Families benefited from tips about making the move

Last April in a two-part series, "All the right moves," The Troubleshooter gave readers a how-to-guide on moving. For those stories, we recruited three consumers who actually were planning to move so we could see how the process worked from beginning to end.

Before they obtained estimates, we briefed them on state and federal rules governing moving companies, and gave them other tips. And we asked them not to tell the moving companies they would be part of a Seattle Times story. We didn't want our involvement to alter the estimates or treatment.

Now that all families are settled in their new locations, I've checked with them to learn:

-- How final bills compared with the estimates.

-- Whether all possessions arrived safely, and generally how things went.

-- Whether they thought the fact they had been featured in a story before they moved made a difference in the price or the process.

Here's an update.

Christine and Eric Berger

The Seattle couple and their now 13-month-old twin sons, Garrett and Tyler, and dog, Romy, moved to Vancouver, Wash., because of a job change. Eric's employer agreed to pay for the move, but Christine was as careful with expenses as if she'd been paying from her own checkbook. She packed some items herself.

From three bids, she chose Chipman Moving & Storage, which estimated packing and transportation costs for the 167-mile move at $3,000.77, which included "added valuation protection" coverage, similar to insurance.

The final bill was $3,171.71. The $170.94 increase was due to the actual weight of goods shipped being 360 pounds over the estimated weight, and higher labor costs than planned for a third-party contractor used to break down and reassemble a Nautilus weight-and-exercise machine.

Catherine Wilson, the sales agent who made the Wilson's estimate, was as accurate as an agent can be, said Jerry Larson, general manager for Chipman in the Puget Sound area.

Originally Wilson told the Bergers that the subcontractor hired to deal with the exercise machine would charge $90 an hour. But charge actually was $98 an hour.

And while the two hours scheduled for disassembly went smoothly, the two hours for reassembling the Nautilus did not go well, Berger said.

The machine was not fully reassembled and operational until June 17, almost two months after the move!

Berger said communications with Chipman over the exercise-machine problem were poor. She thought Chipman's representatives passed her around too much, making her retell the story of what went wrong to too many people before Larson became involved.

Larson said he got personally involved on June 15 and the reassembly was completed June 17.

Berger said she finally approved the extra money just to settle things and get on with life.

"I'm glad the move is done. Other than this aspect, it was a good move. The people who came to pack and drive the truck were great."

In retrospect, Berger said she was glad she'd gotten tips from The Troubleshooter before obtaining estimates and choosing a mover.

"It was good for me to learn all that, and to learn to stick to my points. If I had agreed to the extra charges the day our goods arrived in Vancouver, April 25, I don't think our machine would have been reassembled properly," Berger added. She hinted that perhaps being involved in The Times story made a difference in finally getting the exercise machine assembled.

I asked Larson, Chipman's manager in this area whether Berger got special treatment. No, he said, it was customer service. "And the customer is always right."

Madelyne Barnett

After 10 years in the Northwest caring for elderly relatives, Barnett moved approximately 600 miles to Redding, Calif., to be near a brother. She did most of the packing and got bids from four companies. Barnett chose Wheaton World Wide, because she believed the agent's weight estimate was accurate.

Wheaton's representative estimated Barnett's household items weighed 8,200 pounds - considerably more than what the other companies said. Wheaton said the move would cost $2,571.47, including $250 for full replacement "added valuation protection."

Barnett's possessions actually weighed 5,760 pounds - considerably less than Wheaton's estimate, and the final moving bill was $2,262.84.

That $308.63 may not sound like much of a price reduction for a weight estimate that was 2,440 pounds off. The explanation is that there are discounts for higher weight volumes.

Costs for long-distance moves are based on the price of fuel, weight, mileage; stairs, elevators, "long carries," and whether the driver must travel through urban areas with heavy traffic.

On May 24, Wheaton picked up Barnett's furniture at her Magnolia condo. She planned to drive her car, with cat, some plants and personal items to California, and meet the truck when it arrived at a Redding storage facility. Real life intervened!

