Moving Men not trained professional movers
d ash
Submitted this review about
Boerman Moving and Storage
Review made Live: 2/14/2012 9:06:00 PM
My first impression of Boerman was positive. I met with Mike Boerman (One of the owners 2 sons) to receive an estimate for moving and storage. Boerman was recommended to me by a neighbor who had used them for a major local move. Mike was pleased too tell me my friends move was the largest his company ever made over $15,000 in profit extending over 3 days for packing and moving my friend 6 blocks.I interviewed other movers but selected Boerman's because my friend had used them and Mike Boerman seemed to be honest. The first clue something was wrong was a call we received from our neighbors stating our movers were riding our children's bikes up and down the street. The moving men also were throwing boxes from the ground to men on the truck. Many of these light boxes contained 1900s china which is now broken. I assumed the moving men were employees of Boerman. The moving men are contract men paid per job and are not at all employees of Boerman. I was under the assumption any damage caused by Boerman's employees would be covered by Boerman. But Boerman does not have any employees employed as moving men. So damage is covered and paid for by owner of home.When it was time for our furnishing to come out of storage and delivered to our new home by Boerman, a different crew of moving men arrived. These men had shirts on with names that did not match their real names. The moving men told me Boerman has unemployed men they call to do the moving which allows Boerman's to avoid paying taxes, Social Security and benefits to moving men. The moving men were unemployed and delighted to get a one off job for the day and needed the money. Remember, these men are not employees of Boerman's and not at all trained as movers. At the end of our move in we noticed our custom bedroom wood TV cabinet was missing. The cabinet is as big as a wall and it could not be found in any of the storage containers. The moving men took over 45 minutes to search for the cabinet and could not find it. (We paid by the hour and paid these men $229 an hour to look for a missing cabinet) The men called Boerman and the office staff at Boerman knew nothing about the missing cabinet. Here is where the real trouble began. The first problem was the cabinet was missing, the second problem was Boerman made me pay for 6 guys at a rate of $229 an hour to look for a cabinet that was not on any truck and missing. Finally I was able to get in touch with The second Boerman brother (Dan) who told me the cabinet fell out of one of the storage bins a week ago and was broken. I didn't understand how this could happen because Boerman promised me my storage containers would be kept sealed until they were opened at our new home. I was very upset and asked Dan why he did not call me and tell me what happened and he said he forgot. I mentioned to Dan we were also missing industrial garbage cans and he said, oh, I think the guys thought those were ours and they are being used at the storage facility. Dan would have them returned when they were located.At the end of the move, I refused to pay the final bill until my cabinet and cans were returned. I explained in addition to the missing items the following furniture pieces of mine were damaged: 2 french upholstered chairs had oil stains one stain was as large as a throw pillow and both cushions had been turned upside down to hide stains, coffee table had large chip out of corner where it was dropped and stain was still on table, 4 mattresses had oil stains from moving men's oiling hands, silk lamp shade was ripped to shreds from being placed with lawn tools. I once again called the Boerman office and was told both brothers Dan and Mike were not available. I spoke to I man in charge of the moving men. I was told if I didn't pay today the moving men would not get paid tonight. I felt bad for the moving men and told them I would pay them that night because I did not want the moving men to not get paid. This crew of men told me the Boerman's representative was not telling the truth to me. In fact, the men never get paid until up to 4 weeks + after the move. When I finally got in touch with my sales representative Mike Boerman several days after the move, Mike proceeded to remind me Boerman's was not liable for any damage because I did not take out insurance for damage. Basically I pay for the guys Boerman's find off the streets who are not employees of Boerman's to move and store my belongings. And I pay for the insurance if anything is broken even if Boerman's stored my items and damaged them. Mike said he would speak with his father but I had better not get upset with his father if I expected to get any consideration for loss and damaged items.Mike's father did call me back once. I never returned his call because I felt so violated and lied to by Mr. Boerman's two sons, I did not want to have to plea my case to their father. I never received my lamp shade back. I never had any restitution for damaged china, cushions, mattresses or broken table. I did receive my bedroom chest back but the door does not close. We continue to find damaged items everyday. Our snow blower handle was broken off...$200 to repair, missing lawn tools....I will end by saying I expected items to be damaged during the move. But I did not expect the unprofessional nature of the two Boerman Brothers. I am sure Father Boerman spent most of his life building a reputable company which in one day his two sons would bring down. I was also concerned with the credentials of the moving men. They men are not employees of Boerman and did not have training in moving
