neila72 Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Saw these four yesterday in a marathon mover day..! 1. Crown 2. Doree Bonner 3. White and Co 4. John Mason Initial impressions are that White and JM are the front runners, particularly JM, who offered some great advice and instilled confidence that they would take care of my stuff door-to-door. Doree Bonner turned up 30 mins late and his phone rang constantly... put it on silent..! Don't wish to ever hear a Guns & Roses ringtone for as long as I live..! :mad: Also, DB was in and out in about 45 mins and didn't leave a great impression, so unless their price is really appealing, I'm probably going to pass. Crown were good, but told me they would be more expensive as they provided a better service (which I'd expect anyway) then proceeded to say no removal co can ever guarantee it will go smoothly....! So why bother paying a premium then, I though..? Hmmm. Actually just had the initial quote back from Crown for a 20ft container to Perth just shy of £5K..! Way more than I expected. I'm assuming this includes their insurance (3.5%) and AQUIS fee, but they don't break down the quote, which I find disconcerting, so I don't know what's included, etc... Interested in other peoples thoughts on my experiences so far and how they have faired in this process. UPDATE: John Mason has come back with a quote of £3,410 for a 20ft container, which does not include the AQUIS fee of about $500. This is almost £1600 less than Crown, who include the AQUIS fee. Still a big difference. White and Co have now quoted £3,685 for a 20ft (volume 960 cf) excl AQUIS of $500. So adding on the AQUIS both JM and White are a good £1k lower than Crown. That's a big difference. Would I really see a grand difference in service going with Crown..? I know they are Crown in Oz too, but both JM and White assured me of the service from their partners in Oz, and experiences I've read on here for both are overall good. Anyone any thoughts on this? In terms of consultations I did like JM the best, and then White, so this also helps I think. Any advice on anything I'm missing when going back to these companies? Cheers all. :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirstyLP Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 You sound pretty switched on, so I'm sure you've already got this, but just a reminder, It's really important to make sure you go back to Crown and get them to break down that quote. Many companies wont include the insurance (as it's optional) and most wont include AQIS (because it varies, although some do). So when you compare make sure you know this information so you don't get any surprises later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBlean Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Saw these four yesterday in a marathon mover day..! "...no removal co can ever guarantee it will go smoothly....! So why bother paying a premium then, I though..? Hmmm." He didn't say it wouldn't go smoothly, simply that no company could GUARANTEE there wouldn't be a problem of some sort or another. Would you prefer honestly or a glib "We guarantee it door to door". Easy to promise, difficult if not impossible to deliver. For example, once your container is on the ship, do you think your mover has a guy sitting there ensuring it gets unloaded smoothly and that the captain avoids a potential hurricane en route? There are so many potential problems that are out of the movers hands that nobody can 'guarantee' the move will be 100% perfect. It is likely to be so but at least your expectations have been set correctly by the Crown people. For example, how would you feel when the JM guy apologises and tells you your container fell off the ship in a storm? So much for looking after your stuff door to door! We used Crown to relocate to Brisbane bringing all our household effects and a car in a 40ft container (admittedly we weren't paying) and the service was very good. Three items were damaged and they recompensed without quibble. We did have one problem and that was due to us living in a narrow lane meaning they had to collect all our stuff in a small van (several times) and transport to their depot to load into the container. Having made 5 trips we were told we had reached capacity when, in fact, there was more room in the container. Just call them and ask for a breakdown. But do the same with the others so you are absolutely sure you are comparing apples with apples. We subsequently shipped some additional furniture groupage with Crown and that went totally smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neila72 Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 I understand what your saying, and I know no company can make guarantees, but to say we charge more for a better service that has no guarantees, makes me wonder what extra I'd be paying for. I will go back and ask for a breakdown in costs. The consultant did say the AQUIS fee was included, but nothing on the insurance. £5K is way higher than I was expecting, and more than I've seen quoted on this forum, so I was surprised. Whichever co I go with I'm gonna haggle the price down anyway, but £5K is a high place to start! :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBlean Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I seem to recall Crown have their own folks at the docks (or something like that) whereas most companies don't. But just ask them what it is about their service that makes them believe they can charge more. If it ain't convincing, you know what to do! Also, check the rates (per unit volume). A lower quote may end up being invoiced at a much higher level because the mover has under-estimated the volume. Whilst you are paying for a complete container, the packing costs will vary with volume and the number of items. As I said previously, make sure you are comparing apples with apples. Good luck with whichever firm you go with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 It can also depend which vessels they ship on. We are paying a bit more for a faster ship - gets into port 10 days earlier. Worth asking for the schedules rather than a vague estimate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen85 Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I've used Pickfords and Crown I wouldn't recommend Crown as they were quick to remove everything but didn't take much care and actually broke one of our double beds after they thought it was a good idea to drop the base of the ensemble off the balcony onto the truck, obviously didn't end up that way! Mind you that was from Sydney they were good in Perth, more careful. I have used Pickfords 4 times and never had a complaint they packed the goods into the truck carefully and even double wrapped some of my fragiles for me. All arrived on time and in one piece, slightly more than the others but worth the money I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest littlesarah Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 It was over 4 years ago now, but we used Doree Bonner and were happy with the service. We suffered one minor breakage (not worth claiming on insurance - $7 to replace glass in a mirror), and all else arrived safely, including the three items I specifically asked the packers to take extra care of (one of which is a rare ceramic lamp, which they wrapped and placed inside a spare empty plastic box). I think a lot of variability comes with the rep who makes the quote. At least one of the ones we had round seemed