Moving House Don't Get Done Get Dom


Moving House

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I've been battling for consumer rights for years

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but it seems that some companies are still not getting the message.

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The customers were technically paying your wages

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and keeping your company afloat.

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Day in, day out, thousands of you have been taken for a ride.

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And it's always the same old things.

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Shoddy products, the small print and bad customer service.

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Customer service is really important and if the company is good

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I'll go back to it.

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Too right, but some firms are driving you barmy,

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causing you sleepless nights and making you feel like

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you're the one to blame.

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But don't despair because I'll take them on to make sure

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you don't get done.

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It's often said that moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do.

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I mean, after all, you're moving all your life's contents from A to B.

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And that's exactly why we employ removal men,

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to make sure that all your possessions, from furniture

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to your favourite books, get there safe and sound and in one piece.

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'But that's exactly what didn't happen to Lucy Fitzpatrick.

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'She has a major complaint with Pickfords.

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'She employed them to move her and her husband's belongings

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'from their holiday home in France back to London.'

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Steve and I never had any intention of selling our home in France.

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But life suddenly dramatically changed in June 2011

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when he was diagnosed with cancer.

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'Their belongings went into storage as they waited to complete building work

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'on a new house they were moving into in London.

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'A couple of months later, Steve sadly passed away.

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'It was a few months before Lucy and her son could move into the new property.

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'It was a bittersweet day.'

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Every single piece of furniture we have has a strong memory.

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And much as it's lovely to have that memory,

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under the circumstances, it's very painful.

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'And as Lucy started to unpack the van, her feelings weren't made any better.'

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It looked like a jumble sale.

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All my items had been literally thrown in.

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And the first box I opened was full of glass.

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It was a side table that had been smashed to smithereens.

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'Some of the worst damage was to a pair of oil paintings.'

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All the oil paint had come off

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and it was completely ripped, the canvas was completely ripped.

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At that point, to be honest with you, I burst into tears.

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And the second painting had an over 12-inch rip down the centre of the entire painting.

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'The case is now in the hands of Pickfords' insurers,

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'but for Lucy, it isn't just about the money.'

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They will never be able to give me back my memories.

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They will never be able to replace irreplaceable items, I know that.

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'Sadly, Lucy isn't alone.

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'Carol Bellard-Thompson has also written to me and has a similar story of damaged goods.

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'She's back in the UK from Europe visiting her daughter

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'and is keen to tell her story.

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'She employed Pickfords to move her to France after she retired.

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'As well was her furniture and belongings,

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'Pickfords were also going to move her precious piano.'

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When I bought the piano, it was just after I'd retired,

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and I had to retire due to ill health.

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That was £2,500 for a new piano.

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'Pickfords placed Carol's belongings in storage.

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'Three months later, she was in France, ready to take delivery of her things.

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'But alarm bells started ringing when the hydraulic lift she'd been expecting

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'to move her piano didn't arrive.'

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The next thing I knew, the two French removers were walking up the steps

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at the front of the house with the piano between them on straps.

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'Once positioned, Carol had to leave the piano untouched,

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'to allow it to acclimatised to the new environment.

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'Six weeks later, it was ready for the piano tuner,

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'but it wasn't good news.'

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The piano tuner's opinion in France

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was that the piano had suffered some kind of impact.

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It had either been dropped or something else had hit it very hard.

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'Damaging it both inside and out.

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'Carol has been reimbursed the £600 charge for the no-show crane.

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'But she's had to fork out for repairs on her treasured instrument.'

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What I'd like from Pickfords is at least an apology,

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an acknowledgement that something happened in the three months when my things were in storage with them.

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'Right. That's two stories of damaged items.

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'But I've also had a third complaint about Pickfords which is slightly different.

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'Vivien Hanson chose Pickfords to move her belongings out of her flat and into storage

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'for a period before transferring everything to two separate addresses.'

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From their documentation,

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there was nothing to suggest that there would be any extra payments

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over and above what we had asked for.

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'And when the time came for her belongings to be moved out of storage,

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'Vivien was shocked when Pickfords informed her there'd be an extra delivery charge

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'of approximately two grand.'

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We could either leave all our goods in storage

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and pay monthly for however long.

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Or we could pay what Pickfords were demanding.

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'Vivien reluctantly agreed to pay the extra, but to add insult to injury,

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'she was also hit with a parking fine for one of the removal vans,

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'and she's still receiving demands for this.

