When Megan Harless launched her petition about moving companies damaging or destroying our household goods during our military moves, she did not expect support on a viral level. It all started when Megan posted an open letter on her Facebook page, Military Spouse Chronicles:
Megan decided to write the open letter that sparked the petition because the countless letters she had been writing every PCS to her representatives regarding moves that she or her friends had experienced were being ignored. With PCS season upon us, she’s already hearing horror stories from her friends and dreading their next move, which isn’t for at least another year.
After a comment was made that she should take this to the next level and create a petition that could spark a social media movement, she got on it immediately and thanks to the platform that came with winning Military Spouse Magazine’s Fort Eustis Spouse of the Year award sponsored by Armed Forces Insurance, she knew she could help raise awareness, but did not expect the viral support from military families.
Megan recalled an experience with an employee of one of the moving companies contracted to pack and move their things, describing how he broke a vase given to her on the day of her wedding from her grandmother and how he nonchalantly told her that she could “claim it” as destroyed after the move.
Sadly, her family isn’t alone – in the past two years, the average monetary amount of damages has been about $10k, and many of the items damaged, destroyed, lost, or stolen by moving companies cannot simply be replaced. Another issue is the amount of total compensation that families are reimbursed, if they’re reimbursed at all.
