Dear Gene-Thomas,

I read your article entitled "Five PCS Tips" and would like your advice on how to deal with a problem involving Apple Transfer, Inc., the moving company based in Fredericksburg, VA that moved our household goods …. L.N.H.

Dear L.N.H.,

Polls show that the American public has more confidence in the US military than any other institution. One reason this is true is because military personnel are held to higher standards than most civilians. Not only will the military conduct random tests for drugs and separate those who abuse them, it will also prosecute its members for certain actions (e.g., adultery) that most civilian organizations are willing to tolerate.

Unfortunately, not all American institutions and companies are guided by the same moral and ethical principles. When military personnel like yourself encounter individuals or organizations that fail to honor their promises, they justifiably become upset. After reading your entire letter, it seems you are angry that you and your family were not treated in an honorable and just manner by a civilian company that does business with the government.

In your letter you indicated that a driver from Apple Transfer, after breaking a marble top from a piece of your furniture upon delivery, retained possession of the broken piece and wrote you a promissory note indicating that "driver retained possession of broken marble shelf - will get replaced and mail new shelf to member." You also indicated that it was after 75 days, following several calls from both your husband and Inspectors at Fort Belvoir, that you received your broken marble back glued in a visibly unsatisfactory manner.

When I called Apple Transfer and attempted to ascertain why the company was not honoring its promise to replace your marble top, no one would offer an explanation.
 
When I called a Personal Property Office and inquired why a moving company might retain possession of a broken item and write "due to further inspection" in the space on the DD Form 1840 where one would ordinarily record loss or damage, I was told that moving companies can avoid being assessed points that could result in a loss of government business if military members do not file a claim by reporting loss or damage in a timely fashion.
 
According to information found in the government claims packet, "As agreed upon between the commercial carrier industry and the Armed Services, loss of or damage to household goods discovered and reported by the member more than 70 calendar days after delivery will be presumed not to have occurred while the goods were in the possession of the carrier." In light of the circumstances surrounding your case where Apple Transfer retained possession of your marble for 71 days, I would recommend that you file a claim along with a copy of the UPS mailing label showing that, in fact, "damage to household goods" did occur "while the goods were in the possession of the carrier" even after the 70 days expired. 
 
Because Apple refuses to acknowledge its reasons for not honoring its promise to replace your marble top, I cannot say with certainty why they failed to keep their promise. However, I can suggest that when making future military moves, you always list any loss or damage on your DD Form 1840 and complete the necessary paperwork for filing a claim with the assistance of your Personal Property Office. Never accept promises to have the claim handled directly by the Moving Company or its insurance agency.

Your case reminds me of a friend who was involved in a traffic accident and who, instead of reporting the accident to the police and their respective insurance companies, accepted a promise from the driver at fault that he would send him a check to cover the damages. Unfortunately, my friend never received a check and learned the hard way that some people just don’t honor their promises.
 
When General Douglas MacArthur addressed Cadets at West Point on May 12, 1962, he reminded them of the importance of living lives of honor in his "Duty-Honor-Country" speech. When General Carl E. Mundy, Jr. promulgated the Core Values of "Honor-Courage-Commitment" for the US Marine Corps that were later adopted by the US Navy, he defined honor as the "bedrock" of one’s character, stating, "A person cannot be a Marine without honor." When military leaders call their personnel to "exemplify ethical and moral behavior; never to lie, cheat, or steal," why should we be surprised that the American public places more confidence in the US military than any other institution?
 
One of the purposes of this column is to help military families learn from the experiences of others. By sharing both positive and negative experiences from our military lives, we can all come to appreciate more fully those individuals and companies whose personal and corporate ethics reflect "honor" so highly espoused in the Armed Services.

Gene-Thomas Gomulka
“A voice for military families” Columnist and author of The Survival Guide for Marriage in the Military available at www.plaintec.net

Have a question or comment? Write Gene-Thomas at letters@plaintec.net