Penticton couple share moving “ordeal”

Penticton resident Monique Bolduc is speaking out about what she calls a moving “ordeal” as she continues to find damaged and water-logged items while she unpacks from a recent move.

“It was in one piece but it’s no longer in one piece …I’m not quite sure if we can fix that …and this is cracked,” she said while showing Global News the damaged items in her new home.

Bolduc and her husband hired Victoria-based moving company “2 Burley Men Moving Ltd.” for their long-haul move but were in for a long-haul themselves when their belongings arrived more than 24 hours late.

“Nobody knew where my things were, but if they’re supposed to be there, ‘they’ll be there,’. Well, they never showed up,” she said. “When my things did finally arrive they were in a budget truck… I could have cried.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Nobody knew where my things were, but if they're supposed to be there, 'they'll be there,'. Well, they never showed up," she said. "When my things did finally arrive they were in a budget truck… I could have cried."

Bolduc said $400 was taken off the bill but to make matters worse they were forced to pay the rest – $2,000 — before the movers would unload the truck and she could evaluate any potential damage.

Owner of 2 Burley Men Moving Ltd., Scott Burley, said some of the claims are legitimate but items not covered by insurance are clearly stipulated in the “terms and conditions.”

But Bolduc claims none of her furniture is pressboard, which is an engineered wood product manufactured from wood chips, sawmill shavings, or sawdust.

“We actually read their clauses before moving and every article of press board furniture in the house was sold before moving,” she said.

Burley added, payment up-front for long-haul moves is an industry-wide standard.

“All jobs are paid for upon delivery as we are outside of our local area and have no recourse if the bill can’t be paid,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "All jobs are paid for upon delivery as we are outside of our local area and have no recourse if the bill can't be paid," he said.

Forty-nine complaints have been filed with the Better Business Bureau against 2 Burley Men Moving Ltd.

Burley said the complaints were filed over a three year period or 16 per year.

“We do on average just over 15,000 moves per year so that is a tenth of one per cent of our moves. We are not perfect, this is customer service, but a tenth of one per cent. We are actually quite happy with our rating and our complaints.” Burley said.

Bolduc is warning other consumers to do their due diligence.

“A lot of people say you get what you pay for and in this circumstance I didn’t get what I paid for. But, I did pay more than 50 per cent less than all of my other quotes so I guess that saying is quite fitting.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "A lot of people say you get what you pay for and in this circumstance I didn't get what I paid for. But, I did pay more than 50 per cent less than all of my other quotes so I guess that saying is quite fitting."

2 Burley Men Moving Ltd. said customers also need to do their part.

“The consumer has equal responsibility to make sure that their product is packed properly,” Burley said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The consumer has equal responsibility to make sure that their product is packed properly," Burley said.

The company adds it’s done what it can and will continue to work with Bolduc to resolve any outstanding issues.

8:15 Full interview with moving company

WATCH above for the full interview with Scott Burley, owner of the moving company.