Complaint Review: Allied Van Lines - Berger Transfer & Storage - ABC Moving Inc - Austin Texas

The Carmack Amendment requires carriers to offer us some benefits in return for their right to limit their liability. That is why they offer you the opportunity to pay a "declared value premium" on the contract of carriage (known as a "Bill of Lading").  This "declared value premium" or what most refer to as "insurance".

You paying them a premium to assume "liability" beyond the amount they have limited themselves to.

The "declared value premium" you pay increases in direct proportion to the value you declare the property to be worth. For example, UPS currently charges 35 cents for each $100 incremental increase in declared value above the first $100.
 
The bottom line is you must declare your package to be worth something and pay the carrier the required declared value premium or there is virtually NOTHING you can do if your property is damaged or lost.

That's the law! No matter what.... you cannot bring any other type of claim against that carrier as that Carmack Amendment provides your EXCLUSIVE remedy.
 
If you HAD done the smart thing and paid the carrier a declared value premium the carrier will have reimbursed you the full value you decalred.

They inform you of this every time they do a move.

Allied also offers $.60/lbs. minimum included in any move, even if you refuse the declared value premium. This is much higher than more carriers.

It is your own fault that you turned down declaring a premium value.

I also find it highly suspicious that the "damage" they allegedly did was of such extreme value. No one in their right mind would have someone move that valuable of property without properly declaring its value.

First of all, let me start out by telling you that I am an owner operator and haul for Berger/Allied Van Lines. As far as you having 7 people helping the driver load your household goods at origin....that's great. But then you said that he only had 2 at destination. The company was either complaining that he was spending too much on labor (which they do that all the time) or there wasn't 7 at the agent he hired his labor through. Your driver pays for his own labor. Most of the time, they get a buck a hundred ($1.00 per ever hundred pounds). If you had 12,000 lbs, EACH MAN gets $120.00 a piece. Then the driver pays for the guys who drove out there gas money. Usually $20.00. So now the guy that drove has made $140.00 for that one day. Plus, if the shipper, which is YOU doesn't offer lunch, the DRIVER buys that, too. Most of the time, the shipper will buy lunch for the guys. If you had 20,000 lbs (and it sounds like you had quite a bit), then your driver would have to pay EACH guy $200.00 a piece. That's a lot of money. As far as your insurance goes, God only knows where the insurance money goes. All claims come out of your driver's escrow account. People don't know that, but it does. The insurance money you pay doesn't go into the driver's escrow, it goes, I guess into the saleman's pocket. As a driver, each time you file a claim, it comes out of him. Usually, $75.00 a week comes out of your driver's settlement until he reaches $3,000.00. As fas as your driver walking around smoking cigarettes......do you know how many miles he has driven? He is probably so tired that if he didn't walk around smoking his cigarettes, he would probably go to sleep. Or maybe you didn't see him unloading his tiers inside the trailer. Were you out there the entire time while they were unloading? You should have been checking off your stuff and not watching your driver. Now you say "Do Not Use This Company". Every single moving company is the same. You get good ones and you get bad ones. You get experienced drivers and you get rookie drivers. Every driver out there at one point was a rookie. They all have to start some place. Let's talk about what you do for a living. In your business does everyone do everything perfect? What if some one put your company down? Pointed the finger right at you and said you were no good. How would you feel? I take pride in what I do. I haul for Berger and I wouldn't have it any other way. I hold my head up when I roll down the road. Do you hold your head up when you're on your way to work or do you have your company name on the side of your vehicle? I Do. Are you a full blooded American? I don't think so, because if you were, you wouldn't be putting such horse crap online.

If your claim was denied, it was denied. If you took it another step forward to arbitration and it was still denied, Carmack will deny you additional recoveries for negligence, etc... as well. Carmack was written so long ago and has been held up as valid in every court in the land in an effort to deny consumers from additional recoveries and limiting the liability of railroads and now moving companies. The only attorneys who have been able to pierce Carmack are those who proved the company was setup as a sham to extort or otherwise defraud the consumer, which means the company was primarily NOT in the business of moving people. That isn't what happened here, and your attorney won't be able to prove Allied is not in the business of moving people - though in your case, they did a pretty poor job. The only way you will be able to get around the Carmack issue is to force reopening of the original claim, which your attorney may be able to do - so he's not dealing with Carmack head-on. Even if you get it reopened and it is decided in your favor, you won't get more than what the valuation policy states, and it won't be $125,000; it'll be for what the court determines is the undepreciated value of the property, less any deductible (which at the amounts you're talking about are quite nominal). Carmack prevents recovery for things like pain and suffering. Blake, if your attorney is successful at piercing Carmack, there are many who will be interested in how your attorney did so, because no attorney in the country has been able to... I'm just letting you know what you're up against.

