jomac

23 hours ago, The Pom Queen said:

Also @jomac you say it was last year. Has it taken this long for the company to get back to you? Did they have it in storage? Crown did something very similar when we moved up to Cairns they outsourced. On arrival day they decided they were going to charge us more because the road in was steep. They started unloading and I went off to do something. All the boxes had been placed in the garage but then they brought out two push bikes and I said they aren't ours, so they put them to one side and went to the next item which was a large mirror and I said that also isn't mine. It turns out they had picked up the wrong container at the depo. They nearly missed half of the items when they had to put them all back. 

I would say they will be with the other people who shared the container, let's hope they are honest as personal items hold no value to them

I can't believe how often it seems these companies do stuff up and cut corners! Like I said, we paid for a private container and maybe the other people who had stuff in our one did receive our belongings, but I just meet dead ends all the time. I think what happened is the sub contractor only put half our belongings in the right container and the rest went elsewhere. We have been chasing this up a year and only just getting answers now.

apparently they have nothing of ours in storage. But I also don't think they are doing the best investigation work either! I can't even get the names of the other containers that went on the same boat as the sub contractor has reportedly gone out of business.

The forward freighter here also failed to tell us they had only unloaded 56 items. They sent an email to the company in Oz but didn't even think to copy us in, even when I queried it at the time.

23 hours ago, ScottieGirl said:

Sorry to hear about this I would be gutted too. One thing that strikes me as unusual is rhe amount of stuff you lost. I can understand the odd box going astray but 76 items?? Including large furniture?? I assume they were labelled, mine were. If that amount were misdelivered it would be noticed.

Have you thought about reporting the items as stolen?  I imagine the police could access the sub contractors info quite easily and a simple conversation  might shed light on where the stuff is even if it is an honest stuff up

To be honest, I too was so shocked that so much went missing, even large pieces of furniture could go - but it's odd as it's like half the sofa was delivered and the cushions etc are missing! A bed frame, but not the mattress. It was all labelled, wrapped and a sticker with a bar code. There would also have been enough personal paperwork and photos in there to put together a trail. I might threaten to report to the police actually. Good idea! 

Hi, thanks for the nice comments and advice. I am prepared to spend time on this and your suggestions give me a good place to start. There are so many gaps I need to fill and don't know where to begin or even the whole process. 

My hope was that they may be left in a warehouse somewhere, but I guess that's hope. Even if the items have been destroyed I need to try to build up a picture of what has happened so I can put together a good legal claim. The sentimental and personal items made up the bulk of the shipment and I am beyond sick to the stomach....

However, I'm living in hope! 

We arranged for our household belongings to be shipped from Australia to London last year.  Became aware during delivery to our UK address that many items were missing. 
We have finally heard from the shipping company Metromovers, they have made a huge error in that they sub contracted the job to another company who did not put all our belongings into the correct private container we paid for and actually used a shared container, therefore most items have been lost. Possibly even shipped to other countries. The sub contractors have gone out of business, so it's getting hard to put together a trail.  We are talking about huge items of furniture - parts of sofas, beds, washing machines etc, but most importantly irreplaceable and sentimental personal items.  

They have accepted liability, but that is not good enough. I am more interested in getting my belongings back. My wedding dress, photos, childhood belongings are among some of the missing items.

Can anybody with inside knowledge give me advice about how I can go about finding any of these things? Out of 126 items, we received 56, meaning 70 items are missing. 

The company responsible has said they are investigating, but I know they will not go about it with as much determination and passion as I will. 
Has this ever happened to anyone else?

I am prepared to exhaust every possibility and do have the time to spend on this.
ANY advice or help appreciated!
Thanks

Hi

 

I was wondering if there is anyone who can recommend a company for shipping our stuff to Melbourne from London. We dont have a lot of stuff, only 6 or so boxes. Finding it hard to get a company that we know or have had recommended so we know our stuff will arrive safely.

If anyone has any recommendations they would be greatly received!!

Hiya,

I used Anglo Pacific, mainly because they are based near to where we were in London and they were convenient for me to pick up boxes as and when I needed them.

