My nightmare with the moving company from Hell --which they call Move Seniors Lovingly…read more
A complaint to the company resulted in the owner sending a bill that was way over the quote, and then threatening both to involve the police to get it paid immediately and sell off all the contents of our home that were just moved into storage. Not a lot of love there.
We hired this Toronto-area mover because it boasts a sensitivity to the transition needs of seniors and claims a top rating with the Better Business Bureau. It also assured us that it enforces the most advanced Covid-19 safety protocols among its workers. What it did in reality was very different. There is no love for seniors here. Just abuse, and treating us like we are an easy target for a quick buck.
Move Seniors Lovingly contracted with an entirely different company to do the move, and one we had never heard of before. They went way over the estimate and employed badly trained workers who were careless and caused major damage to irreplaceable pieces of furniture. They didn't even come close to following Covid-19 safety protocols. Instead of using the one bathroom I asked them to use, they repeatedly used every bathroom in our home. During the move, they didn't wear gloves or sanitize their hands, as we were promised they would, and their masks were frequently off when they were speaking to us.
After I called head office to express concern about the careless handling of items that were damaged, two workers stormed into my bedroom, shouting angrily at me for complaining. Yes, they were in my bedroom when they did this, and, yes, I felt threatened. Think it couldn't get worse than this? It did.
They handled the first part of the move badly and then knocked off at 1pm, leaving half of the home still to be loaded on the truck. It necessitated another truck and crew the following day. We assumed this would all be included as part of the original quote for the move. Wrong. They charged nearly three thousand dollars extra. They also charged for a crew of three when only two showed up -- the same movers who had earlier stormed into my bedroom, despite the company's assurances that they would not be sent again.
They planned the space requirements for the move so poorly that we had to leave valuable items behind, never to be seen again. Think it didn't get worse than this?
On the next business day following completion of the move, I wrote to head office to set out my complaints about the abusive conduct of the moving crew and the damage caused to our items by their carelessness. I expected the company would look into our concerns. Instead, what we got was a final bill that went over the amount we were quoted by thousands of dollars. We had already paid a deposit for the move amounting to more than $3,000. Now, the company was demanding another $8,000.
There was no response to our concerns. What we did get came in the form of a very blunt threat from the owner 48 hours later demanding that we pay the entire bill immediately, without question, or he would have the police come after us and he would dispose of everything we had placed in storage with his company.
"I will give you a 24hr window to settle. If I don't hear from you. I will take further action through legal counsel,
Police, and a disposal of all items in the two filled lockers that we have for you.
Sincerely
Brian Salnek
647 330-0424"
Can you imagine a company owner sending an email like this to a customer who has raised concerns?
He clearly thinks he's above the law. His threat to dispose of our possessions is not allowed by the regulations that govern storage companies. There is a process that must be followed, and a bill that is not even a week old does not come anywhere close to meeting those requirements.
But apparently the law was of no concern to this owner. He knew he had the upper hand. He had all the possessions we had accumulated over a lifetime, and he knew we wouldn't want to take chances. We had to pay everything he demanded. It was a shakedown, pure and simple.
I am desperately afraid that when we have our goods moved out of this company's storage to our new home, we are going to be shocked by how many of our items are either missing or damaged. I am also worried that there will be another huge shakedown to get them out of storage. So our nightmare with this company is far from over.
The company's owner, Brian Salnek, claims "we wrote the book on senior's move transition." All we saw was the chapter on fleecing, threatening and overcharging seniors.
Don't let yourself or a loved one be taken in by this company. Everyone, and especially seniors, expect and are entitled to compassion, dignity and respect. This company delivers threats, bullying and abuse.