Jim, I notice you have gotten on many of the negative postings regarding Allied and tried to spin them to make Allied look better. The Carmack Amendment HAS BEEN knocked out of many moving lawsuits, my lawyer has done the research and has sited many cases showing this fact to be true. When all the information is out in my particular case, the Carmack Amendment does NOT apply to my move. My first lawyer wasn't well versed on this, my current lawyer is excellent. He is from a firm that specializes in consumer fraud. My lawsuit will NOT be dismissed and I will prevail with both punitive, actual damages and attorney's fees. Thanks for the well wishes, but I don't need it, I have the law on MY side. Victims of moving companies, please not only post on this website but file complaints with the Department of Transportation in your state. If the move was out of state file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation. Posting on this site is awesome, it gets the word out, but take the next step and file the complaints necessary to put a stop to these unscrupulous movers! We need new legislation as it applies to movers so PLEASE start writing the letters to see change in legislation. If every victim of a moving company banded together and did so, we would see change in this industry.

Unfortunately, the Carmack Amendment will likely force the courts to dismiss the lawsuit because it provides federal liability protections for the mover and against the public for the types of damage they did. Carmack was instituted at least 70-80 years ago to protect the railroads for excess liability damage caused by railway transportation; as the moving industry grew, those protections extended to moving companies as well. Courts across the land have consistently held for the moving companies (and railroads) in liability cases such as these - limiting your recovery to the valuation assigned per your contract. I'm sort of surprised your lawyer was unaware of Carmack because I have yet to see anyone penetrate through the Carmack Amendment; hopefully you aren't going to be out much in legal fees because Carmack makes most of these liability cases dead-bang losers. I don't know what sort of valuation you had for your move; if you got FVP (Full Value Protection, which is offered by all of the major movers out there), you should be able to collect a fair amount back. It won't be $125,000, but it is better than standard valuation. On the other hand, if you only obtained the bare minimum, the most you'll be able to collect per your contract is $0.60 per pound, and that isn't much. Best of luck to you....

We did in fact file suit against Allied Movers. Did this cause them to finally pay for the damage done by the loss and damage to our furniture caused by their negligence? No, it did not. In spite of emails from them apologizing for this horrible move they still will NOT pay. Allied hired a local law firm who filed a motion to dismiss our claim under the Carmack Amendment. This is an amendment that helps moving companies to get out of paying for damage that they do to your furniture. DO NOT use Allied Movers. If you have been harmed by Allied please file complaints with the Department of Transportation in your state if it was a local move and with the National Department of Transportation if it was an out of state move.

I received a telephone call this morning March 13, 2008, from Area Director Richard Ferrero. I was shocked that he would dare to call me since I am represented by counsel. Mr. Ferrero called to chastise me for posting this complaint as customers apparently Google him and find it. I wish Mr. Ferrero would have been this motivated to get involved and make some calls chastising Allied claims department for not getting my damage claim resolved due to his false promises regarding this move. If Mr. Ferrero made sure that I did have an experienced crew as he promised when I signed the contract for the move we would not be in this situation. Nine months after my nightmare move my garage sits filled with damaged and destroyed furniture. My house is full of the same. AGAIN - DO NOT USE THESE MOVERS!

I have been forced to hire an attorney. In spite of the fact that I had $125,000.00 on my furniture this company has refused to take responsibility for destroying my possessions. Please watch for my website regarding this company which will have audio tapes of my conversation with the CEO Bill Dirks as well as other employees. It will also have pictures and video.

If you have been a victim of this moving company please post your complaint on this awesome website. Also help protect other consumers, file complaints with the Department of Transportation, the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. I know the BBB is a joke but at least there is a record of complaints against companies kept.

Don't be a victim, fight back!

I have been forced to hire an attorney. In spite of the fact that I had $125,000.00 on my furniture this company has refused to take responsibility for destroying my possessions. Please watch for my website regarding this company which will have audio tapes of my conversation with the CEO Bill Dirks as well as other employees. It will also have pictures and video.

If you have been a victim of this moving company please post your complaint on this awesome website. Also help protect other consumers, file complaints with the Department of Transportation, the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. I know the BBB is a joke but at least there is a record of complaints against companies kept.

Don't be a victim, fight back!

I have been forced to hire an attorney. In spite of the fact that I had $125,000.00 on my furniture this company has refused to take responsibility for destroying my possessions. Please watch for my website regarding this company which will have audio tapes of my conversation with the CEO Bill Dirks as well as other employees. It will also have pictures and video.

If you have been a victim of this moving company please post your complaint on this awesome website. Also help protect other consumers, file complaints with the Department of Transportation, the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. I know the BBB is a joke but at least there is a record of complaints against companies kept.

Don't be a victim, fight back!

I have been forced to hire an attorney. In spite of the fact that I had $125,000.00 on my furniture this company has refused to take responsibility for destroying my possessions. Please watch for my website regarding this company which will have audio tapes of my conversation with the CEO Bill Dirks as well as other employees. It will also have pictures and video.

If you have been a victim of this moving company please post your complaint on this awesome website. Also help protect other consumers, file complaints with the Department of Transportation, the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. I know the BBB is a joke but at least there is a record of complaints against companies kept.

Don't be a victim, fight back!