Colonial Van Lines (colonialvanlines.com) has a 3.6 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 100 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Vehicles & Transportation and its reputation is mixed. Opinions are polarized: 65% rate it 4 stars or higher while 29% give 1 star; The business has not yet replied to negative reviews. Last updated 2026-08-10.
If I could give zero stars I would. I’ve paid a deposit for a move from TN to Florida & no response from the drivers. The company is not communicating delivery status & most of their communication was about increasing the price after a signed contract given. Horrible experience
I was very happy with Colonial. They came in at a reasonable price and my movers were excellent. I even got a small refund as my load was pretty small. I suggest them to anyone. Thousands cheaper than the Nationally Known Brands.
The packers in Colorado did a great job; however, the unloaders brought in a lot of smashed boxes, put boxes upside down, and broke many of my decorative items.
The movers were extremely efficient and did a great job with communication.
They kept me informed every step of the way. They answered my questions when asked one, and stayed focused on getting the truck loaded correctly and very timely. I would use Colonial again in a Heartbeat!
This encourages me to write. Questions will assist me.
Shuttle charge ($1200), when shuttle not used, a local moving company packed and moved us! Movers left storage area untouched as well as 2 DR chairs, a TV, and grill. We have had to make 2 trips back and forth from Indiana to Maryland and still have things that should’ve been packed! We have a $1200 HOA fee that has now cost us $2400 b/c TH has to be emptied before listing for sale. I do not know why Colonial Van Lines did not physically move us, but I suppose they have become moving brokers, so Beware!
Colonial Van Lines sent a letter to offer me $150 for the damages done during the move I am refusing the offer because I would have to take down the previous review and sign a form relieving them of any responsibility. I want others to know what happened and that it can happen to them. Do not use Colonial Van Lines see post from april for details
The movers were professional and helpful!
Three specific things made the experience excellent: The crew, two men, called in advance to let know when they would arrive. When they did arrive, they were respectful and courteous. After doing the paperwork necessary to load the truck, they immediately got to work putting my belongings into the truck. They continued their work to efficiently load the truck until everything was loaded. They carefully wrapped fragile pieces of handmade items. It was obvious that they worked cooperatively as a team to get the job done as quickly as they could, yet they did it carefully, respecting the number of handmade pieces of furniture. I fully trusted their professional skills.
The crew for pickup did a very good job packing and wrapping fragile items. The crew at drop off were also very helpful.
DO NOT BOOK WITH COLONIAL. They left us without movers on moving day, provided little to no communication, and showed no urgency or accountability. We booked our move weeks in advance, completed all required paperwork immediately, and paid our deposit. Only afterward did we learn that Colonial doesn't actually perform the moves—they subcontract them to third-party movers. We were given a two-day pickup window (perhaps the first warning sign we failed to heed) and were told we'd receive confirmation of date 48 hours beforehand. That never happened. After repeatedly calling, we finally received a confirmed day less than 12 hours before the window. On moving day, we waited for the 9am call we were promised from the driver to advise when they anticipated arrival during our 9-1 window. That call never came. We checked in with Colonial multiple times. Each time, we were assured the crew was still expected by 1:00 p.m. At 1:00 p.m.—after we'd been waiting all morning—on a call we again had to precipitate, we were suddenly and nonchalantly told the movers would not be coming and couldn't arrive for three more days. This wasn't a minor inconvenience. We had driven 300 miles and taken an extra day off work because Colonial couldn't confirm our moving date in advance. We had packed our daughter's apartment, her lease was ending, and we were relying on pickup that day. Yet no one at Colonial seemed genuinely surprised, apologetic, or concerned about the enormous disruption they caused or the horrendous lack of communication. We received multiple conflicting explanations for the no-show, none of which explained why no one informed us sooner. One manager even told us that their moving dates are only "estimated" and customers should expect this to happen. This is completely unacceptable for a company people trust with major life events, and has not been our experience with any of our life's moves. When we asked to escalate the issue and requested help finding a solution, we were promised a callback that never came. I was on hold to follow up for 20 minutes before the office closed, at which time I was disconnected. We ended up scrambling to solve the problem ourselves, incurring more stress and expending more effort than we'd anticipated saving by booking a full-service mover. Colonial has since agreed to refund our deposit after repeated requests, but at the time of writing we still have not received it. If you need a moving company that communicates, honors its commitments, takes responsibility when something goes wrong, and most importantly WILL ACTUALLY MOVE YOU, please look elsewhere.