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'I've got to say, I'm pretty shocked by these three stories.

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'I've come to meet Lucy, Carol and Vivien to see how I can help them.'

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Hello, ladies. Vivien, lovely to meet you.

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Carol, lovely to meet you. And you, too, Lucy.

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'So, what made them choose Pickfords in the first place?'

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I chose Pickfords because it was a household name.

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I felt that they would do the best job for me.

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And I trusted their name.

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-Would you all agree with that?

-Yes.

-Yes.

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'Unfortunately, it seems that all of them feel that that trust has been misplaced.'

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The way that Pickfords have dealt with my claim...

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..has been appalling.

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We were extremely upset at the sort of service we were getting.

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I couldn't believe what was happening.

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'Lucy and Carol have brought along photos of their damaged belongings,

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'and I've got to say, I'm pretty shocked at what I'm seeing.'

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-There doesn't seem to be any respect for your personal belongings at all.

-No.

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'So that I can build a complete picture of all these cases,

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'I need to talk figures. Firstly, Lucy's damaged belongings.

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'Pickfords have actually already offered Lucy £14,308 as settlement.

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'That's £5,808 cash and £8,500 towards repairs.

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'Lucy calculates the damage to her goods at much more.

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'In fact, £22,703.'

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I would be financially out of pocket by thousands.

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I end up with paintings that have got great big rips down them,

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and even though they can be patched together,

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all the restorers have said they will never look like the paintings that we had.

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'Carol is in a similar position when it comes to her damaged piano.'

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Why have you not been able to claim on their insurance for this?

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Because they have a catch-all, seven-day insurance period.

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It is in the small print, which I might add I can't read

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cos I have sight problems.

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Erm, I don't know actually why they have that because it's not suitable for a piano,

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you cannot bring a piano to a new environment and tune it immediately.

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'She has been refunded the charge for the crane which was never used to move the piano,

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'but believes the piano has lost value, plus she's out of pocket for the repairs.'

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-Which is how much?

-The repairs were about 650 Euros.

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'Now, Vivien's case was slightly different.

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'It came down to an additional redelivery charge she knew nothing about

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'for Pickfords to get her belongings out of storage and into her two properties.'

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Can I ask how much?

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Erm, for the two flats, it was approximately £2,000,

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-which I did negotiate down with them.

-To what?

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For one we negotiated down to about 200 plus VAT,

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and the other was 800 plus VAT.

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'Vivien managed to negotiate this charge down at the time,

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'because Pickfords did soon acknowledge

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'they'd mistakenly left the redelivery charge off the original quote.

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'Although they reduced the additional charge by £720 in recognition of this,

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'Vivien still had to pay £974.16 plus VAT.'

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If we can get that wiped, and also the parking fine,

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-which I don't think is enforceable anyhow, you would be happy?

-Yes. Yes.

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In your case, Carol, what would you be happy with?

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I would like Pickfords to pay for the cost of the repair of the piano at least,

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and probably for the loss of value.

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And, Lucy, your one gets very complicated.

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-Because there's items there which can't be replaced.

-Correct.

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-Or repaired, by the sounds of it.

-I desperately want closure,

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because my house is full of broken items

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that just remind me and anger me and upset me.

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-You want to get on with your life.

-Got to.

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'It's up to me to fight these ladies' corners

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'and get them the results I think they deserve.

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'But I don't think it's going to be easy.'

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-I shall keep you all informed. Lovely to meet you all.

-Thank you.

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Pickfords are probably one of the biggest removal companies in this country.

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We've all heard about them. I'm quite shocked to hear these stories from the three ladies.

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The pictures are pretty horrific, as well.

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Let's see how Pickfords respond once I get on the dog and bone to them.

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'But before I start, I like to know a bit more about who I'm dealing with.

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'According to their website, the Pickford family

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'first set up Pickfords Removals as early as the 17th century.

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'And today, the MD is still a Pickford.

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'With generations of experience, it's no wonder they're the UK's largest moving and storage company.

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'However, I know a few ladies who are less than impressed with their experiences of Pickfords.

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'Time to give the company a call myself.

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'I've only got the general number for Pickfords,

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'but they should be able to point me in the right direction.'

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Good afternoon, Pickfords.

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My name's Dominic Littlewood, I'm calling from the BBC.

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'I explain I want to speak to somebody about my group of complaints.'

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Which department do I need to speak to, please?

