My Girlfriend and I made the move from Calgary, Alberta to Toronto, Ontario and decided to choose Centennial Moving since they received great reviews from most people.
We booked the pick up date and paid the deposit fee, since we were in an apartment we needed to book the elevator and gave them a 3 hr time slot(12pm-3pm) for when they could arrive. They told us thanks for the confirmation and they would be there from 1pm-2pm. They asked me if a 72ft foot truck could fit on the street and I said maybe because there is an alley behind the building. I read other online review and noticed there would be an extra fee if the truck couldn't fit which is ridiculous considering downtown Calgary has a lot of tight spaces that aren't transport friendly....
Fast forward to the move date, I get a call saying that they have arrived. I go downstairs to let them in and realize that it is a totally different size truck/company "Miracle Movers". I've heard horror stories of people picking up your items and never seeing them again so I called Centennial to make sure what they told me was true. He told me that they couldn't fit a 72ft truck so they rented one from another company. I said it would have been nice to know since these are my belongings. It seemed like they did not care to inform me of what was actually going on, but we needed to be out that day so we continued to go ahead.
Our belongings were all loaded and we made a list for ourselves as well as labelled each item multiple times since the scribbles on the form they fill out are barely legible.
Fast forward to the delivery date...They show up to our condo 2 hrs early and ask if they are able to unload. Stating there would be a fee when I clearly told them not to come before 2pm since that was when the elevator was booked. I checked with concierge and no one was using the elevator at that time so I was able to use it, luckily.
We get our items unloaded into the condo and noticed that they are beginning to unload another persons items; furniture that isn't ours. We tell them that the furniture isn't ours and his response was "haha oh, well I guess we forgot to deliver it to the person before you." and took it back to the truck. Before we sign the papers we notice that they forgot to deliver some of my expensive personal items(collector shoes)$600+ which were plastic wrapped together wit my name written on it in permanent marker. I tell them this and they said to write it on the contract and file a claim with the office which I do.
The response from the office is less than helpful since they state they have no idea where my items went and maybe it was delivered to someone else. Of course at this point I know they weren't delivered to someone else and one of their employees took them because my girlfriend and I labelled every item thoroughly with our names on it to prevent this from happening.
At the end of the day my items are never to be found again and they are ignoring my emails. I paid a lot of money for this service and am hurt by how I was treated. My advice to you is that if you value your possessions do not use this company. The reviews may be good, but they are no different from any other moving company out there. I wish I would have picked up on their disregard for my personal items earlier. I guess you live and learn.
Thanks for reading and good luck with the move. I am only putting down a 1 since all my items didn't vanish into thin air.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $3,000.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Company Response
Hi Clayton. Thank you for taking time and sharing your review even though it is not positive. We are terrible sorry for unpleasant experience you had with us. Whilst an apology will regrettably not alter the outcome of your experience on this case, we do extend it with sincerity.
We are still working on your claim and still doing our best to locate your missing item. Even though we were not able to access your location with our tractor trailer, we didn't charge you any extra for a shuttle service we had to come with to pick up your belongings and that truck we rented from Miracle Movers.
It seems you misunderstood us when we just asked you whether or not you are able to accept our movers sooner than scheduled. Even if you couldn't there is not fee we charge for that as you state in your review. We would just come as scheduled initially. Please note that alll questions are to be discussed and resolved through the office and not with the movers.
Clayton, we'd like to resolve this issue in a friendly manner and still investigating your claim request. So kindly contact us by email or phone should you have any questions.
Best wished,
Centennial Moving