Especially if you value your belongings.
My boyfriend and I moved across the country from Ohio to Oregon in March. I won't even bother you with the details of the trouble we had with the truck and car-tow trailer as that is another story entirely.
We had just crossed the state line into Utah when the Ryder truck broke down. My boyfriend was driving the truck and towing his car and I was in my own vehicle driving behind him when I heard this loud popping noise and lots of blue smoke coming out from underneath the truck. Luckily we were near an exit so we limped off the highway. We called customer service and a mechanic was dispatched. After having a look at the Ryder truck, the mechanic declared that the truck could not be repaired and that Ryder would have to send a new truck from the nearest city which happened to be Salt Lake City over an hour away from where we were. Ryder customer service told us to stay in a hotel overnight and to keep receipts for the hotel and meals as we would be reimbursed by Ryder. They would send out a team with a new truck to perform a "load swap" the following morning. Everything seemed to be in order.
The next morning, the swap "team" arrived with the new truck. The team consisted of an older gentleman, his wife and their son who looked to be in his mid-20's. I immediately wondered how they were going to be able to swap all of our belongings when it took my boyfriend and I 3 days to carefully pack the 24-foot long truck. My boyfriend explicity instructed them to pack the truck as we had packed it. I had (notice use of the word "HAD") some very expensive furniture and antiques in that truck that were handed down to me by my parents. That was the main reason for us moving ourselves. I didn't want my belongings damaged by careless movers. Well... So much for that.
It took the swap team 3 1/2 hours to do what it had taken us 3 days to do. They hooked up the car tow and brought us the keys and we were on our way thinking everything had been properly taken care of. WRONG! When we arrived in Portland, OR we hired some movers to help empty the truck. When we unlocked the truck to unload it, we were shocked. The movers told us it was the most disgusting pack job they had ever seen. Everything had been loaded on backwards. The movers had difficulty opening the cargo door and we discovered that it was because my sofa sectionals and loveseat were standing ON THEIR ARMS at the back of the truck! I was appalled. Everything heavy was on the back of the truck. Everything light was at the front of the truck and boxes were just thrown in haphazardly. I was made to go inside while the men unpacked the truck because I was so upset. My boyfriend used up more than 2 rolls of film to document the damage.By the time the truck was unpacked, we discovered extensive damage to some heavy and expensive pieces of furniture. My sofa sectionals were torn up. My Ethan Allen dresser had a leg broken off. The wood was all splintered and it looked like they had dragged it rather than lifted it. Same think with my oak claw-foot dining room table, they broke a claw off of it! I was so mad and disgusted! I called Ryder to complain and was told to contact the Customer Advocacy Group. I was never given a phone number, only a fax number. I was told to fax in my receipts from the breakdown, which I did along with a letter explaining what had happened. I expected immediate attention. WRONG! Another interesting thing is when we went to return the truck and car-tow, the new truck serial number had never been entered into the computer. Also, the Ryder employee noted that there was NO LICENSE PLATE on the new truck. Dangerous, not to mention illegal.
The CAG contacted me and told me they were not responsible for property damage and that I would have to file a claim with a different department. I called and gave them some information and was told that someone would be contacting me. I was contacted weeks later by an insurance adjuster who told me in no certain terms that there was nothing he could do. WHY? Because the people who performed the load swap were not Ryder employees. Ryder contracted with them so Ryder is not liable for any damages that they inflict on my property. Nice, isn't it? Convienent for Ryder I'm sure. Whenever their trucks break down, which I'm certain is quite frequently, they send out people for whom they are not responsible.
So after 10 months, I have no satisfaction or reimbursement for my damaged property which is probably several thousand dollars. I'm still waiting for the insurance adjuster to contact the dealer who sent out the swap team.in the meantime, I wondering if I have any legal recourse? Would it be worth my while to retain a lawyer and pursue this down a legal avenue? Any help or advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. At this point, Ryder says there is nothing they can do. More like they don't WANT to do it. My guess is there is something that can be done, I'm just not sure what. HELP!!!
Dicey
Gresham, Oregon
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