kaoticturtle Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Hi everyone I've done a search around the forums and via google and I'm still confused so I thought I would ask for your combined wisdom! My husband and I have been having various shipping companies in to quote over the last two weeks and are now at the stage of having to consider which one we will go with. We've ruled out one because we didn't like the sales rep and have heard a few things online that confirm our views. One other has also been ruled out as they don't have a preferred supplier at the other end. This has left us with three, two of which we are really quite keen on and a third which is close behind. We haven't had all the quotes through yet but we expect them to be roughly similar. We've just discovered today that one of the companies we liked (Crown) isn't FIDI registered while the other two are. I know its a good thing for the companies to have, but what guarantees does it actually give? If we went with them, what risk would we not be covered for? I would have ruled them out instantly but they have seemed very helpful so far, the rep was good and there are quite a few good reviews on here for them. All have the overseas BAR accreditation but I think that only covers this end of the move and not the Australian side. Is that correct? Cheers KT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakeboard1980 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 We shipped to Aus with. Down out of Leeds/Manchester and they were great at both ends. We shipped from Sydney back to the UK at the end of last year with a FIDI company and had quite a few issues. These were just our experiences sorry I cant answer your question specifically Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I've just done a google search as well and found the FIDI website. From what I can gather reading this FIDI offers protection to the removal companies more than to the people they are moving. While you might think that this means you gain no benefit what it does do is ensure the company in Australia that has been booked to collect your goods from the dock and deliver them to you are guaranteed to be paid. I may be wrong but I think that means if the UK company you used went bust without paying the Australian company the Australian company would still provide you the service and would receive payment from the FIDI compensation. Not being a member may mean that you could have to pay the Australian company again. I could be wrong about this though and I hope someone else will be along to correct me if I am. FIDI also have a code of ethics and quality standards which in theory should mean a better service but in practise probably doesn't make that much difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirstyLP Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Hi everyone I've done a search around the forums and via google and I'm still confused so I thought I would ask for your combined wisdom! My husband and I have been having various shipping companies in to quote over the last two weeks and are now at the stage of having to consider which one we will go with. We've ruled out one because we didn't like the sales rep and have heard a few things online that confirm our views. One other has also been ruled out as they don't have a preferred supplier at the other end. This has left us with three, two of which we are really quite keen on and a third which is close behind. We haven't had all the quotes through yet but we expect them to be roughly similar. We've just discovered today that one of the companies we liked (Crown) isn't FIDI registered while the other two are. I know its a good thing for the companies to have, but what guarantees does it actually give? If we went with them, what risk would we not be covered for? I would have ruled them out instantly but they have seemed very helpful so far, the rep was good and there are quite a few good reviews on here for them. All have the overseas BAR accreditation but I think that only covers this end of the move and not the Australian side. Is that correct? Cheers KT Great questions KT. Hopefully I can help: FIDI is the worlds largest professional association of removal companies, to be a member companies must hold FAIM accreditation. To achieve accreditation the company must pass a strict external audit by FIDI every 2 years which looks at over 200 defined quality standards including Financial stability, quality of resources (vehicles, packing materials, warehousing etc), knowledge and experience of staff, insurance claims, complaints and quality feedback, they audit the processes involved in international moving (For example booking processes, customer correspondence, freight management) and a whole host of other areas, basically their aim is to ensure that everything is in place to ensure a quality service is provided and that all loop holes are closed to reduce the risk of any problems occurring during a move. The company I work for for example choose to be FIDI FAIM accredited to provide you with evidence that they we a quality moving company, after all, we can all build a nice website and send out a great sales person, but how do you know who to trust? By moving with a company that is FIDI FAIM accredited you aren't eliminating entirely the chance of anything going wrong, because moving is a physical process and there are some elements outside of the movers control, however, the if a company meets the strict FIDI FAIM standards (And ensuring any partners they use do too) you get peace of mind that these risks are as far reduced as possible. FIDI also provide expert training services which we use to ensure our staff knowledge and skills are kept up to date and are the best in the industry. That being said, you don't HAVE to be FIDI FAIM accredited to perform international moving, it is the choice of the mover and there may be a good reason Crown are not. Why not have a chat with them about your concerns here and see what they say? BAR Overseas is also important as they provide something called the Advance payment guarantee. This means that should anything happen to the company you book with during your move (i.e. they get into financial difficulty and shut down) that your payment is protected and that the BAR will arrange for another BAR overseas member to complete your services without you incurring any additional costs. This is only important for the mover you sign your contract with and as a UK association it's usually only the UK moving company that will be a member and not their overseas agent. Hope that helps but if you want anything clarifying just let me know! good luck with your move! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaoticturtle Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Thanks everyone - that is really helpful to get your views and experiences. I think I'll ask Crown about it and see what their response is KTY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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