They charged approx 600 pounds for 14 boxes to be taken door to door (West London - Gold Coast). Shipping time will be 2 months and I expect mine to be delivered in October - hopefully with everything in one piece!

Cheers for that jomac. I'm off on my tourist visa in 2 weeks so it's good to know it was all ok. I'm clutching at straws that our co will take pity on us and grant before I leave but probably won't happen. I wish it was quicker though, I've now lost out on 2 jobs I could have had because they couldn't wait indefinitly for me to get my visa. Even a date might have done. And as we get closer to Xmas job prospects lessen.

Hi Martinandbianca,

Yes it is hard to not know. I asked my CO if he was able to grant it in August so I would only have to leave the country once, but he sent a standard reply that processing times are currently 5-6 months and he would advise me when it was time to grant my visa. Sods law, the day I got back from Fiji I was emailed to say my visa was ready to be granted and I had to leave the country! If I had booked my Fiji visa trip a week later we would have only left once. I wouldn't even try to think about jobs just yet, I applied for a few before my visa was granted and didn't even get a response. A few other Brits here on the GC feel they are 3rd in line to the Aussie and then Kiwi job applicants, so it's a bit hard. Good luck with your applications :smile:

Hi All,

Just an update for the timeline and stats...

Had my Aussie Temporary residency granted and activated this week.

Was notified by my C/O in early August that the visa was ready to be granted, but as I was in Australia already on a tourist visa, I was expected to leave for at least 3 working days as my initial application was made offshore. Arranged a short trip to NZ, the day I arrived in NZ, received an email from my C/O to say the visa was ready and gave me my visa number and explained I am now free to travel to and from Oz when I like.

I found the whole process to be pain free and very smooth and relatively simple - we did it all ourselves, no agent. We have been lucky with our C/O and even luckier that he allowed me to remain in Oz with my husband on a tourist visa since May (had to do a quick flit to Fiji in August at the 3 month stage, but no hardship there!) The fact I had to leave twice has been very expensive, but we factored that into our budget and were fortunate the timing for my visa trips was during low season. The whole process took just 5 months. We are now settling into life on the Gold Coast and expecting a new addition to the family next year

Good luck to all!

Hi,

I thought an off shore application meant you had to be "off shore" when it was granted. (Out of the country)

Are you allowed to wait out the time on Oz?

Hiya,

yes, we do have to be offshore when it is granted and my CO already made sure we understand that we will have to be out of the country a few days before. He said he will email me a few days in advance and then I will have to leave, which is cool. I can go to a friend in NZ and we have allowed for all that in terms of our budget etc.

He has given us permission for me to stay in Oz and to apply for our daughter's citizenship there (we will also be flying to Singapore for Husband's business in a while too, so that means I won't be in Oz for 3 months straight anyway). Lots of people go there on tourist visas and wait it out, just feel lucky that we are able to do so!

Really? Congrats on getting out there so quickly! Is this something you requested when you initially lodged your application? Wish we were doing the same, but we're using these last 6 months to save like mad! :twitcy:

Yes we requested it straight away and he gave me permission the same day to travel on a tourist visa. We were meant to apply ages ago, and I had to give up my job so they could find a replacement, so I have been sitting around in London, with hubby in Oz for months, so the quicker we are there and our place rented out, the better it will be all round. Yes it's an expensive process:arghh:!!

DO IT!!! BOOK IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you know you want to!! im on cloud nine now!!! everything is falling into place for me now!!!me house is sorted, me tickets are sorted, the VISA is j=due by jul/august... just have to save save save!!!

I don't have my visa either, but our CO seems really relaxed and has given us the all clear to enter Oz on tourist visas while we wait for the spouse to process and our daughter's citizenship application (which we will do in Oz) ..... we leave next Sunday!!! My place is upside down trying to pack and have some repairs/painting done in a week. I must be crazy, but this whole process is totally crazy really. Mixed emotions, feeling very sad to leave family and friends, but all falling into place at last!

