Start with what you can still see
The truck has gone, the rooms are full of boxes and something about the day went wrong. Perhaps the crew turned up long after the window you were given. Perhaps a lamp came off the truck in pieces, or the count of boxes on your list is short. Perhaps the bill is higher than the estimate you agreed to. Whatever happened, the first task is the same: write it down while the details are fresh, and photograph what you can still see before anything is moved, unpacked further or thrown away.
A heading for each problem
Open a note on your phone or a page in a notebook, and give each problem its own heading. Under each one, record:
- what happened, in plain words;
- when you noticed it, with the date and the time;
- who from the company was there, and what they said;
- which photos go with it.
Separate headings help later. A question about a late start is a different conversation from a question about a cracked tabletop, and the company may hand them to different people.
A crew that arrived late
If the crew came after the arrival window on your confirmation, find the exact window and the time the truck actually pulled in. Your call log and texts may show when you chased the company and what you were told. Then ask, in writing:
- Why was the crew late, and was anyone supposed to let you know?
- If you are paying by the hour, did the billed time begin when the crew arrived or at the booked start?
- Did the late start push the job into a higher rate, an added charge or a second day?
Ask for the answers by email, so they sit in one thread you can find again.
Things that came off the truck broken
If you can, leave a damaged item and its packing just as you found them until you have taken pictures from a few angles: the item, the box it came in, the wrapping and any label. Write down whether that box was packed by you or by the crew. If the crew lead was still there when you saw the damage, note whether it was written on the delivery paperwork.
Then ask the company how it handles a damage report, which form it uses, what time limit it sets and whether someone will want to see the item. Hold on to the broken piece until you hear back.
Boxes or pieces that never turned up
Count again before you report anything missing. Check the garage, the closets, under beds and any room where boxes were stacked in a hurry. If something is still unaccounted for, list each missing box by its number or label and what was packed in it. Ask the company:
- Does its own inventory show the item being loaded?
- Could it still be on the truck, at a warehouse or delivered with another job?
- Who will look for it, and when will you hear back?
A total above the estimate
Set the written estimate beside the final bill and read them line for line. Mark each charge that is new, larger or not explained: added hours, an extra crew member, more boxes than you remember using, a stair or long-carry fee. For each mark, ask the company which term of the estimate or contract allowed it. If you added items after the estimate was written, say so plainly in your message. Pay whatever you do owe in a way that leaves a record.
The Commission's certificate statement
The Alabama Public Service Commission's intrastate registration page states that a certificate is required to be in the transportation business where passengers or property will be transported by motor vehicle for hire from one point in Alabama to another point in Alabama.
When you write to the company about any of the problems above, add one line to the message: "Does this move call for an Alabama Public Service Commission certificate, and if so, what is your certificate number?" Save the reply with the rest of your notes.
What NOAA counts at Mobile Downtown
In an average year at Mobile Downtown, NOAA counts about 2,410 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 3,881 hours above 67°F.
Talking it through with the company
Keep each message short and in order: the move date, both addresses, any job or order number, the problem, the photos, and what you are asking the company to do, whether that is an explanation, a repair, a replacement or a correction to the bill. Ask when you can expect a reply. If you speak by phone, follow up with an email that sums up the call, so both sides hold the same account of it.
If replies slow down
Send one fuller message that gathers every open item, the dates of your earlier messages and a date by which you would like an answer. Send it in a way that gives you a record of delivery, and keep copies of everything you attach.
Where the record lives
Put the estimate, the contract, the delivery paperwork, the bill, your note, the photos and every message in one envelope or one folder on your phone. Keep it until each open item has an answer you accept.
Before the next move
- Ask for the arrival window in writing.
- Number your boxes and keep the list yourself.
- Photograph valuable pieces before they are wrapped.
- Ask how damage reports work before you book, not after.
- Read the estimate for anything that could change the price.