Complaint Review: Duntara Moving and Storage

Following is a sequence of events regarding the movement of household goods from Moravia New York to Oceanside California.

1-Movement scheduled for 25 July 2011

2-Movement actually picked up at residence at 11 pm 27 July 2011

3-Delivery promised not later than 17 August 2011.

4-Actual delivery at 9pm on 2 September 2011.

5-On 19 August 2011 I was told by Darren, in response to my inquiry, that my truck had broken down and the goods had to be loaded onto another truck, hence the delay.

6-On 22 August, I was called by the warehouse manager in New Jersey, and told that my goods were still in the warehouse and had never shipped. He could not provide a shipping date.

7- I had a total of ten separate email attempts  to get information and was simply given a run around.

8-I was told on two separate occasions by Darren that there would be partial reimbursement of fees paid  because of the inconvenience.

9-following is the transcript of an email sent to Darren at 12:40am, 30 August 2011 to illustrate how far the situation had gotten out of hand.

Darren.it has now been 32 days since my goods were picked up. We are 13 days beyond the latest promised delivery, 8 days since we learned that the goods were still sitting in a New Jersey warehouse, and as far as I can tell, I am no closer to knowing the disposition of those household goods than I was on 28 July. A compatriot of yours called yesterday to inform me that my email had been forwarded to dispatch and I would receive a call to provide the status that day. It should come as no surprise that  there was no call. In short, the situation has become ridiculous and inexcusable. Clearly, I must be dealing with the wrong people. Please provide me with the name, phone number, and email address of the owner of the company. I think it best to resolve this matter immediately before I must approach my attorney. Please respond by email since I am keeping a written record of all transactions and discussions.

There was no reply until my third request for the owners data which was received on 15 September.

10-My claim for lost items was submitted on 4 October, and on 27 December 2011, I received a letter from Duntara Claims(Signature is illegible) indicating a full and final payment of $72.00 for the two lost items. The letter is dated 12 October, the check is dated 15 December, and the envelope is time stamped 22 December.I do not accept that this is full and final payment since my other concerns are never addressed, and I assume that my cashing the check would be defacto acceptance of the full and final stipulation. I agree that this is the amount due for the lost items, but not for the full claim as I iterated in my 18 December correspondence. (I was advised by Lashay on 19 January to go ahead and cash the $72.00 check before it expired and it would not be the "Full and Final" settlement. I have that in writing)

11-In response to my filing with the Better business Bureau on 27 September, Duntara responded on 9 November indicating that Duntara is working on a refund that would be agreeable to both customer and company. I heard nothing further.

12-Fees totaling $2396.18 were paid to Duntara .In light of the fact that contractual obligations were blatantly ignored, lies were told, and long periods of inactivity indicate a total lack of customer service concerns, we believe that $1000.00 in addition to the payment for 2 lost boxes totaling 120 pounds would be fair, equitable, and appropriate.

13-I filed a complaint with updates to the Better Business Bureau wherein Duntara acknowledged that they would provide the requested settlement with the check to be mailed on 23 April 2012. No check has been received, nor has any answer to requests for status been rendered. I have tried repeatedly to contact the owner by email, but he has never attempted to respond.