Move - Courtice, ON to Shelburne County, NS
I'm glad to see it' s not just me that's unhappy with this company. I contracted them to move my belongings from Ontario to Nova Scotia in August 2014. I sent Jeff a comprehensive list of the items to be moved, and in return received the following email:
"Thank you David for the list . That makes things easier . I can guarantee you a price of $ 2350.00 based on this list , hst included . Pickup would be on the 30th in Courtice and delivery on the 2 of Sept in the Barrington area south shore NS . jeff SMART MOVERS / TOTTEN'S MOVERS Halifax 902-876-8364"
The move on the 30th August was very late, they arrived after 7pm having collected from another house (and they were late so they said because the previous person had more goods than expected). When the driver told me this I asked him if what he was collecting from my address was more or less as expected and he said "pretty much as expected". As we had exchanged at midday the house was actually no longer mine and the new owners were around, therefore everything that was to me moved had already been carried into the garage or was in a room just off the front entrance, the movers didn't have to bring anything up or downstairs, it was all ready for them. It was after 2:30am when they were finally packed and left. They were picking up a third load in Montreal before heading back to Nova Scotia I was told.
I then drove to Nova Scotia and on September 2nd after midday got a call from the truck driver saying that my goods would be arriving shortly. Not long after this I received the following text message from Jeff:
"your final price David is $3965.50 plus hst for a grand total of $4559.75"
Obviously I immediately called Jeff to query why my price was substantially more than his "guaranteed price" and was told that it was because my load was "over weight" and had therefore incurred more charges. Feeling somewhat forced into paying, if I didn't pay I assumed the truck would turn around, I foolishly paid by Visa.
The truck arrived almost at dusk, and the unloading began. It was immediately apparent that, somewhere along the way, my goods had been rearranged and repacked, a bookcase was now right up at the top of the truck and actually hung over the legs of a desk, so that the back of the bookcase had come away and was damaged. A virtually new double mattress was also damaged, by two units that had been packed in such a way that their corners had obviously dug into the mattress with the movement of the journey and created holes in it. I took photographs of the damaged mattress and slo pointed it out to the driver, who dutifully marked it down on the delivery slip. I told them to take away the bookcase, it was badly damaged and despite calling Jeff it was obvious that, because it was pressed wood, they were going to do nothing more than offer $20 compensation which I felt was derisory.
After they had left and as we started it sort out things it was evident that several other pieces of furniture were marked, not badly, but it was obvious that the movers hadn't exactly been careful.
I contacted Jeff regarding the mattress that was damaged and instead of offering to replace it he arranged for a local upholsterer to come and repair it (I am still waiting).
I have repeatedly asked for the weight slips and a comprehensive invoice that will justify the price increase but every request was met with silence or avoidance of the issue. When I finally sent this email:
"Jeff,
My patience is exhausted. I want a copy of your invoice along with a copy of the weight slip within the next week failing which I shall be handing this over to my lawyer."
I received the following email from Jeff:
"The fact is David you ripped the mattress not us . Both my employees witness you pulling on the mattress in order to get it up the much to small stair case with nails sticking out of the the wall and thats how it got snagged and ripped . WE dismantled sofas in order to get them through door ways and went above and beyond to satisfy you , in which we were happy to do. I apologized concerning the bookcase . It was unfortunate damage that should not have happen . I agreed to pay to have the mattress repaired as a trade off for the damaged book case that we were more than happy to repair but you requested we dispose of it , which we did. I requested your postal code from you in an email two weeks ago so i can send your modem to you . You have not provided one as of this date and i can't mail it without one . . As you are well aware you had much more volume than anticipated of which your final cost reflected . jeff TOTTEN'S MOVERS Halifax 902-876-8364 "
I am currently proceeding to the small claims court. This company should be avoided at all costs.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $4,559.75
- Company Response
David you know that you sent much more than what was on the list . Also we offered to repair the press wood book case and have had it like new for you , but you unreasonably refused . IT was the one only item that suffered any damage ( two connecting joints snap ) and could have easily been fix . You insisted on a new one but we informed you previously that if any item is damaged during transport my companies responsibility is to repair ( if it can be ) or replace ( if it can't be ) In your case the press wood book case could have been repair ( We were going to take it to get it fixed and return it to you later ) but as i mention earlier David you refused . As you have so graciously mention in you comment , the mattress was torn on nails in the wall of your narrow staircase . When my movers informed you that it could get damaged going up the narrow staircase you out of anger push and pulled the mattress and subsequently tore your mattress . Again i know moving can be stressful and your personal circumstances of a separation made things hard for you , but to take your anger out on my company i believe is unacceptable when every effort was made to appease you . The cost was reflective of what you decided to move and many items upon pickup were not packed and ready to go . This made loading far longer than expected but being the professionals we are never complain once and took it upon ourselves to pack them for you > And as you stated in your statement , we even went as far as to dismantle sofa's to get them into your cottage ( There's not many moving companies that would take the time to dismantle a sofa ( in your case two plus other items ) that wasn't typically meant to come apart but we took our time and removed the ends and reassembled for you . We only charged you for the amount moved and the work performed . And like any company would expect to be reimbursed. As many know , you can'tgo to Canada post and expect to pay to mail one letter and then tell them that since they're going that way anyway take these extra 10 letters for free . It doesn't work that way and unless your a company that receives thousands of dollars in subsidies from the government no business can survive doing things for free. Also as you well know everything except your bookcase arrive in the exact same condition with NO damages whatsoever . We\ have been in business well over 20 years serving Maritimers, Quebecer's and Ontarian s with few complaints out of literally thousands of customers during that time and we have only improved over those years . Taking every precaution , our customers goods arrive in the same condition as when we picked them up . That is our number one priority . Also we pickup up your items in southern ( Courtice ) and delivered to Shelburn NS ( south shore ) delivery made in two days from pickup ( we had other stops and starts also ) a distance of 1206 miles . You will be hard pressed to have a company make that delivery of that size for that distance in two days ( I thought it was amazing my guys pulled that off for you ) it wasn't easy . Im sorry we were not able to please you but i believe know other moving company would have gone to the lenghts my company went trying to please you . sincerely jeff smith TOTTEN' MOVING Halifax 902-876-8364 www.smartmoversatlantic.ca