December 1997

Miles and Miles of Texas:
Moving Across the Lonestar State

This article was written by the Consumers Union Southwest Regional Office.

When Everything Goes Wrong

Standing Up for Your Rights Can Pay Off, But Takes Time

Mr. "Bob Sinclair" of Tyler experienced nearly every problem common to moving-broken goods, damage to his home, and charges higher than the estimate-all in one trip.

Mr. Sinclair's employer hired Central-Herrin, an Allied Van Lines agent, to move him from Marshall to Tyler last year. On packing day, Central-Herrin promised three experienced female packers to arrive at 8:00 a.m. and pack his items. Instead, one male packer arrived at 9:00 a.m. and after several phone calls to the mover two more men came to his house and helped with the packing. When the truck arrived and was opened, Mr. Sinclair noted several pieces of furniture were stacked on top of each other without padding.

The movers began unloading the items and, while placing some furniture in a walk-in attic, one worker put his foot through the floor and injured himself. The remaining three workers hurried to get Mr. Sinclair's goods off the truck. As it was late in the day, they placed the remaining furniture in the garage, then handed Mr. Sinclair a final invoice for $1200 more than the original estimate.

He refused to sign the invoice until he received an explanation for the difference. A representative of Central-Herrin told Mr. Sinclair that his move cost more than expected because the movers had to pack items from his kitchen and attic. According to Mr. Sinclair, this was not the case, but it was his word against the movers. Mr. Sinclair refused to pay the additional $1200.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sinclair also detected damage to his furniture. He waited three days and, not having heard back from Central-Herrin, contacted the mover again. This time Central-Herrin told him his move cost an extra $1200 because the agent underestimated the mileage by 100%. Mr. Sinclair did not agree that he should pay more money and requested claim forms be sent to him. The company sent him only one, and three weeks later told him that they would mail no more claim forms until he paid the $1200.

Several months went by and a representative from Central-Herrin contacted Mr. Sinclair's employer to request payment of the additional $1200, but the company still had not given a satisfactory explanation for the charge or any additional claim forms. This time, the company told Mr. Sinclair that the mover had underestimated the weight of his shipment, and sent one more claim form.

When Mr. Sinclair hired a furniture repair company to estimate the cost of the damage to his items, the repairman reviewed the inventory listing of the shipment and discovered that almost every piece of furniture was coded as having been damaged before shipping. But after inspecting the damaged items, he also found that the nicks, scratches, and dents were not in the places listed in the inventory.

Mr. Sinclair forwarded the estimate for repairs to Central-Herrin. After sending their own repair estimator to examine the items in question, the company sent a check for $400 for damage to the attic floor. An attached letter stated that because the damaged furniture was moved from the garage into the house, Central-Herrin was not responsible for any damage.

The final blow came when Central-Herrin turned the account for the unpaid balance over to a collection agency. Mr. Sinclair wrote a letter to Allied Van Lines detailing his treatment by their agent Central-Herrin.

Mr. Sinclair contacted the Southwest Movers Association for mediation, but ultimately settled his dispute himself when his employer agreed to pay an amount equal to 10% above the original estimate and Central-Herrin agreed to pay for the damage to his furniture. Almost a year after his move Mr. Sinclair finally received reimbursement for his damaged items.