My relocation experience - so far!

So many people get nervous about shipping in general and always have lots of questions. So hopefully this thread will help you if you are being sponsored by an Australian company.

My OH was offered a job with a mining company whom I coincidentally have worked for in the past. I thought they would be pretty reliable so we thought nothing of letting them handle all the relocation stuff. That included visas, shipping all our stuff, flights and a month in furnished accommodation here in Kalgoorlie. So he took the job and I was also offered another job with a different company. My company would have handled the relocation too and knowing what I know now I wish we had let them do it all.

So, the job was offered in about July last year but we made them aware that we wouldn't be able to move until October, as we had to get our UK house ready to rent out and my OH was working overseas which made handing in his notice difficult. They agreed to all that and we started the 457 visa process. Visas were approved in about 5 weeks. Then we pushed them to start thinking about booking flights, as OH knew from experience they get full fairly quickly and we wanted flights with qantas and at a certain time of day. They delayed in that regard, but then wanted a start date of mid-September. We said, er, no you agreed to beginning of October at the earliest. Anyway that was pretty stressful but they did concede and agree to a start date of 3rd of October. Then they booked the flights and sent us the details, it was the flights we wanted so all good.

So, about 4 weeks before flying we decided on a shipping company (they let us choose which one). We chose Britannia as they had a depot nearby which was important as we are shipping a motorbike, and it was much easier to deal with them at the depot. They came and packed up on the 21st of September and everything was great. Nice friendly removal blokes and they took care in packing everything. So we waved goodbye to our stuff and then did a tour of the country saying goodbye to families etc. For the last week we stayed with OH's sister in Devon. A week before our flight the company sponsoring us contacted us by email to say they'd changed our flights, now they were with singapore and at 11am (being in Devon, that meant a much earlier start to the day than we wanted). At this time we were also tiold by Britannia that our stuff would be taken to the port the next week pending payment from our sponsoring company.

So we flew on down to Kalgoorlie and settled into our temporary accommodation, and started the process of setting up anew. Stressful at first finding a rental, a car and all the rest. But in the back of your mind you know your stuff won't be long, we were expecting it to arrive by mid-December. 3 weeks later, we asked our company to provide us with a ship's name so we could track our container. They said, "hmmm, we haven't paid for it yet, by the way we have our own insurance so we don't need to use Britannia's insurance". We were livid, and so were Britannia. Especially after the contract including their insurance had been signed, and our stuff had been with them for 4 weeks at that point. So we got pretty angry at them and they still dragged their heels, and didn't pay for the shipping for another 4 weeks. At that point we'd wished we'd paid for it ourselves! Having to put up with beanbags to sit on all that time (and still am!)!

Anyway, we finally got news that our ship had set sail, estimated arrival date 26th December into Fremantle. Better late than never but it meant having Christmas in a pretty empty house (our friends came to the rescue though!).

More troubles this week. The shipping company for the Australian side of things gave us the wrong ship name (we did wonder why our stuff was on a ship heading to Antwerp!). And they thought our stuff was being delivered in the Perth Metro area. It goes to show that you might have a great shipping company at the UK end, but it's kind of pot luck when it comes to the Australian side of things. Having said that we've done 3 international moves in the past and never had any problems. Maybe our luck ran out....

Now our ship has been delayed by another 2 weeks.

Sorry to hear that and at Christmas as well. I hope they all think of you when they are sat around their large dining tables on Christmas day surrounded by furniture and their personal belongings :wub:

Thanks, actually we did jokingly ask them which one would be inviting us over for Christmas!

We are very lucky that we have a dozen friends here and some more are visiting from Perth and the UK so I'm really looking forward to Christmas. We're hosting Christmas Breakfast (we had to buy a BBQ anyway) and then going round our friends for Christmas dinner. If we had moved anywhere other than Perth or Kalgoorlie where we didn't know anyone I don't think I would have remained upbeat at all. I would really feel for anyone who is facing Christmas away from family and friends and without any of their belongings.

Well, we've been without our stuff for 3 months now, hopefully only one more to go...

mmmn, I think the reason the ship name was different is because your goods transhipped in Antwerp which is also why the ship name is different. Seems the UK end may have sent a Pre-Alert to the OZ end before the goods sailed and at this point only the first vessel would have been known so this would be the one entered into the systems at the OZ end. This is an issue with the UK end. Same for the final destination. If the pre-alert only advises the port of arrival then the OZ company will assume its for delivery within 50kms. They should receive a full Waybill from the UK end advising the full destination details. Given the arrival date I would have expected the UK end to have sent this by now as your goods will have left 2 weeks ago but they might not and to be frank the OZ end can't do anything until the goods arrive and are brought in for customs inspection anyway. Of course it is possible that the Oz end have been sent the detail and not read it. But I would not write off the Oz end just yet. And it should not be pot luck. If you choose a decent company in the UK their partners in OZ will have been established over many years based on price and service levels.

Sounds like your bigger issues are with your sponsoring company. Fingers crossed that you getting your stuff is the end of it all. Hopefully the clearance and delivery won't take too long. My advice is to keep your move co-ordinator at the OZ end buttered up.

The Oz-end had a copy of our customs form which clearly stated Kalgoorlie, WA (exact address not know yet) as the destination address. They sent us a scan of that very same form with the same email that said it was being delivered in the Perth Metro area. Then the next sentence asked us if we had a residential address for delivery yet. We had let them know our residential address when we moved, 6 weeks ago. I feel like banging my head against a brick wall the number of times we have to repeat the same information.

They also sent us a bill for the customs and clearance fees which we were originally told would be part of the original quote, all payable by the sponsoring company, not us. I think the real test for them will be how they handle our motorbike. When it was checked over prior to shipping not a single scratch or blemish was found by the shipping company, totally clean despite doing 5000 miles in a year.

My OHs contract with the sponsoring company has a tie-in period, if he leaves in under a year we have to repay all shipping expenses, if he leaves between one and two years we pay a pro-rata amount. At least I think we would have grounds to contest that if he did want to leave. He told me last night he's now on call for the next 3 weeks, meaning that he can't leave town and can't have a drink. All because others have gone on holiday and we don't have children! Somehow that translates as meaning that Christmas and New Year aren't as meaningful or special for childless couples.... Better start planning a couple so we can get some more respect!

Our stuff is arriving tomorrow!!!

I am pretty much beside myself with excitement, more so than at Christmas! I was standing in the kitchen the other frustrated by the fact I could microwave something, and then thought 'omg the microwave will be here next week! I have to work tomorrow due to meetings but I'm taking Friday off so I can have 4 days of unpacking and sorting. Over the last 4 months we haven't needed much, and it brings home to you the fact that so many possessions are unnecessary. But it's been 4 months of boredom and here's what we can do as of tomorrow:

Make stuff - I'm into my crafty hobbies which is good when its so darn hot outside

Fix stuff - Andy used to be a mechanic and has brought all of his tools

Go Camping - we have tons of camping gear and didn't want to buy any more, so I hope we can head down to the beaches at Esperance soon

Bake stuff - as with the microwave, I have also missed by food processor, toaster, sandwich press, slow cooker, bread maker (you can tell I like my kitchen gadgets!)

Relax - Music, DVDs, stereo, books

Be comfortable - as grateful as I am for the borrowed futon, I can't wait to sit on my sofa!

Have guests - spare bed, sheets, towels

Just got my finger's crossed that everything is intact!