SAN DIEGO — Even when everything goes smoothly, moving across the country is stressful. But imagine getting a call that the truck carrying just about everything you own flipped over and your belongings are all over the side of a road in Oklahoma.
Elementary school teacher Alexsis Martin got that call. The moving company warned her to prepare for a total loss.
“It's really shocking… the whole thing,” said Alexsis.
She’s in the process of moving from San Diego to Pennsylvania for a higher salary and lower cost of living, but now she's lost everything.
“We're really, really fortunate to have the people around us we do - because otherwise, I don't know how I would be able to be ok right now," she said.
When Alexsis signed her contract with GPS Moving, she accepted something called a Waiver of Full Protection, which entitles her to just 60 cents a pound for any items damaged. This comes standard with a basic moving quote. For more money, she could have had Full Value Protection.
“We just paid for the minimum insurance,” she said, “I just had no extra money at that point even to pay for additional insurance.”
Alexsis thinks her insurance payout will be around $6,000, for $25,000 worth of belongings.
“The contracts that they have folks enter into are boilerplate and onerous,” said attorney Dave Peck. “They are very friendly to the moving industry, but not consumer friendly.”
Peck, a partner at Coast Law Group, has sued moving companies in the past, but is hopeful that Alexsis won't need a lawyer because her case is a little different. That’s because the truck carrying her items was hit by another driver who appears to be at fault for the accident.
As a result, Alexsis should eventually be repaid in full for her loss by that driver's insurance company.
“The issue regarding the contract between her and the moving company seem to be somewhat irrelevant here,” Peck said. “The fact is the driver that caused the accident is responsible for the damages that he or she caused.”
But Peck said this is a good reminder to not rush through contracts. It’s a lesson this teacher has definitely learned.
“If you're going to use a moving company, just pay for the extra insurance,” Alexsis said. “You never know what can happen.”
It could take months before Alexsis sees any compensation from the insurance company. In the meantime, a GoFundMe account has been set up to help her family with immediate needs. For more information, click here.
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