adambohannon

I don’t even know where to start.  Our move to San Diego was so exhausting I don’t have the energy to write it all out so I will try to summarize.  It all started with the moving company (Transamerica) consistently telling us they would call us back regarding the the status of our move and consistently breaking that promise.  We were forced to return our own phone calls only to get the message that the person we wanted to talk to had “stepped out of the office” or “was busy at the moment” when that same person told us hours before they would call us “right back.”  We were told our movers would show up on Wednesday (the 28th) but they didn’t show up until Thursday.  We were also told they would show up in the morning around 10 since we had plans for that evening (and my brother had plans to take his girlfriend out for their anniversary).  They didn’t show up until 4 o’clock which set everything back.  When the movers were finally almost done (they worked their butts off getting all the stuff in the truck) they couldn’t fit the washer and drier, the patio table, or the treadmill in the truck.  They claimed they hadn’t known about it.  However, a week before someone came out and documented all my brother’s belongings and gave him a weight estimate.  The movers had this list and the washer and drier, table, and treadmill were on it.  The movers informed me they were going to go weigh the truck and call my brother after the weigh (he and his g/f were already at dinner while I stayed back to keep an eye on the movers).  They left, but never called him.

The next morning I am going through a couple of my bags upstairs (I had flown out Thursday morning) and noticed an envelope full of money ($400 to be exact) missing from my backpack.  What was odd was another envelope full of checks in the same zipped pocket was still there.  I had just recently closed my bank account because I was moving and was going to deposit the checks and some of the cash that day at another bank.  Since it would take a while for me to receive my debit card, I needed the cash to spend on food.  What was also odd was that I had sealed the envelope with the checks in it and it had been slightly opened, just enough to see inside.  I looked and looked but couldn’t find the other envelope.  If it had fallen out (which I highly doubt, if you see the pocket you’d know why) then why didn’t the other envelope go with it?  I then look in the main pocket of my backpack and realize my green iPod nano is missing as well!  I had placed it in the main area of my backpack when my plane landed and we were getting off.  Realizing that the only people who had been in that room were the movers….

We contacted Transamerica and the police (as well as the Better Business Bureau and a lawyer), but nothing was going to come of it.  My stuff was gone, Transamerica didn’t care, and the movers weren’t going to confess.  Our main worry at that moment was the status of my brother’s stuff.  Everything my brother owned was in the truck that the alleged thieves were driving.  Had we been robbed entirely?? My brother called Transamerica to complain about the stuff the movers had left behind and they claim that there was someone else’s stuff on the truck and that the movers had dropped the stuff off at a storage unit about an hour away and were on their way back to pick up the rest of the stuff.

Upon their return my brother asks them about the stuff they unloaded.  Evidently, according to Carlos, one of the movers, they had unloaded my brother’s stuff, not someone else’s.  There wasn’t anyone else’s stuff on the truck besides his.  So my brother calls Transamerica back (gets a message machine) and complains once more about being lied to and wanting to know how they planned to get the rest of his stuff to San Diego by Sunday (it’s Tuesday now and the mover’s still aren’t here and Transamerica has yet to call back).  I also confronted them about my money and iPod which they denied taking (of course).  I gave them the opportunity to place it back with all the stuff so I could find it later.  I’m all for giving people the benefit of the doubt, but this situation was like seeing a mess in the kitchen that’s not yours and your roommate denying it’s his when it is only you two living together.  I ultimately called the cops and gave them as much information as I could about the two movers, the truck they were driving, etc. but I think the cops have better things to worry about than my lost $400 and iPod nano.

So we are now in San Diego.  The house isn’t ready yet and probably won’t be ready for another few weeks (it was supposed to be ready on Sunday).  We’ve had to bounce around from hotel to hotel with my brother’s dog and my cat (she probably hates me… I’m such a terrible owner for making her go through this).  It’s been one crazy, long weekend!  But the weather is great and we are finally in a stationary place where we will be for another week before moving into a temporary rental property (hopefully).  Our real estate agent Libby is amazing.  She’s been so helpful in getting us situated and making sure we don’t lose our heads.  She’s even trying to find me a place of my own on top of helping my brother and his g/f with their place.

I’m probably leaving out a bunch of details – so many things have gone wrong that I can’t even be angry.  It’s actually at the point where it’s amusing to see.  Such a “civilized” society with so many inefficiencies and errors.  Guess it helps keep me grounded.  Libby said something really enlightening yesterday.  She said she felt like when things keep going wrong it was God/the universe/higher power/whatever reminding you that you’re still on the planet, just in case you’d forgot.

Tagged: moving, my life, rant