Hello to the ever increasing people on the March/April time line.

Our C/O asked for Meds last week and it's been a bit of a struggle getting a quick date. Maidenhead is our closest, but the soonest they could offer was the 6th May! Tried Knightsbridge instead and they said 28th March (lots of us wanting to emmigrate!) Today they rang to say they had space on the 21st. Hurrah!

Anyone else be there then??

Hi Tracy,

I used Knightsbridge for my meds. The examination was pretty quick and routine. I was asked to provide another piece of information about a minor condition I have, and there seemed to be no drama related to that either. I did however, make it very clear that I wanted a copy of my report in case the original went missing. When I rang Knightsbridge to ask for the copy, I was told there wasn't one and the post it note saying 'please copy' must have fallen off my file, and it had already been sent to Australia House. I had my medical done in October 2010 and sent the visa application off in March 2011, so was a bit worried my docs my get lost in the system, but my CO says it's all there.

Hope it all goes well with you at Knightsbridge!

Jo

Also should we get the kids their passporrts before we send the wifes application off to put some more weight to hers.

 

 

any help would be appreciated.:err:

Hello,

I have recently submitted my application for spouse visa, and my CO wrote back to say that they will not continue with my application unless our daughter has been registered as Australian by descent, or we have an Aussie passport for her, so probably best to get those for your kids before you apply. Apparently it only takes a short time.

Jo

Hey Jomac

 

All answers from Immigration are ambiguous in my experience. Its almost a case of if you dont ask a specific question that they can answer yes or no to, then they try to be as vague as possible. I was also once wrongly informed when I called to ask a question about whether I could appeal my 'no further stay clause' so when I did based on their advice I was actually denied. My suggestion would be to always err on the side of caution. As tourist visas are handled by a different department they really dont know the ins and outs of them. I had to jump through quite a few hoops to get my initial tourist visa (12 months) so if you can get away with going for 3 months and doing it online, I would. If you want me to post what they said about going to live with my partner on my tourist visa just let me know.

Hi Mjandmum

Thanks for that, yes it would be helpful to know what they said to you about living with your partner on a tourist visa. I am only worried that I may initially get in to Oz fine, then have to leave after the 3 months, then be refused entry back to Oz when I try again for the next 3 months. That would be a disaster as we are taking a gamble it will work and starting our daughter in school there too. If I get refused entry again and have to return to UK, we will have no school place for her! It's a big worry... Hubby is too optimistic! You can PM me if you wish.

Thanks

Jo

Hiya,

 

We got our daughter's certificate by descent and Australian passport in Feb. It only took about a week to process each so your application shouldn't be delayed too long.

 

My CO has been really efficient so far and replied to my e-mails immediately. Could just have been a fluke but here's hoping he's always like that. My husband has his final 'informal chat' with his soon-to be-employer tonight at 11pm (8am over there), thank god for skype although he's not an evening person so a few Red Bull are on my shopping list today! Fingers crossed it all goes well for him and I sort out a tourist visa this week.

 

I agree with you that it would be more straight forward staying put until the spouse visa comes through and if this job offer falls through we'll be doing just that. The tourist visa route just adds to the headache :wacko:

Good luck with the job chat. Let us know how you go! Thanks for letting me know about the time frame for the descent and certificate. We will apply later this week, when my hubby arrives from Oz. I asked my CO about applying for a 6mth tourist visa, and he seems to think it's ok to do that, but I ahve to admit, I'm either really thick, or his emails are answered very ambiguously, so feel like I'm not really getting a straight answer!!

:confused:

Thanks a million Attypodian! Your're so right much better to paint the whole picture! We have mine done, and waiting for his from Oz so I might go with 3 from me and two from him. Phonewise, yep good idea to just say why we don't have the itemised bills. We are going to submit some emails but just a smattering to give an idea of dates and so on, same with photos we think.

 

Thanks again for your help!! So good to be on the forum helps maintain sanity levels, hope there'll be some more subclass 300's in the April gang!

