Thompson’s Moving

I hired Thompson’s Moving to relocate me from a studio apt in NYC to MD.

I had learned of Thompson’s from a furniture retailer in MD. The retailer couldn’t deliver the furniture I purchased because of the discounted price. They mentioned Thompson’s as a local mover who was familiar with the area. I arranged with Thompson’s to pick up my furniture from the retailer and deliver to my MD apt., which was under 1 mile away. I had not yet relocated to MD. The 4 pieces of furniture were moved with no hitch.
About a month before my 01÷28÷10 move date, I contacted Thompson’s to inquire about moving me to MD. I explained although almost no furniture was to be moved, only clothing, 2 computers, & personal items, I needed packing services due to disability issues. I was relocating to be closer to Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
As of the moving date, they still had not returned with a quote. Thompson’s called on the morning of the move to ask if I completed my packing. I reminded her I had requested they pack because of disability issues. She recalled I had discussed that, but it was too late as the driver had already left with no boxes for packing. They reduced the number of staff members they had sent to 1 driver as they needed the 2^nd person for a larger move in NH.
The driver called several hrs late. He couldn’t find my address. After hearing him describe the area, I realized he was in Kings County (Brooklyn) and not New York County (Manhattan). Upon his arrival, I explained Thompson’s called & notified me they had forgotten about the packing. The driver stated he was not equipped to pack anything as he had no boxes & no other staff were with him. We called their office. I suggested we reschedule as they were not prepared. Thompson’s wouldn’t reschedule unless I requested it. I feared they wanted me to request a reschedule to justify additional expenses. They instructed the driver to proceed with the job even though he was not equipped.
The driver had 1 box in the truck, which had broken dishes in it. He kept loading it with my clothing, bringing it to the truck, & returning with the same box to reload. After about ²⁄₃ of my property was loaded, I instructed him not to load any more. I was concerned how he had been loading my property in the truck; my possessions, including a computer, had been dropped several times; & I feared further damage.
I arrived at my new MD apartment the next day to find my possessions left in piles scattered throughout the apartment. I subsequently discovered my Alienware laptop ($ 5,000.00) was missing.
2 days later, I received a call from Thompson’s asking when & how they were going to get paid their $ 1,200.00. I explained that was the 1^st time I heard the figure $ 1200.00. I also explained I wanted to get advice on how to address this. I would contact them within the week. They hung up. They proceeded to put through an unauthorized charge of $ 1,000.00 on my credit card. (They had the number from my earlier furniture purchase). I called my bank, who indicated a claim process would necessitate my hiring a certified mover to evaluate how the move was handled. As this would’ve been an additional expense I couldn’t handle, & as my disability was making the move difficult enough, I couldn’t proceed with the claim process.