bcuz
11-02-2005, 01:31 PM
Here is what happened to me with the movers we hired (Ace Moving and Storage http://www.acemoving.ca ) - remember their name, you don't want to hire them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On July 29, 2005, Ace Movers picked up our household belongings. I'd asked specifically for them to bring two mattress bags for my brand new mattresses, but they forgot. I wrapped the mattresses in light plastic I had at my place, and they promised to wrap the mattresses in bags when they arrived at the facility. They then proceeded to move out my stuff to the van. I cautioned them that my antique table was very old (95years) and that the base was very fragile. They opted to carry the table in the back of the pickup (instead of packed into the van) to make sure it was ok. We felt assured they would take care of our stuff.
The problems all happen once this stuff is out of our sight. They were to store it for three months, and then move it into our new house when we took possession. We got a call from Richard, the owner, that when the truck arrived at the storage place, they couldn't fit our stuff into the one locker they promised and quoted. Instead, it would take three (who quotes that poorly). He said he would only charge us for two. This meant our monthly charge was now double what they quoted - but what could we do since they had our stuff.
Three months later, the truck arrived at our new house with our belongings. Right away, I could see problems. Everything looked like it had been dragged, not lifted, across a dirty concrete floor, and there was extensive damage to our stuff. To top it all off, even though they charged us $74.37 for the mattress bags, my mattress arrived without bags and the plastic I'd originally wrapped them in was missing. Instead, my new mattress was covered in black dirt (all along one side that was dragged), black dirty fingerprints, and the edging was torn. We also had the following damage:
They broke the base of our antique dining table (95yrs old) in half; they dragged our leather furniture across the concrete storage room and removed all the leather from the hide on the places in the arm, back, side, and bottom of the chair and sofa; they also dragged our mattress sets across the floor and the one side of all three box springs and mattresses is completely filthy and some stitching is frazzled. They loaded our big screen onto the truck without protection - and then laid some items to rest on the screen - which tore and damaged the screen. Greg's garage cabinet arrived with a door torn off; my wooden master bedroom furniture was dragged and the corners are worn down and splintered; there are scratches on the other furniture set; they broke a lamp right at the base and we have to throw it in the garbage; my ottoman is rotten; they dented the front of our washing machine, and there are a million more small things.
The fellows unloading the truck were not the same people who loaded it that morning, and they encouraged me to call Richard (the president) and complain. They said that it is one thing to have something broken/damaged by accident, but this was pure negligence on the part of the people who stored and moved our stuff. They were disgusted, and the one fellow actually said that he was so tired of having this happen to him at customer's houses, that as soon as he got back to the office he was going to quit!
I called Richard and gave him a quick list of what was damaged, and Richard just said "we cover 60 cents per pound for damage" He didn't even say sorry - I had to ask him to say that.
My husband and I, with the help of the movers, tried to estimate the poundage and deduct the cost, and we eventually paid just over $100 for the over $700 move. However, that money won't replace the damaged items, it won't even come close, and the company doesn't even care about how awful they treated my stuff.
On top of it all, I called the company to reimburse me for the money I paid them for mattress bags they didn't provide, and they say they have no documentation that they sold us those bags!! Funny, they charged my credit card (which I have listed in my statement), but the purchase was made over the phone, so the only people who would have the papers is them. They refused to reimburse me for the missing bags.
I can't believe in this day and age with so much competition that one company is allowed to operate using such disregard. I've never experienced such poor service, such awful results, and such lack of caring in my life. This is the first time I've ever written a letter to complain about a company, but something has to be done about Ace. It isn't fair that they can throw around my stuff, treat it like garbage, ruin new pieces, and then throw me a few bucks to accept it.
Victoria
When I contacted Lea Williams-Doherty from CTV, she responded as follows:
Hi Victoria:
Here is my story on Ace. I am aware that they are a poor moving company and am not terribly surprised by your story. Let me know if you get satisfaction by going the BBB route, and feel free to tell Richard that you and I have corresponded about his company and that I am interested in the resolution of your situation. Hope that helps.
