Ex-Calgarian still waiting for movers — weeks later
Gloria Boyer will have to get through Christmas without any of her worldly possessions, which remain in limbo weeks after she moved out of her Calgary apartment.
Laid off from her job in October, the 56-year-old opted to return to Manitoba to live with her daughter, packing up her one-room apartment after contracting a moving company called Express Vanlines, a subsidiary of Ontario-based Blue OceanMovingandStorageServices.
After packing up everything to her name beyond two small suitcases with clothes at the end of November, she had been promised delivery to her new home in Brandon within two to four business days. Twenty-four days on, Boyer’s furniture, clothing, medicine and mementoes remain in the possession of the moving company.
Brian West, operations manager for Blue Ocean, said the shipment posed problems for the company because it was as much as double the weight originally estimated, which has made it difficult to complete the move. He said the company is now offering to complete the job free of charge, but it won’t be until after Christmas, and the items remain at the company’s Edmonton branch.
“I understand what they’re going through,” West said, noting the move is difficult because it’s a consolidated moving company, relying on trucks belonging to other companies becoming available.
“I went as high as I could, and as far as I know we’ve never done a move for free.”
He told Postmedia Boyer’s possessions will be delivered prior to the new year, but later told the family the delivery may not be made until at least the first week of the new year.
But the vow is cold comfort for Boyer and her daughter Amanda Day, who spent weeks wrangling with the company, with a number of promised delivery dates passed by with no explanation. Day’s dealings with the company were all recorded and posted to Facebook, a 53-minute video that’s been viewed nearly 10,000 times.
“It’s not just the material things, it’s the memories — they have my identity, they have my whole life,” said a tearful Boyer on Monday, noting among her missing treasures is a video chronicling the life of her father, a former Winnipeg police officer who passed away.
“I always had faith in people. I don’t know what to say — they’ve wiped that out.”
Day said after nearly four weeks with no answers, the latest delivery pledge does little to repair the damage already done.
“That’s not acceptable. They were hired Nov. 26 and now we’ll be waiting over a month for delivery,” she said.
Day said she put down a $200 deposit for the move and isn’t out anything beyond that, but the fact her mother’s possessions haven’t been delivered yet remains the biggest concern. Brandon police have opened a case file and will be meeting with the family to discuss the matter Wednesday, Day added.
Still uncertain about whether renter’s insurance cancelled just before the move will be honoured, the family has also set up a GoFundMe page in hopes of helping replace some of the items.