BC movers damage furniture, deny responsibility, and then sue
A BC moving company that damaged multiple pieces of furniture after it said it would pack and wrap them, has been ordered to knock $900 off its final bill after it sued the customer.
According to a July 16 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, many pieces of Marc-Andre Mercier's furniture were damaged after 2 Burley Men Moving delivered his stuff from Victoria to Calgary.
Mercier paid the $2,683 bill, but then called his credit card company and had the payment reversed.
2 Burley Men Moving then took him to the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal over the unpaid bill.
The moving company is no stranger to the courts and has been involved in more than 50 Civil Resolution Tribunal cases and 20 small claims cases in the past five years.
In this case, 2 Burley Men Moving argued Mercier owed the company $2,683.
Mercier argued he didn't owe a penny because the movers broke a lot of his stuff.
Evidence presented to the Tribunal showed damage to multiple pieces of furniture.
"The two-drawer filing cabinet is missing a wheel and has scratches on its front... the coffee table is disassembled, and the pieces are broken... the dresser has scratches and is missing chunks all along its side... the credenza has scratches on the front and on the top... the two nightstands each have scratches on the front... the standing shelf has a long scratch down the middle," the decision reads.
2 Burley Men Moving denied damaging any furniture and said that Mercier did not properly wrap up his furniture.
However, an email from the movers to Mercier had said, "we will pad and wrap all the furniture."
While 2 Burley Men Moving denied damaging the furniture, in an email after the move it told Mercier it would give him $166 as "payout for damages."
"I see no reason why the (company) would offer to reduce the outstanding balance, unless it accepted that it had damaged at least some of the respondent’s belongings," the Tribunal said. "I find that by offering $166 as a 'payout for damages,' the (movers) implicitly waived its right to rely on the acknowledgement that the shipment was received in good condition."
2 Burley Men Moving also argued that Mercier signed its terms and conditions which state that it does not accept liability for boxes packed by the owner, and other stipulations.
Mercier says he was "forced" to sign the waybill before seeing the items.
The Tribunal ruled that to exclude liability in a contract, a business must do so in clear and unambiguous terms, but that the company's contract is "unclear."
The Tribunal described other parts of the contract as "contradictory and ambiguous" and ruled that 2 Burley Men Moving was liable for the damaged furniture.
Mercier said his furniture was so damaged that he was forced to either get rid of it and replace it. He gave no value for what the furniture was worth.
In an earlier email to 2 Burley Men Moving, he'd asked for $1,680 to cover the damage, but the company had offered $166.
"I find that the damage to the... furniture is somewhere between the parties’ valuations," the Tribunal said, deciding on $923.
Mercier made other arguments about the weight of their shipment and the employees being unprofessional, but the Tribunal dismissed them.
Ultimately, the Tribunal knocked $923 off 2 Burley Men Moving's bill and ordered Mercier to pay $2,031 including interest and fees.
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