Just Heard Another Horror Story

‘Amanda’s’ Story
“Last year, my family relocated from western Victoria to Sydney for my husband’s job. I called a couple of companies in the area, and ended up going with the removalists who quoted me the cheapest amount.

The day of the move got off to a shaky start. The removalists were over an hour late. They never called to tell me they were behind schedule, and when I finally got someone on the phone from the company, they said that the driver’s GPS was broken. When the men arrived, they were apologetic and did load up all of our boxes and furniture quite quickly, so we started to feel better. My husband and I then packed up our daughters and set off in our car.

We knew that we would arrive to our new house in Sydney before the movers. However, when four hours had passed and there was no sign of them, I began to get nervous. I kept calling the company but they said the dispatcher couldn’t connect with the drivers. My girls were getting tired and cranky, and my husband and I began to panic. I decided to take my daughters to a hotel because there was no way we would be unpacked at a reasonable hour.

Around 11pm, we finally got a phone call that the truck broke down en route. Our belongings had to be unloaded from the truck and put in a storage locker. I was terrified that some of our boxes would be accidentally left behind in the truck or even worse, in this random storage facility we’ve never seen! The company assured my irate husband that first thing in the morning, another truck would go pick up our belongings and complete the move. Mind you everything was done over the phone, we didn’t have access to email yet, so we had nothing in writing.

The next day a local moving company in Sydney contacted us saying they would be completing the move. We figured the company from Victoria had to do this because they were down a truck, and didn’t really worry about it. However, when our belongings finally made it to our house, the Sydney company wanted us to pay not only for moving house, but for the night our stuff spent in the storage facility! They refused to unload anything, saying that they had to pay out of pocket to get our boxes from storage. We ended up having to contact a lawyer to help us settle the matter. In the end, the company in Victoria had to cover the charges, but we still ended up paying for a hotel for over a week. It was the most maddening experience of my life.”

What can we learn from Amanda’s horror story?
Always keep an item inventory list in the event your belongings don’t arrive to your destination
Get transactions in writing
Choose Two Men and a Truck for your next move!