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February 2022 by Susan R.
We hired this company to move use less then 50 miles. They were supposed to have 4 people to move us, and we paid for 2-days moving, and in that short move, the damaged my Grandmothers Duncan Phyfe Drum table, they broke 2 of the 4 legs, and it can't be repaired. This table has been in my family for over 80 years. It would cost me over $600 to purchase a new base for the table and that ruins the value of the original value of the table. They also broke our 52-inch LCD TV, and our leather couch. But only offered $78 in damage reimbursement because we didn't purchase their additional insurance. So, if you use this company, don't move anything that's worth anything important. Because you won't get anything delivered that's not in pieces. They trash irreplicable items.
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October 2021 by Rebecca K.
If I could give this company a 0 I would. This is the first time i have ever written a review, positive or negative. I hired ABC Moving for an interstate move because the binding estimate was the lowest estimate of all the companies I contacted. The beginning of the move went perfect, they showed up on time, the agent was responsive to my questions and calls. However, when it came to deliver my belongings, this is where all the problems occurred. The customer service is awful, they did not take responsibility for the ALL the problems that occurred during this move. They overbilled me, caused $4k worth of damage, and opened my boxes and repacked them after my property left my possession. Stay away from them if you value you time and stuff.
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September 2021 by Jason V.
Trying to set a moving quote from Massachusetts to North Carolina. Contacted North American and told them I needed an in person bid. Sent me an email notification that their estimator would be at my house on Friday at 5pm. Left work early to get home and waited and waited and waited. No one showed up. Called the office phone of the company and the estimator at 5:30. No one answers. Called North American direct. Finally received a text Saturday from the estimator saying that when I didn't return his call he assumed I cancelled. What call? I tried to reschedule and he said he'd get right back to me with another day and time. Finally on Monday night I texted him to ask when he is coming as I needs this done ASAP. His response, " I don't have any appointments. We're going to have to pass on giving you an estimate." I responded, "Are you sure? I'm available all day Friday." No response received. Completely unprofessional. Blows me off not once but twice and somehow in his world I'm the problem. Total waste of my time. Avoid. Avoid. AVOID.
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August 2021 by Sherri T.
Do not use this company at any cost! Julian Coles, the CEO, and the rest of the employees at this organization do not care about you, your belongings or any commitments made to you when you sign their contract. Once you sign their contract and they have your belongings, you are at their mercy. They will deliver your belongings whenever they feel like it and you will not be compensated for it. In fact, you are expected to pay the full amount quoted to you before they will deliver your property! Every time we tried to talk to someone about the delay of our belongings we were reminded of the full payment due BEFORE they deliver your stuff. We recently moved to Kentucky and we were told our belongings would arrive last Tuesday, after repeated phone calls and emails that went unanswered for days, we were finally given a new date which is two weeks later! We can understand a delay of a day or two, but 2 weeks? We have yet to receive our belongings so who knows if that date is even accurate. I say because every time you speak with someone, no one takes accountability for what is going on and you can never get a straight answer and that includes the top of the organization. You will be repeatedly told "we are following the limits of the terms and agreement that was provided to you when you signed the contract", but when they do not fulfill their part of the contract, you are then told to file a claim with van lines. We signed a contract with Allen and Coles moving systems, but we have to file a claim with Van Lines. It's the old bait and switch game all day long. They just say the same thing over and over until you are just tired of trying to get anywhere with them. Beware of Bill Biniszkiewicz, he is a sheep in wolves clothing. He is the person who came to our home to provide us the original quote which was off by 3k. He also told us that he would be back at our home two days before they were to begin packing our stuff to give us a more accurate quote, but he never showed up. We were told that it would cost an additional 3k AFTER they picked up our belongings! Then we were given the run around by several other employees including the VP, John Kane. We also reached out to the president of the company and his response was "I don't keep up with day to day operations". In other words, I don't give a **** about your problems, have one of my completely inept employees take care of it. And when I say inept, I am being as polite as possible. I have no idea how this organization is in business, but beware that these clowns operate more than one moving company out of Leominster, MA and Portland, ME. There are several companies that operate under the JRC holding company. We signed with Allen and Coles moving, but North American Van lines, ABC movers and Allied are also managed by this same group. My advice is to do your homework before you sign with any moving company, check the Better Business Bureau(we did not and this company has many complaints) and if you see any of the names I have listed above, RUN!
