The 1,000 Mile Move - Done

[CalmedByFish]

Days late, sick, with the move costing 8K more than we thought it would, and even with an incident of harassment the likes of which should not be written about here, we arrived... maybe 3 days ago? I've lost track of time. The whole experience was one of the most miserable experiences of my life, and I say that as a parent who's lost children. 

It appears that all my fish stayed healthy, and most plants can recover. The only exception was my container of fry less than a month old. There were almost 50. Now there's 2. I suspect a bacterial infection, but at this point, I hardly care what the cause was. 

I'd write a novel here, if it wouldn't suck the life out of me to spend the effort. I just wanted, at the least, to tell you I did get to the new place (mostly) safely. 

Tip to any of you who ever need to move more than a couple hours away: Do not turn your belongings over to a moving company. If you have to say goodbye to 3/4 of the bulk of your possessions in order to rent a small truck and keep everything under your own control, do it. I would rather have lost 3/4 of my belongings than to have gone through what we just did with the moving company we hired. (Surely companies with integrity exist, but there's no way to know if you've got one until the move is finished.) 

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by CalmedByFish

[Flumpweesel]

Sorry you have been through such an ordeal. But glad it's over and you are at your destination. I hope the trouble is behind you and it all feels worth while soon.

Very pleased about your fish, the fry were going to be high risk for move and I'm sure they'll get replaced soon as the parents get resettled

Take care 

 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

How frustrating!!! I've heard horror stories of moves and moving companies like that too, but you're right- until you hire them and complete the move you don't know. I was so sad to see this post! I am glad that you made it- and glad that most of your fish did too. Here's hoping for a bright light at the end of that dark tunnel. 

[lefty o]

glad its over for you, moving bites the big one. ive always kept my moves short distance, but even a few miles is a pain in the rear.

[CalmedByFish]

On 11/17/2021 at 2:07 PM, Flumpweesel said:

I hope the trouble is behind you and it all feels worth while soon.

the fry were going to be high risk for move and I'm sure they'll get replaced soon as the parents get resettled

Thank you. That's what my irl friends said, too. 

As for the fry, you won't be surprised to hear that my endlers had a few fry en route. hehe

On 11/17/2021 at 2:09 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I was so sad to see this post! I am glad that you made it- and glad that most of your fish did too. Here's hoping for a bright light at the end of that dark tunnel. 

Empathy is needed. Thank you for it.

On 11/17/2021 at 3:49 PM, lefty o said:

glad its over for you, moving bites the big one. ive always kept my moves short distance, but even a few miles is a pain in the rear.

For real. If I'd had ANY idea how hard this was going to be, I would've spent an entire year planning it out. More important than anything, I would've given up enough belongings to drive a truck myself. It would've felt like a slo-mo house fire, but it would've been the better option. This experience was straight-up scary.

[Odd Duck]

Wow!  So sorry for all your troubles.  That sounds awful but I’m very glad for you that it’s done.  Sorry about the loss of fry, but agree that it was an unfortunately high risk to have to move them.  Not that you had any choice, it had to be attempted.

When I graduated vet school, my hubby and I moved a reef tank, 3 cats, 3 dogs, and 2 parrots about 700 miles.  It was rough, but nothing like this bad.

So sorry to hear of your loss of a child.  I can’t even imagine the sorrow that must have caused.

I’m hoping you can get settled with minimal further stress.

[Guppysnail]

I’m glad you and your family have arrived safely. You have my complete empathy. I’ve been forced to use movers by my company including cross country several times through life. It never went well. It sound like you had a very harrowing ordeal. I hope you are soon able to take time for self care. My condolences on your losses. 

[CalmedByFish]

On 11/18/2021 at 3:03 AM, Guppysnail said:

I’m glad you and your family have arrived safely. You have my complete empathy. I’ve been forced to use movers by my company including cross country several times through life. It never went well. It sound like you had a very harrowing ordeal. I hope you are soon able to take time for self care. My condolences on your losses. 

Forced to? That's horrible. 

Thank you.

[Guppysnail]

On 11/19/2021 at 12:47 PM, CalmedByFish said:

Forced to?

Yes. My company relocated me several times with promotions. They paid for everything but it was only if I used their moving company and it was always relatively short notice to short to pack my own house as I was usually flown to my destination state within a week of notification 🙄 I’m glad I’m retired now 😁

[CalmedByFish]

On 11/19/2021 at 11:50 AM, Guppysnail said:

 I’m glad I’m retired now 😁

GEEZ. I'd be glad, too! May this section of your life be way better than that. 