Nightmare experience! I was moving my elderly mother from Indiana down to Mobile AL. I originally requested the movers to be there on the 27th so she could be out by the 30th. They didn't have anyone available until the 28th which was fine - still gave us plenty of time. I drove up on the 25th to make sure everything was packed and ready to go. After calling Colonial Van Lines multiple times trying to get a conformation on the time the driver was going to be there, the driver finally contacted me in the afternoon on the 27th saying he had been sick and wouldnt be there until the 29th. He said he would be there by 8am. At 9am on the 29th he called and said the General Manager was going to try and find a back up driver because he wasn't going to make it on time. He called again by 11 and said they couldn't find anyone and he would try and be there by 5pm. The driver called again later with a flat tire saying he would try and be here at 7am the next day (the 30th - the we had to be out by...). At 7am he called saying 11am. I'm sitting here waiting nervously to see if he actually shows up or if im going to have to demand a refund, rent a uhaul and try and find local movers that can help me load it. (I will give an update later) It certainly would have been much easier and a lot less stressful!!!!! The communication, follow through ect.. from this company has been terrible. Bottom line: if you have someone you hate and would like to take revenge on i'd definitely reccomend Colonial Van Lines, otherwise RUN!!
Excellent communication at every step. Provided guidance about packing. The guys who came to load everything for transport were extremely polite, helpful and efficient.
Untrained hired help on the fly as the driver nears your destination both ways. Thugs that crawled out of dumpster basically; ass backwards from being a professional moving company. Steer clear. Poor behavior, no packing skills resulting in damage beyond belief due to lack of common sense and failure to pack properly including missing items. A driver name of Alex (Russian/ Ukrainian, Bosnian or similar has absolutely no business in the moving industry; does not know how manage a team, pack, cube out a truck with common sense, damages your items and house all at the same time while running his mouth. You need to fire him, he did nothing at all at drop off other than listen to music in truck and fold a few blankets for neatly 5 hours. The two items he decided to touch and set up before leaving all within about 20 minutes (kitchen table and bed), he broke the table leg using a cheap drill due to over tightening and or using too much torque (same reason you do not in most cases unless you know how to use a drill, you do not use to install most furniture). He then drills holes and uses two drywall screws and claims it is fixed completely ruining the aesthetics but in his world the cracked leg is now holding-unreal! New bed; missing 6 screws including stripped out several other screws. His attitude compliments his work ethic. Just abhorrent. I suggest you fire him immediately.
The Colonial Van Lines agent we worked with, Alex, was terrific. On our move out day, the Colonial Van arrived right on time and Alex and his crew loaded everything onto the truck promptly and in a well-organized and fashion. The same Colonial Van onto which all our items had been loaded arrived at our new home in another state approximately 1,000 miles away just two days later! When I arrived at our new home I was greeted by Alex as he and his crew unloaded everything and set up all the beds and tables that were taken apart for transport. No items were broken or missing. Kudos to Colonial for having professionals like Alex on staff managing the moving crews! I would definitely recommend Colonial to anyone requiring moving services - especially long distance moving.
Colonial Van Lines is the most clown-car, Romper Room operation I have ever dealt with. Run—do not walk—away from this company. For anyone considering hiring them, let me explain exactly how the experience works. First, Colonial is NOT a direct moving company as they present themselves. They are very clearly a middleman broker who collected the money, marked up the price, and then contracted the actual move to an independent moving company that did all the work for a fraction of the payment. Colonial added cost, confusion, and another layer of people to deal with, but no actual value. The entire setup felt like a bait and switch. The communication was abysmal. Their operation seems to run almost entirely on canned emails, scripted talking points, and layers of contacts with random employees. Trying to have a meaningful conversation with anyone was painful. You also get trapped in a ridiculous triangle between Colonial, the contracted mover, and yourself. The two companies seem to have no direct communication. Several times during the move, my Colonial “Moving Coordinator” was calling me—the customer—to ask if I knew the mover’s status. Apparently I was coordinating the move for the Moving Coordinator. I lived in a congested city and needed a firm move-out date to secure HOA approval, reserve the loading area, and obtain street permits. They did not disclose until after I was under contract, that they would only provide a vague date range and refused to confirm the actual date until 72 hours beforehand. That 72-hour window fell over a weekend, leaving me scrambling at the last minute to arrange permits and building access. Of course this is for their own scheduling convenience, with no respect for the inconvenience to the customer. Then comes the pricing routine. When you first call, a “Moving Coordinator” walks you through a quick, superficial inventory estimate—usually before you have packed anything or have a realistic sense of what you have. That produces an artificially low number that gets you to sign. Closer to the move, a different person from “Quality Assurance” calls and suddenly discovers that the move will cost substantially more. In my case, the original estimate of 6629 lb later ballooned to 8,344 lbs. The actual documented weight ended up 7100 lbs. Of course no refund or adjustment for the difference, but I’m sure I would have been notified immediately if the weight was higher. The entire process felt deliberately structured to get me under contract with an artificially appealing estimate, then reveal the real price, restrictions, and logistical problems only after I was committed. Colonial was a pointless and poorly coordinated middleman whose main contribution was collecting a substantial markup. Once they had my money, they became evasive, disorganized, and remarkably unhelpful. Save yourself the frustration. Book directly with a reputable moving company that will actually perform the move, communicate with you, and take responsibility for the service you are paying for.
The most terrible experience with this company. They charge me for a 2 bed and two bath and I just receive the half of my stuff. They don’t call me to give update, But in the end they offer me about 2 hundred something after I pay over 5 thousands to receive my stuff. Terrible 🥵
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