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'The receptionist tells me it's a lady called Lyndsey in the marketing department.

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'She's not in until tomorrow. Shame, but fair enough.'

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It's been lovely talking to you. Bye-bye.

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'I've given all my details, got an email address to send everything through to,

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'and the second the phone is down, I send over all three cases.

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'I hope it lands on Lyndsey's desk.

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'But as I start to get to grips with these cases,

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'will I get the answers I'm looking for?'

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That was one of the most polite conversations I've ever had.

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'I've got my work cut out with these three cases,

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'and so far, I've managed to leave a message and send over the relevant paperwork to Pickfords.

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'And a few days later, I get a message to give them a call.'

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I've got a lady who's waiting for a call back.

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I have sent her an email so she's aware of the cases.

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Let's see what she's got to say.

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Morning. Can I speak to Lyndsey Daykin, please?

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'Lyndsey is happy to talk to me about the cases

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'but she doesn't want her voice to be used.

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'First up, I want to chat about Vivien's invoice.

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'She ended up paying over £900 more than she was originally quoted.'

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Nowhere on there does it actually state

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that this does not include redirection of your furniture.

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It's just purely removal and storage.

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And I would've assumed, even if it is an extra charge,

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that you somewhere need to list that and itemise that.

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'There's also the issue of the parking fine that I need to talk about.'

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If she's paid for one van, and that's what she was asked to supply,

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she doesn't feel she should have to pay for a second van

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or any parking penalties that turned up.

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'Lyndsey says she'll gather all the case details and get back to me with some answers.

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'Now, onto Carol and her damaged piano.'

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The big problem there, of course, is you've got a seven-day period

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which you give people to report problems.

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'Carol's point is that she had to let the piano settle for six weeks

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'so didn't spot the damage within seven days.

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'But Lyndsey assures me she'll speak with the person who dealt with Carol's move and get back to me.

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'And finally, on to Lucy.

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'Lyndsey has got most of the details but hasn't seen any photos.

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'So I fill her in.'

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I can't see any restraining cables whatsoever. Everything's falling over.

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'Pickfords have said that Lucy should've itemised belongings worth over £500

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'to be certain they were properly insured,

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'and that she didn't, hence their offer of just over £14,000.

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'But Lucy believes the items were worth £8,395 more.'

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She said it's because of the circumstances, her husband was very close to his death,

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and as you can appreciate, there was a lot more on her mind.

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You have made a settlement, an offer, I should say, for some of the items.

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However, there's a few items there which she disputes,

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and quite rightly so, I think.

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'Lyndsey is saddened to hear about Lucy's circumstances.

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'She says her role now is to coordinate the responses from Pickfords for all three cases,

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'and then she'll get back to me.' Thanks, Lyndsey. Bye-bye.

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That was one of the most polite conversations I've ever had.

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Hopefully, things are starting to move in the right direction. Cup of tea!

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'The problems that Lucy, Carol and Vivien have experienced have got me thinking.'

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When you employ the services of removal men,

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you're entrusting them with some of your most precious, personal possessions.

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So, what do you do if something goes wrong

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and one of those personal possessions gets lost, stolen or damaged?

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-GLASS SMASHES

-Oops!

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'Martin Rose from the National Guild of Removers has some sound advice when it comes to moving house.'

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Moving can be a stressful experience, but it needn't be.

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'Firstly, do your homework.'

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Because people move not very often,

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it's difficult to know how to choose a remover,

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and there are certain rules that we publish

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that will tell them how to do it.

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'Being one of the best-known names in the business,

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'Pickfords are a member of another trade organisation

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'called the British Association of Removers.

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'And, like the National Guild of Removers, they have codes of conduct, as well.

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'But if you are moving with an accredited company,

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'how can you make sure you're properly covered?'

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The best way of doing it is to let your remover carry out his insurance,

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because he has expert insurance which will cover you for all eventualities.

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Quite often, you won't have to pay anything extra for insurance,

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it will be included in the removal price.

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'The three ladies I'm helping had all taken out insurance,

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'but in Lucy's case, Pickfords are saying some of her items worth over £500 weren't itemised,

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'so she was underinsured.'

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It's probably wise to itemise or specify

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any particularly valuable items, and that gives you added protection.

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'Good advice, but itemised or not, what should you do if some or all of your items are damaged in transit?

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'And what, as consumers, do we need to be aware of?'

