Men On The Move

Review: I hired Men on the Move Moving and Self-Storage Company, located at [redacted] for a move from my residence in New Hyde Park, NY to a local storage facility, approximately one half mile away (Job # [redacted]). I spoke initially to [redacted], salesman, for an estimate of the move. He informed me that I could hire 2 movers for $106 per hr. He said there is also a half-hour travel fee which would be added onto the total. So if the move was 2 hrs I’d pay 2.5hrs in total. He asked what was being moved and I explained that I had some large furniture pieces, not many, but perhaps other items as well given this was my sister’s furnishings and that the number of items would be finalized on the day of move. I did say I had a 3 piece Thomasville wall unit that was heavy and needed particular care in handling. He said no problem you pay per hour on what ever is moved and that he would note on the bill to the driver about these units and to handle them with particular care. I scheduled the date and time for the move with [redacted] who advised me the men would be at the residence at 9am on June **, 2013. The men showed up closer to 9:30am and the driver went through the bill, asking me if I wanted to purchase insurance or get 30 cents per pound per article if something was damaged. He said those were my only options, and told me to write 30 cents per pound per article under the Valuation – Hourly basis, since I wasn’t purchasing the insurance. I read the remarks disclosure which states “unless the shipper expressly releases the shipment to a value of 30 cents per pound per article, the carrier’s maximum liability for loss and damage shall be either the lump sum value declared by the shipper or $2500 whichever is greater”. I said I’d declare the value of the items to be at minimum $2500. He said it doesn’t matter what the remarks say, all I’ll get is 30 cents per pound, but he said “don’t worry you’re in good hands”. I have subsequently learned by reading the Revdex.com Website that the required minimum coverage is 60 cents per pound, not 30 cents. The driver deliberately mislead me about the valuation value of shipped property and limited my loses to 30 cents a pound. He then said to complete another form with 3 options listed and said check off item 3, and I asked why and he said if something gets broken we’ll fix it. I read the item 3 option and it said if something breaks, if made out of pressed board, we get nothing. I asked him why he’d want me to give away my rights, he said, “don’t worry this paper means nothing we’ll fix everything if it gets broken”. The driver then informs me the minimum number of hours is 3 and I informed him I was never informed of a minimum just that I’d be charged by the hour plus a half hour in travel time. He says do you want your items moved or not. I said I have eight items – 3 piece Thomasville wall unit, full size mattress/box spring, TV cabinet, coat rack, and armoire and that I’d never agree to a 3hr minimum if I knew about it upfront. He said if I cancelled the job I’d be charged for the time anyway because they were already sent to do the move. So I had no alternative, I’d be charged if they didn’t move the furniture or if they moved the furniture, so I signed the agreement under duress. He then tells me that keep in mind the tip is not billed into the hourly rate, and that I quote “If I treat them well, they’ll treat me well”. Implying that if I wanted my furniture delivered safely that it better be worth their time and effort. Equivalent to keeping my furniture hostage to their whim. I said that since I have 3 hrs minimum that in addition to moving these 8 items to storage, that I’d like them to move four items to the curb for garbage pick-up. Those were: a leather sofa, companion leather love seat, rocking chair and rug. They moved these without any issue. In order to expedite everything I had already taken the shelving out of all the furniture units, except the armoire which I couldn’t figure out how to take out. The driver removed these shelves for me. Fortunately for us, the shelving both wood and glass were already boxed and stowed elsewhere because the door and shelves from the armoire the driver took apart were just thrown into the truck without any wrapping on them and were scratched. Also to make it easier for the movers I moved the mattress/box spring into the front dining room. The driver asks me why are the doors (bedrooms and bathrooms) closed, to keep me out? I said the rooms were empty hence, the doors closed. He then picked up the mattress and hit the dining room chandelier with it. I had to stop the violent swinging of it and asked that he be careful in moving items, because we already sold the house and we’d have to pay for any damage. He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders and said what’s next. I took him to the second floor so he could move the other two pieces of furniture. He again said why are the other doors closed to keep me out? This time I didn’t respond to him. He repeatedly asked me why I was watching him and I told him I was showing him where the furniture was located for him to move. At one point in the move, he referred to me as crazy because I was watching him wrap and move the furniture. During the wrapping of the furniture at the house the driver and helper just threw the tape (cardboard centers) on the floor and left the mess to be cleaned up the homeowners. Once the furniture is in the truck, the driver is supposed to follow us to the Storage Depot, an approximate 5-6 minute ride with traffic. However, we arrived and the truck shows up over 10 minutes after we did. I could have walked to the storage place in 15 minutes. The driver then twice has to be told by the Storage manager, to move the truck and park it properly within the stall spaces. Further digging into our moving time. I was subsequently informed by the Storage manager that the driver backed up into the