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Someone posted this on facebook and I thought I'd share. It's horrible and I was wondering if anyone else has had an experience like this:
Quote:
My husband, our young daughter and I suffered damages in excess of $45K, per the adjuster we called in from our Insurance, from our last military move (PCS) from the west coast to the east coast. He termed the devastation as "catastrophic" and the worst he's seen resulting from a move in his 46yrs on the job. $45,000 + and counting as we have not been able to move around the chaos to access an inventory.
We continue to live in a Navy Lodge for the unforseeable future because the rat, mice and roach droppings that were shaken out of unpacked boxes cover the floors. Shards of antique cut crystal and china do the same. The gorgeous home we rented for the short 18 months before we were ordered to move again, is not safe to live in at this point. That's $3400 in rent down the drain monthly as we pay out of pocket for hotel expenses because although the government hired a bunch of Craigslist crackheads subcontracted out by a subpar moving company that caused this, they won't pay out to help us. We're told to follow the months long, tedious, online - non user friendly - government claims "bickering process" to settle for pennies on the dollar.
Let's be clear: military families regardless of rank do not get a choice to move nor do they have the ability to "shop around" and advocate for ourselves as consumers to select the moving company. Whether you are a 4-star Admiral or Deck Seaman you are assigned a mover with no choice in the matter. Worse of all, under Govt contracts rules, even when contracted and subcontracted vendors cause damage or destruction to your personal property they are protected under govt contract so you cannot sue those private subcontractors for negligence. Our due process rights were stripped from us under govt contract.
The moving company attempted to pack out a 3500 sq ft house in 2 days using untrained, unqualified "temps" aka Craigslist day laborers to pack out and move us. This, in spite of having a physical survey performed by a representative of the moving company 6 weeks prior to pack-out. Unvetted people: sexual assault offenders, drug addicts and convicted felons were sent to our home where our daughter and I were alone with these people.
Our daughter is slowly talking to us, but apparently a laborer was questioning her inappropriately to the point where if had I known I would have called the police. It's very difficult to be in all places at all times when you are one person trying to supervise thugs and felons who are wiping their fingers in their butts and smearing them on the insides of your lamp shades. Our daughter saw them do this and yes my husband and I have since found the evidence to confirm what she's telling us.
At least we were in the US. Other families and spouses are alone overseas, with no family nearby, their spouses on 7 month deployments, more kids than us, alone with similar felons who don't even speak English. Some spouses have jobs, are pregnant or like us, still grieving from miscarriage or miscarry from the stress of these moves. The govt contracts foreign movers overseas instead of deploying vetted, (screened by our national security personnel) professional American movers to come in and out of our homes. And when a family lives on post, these unscreened thugs are sent on base too.
There used to be a dedicated government office that coordinated these moves, vetted moving companies, but not anymore. In the day and age of "government downsizing" these public government offices that provided direct services were disbanded. Instead we pay private companies who subcontract and subcontract again - felons. There is zero oversight. It's not as if a private company gives a damn if we file an Inspector General complaint.
It was evident to our adjustor that an instrument - a bat? - was used to knock off legs of some of our irreplaceable, antique furniture. They used instruments to smash some of our daughter's toys. Every single item we listed on the "high value list" was destroyed, damaged or worse - missing. We were given as a wedding present an 1810 marble mantle clock, the only one known to match Thomas Jefferson's clock that you can know see at Monticello, was intentionally dropped on concrete. It's completely destroyed. Nothing was properly inventoried by the movers or tagged so we have to sift through the destruction and rely on our notes, private insurance rider policies and memories to trace everything. And then what they did to my cherished piano that took my late grandparents 3 years to pay off on a messenger's salary of $9 per week- water damage left out in the rain and smeared cigarette ashes on it.
Our government and the military contracts Suddath with your tax dollars to oversee a military family's move from origin packout to destination unpacking. Suddath hires the moving company that in turn hired out street felons "temps" from Craigslist. These felons caused damage to our rental property on the west coast and as a result of the company's refusal to accept responsibility and putting us in a Catch 22 with our landlord on the west coast who refused to file a claim against them, our security deposit ($3600) was seized and we are being billed an additional $1500 to compensate for repainting the entire house, although only one wall was minorly scuffed and was touched up prior to move out. Extortion. Our attorney on the west coast has filed a civil lawsuit to get relief for us, but we had to hire him at our expense. This all could have been avoided had Suddath and the Govt heeded our numerous emailed pleas and phone calls alerting them that we needed assistance and our red flags regarding the felons, but they did nothing. And that the damage is done, we who had no choice in anything, are financially responsible for everything.
