CollegeMoves, a program offered by Crabtree Family Moving & Storage LLC, agrees to provide labor, delivery, and storage services for Duke students who enter into a contract for services. The provisions of the contract are outlined below.
Specified Number of Boxes & Additional Items
Each package designates a specific number of boxes and unboxed items included in that package. The rate for that package covers packing materials, delivery labor, and storage fee. Additionally, each package allows a specified number of additional items to be included with your set of belongings.
Unboxed items include but are not limited to: Plastic storage bin, Drawer Cart, Microwave, Mini fridge, Suitcase, Duffel Bag, Your Own Box (size similar or smaller than a CFM box), Desk Chair, Mattress topper, Lamp, Rug, TV, Mirror, TV 40” or less, Monitor, Trunk, Vacuum, Shoe rack, Trash bin, Artwork/décor that won’t fit into a box (per piece), Musical instrument in a case (excludes keyboards w/stands).
Because of the additional labor and storage space, some items incur an additional cost and will be invoiced at the conclusion of the pick-up process. These items include but are not limited to: Bicycle ($50), Couch/Futon ($50), TV 41” or larger ($50), Weight bench ($50), Bookshelf ($50), Keyboard w/stand ($50), Bed/mattress ($100), Other furniture ($50 per item) You may add additional boxes or unboxed items at an a la carte rate of $25 per box or unboxed item. The additional fee will be invoiced after the shipment pick-up date.
Distribution of Packing Materials
Crabtree Family Moving Inc (CFM) will deliver packing materials to the campus-specific HRL office for you to pick up during business hours. Delivery will take place on or around November 22.
Packing Instructions
Using the boxes provided by CFM, pack your belongings using these guidelines:
- Boxes should not be more than 30 pounds.
- Spread out heavy items (such as textbooks) between multiple boxes.
- Position the heaviest items at the bottom of the box and the lightest on top.
- Fill the box completely. Use the brown packing paper to fill any gaps and to ensure that the box is firm and flat on top. Include a crunched-up layer of packing paper on the bottom of each box to add cushioning.
- Use at least three strips of tape to secure the bottom and top of the box.
- No food or dirty dishes should be included in your storage boxes. Even in a sealed box,
- the smell of food will attract unwanted pests.
- No liquid cleaning products should be included in your storage boxes. This includes items such as window cleaner, liquid laundry soap, and dish soap. Cleaning products have a tendency to leak if the box gets tipped.
- Liquid personal hygiene products such as shampoo or lotion are also a risk for leaking but may be stored only if sealed inside plastic bags and the plastic bags are wrapped with several layers of tape. If your item does leak, we do not want the liquid to ruin the other items in your box or in nearby boxes sharing the same storage area.
- Remove light bulbs from lamps. Light bulbs have a tendency to break during moving and storage. If you do wish to keep your bulbs after you have separated them from your
- lamp, please be sure to wrap the bulb in layers of paper and place inside of a plastic bag so that if it shatters, you don’t have loose glass in your box.
- Particleboard and plastic furniture does not hold up well to moving and storage. We will do our best to protect them during the process but these types of pieces often will lose screws and pieces, making them difficult to re-use.
- Double-check that you have held back any important documents (birth certificate, visa documents, bank records) that you might need over the next few months. We will not have the ability to open up your boxes for you to look for specific items.
Labeling Boxes
Use the marker to label each box with the following information:
- Your full name
- Your Duke uniqueID number (ex 0654321)
- Your phone number
- Duke University
One Student Per Contract
You must have your own individual contract with CFM for delivery and storage services. We are unable to accommodate groups of students who wish to combine their belongings into one set.
Box Pick-Up Date
When you are ready to depart campus, leave your items behind in your room and lock your door. Confirm that your boxes and unboxed items are clearly labeled. CFM has been given permission by HRL to check out keys for student rooms December 15 & 16. CFM will be able to unlock your room door to retrieve your belongings. At the time of pick-up, a photo inventory will be made of the items remaining in your room.
Storage
Your belongings will be shrink-wrapped onto a pallet and stored at the CFM warehouse. The warehouse is climate controlled to protect your belongings. Your belongings will remain on the pallet until they are staged for delivery in August. If you have a need to retrieve your items before the start of the fall semester, you may schedule an appointment to come to the CFM warehouse. Appointments must be scheduled at least two business days in advance. We are unable to accommodate same day appointment requests. Please call the main office at (919) 500-2013 to schedule an appointment.
Delivery
CFM has received approval from HRL to deliver belongings to on-campus assignments prior to move-in day. After the 2022-23 housing calendar is published, specific dates will be communicated. We anticipate setting aside one day in early August to deliver for HRLapproved early arriving students and one to two days in mid-August for all other students. Because of the additional time and labor involved in delivering to room assignments that are on the third, fourth, or fifth floor of buildings (& not accessible by elevator), an additional fee of $50 will be charged for delivery service. This charge will be invoiced in August after housing assignments have been confirmed and must be paid before delivery will be completed. A request can be made to deliver to an off-campus apartment in the area local to campus. These deliveries will be included part of the campus delivery days.
Because of the additional time in transit and labor involved in off-campus deliveries, an additional $200 charge will be invoiced in late summer as delivery arrangements are confirmed. If a specific delivery date other than our preset dates is requested, a delivery charge of $600 will be invoiced to cover the cost of time and labor for a moving team to make the individual trip.
If you are returning to campus for summer, arrangements can be made to deliver to an on-campus assignment. As the summer programs schedule is published, we will establish a SSI and a SSII delivery date. A request can be made to deliver to an off-campus apartment in the area local to campus. These deliveries will be included part of the campus delivery days. Because of the additional time in transit and labor involved in off-campus deliveries, an additional $200 charge will be invoiced in late summer as delivery arrangements are confirmed. The storage contract covers storage through August 2022 so if your belongs are removed from storage prior to August, we will refund the un-used months of storage at a rate of $25/month to your credit card.
Picking up your items directly from our warehouse
You may opt to pick up your belongings directly from the warehouse during business hours. At least 2 business days of notice must be given to pull and stage the belongings at the warehouse. Please call (919) 500-2013 to set a specific appointment date and time. A 75% refund will be returned to the credit card on the delivery portion of the package charge. ($75 returned for small move; $112.50 for a medium move or a We Pack U move; $150 for a major move).
Billing
You will receive an initial invoice prior shortly after your contract is received and you will be expected to pay the invoice within 7 days of receipt. If your payment is not received within 7 days, a 10% late fee may be added to the charge. If the invoice is not paid by December 14, the contract will be canceled and your items will not be included in the College Moves process. Your items will not be delivered or released to you at the warehouse until all invoices are paid in full.
Insurance/Liability
If you are packing your own belongings and CFM is picking up sealed containers, CFM cannot confirm the condition or inventory of boxed items being stored. For that reason, CFM does not insure student belongings and will not reimburse for damages incurred during the delivery or storage process. You are strongly encouraged to purchase a personal property/renter insurance policy through a third-party carrier.
Abandoned property
If we do not hear from you by August 30 to confirm plans for your items, we will hold your belongings in storage for 30 additional days (through September 30, 2022). During that time, we will attempt to contact you via your primary and secondary email addresses. If we are unable to reach you before October 1, 2022 your items will be considered abandoned and will be discarded and no offer of refund will be made.
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