Removal company injured me

[AlexinMotherland]

I recently moved and used a really professional looking removal company with excellent reviews so thought it would all go well, they quoted me £2500, far from the cheapest quote I received.

Unfortunately they were awful.

I paid for full packing but they kept saying they ‘forgot’ to pack this area and that area so I ended up packing a good proportion of the boxes myself.

From the boxes they did pack one was marked as glass and had a number of broken glasses in it as they were barely wrapped. Another box was a food cupboard and had an open bottle of oil laid across the top leaking obviously ruining all the food but the real issue was the box was left overhanging the kitchen unit with oil dripping onto the kitchen floor which I subsequently slipped on and have really hurt my back, with lots of bruising and cuts.

I wasn’t going to say anything but everyone I spoke to said it was terrible so I should. When I contacted the removal company and told them about these issues along with the fact that they left three car loads of stuff at the old house which we had to go back and collect and they sent a really rude response denying anything was left behind, saying I could claim for the broken glasses but I’d have to do so in a couple of days (before I’ll be able to go through everything given the pain I’m in) and completely ignoring the fact I got injured due to their negligence.

What should I do? I’m actually really shocked they’re not apologetic at all but still a bit tired and in pain from the move so can’t think straight.

Send a letter before action, but get your injury checked out and documented. If you need treatment they should be paying. They are insured. Did you take photos?

That's awful! Are they registered with the British Association of Removers? You can put a complaint in through there I think!

They might have public liability insurance , but furniture removal insurance is full of loopholes . Have a look through the paperwork you signed .

I sent photos of the breakages and box soaked in oil but they didn’t even respond to that.

I do have a photo of my back, taken so I could see what had happened but I haven’t sent it to them. I don’t think it needs treatment, it seems to be healing now but just very painful and inconvenient for lifting/unpacking boxes.

They are BAR members but they say they won’t look into it until you receive a final response. The trouble is they don’t seem to be treating it as a complaint, probably because I tried to be polite about it. Maybe I should just ask for a final response so I can refer it to BAR?

The paperwork I signed doesn’t say anything about public liability, it only talks about possessions and damage to the property.

God that is atrocious. I hope you do pursue it and get somewhere.

I must admit as they’re a local company and know where I live I do feel a bit intimidated by all this

It's tricky when it's a local company , I think you need to decide if you want to pursue a claim then ask them for details of their public liability insurance.

If you want them to treat your letter as a complaint, e.g. under their code of practice, you don't need to stop being polite. You just need to be clear and assertive.

If you write something like "Please treat this letter as a complaint under the BAR code of practice" then it's perfectly polite but they can't reasonably claim they didn't know you wanted it to be treated as a complaint.

Your back might be healing, but that injury can flair up at any time, causing you more pain, and may even lead to mobility issues.

I had a similar accident involving my knee, and had to retire early.

At least get your GP to look at it and write a report. These people have been cowboys, and you deserve better.

Try citizens advice for any further help, but do write to the company and inform them you want it treated as a complaint.

I'm sorry you had such a grim experience. I think you have a case with the items that were left behind. But the open bottle of oil (no matter how it was laid in the box) would be up to you. It's not up to the packers to rummage around for the bottle's cap to secure the contents.

I have used a full packing service every time I have moved and know that packers don't really consider what they are putting in the box. I learnt to tape close all open food packaging (cereal boxes, rice packets etc) because there is no guarantee that those items will be placed in the packing box the right way up. It's also worth securing electrical flexes for things like kettles, radios to the appliance, as the flex can end up in a completely different crate.

I'm sorry that the dripping oil caused your injury, and I hope you recover soon, but the fact that the bottle was missing its cap was, I'm afraid, your responsibility.