ComplaintsforHighland Van & Storage Ltd.

• Initial Complaint

  15/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I would like to submit a complaint about a moving company, ******** ********* ***** of ******, **, ************************************************************; ************************ provided us with a highly misleading quotation, based on which we chose them to arrange our international move from ********* to ******, ***********. The delay till date has been two months, beyond the timelines suggested in their quote. I am seeking your advice as to what options we have to claim fair compensation from HWW, or in the minimum ensure an expedited conclusion of their services. Details:I received a proposal from HWW Group on March 9, 2023 for a move from ********* to ******, ***********. The packing and container loading was supposed to take place during the last week of June, and the container was supposed to arrive in ****** in ***** days, by the end of July. Based on these terms, I signed the proposal on August 16 (copy available) for CAD 18,000.Through follow-**** we found out that the container did not in fact leave ********* during the week that was stated in the proposal, and then got further delayed by a strike at the port in *********. We ended up paying an additional month's storage. The container was finally loaded on a ship on August 1 - one month later (the bill of landing is available). The duration of the shipment of ***** days has also been breached. As of today's information, the container is expected to reach ****** only on September 26. This is the third time that the arrival date has been changed (again, us finding out about it through follow **** and not the comapny informing us prooactively).The total delay till date has been two months, which is expensive, stressful and highly inconvenient for us, given that we live in a new country, in an empty apartment with three kids. HWW has been misleading us with their quote, does not adequately control their subcontractors, does not honor their commitments and provides an inferior service. I have gone through four international moves in my life (even at the end of COVID when there was a severe global shortage of containers), and never experienced delays of such magnitude. I would like to ask for an investigation of what has gone wrong, any sort of enforcement from your side for HWW to complete their service as a priority, and hopefully receive a fair compensation for the two months that we have been living without our regular clothes/ furniture/ household items. Please let me know if I can provide your with any supporting documentation. Or do you suggest I take it up with another industry regulator? Thank you very much. Best regards, ******

  

  Business response

  21/09/2023

  Prior to receiving this complaint, ***** has already addressed the clients email and provided a detailed explanation  (below) which outlines the issues that occurred that were outside of our control.  I have attached a copy of the vessel change which was sent to us from the steamship line.  

  Please let me know if you require any further information.

   

  Dear ******,
  
  Thank you for your email.  We can completely understand your frustration with all the delays that have occurred.  As mentioned back after your shipment was packed and you thought we would bring back to whse and load into container I did back then explain we could not based on cut offs with ports and free time with equipment etc.  All transit times are estimates as indicated in quotation as well. 
  
  Then the port strike happened as of July 1 for almost two weeks.  As previously advised we have no control over the port strike and with all that plus shut downs here and there after for voting, etc that created even further congestions and delays and got on the next available vessel provided.  All steamship lines have the same issues, congestions, delays not just this one.  All modes of transport were and have been affected and still are dealing with constant updates from steamships for all destinations and the ****************** have been the most difficult.
  
  With that being said we did receive an email on Aug 10 from **** stating vessel changes and additional transshipment via ********  then to ********* due to operational constraints, weather or seaport issues but still had the same ETA into ****** of Sept 15th.  It was not until you asked if on schedule for arrival tomorrow that we checked again and the eta had yet changed again.   I have attached notice from Aug 10th and tracing of cargo I did today for your reference.
  
  We unfortunately have absolutely no control over these changes with the steam ship lines.  This would be comparable to a flight being rescheduled or delayed  you had booked and again no control over it.
  
  Again, we completely understand your frustration with the delays but port strikes and vessel changes, delays are not in our control what so ever and appreciate you are wanting to be reunited with your beloved personal belongings as soon as possible.
  
  I know Dads Moving monitors as well they did say they sent email to the steam ship line.  We can only hope that the vessel ends up being ahead of schedule in the end.  I will have Kateryna go on line again on Monday to confirm that the vessel did sail from ********* on 18th as scheduled and up date you. 
  
