SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF COMPLAINT AGAINST SEA AND AIR INTERNATIONAL FMC#020349N

I contracted with Sea and Air International for my international move to the United Kingdom. My move was timed to coincide with a break in my breast cancer treatment.

Although I received lower bids from other movers, my husband and I were prepared to pay a premium to a professional moving company in order to make sure my move to England would be as stress-free as possible in the interest of supporting my cancer treatment.

Sea and Air’s saleswoman, Julie Tkacz, aggressively sold their services. She forwarded sheaves of recommendations from previous clients. Sea and Air claimed to be a BBB member in good standing. Moreover, Julie Tkacz freely cast aspersions on the record of one of
Sea and Air’s competitors from whom I had obtained a quote (included
email).

I decided on the basis of Sea and Air’s claim to reputability, vouchsafed by it’s Better Business Bureau membership, the (mostly) glowing encomia, and carefully crafted descriptions of
its service as displayed on its Web site, www.sea-air.net, to hire this company which represented itself as offering white glove service, rather than hiring the low bidder (included email).

It became clear the moment Sea and Air’s employees entered my apartment that I was not going to receive anything resembling the services I had contracted for. From the moment they arrived, Sea andAir’s employees were incompetent, negligent and abusive (included
email).

On my own in my apartment with this group of thugs, I became increasingly frightened and anxious about what I would find once my belongings arrived in England. I rang both Yaniv Risman, Sea and Air’s CEO, as well as my husband, Roger Greenhalgh, in England in a state of
rising panic (included email)

Yet unfortunately, by then I was stuck. I had to be out of the apartment by the end of the month. If I dismissed these men I would lose the $500 deposit I’d already paid to Sea and Air.

Rather than the white glove service Sea and Air so exuberantly advertised, what I received for my $5, 091.25 dollars was intimidation, extortion and damaged property (included email), an ordeal that has proven damaging to my recovery from breast cancer.

Words fail to express the level of my incredulity, both at the way Sea and Air represents its services (included email), and at the manner in which its CEO, Yaniv Risman, chose to respond to my grievances: by accusing me of “exhort [sic] our company through threats and
slandering of our good name” (included email).

Perhaps the Better Business Bureau, of which he is a member, should educate Sea and Air CEO, Yaniv Risman, about the role of the Better Business Bureau – as well as the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN/RICPC) and the US Federal Trade Commission– in protecting vulnerable consumers such as myself from the ruthless business practices of companies like his.

I stated previously I would settle with Sea and Air for $1, 740.06 (included email). In light of what has transpired, however, I expect a refund of Sea and Air’s full fee, $5, 091.25


email correspondence follows:
price quote -

show details Aug 10

Julie,

I've been getting quotes from other reputable movers for considerably
less than your quote of $9.75 a cubic foot - and this includes
Terminal Handling Charges.

To wit: NY International Shipping has quoted me a price of $7.50 per
square foot, inclusive (form attached).

I hope you are able to meet this number; or failing that, return my
deposit. Since I know you're very busy at the end of August, I doubt
this should be a problem.

Best,

On Sat, Aug 8, 2009 at 11:01 AM, wrote:
> Julie, I wondered if an estimator could come to the apt some time next
> week. I've pretty much assessed what's in the storage - Roger is doing
> those calculations - so then I'll have a more precise sense of how
> much this will cost.

Julie - Sea and Air International, Inc.
to me

show details Aug 10

Hello Erica - Thanks for the infor. Just let me start off with the fact
that NY International is NOT a reputable company. They are 3 aggressive
sales people sitting in a storefront in NYC and they don't have their own
trucks, men or warehouse -Ask them for the address of their warehouse - it
will not be theirs. - They will farm your shipment out to like Schleppers or
Oz, or some local company - AND they have 12 complaints on the Better
Business Burea website
That being said, I can give you a discount to $8.75 per cubic foot INCLUDES
thc.
In the meantime, I can call my surveyor after 2:00, so I will be calling you
around 3:00 to set up the survey date.

Best regards,


Julie Tkacz


International Relocation Coordinator

SEA & AIR International, Inc.

356 E 74 St. Suite #2, New York, NY 10021

Direct line: 212-300-1511

Toll Free: 877-882-8886

Fax: 212-399-1312

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.sea-air.net


Worldwide relocations made simple.


Sea and Air International, Inc. is a Fully Licensed and Bonded OTI (Ocean
Transportation Intermediary) international mover, and NVOCC licensed by the
FMC (Federal Maritime Commission). Fully Licensed and Bonded FMCSA (Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration), Sea and Air International, Inc. is a
registered member of the HHGFAA (Household Goods Forwarders Association of
America, Inc.) and AMSA (American Moving and Storage Association).


Erica Rex
to julie

show details Aug 31

Julie, I wanted to make sure to document what happened when your crew
came to load my apartment and my storage area for my move.

1. refusal to shrink-wrap upholstered arm chair. By the time they got
to it, the time was late, and it was clear 'Sean' had no interest in
spending any more time. He had his guy tape cardboard around the
legs, and was getting ready to carry it out, and I said it had to be
wrapped. Everything else is wrapped - why not the single piece of
upholstered furniture?

Sean, who was on the phone for at least an hour of the 2 they spent at
my apartment, said oh, it doesn't need to be wrapped. I said it's on
the ocean, it needs to be wrapped. Sarcastically he said, oh, you
think the chair is swimming through the water and is going to get wet?
I told him about this thing called condensation, and insisted he wrap
the chair.

2. lamp left behind. I pointed this out. Sean brought a lamp box in,
stuffed the lamp into the box. The joint didn't fit. He forced it.
The box tore. The spring joint on the lamp is probably broken. I
suspect you/Sea-Air has bought the lamp.

3. contents of kitchen drawers left behind, as well as contents of a
high cabinet. These contents were picked up on Saturday morning by
your crew.

4. fascia of kitchen drawer broken off. Oddly, having not managed to
pack the contents of the drawer, they did manage to break off the
front.

5. demand for 'tips for the guys.' I told Sean I was not expecting to
have a foreman demand 'tips' - and that you had NOT MENTIONED ANYTHING
about tips. Fearing that my stuff would be held hostage, as it has
been in the past by so-called 'movers' I gave him a token sum of $80 -
all the cash I had on hand. He made it very plain it was not enough,
and that I would live to regret my 'stinginess.' I told him if he had
a problem with his salary, he should take it up with his employer.

6. trash left in apartment. After the crew left, I had to pick up
paper, tape, parts of boxes, cardboard. I was given to understand the
Sea-Air crew picked up trash behind them.

7. at the storage unit: most of my things were already in boxes. They
packed the truck. While the final things were being loaded, Sean lit a
cigarette. There are NUMEROUS, VISIBLE non-smoking signs at the
storage facility, which is an ancient, brick-and-stone factory
building across from the Navy yard. By then I was not going to tell
him anything - I wanted to be rid of them.

8. trash left in the storage unit and on the loading dock. I cleared
discarded boxes, tape wrapping out of the storage unit myself and
brought them down. The crew had left equipment/materials boxes on the
loading dock. Rather than walk to the dumpster, the younger israeli
guy shoved boxes against the wall of the loading dock. I told him to
take the stuff to the dumpster and discard it.

My fianc says local moving crews in the UK don't
generally behave this badly. I'm hoping that's the case.