CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Moving is stressful enough. From a new city and new job to a new house and school for the kids, it's all hard, but the actual move should be simple.
That isn't always the case, which is why people should choose their moving company carefully and ask plenty of questions before hiring someone to move their life to another city.
A couple who recently moved to Charlotte found themselves in the middle of a moving nightmare because they jumped at the first company they found.
"To relieve some stress, we thought about having another company actually bring our items down here instead of us and a truck," Jackie Burno said. "It was the complete opposite."
The newlyweds chose their mover somewhat based on the price to get from New York to Charlotte. The cost of the move was a moving target before it finally ended at $4,950 at one point.
The timing was a mess, too. Their stuff arrived in Charlotte over a month after they did, 49 days after it was originally picked up in New York. Oh, and the price? That changed again.
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to the Defenders team by emailing money@wcnc.com.
The company in question, 1-800-Pack-Rat, is trying to make the situation right. The company issued the following statement to WCNC Charlotte:
“We have reviewed this customer’s order and we sincerely apologize for the inconveniences they experienced. Unfortunately, we made a clerical error on our end which caused the container to be significantly delayed. Per our policy, we reached out to the customer upon final delivery of the container to discuss compensation for the error we made and the difficulties it caused them. We have provided the customer with a significant refund, and we are looking at our processes to understand how this happened and how we can prevent this from happening again."
They partially refunded the couple for their inconvenience. At the moment, that refund is around $2,751.
Here are some tips to follow before hiring a moving company:
- First, get three estimates and don’t do it on the cheap. Use brand names for big moves and make sure all personal belongings are insured.
- Next, the estimate. It’s best if they visit your home and see the load and give provide a binding estimate so the stuff isn't held hostage in the end.
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