First off, let me admit that I feel terribly foolish for taking to the internet about this incident. The whole story makes me feel weak and ashamed for not being more defensive and clever. But, when I think that telling this story might make a difference for some other schmuck out there, I know that writing it all down is good.
Next, yes, I have filed a police report and consulted an attorney. HPD told me that this sort of scam is really common and that, though they wish there was an immediate way to address the problem, in their experience, pursuing crooked movers is fruitless. My lawyer advised that pursuing Gary Carter would cost me more than the items lost.
Here's the basic story:
We
made the mistake of hiring Carter Moving and Delivery to help us load
our U-Haul just before Christmas. We were leaving Houston to attend to my father's death and simply needed muscle. We were in no place, mentally or emotionally, to deeply consider that the movers we hired would take good care of us; after all, we hired them through U-Haul, just as we had done when moving to Houston 18 months before.
Our second mistake?
Writing contents on the outside of our moving boxes. Since our experience, people have smiled and shaken their heads at us for actually writing things like "Jewelry," and "Random Electronics" on the outside of boxes. We have been advised that the smart thing to do it to move valuables in our cars ourselves, and/or to have things we value sent to "Master Bath," or some pre-agreed-upon room, with no details on the boxes. If you are preparing to move, please take this advice.
But we did what we did.We packed for several days prior to the three movers arriving; They loaded our truck over a three-hour period, we locked the U-Haul and left early the next morning. Problem 1: We were overcharged by two hours. The owner promised to refund the additional $200, but never bothered, despite my regular calls. Problem 2: After we arrived at our new place, we took our time unpacking non-essentials, thinking that certain things LIKE JEWELRY and ELECTRONICS simply were still packed. They would turn up.
Three weeks after our move, we finally figured out that our valuables had been taken to the MOVERS' truck instead of ours!
Do I know this is what happened? Did I see the movers place our things in their truck? No, had I seen them do so, I would have confronted them. I did notice, when I went to get their pizza, that they had placed a large stick in the auto-locking gate to the parking lot where they were parked to prevent the gate closing. I dismissed that with the thought that they might need to go back to their truck sometime and didn't want to be locked out. It was only afterward that I realized that they needed to return to their truck without being locked out (as in during my move).
I had already called Mr. Carter, the owner of Carter Moving and Delivery, about the hours we were overcharged, so I called him back and made my accusation. He listened, and played it off as though he was kind and would take care of everything, but did nothing to make amends (not even the promised refund). He actually excused his company from moral liability by claiming that the movers he sent to help me no longer work for him--thanks for that. Way to stand behind the service you sell with your family name.
HPD say that this happens ALL OF THE TIME! people who are moving are tired and stressed and are easy marks for unscrupulous movers. My only recourse is to make sure other unsuspecting people hear my story. If I am wrong and our valuables evaporated from the locked moving truck, at least this story may make someone else more cautious than I was.
Advice
1. Do not list contents on the outside of your moving boxes, even though the boxes may have a place to do so. Write only the destination room on each box.
2. When the movers arrive, get their full names and photographs--better yet, ask to see/photograph their IDs! If none of them will share their IDs for you to photo, dismiss them. Call the company and ask for a replacement crew. I know this can be tricky--like me, you may have time constraints. Know that there are other moving companies in Houston, and one of them will jump on the chance to help you. Or, one better, make it clear from the point of first contact that you will require whomever comes to handle your personal effects to provide ID. It sounds like a hard-assed move, but it communicates that you are on your guard, and those IDs could prove useful when you have to file a police report, later.
3. Don't let my story scare you away from using movers! Just be smarter than I was. I had just lost my father, had been packing and finishing work that I loved, I have two high-energy kids (who were on site) and was focused on making the move, not on policing the men hired to help me. It was a perfect scenario to be taken advantage of (to the tune of $5000, retail).
4. Get recommendations for companies you use from people you trust. This one is simple, and a rule-of-thumb in all circumstances. Need a plumber? Ask who people who have been around who they trust. If you instead call the big-name Roto-Rooters, you will pay more. Same goes for movers--do your homework and find a company that is insured and that is reputable. Carter Moving's listed address is bogus, and they obviously do not care about their reputation, so using them left me with no recourse when things went bad.
See: RED FLAG WARNINGS ABOUT MOVING
How to PREVENT the THEFT of Valuable Items During a Move
But we did what we did.We packed for several days prior to the three movers arriving; They loaded our truck over a three-hour period, we locked the U-Haul and left early the next morning. Problem 1: We were overcharged by two hours. The owner promised to refund the additional $200, but never bothered, despite my regular calls. Problem 2: After we arrived at our new place, we took our time unpacking non-essentials, thinking that certain things LIKE JEWELRY and ELECTRONICS simply were still packed. They would turn up.
Three weeks after our move, we finally figured out that our valuables had been taken to the MOVERS' truck instead of ours!
Do I know this is what happened? Did I see the movers place our things in their truck? No, had I seen them do so, I would have confronted them. I did notice, when I went to get their pizza, that they had placed a large stick in the auto-locking gate to the parking lot where they were parked to prevent the gate closing. I dismissed that with the thought that they might need to go back to their truck sometime and didn't want to be locked out. It was only afterward that I realized that they needed to return to their truck without being locked out (as in during my move).
I had already called Mr. Carter, the owner of Carter Moving and Delivery, about the hours we were overcharged, so I called him back and made my accusation. He listened, and played it off as though he was kind and would take care of everything, but did nothing to make amends (not even the promised refund). He actually excused his company from moral liability by claiming that the movers he sent to help me no longer work for him--thanks for that. Way to stand behind the service you sell with your family name.
HPD say that this happens ALL OF THE TIME! people who are moving are tired and stressed and are easy marks for unscrupulous movers. My only recourse is to make sure other unsuspecting people hear my story. If I am wrong and our valuables evaporated from the locked moving truck, at least this story may make someone else more cautious than I was.
Advice
1. Do not list contents on the outside of your moving boxes, even though the boxes may have a place to do so. Write only the destination room on each box.
2. When the movers arrive, get their full names and photographs--better yet, ask to see/photograph their IDs! If none of them will share their IDs for you to photo, dismiss them. Call the company and ask for a replacement crew. I know this can be tricky--like me, you may have time constraints. Know that there are other moving companies in Houston, and one of them will jump on the chance to help you. Or, one better, make it clear from the point of first contact that you will require whomever comes to handle your personal effects to provide ID. It sounds like a hard-assed move, but it communicates that you are on your guard, and those IDs could prove useful when you have to file a police report, later.
3. Don't let my story scare you away from using movers! Just be smarter than I was. I had just lost my father, had been packing and finishing work that I loved, I have two high-energy kids (who were on site) and was focused on making the move, not on policing the men hired to help me. It was a perfect scenario to be taken advantage of (to the tune of $5000, retail).
4. Get recommendations for companies you use from people you trust. This one is simple, and a rule-of-thumb in all circumstances. Need a plumber? Ask who people who have been around who they trust. If you instead call the big-name Roto-Rooters, you will pay more. Same goes for movers--do your homework and find a company that is insured and that is reputable. Carter Moving's listed address is bogus, and they obviously do not care about their reputation, so using them left me with no recourse when things went bad.
See: RED FLAG WARNINGS ABOUT MOVING
How to PREVENT the THEFT of Valuable Items During a Move
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