North Van Mover

I just hired North Van Mover to move from one house to another in *** These guys were awesomeAnd Joe, who runs the whole operation was there the whole time overseeing everythingThey took such care not to damage walls and the stuff they were carrying, including my grandmother's year old oak bookcase (extremely heavy)The guys were super polite and courteous
The thing I was most impressed with was what happened after they left
I had gone upstairs and realized that they had over-looked putting my son's bed back together againAs well, I noticed that when they had taken it apart at the old house, a piece had broken leaving me unable to put the bed back together againI was prepared to have to get rid of the bed as its old and I knew I wouldn't be able to get anything for it
I called Joe the next day and told him about itHe immediately sent his son who works for the company over to my new houseGrant (the son) called me and I told him he was welcome to go in on his own, as I was at workHe went and took a look, then drove to *** and got supplies, came back and ended up completely reinforcing the bed moreso than it had been beforeHuman beings make mistakesIt's how they deal with those mistakes after the factJoe and his son were very committed to finishing the job and leaving me a happy customer, which they didI was very impressed
I would hire these guys again and would recommend them to anyone looking for a mover on the North ShoreThey're excellent!
Glynda F
*** ***

I just hired North Van Mover to move from one house to another in *** These guys were awesomeAnd Joe, who runs the whole operation was there the whole time overseeing everythingThey took such care not to damage walls and the stuff they were carrying, including my grandmother's year old oak bookcase (extremely heavy)The guys were super polite and courteous
The thing I was most impressed with was what happened after they left
I had gone upstairs and realized that they had over-looked putting my son's bed back together againAs well, I noticed that when they had taken it apart at the old house, a piece had broken leaving me unable to put the bed back together againI was prepared to have to get rid of the bed as its old and I knew I wouldn't be able to get anything for it
I called Joe the next day and told him about itHe immediately sent his son who works for the company over to my new houseGrant (the son) called me and I told him he was welcome to go in on his own, as I was at workHe went and took a look, then drove to *** and got supplies, came back and ended up completely reinforcing the bed moreso than it had been beforeHuman beings make mistakesIt's how they deal with those mistakes after the factJoe and his son were very committed to finishing the job and leaving me a happy customer, which they didI was very impressed
I would hire these guys again and would recommend them to anyone looking for a mover on the North ShoreThey're excellent!
Glynda F
*** ***

I just hired North Van Mover to move from one house to another in [redacted] These guys were awesome. And Joe, who runs the whole operation was there the whole time overseeing everything. They took such care not to damage walls and the stuff they were carrying, including my grandmother's 100 year old oak bookcase (extremely heavy). The guys were super polite and courteous.
The thing I was most impressed with was what happened after they left.
I had gone upstairs and realized that they had over-looked putting my son's bed back together again. As well, I noticed that when they had taken it apart at the old house, a piece had broken leaving me unable to put the bed back together again. I was prepared to have to get rid of the bed as its old and I knew I wouldn't be able to get anything for it.
I called Joe the next day and told him about it. He immediately sent his son who works for the company over to my new house. Grant (the son) called me and I told him he was welcome to go in on his own, as I was at work. He went and took a look, then drove to [redacted] and got supplies, came back and ended up completely reinforcing the bed moreso than it had been before. Human beings make mistakes. It's how they deal with those mistakes after the fact. Joe and his son were very committed to finishing the job and leaving me a happy customer, which they did. I was very impressed.
I would hire these guys again and would recommend them to anyone looking for a mover on the North Shore. They're excellent!
Glynda F
[redacted]

I just hired North Van Mover to move from one house to another in [redacted] These guys were awesome. And Joe, who runs the whole operation was there the whole time overseeing everything. They took such care not to damage walls and the stuff they were carrying, including my grandmother's 100 year old oak bookcase (extremely heavy). The guys were super polite and courteous.
The thing I was most impressed with was what happened after they left.
I had gone upstairs and realized that they had over-looked putting my son's bed back together again. As well, I noticed that when they had taken it apart at the old house, a piece had broken leaving me unable to put the bed back together again. I was prepared to have to get rid of the bed as its old and I knew I wouldn't be able to get anything for it.
I called Joe the next day and told him about it. He immediately sent his son who works for the company over to my new house. Grant (the son) called me and I told him he was welcome to go in on his own, as I was at work. He went and took a look, then drove to [redacted] and got supplies, came back and ended up completely reinforcing the bed moreso than it had been before. Human beings make mistakes. It's how they deal with those mistakes after the fact. Joe and his son were very committed to finishing the job and leaving me a happy customer, which they did. I was very impressed.
I would hire these guys again and would recommend them to anyone looking for a mover on the North Shore. They're excellent!
Glynda F
[redacted]

