When 3,000 pounds = 8,000 pounds…read more
We're writing this to educate people who need to hire a mover. We wish we knew then -- before we hired Seaford Transfer of York County, Va., to move us from Newport News, Va., to Savannah, Ga. -- what we know now.
As we get started, it's important to know that we decided to sell or give away the vast majority of our furniture before we moved to Savannah. Here's what we took: five chairs, a large dresser, a king-size bed and mattress and box spring, a large coffee table, an end table, a hall table, an outdoor bench, a hope chest, about 25 medium-size boxes, a kayak, a storage trunk, a large piece of artwork, an antique sewing machine, a bicycle, several rugs, a ladder and two outdoor sculptures. If we're leaving anything out, it was inconsequential.
A Seaford Transfer employee, Brittany Ellis, came to our house to estimate the weight of our things, and I pointed out what we were taking to Savannah. She estimated the weight of our things at 8,000 pounds. We were ignorant of the process, so we assumed that estimate was accurate.
Between the time when we received that estimate and the day when our things were actually moved, two other Seaford Transfer employees who saw our things told us they weighed about 3,000 pounds. We made a mental note of that, but we didn't ask about the discrepancy for two reasons: 1) Our house sold in three days, and we had to vacate it quickly, and we were stuck with Seaford Transfer; and 2) We assumed the company would do the right thing -- recognize the massive discrepancy and issue a reasonable refund.
The other thing we didn't do before our move date was determine about what our belongings weighed. After the move, we learned from multiple websites that moving companies sometimes estimate 1,000 pounds per room, and sometimes they estimate between 10,000 and 12,000 pounds for a four-bedroom house. We had a four-bedroom house with 10 rooms, not including bathrooms, but we were taking the equivalent of only two rooms of furniture (one partial bedroom set and five chairs) and a lot of boxes. That explains why the two other Seaford Transfer employees came up with 3,000 pounds.
After the move, we called Reggie Moore, the son of the owners, and explained the situation. He said he would review the paperwork, talk with the employees and get back to me in about a week. He never did. A couple of weeks after we spoke, we called him four days in a row. He never returned any of those calls, so we emailed his mother, Kathy Moore, the president and owner of Seaford Transfer, who replied that she would talk with Ms. Ellis and get back to us. After doing so, her reply -- and I'm paraphrasing was this: After you signed the estimate, it became binding, and it really didn't matter if we moved more or less than what we estimated.
She added -- and I'm quoting: "We have been in business since 1986, and I can assure you that we have NEVER overestimated a move to pad our pockets." It's one thing to say that, but how do you explain the discrepancy between what Ms. Ellis estimated and what the other Seaford Employees employees and multiple websites said? Reggie Moore didn't want to do that, and neither did Kathy Moore.
We made our share of mistakes, and now we feel an obligation to share with others the lessons we learned:
1) Give yourself enough time before you have to vacate your house to get three estimates.
2) Do some research and know beforehand approximately how many pounds of stuff you need moved.
3) Never assume a company is going to admit a mistake and do the right thing, especially after they have your check. Seaford Transfer didn't, and chances are the company you hire probably won't either.
Best of luck,
Mark & Jayne Di Vincenzo
