What is the name of your state? Currently Arizona, move originated from Indiana on 12/30/06
Here's the deal, I have my stuff through paying 110% of the last estimate. I still owe the mover and they refuse to process a claim or arbitrate until I am paid in full. I have no faith that any of the non-claim issues- namely that they didn't inform me of Federal Regulations or wouldn't show me a light weight ticket will ever be addressed if I do pay them. If you think you can help please read on! Thanks much.
My mover:
Promised free boxes, brought about $25 worth and then charged me $50 on the final bill
Charged me for $60K insurance when I specified $50 exactly.
Lied on moving day about pickup artwork from a gallery that had opened late. Turns out it was overflow from another mover.
Promised to show up with 6 guys and load my stuff in 3 hours, as a codicil for being late. They showed up with the boss, an underling for documentation, the driver and two guys.
Refused to show me the “light weight” ticket. When I demanded to see it they said, “Sure, in a minute” then the boss left, ostensibly with the ticket and never came back. When I demanded to see it again they said, too bad, it’s with the boss. This left me with three people loading instead of six.
Promised my goods delivered on the 4th, but once my stuff was on the truck changed it to the 8th to coincide with their partial shipment for L.A.
Neither of the owners were available, the boss was hiding and the other owner, who had promised to be there, was “with his wife who has cancer.” A lie certainly designed to have emotional impact. For starters, if it was really his wife’s “doctor day” then why did he promise me he would show up?
This was convenient because he was the only one who could give me an answer on delivery date, and though the boss would not talk to me for any reason he relayed through his underlings that “he didn’t see any reason it couldn’t get there on the 5th.” Luckily this translated to the underling writing the 5th on the load sheet in order to get me to sign it.
During the load everything was tagged and listed by one of the underlings. She then sat on my front porch and documented scratches, dents, and scuffs on ever surface of every item the movers were packing. She clearly did not look at any one of the items, as every item is described with total damage and all of the documentation was done well apart from the actual items.
I wasn’t informed of any of this until every single thing had been loaded. I argued at length but they refused to leave or let me talk to the owners until I’d signed. Before I signed I covered three items: 1) the “dent” they’d documented on the top of the washer was just a small ding, and it was totally impossible for me to see it because they would have to unload much of the truck. The washer and dryer were so new they still had the protective stickers from the factory. 2) the refrigerator was documented with scratches, top bottom, left right, and front and back. The refrigerator had spent all of it’s life in our kitchen and before and after never had any scratches. When I questioned this item she said, “You have to be out in the sun to see them.” Of course she was nowhere near the refrigerator when it was out in the sun, and she’d actually finished the documentation before the refrigerator was even pulled out from the wall. One full side and the back were covered up to that point, and there is no way she could see the top without a step stool. 3) She stated several times that this documentation only refers to common wear and tear, and that our claims adjustor would know the difference between a new scratch and an old one. With her promise and no other option I signed the documents.
At that point she gave me this little book: “You’re rights and responsibilities when you move”. I wrote “Received at 4pm on 12/30/07” on the cover to ensure I didn’t forget when they gave it to me.
Since the date had been changed to the 5th from the 4th, and the movers had taken five hours late in the day to load our stuff, my wife and I took and extra day in Indiana to see friends and family.
I called the driver several times while on the road and after arriving. On the 4th I finally called one of the owners and said, “I haven’t heard from the driver, where is my stuff?”
Within an hour the driver called from the other owner’s cell phone with a story about having blown the turbo on the truck and it had just gotten fixed and he was just leaving. That was at 5 pm on the 4th. His new arrival day was, guess what, the 8th- the date that perfectly coincided with the overflow move to L.A.
I made the driver promise to bring the receipt along with the light and heavy load tickets.
On the 8th they showed up several hours late and with only two local subs to unload our stuff. When he did show me the tickets after having paid him, the light weight ticket had no timestamp, so I have no idea whether it was even mine. The receipt for the turbo replacement looks totally bogus, and even has “Part took two days to order because it was out of stock.” written on it.
The refrigerator came out with no scratches, but an undocumented dent and the top being bowed in. The washer came out with the “ding” looking like it had been caused by a golf club in full swing. A few pieces of wood furniture were broken to various degrees. The driver offered to put them back together with screws, which is the last thing I wanted. I was informed that pressboard was not covered by any mover, a fact which would have been nice to know. Several of my “mover packed items” came out with no furniture pads or wrapping whatsoever. Framed artwork with glass was just laid on top of other stuff, or wedged between. Any damage I pointed out the driver made a big deal of not understanding what I was talking about, tried to refer to the documentation of every piece being damaged, or said, “It was covered with furniture pads, there is no way that could have happened.”
