Avoid ‘Sweenie Moving’ if you can! I really didn’t have much time to do research for my hurried move from Victoria to Toronto later in 2019. Therefore, I ended up with Sweenie Moving for this move. Because it is a family-run business, I thought I would receive good service, but I was proven wrong! Initially, April gave me the quote that indicated $3,965 in total for my move and assured me that she calculated the maximum weight so that there would be NO SURPRISE AT ALL. On April 13, the day of loading my belongings, I am not sure how I ended up signing a North American Van Lines Canada’s blank contract. They provided the unprofessional, untimely and irresponsible service that was of poor value and quality, which was reflected in one way or the other during my move!
First of all, I was told that I would get my stuff toward the end of August in Toronto, but I didn't! They were not timely at all, and it may indicate the value and quality that was poor!
I was really treated unprofessionally by Sweenie Moving, who did not act responsibly! When the truck came in on September 5, the driver called me, saying that he couldn’t unload it due to a vehicle on his way near the entrance of the resident building. He confirmed that he would come back some other day and would bring my stuff back in a small truck, which he would not charge me for. However, on September 7, the driver called me, saying that he would have to charge me $300. There was no way at that time that I could say ‘no’ to him, as I felt that my stuff was being held hostage. I agreed to pay the driver additional $300 for the truck over the phone.
There were a few additional instances that demonstrated Sweenie Moving was unprofessional and irresponsible! As the crew members did their unloading on September 7, I was quite surprised to see the amount in the print invoice – it was $4,372 plus $300 for the small truck. This invoice was originally printed but was overwritten with a pen on it in order to add additional amount. When I called Sweenie Moving, Denise said that my belongings weighed more than it was initially estimated and that I had already signed her papers. When I saw the signature, it was mine, but the question is – how did I end up signing those papers after the truck left my place? Those papers were not handwritten, but as I remember the papers I originally signed were handwritten. The crew member wouldn’t unload my stuff unless I paid to Denise the full amount over the phone. I also requested Denise to take a look at the situation, but she didn’t listen to me and stressed that her driver was right and that I had to pay all the amount overwritten on the invoice. Over the phone, Denise charged me additional $300 plus tax for the small truck, which I really didn’t need to pay, as there were large trucks that were being unloaded in the neighbourhood. I then requested Denise to send me a copy of the new invoice, because I wanted the clean invoice in order to submit it to CRA – due to the driver’s overwriting the amount, the invoice didn’t look good! In addition, during our conversation, the crew member who had assured me that he would fix my broken cupboard left it in a damaged condition after Denise confirmed the receipt of their payment. In fact, I assigned the task to Sweenie Moving, thinking that they are local and family-owned and that it is good to support the local business, but I really didn’t know at that time that I had to pay the price for supporting the local business “Sweenie Moving”!
It may not be the right time to provide negative feedback, but it is important at the same time that customers are aware of these comments. Stay safe!