[Patrick_G]

I’m glad you made it and I hope you’re getting settled in. Sorry about the bad experience with the movers. As a kid we moved every few years for corporate promotions like @Guppysnail. I remember it being generally pretty easy, but they definitely liked some moving companies better than others. We have friends that have recently done a long move and had a nightmare experience like yours with extra fees tacked on at the last minute. 

[Torrey]

@CalmedByFish I am sorry you had this experience. 

After spending 2 months crowdfunding to get a single parent who moved cross-country their stuff back, I spent the past 6 years trying to get our elected officials to pass laws to protect consumers who have to cross state lines and use a moving company. 

It is truly ridiculous the amount of deregulation that has happened in the past 30 years. Were your belongings held hostage until you paid the jacked up fees? 

Because that seems to be the status quo, now that companies have recognized that they can get away with it. 😔

I am so glad that part is over for you, and the majority of the fish (and you & fam) made it as safely as possible to your destination.

Endlers are nothing if not reliable with dropping fry!

What an exciting discovery, lol

[CalmedByFish]

On 11/20/2021 at 11:00 PM, Torrey said:

I spent the past 6 years trying to get our elected officials to pass laws to protect consumers who have to cross state lines and use a moving company. 

Were your belongings held hostage until you paid the jacked up fees? 

Endlers are nothing if not reliable with dropping fry!

I'm sorry you had that experience. Thank you so much for working toward fixing it. I really do appreciate that.

Yes, essentially. As best I can figure out, the company realized we were sick, and that it was a bank holiday, so we wouldn't be capable of fighting back. They started making threats related to keeping our belongings unless we paid exorbitant fees in a specific near-impossible way within a specific tiny timeframe. It absolutely felt like we'd hired the mafia to help us move. It was like something straight out of a movie. They destroyed furniture, severely scratched furniture, crushed cardboard boxes that had things in them, broke plastic bins... and they probably knew full well that I would have no proof the damage was their fault. Never again. Never.

As for the endlers, you are so right! 🙂 In fact, I was rearranging the little tupperware containers I'm using as plant pots today, and when I lifted one, a herd of tiny endlers went scattering out from under it. Some gravel had gotten underneath the tupperware, creating a nice little cave system for them.

Edited November 21, 2021 by CalmedByFish

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Yay new life to bring some joy at least. 

[Torrey]

On 11/20/2021 at 10:31 PM, CalmedByFish said:

I'm sorry you had that experience. Thank you so much for working toward fixing it. I really do appreciate that.

Yes, essentially. As best I can figure out, the company realized we were sick, and that it was a bank holiday, so we wouldn't be capable of fighting back. They started making threats related to keeping our belongings unless we paid exorbitant fees in a specific near-impossible way within a specific tiny timeframe. It absolutely felt like we'd hired the mafia to help us move. It was like something straight out of a movie. They destroyed furniture, severely scratched furniture, crushed cardboard boxes that had things in them, broke plastic bins... and they probably knew full well that I would have no proof the damage was their fault. Never again. Never.

As for the endlers, you are so right! 🙂 In fact, I was rearranging the little tupperware containers I'm using as plant pots today, and when I lifted one, a herd of tiny endlers went scattering out from under it. Some gravel had gotten underneath the tupperware, creating a nice little cave system for them.

If you took pictures of everything, I would recommend reaching out to your elected representatives. 

Share what you went through, and all copies of correspondence with the company. 

It may not result in anything happening.... and if you don't pass the information on it's guaranteed nothing will happen. 

However, if enough of us keep bugging our elected representatives.... something is more likely to change. 

[Odd Duck]

On 11/21/2021 at 12:56 AM, Torrey said:

If you took pictures of everything, I would recommend reaching out to your elected representatives. 

Share what you went through, and all copies of correspondence with the company. 

It may not result in anything happening.... and if you don't pass the information on it's guaranteed nothing will happen. 

However, if enough of us keep bugging our elected representatives.... something is more likely to change. 

Agree with all @Torrey said.  Take the pictures and then take the time you need to regroup.  Then reach out to officials, representatives, TV and radio news stations, newspapers, police fraud departments, Better Business Bureau, and whoever else you can think of because you know they will do the same thing to someone else and have already done the same thing to others.

Don’t forget to leave them reviews on line - Yelp, Google, Angie’s list, etc.  Explain very clearly exactly what they did while keeping it as short and to the point as possible.  Make sure your spelling and grammar are correct and clear so people take your review seriously.  I’d be happy to help with any proof-reading.

It may even make you feel better to fight back a little once you can get yourselves over being sick and back on your feet.

[Hobbit]

I’m SO SO glad your move is done!! I hope you get a lot more support in your new location and that it more than makes up for the horror of the move. I’m so sorry you went through that.

I’m also really glad so many of your fish survived and your endlers already have new babies. 🥰

You did it!!!