  You can alternatively track your container as well just on the **** website and enter in your container number and gives you what I have sent to you if you would like to monitor regularly to keep track closely to the movement of the container.
  
  If you do have further questions, or concerns,  please do not hesitate to contact me. 
  
  Kind Regards,
  
  ***********************
  International Relocations Manager

   

• Initial Complaint

  14/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We hired Worldwide Overseas Moving Service back in July 2022 to transport our personal effects from ********* to *******, ********. The manager in charge (Karen S*****) gave me a quote (for $22425) to which I agreed. This total amount was supposed to include also all the customs broker fees who would look after the clearance of our goods. The container left ****** on August 3rd and arrived in ****** on September 13th, 2022. The container sat waiting in the port of ****** to be cleared from September 13th to October 20th . This outrageous amount of time was mainly due to the careless attitude and the lack of responsibility and interest of getting the job done by the company rep (Antonio) and the broker agent. The interaction of the moving company office personnel and the broker agent with the Portuguese costums agent was egregiously slow and ignored, with all delays coming at my cost. During the September 13th to October 20th period, I made many calls to the office in ****** and in Delta, BC and but no one would take any accountability, always passing the blame to other parties, especially the customs agents and the director. On October 20th, I received a email from Antonio N**** with an invoice of €3300 ($4600). I was shocked as no one from the moving company had mentioned this large amount of money. If I had known from the beginning the real cost, I probably would have considered other options. It is difficult to believe their excuses as it took another 25 days for the container to arrive in ******* after the container was cleared by customs. This is usually a 3 day trip from ******. The goods finally arrived on November 14th. We had ** monitors that we could not find and another box with items of personal and sentimental value, including a ***** *** and many pictures of my daughter at her various graduation ceremonies. When I contacted the manager from the Delta office she offered me a "good will" compensation of $250, which was frankly *********.

  

  Business response

  21/12/2022

  The quotation provided to *********** on July 27, 2022 did include customs clearance;however, as stated on page 2 of the quote, it notes that customs taxes/duties, inspection fees, and unanticipated extra handling charges at destination are not included (I have included a copy of the quotation with our response).   In this case, the customs clearance took substantially longer than the typical time  of approximately 5 to 7 working days for customs clearance. She was also selected for customs inspection by Portuguese customs which we have no control over the length of time it will take for clearance nor are we able to provide an estimate for what this cost would be.    This was also reiterated with *********** during a telephone conversation with Karen after she received the additional charges.  Please note, ******** did waive their 10% administration fee to bring the cost down for her. 
  
  When ************* belongings arrived at the Port of ****** on September 13, the residence certificate from the parish council had not been received from her by the destination agent, ********. They received this on September 16.    The customs clearance took from September 16 to October 17 which, again, we are at the mercy of  Portuguese customs.  By the time her shipment had cleared, it had to be taken to the warehouse in ****** and unloaded.  Then the goods had to be reloaded into another container prior to shipping to *******.   The original date for ************* goods to leave was October 28; however the steamship line cancelled and rebooked for November 4.  When Karen reached out to ******** to follow up on an eta for delivery, they  had mentioned that it should arrive mid to end of the following week; however, he couldnt confirm as there was bad weather so there may be a delay.    The shipment did arrive in ******* on November 9 and delivery was scheduled for November 14.
  
  With regards to the missing and damaged items, our office had emailed *********** on November 23 advising her that we had sent an intent to claim to the insurance company and that she could expect further information on how to file her claim.  At the time she had notified us of the missing items, we had done a thorough search of the warehouses at origin and destination but we were unsuccessful.  The  offer we made of USD $250.00 was to cover the deductible that *********** would need to pay in order to file her claim as her claim will need to be processed through the insurance company.
  
