container scam or not

[jeffandmichelle]

our container left our uk home early december, we spent some time on camp beds in the uk, we were told 8 weeks door to door but i knew it would be longer, rented a house here on the sunshine coast and still on camp beds, bought a house and still on camp beds at the end of february i contacted the removers and they said the container didnt leave the uk till the end of january because of christmas, eventually the container has arrived its April now, and now the fun starts, the removal company have said we only paid for delivery to brisbane, our paperwork clearly states door to door service and i emailed them a copy, they now say door to door service means port to port ie UK to brisbane, so they wacked me for extra and i say ok ill pay, then the quarantine charges, ok i know i have to pay this no problem, but then they say the bikes have to be paid to be cleaned, funny thing is the bikes were jetwashed and filmed being jetwashed, after jetwashing they were disinfected with jeyes fluid and again filmed, so i was completely surprised and suspicious at the request for cleaning charges and asked for proof, they sent a photograph http://www.trowelfx.com.au/images/bike3.jpg
obviously surface dust collected by taking the bike from the garage to container a distance of approx 12 feet across a brick paved driveway can have an impact, so after cleaning bikes it may be an idea to shrink wrap or at least cover the tyres with cardboard.
2 safes we were taking were empty of course, we were told to lock them, now they want the combinations that i gave them, but they say if they cant open them with the combinations then they will destroy them. so my safes get destroyed if someone has not the intelligence to follow some directions.
moral of the story is not every company have honest staff
my advice to anyone having a container shipped is to use your video camera if you have one to ask closing questions of the rep, saying things like YES this door to door means door to door not port to port, and film the packers and ask them are them tyres clean. better still
dont use PICKFORDS

[calNgary]

we had to pay extra for delivery to here because we are out of the brisbane catchment!!!opposite way to you but still out of the city it was $80 i think ,this is a normal thing with any company even if you buy of ebay ,when your not near the city you get hooed for delivery.We had no probs with quarentine so cant comment on that ,but have you told them you have video evidence of the bikes being disnfected? we didnt bring safes but did bring toolboxes ,i think the locking may have been an oversight by your agents as we were advised to lock them but secure a key to the top,,they will always want to know youve nothing stashed in them ,,im sorry your having a bad time and hope you can resolve things quickly
Cal x

[EM&M]

Our service was door to door the price we paid Crown was the price for everything.

Em x

[ali]

We used John Mason (Wridgeways at WA end), They told us 10 - 12 weeks (took 12), we gave them our rental address then the address of our new house - not problems delivered it there, asked us what we wanted them to unpack - we said we'd unpack some of the boxes - no prob "just ring us when you've done it and we'll come and collect the empty boxes" - perhaps anyone leaving UK - ask them to carry your bikes to the container.

Ali

[kia1]

HI I HAVE HAD A COUPLE OF QUOTES AND FROM ONE I WAS TOLD THAT I COULDNT HAVE THE CONTAINER SHIPPED OUT TO ARRIVE IN AUS AND TO GOT TO A FRIENDS HOUSE BEFORE WE ARRIVED THERE I WANTED STUFF TO GO OVER SO THAT AS SOON AS I GET A RENTAL I CAN GO STRAIGHT IN.
DO YOU HAVE TO SHOW VIDEOS OF YOU CLEANING CERTAIN STUFF??? WASNT TOLD THIS.

[jeffandmichelle]

thanks everyone for your replies,
yes were not having a bad time were having a great time, just a bad experience with removers and if anyone can benefit, ie by carrying bikes to container, or wrapping card around tyres then thats a good thing i hope, and the picture can show just how fastidious customs are with cleanliness.
thanks

[johatts]

We used Simpsons removals - based in KEnt! They were great.

[jeffandmichelle]

hi kia1, no you dont have to have video footage or photos cleaning stuff, but sometimes its worth clarifying things so if you think youve paid for door to door service, then if there are any extras such as cachment areas etc then this should be explained to you before you make payment in the UK otherwise you could easily beleive someones trying tio have you over.

[TheBrowningFamily]

our bikes were wrapped in the garage as soon as dried from cleaning by the removals, so hopefully we will be ok!
We paid for door to door, but it was specified our address had to be within 100 miles (Not k's) of Brisbane, we are in Beerwah, so guess we will be ok!
Our container got in on 24th March, and should be examined by customs on Tues, so guess we'll know more then!
Eddie and Tina got well stung by customs, they want $450 to spray a mirror frame they have found a bore hole in! Tina told them to destroy it, but apparently they don't have an option, it has to be paid for!

[jeffandmichelle]

Hi Browning family, what removal company did you use?
is dave going for a bsa, just got mine yesterday, ive been working with some sparks, they never heard of armour cable and pull cables through plastic pipes attached to rope, hey keeps you fit though, ive lost 2 stone since December, dont know if its hard work heat or worry ha
re eddie and tina, that is such a shame, ive been present on this job when customs are there and i open the containers in there presence and bring stuff out to be examined, they found a peice of furniture with hundreds of bore holes, they asked me to completely shrink wrap the peices with bore holes, then they returned 48 hours later to check and see if there had been any beetle activity, dont know if he got charged a lot for it though, it wouldnt have mattered to him anyway, hes known to have a few quid.