On June 14th I contacted Mega Moving to move my personal belongings from Acton to Calgary. During the original conversation we talked about pricing based on weight, pickup and delivery dates. I made the decision to go with this company because of the price. Contracts were signed and a pickup date was arranged for June 23rd with an a delivery date of July 1 – July 6th. In one of my emails to Gina (Sales Rep, Mega Moving) I had asked if I would need additional insurance for my belongings just in case there was a major accident. Gina’s response was “Just to let you know that ,everybody who moves already has a basic moving coverage included with their move.( *60 cents per pound/per item ).” I thought that this would be sufficient because I felt confident that the company would deliver my belongings successfully, and to arrive at final destination with no damages.
The pickup was completed by Multi City Moving on Saturday, June 23, 2012. This is not the original company I had called and charged my credit the $500.00 deposit. Because I was already living in Calgary, my girlfriend was the person who oversaw the loading of my personal items into the truck in Acton. She would never have known that it was a different company than who I had originally called.
The delivery was promised by the latest July 6th, however at approximately 11:30 pm, on July 7th I received a phone call telling me they would be at my place the next day, July 8th at 9:00 am providing that they would be able to get someone to assist them with the unload. They did get someone to assist, however they arrived two hours late. One of the things I noticed is that the two younger men, did all the work while the two drivers did very little. The younger men took many cigarette breaks. One of the other concerns I had was I was supposed to attend a function which started at 2:00 p.m. that afternoon. It looked like I was going to be very late.
Before they started unloading the truck I was asked to sign the paperwork and to make the payment in full. During the unload I notice that there were quite a few pieces that were damaged and brought this to the attention of one of the older gentleman. He never answered my question even though I asked him several times. What am I to do because I am pretty well at their mercy, until they unload all my personal belongings. Before they left after they unloaded I asked them again what they were going to do about the damaged goods. No response again.
It took me approximately 5 months to complete my unpacking, keeping records and pictures of the damaged articles. I called the company in early December asking what I needed to do in regards to the damages. I was told to send the pictures and a brief description of the damages. I put the information together and called Mega Moving. I was told to send the information to another person. I sent the emails with the information attached and followed up to ask if they were received. I followed up again on February 1 for an update. Her response was that she was on Maternity Leave and would get back with me the following week either Thursday or Friday. Again, no response. I followed up again with her in March and no response. I sent another request on April 7th and no response. Finally on April 16, I sent a message telling them that I was going to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau if I did not hear back from them. The next day I received a phone call from the company Manager, Abraham who stated that they were not going to do anything.
“Hi Deborah,
After having a phone conversation and explaining the details for your move I will state everything in writing one more time. We have moved you from Acton, ON to Calgary, AB in July 8, 12. You have contacted us late December early January regarding of a claim. If there was any claim to be done had to be done in maximum 10 days and in writing, but nothing was done. You have not purchased any declared value either regarding of your furniture just the basic coverage which is 60 cents a lbs. For example if truck flipped over and we completely lost your shipment you would get 60 cents a lbs x 9900 lbs = $5940 however that is not the case because you received all your shipment. You also signed the contract and the inventory list saying shipment was received in good condition, nothing was stated as scratched or broken. Also, any packing done by you is not the carriers responsibility, we don't know how well you packed the boxes, it goes owners pack owners risk on the inventory list. I want to apologize to tell you the facts than what you wanted to hear. Therefore nothing that I can do at this point but I can give you an excellent rate to move you, way better rate then any other competitors can provide, for the next time that you want to move.
Regards,
Abraham”
I have looked at the contract that was drawn up originally and there is no mention that a claim had to be made in 10 days. I asked right at the beginning if I needed to purchase extra insurance. It was suggested that I did not need to have extra, because I had basic insurance which I thought would be sufficient. If I had of known that Mega Moving was going to use Multi City as their Carrier, I probably would not have chosen them. When the movers came to my door to unload, I was told I had to sign the paperwork and pay before the goods could be unloaded. I brought this to the attention of the crew that dropped off the furniture that there were damages and asked them what I needed to do and there was no response.
I am appalled at the unprofessionalism of this company supplying a service that we the consumer is paying for and they don’t take ownership for the damages they do to other peoples personal property.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $6,000.00