Legion Express Lighthouse Moving Damaged and lost our belongings Chicago Illinois

 I was hoping that was not the case. We have been fighting this for about a year now and the longer it went on , the more I knew I was f*****. Thanks for the help, I guess I should let it go now and cut my losses!

The mover is correct that they have insurance, but only if the warehouse catches fire and burns everything inside of it.  The insurance they have would not cover you during your move.  In addition, movers would have to be licensed to sell insurance during a move, which is why there is valuation.  You can opt to have Full Replacement Valuation (which is close to insurance, but isn't) at an additional cost, or you can opt to have valuation at $0.60 per pound which costs nothing.  Sounds like this is what you opted for.

Once they opted to pay you the $64, it pretty much ends there.  I have seen this before - someone sues the mover for the low amount of valuation received.  The judge yells at the defendant, and then dismisses the case against the mover.  The contract you signed is pretty ironclad; the mover is under no obligation under the contract to enter into arbitration and even if they agreed, you would lose the case.  The moving industry is largely unregulated at the Federal level and only minimally at the state level.

The only real way to avoid a situation like this is to do everything you generally should not do.  For example:

1.  Don't comparison shop for a mover.  Moving is expensive and the company that gives you the best price is generally the scam mover.  The well known movers whose trucks you will see on the highways cost more, but you are more likely to be more comfortable with them and have far more resources to do your move correctly vs. someone you found on the internet.

2.  Don't look for a mover on the internet.  You will find a scam mover there - because that's where they live.  Research a mover on the internet; if you see no reviews for a mover, generally they're a scam mover.  Scam movers close their doors when enough bad reviews show up, and then reopen under a new name where they can't be traced.  Look for a local mover in the phone book - yes, the old fashioned way.

3.  If you want to conduct research, really figure out how a move is supposed to work.  It really works like nothing you've ever experienced, which is why so many people are victimized.

Many times, people learn the hard way about the way the moving industry works.  I'm sorry this happened to you and best of luck....