Lea Williams-Doherty
Consumer Reporter
CTV News Calgary
80 Patina Rise SW
Calgary, AB Canada
T3H 2W4
(403) 240-5606
[I-MOVERS]
[Talent=]
[Still=]
MOVING CAN BE A STRESSFUL EXPERIENCE.. BUT TAKING THE RIGHT STEPS BEFORE AND DURING YOUR MOVE CAN MAKE EVERYTHING GO SMOOTHER.
CONSUMER WATCH REPORTER LEA WILLIAMS-DOHERTY SHOWS US THE PROBLEMS ONE MAN HAD DURING HIS CROSS-TOWN MOVE.. AND TELLS US HOW TO AVOID THE SAME PIT-FALLS.
[Tape#=L](***package***)
[ARC#=]
[SUPER=1-JAY NADLER/Recently Moved; :]
[SUPER=1-RICHARD HOFFMAN/Ace Moving Co.; :]
[TRT=]
[OUTCUE=CFCN NEWS]
[P-MOVERS]
[Reporter=lwd]
[Event Date=10/11]
[Contact=]
[Phone=]
[CONSUMER WATCH OPEN M017]
[SOUNDUP](***SOUNDUP***) 25:20 ((JAY UNPACKS BOX)) [TRT=:01]
JAY NADLER IS STILL SETTLING INTO HIS NEW HOME.. AND TRYING TO SETTLE PROBLEMS WITH THE MOVING COMPANY THAT GOT HIM HERE.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=16:23-27]((I'm just frustrated, I'm tired and I want my stuff back)).
[TRT=:04]
NADLER SAYS THINGS WENT MISSING DURING THE MOVE.. INCLUDING AN EXPENSIVE ANTIQUE DINING ROOM TABLE.
[SOUNDUP](***SOUNDUP***) 21:12-14 ((There's that one, there's those in the middle.)) [TRT=:02]
HE SAYS OTHER FURNITURE WAS SCRATCHED AND DAMAGED..
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=10:57-06]((On one arm chair, the arm's almost completely removed, on the filing cabinet the handle is off and the latch is broken)).
[TRT=:09]
AND.. NADLER SAYS.. HE HAD TO DO PART OF THE MOVE HIMSELF BECAUSE THE MOVERS SHOWED UP LATE AT NIGHT WITH TOO SMALL A TRUCK TO GET THE WHOLE JOB DONE.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=1:00:05-13]((At midnight they left, and there was furniture left inside and outside the house)).
[TRT=:08]
THE OWNER OF ACE MOVING COMPANY.. RICHARD HOFFMAN.. SAYS NADLER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SOME OF HIS OWN PROBLEMS. HE SAYS TO SAVE MONEY.. NADLER UNDERESTIMATED THE AMOUNT OF STUFF HE HAD TO MOVE. HE SAYS BECAUSE THE ESTIMATE WAS DONE OVER THE PHONE INSTEAD OF IN PERSON.. THERE WAS NO WAY TO KNOW THE SMALL TRUCK WOULDN'T DO THE JOB.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=31:18-24]((They filled the truck up, what more could they do, they couldn't do much more than that)).
[TRT=:06]
AS FOR SHOWING UP LATE.. HOFFMAN SAYS NADLER WAS TOLD THE MOVERS MAY COME ANYTIME IN THE AFTERNOON OR EVENING.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=29:06-15]((Is is reasonable to expect to get a move done if you start at 7:30? Yes, we wouldn't have showed up if we didn't think we could get the job done)).
[TRT=:09]
AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE MISSING ANTIQUE TABLE.. HOFFMAN SAYS AS FAR AS HE KNOWS.. THERE NEVER WAS ONE.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=39:43-49] ((I totally believe that was just a ploy to get a discount or a deal)).
