wagner@uw-june (Dave Wagner) (11/23/84)
I am having a problem with a moving company, and I'm wondering whether or
not I am wasting my time fighting them. Can anybody out there give me some
advice?
The basic problem is, when my goods were delivered to my new address, I was
presented with a completely filled-out moving agreement, with all charges
filled in. I paid the driver the total shown at the bottom of the aggreement.
A few weeks later, I received a letter from the company saying that they had
made two errors: first, two digits were transposed when the numbers were
added up, resulting in a $60 error in the total; second, the insurance
rate had been misquoted and the premium was off by $40. They sent me a
bill for $100. I responded by saying that I had fulfilled my obligation
under the contract and that they had no valid claim for payment. They
responded that the total shown on the moving agreement was only an estimated
total and was subject to correction.
Now, the way I see it, they may have a valid claim for the $60 error resulting
from adding up the bill incorrectly. (Do they?) However, there are at least
two things wrong with their claim for the $40: first of all, the insurance rate
is not something that has to be estimated - the only unknown in a move is the
total weight of the shipment, and the insurance rate is a constant which should
be known in advance. Secondly, once the goods are weighed and delivered,
it seems unlikely that they can claim that the bill was only an "estimate".
Promising one price and then asking for more later sounds a lot like fraud, to
me.
Does anyone out there know the answer to these questions? (e.g., it would
be especially useful if I could quote sections of the Uniform Commercial Code
in my next letter to them.) Also, if I write to the Interstate Commerce
Commission, is it likely that the ICC can or will help me? Obviously, even
if I am right, they can still wreck my credit rating unless I can get them
to stop trying to collect the money!
Please mail replies directly to me. Thanks for the help.
Dave Wagner
University of Washington Comp Sci Department
wagner@{uw-june.arpa|washington.arpa}
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