ComplaintsforAmerican Way Van & Storage

• Initial Complaint

  04/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We hired this company to move us to our new home, in the process they did approx. $1000.00 of image to our furniture, (2) brand new desks ( they let them slide across the floor of the truck without protection of packing blankets therefore th edges were damaged (1) Ahmish made chine hutch that they pushed a 3" hole in the back of the lower section , now the entire back needs replaced, restrained & refinished. They then tried to settle with a check for $207.00 based on .60 per pound, but the weights were never taken or provided to us, so this is there word against ours, the weight that provided is far less than what this furniture weighs, as well as the damages far exceed the amount they sent. W will not cash their check as a settlement. If they do not correctly this wrong we will take next steps as needed.

  

  Business response

  05/03/2024

  We pride ourselves in having successful relocations as well as having happy customers, unfortunately sometimes items do have some minor damage and in this case there were a few items that did have minor damage. Per the guidelines of the PUCO we are required to provide minimum coverage for all items being moved which is $.60/lb. We do however offer additional coverages, but just like any other insurance policy there is a premium attached to that, in this case the *******’s decided not to pay for that additional premium so their claim was paid out and settled at the $.60/lb.
  
  They clearly selected this minimum coverage on their estimate provided, placing their signature on the line next to the description of the coverage. Furthermore they also had the option to change the coverage they would like the day of their relocation on their Bill of Lading but instead still initialed for the $.60/lb. (I agree to MINIMAL reimbursement for lost or damaged goods. I understand and accept that I will be reimbursed for lost or damaged goods at a minimal amount not exceeding sixty cents per pound per article.)
  
  Once we were notified of the damages we sent them out a claim form to fill out for what damages they were claiming, on this claim form it asks for the customer to list their estimated weight of the item damaged. The customer filled this form in stating the total weight of the three items they were claiming to be 345lbs (Hutch- 200lbs – Office desk- 100lbs- Desk top- 45lbs). We took their estimated weights and compared them to AMSA’s Industry Table of Weights, right off it shows the standard weight of a full hutch only being 120# but trying to be generous with settling the claim and trying to keep the customer happy we didn’t dispute the weight they provided and paid them out for the total weight of their claim of 345lbs., the total at $.60/lb came out to $207.00. The check was sent out and upon getting the check they started this whole process of disputing the claim amount, as far as refusing to cash the check and threating to contact numerous agencies stating we were lying about the weights on the form and could prove it? In that same email they are claiming these items weighed 900lbs so the minimum they wanted to settle was $540 based off of that (They provided the weight of 345lbs, we did nothing with them but pay them out using their estimated weights)..
  
  We have all the other emails backing up all the communications with this customer, here is part of one of the emails, that should show the character of this individual as we requested an additional week to respond back to his threating response due to our owner suddenly passing away  -
  
  “I am trying to keep this out of court , but if you want to go I’ll be more than happy to go & its going to get far more expensive than what you really owes us for damages. 
  You have also proven, that you were just pushing the timeline out for no reason as you per this email you were never going to settle this, the death was a ploy clearly. 
  But now we have this as additional evidence in our case, which we will share with all media sources as needed as well as the BBB, & Attorney General, PUCO.” 
  
  We stand by our settlement amount of $207.  Attached also is the Signed Bill of Lading (initialing for the basic valuation), The Signed Estimate (Signing for Basic valuation), the Statement of Claim filled out by the customer, The Claim Letter response, copy of the check and picture of minor damages.

  Customer response

  05/03/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  All we got from the entire team at American Way was push back because of a death they stated was the delay in responding, but unit I pushed back due to the lack of response from them, that they were past the timeline provide for a reasonable response, not once but twice , they finally stated it was the owner after I included him on the email thread. 

  They did not weigh our furniture, we asked for weight proof they stated for us to refer to the fine print of their contract. ***** even admitted they are just making a guess of the actual weight based on white papers from the PUCO.

  ***** also mentioned that she was being extemeyly generous with her payment / final settlement offer..... see attached email thread in Red

  Many other employees jumped in on the email thread as well trying to be bullish to us, when ***** would not respond. Mainly *** was totally rude & not customer oriented or focused on the problem at hand. (RUDE) 

  This is a hand made amish solid wood china hutch that they claim was minor damage, I DO NOT call a 3" hole punched through a solid wood back minor damages. This will require that the entire back be re-made, cut t fit, stained to match, re-cleared with satin poly, pus all the labor t perform this repair.

  Then there are the two desks which she never even mentioned in her comments in RED as she stated. 

  The actual weight for the hutch is much higher & they did not include the 2 desks per *****s own email response as of May 3rd 2024 please see attached.

  We just want what is fair to repair the damages caused by there subcontracted employees. 

  We have used several other moving companies over the years with more experience & less expereince & never ever had damages to our personal property. 

  She keeps mentioning that we did not take the more expensive insurance plan, that required a deductible onto of additional costs, which would have cost us more than the damages caused by them, this is a money grab by American Way.

  I asked them to own the damages as a good upstanding American Company, but no response to trying to settle this matter out of the legal confines of the courts. This is not what we want. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** & ****** *******

  

  Business response

  05/13/2024

  The team here at American Way is very disappointed that we are unable to meet the satisfaction of Mr. ******* for their claim for their relocation on 3/29/24, we have been nothing but professional and by the book on handling any claim that should arise. There is always the possibility that items may occur slight damages during the relocation of the items, no matter how careful the crews are accidents can happen which is why the additional coverage is offered, the *******’s chose to not select the additional
  coverage so we are obligated to settle this for the $.60/lb they selected. We do many relocations a year that have zero damages obviously so its very unfortunate that this happened on this move.
  