drain pipe and broke it. He said either the driver pays for it or Men on the Move trucks would never be allowed onsite at the Storage facility. The furniture is piece by piece removed from the truck and only one piece at a time was brought up the elevator. At one point I had to go up the elevator with the helper and the driver stayed behind. When we returned to the truck, the driver was no where to be found (subsequently found out he was in the office dealing with the manager) and one of the Thomasville wall units was outside the truck and upside down. The driver had taken an expensive unit he was told to take particular care of and dropped it out of the truck by himself with it landing on its head. He said don’t worry its ok. The helper told me that company policy requires both individuals (driver and helper) to take out the furniture. Then they both took out the TV stand and broke several pieces off the bottom, while I was standing there and watching them make the move. The driver said what do you expect with cheap furniture. I told him this was avoidable, but he shrugged his shoulder and couldn’t care less. I asked him to fix it and he said we don’t fix pressboard, yet prior to the move, he said we’ll fix anything that breaks. When the Thomasville unit was brought upstairs I expressed my concern about it being damaged due to it being dropped on its head directly from the truck. The driver says there is nothing wrong with it, and proceeds to wrap it up in the storage paper. I told him I wanted it recorded as a damaged piece on the bill and he argued with me about putting it on the bill as damaged. He violated the Men on the Moves policy of a two men move and acted in total disregard to the shipper’s property. After they finished wrapping the furniture pieces, they again left the cardboard tape pieces behind for us to clean up, I noticed I had an hour left on my 3 hour minimum, so I mentioned that to the driver and said since I still have time on the meter and more room in the storage unit that I’d like to go back to the house and pick up some boxes that are in the garage. I mentioned it several times to the driver who said he didn’t like the way I asked him and said he wasn’t going back to the house, a 5-6 minute ride, if that long, to pick up the boxes. I told him that I’d be calling a manager at the Men on the Move Company and he said “who cares who you call; I’m not going back to the house even if we have an hour available, and no one makes me do anything I don’t want to”. I then called up a manager and explained the situation, and the driver at the same time calls up the Men on the Move and says I refused to pay the bill. I overheard his conversation and told the individual who I was speaking to, [redacted] Mosh, Operations Manager, that I didn’t refuse to pay anything, in fact, I offered the driver my credit card which he refused to take. In fact, I had offered to give him the card at the start of the job, just in case he had to call the numbers into the office and he said “we get paid at the end of the job”. I reiterated to [redacted] that all I did was ask the driver to go back to the house because I had available time left. [redacted] then mentions that there is no 3 hr minimum. The minimum is 2 hrs plus one-half hr for travel. He says I should pay 2 hrs labor + 30 minutes travel. I agreed to pay that, but the driver again refused to take my card instead having his helper give me the bill and taking my card impression. However, I didn’t realize I was overcharged 30 minutes extra for travel until I re-looked at the bill several days later. I then call [redacted] back and he says I agreed to the 3 hr minimum and I paid the correct amount. He completely changed his comments and the minimum hourly charge. Recap of events: 1. Driver mislead on insurable value of shipment 2. Driver mislead on various options of compensation if furniture damaged 3. Driver mislead on minimum hours of move 4. Driver’s negligence on handling of furniture resulting in damage to moved property 5. Driver’s disregard for homeowner’s house by hitting chandelier and throwing empty tape rolls around every room he was in 6. Driver violating the two person company policy on moving furniture, especially furniture designated as requiring special care, resulting in damage to unit 7. Driver damaging furniture and refusing to notate it on the bill 8. Driver not properly wrapping stored furniture, but haphazardly placing the sheets of protective covering (gaps here and there with little if any tape used), thereby, exposing some of the furniture to potential scratches, damages and dust 9. Driver throwing empty tape rolls around the storage facility, requiring the shipper to clean up or face a violation fine from storage facility for leaving the place in a mess 10. Driver not fulfilling the 3 hr work order by refusing to return to shipper’s residence to pick up boxes, thereby, stealing time from the shipper who paid for the time, resulting in an overpayment 11. Driver being argumentative and disruptive, and referring to the shipper on several occasions as crazy 12. Driver makes threatening comments and motion to the shipper, by his body actions, and repeatedly tells the shipper to “get out of his face” 13. Drivers negligence in backing into and breaking the drain pipe (as told to shipper by storage Manager)Desired Settlement: 1. Reprimand driver 2. Driver needs to apologize for actions toward shipper 3. Refund of 30 minutes overcharge of $53 4. Repair or replace deliberately mishandled furniture including: TV cabinet and Thomasville Wall unit

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

[redacted],

In compliance with your voice mail (today) I am sending this e-mail to advise you of my request to rescind my complaint against Men on the Move. [redacted], owner of Men on the Move and I have arrived at a mutual resolution to the issues presented within my complaint. [redacted] Thank you for your assistance,