[TRT=:06]
[SOUNDUP](***SOUNDUP***) 21:55-59 (("I'm getting really tired of eating at this utility table every day.)) [TRT=:04]
NADLER SAYS BECAUSE THE MOVERS NEVER DID AN INVENTORY OF WHAT WAS LOADED INTO THE TRUCK.. PROVING THAT THERE WAS A TABLE IS EVEN MORE DIFFICULT.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=4:54-5:05] ((One guy didn't speak english, the other spoke very little english so the cataloguing was left up to me and they wouldn't sign off on anything)).
[TRT=:11]
NOW.. DUE TO THE LACK OF ADEQUATE DOCUMENTATION.. IT'S ONE MAN'S WORD AGAINST THE OTHER. AND NADLER HAS THIS ADVICE FOR ANYONE CONTEMPLATING A MOVE.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=17:56-18:03] ((Photograph all your stuff, self-insure and check out the company you're gonna be doing business with)).
[TRT=:07]
HE SAYS DOING YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE THE MOVE.. IS BETTER THAN PICKING UP THE PIECES LATER. LEA WILLIAMS-DOHERTY CFCN NEWS.
[Tape=L]
[Outcue=CFCN NEWS]
[10/11/2001 15:01:25]
[T-MOVERS]
[ANCHOR](***ANCHOR***)
IF YOU ARE IN THE PROCESS OF HIRING A MOVING COMPANY.. IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO CHECK THEM OUT WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU FIRST.
THE B-B-B ALSO HAS A HELPFUL TIP SHEET ON HOW TO HIRE A MOVER.
[***CHYRON***](***CHYRON***)
[SUPER=#; HIRING MOVERS TIP SHEET]
OR IF YOU PREFER TO GO ON-LINE.. THE DIRECTOR OF THE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF MOVERS HAS A TIP SHEET ON HIRING MOVERS AS WELL.
YOU CAN FIND IT ON HIS COMPANY'S WEBSITE AT WWW.AURORAMOVING.COM.
On July 29, 2005, Ace Movers picked up our household belongings. I'd asked specifically for them to bring two mattress bags for my brand new mattresses, but they forgot. I wrapped the mattresses in light plastic I had at my place, and they promised to wrap the mattresses in bags when they arrived at the facility. They then proceeded to move out my stuff to the van. I cautioned them that my antique table was very old (95years) and that the base was very fragile. They opted to carry the table in the back of the pickup (instead of packed into the van) to make sure it was ok. We felt assured they would take care of our stuff.
The problems all happen once this stuff is out of our sight. They were to store it for three months, and then move it into our new house when we took possession. We got a call from Richard, the owner, that when the truck arrived at the storage place, they couldn't fit our stuff into the one locker they promised and quoted. Instead, it would take three (who quotes that poorly). He said he would only charge us for two. This meant our monthly charge was now double what they quoted - but what could we do since they had our stuff.
Three months later, the truck arrived at our new house with our belongings. Right away, I could see problems. Everything looked like it had been dragged, not lifted, across a dirty concrete floor, and there was extensive damage to our stuff. To top it all off, even though they charged us $74.37 for the mattress bags, my mattress arrived without bags and the plastic I'd originally wrapped them in was missing. Instead, my new mattress was covered in black dirt (all along one side that was dragged), black dirty fingerprints, and the edging was torn. We also had the following damage:
They broke the base of our antique dining table (95yrs old) in half; they dragged our leather furniture across the concrete storage room and removed all the leather from the hide on the places in the arm, back, side, and bottom of the chair and sofa; they also dragged our mattress sets across the floor and the one side of all three box springs and mattresses is completely filthy and some stitching is frazzled. They loaded our big screen onto the truck without protection - and then laid some items to rest on the screen - which tore and damaged the screen. Greg's garage cabinet arrived with a door torn off; my wooden master bedroom furniture was dragged and the corners are worn down and splintered; there are scratches on the other furniture set; they broke a lamp right at the base and we have to throw it in the garbage; my ottoman is rotten; they dented the front of our washing machine, and there are a million more small things.
