Commonwealth Movers, Inc.

I just finished using Commonwealth for the 8th time in my life. I have used them for several moves which included several months of all my items being in storage. This most recent move was into a 4 story townhouse that included moving of very large and heavy items up multiple stories. The 6 man crew did an absolutely wonderful and amazing job considering all the steps and my big furniture. I had no damage to any items and very few scuffs on the wall. They took amazing care.

I just finished using Commonwealth for the 8th time in my life. I have used them for several moves which included several months of all my items being in storage. This most recent move was into a 4 story townhouse that included moving of very large and heavy items up multiple stories. The 6 man crew did an absolutely wonderful and amazing job considering all the steps and my big furniture. I had no damage to any items and very few scuffs on the wall. They took amazing care.

Review: Commonwealth Movers has refused to pay for damages that were the direct result of their negligence.We contacted Commonwealth Movers in July 2013 to obtain an estimate for moving from Maidens, VA to King George, VA. The representative asked questions regarding household furnishings, including number of bedrooms, amount of office furniture, number of couches, etc. in order to determine the size truck needed for the move. We asked if Commonwealth should send someone to the house to see exactly what was to be moved, but we were assured that the job could be properly sized over the phone without the need for a visit. The job was scheduled for August 2, 2013, with a commitment to arrive between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on the day of the move, we called Commonwealth to find out why the movers had not yet arrived. We were told they were getting gas and would be there shortly. They did not arrive until 10:30 a.m. When the movers did arrive, we immediately expressed concern that the truck appeared too small for the job. Again, we were assured there would be no problem fitting everything on the truck.The crew began jamming and forcing items onto the truck in an attempt to get everything to fit. The crew even asked us to move our own kitchen table, in addition to the trailer full of boxes we loaded and moved themselves, because nothing else could be crammed onto the truck. Once the crew arrived at our new home and began unloading the truck, the carelessness continued. This carelessness resulted in significant damage to the hardwood floors. When the mattress was unloaded, the damage was evident there as well. It was badly misshapen, and the mattress cover and foam padding were ripped and torn due to the fact that the mattress had been forced onto a truck that was clearly too small for the job.Once the crew realized that the job had been incorrectly sized, which was immediately evident to us, they should have called for another truck. They did not, nor did they ever advise us that this was even an option. (They told us after the fact)Commonwealth displayed a careless disregard for our property throughout the job, beginning when they arrived 1 and 2 hours late, and ending with the damage to the hardwood floors and mattress.Commonwealth has paid to repair the hardwood floors, but has refused to cover the cost of the mattress cover and foam they damaged. The representative stated clearly before the job that Commonwealth would be liable should negligence occur, and it clearly has.Desired Settlement: We would like Commonwealth to replace the mattress cover and foam they ripped and tore or provide us with a check to cover the cost. They sent us a check for $[redacted], but a replacement mattress cover and foam, which costs $1,294, can only be obtained from [redacted]. We would like a check for $1,000, which would nearly cover the difference.

Business

Response:

We take pride in customer service and truly believe that the customer's needs should always come first. It saddens us to know we were not able to meet the goal of satisfying a customer. On the day in question (8.2.13) we were scheduled to move a customer. The move was scheduled for the time frame of 8:00 - 9:00am. We were running a bit behind that morning and we phoned the customer. We did not get an answer but we did leave them a message to let them know we would be late.

The customers did not want us to pack any items as they were going to pack all items. Before moving any items we offer to all customers the option of purchasing additional insurance for incidental purposes. Standard insurance comes with the move which is .60 per pound. Customers will automatically receive the standard insurance upon moving. They opted not to purchase the additional insurance and went with the standard insurance. There was damage to the mattress due to the mattress not being packed properly. As stated before the customer did not want us to pack their items and instead chose to do their own packing. They did not have any type of mattress boxes to protect their mattresses. $[redacted] was paid for the damage to the mattress due to the fact they only had standard insurance. Again we take pride in doing the best in our industry and want nothing more but to have all of our customers experience a wonderful move without any complications. Unfortunately we do have these types of situations that occur and it is unfortunate. We have followed all of procedures and are truly sorry that this was not the outcome the customer expected.

Consumer

Response:

We have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve our complaint. For your reference, details of the offer we reviewed appear below.

Review: Commonwealth Mover's Inc. was contracted to move our personal belongings from one home to another (within 5 mile range) on June 24th. The first issues is that Commonwealth Movers contracted the moving services to another moving company without our knowledge or notifying us prior to the move (otherwise we would have not used them). Secondly, the company that was contracted damaged some of our furniture and our home in the move, including to three beds, wood floors (of the old home), and wall (in a bedroom of new home). Additionally, we discovered missing jewelry after we settled in (we filed a police report and will pursue this issue in another venue).

We have communicated these issues/concerns to the owner, and have exchanged e-mails. More recently (7/8/14), I left a message with someone in the office have sent e-mails and pictures to the company's owner, and we have been in communication with the owner, but he has been said one thing but his actions speaks differently.Desired Settlement: Want the owner to be more responsive to our concerns and to act with a sense of urgency.