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August 2021 by Sherri T.
Do not use this company at any cost! Julian Coles, the CEO, and the rest of the employees at this organization do not care about you, your belongings or any commitments made to you when you sign their contract. Once you sign their contract and they have your belongings, you are at their mercy. They will deliver your belongings whenever they feel like it and you will not be compensated for it. In fact, you are expected to pay the full amount quoted to you before they will deliver your property! Every time we tried to talk to someone about the delay of our belongings we were reminded of the full payment due BEFORE they deliver your stuff. We recently moved to Kentucky and we were told our belongings would arrive last Tuesday, after repeated phone calls and emails that went unanswered for days, we were finally given a new date which is two weeks later! We can understand a delay of a day or two, but 2 weeks? We have yet to receive our belongings so who knows if that date is even accurate. I say because every time you speak with someone, no one takes accountability for what is going on and you can never get a straight answer and that includes the top of the organization. You will be repeatedly told "we are following the limits of the terms and agreement that was provided to you when you signed the contract", but when they do not fulfill their part of the contract, you are then told to file a claim with van lines. We signed a contract with Allen and Coles moving systems, but we have to file a claim with Van Lines. It's the old bait and switch game all day long. They just say the same thing over and over until you are just tired of trying to get anywhere with them. Beware of Bill Biniszkiewicz, he is a sheep in wolves clothing. He is the person who came to our home to provide us the original quote which was off by 3k. He also told us that he would be back at our home two days before they were to begin packing our stuff to give us a more accurate quote, but he never showed up. We were told that it would cost an additional 3k AFTER they picked up our belongings! Then we were given the run around by several other employees including the VP, John Kane. We also reached out to the president of the company and his response was "I don't keep up with day to day operations". In other words, I don't give a s*** about your problems, have one of my completely inept employees take care of it. And when I say inept, I am being as polite as possible. I have no idea how this organization is in business, but beware that these clowns operate more than one moving company out of Leominster, MA and Portland, ME. There are several companies that operate under the JRC holding company. We signed with Allen and Coles moving, but North American Van lines, ABC movers and Allied are also managed by this same group. My advice is to do your homework before you sign with any moving company, check the Better Business Bureau(we did not and this company has many complaints) and if you see any of the names I have listed above, RUN!
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August 2021 by Keri R.
A team of untrained party kids who were doing shots on the job, pried furniture apart, dropped things down the ramp, gashed walls, didn’t wrap things or lift properly, etc descended on my house to make what should’ve been a 2 day move fit in to one day. Things that were supposed to go upstairs went downstairs, we found broken things, hardware was lost, and the foreman spent 15 min puking in my bathroom. Their management didn’t care and in fact, their claims coordinator was one of the rudest and most unprofessional people I have ever encountered.
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August 2021 by Keri R.
A team of untrained party kids who were doing shots on the job, pried furniture apart, dropped things down the ramp, gashed walls, didn't wrap things or lift properly, etc descended on my house to make what should've been a 2 day move fit in to one day. Things that were supposed to go upstairs went downstairs, we found broken things, hardware was lost, and the foreman spent 15 min puking in my bathroom. Their management didn't care and in fact, their claims coordinator was one of the rudest and most unprofessional people I have ever encountered.
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March 2021 by Paul A.
Absolutely Awful! I wished I would have read the reviews before I used them. Moved from New Hampshire to California. It started ok, they arrived on time and the loader was pretty decent. I don't know what happened from New Hampshire to California, but it was a 360-degree experience. The driver is the only true employee,v loading and unloading help is day laborers in the delivery area, not skilled laborers. Due to Covid I could not stand there and micro-manage the unloading process. I stayed in the lot as they unloaded my belongings into the storage unit. I got an extra-large unit to make the unloading easier. When they were done, I went to see the results, and what a shock. It looked like Stevie Wonder or a 6-year-old packed my storage. Heavy furniture on top of boxes, broken table legs hidden behind boxes. Disassembled bike and furniture missing hardware. They bent a bar stool, although they tout insurance they denied my claim. The only customer service if any is when they are booking the move and collecting the money. I hope you are reading this review before you booked with this company, if not so sorry. They cannot be trusted!!