Hey Pin up,

I thought I would add my bit. We submitted 3 different 888s 1 from a friend of mine in london, 1 from a friend of Hubby who lives in London and 1 from hubby's aunty in Oz, who we have stayed with on many occasions. I included numerous photos, dated and named the people in them and where it was to show we spend time in both places, with family members and friends too.

I also had lots of our emails in my archive and took screen shots of my inbox just to show the subject heading, dates and who they were between. That way, you don't need to disclose any personal content. I only sent in a few pages from over the years as there were loads. I also photocopied joint invites, cards and letters we had received, as well as any other documentation I thought would show we are a genuine couple. I agree about the phone calls, ask provider to write a letter. As a long shot and you probably have tried, but what about online billing as that keeps itemised bills for over a year? Or how about copies of bank statements to show the cost of the phone bills? If you are anything like us, your extortionate bills will reflect your long distance calls!

Hope that helps!

Jo

Oops, forgot to quote the post I was replying to. How long are you gonna get the tourist visa for? I think I'll need to do the same things as my husband has been offfered his dream job in Melbourne which he'll need to start in 2 months. I'll move to Scotland and stay with my parents for a month or so (and give them their final fix of their 18 month old granddaughter). Hopefully our furniture will have arrived by then and OH will have secured accommodation for us. My head's wasted trying to process all this change!!:arghh:

Hiya Amanda,

I have asked if we can go on a tourist visa, and I already have a 3 month visa valid from when I was there in August last year, but allows multiple entry for 12 months. I will be leaving there in July for a few days with my husband to go to Singapore for his work, then returning again to Australia, where I plan to stay until my spouse visa is granted. I expect I will have to apply for another 3 month tourist visa by then as my current one will be out of date. Beginning to sound complicated now, I may just apply for a new 3 month tourist visa now that is valid for 12 months!!

I was very clear about clarifying with my CO that I was allowed and his response was:

I can confirm that you are able to travel to Australia if you are granted a tourist visa whilst your application is being processed and this will not affect your migrant visa application.

I guess the important thing in that sentence is IF you are granted a tourist visa. (and he wrote in another email that I will be assessed against the visa criteria for that subclass - but I haven't heard of anyone being refused a tourist visa!)

He also clearly stated that I must leave Oz for 3 days for my spouse visa to be granted and I can go anywhere in the world for that.

It's a lot of messing around and personally, I would be satisfied to wait in London til the spouse visa is granted, as we have to take our daughter out of school 8 weeks before the end of term, but my husband wants us there. My head is done in too!

I notice you too have a child. Is she a registered aussie citizen by descent yet? They will not continue with my application til we have registered our daughter or showed them her aussie passport.

You may be able to apply for a 6 month tourist visa, best to ask CO your options. I emailed my one the day I first heard from him as others have reported not hearing back for ages.

Hope that helps,

Jo

Hi mjandmum, jomac, TracyC and attypodian!

 

It's exciting to see we are all on a similar timeline! Good luck with everything in the next few weeks - meds, PC's and all that!

 

TracyC where abouts in Sydney are you looking? That's where we are headed!

 

Last one's a rotten egg?

Hey Sam,

Good to have you part of the crew! Keep us updated on your progress. Good luck with it all, us lot on the same time line might have to start our own thread!

Jo

Hi Jo. We will be going to Sydney. My OH has a brother and Mum over there who he'd like to be near to. I go through stages ranging from excitement and ' I can't wait' to OMG 'I'm a bit scared'.

We will have to sell the house to free up the money to move, but also, I think I'll feel a bit happier having some money available for 'emergencies'.

Look forward to seeing how we all progress

Tracy

I feel the same as you! At the moment, I am OMG, I'm scared, because it's suddenly all happening now, but also cos Gold Coast couldn't be more different from london. Would much rather Sydney. My hubby also has family that he wants to be near to, but sometimes a bit full on for me! Also sad to be leaving family and friends, but aren't we all I guess?! :confused:

Hi jomac and attypodian - hope you don't mind me intruding on your conversation, but it's exciting to see others are working on the same time scale as myself. Application posted on the 25/3/11 and an email today (1/4/11) from my case officer (WP) asking for some more paperwork and meds.