The fellows unloading the truck were not the same people who loaded it that morning, and they encouraged me to call Richard (the president) and complain. They said that it is one thing to have something broken/damaged by accident, but this was pure negligence on the part of the people who stored and moved our stuff. They were disgusted, and the one fellow actually said that he was so tired of having this happen to him at customer's houses, that as soon as he got back to the office he was going to quit!
I called Richard and gave him a quick list of what was damaged, and Richard just said "we cover 60 cents per pound for damage" He didn't even say sorry - I had to ask him to say that.
My husband and I, with the help of the movers, tried to estimate the poundage and deduct the cost, and we eventually paid just over $100 for the over $700 move. However, that money won't replace the damaged items, it won't even come close, and the company doesn't even care about how awful they treated my stuff.
On top of it all, I called the company to reimburse me for the money I paid them for mattress bags they didn't provide, and they say they have no documentation that they sold us those bags!! Funny, they charged my credit card (which I have listed in my statement), but the purchase was made over the phone, so the only people who would have the papers is them. They refused to reimburse me for the missing bags.
I can't believe in this day and age with so much competition that one company is allowed to operate using such disregard. I've never experienced such poor service, such awful results, and such lack of caring in my life. This is the first time I've ever written a letter to complain about a company, but something has to be done about Ace. It isn't fair that they can throw around my stuff, treat it like garbage, ruin new pieces, and then throw me a few bucks to accept it.
Victoria
When I contacted Lea Williams-Doherty from CTV, she responded as follows:
Hi Victoria:
Here is my story on Ace. I am aware that they are a poor moving company and am not terribly surprised by your story. Let me know if you get satisfaction by going the BBB route, and feel free to tell Richard that you and I have corresponded about his company and that I am interested in the resolution of your situation. Hope that helps.
Lea Williams-Doherty
Consumer Reporter
CTV News Calgary
80 Patina Rise SW
Calgary, AB Canada
T3H 2W4
(403) 240-5606
[I-MOVERS]
[Talent=]
[Still=]
MOVING CAN BE A STRESSFUL EXPERIENCE.. BUT TAKING THE RIGHT STEPS BEFORE AND DURING YOUR MOVE CAN MAKE EVERYTHING GO SMOOTHER.
CONSUMER WATCH REPORTER LEA WILLIAMS-DOHERTY SHOWS US THE PROBLEMS ONE MAN HAD DURING HIS CROSS-TOWN MOVE.. AND TELLS US HOW TO AVOID THE SAME PIT-FALLS.
[Tape#=L](***package***)
[ARC#=]
[SUPER=1-JAY NADLER/Recently Moved; :]
[SUPER=1-RICHARD HOFFMAN/Ace Moving Co.; :]
[TRT=]
[OUTCUE=CFCN NEWS]
[P-MOVERS]
[Reporter=lwd]
[Event Date=10/11]
[Contact=]
[Phone=]
[CONSUMER WATCH OPEN M017]
[SOUNDUP](***SOUNDUP***) 25:20 ((JAY UNPACKS BOX)) [TRT=:01]
JAY NADLER IS STILL SETTLING INTO HIS NEW HOME.. AND TRYING TO SETTLE PROBLEMS WITH THE MOVING COMPANY THAT GOT HIM HERE.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=16:23-27]((I'm just frustrated, I'm tired and I want my stuff back)).
[TRT=:04]
NADLER SAYS THINGS WENT MISSING DURING THE MOVE.. INCLUDING AN EXPENSIVE ANTIQUE DINING ROOM TABLE.
[SOUNDUP](***SOUNDUP***) 21:12-14 ((There's that one, there's those in the middle.)) [TRT=:02]
HE SAYS OTHER FURNITURE WAS SCRATCHED AND DAMAGED..