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If some of your goods turn up damaged,

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the first thing you need to do is report to the remover,

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who will decide whether or not to bring in his insurers,

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or if it's fairly small,

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he may have discretion to sort it out with you directly himself.

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There is an instance where a household could find themselves uninsured as part of the move,

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and that is if you pack your own belongings.

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And the reason is, the insurers won't cover you

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because they had no control over how you packed the goods.

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'So, if you want to make sure your move runs smoothly,

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'it's fairly simple. Choose an accredited removal company

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'and get recommendations from others if you can.

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'Make sure you get the appropriate insurance cover for your belongings.

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'Anything of particular value should be flagged up with the removal company.

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'If you do notice something is damaged when it comes to unpacking,

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'make sure you inform the removal company immediately.

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'Some sound advice there from the National Guild of Removers, which I can apply to my cases.

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Of course, Pickfords are fully accredited,

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'but things still seem to have gone wrong in all three of my cases.

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'For Vivien, the big problem is that

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'she was hit with unexpected charges of over £1,200

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'after she had been given a written quote.

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'But can a company actually do this?

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'Looking online at the latest consumer directives, Vivien's not so sure.'

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Retailers must ensure that the total cost of a product or service

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is disclosed, including any extra fees or charges.

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If shoppers are not informed in advance, they will not have to pay these fees.

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And it goes on to say any services which attract a fee

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must clearly set this out before purchase.

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Well, certainly in our case,

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I would've thought that we had agreed on a price,

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we'd agreed on a service,

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but that this was changed later on when we were asked to pay

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extra money for the redelivery of our goods.

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'This is just what I needed. I think it shows that Vivien has got a case.

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'So I plan on getting a result for her.

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'It's been almost a week since I spoke with Lyndsey at Pickfords

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'and I'm ready for some answers.'

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I think it's time to chase up Pickfords.

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Even though I'm out on the road, there's no rest for the wicked, as they say.

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Oh, hi. Can I speak to Lyndsey Daykin, please?

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Hi, Lyndsey, good morning. It's Dominic Littlewood from the BBC.

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I wondered if you'd be kind enough to give me a call back please. Thanks very much, Lyndsey. Bye-bye.

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'It will be a waiting game for me, then.

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'I had a good old chat with somebody in the press office at Pickfords, a lady called Lyndsey.

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'She's been looking into the cases and I'm now just waiting for her to get back to me.'

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I've just had a voicemail message and I've got a funny feeling

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it might be Pickfords. So, let's have a listen.

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'I was right and I'm hoping it's good news.

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'Lyndsey says she'll come back to me today on Vivien's case.'

0:18:500:18:53

Lovely-jubbly. I like it when people are ringing me and not the other way around.

0:18:530:18:57

But I'm actually not going to wait for her to call me this afternoon,

0:18:570:19:00

I'm going to ring her right now, see what's happening.

0:19:000:19:03

'Thankfully, I get straight through to Lyndsey.

0:19:030:19:06

'She tells me she's just finalising the details of Vivien's case this morning

0:19:060:19:10

'and will get back to me with the results.

0:19:100:19:12

'So, it's good news.' You're crossing your Ts, so to speak.

0:19:120:19:16

'Lyndsey also tells me she's still working on Carol and Lucy's cases

0:19:160:19:20

'and will let me know when those are finalised.'

0:19:200:19:22

Brilliant. Lovely talking to you, Lyndsey.

0:19:220:19:25

Everything she said was quite positive.

0:19:250:19:27

And she did say, I will have an answer for you on one of the cases,

0:19:270:19:30

which is Vivien Hanson, this morning,

0:19:300:19:33

which is one third of the way there.

0:19:330:19:35

Two thirds of the way still to go.

0:19:350:19:37

But it's better than I was last week. Bingo! So far.

0:19:370:19:40

'Waiting to hear back on these cases has got my mind reeling with what can go wrong with removals.

0:19:400:19:46

'Just listen to Martin Rose from the National Guild of Removers one more time. It's for your own good.'

0:19:460:19:52

There are absolutely no laws that regulate the removals industry in the UK.

0:19:520:19:57

And that's one of the big problems that householders face.

0:19:570:20:00

'Wow! That's quite a shocker.

0:20:000:20:02

'However, both the British Association of Removers, that Pickfords belong to,

0:20:020:20:07

'and the National Guild of Removers may be able to provide support in some instances.'

0:20:070:20:11

The Guild actually offers a conciliation service,

0:20:110:20:15

which is impartial, to the customer.

