A BC moving company initiated a legal fight against a customer for unpaid services, but that fight backfired.
The BC company in question is 2 Burley Men Moving, which claimed that a customer failed to pay for a move.
That customer, Anthony Cardinal, filed a counterclaim and won partially.
In a decision posted publicly, 2 Burley Men Moving claimed that Cardinal owed $3,238.13 in unpaid fees. Cardinal claimed that the moving company overcharged him and damaged items, and claimed that he was owed $4,147.60 for replacing and repairing the items.
He also asked for compensation for his time assisting the company with the move.
Cardinal hired 2 Burley Men Moving for a residential move on August 25, 2022.
“He says that based on the information he provided, the booking agent quoted him an hourly rate of $150 for two movers and said that the move would take around six hours,” the tribunal decision states.
“Mr. Cardinal says that based on this conversation, he expected the move to take no longer than eight hours. Burley says that Mr. Cardinal agreed to an hourly rate of $175 for two movers.”
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There was no agreement submitted to evidence showing the rates that were agreed upon.
“I find emails in evidence show that Burley did not change the hourly rates on the waybill until September 1 in any event. So, if there was a rate written on the waybill, I find it more likely than not it was the $150 hourly rate for two movers that Mr. Cardinal says he agreed to,” the tribunal decision continued.
Cardinal was charged $175 per hour for 9.5 hours for two movers and an additional charge of $225 per hour for three movers for four hours. He claimed that the third mover was added without his permission and that the movers were inexperienced and inefficient.
He also claimed they got lost on the way to his new home and that a two-minute drive somehow became 45 minutes. Burley didn’t dispute the claim.
Burley blamed any delays that may have occurred on Cardinal not giving the booking agent all the information the BC moving company needed.
We’ve covered Burley in several cases, and the tribunal member overseeing the case pointed this out at one point regarding a lack of evidence.
“I note Burley is an experienced litigant that has participated in dozens of CRT disputes on their merits, so it should be aware of the importance of providing evidence to support disputed invoices.”
The final decision worked out in favour of Cardinal.
The tribunal initially determined that Cardinal owed Burley around $1,800 for services that weren’t fully paid for. However, the amount of damage that Burley caused to Cardinal’s furniture was higher than what Cardinal owed.
According to the decision, Burley caused $2,140 in furniture damage, so when all was set and done, Burley owed Cardinal $250.
This case is a good reminder to always keep your receipts.