When our salesperson came over our old house to give us an estimate, he highly recommended purchasing additional insurance in case of loss or damage. We didn't buy it the first day but we did reconsider it the day of the move. We did not feel that a loss would be an issue but we were worried about something getting damaged. We felt that we hired professionals to move our things. All of the boxes were clearly marked with a sticker of where things belonged and anything that was fragile was clearly noted on the top and on the sides so that it would not be missed.
The day of the move, March 9, we purchased 10,000 of additional insurance for the move. We were not told about any deductibles for any loss. On the agreement we received from our salesman for the estimated cost of the move has the area blocked out the area (with a white sticker) pertaining to any deductible. The boxes to be moved were in our garage and in one area downstairs in our house. Before we moved everything out of the downstairs in the old house, I noticed that they broke the wheel off of my enlarger. They told me to put it on the claim form that day. The refrigerator was packed by me and another Dodge Mayflower mover. We moved the box out to the garage. It was clearly labeled "kitchen food." Already in the garage was a small box clearly labeled "mouse trap." Once we arrived at the new house and started unpacking the box, the packer put the mouse trap in the food box.
The workers were very disgruntled after the food incident. As they were unpacking the boxes, they did not pay attention to what was marked on the boxes. There were numerous times I saw them bringing in a stack of boxes. The box at the bottom would be clearly marked "Fragile Do Not Crush." I had to continually bring this to their attention and explain to them that this was put there for a reason. They were very careless when they moved things into my new house. There is an entrance through the garage to the basement. This is the way we had them move everything in downstairs. There are areas in the wall that were nicked by furniture and boxes. They ruined some of the door trim to one of the downstairs rooms.
At the end of the move, we were given a $50.00 credit for the food that was ruined by the movers. We also reported the damage we were aware of. I was told by one of the movers that we had 90 days to report a loss to the company. We were not told about any other issues or deadlines.
After unpacking everything at the end of March, we noticed that we had quite a few things missing. I placed a call to my local Dodge Mayflower office to see if they had an unclaimed box. The first call I made was Friday March 30 at 8:54 A.M. I called again at 9:38 A.M. I explained that everything was unpacked and there a numerous items that did not show up. This was a box packed the morning of the move. I went on further to explain that I was concerned that if they did have the box, they would not realize that it belonged to us. We picked up some used boxes prior to our move. The boxes had someone else's name on them. I spoke with someone named Mike and he said that he would look around and let me know. I called for the third time on Monday April 2 at 8:44 A.M. I received a call back from Mike letting me know that they did not find any unclaimed boxes and that I needed to put it on my claim form that there were missing items. He never mentioned to me that my time limit was up for claiming lost items.
I spoke with my claims adjuster, Mary Beth on numerous occasions about the claim form to be certain I was doing it correctly. She mentioned to me that she uses Google all the time to come up with values. She also made mention that she would be sending out an inspector to inspect the boxes and the items once the claim form is received.
When I spoke Mary Beth, I explained to her numerous times the problems during our move. She told me to put everything on the claim form that was damaged and missing. I played the message that I have for her that was left my Mike at the O Fallon Dodge Mayflower office. His message stated that we needed to put the missing items on our claim form
I contacted Mary Beth numerous times about the status of our claim. Each time I spoke with her, I received a different excuse on why it was not completed. The first time it was due to open enrollment and that she was overwhelmed with paperwork. The next time it was because she was on vacation. The next time it was because she was sick. Each time I left her a message, she did not return a call to me. I had to continue to chase her.
On June 15, she told me that we would have some resolution on an issue with the bronze eagle by the end of the day. She did not call. I called her on Monday and Tuesday and did not get a call back from her either time. I spoke with Tom Linhares on Tuesday June 19 at 11:30 to talk about finishing the claim. He explained that Mary Beth was out for an illness and he would help me. He made reference to the fact that since we could not substantiate the value of an eagle statue, they were not going to give us the full amount of the eagle and we would receive a letter to let us what we would be given. The eagle was one of the items on my claim form. The eagle was in a box clearly marked fragile, do not crush or drop. This box was one of the boxes that I spoke with the mover about. He told me the letter with the check went out on Friday, June 15. When I called him Thursday June 21, he told me he thought the letter and a check had gone out but it did not go out until Tuesday June 19. I received the letter Saturday, June 23. The postmark on the envelope was June 21.
During my conversation with Tom on Thursday, June 21 he said he could not ascertain why we would not have reported missing or damaged items for 11 days, this lapse in time only strengthens our burden of proof in reporting the claim. My wife and I both work and have a 17 month old child, I don't know of many people who have gone through every box in 11 days. The contract does not state we need to meet an eleven day deadline, in fact, it states a 90 day deadline.
He made a comment that we couldn't receive a greater amount for our claim because we didn't provide anything to show value. The only thing we were asked to provide was something for the orthodics, which I faxed as soon I received and one for the bronze eagle. I explained that this store is one that is no longer open in Crestwood mall and that I could not locate the receipt. I offered to take a picture of the eagle and use the internet to find similar eagles for replacement value. We don't know of anyone who keeps all of their receipts for things they purchase to decorate their home. We were able to find the exact or similar items online.
An inspector was never sent out to inspect any of the broken items or the boxes that they were packed in. We understand that the settlement would be to repair or replace the item, which ever is less. If they never came out to view the items, how can they determine if the items could be repaired or they need to be replaced? The company closed out the claim without thoroughly investigating it. The contract states the depreciated value will be replaced, but does not define the rate of depreciation. When we asked the rate of depreciation, they would not tell us.
He questioned our integrity of having the missing items at the house. If he was going to question the quality of the packing that we did, what is the point of having the insurance at all. We spent the extra money on the insurance so that if something would have happened, we would have been covered. We are now finding out that nothing is being covered. We have been told that we are being given a goodwill gesture.
Missing items with the exception of a pair of orthotics and the shoes they were in were of insignificant value. The orthotics were just bought, there would be no reason to want another pair at the cost of $600 a pair.
We would like the company to reopen our claim and give as a fair settlement. We feel that we need a third party to oversee what will happen once the claim is reopened. We do not feel that we were treated fairly. We don't want any special treatment. We just want what is fair.
Michele
o fallon, Illinois
U.S.A.
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