Movers Screwed up! What to Do with Bank Dispute

Hey folks -

Bit of a long post (tl;dr at end) Need bit of an advice here - two weeks back, we were to move our place within Melbourne so we ended up picking a movers from their ads on Gumtree - In hindsight probably was the bad move but did the usual insurance checks etc….

So on the move date - everything went fine until I couldn't find one my bedsides which movers took out infront of me to the truck. We discovered it late Saturday around 8pm so waited till next day to call them and confirm if they have it in the truck - which they said they don't. Turns out - they used it as a door stopper at the building complex we used to be in and never picked it up before driving the truck away. On Sunday evening - I went back to the building and tried finding it without vain. Building security got the fotage where these guys forgot it and someone pushed it away on Saturday 9pm to close the door and someone picked it up on Sunday morning thinking it's an extra item on greenbelt.

Now, movers totally refused to take responsibility and said it's my job to confirm the items when being delivered nor they will engage their insurance as insurance only covers the damage to equipment or house etc… Fortunately I paid via my CommBank Credit Card and I called the bank on Monday to open a dispute on transaction of about $100 from the total which I thought might be the appropriate cost to buy two new ones. Bank has sent me this letter to supply these details in next 10 days:

  • A copy of the original sales receipt, invoice, work order, brochure or contract
  • A signed letter describing the difference between what you ordered, what you received, or what was wrong with the item
  • An independent assessment from a licensed expert, written on their business letterhead. This will need to explain the difference between what you were promised and what you actually received (required by industry rules)

Couple of issues now that they never gave me any receipt of any kind so don't have anything written. Secondly the only communication we had was on SMS which shows he accepted the job and confirmed things around losing it and as well as me asking them to buy me two bedsides (used) at their cost etc…

I have no clue what to do from here and seems like I don't have enough documentation to win an argument. Can someone give me some hints to what should I do and how can I convince the bank (or MasterCard) in my favor ?

tl;dr: Movers screwed up - forgot my bedsides on the curb which was taken away by someone. Now refusing to offer compensation or things; need help with bank dispute.

Comments

  • +3

    i suggest you move on. its not worth the time and effort.

    • seriously he needs to move on !

    • +2

      I thought moving on caused the problem

  • Claim on your insurance.

    • No rental insurance :-(

  • Turns out - they used it as a door stopper at the building complex we used to be in and never picked it up before driving the truck away.

    Have you got proof of them admitting this?

    Now, movers totally refused to take responsibility and said it's my job to confirm the items when being delivered

    I agree with them.

    Seriously move on it isn't worth your time to do this.

    • Yes on texts they have admitted and offered $50 but I told them that it's not enough and i'm happy for them to find me a replacement instead of $. Guess I should've accepted that

      • +2

        Why didn't you accept the $50?

        Personally I'd say it's about 50/50 fault here. They should've checked and you should've checked. They offered compensation (which I might add you failed to mention in your OP. You said they refused to accept responsibility)

  • +1

    These things happen when you're moving.
    I think that, even if you got someone that was more expensive, this still could've happened.

    Whenever I move, I always tape the "sets" of things together so that the parts don't go missing alone. I never leave anything by itself - it's either in a box or stuck with something bigger.

    And then it's good to go back and double check that the place is empty before locking the door and leaving for good. Whether it's moving or even checking out of a hotel room.

    GUess you can just notch it up as a lesson learnt for next time.

  • +1

    Wait how come you weren't there to see everything was loaded properly and unloaded properly. You can't just hand over the keys and expect them to do everything the way you imagined. I would be on top of their heads supervising and double checking everything was loaded and unloaded carefully without anything breaking. I even went with the movers on the truck to make sure they don't steal anything on the way to the property. But that's just me.

    • I was alone - bit overwhelmed but was around for most of stuff but last few things I went back to lock the old place hence the mistake

      • Take it as a lesson and move on. The last bit is where things normally go wrong. You should check everything and double check if you know you won't be back for some time. By the sound of things, it doesn't sound like they did it deliberately. Mistakes happen. The way I look at it, had you been around this could have easily been avoided.

        Next time pack everything into boxes and number everything. Stick big A4 pages with numbers and make a list identifying everything. Eg 1) Dining table 2) Box Containing - x,y and Z and so on. When it goes on the truck tick with a red pen. When it comes off the truck tick off with a green pen. Make sure everything goes on and everything comes off. Once off the truck check nothing has been taken out of the boxes. and call the couriers ASAP if you spot something is missing.

        I even use tapes with special printing to know if the box has been tampered with but I am paranoid like that :)

        • Paranoid is one word for it…

    • +5

      You should consider yourself a racist.

  • Til; moving companies still exist…

  • In the scheme of things that can go wrong with movers this is a tad on the low end,but I do agree they don’t sound very professional using your furniture to prop open the door.

    I think some people are being overly harsh on you. I’m sure most people are tired after a move and don’t check everything diligently, although I’ve got some good tips here, especially on tamper proof ideas for boxes.

    It might be worth either looking for new bedside tables, or maybe putting up a poster at the place it went missing appealing for the return of the other one. You could offer the $50 compensation as reward.

  • As you have noted, you don't have anything to substantiate your claim. The bank won't be able to be 'convinced' without documentation.

    Perhaps view it in the positive - you probably saved more than you lost by using a "Gumtree" mover rather than more expensive "Big Brand" mover.

  • So you left the building after the movers finished and you didn't see what was holding the door open?

    • 4 doors of a big building block in CBD - they used commercial entrance while I went via residential side hence

  • Yes it sucks, but it's not like a $5000 TV went missing. Move on , accept the $50 and save you the stress of fighting over something so small.

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