Beware of light-fingered movers

A recent court case involving a Toronto-area moving company is a reminder that consumers should always check out the company they’re entrusting with their worldly goods.

Bottom Line Movers Inc. and its owner, Troy Ali, were found guilty on two counts of committing an unfair business practice. One conviction resulted from the loss of goods from storage and the other conviction resulted from the failure to provide insurance coverage.

The Toronto consumer who took the company to court said she paid the company to move 55 cartons and seven wardrobes of her belongings to a storage facility for a year. She also paid for insurance on her possessions for up to $40,000.

The move took place in January of 1998. Five months later, virtually all of her possessions were gone. The loss to the woman was about $30,000.

Bottom Line Movers Inc. was sentenced  a total fine of $30,000 and owner Troy Ali was ordered imprisoned for 30 days on each of the two counts, time to be served consecutively.

The Court also gave the owner two years’ probation, and required restitution totaling $40,000 for the victim.

Get references
“If you’re hing a company to move and store your goods, you should get references and check them, and insist on inspecting the company’s facilities before you sign a contract,” says a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations.

“If you think that sounds like a lot of effort, imagine the awful loss of personal, irreplaceable items such as family photographs.”