you a delivery date. This was not sufficient for you. In the next few weeks you made it clearly evident through less than friendly emails that you were not pleased and you repetitively kept asking for the date of delivery. It was explained over and over that as soon as we are across we will contact you. Our many years of experience has afforded us the knowledge that elevators and timing of deliveries do require advance notice, but for the most part most building managers appreciate the fact that the delivery is coming long distance and in your case across an international border. TCM appreciates that moving is of high anxiety for some; but in this situation the anxiety was created but your insistence for a delivery date when we were unable to give you the exact date and time. It was explained that it would be delivered within a two day window, and that you would be given a date once the truck crossed the border into America. TCM always does our best to maintain the schedule for deliveries. In our industry and while “on the road” we ask for our clients to have some flexibility as it can be a trying job. Borders, weather, and delivery access in a 76 foot tractor and trailer are often no easy task. Our teams are very experienced, skilled and have a huge responsibility to maintain a schedule while in care and control of the client’s goods.
With regard to the damages that you have indicated in your posted review, I would like to note that you signed off on your shipment that it was received in good condition with the exception of some damages sustained on your electronic piano and a scratch on your chest. This was the only indication of any damages that you noted on the contract. After review of the conditions noted on the inventory list I would like to note that the chest was marked as 3(chipped) 6(scratched) and 19 (marked). When you contacted our office with regard to the damages you spoke only of the electronic piano and the dresser, there was no mention of any other damages, a verbal apology was extended to you and the claims procedure was explained to you at this time. Tammy sent you a claim form for you to complete in order for TCM to review the claim for damages. We acknowledge that the electronic piano did sustain some damage and have received your photos of such and your completed claim form. We would like to also inform you that you were the only client on the 53 foot trailer that had any issue with timing, delivery process or sustained any damage to their goods. Furthermore, we would like to note that your delivery was made on Thursday May 1/14.
TCM has been completely open in communication with you with regard to all facets of your relocation. We believe that being fair, honest and communicative are the cornerstones that sets us apart from all of the others. We would have preferred to have received an email or a telephone communication from you with regard to all of the points that have been addressed here as opposed to replying to your posted review. TCM will respond to your claim with proper procedure as outlined in the terms of the contract.
Trans Canada Movers
Management