I'm posting this review to hopefully prevent someone else from being caught in the same situation as I have just experienced. My intent is to be as accurate and constructive as possible.
A few days before Christmas I arranged with Joe, the owner of North Van Movers, to have my large and hard to carry items moved to my new house. Both houses are within Vancouver and about a 30 minute drive from each other.
Joe told me, that for a 4 bedroom home five hours, tops, should do the job. I trusted his judgement. I made a very costly mistake. I budgeted a maximum of $1200 for the move which allowed for a bit of a buffer.
I have moved the contents of my house with my sons on two other occasions including all the heavy furniture. So, I have a baseline as to what is involved.
We originally arranged to have three movers on the day of the move but I subsequently got a message from Joe the day before that 4 guys would be better and more efficient so I took his advice and went with his suggestion.
Four movers with a truck (that was not big enough) showed up at 7AM on the day of the move. One of the reasons that I chose North Van Movers was that they advertised themselves as professional piano movers, too. My piano ended up being placed on the bottom floor of the new house which is the wrong location. All four (I think there was a fifth fellow there towards the end) were not comfortable taking the piano up the stairs. In the past, I have used [redacted]. Two movers were sent each time and they professionally and carefully moved the same piano up and down stairs on two different occasions. Joe assured me that North Van Movers are professional piano movers and that they could do the piano plus all the other furniture which, in theory, I thought would save me money.
The truck size was too small. I was then told that it's quicker to fill up the truck twice and make two trips rather than having a larger truck for one trip which, when the movers are being compensated by the hour, is nonsense.
I believe that the movers that you hire have the responsibility to present their services and rates fairly. These people do this for a living and it's not that complicated. The large items that I needed to be moved were accessible.
My first question is: how can an accurate quote be given over the phone without seeing the house and its contents?
I also asked Joe if I should be removing drawers and contents of armoires before the move to save time. He stated that if the items were light (such as linens and towels) there would be no need to remove them. I ended up with stacks of towels and linens left on the floor of the old house.
But, here is the hard part: on moving day, two houses must be managed and the job has to get done. In the middle of a pretty unpleasant task (no one enjoys moving day) I hired and by extension trusted North Van Movers to take care of the job. Trust is being placed in the professionalism and honesty of the people who you hire.
Before the truck was emptied on the second run, I got the bill for 12 ½ hours of work which amounted to $3000. Money which I simply did not have. Christmas became very, very lean after getting that invoice.
On top of the shock of receiving the bill, I was left with a horrible mess in the old house and the new house.
Floors and carpets were covered in Dirt and salt. There was urine around and on the toilets. Mattresses were left with dirt marks and smudges. Plastic wrapping was left on all of the larger items.
They also did not move the contents of the garage and shed (outdoor furniture).
(My son and I completely finished the job the next day with a 17 cu foot U Haul truck and lifting straps.)
While the movers were in the downstairs hall of the new house and the truck was still loaded, Robert (who was on site) approached me and stated that I needed to pay the complete amount immediately. I managed to scrape together $2000 (literally my Christmas funds) and made an e-transfer on the spot. I explained to Robert that I would have to finish paying the remaining $900 as soon as I possibly could. He showed up on my doorstep the next Monday morning after the weekend move. Robert threatened that the owner would charge my credit card daily to attempt to ruin my credit rating until the full amount was paid. I also received phone calls regularly to "remind" me that I still owed them $900. The full invoice was paid by the 28th of December, as I promised.
So, my suggestion to anyone looking to hire movers is:
1 - Have them come to the house and give a quote with a cap on the maximum value charged. This is what these people do for a living. If they refuse to do so, don't hire them.
2 - Do not pay attention to online blogs such as the Daily Hive article on FB by Bailey Meadows: "8 of the best movers in and around Vancouver" posted on Nov 18, 2016. This article stated that North Van Movers were no. 1 in the city. Instead, do your own due diligence!