A-1 Razorback Moving Company and the BBB Part 1

Got to love free speech! I'm going to use my right here on my blog. If you don't care to read, skip these...it won't hurt my feelings. :-)

I want to post this here in hopes that it will turn up in searches for A-1 Razorback Moving Company. My reason is because if another consumer is researching this company, I want them to know about our experience with them. This might help them in making a decision as to use them or not. I hope they won't, but it will be up to them.

I filed a complaint with the BBB and have gone back and forth through them to try to get this resolved and the company insists they have done NO wrong and should not have to do anything else to compensate us for all that went wrong. So, our last resort was to go into arbitration where a non-biased third party hears our case and decides on it. The decision is legally binding. The cost is $75. So instead of paying the money and using up our time, we have decided to just blog about it instead. This first blog will contain my original letter I sent to the BBB. Each day I will add the responses that have gone back and forth. Read and judge for yourself!

My Letter to the BBB:

September 8, 2008

Better Business Bureau Office of Complaints
12521 Kanis Road
Little Rock, AR 72211
Phone: 501-664-7274

I would like to file a formal complaint against the following business:
A-1 Razorback Moving
6500 Holt Road
North Little Rock, AR 72117
Phone: 501-945-3338 Fax: 501-945-3380

Reason for complaint:
We hired the above moving company to move us on Monday, August 4, 2008, from our apartment and two storage units and into our new home. We chose this company because they had previously moved us back in March of this year into our apartment. We were very pleased with their services and did not hesitate to use them again for the August move.

Our complaints for the move on August 4, 2008, are as follows:
1. They were three hours late in arriving and did not come with the equipment and team we had reserved. We scheduled them to come at 9:00 a.m. with their largest truck and a three man team. We received a call around 8:30 a.m. saying they would be an hour late. After 10:00 a.m. when they still were not there, we called them. We were told it would be another 30 minutes. Again, after 45 minutes, no one had shown up. We were constantly calling them to see where they were. It was almost noon when someone arrived. It was not what we had requested. It was a two man team with a small truck.

2. They did not come prepared. They did not bring any blankets or anything to properly wrap our furniture to protect it. They did not bring any tools for disassembling of furniture. This concerned us and we knew they should have brought something. From our previous experience in using this company, we knew what they had provided before.

3. The two men that came took four smoking breaks in the two and a half hours they were at the apartment to load our furniture. I am paying them by the hour to work, not to smoke. I can understand a break to get a drink, it was hot, but I am not paying for them to smoke. Speaking of drinks, I also did not appreciate them helping themselves to our cokes in our refrigerator. Had they asked first, I would not have minded. But I walked into the kitchen to find them reaching into the refrigerator getting themselves a coke. Very unprofessional and rude.

4. After calling and complaining to someone at the office, they sent the larger truck. This was not actually a large moving truck. It was actually a large trailer, pulled behind a pick up truck. This was not explained to me at all. They said it was their largest moving truck. Coming with this truck were two more men to help. They did tell us that there would be no extra charge for the second truck.

5. They took a one hour break for lunch, of which they asked us to pay for.

6. At the storage units, the men were in a hurry and we observed on several occasions them throwing our stuff into the back of the trailer. They paid no attention to writing on the boxes indicating they contained fragile items. They were told at the beginning that all boxes were marked by room and if they contained fragile items. They were asked to pay close attention to these markings.

7. One of the workers asked to use our bathroom at our brand new house. He proceeded to go in and stick his head in our sink and get it wet to cool off. He then proceeded to walk across our living room, with his hair dripping all over the place, all across our brand new wood floors. I went into the bathroom only to find a much larger mess with water all over the place. UNPROFESSIONAL!

8. After the were done unloading at our new house, it was found that several items were damaged. Our home office desk was broken into four pieces. They did offer to fix this, but could not tell me a time frame of how long it would take to get it repaired. I work from home and must have this desk. We negotiated $100 off our bill to cover the damages to the desk. But nothing else was said about the rest of the items that were damaged (that we knew of at that time). I called and left a message for the manager at the office to call me about these damages, but never received a call back from him.

9. When they presented us with the bill, they charged us for a four man team. We had only reserved a three man team. I know four men worked, but that was not my problem. They were three hours late in arriving and did not come prepared. This is their business and they should be equipped to handle situations like these. This again was very unprofessional. I told them I should not have to pay for the fourth man. The worker treated us like we were stupid to question the bill and loudly and sarcastically spoke with the man at the office (the same man that had not returned my call about the damages). After this call, they re-figured the bill again with only a three man team.