"I made it to California limping," she said. "Car broke down twice - smoking first in Portland, then another breakdown just outside Grants Pass. I finally called my brother, Bert, and whined, `come and get me!' He did. He and a friend towed my car 200 miles. Dulce, my kitty, has survived miraculously, through fire trucks `rescuing' us, several different homes and now two very curious large dogs sniffing at her door."

In hindsight, Barnett says she should have dumped her older car, and bought a plane ticket to Redding for about $170 and taken the cat as a carry-on. It would have been considerably cheaper than the $500 car repair bill in Portland and the $200 towing bill outside Grants Pass.

But Barnett gave high marks to Wheaton. She believes the success or failure of a move rests largely with the moving van driver, and gave credit to driver Tom Ames.

"Ames put all my stuff in storage and even made aisles so I could reach my boxes. He put my sewing machine in the very front, because I had told him it was the most valuable thing to me."

A large fan on a stand was broken and a chest of drawers was scratched in the move. Barnett will file a claim for those items. Other than that she was happy with the move.

Our consumer with the most experience moving, Barnett does did not believe she got preferential treatment after Wheaton saw The Times story.

Betsy and Philippe Gayte

The Gaytes moved three miles from Bellevue to Renton to a larger house that better accommodates their growing sons, Ryan, 3, and Alex, 6. Despite the short distance and lots of advance preparation by Betsy, moving companies said it would cost from $926.45 to $1,308.50, including an "added valuation protection" policy.

Under Washington state regulations, charges for moves of less than 35 miles are based on hourly fees for truck, driver and added laborers. That includes transporting goods to a consumer's new residence, and returning the truck to the mover's headquarters.

Before moving day, May 31, the Gaytes packed and moved a number of household items themselves. They also disposed of old furniture, toys and other items to lighten the load.

The Gaytes, like the Bergers, hired Chipman Moving & Storage, one of three companies from which they got estimates.

An extra stop to pick up a piano at a relative's home was part of the job.

Chipman's estimate - lowest of the three - was $926.45 for three men to work seven hours. But the final bill was only $840.84 - $85.61 less than the estimate. When Gayte obtained estimates, she knew prices were negotiable and asked for a discount.

"We had agreed on a 10 percent discount which is one of the main reasons I chose Chipman. They were the only moving company willing to negotiate," Gayte said. (That had not been clear to me, and didn't show in the estimate I received for publication.)

Gayte also asked Harry Meyers, Chipman's estimating agent, who paid for the time if the movers got stuck in traffic on their way back to the Kent office after the move.

Meyers said she wouldn't have to pay extra if the men were stalled in traffic, she said. On the day of the move the driver and helpers said that wasn't correct, according to Gayte.

"But they (the movers) honored what the agent said because I wasn't going to give in . . . They wanted to write the bill up for nearly nine hours, which would have meant overtime, too. I stood my ground but was very nice about it. So they stuck to the original bid (of seven hours)."

Betsy Gayte confesses she told the moving company she was part of a Seattle Times story. So I asked Chipmans's representative whether the Gaytes got preferential treatment.

Myers said Chipman chose to give Gayte a discount because it was a competitive situation. But he also called it a "a high profile move," and acknowledged he knew Gayte's move would be written about.

Larson, Chipman's manager, insisted no preferential treatment was given. Larson cited state regulations under which movers can give discounts up to 40 percent below the rates published by the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission.

Betsy Gayte on the move itself: "I hate to think how long it would have taken if we weren't so organized and didn't do a lot of moving on our own before the big day. Nonetheless, I'm still glad we hired movers because it would have been a big pain to move everything ourselves even with help from friends. We are loving our `new' house and are having fun getting settled," she added.

One dresser drawer was broken and the Gaytes have filed a claim.

On the less serious side, the Gaytes' sons, Ryan and Alex, reportedly loved the short-lived fame they got from having their picture on The Seattle Times Scene cover.

Shelby Gilje's Troubleshooter column appears Wednesday and Sunday in the Scene section of The Times. Got a consumer problem? Write to Times Troubleshooter, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111. Phone, 206-464-2262, fax 206-382-8873, or e-mail address, troubleshooter@seattletimes.com