Moving company pays to replace Henrico man’s damaged hardwood floors

HENRICO, Va. (WWBT) - A moving company has agreed to pay a man to repair his hardwood floor after it was damaged by movers.

Jim Hunter says movers messed up his Brazilian cherry hardwood floors by causing grooves and bumps throughout his home.

Hunter says it happened in March and he couldn’t get WayForth moving company to pay him what it would cost to replace the floors, until he called 12 On Your Side. He says a check was hand delivered to him only hours after NBC12′s Diane Walker called WayForth Co-founder Pete Shrock. Hunter signed settlement papers that forbid him from disclosing the amount but says he’s satisfied, and they parted on good terms. Before they reached a settlement, the disputing parties could not agree on roughly $47,000.

Hunter and his wife, Patricia, say their hardwood floors are damaged beyond buffing, resealing or pulling up and replacing planks here and there.

“We’ve got two floors and it’s 2,700 square feet, and there is not a room that doesn’t have significant damage,” Hunter said.

He also says they stopped the movers before there was widespread damage to the Brazilian Cherry hardwood floors.

“They had plenty of time to take action and they didn’t. They put down some paper which lasted five minutes. It just tore up,” he said.

The Hunters say they were getting the house they moved out of ready for closing. So they were back and forth between two locations and not always there to observe the movers.

“They ran out of time. So, what they started doing was just shoving things in because they didn’t have enough time to finish all this.”

He says shoving boxes and furniture dug scratches and grooves, ruining the floors. WayForth apparently owned up to some of the damage but Hunter says things fell apart over how to fix it and for how much.

“The most they are going to offer us for something that is potentially going to be over $50,000 is $5,000,” he said.

Three different flooring companies assessed the damages and all three including an expert for WayForth, Old Dominion Floor Company, reached the same conclusion - the floors have to be replaced. The estimated cost was $32,000 to $35,000.

“I very patiently tried to work with these folks and they were very difficult to respond. They responded with a very low offer, and now they will not return my calls at all. So, I’ve hit a dead end,” Hunter said.

That’s when NBC12 reached out to WayForth and got an immediate response.

“I think Diane called yesterday morning, and by the afternoon, I had a check in hand,” Hunter said.

WayForth declined an interview but did email a statement that says in part:

“We are sorry we did not initially meet Mr. Hunter’s expectations. We are grateful we had the opportunity to continue working with him and to address all his concerns and issues fully to his satisfaction.”

The Hunters are glad it’s over.

“I want to thank, Diane. I want to thank Channel 12 for really helping out when I felt like it was a dead end. It’s a huge relief to know we are going to be taken care of with the floor issue. It’s been bothering me for gosh, six months plus.”

Hunter originally signed his moving contract with Legacy Navigator, which is now a WayForth company. They say they’re “committed to supporting all clients and if we ever fall short, it’s our mission to continue working with them until they are fully satisfied and their confidence in WayForth is restored.”

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