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March 2021 by T T
I’m sure it’s good, never been
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January 2021 by al s.
we recently moved from LA to NYC; Matt and Brian from the Allen & Coles team were tasked to unload our 12,000 lbs to a 1 floor walkup in NYC the day after the big snow storm; they were short a man, but over the next 2 days they worked tirelessly and with a sense of humour managed to get everything in; nothing missing, nothing broke, nothing damaged, everything reassembled- I can't speak highly enough about their dedication and work ethic - absolutely THE BEST!
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December 2020 by Taylor K.
Update: It took over 2 months to work with the claims department, and it was a very frustrating experience. I was refunded some of the amount, but not what I was asking (I somewhat understand the sofa refund based on contractual obligation, but not for the unaccounted for breaks). Though still if it were me running a company, I would want to work with my clients to ensure things were made right rather than dismissively throw a fraction of what an items value to them just to move on (approx. 25%). Lesson Learned: if you don't want them to destroy a 1.5-year old sofa and not have to pay for it, take out the full damage protection. For me, I will simply trust someone else with my next move. Customer Service in claims department: 1 star out of 10. -------------------------------- To be clear, overall Allen & Coles was not an awful experience. The guys who helped me move from Augusta to Portland seemed like decent guys, and knew what they were doing for the most part. There are simply a few lessons learned and a couple of outstanding items (hence the 2 stars): (1) My 1.5 year old leather sofa was severely damaged during the move (4" x 1" tear, multiple small tears). I am currently working with the claims department, and have been for over a month. I am not very happy with the responsiveness at this point and have reached out via email on a weekly basis. There appears to have been minimal effort thus far from Allen & Coles to make a bad situation right again - hopefully this is resolved soon, and I will update this review when it is. (2) The amount of time spend "on break" seemed to be very loose. I did not anticipate the level of supervision that was needed to ensure there was no wasted time and to avoid damage to my belongings. I was also charged for this time that they were not working. (3) There was confusion with the directions to my new location. I expected as the moving experts (and having an office less than 0.5 miles from where I moved to) that they would know the area and/or made a plan the night before. This was not the case and resulted in a wasted 40+ minutes, which I was charged for. (4) They sent a large moving checklist and plan for tracking inventory prior to the move, however this was NOT used the day of. If I were not an extremely organized person, I would be concerned that all of my belongings were delivered. My personal opinion is that inventory tracking is a responsibility of the movers to show they did their job, however there was no effort shown in this area (whereas in past moves with other companies each article had a sticker # and a list to cross-reference). Perhaps this was due to me packing my own belongings, but I don't understand how that prevents the use of an inventory list - the only thing close to this was my "estimate" of how many boxes and items I would have for each room, which is simply insufficient as I had not even started packing yet. (5) I did have a very pleasant experience working with their sales representative, but would just like for them to follow through on the back end and make things right. Again they weren't awful, I would probably just look elsewhere for my next move due to the level of effort required on my end during AND after the move to execute and to make things right. I will let you know if that changes after I hear back from the claims department.
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August 2020 by Tricia H.
DO NOT USE! I incurred $40,000 worth of lost and damaged furniture. They lost 3 Queen beds, and box springs, a 9 ft. China cabinet, Henredon furniture, 6 signed Frederick Cooper lamps, a rug, 6 sets of sheets, 10 sets of towels. Bose radios And more! Massive damage!! Dining room chairs with the top ripped off, and legs ripped off. The pictures are devastating. Despite having paid for full replacement insurance ( up to $75,000)and promised it, they refuse to pay, for no legitimate reason ( other than they can). Refuse to produce an insurance policy.Sneaky dishonest management. Full of lies. Allen & Coles buries bad reviews and gets their friends to write 5 star puffery. North American Van Lines hires a gaggle of attorneys just to say no to legitimate claims. I'm retired, late 60's and devastated. We are now in litigation.
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July 2020 by Hossein A.
