Hamilton's Moving

They arrived promptly. When I spoke with the owner before the move, I was told that there would be no additional charge for stairs vs. use of an elevator. Of the 3 movers that arrived, only one entered my apartment initially. After a few minutes of discussion, he tried to hug and kiss me. If I hadn't been up for 72 hours straight, I would have been thinking clearly enough to end it there, but alas, my reasoning was too foggy from lack of sleep. Even though I was in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment and all packing had been done before they arrived, it still took them 4 hours to load the truck. The one who'd tried to hug me then informed me that I was responsible for purchasing their lunch and I had to give them $40. I left in my car and made the trip in less than 50 minutes. Again, had I been thinking clearly, I would have called the local police when I arrived at my new apartment so that someone would have been there with me. However, I did not do this, so I was alone. It took them 3 hours to get to the new apartment. The elevator was out of order, so they had to use the stairs to the second floor. It took them another 4-5 hours to unload the truck and basically just put everything in the living room for me to place where I actually wanted it. A number of my items were damaged extensively, I was sexually molested by the "head" mover, and I was informed that there was an extra charge for having to use the stairs. I attempted to contact the owner by telephone and text, but he was on vacation and refused to respond. When I wrote a check for all of the moving expenses, including the "extra charge" for the stairs, I was told by the head mover that it must be two separate checks. I issued two checks, one for the move and a separate one for the stairs. The head mover who had molested me then gave me his name (Francis Ferguson) and telephone number and asked me out. I was scared to death, so I acted polite and feigned interest, just to get them out of my apartment. (When I moved to Hagerstown, the building was only 40% rented because it was still under construction, and there were no other tenants at my end of the building, so there would have been no one to hear me if I screamed or called for help.) After they left, I immediately contacted my bank and stopped payment on all of the checks. I also went to the police, both in Washington County and in Montgomery County, to report what had happened to me. Stopping payment on the checks and filing police reports got the attention of the owner. He began calling and threatening me. I had noted the damage to my property on the form I had to sign after the move, but when I filed a claim for the damages, the owner insisted that it was all pre-existing, and refused to reimburse me. When I described what had happened to me at the hands of his employee regarding the molestation, he laughed at me. Interesting (and telling) reaction. I was eventually able to negotiate a very small amount to compensate me, and I issued a new check for the revised amount. I heard from Montgomery County police that an officer had gone to the business and interviewed all 3 movers Of course, the one who'd molested me denied it, and he'd been smart enough to do it only when we were alone so there were no witnesses. Classic my word against his, and he won. A few weeks later I was contacted by the State's Attorney, who informed me that he was not surprised at the details of my experience, as there had been many, many complaints by others about this company. I was also contacted by a Montgomery County sexual abuse counselor, who called to see how I was doing, which I thought was very kind. It has been 8 years since my assault. I still remember all of the details, as well as the name of the man who molested me. I still have anxiety attacks when I must be alone with a male, and will go out of my way to avoid that type of situation. I don't trust moving companies, movers, telephone service repair workers, cable installers, insurance agents, car salesmen, or almost anyone else that is male. This experience has affected my life extensively, and I'm not sure I'll ever fully recover from it. Obviously, I would absolutely NOT recommend this company. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY. THEY ARE, TO PUT IT BLUNTLY, DANGEROUS!!!!