Our daughter's headboard to her full-size sleigh bed is missing. It was never entered or tagged on the inventory list. Without it, she has no bed. We paid $700 for it. We asked for Suddath to approve a quitclaim for it. They approved it on Wednesday night and said that a check would be overnighted to us. Thursday morning, we receive an e-mail that the claim for the bed was denied along with the $100 per day meal compensation we asked for since we cannot cook in our hotel room. It was denied. Our daughter starts school tomorrow, 8/27.
I asked Suddath to provide for a dumpster rental $375 flat rate for 7 days. Boxes of exploded, flammable cooking oils, batteries and fresh produce, rotting onions and potatoes were packed. They were put in non climate-controlled storage for months until our current rental house on the east coast was ready for occupancy. Suddath denied it.
Husband deploys for 7-8 months this fall. It's going to be about 2-3 months to get this house to a point where we can live safely in it. This PCS disaster is far from unique to us.
Countless other military families have suffered - 41000 signatures and counting on a PCS petition on Change . Org to petition the govt to allow us to sue private movers for personal property loss.
"Thank you for your service" are 5 most meaningless, empty words ever spoken to those who suffer in silence as victims of taxpayers funded PCS moves. Our children, who no choice of there own, serve too. They move school district to district for most of their childhoods making friends, saying goodbye to them; getting settled to a point of safety and security structured life routines to having it pulled out from under them repeatedly. Not seeing their military moms or dads for deployments that can last up to 1 year. The toys, the cherished teddies their deployed parent brings them gives comfort. Yet the govt permits private companies to subcontract felons who for sport? intentionally and maliciously destroy those small comforts. And we cannot due or seek Justice for our families and kids.
Military families do not have a public, nonpartisan advocate from a public office to advocate for us or provide relief. There's no one person to call for help during a PCS move and everything is contracted out to private companies who only give a damn about their profit margins and shareholders. No one has skin in the game except the military member and his/her dependents who are repeatedly flayed alive with every PCS move.
My husband and I went to see our Congressman. We are taking this to the media. And after I pick up the pieces of our lives, since I am "just a stay-at-home mom" I will take turns when Congress resumes parking my ass in the DC offices of my Senators, on the Capitol steps and at the White House. And my research has started to learn which politicians received paid junkets and campaign donations from Suddath.
My husband has been in 26.5 yrs. He started out as an enlisted Deck Seaman, was commissioned and made it to senior Commander. He's been in combat and war zones multiple times. Like most military, his body is falling apart from years of extreme physical work-related stress. The second shoulder surgery was less than a month ago. Next the knees. The radiation exposure, the permanent hearing loss from detonating explosives - the stress of this occupation and lifestyle on the family, children, their sacrifices that even make it possible for the servicemember to serve and this is what active duty military families are coerced to accept. This treatment. Thank us for our service, indeed.
I don't care who you vote for. Want to support the military? Please join us in our disgust and outrage. Please call your representatives and help us bring attention to this issue that has devastated the lives of so many and their families who serve.
Military members do have the right to "shop around" and they do have the right to "pick their own mover."
The limitations described in the article only applies when you are using the military system known as HHG (Household Goods Move) for their move. This is when you elect to have the military contract with a mover to handle everything from soup to nuts, paid for completely by the Defense Dept.
If a military member decides to go PPM (Personally Procured Move) you handle the move and the military reimburses you at 95% of the rate the contract providers would have changed. You can hire your own movers, or use a U-Haul or tie a whole heap of shopping carts together and make the trip. Your choice.
So, although the story sounds sad, omitting those critical & crucial facts while claiming "you have no choice ", kind of reeks of a BS story probably fishing for sympathy in hopes of making some money off the deal.
ETA: Additionally, besides DOD, each branch also have an independent office for claim processing that is designed to assist military members handle claims against movers.
FWIW, all my moves for the past 30 years have been PCS (permanent change of station) moves performed by a federal contractor or under terms that I had no say in. I worked for civilian agencies, not military so don't know how much different the contracting rules are. Maybe a lot. However, in all those moves I can count on both hands the individual items that were damaged...maybe one or two replaceable items went missing. I submitted claims for the damage/missing items and had little trouble getting repairs made or being reimbursed for lost items within a few weeks of submitting the claim. No trouble with the agency relocation office about it. No contractor or their employees ever behaved in such a manner. Just saying it doesn't happen like this often. As for specially valuable items, they were inventoried separately, tracked separately, and unpacked/inspected separately. Smaller items I was very concerned about I either packed and overpacked myself and THEN had the movers overpack again, shipped them with hefty insurance to myself, or took with me in my car.