  First let me address the statement that The *******’s are making about the delay in handling their claim- There were communications starting by 4/8, there was a check sent out on 4/15, that’s a pretty quick turnaround for resolving a claim but that obviously was not quick enough for this customer. The emails started on 4/24 (this email thread is attached) it was Mr. ******* who started off with insults about how these damages should never have happened that we are supposed to be professionals, I will add part of the email here-
  "If you choose not to address this situation, I will be left with no choice but to file against American Way movers in court with my attorney, ( who has reviewed this matter and recommends it be settled out of court for your costs) But if you choose not to, we will do what we need to do. 
  Either way this will be far cheaper to settle than go through court, with your attorney fees, time away from work to testify (subpoenas of yourself, each mover that worked on the move, including the contractors) & our witnesses, photos & videos etc. 
  Lastly, I will be sharing my experience with all social media platforms globally, WHIO 7, WDTN 2, FOX45, the BBB, The Attorney General's office for every state you operate in. 
  This offer will expire by the close of business Wednesday April 24th @ 5pm EST.,"
  
  This customer came in overly aggressive about a claim in which we have already sent the payment out to settle and this was his first communication, Christina responded to this email stating that we had an unexpected death in our company and we would address the situation by 4/30, thanks for understanding… Mr. ******* responds that they were sorry to hear but they be will adhering to the timeline that was given, a follow-up message Mr. ******* stated “You have also proven, that you were just pushing the timeline out for no reason as you per this email you were never going to settle this, the death was a ploy clearly. But now we have this as additional evidence in our case, which we will share with all media sources as needed as well as the BBB, & Attorney General, PUCO”. Some real compassion and consideration huh, stating that we were using a death as ploy… Once he added Mr. **** back into the message it was then told to him by Mr. ****** that it was Mr. **** who had passed away and apparently they would of handled their communication differently if they had known it was Mr. ****? This is all documented in the email exchange between American Way and Mr. ******* so you can see if there was anything said by any member of our team throughout this whole conversation.  
  
  Let me next address the allegations about the weight of the items damaged, they are stating and I quote- “They did not weigh our furniture, we asked for weight proof they stated for us to refer to the fine print of their contract. ***** even admitted they are just making a guess of the actual weight based on white papers from the PUCO.”. I ask that you refer to the attachment titled ***************** (2).pdf of this claim, page #6 titled STATEMENT OF CLAIM, this was filled out by the *******’s, the weight was provided by the customer, not ***** nor ANYONE else at American Way. ***** simply stated that she checked the weights against the guide used by AMSA to estimate weights, the weight on the guide was less than the weight that was provided so rather than argue over the lower weight and risk upsetting the customer the claim was settled upon their provided weights! There was no “fine print” of our contract as the *******’s are stating. I do believe that Mr. ******* is neglecting to recall or mention not only did they provide the weights on the claim form he also sent in an email stating “here is the problem, the weight your paperwork states is a lie, & I can prove it. The weight  your paper work indicates is false, as we had the hutch and both the desk & side desk section weighed, the 3 items weight is at over 900 pounds alone. .60 times 900 lbs is $540 minimum. But yet you sent a check for $207. I don’t think so….”,  I believe another item worth noting is the figure they wrote in on this same form in which they provided their weights on- “I HEREBY REQUEST $3000, WHICH IS TO BE CONSIDERED AS A FULL RELEASE AND DISCHARGE FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIM AND DEMANDS AGAINST THE CARRIER”, this figure confuses me, not really sure where that even came from but their accusation towards us is we’re trying to do a “money gab” on them? We never disputed the weight that Mr. ******* provided on our “Statement of Claim” form that he filled out, we paid this claim off the coverage selected with the clear breakdown on page #7 of this same attachment.
  
  So in closing we still stand behind the handling of the claim of damages that this customer had as well as the settlement based off of the weight the customer provided as well as the coverage they selected for their relocation in the amount of $207. Now we are also responding to other agencies that this customer has made their false accusations against our business and taking away from our credibility, everything we have done has been per the guidelines of the PUCO and in good business practice that we have done for 30+ years…
  

  Customer response

  05/13/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  They clearly did not factor in the proper weight of the personal belongings that were moved. 

  There was no weighing EVER DONE by American Way for our belongings.

  I on the other hand we have actually had everything that was damaged weighed and as mentioned it is over 900lbs * again 900lbs at .60 per pond is Not $207.00 but rather roughly $540.00, so not sure where they come off with $207.00

  I did get aggressive after someone by the name of *** with company spoke to me aggressively which is why they all received an aggressive response back. 

  We are merely seeking the difference in coverage of $333.00 which still will not cover the cost of repairs for unreasonable damages to our personal belongings. This would be the right thing to do for any customer. 

  If they wish to ignore this request for settlement we will continue to pursue what is owed to us by their company. 

  We do have photos as do they ( from the lead mover) we also have video as well las estimates for all the repairs from Larricks commercial office furnishings for the desks in Dayton & Lower Valley Furniture in Springfield OH. for the hutch. Which is where these items were purchased brand new.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** & ****** *******

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