Whitby woman says movers took her cargo months ago but never delivered

A woman in Whitby reached out to Speakers Corner after failing to get answers from the moving company she hired to track down the items they picked up.

Jolette Samuels says she hired Torex Moving for a job to deliver furniture and other items to be sent from her home in Whitby to her sister’s home in Alberta.

“My sister relocated to Calgary a year ago. Better Life, better for the kids. She has two little twin boys, single mom doing it all.”

Her sister had to leave in a rush to start a new job.

“One of those things where you pack everything all up in your car and you just head west. She had to leave the big items here which I was storing in my home,” Samuels said.

This past September, Samuels decided to ship it all out to her.

“A lot of items, her two kids’ beds, their mattresses. It’s their stuff, tables and chairs for them.”

She hired a company called Torex Moving — which she has used with success in the past. They agreed on a price, signed a contract and she showed us receipts showing she paid more than $2,100.  In mid-September, a crew from Torex came to her home, packed up her items and left.

“The owner told me he has to take it to a third party who’s actually going to be doing the shipping and it’ll all go out to the cargo centre in Calgary,” she told us. “He told me I would be getting a tracking number soon, but that was several weeks ago.” 

Samuels says that for several weeks Torex has been giving her the run-around. The owner first said an illness caused delays, then shared text messages to show he was in contact with a third-party shipping company to get the cargo shipped to Alberta.

Samuels investigated.

“I decided, let me call the company, because you’ve now shown me proof. I called the company and they’re telling me, ‘No, we have no record of this,’ ” she said. “All I want for you to do is to complete the job. I have young nephews who don’t have their beds.”

She reached out to Speakers Corner and we tried to contact Torex but our calls went unanswered. We then submitted a request for a quote and received a call within minutes.

We asked the owner about Samuel’s case on the phone but he wouldn’t comment, telling us instead to email him details of the move.

We sent him copies of the contract, estimate and receipt of funds sent to his account.

“Due to urgent family circumstances, I had to fly out of the country urgently,” he told us in response to our email. “Our team could not technically complete the project without my presence. I plan to return soon.”

He went on to say he has not violated any terms of the contract.

“If the customer wants to terminate the contractual relationship, this is of course their right.”

But he did not answer our question as to where Samuel’s cargo is currently. He sent what he claimed was proof of him being in contact with a third-party shipping company. We called that company and they said Torex got a quote a month ago and was supposed to drop off the shipment in mid-October but never showed up. They also say their follow-up calls to Torex have not been returned.

Samuels has reported the business to the Better Business Bureau which is investigating. Due to it being a contract issue, police won’t investigate, but she plans to file in small claims court.

“I don’t know where my stuff is. If I knew where my stuff is, I’d go get it myself. I’d go hire a second moving truck to bring it back here,” she said. “Just give me my stuff.”

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