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=10:57-06]((On one arm chair, the arm's almost completely removed, on the filing cabinet the handle is off and the latch is broken)).
[TRT=:09]
AND.. NADLER SAYS.. HE HAD TO DO PART OF THE MOVE HIMSELF BECAUSE THE MOVERS SHOWED UP LATE AT NIGHT WITH TOO SMALL A TRUCK TO GET THE WHOLE JOB DONE.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=1:00:05-13]((At midnight they left, and there was furniture left inside and outside the house)).
[TRT=:08]
THE OWNER OF ACE MOVING COMPANY.. RICHARD HOFFMAN.. SAYS NADLER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SOME OF HIS OWN PROBLEMS. HE SAYS TO SAVE MONEY.. NADLER UNDERESTIMATED THE AMOUNT OF STUFF HE HAD TO MOVE. HE SAYS BECAUSE THE ESTIMATE WAS DONE OVER THE PHONE INSTEAD OF IN PERSON.. THERE WAS NO WAY TO KNOW THE SMALL TRUCK WOULDN'T DO THE JOB.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=31:18-24]((They filled the truck up, what more could they do, they couldn't do much more than that)).
[TRT=:06]
AS FOR SHOWING UP LATE.. HOFFMAN SAYS NADLER WAS TOLD THE MOVERS MAY COME ANYTIME IN THE AFTERNOON OR EVENING.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=29:06-15]((Is is reasonable to expect to get a move done if you start at 7:30? Yes, we wouldn't have showed up if we didn't think we could get the job done)).
[TRT=:09]
AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE MISSING ANTIQUE TABLE.. HOFFMAN SAYS AS FAR AS HE KNOWS.. THERE NEVER WAS ONE.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=39:43-49] ((I totally believe that was just a ploy to get a discount or a deal)).
[TRT=:06]
[SOUNDUP](***SOUNDUP***) 21:55-59 (("I'm getting really tired of eating at this utility table every day.)) [TRT=:04]
NADLER SAYS BECAUSE THE MOVERS NEVER DID AN INVENTORY OF WHAT WAS LOADED INTO THE TRUCK.. PROVING THAT THERE WAS A TABLE IS EVEN MORE DIFFICULT.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=4:54-5:05] ((One guy didn't speak english, the other spoke very little english so the cataloguing was left up to me and they wouldn't sign off on anything)).
[TRT=:11]
NOW.. DUE TO THE LACK OF ADEQUATE DOCUMENTATION.. IT'S ONE MAN'S WORD AGAINST THE OTHER. AND NADLER HAS THIS ADVICE FOR ANYONE CONTEMPLATING A MOVE.
[CLIP](***CLIP***)
[TIMECODE=17:56-18:03] ((Photograph all your stuff, self-insure and check out the company you're gonna be doing business with)).
[TRT=:07]
HE SAYS DOING YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE THE MOVE.. IS BETTER THAN PICKING UP THE PIECES LATER. LEA WILLIAMS-DOHERTY CFCN NEWS.
[Tape=L]
[Outcue=CFCN NEWS]
[10/11/2001 15:01:25]
[T-MOVERS]
[ANCHOR](***ANCHOR***)
IF YOU ARE IN THE PROCESS OF HIRING A MOVING COMPANY.. IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO CHECK THEM OUT WITH THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU FIRST.
THE B-B-B ALSO HAS A HELPFUL TIP SHEET ON HOW TO HIRE A MOVER.
[***CHYRON***](***CHYRON***)
[SUPER=#; HIRING MOVERS TIP SHEET]
OR IF YOU PREFER TO GO ON-LINE.. THE DIRECTOR OF THE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF MOVERS HAS A TIP SHEET ON HIRING MOVERS AS WELL.
YOU CAN FIND IT ON HIS COMPANY'S WEBSITE AT WWW.AURORAMOVING.COM.