Sorry but this was never anywhere close to my experiences with movers via the US Army - including moves overseas to and from the US.
Like others have said, I can count on one hand, with fingers left over, the items that were damaged. This includes items packed by a bunch of German workers who drank beer the entire day! LOL I was worried about that but it turned out fine.
Also, like the above post clarifies, the items that were particularly precious or valuable, I packed myself and already had boxed and taped up before the movers arrived. If possible, I moved them myself.
Honestly, the above story doesn't sound very plausible. Possible? I guess. Likely? Not so much.
Military members do have the right to "shop around" and they do have the right to "pick their own mover."
The limitations described in the article only applies when you are using the military system known as HHG (Household Goods Move) for their move. This is when you elect to have the military contract with a mover to handle everything from soup to nuts, paid for completely by the Defense Dept.
If a military member decides to go PPM (Personally Procured Move) you handle the move and the military reimburses you at 95% of the rate the contract providers would have changed. You can hire your own movers, or use a U-Haul or tie a whole heap of shopping carts together and make the trip. Your choice.
So, although the story sounds sad, omitting those critical & crucial facts while claiming "you have no choice ", kind of reeks of a BS story probably fishing for sympathy in hopes of making some money off the deal.
ETA: Additionally, besides DOD, each branch also have an independent office for claim processing that is designed to assist military members handle claims against movers.
Additionally, I am curious to know whether the poster checked off that they had "high value" items in the move as that's a lot of monetary damage. I just did a move, and was explicitly told that if I didn't check that box and detail/breakdown the costs of any high value items, I'd be limited to a certain dollar amount if something got damaged.
My sister just retired after 28 years as an E9 and had a horrible experience when she was an HM2. She was moving from Norfolk to Pensacola. everything on the pack out went fine. My sister had a school in between duty stations soshe was told to just contact the moving company when you expect to arrive in Pensacola and arrange delivery.
The moving company picked up her stuff in Norfolk, then delivered it to Pensacola. Then in their infinite wisdom looked in the phone book and found my sisters name. They called and said they have all of her household goods and when does she want them delivered. It wasn't my sister but a crack head who replied that they could deliver it such and such day.
My sister lost everything. She was reimbursed some money but that cannot replace the personal items and memories that were lost.
Military members do have the right to "shop around" and they do have the right to "pick their own mover."
The limitations described in the article only applies when you are using the military system known as HHG (Household Goods Move) for their move. This is when you elect to have the military contract with a mover to handle everything from soup to nuts, paid for completely by the Defense Dept.
If a military member decides to go PPM (Personally Procured Move) you handle the move and the military reimburses you at 95% of the rate the contract providers would have changed. You can hire your own movers, or use a U-Haul or tie a whole heap of shopping carts together and make the trip. Your choice.
So, although the story sounds sad, omitting those critical & crucial facts while claiming "you have no choice ", kind of reeks of a BS story probably fishing for sympathy in hopes of making some money off the deal.
ETA: Additionally, besides DOD, each branch also have an independent office for claim processing that is designed to assist military members handle claims against movers.
All that being said, damage to the tune of $45K, all your household goods...sounds absurd, no matter who is moving you.
Years ago I worked for a moving company and we did A LOT of military moves - domestic, overseas, non-temp storage, etc. Each Transportation Office had inspectors who would visit each job site to ensure, at a minimum, that the packing was being done properly and the vehicles weren’t broken down pieces of junk. They could stop the job in a heartbeat, and at times did so. I can’t imagine that there is no oversight today, but even if it’s been cut back a call to the Transportation Office could have rectified the problem.
I think there’s a lot more to this story. And how did this woman KNOW they were felons? “Hi, Mrs. Commander, I’m Andy and I’m going to pack your household goods today. And by the way, I’m a convicted felon.”
Though the tale is clearly an exaggeration, we moved countless times during DH's military career. Lots of things broken or never turned up at all. Three moves was the same as a fire.
In one of our earlier moves, the movers unloaded an unfamiliar sofa and several pieces of furniture I'd never seen before.
When I stopped them, pointing out these were someone else's things, he asked me if I liked the stuff and did I want to keep it.
It was nice furniture, but I wanted our stuff.
He sounded like it was no big deal to him one way or the other.
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", kind of reeks of a BS story probably fishing for sympathy in hopes of making some money off the deal.