I contracted Allen and Coles Moving Systems (ACMoving) for the shipment of my two households to Maine. The first move was from France to Maine. For this move I contracted a French company whose agent in Maine turned out to be Allen and Coles Moving Systems. When I discovered they were the agents in Maine, I decided to contract them also for my move from Virginia.The French Company did a magnificent job in France and gave me two months of free storage in France to accommodate my needs. However, Allen and Coles were horrible and I caution anyone who may be thinking of using them--they made false representations, they acted in an unsafe manner in view of COVID and Maine regulations, they did not keep their word in a number of instances, the crew that they hired in Virginia were unprofessional and hired off the street, their accounting and billing raises questions regarding my final invoice and to top it off their management was rude and did not address my issues. It was the worst move of my life and it was the worst company that I have had to deal with during my entire adult life. 1. To get ready for the move, ACM promised me 12 big boxes so that we could pack large items. We received only 3, and then only after a number of inquiries by me. Again, we were promised the requested boxes, we received nothing one week before our move, so I cancelled the request. 2. We bought several dozen boxes ourselves to expedite the move. We packed over 100 boxes. 3. While the driver was excellent but his local help was terrible. The driver came in the afternoon of June 8, and packed by himself. When he left, he was not sure he would have a crew. He got a call that 2 people would show up and they did and they worked till 4 p.m. 4. I am nearly 75 and at high risk. In ACM's email to me, the fact that ACM's workers wear masks is even highlighted at the bottom! A blatant lie! 5. On the day of the loading, instead of his crew of 5, only 3 showed up. Later in the day (1:30 p.m.) another man showed up. The crew was absolutely horrible. Of the seven packers who came over the two days, only two wore masks, and that for just half a day. We had marked two bathrooms we did not want used (as there were two that they could use) but they used all the bathrooms. They urinated on the floors and toilet seats. They kept the doors to the outside open, which is fine, but meant that I had to turn the A/C off. They turned the A/C on again. As a result, condensation came through the vents and there was also condensation in the attic.. The crew spent a lot of time just standing around. It was getting late and the skies were threatening a downpour with many of our belongings sitting on the lawn. So I helped pack and move items to the truck. The truck was packed only a few minutes before the downpour. 6. On June 12, we were told we had to pay the balance of our invoice before ACM would deliver our belongings. We were not told how ACM had adjusted the invoice for: 15% lower weight of shipment than estimated, all the packing we did on our own and for all the missteps before and during the move. Yet given all this, our invoice was reduced by less than 5%. I have still not received a full accounting of how after all this our invoice was reduced by so little. I have made at least two requests for an accounting but nothing has been forthcoming.7. I requested a meeting with the owner, a Mr. Julian Coles. He would not talk to me much less see me. After my second email he responded and he suggested I see his GM as he would have more information. I responded to the GM's email with much the same detail as above to make sure he would address my issues before any meeting. He said he would look into my issues. I received no answers after a week. I wrote again. He responded in part in CAPS and the only thing he could say is that they had given me some free boxes and paid the postage for these boxes and that they had "offered" me free storage (Untrue. I paid them $1,000 for moving into storage, and for two and a half months of storage before they
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October 2019 by Lee C.
BUYER BEWARE - Stay clear of Allen & Coles Moving System. Do not put any of your possession in storage with this company. Someone in their employ stole a container containing my sterling silver tea set; 8 sets of sterling silver flatware, to include serving pieces; the mahogany box they were contained in; and assorted candle sticks/holders. They refuse to compensate me for my loss. The president, Julian Coles, does not return emails or phone calls. You have been warned.
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August 2019 by Rebecca M.
We went with Allen & Coles/North American Van Lines for a move from Boston to Pittsburgh. We met with their sales rep, and discussed a timeline for when we would need our belongings to arrive by. We had a set delivery window of July 23-31st. On July 30th, we had gotten no information called the company to find out that there weren't actually any drivers to complete our move by the 31st, and they had no idea when it would arrive. They've now told us we won't be receiving our belongings until August 12th - TWO WEEKS AFTER the date that had been discussed, and was agreed to per the contract. It took three days of endless phone calls and emails to even get this answer. Completely unacceptable, and absolutely no care for the customer. Run FAR FAR away from this company, and anyone else affiliated with them.