The following items received significant damage from the move:
1. Home Office Desk (two parts were able to be repaired, one cannot and we have to look at this everyday)
2. Home Office Desk Cabinet (entire back was ripped away from it)
3. Couch (side arm and back wood supports were ripped apart)
4. Antique China Plate broken (was packed in a china box from U-Haul and marked as fragile)
5. Crystal Glasses broken (was packed in a glass box from U-Haul and marked as fragile)

The following items received significant scratches/dents from not being wrapped properly in the truck:
1. Home Office Desk (two large dents and scratches)
2. Small Entertainment Center (this was a brand new piece, still in original wrapping from furniture store; the top received some deep scratches, you can see clear down to the natural wood under the stain)
3. Master Bedroom Bed (deep scratches and large chunk out of the wood)
4. Master Bedroom Dresser (deep scratches on the top, very noticeable)
5. Bookshelf (large scratches down front side)
6. Coffee Table (scratches on top)
7. Small Curio Cabinet (scratches on front)
8. Toy Storage (broke supporting rod for the storage boxes)
9. Tall Curio Cabinet (door latch broken)
10. End Table (dent in leg)

Attempts to resolve issues:
1. Called on August 4, 2008, and left message on the answering machine about damages we knew of at that time. Never received a call back.
2. Called around the middle of August and talked with David. He said the manager, Jacob, was not there. Explained my issues and concerns. He said he would leave Jacob a message to call me back. Never received a call back.
3. Called on September 4, 2008, and left a message on the answering machine to please call me back to discuss the issues about our move. Never received a call back.

What the business did do:
1. Did not charge for the second truck. (Would expect this since they sent the wrong one and were three hours late in arriving).
2. Paid for a three man team, when a four man team worked. (Not my problem, should have only sent one man, to fulfill the three man request that we had.)
3. Took $100 off for the damage of the desk.

What I would like for the business to do to resolve this issue:
1. Acknowledge they screwed up in being late and not coming prepared with the proper moving materials (ie. blankets, tools, etc.).

2. Acknowledge the workers acted very unprofessional in taking too many smoking breaks, stealing drinks from our refrigerator, sticking their head in our sink, dripping water all over our brand new wood floors, and treating us like we were stupid when we questioned the bill and asked about damage to our property.

3. Compensate us for the damage to our property and for having to put up with all of the unprofessional actions listed above. The scratches/dents will always be there. You can cover them up with a pen (like we have done on some), but they will never be in the condition they were before this move. The china plate and glasses cannot be replaced, they were antiques/family heirlooms. We have already had the couch repaired, along with the desk. And one piece of the desk cannot be repaired. I think it is fair of us to ask for compensation of $250 for the damage and rudeness.

Documentation and Enclosures:
1. A copy of our invoice from moving day.
2. A copy of the check for $900 to pay for the move on August 4, 2008.

My contact information:
Jennifer Jones
Street Address
City, State, Zip
Home Phone and Cell Phone
Email jennifer@houseofjones.com

As stated before, we used this company back in March of this year. We had NO problems with the company or the workers. They were great and I did not mind writing the $720 check to pay for that move! Needless to say, it was not a repeat performance and I cringed when I had to write the $900 check to pay for this move.

Thank you for your help in resolving this matter. Should you need any more information, please contact me using the above information.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Jones

To validate this complaint or to see the documents for yourself, click on the link below under the heading that says, "BBB and A-1 Razorback Moving Company Documents."

Rebekah's Second First Day of School

After much prayer and thought, we decided to move Rebekah to a school here in Cabot. We LOVE her old school. This was the school that Rachel went all the way through and I hoped Bekah could as well. This was the only sad part about our move.

We are about 25 minutes (one way) from her old school. And, with the high price of gasoline, we just thought it would be best to find a school closer to our home. I was also having trouble finding time to work while she was gone. I only had five hours and one of those hours were spent driving!

I called around and one of the best places in town had an opening. We went and toured the facility and felt like it was a great place for her. She started this past Wednesday and will go on Mondays and Wednesdays. And this school is two hours longer than her old one - I should be able to get a lot of my work done now! Here are a few more photos of her first day. She was excited to have a backpack like Sissy (what she calls Rachel) to take to her new school.


We are both going to miss her old school. I loved her teachers, one of which was named Mrs. Cynthia (which is my sister's name) and it was only fitting that her new teacher's name is Mrs. Jennifer! Her first day she found this pink pony and played with it all day. She has talked about it every day since. Here is Ms. Jennifer and Rebekah - doesn't she look happy!?!?

On another note...Rebekah has been off her daily antibiotics for one week. And last night she woke us up throwing up. This is the second time in her life she has ever thrown up. She only did it three times and the last time she made it to the potty! We'll just have to wait and see if this is a taste of what is to come now that she is not taking the antibiotics daily anymore!!

Rebekah and the Red Chair...

Today, Rebekah's pictures! Check yesterday's post for the story behind the red chair.

The red chair has seen its better days. Some of the fabric has worn off, there are a few stains and the red has faded quite a bit. Before putting it in our new home, I am hoping to take it somewhere this week and see about getting it reupholstered. I am still going to keep it red, I wouldn't think of making it any other color. But I hope to find a deeper, richer red. I'll be sure to post some new photos of it once I get it back and put it in its new home. And before I leave, here are some funny photos of Rebekah.

