KirstyLP

This is totally a personal choice the same as most similar services in the UK, tipping is never expected and should absolutely not affect the level of service provided to you by your crew.

Anything that is typically used outdoors, garden furniture, camping equipment, bikes etc. Like with your shoes, make sure these are thoroughly cleaned to remove any traces of dirt.

Check the FIDI website for FAIM certified International Removals companies serving your area. https://www.fidi.org/find-fidi-affiliate FAIM is the only quality standard specifically designed for International Shipping and helps you identify reputatble movers. Certified members pre-vetted to over 200 quality standards to demonstrate they have the qualifications, resources, experience and systems to reduce the risk of anything going wrong. The British Association of Removers website also has links to independent reviews which might also help, look for the 'overseas remover' badge to tell which companies are qualified for international moving as well as local. Hope that helps.

Was just typing a reply here when I realised the OP was from 2015 However, thought the below may be useful for those currently considering so am posting anyway! (Mods, please feel free to remove if this is too much of a delay!) ... Many international removal companies offer a 'shared container' (sometimes called groupage) service to Australia. Your belongings are collected and then loaded in a container with customers moving to the same destination and at the other end they are customs cleared and separated back out (don't worry, they are carefully labelled, inventoried and separated to avoid mix ups) and delivered to your new home. A large Move Cube is around 220cubic feet which you should be able to get as a shared load service easily within that £1500 budget (for a standard move with easy access and no special packing requirements). Check out the FIDI website for a list of certified and independently vetted professional movers you could contact to ask for quotes.

As a guideline, in the industry it's generally accepted that there could be up to a 10% variance in volumes between different surveyors as it's a human process. A good idea to check this isn't because of an error is to ask the companies for a copy of the inventory list of items their volume is based on and check that there aren't any items or rooms missing that might have caused the variance. hope that helps?

I've just had a quick scan, one thing not mentioned is the bio-security inspection charges, most companies exclude these as you don't know what they are until afterwards so you pay them locally (some include them but both methods are common), but I presume they've given you some information on what the potential charges are so you can factor this in. Another tip is check the list they provided, make sure nothing is missed off (if you haven't already done that). Are the dates for going back to do the loading at your storage unit agreed as part of the price or are these open? Only reason that I ask is that if they are open ended then just make sure that your price covers you whenever that is and that your price won't change if the dates slip. Shipping prices can tend to vary seasonally so some quotes are only valid for 28 days unless dates are specified. Indemnity fee for external cleaning is another one that all removal companies do differently and that's your preference. There is always a risk you'll need it but there's also the risk that you'll pay it for no reason! If you want to check your level of comfort with the risk ask them for some stats on how many containers they've had recently that require the cleaning and then make your mind up from there. Hope that helps!

It's next to impossible to compare one person's quote with another too closely because there are so many variables in putting together an international removals price, which is why we typically say 3 quotes allows you to benchmark your own move, so as long as you're happy the PSS quote includes everything you've asked for and need then that looks in the right ball park for a 20ft container to Australia. Crates are a personal preference, they are great if you're worried about something getting damaged that is of more than just financial value to you, but if you're happy that your cover allows you to replace it and you don't mind doing so if it does get damaged then that's probably a risk you're willing to take for the saving in cost.

Hi Simon and Sian, Yes, this is standard practice so don't panic. Are they a member of BAR Overseas? if so your payment is protected by an Advance Payment Guarantee, meaning in the event that the worst happens and they go out of business after you've paid but before service is completed that another BAR member will step in to complete the service OR you'll be refunded. If they aren't a member, please check with them if they've any payment protection or guarantees in place. In terms of double checking your quote, make sure you've asked if anything is excluded from your quote, that you're happy they've covered all the services you've asked them for (e.g. any crating, dismantling etc.) and that their move plan (time scales etc.) meets your needs. If you've had other quotes to compare (3 is the magic number) then make sure there isn't anything on the others that jumps out as missing or vastly different that you'd want to double check (e.g. if the volume was much different). With the insurance check that it covers the period of time your goods are in storage too. Hope that helps!

If the quotes are completely like for like in all but transit time (e.g. they are providing the same services (any crating / dismantling etc.); have the same inclusions/exclusions; are quoting for the same volume; insurance fees etc.) then it comes down to your evaluation of their quality of customer experience (e.g. based on reviews you've read; your experience of their service so far; their professional qualification etc.) and how important that transit time is to you. As @rammygirlsays if this is your deciding factor then ask for the proposed sailing date and find out if there is any likelihood this could slip, is it estimated and could be more than 10 days if they struggle to fill the container or is this guaranteed? Hope that helps!

Hope this helps!

Airfreight is the quickest method and suitable if you're only taking the basic essentials or if you're moving with an employer who gives you an air freight allowance. If you're shipping by sea then it depends on the method of shipment. Quickest will be 8-11 weeks if you have your own exclusive use container or Less than Container Load (LCL) shipment (which is where your shipment is packed by your moving company, crated and sent via a consolidator, customs cleared and collected by your mover for delivery back to you). If you use a groupage shared load service where your removal company loads your shipment with other customers of theirs heading to the same destination you could be looking at up to 12-16 weeks. Hope that helps? Hope that helps!

technically you CAN pack your own boxes although different removal companies have different policies and yes, you're right this is mostly because of insurance as they may only be able to offer total loss coverage if they've not done the packing but also partially to reduce the risk of things getting packed that might cause customs issues. Any particular reason you'd like to do your own packing or is this just a personal preference?

Usually this is worked out as a % of your value of goods for international shipping but that % varies depending on what shipping company you use. As well as the initial premium don't forget to check the excess and any exclusions i.e. mould and mildew, pairs and sets or mechanical issues to make sure you're comparing like for like cover.

if you want to do some independent research there is good info on this .gov site on import requirements, what you can and can't take etc. as well as common items of concern (which although not banned may be subject to additional scruting) http://www.agriculture.gov.au/travelling/moving-immigrating hope that helps!

I can understand that concern, there are definitely some stories of bad experiences out there but hopefully these are the exception rather than the rule. I think this really comes down to the company you use and their processes. One thing to look out for to help make sure you only shortlist companies who have been pre-vetted for security is FIDI FAIM certification (and who only use FIDI FAIM agents at destination too). FIDI audits members to make sure their processes remove these sort of risks and that they don't have unacceptably high levels of insurance claims. With our shared containers for example the items are all collected from customers individually by our crews (with optional packing service) and loaded into a container at our depot. All the items are numbered and inventory produced for each customer at collection and you'll be provided a copy so things don't get mixed up or lost. The container is then sealed with a security seal and shipped, the only people who may access it during transport are Australian Customs (who will also open and look in your move cube) and then the whole container is collected, separated out by our crews at the other end and delivered back to you and checked off against the inventory. I don't personally know how the pricing works out for MoveCube so can't tell you if it would be the same sort of cost, so my tip would be to get a survey to check the volume and go from there. MoveCube suggest the average full 3 bed house would require 4 to 5 1/2 Large Move cubes ( know you're not taking a full house but you could work back from there) so once you know your actual volume you can work out how many you'd need and compare your costs.