  There was constant communication between Karen and ********, as well as ***********, to get this delay resolved; however, these were circumstances out of our control.  The additional cost for port storage, equipment storage and customs inspection of ************* belongings was not a result of any actions by either Worldwide or ********; therefore, our offer of USD $250.00 still stands. 
  

  Customer response

  26/12/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  As I mentioned in the complaint, I am not contesting the taxes and fees mentioned on the contract which the company specifically said would be for 5 to 7 days worth of storage at the port until my goods would be delivered to my new home. I did not agree, nor was it ever relayed to me, that I would need to pay the exorbitant amount of $4500 for 35 days worth of storage. 

  If the moving company had told me that I might need to pay for 2 weeks (yet alone 5 weeks) of storage, I would have had seriously reconsidered whether I wanted to move my goods or not. I felt like they were deceiving customers just to get their business, which is very unprofessional. I am not surprised by the excuses they used in their response.  

  Customs inspections are always performed within 5-7 business days. I asked Mr. N**** to give me the customs agents contact information (who I was paying for the service) so I could communicate with them and see if I could be of any help, but he refused to. He told me that they only work via email and that customs cant be bothered. There was no sense of urgency. He even went on vacation without reassigning my case to a co-worker. The attitude I received from him and his office was that why would they bother with getting it done if the client pays anyways! 

  The container arrived in the port of ****** on September 13, 2022 this information is correct. On August 10, 2022,  I sent a package via registered mail to Antonio N**** with all original documents he had requested. I called him numerous times and emailed him asking if he had received it and if it was all he needed. A few weeks later he confirmed that he got the documents and that they were given to the customs agent. On September 14, I received an email from Mr. N**** asking me to resend him the originals. I went back to city hall and got another certificate of residence from the parish and sent it to him on September 15. An hour later, he contacted me again to ask for the same document because it didnt have the date of my arrival in town. He did not tell me from the beginning what information the document should show. I went back to city hall and asked for a new certificate of residence with the information requested by Mr. N**** and emailed it on September 16. If the customs agent and Mr. N**** were taking their jobs seriously (a job which I was already paying dearly for), they would have checked the documents I sent them before the container arrived in the port. They had between August 12 and September 13 to verify the papers and get back to me with the request for additional documents. Why didnt they contact me during this time? This would have prevented unnecessary delays. I cant believe they are trying to blame me for not having the right documents when 1) they didnt specify all the information they wanted on each document and 2) they had weeks to notify me of additional requirements but didnt bother to. Blaming me for not doing their job is unprofessional. I have copies of the email exchanges and copies of the documents issued on September 15 and 16. 

  On October 20, I received an email from Mr. N**** informing me that the goods will leave ****** on October 28, and that I should expect my goods to be delivered to my residence on November 1 or 2. I waited and waited, but no one from their office (********* or ******) kept me informed about the status of the delivery. Surprisingly, on November 9, I received an email stating that my container was leaving ****** that day and will be delivered to my home on the 14^th. I was left speechless by the lack of communication and carelessness towards their customers.  

  When Im paying $22,000 for the transportation of my personal effects, I expect to receive all of it in good order, no exceptions. When I checked the list of items picked up from my residence that Karen provided, there was no mention of my computer monitors nor the plastic tote bin that they were packed in. When personal memories and items of sentimental value are missing you cant just ignore it and offer a good will compensation. The professional photographs of my daughter at graduation cant be replaced. I cant believe we will never get to see the pictures of those beautiful moments again.

  I will attach the document with the charge from the shipping line that shows that from September 23 (3 days into the normal 5-7 days quoted for clearance) to October 20, I was charged 2,250 euros for the company's neglect and disregard to do their job professionally. I request that this amount be refunded. Also, I request that the company compensate me for the computer monitor. The model is specified in the copy of the baggage certificate that they kept. They can check any retailer of their choice to find the price. Whereas for the vintage ***** ***, ***** camera lenses and the professional pictures that cannot be replaced, there is no amount of money that could rectify this loss. As a lesson for the future, I hope when they take on a job and charge tens of thousands of dollars for it, that they will make sure they deliver accordingly.  I am requesting $3,000 CAD. 

