The average payout is only 50-60% of the total value of the claim.
Unless they are able to retain receipts, which is no easy feat when you’re moving every couple years, families are often offered a fraction of what it costs to replace or repair their belongings.
“I would love for the attention to be brought to the people in Washington, D.C. and to the Secretary of the Armed Forces, for them to really see how big of an issue that PCSing is for families. Families shouldn’t be forced to do a DITY move to be able to keep their things safe.
These companies should be held accountable for the service that they provide, whether good or bad, and I think there needs to be things in place that really help hold those companies and workers accountable for it.
Over the past several years, the PCS season has gone downhill steadily, and it makes you wonder – when does it hit the bottom? When do people say enough is enough?” Megan expressed during our meeting.
As I write this now, her petition on Change.org is now approaching 30,000 signatures, and when I spoke to her, she said that the estimated reach of the petition at the 36 hour mark was at over 336,000 people. In her proposal, she is calling for three objectives:
1. Better accountability of the moving companies on the crew members hired, trained, and the services provided from packing, loading, and unloading of HHGs from origin to destination. This includes holding companies and crews to higher standards, and having proper recourse actions when services, damages, and loss are not held to the standard.
2. Move Coordinators and Installation QA Inspectors who are easily accessible and able to help mediate between the company/crew and the family.
3. If needed, a new overhaul of the current system that allows families and military personnel better oversight of the process.
Her possible solutions include moving families less while giving them longer duty stations, which would also add stability to the lives of military children everywhere, using crates that would allow their HHGs to remain together, especially once moved to storage facilities, and would cut down on the individual handling of items, changing the way moving companies are selected and adding repercussions for losses, and training QA inspectors to be a liaison between the family and moving company.
Has your family had a bad experience with a military move? Sign the petition on Change.org today!