0:20:150:20:19

'And there you have it.

0:20:210:20:24

'There is help out there, but my advice is to help yourselves

0:20:240:20:26

'by understanding everything you sign up for in the first place.

0:20:260:20:30

'True to her word, a few hours after my phone call to Lyndsey,

0:20:300:20:34

'she gets back to me on Vivien's case.

0:20:340:20:36

'But I have to wait a few more days for answers on Carol and Lucy's.

0:20:360:20:40

'I forwarded on Pickfords' statements to Carol and Lucy

0:20:400:20:43

'so they can read them themselves.

0:20:430:20:46

'Lucy's case was that Pickfords had moved her belongings from France to London,

0:20:470:20:51

'and during the move, a large number of her belongings were damaged.

0:20:510:20:55

'Pickfords accept responsibility for this,

0:20:550:20:58

'and they tell her they have conducted an internal investigation

0:20:580:21:01

'and taken action to try and stop it ever happening again.'

0:21:010:21:05

We deeply regret the distress caused to Lucy and her family during this time

0:21:050:21:10

and apologise unreservedly for the packing and loading standards

0:21:100:21:14

that contributed to the damage.

0:21:140:21:16

'Lucy was told she didn't itemise all her items that were worth over £500, which she acknowledges.

0:21:160:21:23

'But this was just as a result of her husband's serious illness at the time.

0:21:230:21:28

'Lucy only listed a handful of items worth over £500 originally.

0:21:280:21:32

'However, Pickfords had offered her a cash settlement of £14,308 in light of the damage.

0:21:320:21:39

'But Lucy declined this.'

0:21:390:21:42

These payments are in the form of repairs or cash settlements

0:21:420:21:46

to the items that Lucy did not insure in the accurate declared value.

0:21:460:21:51

In response to this request, we are prepared to pay, as an additional ex gratia payment,

0:21:510:21:57

from Pickfords

0:21:570:21:59

£1,692.

0:21:590:22:02

To make a total payment of £16,000.

0:22:030:22:06

'It's a disappointing result for Lucy.

0:22:060:22:09

'With my involvement, Pickfords have increased their offer,

0:22:090:22:12

'but they maintain that Lucy should have correctly itemised her valuables.

0:22:120:22:16

'Sadly, it is not the result she was hoping for.

0:22:160:22:19

'Now for Carol's response. Luckily, she's over from her retirement home in France

0:22:210:22:25

'visiting her daughter in Blighty.

0:22:250:22:27

'The statement starts by saying that

0:22:270:22:30

'Carol accepted the terms and conditions and declined goods in transit insurance.'

0:22:300:22:35

I don't remember being offered anything of the kind.

0:22:350:22:38

'They state she signed a delivery note saying the move had been a very good one

0:22:380:22:42

'and they didn't hear from her until six weeks later,

0:22:420:22:45

'but that she had agreed to the terms that state all claims must be notified within seven days.

0:22:450:22:50

'Carol had raised with Pickfords the issue of being reimbursed

0:22:500:22:54

'for a potential loss of value for her piano

0:22:540:22:57

'after its accident and repair. Pickfords say...'

0:22:570:23:01

We accept that, as a service provider,

0:23:010:23:03

we have an implied obligation

0:23:030:23:06

to carry out the service with reasonable care and skill.

0:23:060:23:09

We have taken legal advice on this point

0:23:090:23:12

and we are advised that in the event of a breach being established,

0:23:120:23:16

compensation would be dictated by any agreed limits in the removal contract.

0:23:160:23:23

In this case, Mrs Bellard Thompson accepted a limit of £40 per item in the contract.

0:23:230:23:29

'But Pickfords go on to say that if the item is professionally repaired,

0:23:290:23:34

'like Carol's was for 650 Euros, then the value may not the affected,

0:23:340:23:39

'and so to say so would be speculation at this stage.

0:23:390:23:42

'They accept the piano needed to rest after being moved,

0:23:420:23:45

'but say it could have been looked over at that time.'

0:23:450:23:48

We are prepared to pay 325 Euros as a contribution towards repair.

0:23:490:23:55

This offer is made on a without prejudice basis

0:23:550:23:58

and should not be interpreted as an admission of liability.

0:23:580:24:02

It is a genuine offer to reach an amicable compromise.

0:24:020:24:06

'Again, Carol had hoped for a little more.

