23 Apr 2014 · MoveAdvisor
1.0 out of 51.0
The distance we moved was less than 7 miles. We paid extra for the “white glove” service which we were told, meant that we would get the highest skilled packers and movers. We had china, crystal, handmade pottery, antiques from around the world, numerous pieces of original art, rare books and other collectible items. The movers refused any direction or advice from us concerning what was valuable, what was an antique and what needed special care. The white glove service was to have included complete unpacking as well.
When we arrived at our new place, we were mortified. The movers had taken great pains to wrap a plastic salt and pepper shaker and to wrap a common metal nutcracker, but they had failed to wrap many of our antiques and collectibles. The movers left us without unpacking anything. They simply agreed to place the furniture where we wanted but told us that we had to unpack because it was not included. The company had sent too small of a truck for the job and so much time was lost by having to run the move as if it were two separate moves. We began to discover broken items immediately upon our opening the first box before the movers could even leave. We reported this to them but we were not allowed to write anything about the damages on the contracts,even when we started to write on the contract. The next day we spoke with the salesman who had booked the move, Lenny. As a good salesman, he said he would make amends. He sent an email waiving the normal 10-day period during which to file a claim. Until we could unpack everything we did not know the totality of the claim. We were asked by Lenny’s “boss”, Mike to take pictures, to take as long as we needed and to remain calm. He promised that he would correct everything immediately upon receipt of the photographs. Again, we received an email saying to take our time in assembling the evidence of the claim. The moving company refused to come to our location to see the actual damaged items, despite our repeated invitations to do so.
In the end, the damage included broken and gouged furniture, broken china, broken antiques, scratched antiques, broken book spines (including on a rare book) because the “white glove” packers simply tossed unwrapped items into boxes when they sensed the move was taking too long. Some boxes were packed in the most unprofessional manner imaginable. Heavy items were placed on top of a bamboo steamer so that the steamer was destroyed, for example. The move was certainly conducted on a most unprofessional manner, in our judgment. But what happened next astounded us. After submitting our claim we heard nothing. Our phone calls went unanswered. We realized that the moving company was waiting to receive payment from the credit card company and that they were ignoring us until they had been paid. We contacted the credit card company, which advised us to file a claim. Now for the best: the moving company’s response was to attack us and to state falsely that they had never extended the 10-day filing period and that they had offered extraordinary insurance which we declined. The truth is they extended the 10 days and they resisted selling insurance to cover antiques and valuables. Lenny boasted that during all of the years he has been selling moving services his company has never had a serious claim on any of its moves and that the standard insurance was all that anyone needed. He added that he did not even know how to locate or complete the forms for extraordinary insurance. Because the moving company lied to the credit card company they were able to temporarily defeat our claim. Many items such as antiques, hand-made pottery and artwork were not wrapped, packaged or cared for. They were simply thrown into a box with other items. A large three-hole punch was tossed on top of an antique scroll. The list of what the movers did wrong is enough to make any customer who has belongings which they care for and respect to want to run for the hills. The foreman refused advice on labeling, or guidance on what was most precious. He knew ALL. His team could learn nothing from the customer. We had over 30 items damaged including furniture, paintings, crystal. Books were merely thrown in the boxes and most of the covers were torn. We have over 3000 books and it was horrifying to see them after a less than 7 mile move. Because of the extent of the damage, Lenny told us that we could take our time taking pictures and documenting the loss. Now, he claims that we did not submit the claim on time. He also underestimated the amount and weight of belongings. The original estimate was half of the total amount. Because he underestimated the amount we also had the wrong size of truck. This is my second posting. I removed the first one because the moving company promised to resolve the issue immediately if we removed the posting. I did remove the posting and they did nothing again. Lying appears to be the norm within this organization, based on our experience.
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