At the end they rushed us to Target to replace a lamp they’d broken in half. I have yet to find evidence of the bulb or glass bowl from the lamp anywhere in our stuff, so I have to question when, how and why it was broken.
They used the lamp rush and the lateness of the day to try to get me to sign where it said “I have received my over $100/lb valuation sheet and filled it out.” I refused for several minutes, arguing with the driver before he let me sign where it said to actually sign for that purpose, having never received the $100/lb valuation form.
They also refused to unload until I paid them 100% of a bill I’d never seen. This bill included the wrong insurance and a charge for the “free” packing materials. It also was double their estimated weight of goods. Luckily by that time I’d read the “Your Rights and Responsibilities” book enough to know I only had to give them 110% of the last estimate to force them to unload.
They are very clear from the minute they have 10 things of yours on the truck that you have no power and your stuff is at risk if you challenge them. Once the loading day was done the driver brought me out to the truck and “showed me the packing”. What he was actually doing was giving me one last look at my stuff to ensure that I would remember that they had my stuff and I was at their mercy.
I did end up giving them only 110% of the estimate, which according to their bill leaves me owing them $1342.
They’ve been amazingly responsive since then, however there are three relevant things going on:
1. They refuse to give me a claim form or process any claim until I’m paid in full.
2. They have never given me arbitration information and refuse to enter arbitration until I’m paid in full.
3. They’re demanding full payment immediately, and not giving me any information on how long I have to pay or what terms they’re charging me under.
It’s clear from their past actions that once they have my money in full they will stop getting my emails and phone calls and even if I can force them into an arbitration judgment, I have no reason to believe they will pay it. They’ve already proven that everything to them falls into one of three categories for damage: it was documented (even though we didn’t let you see it before hand), it couldn’t have happened on our truck, or “I don’t know what you’re talking about” (literally not being able to see the scratch I’m pointing to or the leg half twisted off the workbench).
Meanwhile, they continually cite “It’s federally required” but then ignore those same requirements. According to the book, the federal government has no power to enforce those requirements, and they darn well know it. My only leverage is that I have not paid them in full and at this point I’m not sure what I should do.
Here's the deal, I have my stuff through paying 110% of the last estimate. I still owe the mover and they refuse to process a claim or arbitrate until I am paid in full. I have no faith that any of the non-claim issues- namely that they didn't inform me of Federal Regulations or wouldn't show me a light weight ticket will ever be addressed if I do pay them. If you think you can help please read on! Thanks much.
My mover:
Promised free boxes, brought about $25 worth and then charged me $50 on the final bill
Charged me for $60K insurance when I specified $50 exactly.
Lied on moving day about pickup artwork from a gallery that had opened late. Turns out it was overflow from another mover.
Promised to show up with 6 guys and load my stuff in 3 hours, as a codicil for being late. They showed up with the boss, an underling for documentation, the driver and two guys.
Refused to show me the “light weight” ticket. When I demanded to see it they said, “Sure, in a minute” then the boss left, ostensibly with the ticket and never came back. When I demanded to see it again they said, too bad, it’s with the boss. This left me with three people loading instead of six.
Promised my goods delivered on the 4th, but once my stuff was on the truck changed it to the 8th to coincide with their partial shipment for L.A.
Neither of the owners were available, the boss was hiding and the other owner, who had promised to be there, was “with his wife who has cancer.” A lie certainly designed to have emotional impact. For starters, if it was really his wife’s “doctor day” then why did he promise me he would show up?
This was convenient because he was the only one who could give me an answer on delivery date, and though the boss would not talk to me for any reason he relayed through his underlings that “he didn’t see any reason it couldn’t get there on the 5th.” Luckily this translated to the underling writing the 5th on the load sheet in order to get me to sign it.
During the load everything was tagged and listed by one of the underlings. She then sat on my front porch and documented scratches, dents, and scuffs on ever surface of every item the movers were packing. She clearly did not look at any one of the items, as every item is described with total damage and all of the documentation was done well apart from the actual items.