I was hoping to be able to hand my notice in at the end of May, which meant working until July but by reading the majority of posts it does seem like applications are taking the full 5-6 months. I'll now have to rethink plans for putting house on market.

Be great to keep up to date on how your visa is processing too!

Hi Tracy

Of course you are very welcome to join in the conversations about our time line and keep us up to date with your progress, it's great to see how we are all getting on with our applications. I'm busy packing up my stuff now as I have been given permission to go out there on a tourist visa and we leave in 4 weeks today, all being well. Not selling my home though, and only working freelance now, so it's going to be a busy few weeks here!

Where are you headed once you get the visa?

Jo :jiggy:

That's great news! Seems like they haven't asked for much. (You front loaded your meds didn't you?)

 

We haven't heard anything yet :wacko: Fingers crossed for next week. To be honest, it's been such a big week this week that I don't mind not having a CO yet... along with the visa app, I applied for, and got (in a scarily quick timeframe) a new job (with better pay which will help save the pennies for the move) but it leaves the task of resigning for Monday :eek: I guess I hate disappointing people but the new job is much better and I have to think of what's best for me and my OH - and our impending move down under - but I can't mention the move down under when resigning because me and my OH work for the same company and we don't want them to think he's leaving too :arghh: so, it's been an emotional week!

 

Have a good weekend :-)

Oh my goodness, what a lot to deal with! Congrats on the new job. Got to be careful of employers hearing about plans for travel etc. I had to pack in my job in Jan so they could find a replacement, but they let me do lots of freelance work which is great.

My case officer is AB and has already responded with my request to travel to Australia in May while my spouse visa is being processed. I think he says we can go!

Yes we front loaded and they have my meds and cleared them.

Have a great weekend and Good luck with Monday! :eek:

OH just told me that the money has been taken from his account!! He's in a bit of shock as we weren't expecting it so soon.

 

Now just waiting for a CO to make contact...

I got assigned my CO and he wrote to me today asking for more info. Police check - already applied for and waiting and my daughter's aussie passport. OMG, the ball is rolling fast now! Bet it stops for ages tho......

Have you heard anything yet?

Thanks jomac its nice to know someone out there understands my frustrations and good luck to you too, I hope for once the process goes smoothly and allows you to make plans in your life to reunite you all once and for all! Where abouts in Oz are you headed?

We are heading to the Gold Coast. How about you?

I'm not chasing anyone. I simply worried when I hadnt heard anything within the specified time frame (given in an email from immigration) only to find out my agent had heard over 8 days ago and had not notified me when they promised they would. And then also answered incorrectly to a question asked by the case officer when they should have known better.

I would be annoyed at your agent too. They should have let you know the progress of your application and consulted you before responding. I can empathise with you about your family being apart, we have a 7 year old and, for various reasons, have spent most of her life living in separate countries from my husband. We have tried to tie my visa being granted in with the school terms, and it's very difficult to pre empt what they may say about processing times. It's hard not to get stressed and frustrated about these things that hugely impact on our lives, but over which we have no control.

Keep strong and if I were you, I would be on that agent's case!

OH just told me that the money has been taken from his account!! He's in a bit of shock as we weren't expecting it so soon.

 

Now just waiting for a CO to make contact...

Me too! My docs arrived Oz House on Monday, and payment was processed the same day. Funny how there isn't a 5-6 month wait for that bit!!

I think our application has arrived at AH! I say I think because I left the tracking number at home :em0300: but remembered the first half and kinda guessed the rest and somehow got lucky, and it says delivered!

 

Fortunately we are together here in the UK but I do know what it's like to be separated because a couple of years ago when I had to renew my visa, I had to do it in Oz and it took two and a half months, so we were separated for most of that.

I've just tracked mine and it has arrived at Oz house too! All systems go, I hope!

We have mostly lived apart since Aug 2009, but luckily, my hubby works for himself so he is able to travel over a fair bit. Costing a fortune though!