0:24:060:24:09

'But although pianos need time to settle,

0:24:090:24:12

'Pickfords maintain they don't understand why she didn't check the piano when it was delivered.'

0:24:120:24:16

All I'd had until Dom took it up was just a straight refusal,

0:24:160:24:20

no, nothing happened, you're outside the seven-day catch-all insurance.

0:24:200:24:25

Go away.

0:24:250:24:27

Erm, and I am just incredibly grateful to Dom for taking it up.

0:24:270:24:32

'I'm disappointed that both Carol and Lucy haven't got quite the outcomes they wanted.

0:24:320:24:37

'But nonetheless, they're grateful that I was able to at least get them something more from Pickfords

0:24:370:24:41

'than they had managed to achieve themselves.

0:24:410:24:44

So, what of my third case, Vivien?

0:24:440:24:46

'Well, before I heard back from Pickfords about Lucy and Carol,

0:24:460:24:49

'I went to meet her to break the news about what the company was doing for her.'

0:24:490:24:54

-Vivien, it's good to see you again.

-Thank you. Very nice to see you.

-Thank you.

0:24:540:24:58

In your case, I've got a statement I'm going to read from Pickfords.

0:24:580:25:01

'In their email, they outline Vivien's case

0:25:010:25:04

'and state that her quote should've been made up of five elements,

0:25:040:25:07

'including the delivery from store to the new properties,

0:25:070:25:11

'and that when Vivien came to arrange delivery of her belongings,

0:25:110:25:14

'it became clear the charge had been missed off the quote.'

0:25:140:25:17

When the error was realised, the move coordinator

0:25:170:25:20

contacted Mrs Hanson and personally apologised for the oversight.

0:25:200:25:24

'They recognised that a discounted charge for redelivery was offered at the time.

0:25:240:25:28

'And they also offered a discount on any future move Vivien might make.'

0:25:280:25:32

It is regrettable that both parties did not realise that redelivery was not specified on the original quote.

0:25:320:25:38

Which, to me, sounds like an apology.

0:25:380:25:40

However, it is not our customers' responsibility to police our paperwork,

0:25:400:25:44

and there was a failure of process by the move coordinator. They put their hands up.

0:25:440:25:49

In view of the failure of our process in this instance,

0:25:490:25:52

we will waive the redelivery costs to Mrs Hanson as a gesture of goodwill.

0:25:520:25:57

They're addressing the problem and hopefully they'll make it clearer so it doesn't happen again.

0:25:570:26:01

-That's very positive.

-It is good news. Now we're going on to the parking fine.

0:26:010:26:05

'They explain that on the day they did send two small vehicles,

0:26:050:26:09

'which should have occupied the space Vivien had reserved,

0:26:090:26:12

'but that one vehicle was refused entry to the parking area

0:26:120:26:15

'and so had to park further away.'

0:26:150:26:18

On reviewing the case, it is unacceptable that this cost should be passed to Mrs Hanson.

0:26:180:26:22

We apologise to Mrs Hanson and we will waive the cost of the parking fine.

0:26:220:26:26

Thank you very much indeed. I'm very happy. At the end of the day, I've got what I want. Thank you.

0:26:260:26:32

-And hopefully it won't happen again.

-I hope so.

0:26:320:26:34

I'm going to love you and leave you. Thanks, Vivien. Bye-bye.

0:26:340:26:37

'We asked Pickfords to comment on our cases and they said...

0:26:390:26:44

'They also say that it doesn't reflect the level of service that they strive for.

0:26:510:26:54

'But they do point out...

0:26:540:26:57

'But despite this, they say...

0:27:070:27:09

'And so, with that in mind, Pickfords say...

0:27:170:27:20

'What I can say is that's good news for all future Pickfords customers.'

0:27:310:27:36

I think Dom made an enormous difference. I don't think this is the way it should've been,

0:27:360:27:39

but I think without him we probably would never have resolved this issue satisfactorily.

0:27:390:27:45

What a charming lady Vivien was,

0:27:450:27:48

but what I found quite interesting, this was never about the money.

0:27:480:27:51

She wanted Pickfords to realise they'd done something wrong,

0:27:510:27:54

stand up, take it on the chin like a big boy and apologise.

0:27:540:27:57

Pickfords, you did that, so good on you.

0:27:570:28:00

The fact that she got her money back was almost irrelevant.

0:28:000:28:02

Anyhow, job done.

0:28:020:28:04

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