BC man sues movers that charged 'transfer fee' after truck broke down

A BC mover that charged a customer $400 for transferring their belonging to a new truck after the original truck broke down has been ordered to pay $1,400 after the disgruntled customer took them to court. According to Dec. 13 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, Shamim Shakibaei hired 2 Burley Men Moving in 2021 for a long-haul residential move. The decision said no written contract was put into evidence, and Shakibaei submitted notes he made when he called them for a quote. His notes said it was $750 per 1,000 pounds, plus a $75 scale fee. 2 Burley Men Moving submitted a statement to the tribunal explaining what customers are told when they call and book, which included additional costs for the scale fee, fuel, motels and food. "While Burley’s statement may reflect what is meant to be its standard operating procedure upon booking a move, I find it this is not what it always or only communicates to a customer. I say this because neither party says Burley told Mr. Shakibaei he would be charged for fuel, motels, and food," the Tribunal ruled. Shakibaei also claimed the movers damaged Shakibaei's bicycle, broke dishes and glassware, and lost his Ray-ban sunglasses and parts of his furniture. The company also charged him a $400 "transfer fee." In its defence, 2 Burley Men Moving argued the transfer fee was charged because Shakibaei wasn't available for delivery at the time the truck arrived. However, the Tribunal pointed out that earlier correspondence between Shakibaei and the movers showed the truck had broken down and the new truck arrived a day late and at a different time than Shakibaei had arranged. "I find Burley likely charged Mr. Shakibaei $400 for the... transfer that was entirely beyond Mr. Shakibaei’s control," the Tribunal ruled. READ MORE: BC movers that damaged furniture sue customer for $3,000 but lose https://infotel.ca/newsitem/bc-movers-that-damaged-furniture-sue-customer-for-3000-but-lose/it106546 2 Burley Men Moving is no stranger to the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal and has been involved in almost 40 cases since 2022, along with 23 cases in the BC Small Claims Court. In Shakibaei's case, 2 Burley Men Moving didn't deny it damaged his bicycle and some furniture but said that boxes handled by the customer aren't covered. However, 2 Burley Men Moving submitted no evidence that Shakibaei had handled the boxes and dismissed the claim. 2 Burley Men Moving also said that Shakibaei only had two weeks to notify it of the damaged or missing belongings, as per the terms and conditions on the back of the invoice. However, Shakibaei denied ever signing an invoice. The Tribunal said the signature on the invoice looked "significantly different" than Shakibaei's signature on a witness statement. "I find it unproven that Mr. Shakibaei agreed to any terms requiring him to report damage within a certain period, or limiting the amount for which Burley may be liable," the Tribunal ruled. READ MORE: B.C. mover sued after billing for 8 hours travel for 1 kilometre move https://infotel.ca/newsitem/bc-mover-sued-after-billing-for-8-hours-travel-for-1-kilometre-move/it96770 The Tribunal went on to say that to limit or exclude liability in a contract a business must do so in clear, unambiguous terms. "Even if Mr. Shakibaei had agreed to Burley’s protection plan, I find Burley did not clearly indicate its coverage limited its responsibility for damaged items," the Tribunal ruled. Ultimately, the Tribunal ordered 2 Burley Men Moving to pay $996 for items it lost of damaged. Shakibaei also claimed $153 as 2 Burley Men Moving had failed to assemble his furniture on arrival. READ MORE: BC movers failed to move a piano but still sent a bill, then sued https://infotel.ca/newsitem/bc-movers-fail-to-move-piano-but-still-bill-then-sue/it98776 However, the only evidence 2 Burley Men Moving agreed to this was Shakibaei's notes from the initial phone call which only mentioned assembling his bed. Therefore, the Tribunal ordered 2 Burley Men Moving to pay $25 for failing to reassemble the bed. In total, the mover was ordered to pay $1,785 including interest and fees. To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer mailto:bbulmer@infonews.ca  or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .