Greetings! As they say in Great Britian, this situation is a bit of a
sticky wicket. First of all, I am interpreting your reference to
"non-binding estimate" as one that is not in writing. If indeed you
do have an estimate in writing (including the per-cubic-fot quote)
then I would wager a lawyer would probably consider taking a case in
your behalf against the movers. And, yes, I would definitely make the
dispute known at the time of delivery. I would be very gracious to
the drivers and tell them you had a matter to discuss with the owner
of the company before they unloaded. Serve them some iced tea and sit
them down on the porch and make you phone call inside. That would be
the time to review with management all the things you may have
discovered.
With no quote on paper in hand, you are in a bit of a bind: if you
don't pay for the furniture to be unloaded, they hold your furniture
hostage and if you pay for the unloading, they hold some of your money
(extra fees) hostage. But with a little careful research on your
own, you may be able to come to an amicable agreement with the Florida
owner.
First of all, I think that when the movers arrived and saw the items,
they should have immediately called their supervisor and told him/her
that it was different than they had been told (more space, extra
packing materials, etc). In my estimation, a reputable mover would
train their employees to be on the ball so that no customer service
issue would be unnecessaily created. Had that occurred, then the
person handling the moving could have told them to wait while he/she
contacted you to see if you still wanted to use their service, or to
find out if it was okay to add the extra packing things. When
speaking with the company in Florida (and your moving helper), I think
you should ascertain if this was done. If not, I would discuss what
type of discount they were willing to give you because they did not
accurately inform you of the difference BEFORE they took it upon
themselves to load and pack anyway.
Second, there you are all the way out in California and they are far
away in Florida. However, since the payment of the cash for the
furniture will take place in California, I believe you should phone a
legal clinic and inquire if payment in California would constitute a
lawsuit in California. Do you see where I'm going? If this Florida
company had to show up in California to settle a dispute, they may be
more willing to reduce your cost to be in line with the original
agreement. So I would check on this angle. I could not locate a
specific law online regarding this (I think because it is so
specified) so I would encourage you to check it out in California.
And, if you do pay cash, do NOT pay until you are presented with a
complete bill with line items descriptions, and make sure if they
charged you for "moving blankets" or anything like that, that you keep
the items for which you are charged.
The old adage "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" is
very true, so when speaking with the Florida company, do your best not
to accuse or be angry. Approach the problem as an "honest mistake" or
an "honest misunderstanding". Let the Florida company know you do not
question their ethics, just their bill to you. Let them know, in no
uncertain terms, that you have great trust the matter will be resolved
to both your and their liking, and if you had thought to recommend
their services to someone else recently, let them know that, too.
When the truck arrives, ascertain the exact number of cubic feet of
your goods before the items are unloaded taking a photograph, if
possible, of the goods stacked inside. If they are spread out, ask
why the extra srpead? Make sure the cubic feet total matches the bill
with which you are presented, the line item bill, and politely ask the
movers to point out each packing crate/box and material that they
provided for your move. Make sure these totals match the bills as
well. Also, keep in mind that the movers may represent the company,
but they are just hired hands in most cases, so don't become upset
with them over the bill (because they are basically "grunts" and can't
do anything about office policy). In fact, treat all parties with
respect and honor, because in most cases we give what we get.
Now, if this was me, I would get my stuff. However, I might choose to
examine carefully (along with the movers) each item that is breakable
to make sure there are no problems on that end. If there were and the
movers didn't see it, then you would have additional problems with
recovering money for damaged goods. The Florida company might even
claim you were being untruthful about what was broken because of your
problem with the fluctuating estimate. Keep the drivers happy: have
lunch and beverages for them during this process. They are there to
serve you and you are paying for their service so extract from it all
you can legally and morally.
As far as the regulations for registration, I discovered the folowing
which may give you education on if the company is operating legally
(this is from the site listed below "FAQs on Trucking/Commercial Motor
Carriers "):
"What is the International Registration Plan (IRP) and what are the
requirements?"
The International Registration Plan (IRP) is a reciprocal agreement
that authorizes the proportional registration among the states of
commercial motor vehicles. This means if a truck is operated in
multiple states, the owner must annually report mileage driven in each
state and taxes are paid proportionately based on the mileage driven.
The good news is the owner may pay those taxes in one state— referred
to as the base state. Owners are required to register under IRP if :
the vehicle is over 26,000 GVW;
or has three or more axles, regardless of weight;
or is a power unit and trailer whose combined GVW is in excess of
26,000 pounds,
and your truck is part of a declared fleet that operates in Florida
and at least one other IRP jurisdiction.
Further information regarding the International Registration Plan can
be obtained from the IRP, Inc., website at
http://www.aamva.org/IRP/index.html
"What vehicles are exempt from IRP registration?"
government owned vehicles;
city pick-up or delivery vehicles;
buses used for chartered parties;
recreational vehicles (a vehicle used for personal pleasure or
travel);
vehicles operating with restricted license plates; and
vehicles operating intrastate miles only
These numbers may be of interest to you as well:
"I am planning to go into the trucking business in Florida and I am
worried about the records I will need to keep. Who can I contact that
can help me?"
You may contact the Bureau of Motor Carrier Services Auditing Section
at the following locations and telephone numbers in Florida:
Tallahassee 850/487-0117
Jacksonville 850/448-4351
Ocala 352/620-3993
Tampa 813/975-7095
Palmetto 941/723-4534
Winter Park 407/623-1124
Plantation 954/327-6345
Since your question basically dealt with "Should I just pay what it
takes to get the truck unloaded and later dispute the charge, or do I
need to make the dispute at time of delivery to protect my rights?"
that is what I have addressed, but I'll be happy to clarify anything I
can for you. In the matter of the 10% above estimate payment, I could
not locate a specific rule, but Florida (or Califormia, depending on
what state would have jurisdiction) may be able to answer that.
Questions for Florida DOT may be emailed to fdot.pio@dot.state.fl.us
and the Florida Division of Consumer Services (FDCS) is located at
http://www.800helpfla.com/~cs/azguide.html with email as
fuchsd@doacs.state.fl.us - other FDCS info below:
Telephone/Fax:
Consumer Services Hotline:
1-800-435-7352 (Florida only)
1-800-352-9832 (Spanish)
Out of Florida: (850) 488-2221
Complaint Faxes to (850) 410-3801
I hope my research and assistance proves valuable to you with this
problem. Should you need any clarification, please ask. Above all,
remember to catch those flies with honey. ; )
SEARCH TERMS AND LINKS
"search florida DOT law"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=search+florida+DOT+law
ITS Index
http://www.itsindex.com/default.asp?catid=77
My Florida
http://www11.myflorida.com/publicinformationoffice/
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/html/titlinf.html
FAQs on Trucking/Commercial Motor Carriers (Florida DOT page)
http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/dmv/faqcarriers.html |