too much like a pushy car salesman for my liking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 I always advocate getting three quotes and going for the lowest. I would not make a decision based upon the salesman that comes round, you will never see that person again. In my four years on forums, I have never seen anything to suggest that any remover is better than all the others or worse than all the others, that I shy I would pick on price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest66881 Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 We used Crown to get our goods here three years ago, cost us all in £3700, not one item we received in the rooms they unpacked our goods into was broken, they removed all the rubbish and we asked to keep a few boxes for our usage, and they obliged. We had a date for arrival given and it came that day, they phoned us an hour before arriving at the front door, three guys two trolleys and a great service was had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bora Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 And how often do you spend twice Rupert, very often I'd imagine with a buy the cheapest attitude. Shope for quality not price I say. You will also find people buy from people, then the business and its service. Its not about price, its about the value of your money spent, and the peace of mind that comes with. This should be the basis of your decision making. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen85 Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 And how often do you spend twice Rupert, very often I'd imagine with a buy the cheapest attitude. Shope for quality not price I say. You will also find people buy from people, then the business and its service. Its not about price, its about the value of your money spent, and the peace of mind that comes with. This should be the basis of your decision making. Agree something like removalists I don't think cheapest is best you need to make a decision based on everything not just the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 And how often do you spend twice Rupert, very often I'd imagine with a buy the cheapest attitude. Shope for quality not price I say. You will also find people buy from people, then the business and its service. Its not about price, its about the value of your money spent, and the peace of mind that comes with. This should be the basis of your decision making. Perhaps you just didn't understand my post or this thread, because it is not about purchasing generally and I am not sure where I have said always buy the cheapest for everything. I have said that in my years on immigration forums (about 5), I have read hundreds of threads about removalists. And I have detected no pattern whatsoever in terms of who is a good removalist and who is not. There are people that have had good experiences with Pickfords and people that have not, same for the rest of the removalists. So I say it again, get three quotes, go for the cheapest and then put your time into the really important things about a move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neila72 Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 Thanks Rupert. Good advice. Just so happens the lowest quote so far is with John Mason, who did a great consultation also, so they are the frontrunners so far. Crown are over a £1k more expensive, and I agree, I cannot see where I'd be getting better value going with them, as all do a very similar job and none can guarantee everything will go without any issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Just double check whats included in your quotes. I know Crown include some costs others dont and they have been known to drop a few $$$ if you tell them your other quotes. Personally, what swung it for me it was a lot to do with the fact Sub contractors were not used and it was Crown here too, id read a few horror stories about subbies and didn't want the hassle if something went wrong. JM dont seem to get bad feedback on here and plenty of members have used them, so either way i dont think you will go far wrong. Just go with who you feel will give you the better service. Good luck with everything Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubic Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 We got a quote from Crown which was about 800 more than the others when other things were taken in to account. I liked the service offered by Crown so went back to them and they reduced their price by about 600 and I did go with them and was very happy with the service. It sounds like you're happy with JM, but it's always worth asking what their lowest price would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathancowen Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Hiya, we used global moving systems (or something like that) they were pretty good, only broke a few bits and the price was almost half of what other companies wanted. Good luck Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neila72 Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 We got a quote from Crown which was about 800 more than the others when other things were taken in to account. I liked the service offered by Crown so went back to them and they reduced their price by about 600 and I did go with them and was very happy with the service. It sounds like you're happy with JM, but it's always worth asking what their lowest price would be. Good advice. I'll have that conversation with Crown. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauljleonard Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 We went with doree bonner. First time were great, this time it was the complete opposite. . Now they have lost three of our boxes and have asked us for a cost for what is missing. Has this happened to anyone before. To I give an estimate or do I need to be specific. Thanks.,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest62720 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 We went with doree bonner. First time were great, this time it was the complete opposite. . Now they have lost three of our boxes and have asked us for a cost for what is missing. Has this happened to anyone before. To I give an estimate or do I need to be specific. Thanks.,. Did you take out insurance with them or through an independent provider ? Either way simply state what was in each box and the cost to replace them as new. Try and be as accurate as possible. Also Insurers will probably ask for a copy of the Delivery Receipt which you would have been asked to sign. Did you note on this Form that 3 boxes were missing ? If not, Insurers could argue that you took delivery of your goods and signed the Form noting there were no exceptions or shortages. However, if Doree Bonner have acknowledged three boxes went missing during the course of your move then your claim should be straight forward and, apart from quantifying what was in each box, your claim should be processed without any undue delay. Hope this helps IYM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miw54 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 We used Crown in Australia between states and because we were so impressed with them, used them again to ship to UK. We could not complain about anything. Their guys were great and they delivered to our house in the time expected. We would use them again. Margaret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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