Business

Response:

It's disheartening to us when we are unable to resolve matters and they have to go to this extent. We have been in communications with the customer. We have apologized numerous times in reference to the damages that occurred. We did not contract out the move as stated in the complaint. We are not sure why the customer is saying that the move was contracted out and not Commonwealth Movers but Commonwealth Movers and it's employees completed this job. Anytime we have damages involved we do our best to make sure the customer is satisfied. This was no different. We went out to assess the damages as well as the customer provided us pictures of all damages. Once we made and assessment we contacted our repair company. Not sure where the communication break down was from the repair company and the customer but we were told the repair company had been trying to contact the customer.

The customer also stated some items were missing. Once we get to a point where a customer is stating that a crime was committed (theft); we ask that they call the local police department and file a police report. This is what was asked of the customer. This is our policy. If we are contacted by the police we cooperate with the police to the fullest. We do not tolerate theft at our company and as we told the customer we stand by our employees but theft is not tolerated here. Because they have had such a bad experience with their move we are still more than happy to make all necessary repairs. If they are not willing to have repairs done then we are happy to refund the customer 40% of their move.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

The owner is not more disheartened than we, the customers. If we felt our issues/concerns were being addressed appropriately, we certainly would not have gone this route-it is time consuming and exhausting.

In reference to the owner’s offer of a 40% refund, we decline. Our counter offer is a full refund on the amount we paid. But before I explain why, we want to address some inconsistencies in the owner’s recent statements, which are numbered below:

Owner statement #1: “We have been in communications with the customer.”

Customer response: We have been in communication with the owner largely via e-mail (He has not returned two recent calls I placed in to him; a voice mail message was left for him on July 2nd and another message was left with an office associate for him on July 8th). Most of the communication has been prompted by me. I have a record of each and every e-mail and replies, if there was a reply.

Owner statement #2: “We have apologized numerous times in reference to the damages that occurred.”

Customer response: First, the word “numerous” is very subjective in this case. I looked through the e-mail communication string between myself and the owner, and this is the only apology I found, “I do apologize for not addressing the damage the way you wanted.” This statement was made after I brought up the fact that my son’s basketball court was damaged at the base and now leaks water. Instead of saying he was sorry (or being apologetic as he states) he says, “sorry but we can’t do anything about the goal, insurance company is going to say by being outside the weather has deteriorated the base.” Instead of sending someone out to survey the damage, we get the aforementioned response. The basketball court base was NOT deteriorated because it is relatively new and is made of durable plastic.

Owner statement #3: “We did not contract out the move as stated in the complaint. We are not sure why the customer is saying that the move was contracted out and not Commonwealth Movers but Commonwealth Movers and its employees completed this job.”

Customer response: The primary mover ([redacted]) himself told me that he was contracted to do the work. He gave me a business card and told me that for the next move (as this move is temporary for us) to seek his services directly at a cheaper price. On his business card it states, “[redacted], President.” Additionally, in an e-mail dated July 2nd, I made reference to the fact that the movers were contracted to do the work, and in your e-mail reply (on the same day at 3:44 p.m.) you did not dispute this fact or indicate otherwise. THIS is why we believe the services were contracted out.

I could go on with addressing other comments made, but I am not sure it will do much good. Other than the loss of trust and confidence in the owner and his company, here is why we are requesting a full refund:

(1) Our overall experience was very dissatisfactory, and the customer service was equally inept.

(2) Damage to an expensive leather bed (near puncture in leather), my son and mother-in-law’s sleigh beds damaged (chucks of wood broken or chipped off).

(3) Damage to wood floors by refrigerator (deep gouges, leaving marks where wood floors will need sanding and refinishing when done professionally/correctly).

(4) Damage to walls in mother-in-law’s room when moving furniture in (sheet-rock damage).

(5) Missing jewelry valued at $1,500 total (which, depending on how this turns out, will be pursued in small claims court if Henrico PD is not successful in locating our belongings).

(6) Damage to son’s basketball court (the base is leaking water as a result of a cut/ puncture).

(7) Additionally, here are some other things that took place during the move which we haven’t shared earlier, but thought it was relevant: (a) [redacted] told us to keep our food in the refrigerator while he moved it. We had not removed all items from the refrigerator before being told it was ok to move the refrigerator with items in it. It would have taken only 5 minutes to get the rest of the items out but the movers were adamant about proceeding to move it as is. When they got to the door, some of the items spilled out of the refrigerator onto the floor, creating a huge mess. My wife and I were left with having to clean up the food mess on the floor and in/on the refrigerator (this is also when the movers put huge gashes in the hardwood floors because they didn’t use the padding like they were supposed to; (b) several boxes were dropped in process of being moved, which we were/are concerned about as we had several fragile items/boxes; (c) and the movers indicated that because of the flat rate, they were not making any money off of the move, which help to paint the picture that they really didn’t care to put too much effort in their work, which showed.

(8) Finally, we have many boxes with fragile contents (e.g., fine china, glass, etc.) in them that have been placed in a storage location. We may not know if any damage has occurred until we make our final move. And at

this point, we are not confident the items in those boxes which were marked “fragile” have not been damaged.

The only thing that would satisfy us at this point is a full refund. The damage to our furniture (and the loss in value) and home, poor customer service, lack of a sense of urgency, and loss of valued jewelry far outweighs any repairs that can be done. Sending a repair tech to perform patch work to cover up the damage to our furniture will not smooth over the overall bad experience with this move. We feel violated and the owner of this business appears to care less (and nonchalant). Again, anything short of a refund will be unacceptable.

Regards,