ALEKSMOVING.CA

A disappointing experience. I booked this company to move from one condo building to another less than 2 km away. The problems started before I booked them -- I tried twice to arrange for a quote on their website, and received no response. I called after a week of waiting and was told that they were "swamped" and so they hadn't gotten back to me. One of the business owners came into my home later that week to give a quote. His mask didn't cover his nose and it frequently slid off his face so that his mouth was exposed while he talked. This might have been a good opportunity to look elsewhere, but I was under time pressure. So I proceeded and gave a deposit. The quote, incidentally, was about double what I paid to move into the place 5 years previously, from 60 km away, with a different company; I don't know how competitive this quote was with others currently operating in the area.

I had to reserve a four-hour elevator booking at each building. They did not show up on time, and when I called the business owner to ask what was up he said he'd look into it, and I didn't hear back from him. About three hours after the scheduled time I got a call from the crew boss saying their truck had broken down and they were getting another one. They showed up 3.5 hours late and immediately took a lunch break; I had meanwhile arranged to extend my elevator time (thankfully nobody else in the building was moving that day). The crew boss walked into the building without putting on a mask, and had to be directly instructed before he did. He asked for full payment before beginning the job. I said I'd prefer to pay after the job was done. He said this was ok, and then he left the site and I didn't see him again. His crew started to work, and to their credit were very fast. However, I received a call from the concierge desk saying that one of the movers had urinated in the parking lot and one of the neighbours had complained. There was also a very visible scratch made on the door of the unit that nobody informed me of. I addressed these concerns with the business owner on the phone at the end of the move along with the hassle of starting so late, and he did not offer any compensation.

Everything got moved, and there was some minor damage to a piece of furniture but otherwise that part was fine. But the lateness, the behaviour, the door scratch, the difficulty making contact online, the price tag, and the lack of responsibility made this an unpleasant experience. I sought them out mainly because of their very strong reviews on this website, and I've been taught an important lesson that good reviews on a website are no substitute for doing your homework and shopping around.