Rachel and the Red Chair

Time to share with you something I did with my girls to mark their growth as an infant. First a little background and today, I share with you Rachel's pictures.

Since I was a young girl, I always loved the red chair. I have many memories playing in it as a small child. It belonged to my grandparents, Jacob and Aleene King, who always called it, "The King's Chair."

As they became older, it became necessary for them to give up some of their larger possessions. Knowing how much I loved the red chair, my grandparents decided to pass it down to me.

After Rachel was born, I decided the red chair would be the perfect backdrop to capture her month to month development during her first year. And with the addition of Rebekah, the tradition continued. Check back tomorrow for Rebekah's pictures!

And, sometimes the photo shoot didn't always turn out perfect. Here's some to make you chuckle!

New Addition To The House!

Our new Play-A-Round Frontier Fort! The girls have been so patient to get their new playground. We promised them a playground from the day we started building our new home. Rachel wanted one with an upstairs, a tire swing and monkey bars. We found this one online through the Sam's Club website. No monkey bars, but it had two houses, both upstairs! It is made from 100% white cedar and is sturdy as a rock! The girls love it and couldn't wait for it to get done so they could play on it. In the photo, the "rocks" hadn't been put on the wall beside the slide. Jon Paul added those today, along with the steering wheel and telescope. Next weekend we will add a sealant to help keep it this nice, clean, white look. I'll post some more photos of the girls playing soon. Thanks to Daddy, Grandpa and a good friend, Robert, for putting this together yesterday!

All I Want For Christmas...

Is my two front teeth,
my two front teeth!
Rachel's second top front
tooth came out tonight.
After many screams,
lots of tears,
and some blood,
Daddy got it out.
Isn't she the
cutest little thing?!?!?

Rebekah's Reflux

When Rebekah was five months old, I was feeding her one morning. I noticed she felt hot. Sure enough, she was running a fever. I called the doctor and miraculously they had an immediate opening. We were called back quickly and were there for about two hours. At the end of the two hours, Bekah was lethargic and ashen gray looking. The doctor (not our pediatrician), did not like to looks of her. She went to get Dr. Miers, our pediatrician, and Dr. Miers took one look at Rebekah and said she was septic. We were told to immediately go to the hospital. I was scared to death! Long story short, we had one sick little baby. She was in the hospital for three days and on some strong IV antibiotics and fluid. She had gotten a urinary track infection that had turned into a bladder infection that had done into her kidneys and her system was in shock. Dr. Miers was 99% sure that Rebekah had urinary reflux.

What is urinary reflux? Well, Rebekah peed, some of her urine flowed back up into the kidneys instead of it all draining out her urethra. Urine normally only goes one way. And when urine flows back up, germs can get into the kidneys. If it isn't noticed soon enough, infections can lead to scarring and kidney disease. We were referred to AR Children's Hospital for a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) and a kidney ultrasound to confirm our doctor's suspicions. Her pediatric urologist, Dr. Redman, said she had grade 4 reflux (5 being the most severe) and a duplicated renal collecting system on her right side. The course of treatment is to take a low dose antibiotic everyday. She was put on Bactrim and all was well for a few months. She had a breakthrough infection so a second antibiotic was added, amoxicillin. She has been taking these two antibiotics everyday since she was eight months old! I hated giving her these, but I must say, she has been extremely healthy! She has only had two ear infections and that is about it (until this past week!).

We went back last year for a check up. They repeated the VCUG and ultrasound and said she was getting better, but it wasn't gone. Most kids will outgrow the reflux over time. She was at a grade 2 and we were told to continue the medications and come back in a year. Well, we went this past Tuesday to get checked again. She did great through the tests. The VCUG is uncomfortable (they have to use a catheter and fill up your bladder!) and she was hesitant to go potty in the bed. But she did and they got great pictures. And the best news yet...SHE IS NO LONGER REFLUXING! She has outgrown it. Praise God!

So, when she finishes the current antibiotic she is on now (zythromax), she won't have to take any more daily medications!! On another note, she scared us early Monday morning. She woke up at 3am and was on fire. I took her temperature with a temporal thermometer and it first read 106.6 - HOT! I immediately took it again and it read 105.8 - STILL HOT! I went and found our oral thermometer and tried to take it that way. She wouldn't cooperate and I just got it in her mouth, but not under her tongue. It read 104.5. I really believe it was at least 105. We took her to the emergency room and she had a bad throat infection, the doctor thought it was the front end of something and put her on the zythromax. She completely lost her voice and ran a fever for two days, but she is MUCH better now. We only have one more day of the medicine.

So, we're thrilled that she is better. We're thrilled her urinary system is working properly now. We're thrilled she no longer has to take two medicines everyday. We just hope now that she is off the medicines, she doesn't catch every little bug that is going around!!