After purchasing a house through Habitat's Homeowner Program, I began moving my things on AUG 6-9…read more The following Monday, I got word from the manager, Brad, that they could squeeze me in today at 1 pm (AUG 10th). I confirmed and took the day off to be there, assuming Brad would be there too. When I arrived, the movers were already in the apartment; I OK'd this with Brad in advance. I spoke with one of the movers and reconfirmed each room and pointed at each piece of furniture that was accompanying us to the new house. The movers all nodded and began delegating tasks amongst themselves. Once the selected pieces of furniture were loaded into the truck, we drove over to the new address. Here's where issues arose:
Once inside, the movers began unloading the truck. Everything seemed fine as they unloaded the first-floor furniture (Couch, Table/Chairs, TV Stand). However, when bringing up pieces of the bed frame upstairs, two of the movers clunked the metal frame against the wall. I asked them to please be careful and help each other after witnessing another mover struggle to maneuver the headboard piece up the stairs by himself as the others watched. Just wow. After hearing the metal bed frame scrape against the hallway ceiling, I came over to observe, which is when I watched a second mover lift a piece of the bed frame, turn too quickly, and clank a third piece against the wall right in front of me. I took photos (attached) and spoke with the movers. Both movers were quick to deny any fault: "We did that?" "No, that was already there from the previous residents." I would like to make this clear - this is a newly constructed townhouse with 0 previous tenants. I was then told by the movers to speak to Brad, which I agreed to, and I reached out to him to determine how he wanted to handle this situation. Brad initially apologized and said he would like to come over to see the damage. Once Brad entered my house, I explained I had a family member on the phone with us while we spoke. He confirmed, and I guided him to the areas of contact as he continued to take photos of the wall. Brad found it necessary to make comments on little details and flaws about my new home and what he could have done better, having some experience as a contractor. Brad continued to comment that he generally takes photos of the new house before the movers arrive to keep a record of pre-existing damage. To which I responded, saying that I had figured he would have been there. Brad simply stated, "Something had come up." After briefly evaluating the damage, Brad said Black Diamond Moving would cover the damage. I reached out to my painter and got a quote for the damage. While I was excited to move into my new house, this was very disappointing instead. It wasn't as pleasant an experience as I hoped for moving into a brand new house.
P.S.
Update! My bed was improperly reassembled with screws pointing outward. OUCH! I have now scraped my leg on the bed. No, I couldn't unscrew the sharp side of it, which resulted in me having to completely shift my bed with the sharp screw facing inward against the wall! Attention to detail should be taken more seriously. It might help all parties avoid incidents, INJURIES, and/or lawsuits.
