As a 30-year broadcast journalist and news executive, I have moved more than 10 times using professional movers. As a former consumer/investigative reporter, I have dealt with more than my share of complaints from consumers about movers. I've had occasion to complain myself on some occasions about broken articles and attempts to overcharge on the delivery end. Never have I had a move which I would term a disaster. That is, until I had the misfortune to do business with Mordue Moving and Storage and Arpin Van Lines. Please read this letter in its entirety, as the most egregious act is detailed toward the end.
Allow me to relate and document each event in this chain of unprofessionalism. I'll begin by stating this is the first time that I, a single person, packed the lion's share of my packable belongings. The only items I had Mordue/Arpin pack were my dishware and glasses, a fine china set, and my framed posters and artwork.in every prior move, the moving company (and I've worked with many companies and van lines) sent a packing crew a day ahead of the move to hasten the process.in the majority of my prior moves, the moving company used a three-man crew on move day. Sometimes only two men drove the truck to the destination and unpacked, but in the great majority of cases three men were used on departure day.
I must give credit to Mordue's moving consultant, Ken Callear. He is as slick a salesperson as ever worked for a moving firm. Trouble is... He sold me a bill of goods which was peppered with lies. Besides the usual "we'll take good care of you, " "I'll be with you every step of the way" and "I'll have one of our best drivers with your shipment, " Mr. Callear told me a crew would arrive ahead of move day to pack me. He never called back to confirm whether that would take place. Finally, I called him and was told the packing and moving would be done the same day. "Don't worry, " he said, "you don't have much, so it'll go quickly and you'll be out the door in no time." Remember that statement as I continue with this account. Mr. Callear also said the crew would arrive between 8 and 9:30 am.
On move day, 8/10/09,9:30 am came and went with no sign of the crew and no call. I called Mr. Callear's cell phone to ask where the crew was. It went to voicemail and I left a message. About 10 minutes later I called Mordue's offices and asked what was going on. The woman who answered didn't know, but promised to tell a dispatcher. A dispatcher called back a little while later to say the crew had to make a delivery and would be there as soon as possible. They didn't arrive until 10:30. Remember... Mr. Callear promised an arrival time of between 8 and 9:30.
I will tell you that, in every prior move, the crew always arrived within the scheduled window (and always before 9 am), and were never out the door later than 4 pm. As a single person with not a great deal of belongings, I'm pretty easy to move. That's why it doesn't take terribly long... Especially when moving companies use 3-man crews as almost all have done for me.
The crew that arrived was composed of driver Jason Lyons and one assistant, Shawn (or Sean). Mr. Lyons did the majority of the packing, including all my dishes and glassware. The crew took many breaks, worked anything but swiftly, and kept assuring me that it wouldn't take long. At 4 pm, the two of them had been at my home for 5 1/2 hours. And not one single carton or piece of furniture had been carried out the door. Remember... in my previous moves I was locking up the house and leaving no later than 4 pm. I am more than willing to sign an affidavit to that effect.
At about 4:30 I called Ken Callear again because, despite his promise that "I'll be with you every step of the way, " he didn't see fit to return my voicemail as of that juncture. I told the woman answering the phone at Mordue that not one piece had gone into the truck. She replied..."Oh, God... That's awful. That's really awful." She then put me on hold and said Mr. Callear had recently come back into the office. When I finally got off of "hold" and was connected to Mr. Callear, I expressed my displeasure with the process and his broken promises in no uncertain terms. The friendly salesman turned very cold and turned me over to a man he described as a vice president of Mordue Moving and Storage, Andy Perring. I repeated my story to him and he asked me what I expected. I said I expected compensation for the ridiculously lengthy moving process and the multiple broken promises of Mr. Callear. He apologized, then said there was nothing he could do because moving was a regulated industry. I told him that, as a former consumer reporter, I know exactly what kind of compensation is available, what is restricted by federal statutes, and the fact that compensation for atrocious service never has to be tied to the weights and distances regulated by the federal government. He continued to go around and around with me for 20 minutes at least. When he said "I can't compensate you, " I said..."No, Andy, you're choosing not to compensate me." He had no response other than more hemming and hawing.
However, another Mordue mover showed up at my door within a half hour, and one more followed about 15 minutes later. Now there are FOUR men working on the move. The time at this point is about 5:30 pm... Seven hours after the van first pulled up. I thought things would finally move along more swiftly at this point. Once again, I was wrong. The two extra movers left after a couple of hours, leaving Jason and Shawn to get the last of my belongings out the door. When the final papers were signed, the clocks on my kitchen oven and microwave read 8:45 pm. A simple move of a single man in a 3-bedroom condo took 10 hours and 15 minutes. But wait... It gets worse.
The moving crew arrived at about 11:30 am on Friday, August 14. My new living space is an apartment in an elevator building. The truck pulled up in a loading dock right near the elevator. Both Jason and Shawn told me how great it was that it was so convenient for them. They began unloading items, over and over I heard "Hmm. This has no number on it." Jason had neglected to inventory at least a half dozen items. Later, a missing inventory item, an expensive Japanese decorative fan, was "found" on the truck after all items were supposedly offloaded. My microwave oven obviously wasn't wrapped in pads and had a nasty gouge in the top. A lamp with six decorative lights had one glass light holder smashed. And then there's the time the crew took to unload my belongings. I thought they would do their utmost to make the process a speedier one. Again, I was wrong. The final papers were signed at 8:05 pm. So, an easy delivery to a smaller living space took almost 8 1/2 hours.
Speaking of those final papers, one is the invoice enclosed with this letter. The other is a "Statement of Accessorial Services Performed, " also included with this letter. You'll note the Statement is blank. At the time of departure from my home in Illinois, Jason told me the office would fill in details of the containers, packing and unpacking services utilized. I signed it at departure. I'm also supposed to sign it at arrival. When I showed him the form was blank and informed him I would not sign it, he said, "I don't blame you. I wouldn't sign it either if there's nothin' on it. They were supposed to fill that out. How are you supposed to know how many cartons we packed if they don't put it on there?" And that's exactly the point. The invoice charges me $1045.16 for containers and packing. I challenge that charge as arbitrary. Mordue cannot substantiate the charge without proof of the services and cartons rendered... And by virtue of the blank statement there is no proof. I will not pay for a phantom charge.
Because of the shady paperwork, because of the patently ridiculous amount of time it took to load and unload my belongings, because of the broken promises, outright lies, and missing "personal service" by moving consultant Ken Callear, because of the inflexibility of Andy Perring to consider any compensation whatsoever, and because of the unprofessionalism exhibited during the entire process of the most disastrous move I have ever experienced, I demand a minimum rebate of 50% of my moving costs... Or $2122.08.
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