August 14th, 2020…read more
Mann's Moving & Hauling
Champaign, IL 61821
217.255.2952
Dear Alex (and Benjamin).
I am touching base with you after my move, 08.10.2020. While I had sent a thorough list of items, Benjamin phoned in the morning to confirm as he wanted to be sure whether he would need a 20ft or 26ft truck. I assured him either would be fine because I moved everything here in a 10ft and trailer.
He arrived shortly after 11am with two young men. We did a walk-through. He agreed the 20ft truck would be fine for the move. And he left with the two getting to work. They did not need to break anything down or shrink wrap any items. While they were getting the boxes & totes loaded, my brother-in-law, sister, and I were loading up his SUV and my Nissan.
After a couple of hours, one of the young men asked me if it was okay to "come back and make a second trip"? I was surprised since the 20ft truck was more than enough to accommodate this move, but he said he wasn't sure and "we might have to". At that point, I told him that we would finish the basement items and he should focus on the main floor. Benjamin did stop by for about 10 minutes to check on them and then left. He did not speak to me directly.
They had some trouble getting to the new address because a phone had run out of battery and ran late finding the house.
Once at the new place, it was unorganized chaos. Boxes just being placed anywhere. Part of a dining room table put into my son's room. One item I requested to be placed in the master wasn't and buried somewhere behind boxes. Any direction given earlier was forgotten because they just wanted to 'get it done'.
They asked that I go back to the old address to pick up their dollies. When I got back to Neil St. I noticed several items were actually left behind.
Unfortunately, during this move, damages did occur. A part of the cat tree was broken off (See picture attached.) My couch was torn (See attached picture.) My bed frame was pulled off and not put back on (See attached picture.). And it was fortunate that we noticed some of it before they left because it was not brought to anyone's attention. Honestly, I have moved many times and if there is anything out of place, I would be notified immediately by a mover. Not this time. And that is very disappointing.
At this point, my brother-in-law had made at least five trips with his SUV and I made four.
I had already explained in my July 16th email that my son and I are on medical disability. Working this hard and this much was more than I should have done.
Pre-paying $473 for the first three hours as agreed was fine, but an additional $200 really pissed my brother-in-law off at the end of the day. He could see how much pain I was in and struggling. Also, he put in the same amount of work as the young men did.
However, I did give a generous tip because the boys did work hard. Which brings me to this point. The young men did work hard, but they did not work smart. It is obvious they are not experienced. One seasoned person should have been on site at all times. The truck would have been properly fully loaded, without any damage to my property, and the move would have taken less time. There is no actual "discount" when a move takes longer than it should due to inexperience or direction.
If this was just one small thing or two, I would let it pass. I honestly would. However, it wasn't. Not even close. I do not blame the young men. They were pleasant and polite. And the job was more than they could handle on their own.
Is this a fair and appropriate outcome?
Attachments:
Photo of porch swing detached. Movers did not put it back up.
Damage to the couch. Not fixable.
Bed rail removed from bed and not replaced (cannot be put back by one person).
Damage to cat tree. Not fixable.
Two additional car loads necessary after movers left home. (10+ car/SUV loads in conjunction to the movers using a 20ft truck.)
Addendum:
No response to direct email of this letter.
Sent a direct company email (w/letter) 08.21.2020 requesting they reach out. No response.
There is no formal company address to mail this letter to.
The company has taken an "ignore all communications" approach.