I wasn’t informed of any of this until every single thing had been loaded. I argued at length but they refused to leave or let me talk to the owners until I’d signed. Before I signed I covered three items: 1) the “dent” they’d documented on the top of the washer was just a small ding, and it was totally impossible for me to see it because they would have to unload much of the truck. The washer and dryer were so new they still had the protective stickers from the factory. 2) the refrigerator was documented with scratches, top bottom, left right, and front and back. The refrigerator had spent all of it’s life in our kitchen and before and after never had any scratches. When I questioned this item she said, “You have to be out in the sun to see them.” Of course she was nowhere near the refrigerator when it was out in the sun, and she’d actually finished the documentation before the refrigerator was even pulled out from the wall. One full side and the back were covered up to that point, and there is no way she could see the top without a step stool. 3) She stated several times that this documentation only refers to common wear and tear, and that our claims adjustor would know the difference between a new scratch and an old one. With her promise and no other option I signed the documents.
At that point she gave me this little book: “You’re rights and responsibilities when you move”. I wrote “Received at 4pm on 12/30/07” on the cover to ensure I didn’t forget when they gave it to me.
Since the date had been changed to the 5th from the 4th, and the movers had taken five hours late in the day to load our stuff, my wife and I took and extra day in Indiana to see friends and family.
I called the driver several times while on the road and after arriving. On the 4th I finally called one of the owners and said, “I haven’t heard from the driver, where is my stuff?”
Within an hour the driver called from the other owner’s cell phone with a story about having blown the turbo on the truck and it had just gotten fixed and he was just leaving. That was at 5 pm on the 4th. His new arrival day was, guess what, the 8th- the date that perfectly coincided with the overflow move to L.A.
I made the driver promise to bring the receipt along with the light and heavy load tickets.
On the 8th they showed up several hours late and with only two local subs to unload our stuff. When he did show me the tickets after having paid him, the light weight ticket had no timestamp, so I have no idea whether it was even mine. The receipt for the turbo replacement looks totally bogus, and even has “Part took two days to order because it was out of stock.” written on it.
The refrigerator came out with no scratches, but an undocumented dent and the top being bowed in. The washer came out with the “ding” looking like it had been caused by a golf club in full swing. A few pieces of wood furniture were broken to various degrees. The driver offered to put them back together with screws, which is the last thing I wanted. I was informed that pressboard was not covered by any mover, a fact which would have been nice to know. Several of my “mover packed items” came out with no furniture pads or wrapping whatsoever. Framed artwork with glass was just laid on top of other stuff, or wedged between. Any damage I pointed out the driver made a big deal of not understanding what I was talking about, tried to refer to the documentation of every piece being damaged, or said, “It was covered with furniture pads, there is no way that could have happened.”
At the end they rushed us to Target to replace a lamp they’d broken in half. I have yet to find evidence of the bulb or glass bowl from the lamp anywhere in our stuff, so I have to question when, how and why it was broken.
They used the lamp rush and the lateness of the day to try to get me to sign where it said “I have received my over $100/lb valuation sheet and filled it out.” I refused for several minutes, arguing with the driver before he let me sign where it said to actually sign for that purpose, having never received the $100/lb valuation form.
They also refused to unload until I paid them 100% of a bill I’d never seen. This bill included the wrong insurance and a charge for the “free” packing materials. It also was double their estimated weight of goods. Luckily by that time I’d read the “Your Rights and Responsibilities” book enough to know I only had to give them 110% of the last estimate to force them to unload.
They are very clear from the minute they have 10 things of yours on the truck that you have no power and your stuff is at risk if you challenge them. Once the loading day was done the driver brought me out to the truck and “showed me the packing”. What he was actually doing was giving me one last look at my stuff to ensure that I would remember that they had my stuff and I was at their mercy.
I did end up giving them only 110% of the estimate, which according to their bill leaves me owing them $1342.
They’ve been amazingly responsive since then, however there are three relevant things going on:
1. They refuse to give me a claim form or process any claim until I’m paid in full.
2. They have never given me arbitration information and refuse to enter arbitration until I’m paid in full.
3. They’re demanding full payment immediately, and not giving me any information on how long I have to pay or what terms they’re charging me under.
It’s clear from their past actions that once they have my money in full they will stop getting my emails and phone calls and even if I can force them into an arbitration judgment, I have no reason to believe they will pay it. They’ve already proven that everything to them falls into one of three categories for damage: it was documented (even though we didn’t let you see it before hand), it couldn’t have happened on our truck, or “I don’t know what you’re talking about” (literally not being able to see the scratch I’m pointing to or the leg half twisted off the workbench).
Meanwhile, they continually cite “It’s federally required” but then ignore those same requirements. According to the book, the federal government has no power to enforce those requirements, and they darn well know it. My only leverage is that I have not paid them in full and at this point I’m not sure what I should do.