  I would also like to acknowledge that yes, Karen did keep in touch with me in the beginning,many times did not have answers! She was also trapped in all *** **** *** ******* from her partners in  ******. She was very frustrated and considering looking for new partners ******** ***** *** ******* ***** *** *********** **********

  
  Sincerely,

  *********************
  
  *********************

  

  Business response

  17/01/2023

  Good Morning,
  
   
  
  I had left a voice mail regarding the above mentioned complaint.  When I had spoken to the person in charge of this complaint, he had authorized an extension for our response as we had to deal with overseas companies.  As well, Scott W**** from our head office had left a couple of messages last week to speak with him but never heard back and is now on holidays.  We had tried to respond; however, it is no telling me we have run out of time to do this which shouldnt be the case.  It should have been tomorrow or Thursday would be the last day according to the weeks extension we had received.
  
   
  
  If someone could contact me either by email or phone at ************* as soon as possible so we can make sure this is handled.
  
   
  
  Thanks again,
  
   
  
  *********
  
   

  

  Business response

  17/01/2023

  Although *********** does not accept our first response there is not much we can add other than we had another client, a Portuguese diplomat, who was being returned home and they had a similar problem with being selected for inspection at the Port of ******.  Their inspection took longer than normal and waited a similar length of time as *********** did and incurred similar additional charges.  This shipment went through a different agent in Portugal so it doesn't appear the agent used had any bearing on the outcome.  We had a third shipment to Portugal in November but this shipment went through the Port of Lexes and cleared with no customs delays.  This shipment was handled by same agent in Portugal as *************** shipment.  As result we don't see how we, or our agent in Portugal, could have done anything different to help  ************  Her issue is really with Portuguese customs authority in ******.  Unfortunately with international shipments, there is always a possibility that they will be  subject to customs inspections but there is no way we, or any overseas moving company, can predict when this may happen.  We are all at the mercy of the foreign government customs officials.   As well,  stated in our previous response, we recommend that the ************* claim is filed (if not done already)  through the insurance company and we will still honour our USD $250.00 to cover the deductible she will have to pay in order to file.
  
   

  Customer response

  23/01/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  How easy it is for Highland Overseas Moving Company to take zero accountability *** ***** ******** *** **********!

  
  

  The example with the Diplomat is irrelevant because that shipment was paid by the government. No money came out of the diplomat's pocket, so why would they complain? I am sure it would be a different story if the Diplomat was financially impacted by the delays.

  I know lots of Canadians who moved to Portugal and the clearance of their shipments was less than one week. The other examples Highland movers are noting came after mine, and the perceived success of those is maybe due to my complaint which instigated them to start focusing on representing the customer's interest which they failed to do with me.

  If any issues occurred with customs, they are due to the fact that their partners lost two originals documents of high importance: my car ownership papers and my resident certificate document (see attachment).The documents were sent in August, what they have done with it who knows! Its easy just to lied again saying that they never receive it! I have not yet received these two documents back yet, and my main concern are the car ownership papers which I need for any further transactions. The residence certificate can be reissued for a fee.
  

  What really makes me sad is to see that the company doesnt mention anything about the lost items. It's like it never happened to them. I want to repeat what I said in my previous response: when you pay $22000 for a service, you expect to receive everything at the destination.
  

  My demand hasn't changed.  This includes €2200 from the shipment clearance fees that were due to the moving company's negligence and failure to represent my interests, the replacement of a computer monitor and I am $3000 for the missing box with a vintage ***** *** camera and other objects of unique sentimental value.
  

  
  

  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Customer response

  07/02/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of Mediation. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID .********, , and find that Mediation is necessary.

  Regards,

  *********************

  

  Business response

  07/02/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of Mediation. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the consumer in reference to complaint ID .********, and find that Mediation is necessary.

  Thank you.

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