Opinion | Toronto mover demanded $1,186 more on delivery day, then drove off with his belongings - Toronto Star

Karl Van Essen’s belongings sat in a North York warehouse for nearly a week after he refused to pay a surprise $1,186.90 charge.

Karl Van Essen had been living out of a duffel bag at his sister’s in Owen Sound. “It’s getting cold,” he said when he reached out to the Advocate for help. “I need to get my stuff.”

The Advocate is a regular feature by Diana Zlomislic that helps Canadians hold companies and policymakers to account for the goods and services they provide. If you need help or want to share your story, email Diana at dzlo@thestar.ca

Karl Van Essen stood on a strip of dried-up grass outside an Owen Sound storage facility and watched as a moving truck drove off with nearly everything he owns.

The same driver had collected Van Essen’s belongings in late August from Thetford Mines, Que., where he worked for the past six years, calibrating chromatographs —  instruments used to measure the makeup of specialty gases like the helium-oxygen blends deep-sea divers breathe.

Precision was his job. He packed the same way: Every bin labelled, numbered and photographed as part of a six-page document he shared with the Toronto-based moving company before he accepted their quote last July. The $1,980 quote included taxes and two months’ storage before delivering the goods to their final destination in Owen Sound on Oct. 23.

“This sounds like one of the best deals so far,” Van Essen replied in an email to High Stream Moving Company Ltd. director Andrey Struts.

“I’m glad to hear that our quote stands out,” Struts replied. Van Essen e-transferred the company a $400 deposit. 

But on delivery day, the deal changed.

Two hours before the truck rolled into Owen Sound, Van Essen got an updated invoice by email from High Stream Moving, telling him he needed to pay a balance of $2,766.90, about 75 per cent more than the $1,580 balance he expected to pay — before the driver would unload a box. The invoice itemized an additional charge of $1,186 for 65 cubic feet of “extra items.”

Van Essen called Owen Sound police.

Officers arrived within minutes of the delivery truck, which carried 43 packages, including a small yacht fridge, his catio (a patio for his cat), computer and winter clothes. Michelle Van Essen, Karl’s sister, recorded video of the encounter on her phone.

The driver said he did not speak English, but is captured on video shared with the Star and police asking for a cash payment — not the credit card payment the company had agreed to. In its email, the company said their credit card processing system was unavailable.

Owen Sound police opened an occurrence report but allowed the driver to leave when Van Essen refused to pay the higher price. 

The next day, High Stream emailed Van Essen to say his goods were being “safely held” at a warehouse in North York. It said it would release them once the new invoice was paid in full. Starting Oct. 31, it would charge him a monthly storage fee of $150 plus tax. 

Van Essen has been staying with his sister and living out of a duffel bag. He has worn the same jeans for days. He bought an open-box laptop on clearance at Staples so he could keep fighting by email. 

“It’s getting cold,” he told me when he reached out by email on Tuesday for help. “I need to get my stuff.”

Van Essen filed police reports in Owen Sound, and Toronto where High Stream is headquartered. He also filed a report with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Quebec’s Office de la Protection du Consommateur and the Canadian Association of Movers.

I asked Van Essen to share with me all of the records that documented his experience. 

Van Essen isn’t the only High Stream customer to report a price jump, according to information shared on the Better Business Bureau’s website, which has given the company an “F” rating for failing to respond to three complaints in the last three years. 

A consumer who posted in June about their experience with a Toronto-to-New York move using High Stream noted the company demanded $2,500 more to unload their goods. Another complaint from April alleges the moving crew requested undisclosed charges after loading and refused credit card payment. 

“Our company has chosen not to participate in BBB’s paid accreditation program,” Struts wrote in an email. “We have concerns about paying for accreditation or platform services that, in our view, do not directly contribute to the delivery of moving services.”

Struts added that he is “not suggesting that negative customer experiences should be ignored,” but felt that positive customer experiences, including a 4.7 out of 5 star rating on Google, “are equally relevant when presenting an overall picture of a business” that provides long-distance moving services across Canada and the U.S.

“Over the years, we have successfully served hundreds of customers.”

Federal records show High Stream Moving Company Ltd. was incorporated in 2021. It was dissolved in March 2024 for failing to comply with federal filing rules and then revived two months later. 

When I called High Stream’s toll-free line on Oct. 28 and asked to speak with its director, the man who answered said they weren’t available. Then he added: “This is probably about Karl.”

I followed up by email. Struts called back. 

“Agreement says if you have more items, you have to pay more,” Struts said, adding a grocery story analogy: “Karl got 20 tomatoes and only wanted to pay for 10.”

I asked Struts to detail for me exactly what items in Van Essen’s load incurred nearly $1,200 extra in charges. 

He shared photos of items in a warehouse type setting. 

“What am I looking at?” I asked Struts. 

I pointed out that all of Karl’s items were labelled with a number which corresponded to an index he shared by email in late July with a High Stream rep named “Andre S.” before the contract was signed. Andre S replied to the message: “Thanks for getting back to me with the update. No problem at all.”

Struts soon confirmed that the itemized email was sent to his personal email and said that he failed to share the update with the billing department, resulting in an inflated final balance.

Van Essen received a new invoice, which billed him $1,722 for the move plus $150 for storage plus 13 per cent tax for a grand total of $2,115.36. Subtracting his $400 deposit, it asked Van Essen for $1,715.37.

High Stream’s numbers still weren’t adding up. Van Essen’s outstanding balance should be $1,580, taxes included as per the original agreement.

“This was an administrative mistake on our side, and I take responsibility,” Struts wrote in an email to the Star. “There are now no additional charges.”

High Stream rescheduled the delivery to last Thursday at 6 p.m. 

Owen Sound police officers “kept the peace” while Van Essen’s property was delivered, Inspector Craig Matheson wrote on Friday in an email to the Star.

“I can also confirm for you that a review of the matter is currently ongoing.”

Opinion articles are based on the author’s interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details

The Advocate is a regular feature by Diana Zlomislic that helps Canadians hold companies and policymakers to account for the goods and services they provide. If you need help or want to share your story, email Diana at dzlo@thestar.ca