trabonita Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Hi we have been told it will take 12-14 weeks on average for a shared container to get to Sydney. Is this what others have found? I really want to try and time it so that we can move from our temp rental (6 weeks) into a more permanent rental with our stuff, I realise there are no guarantees but was thinking of sending our things from the UK about 7 weeks before we go, do you think this is about right? Thanks for any replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 We were told 12 weeks and it took exactly 12 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjg Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Our shared container sat in the uk for twenty days before it departed for Melbourne. Ours must have been the first lot of stuff in it. It took 9 1/2 weeks door to door with Allied Pickfords in 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossda Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Just checked - ours took 7 weeks from door to door with John Mason in 2014. Essex to Brisbane. Well timed as we sent it 10 days prior to leaving, 4 weeks in the furnished rental and just a few days in the long term rental til our bits came. It was at the port in Brisbane for some time though I remember - at least a week before we got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trabonita Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 wow 7 weeks, that's quick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossda Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 wow 7 weeks, that's quick! Ha ha - yes it probably is pretty quick. They collected on 9th Aug and we had it by the end of September. That included destroying several things, when I thought I had been so careful :arghh: John Mason were great (and the cheapest) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trabonita Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 john mason have just given us a quote, i've only had 2 but it was the cheapest so we will probably go with them. Can I ask did you take their insurance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossda Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 We were very naughty/silly and in the stress of it all we forgot to get any insurance !! We really tracked that ship as it went over the ocean that's for sure. Luckily everything all went ok. One breakage only which was a clock that was broken, but it was cheap and old so we weren't bothered by it. They were so thorough when they packed. Did an amazing job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 We were told max. four months for a shared container from UK to Melbourne but were also told it would be more like 3 months as John Mason had containers leaving on a daily basis. Well that was a lie. Our stuff sat in the port for two months in the UK. When it did get on a ship that took under 6 weeks, but it docked into Melbourne on 25 March and we still don't have it. Santa Fe (which is the company sorting out the Melbourne side of things) has been utter sh*te and I have to consistently email for updates. Personally I wouldn't use John Mason or Santa Fe ever again.... 18 weeks and still no sign of our stuff...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 (edited) We were told max. four months for a shared container from UK to Melbourne but were also told it would be more like 3 months as John Mason had containers leaving on a daily basis. Well that was a lie. Our stuff sat in the port for two months in the UK. When it did get on a ship that took under 6 weeks, but it docked into Melbourne on 25 March and we still don't have it. Santa Fe (which is the company sorting out the Melbourne side of things) has been utter sh*te and I have to consistently email for updates. Personally I wouldn't use John Mason or Santa Fe ever again.... 18 weeks and still no sign of our stuff...... We had a similar situation when we shipped our stuff with a different company. We sent it Suffolk to Sydney and were quoted 12 weeks (sole use of a 20ft container). When it had departed and we had arrived in Australia we got an email from them telling us that we had taken extra things and that they would be charging us 500GBP extra for this. It was next to impossible to contact them but eventually we got another email from them listing these extra items. They were things like sun loungers, extra chests of drawers, coat racks and things like that which we simply didn't own, let alone pack. OH helped with the packing on the UK side, so he saw exactly what went into the container and said that there was plenty of room. They then took the 500GBP off our card without permission, and because my MIL was forwarding our card statements to us, we didn't learn of this charge until weeks later. We waited and waited for the shipment, kept trying to contact them to find out where it was, and eventually after 16 weeks managed to find out that it had arrived in Sydney four weeks previously but that they had lost the paperwork. Actually, they tried to blame us by saying that we hadn't provided the paperwork, but the packers had taken it with them and I had a signed receipt to say as much. They eventually admitted they'd lost it so I had to provide a second copy to them. When we eventually got our stuff, I checked and counted everything, and sure enough, the extra things weren't in the container. I suspect that somehow they treated our sole use container as a partial container because there was some space left inside, and put someone else's things in it and they had mixed up the paperwork which is why it had gone missing and why we were charged. The missing paperwork was why it was delayed, because it couldn't go through customs. So, I would check with them that the paperwork is in order because that was what caused the delay in our case. Edited April 15, 2016 by LKC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickyplum Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Think ours took three months. It went to Melbourne, so then had to be trucked to Sydney. Didn't have any problems with the freight company and everything arrived intact. Top marks to us for packing skills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pookie72 Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 We shipped our worldly possessions at the end of February this year. We arrived in Sydney in the first week of March and our stuff was still sat in a warehouse back in the UK for a couple of weeks. We used a shared container, so we must have been waiting for it to fill up before it set off on its voyage. It arrived in port at the end of April and is due to be delivered this Tuesday (yay!) Since arrival in Australia it's taken a further two weeks to go from port to warehouse for quarantine and customs inspection. Door to door in just under 11 weeks. We were originally quoted 8-12 weeks depending on the ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 We had a similar situation when we shipped our stuff with a different company. We sent it Suffolk to Sydney and were quoted 12 weeks (sole use of a 20ft container). When it had departed and we had arrived in Australia we got an email from them telling us that we had taken extra things and that they would be charging us 500GBP extra for this. It was next to impossible to contact them but eventually we got another email from them listing these extra items. They were things like sun loungers, extra chests of drawers, coat racks and things like that which we simply didn't own, let alone pack. OH helped with the packing on the UK side, so he saw exactly what went into the container and said that there was plenty of room. They then took the 500GBP off our card without permission, and because my MIL was forwarding our card statements to us, we didn't learn of this charge until weeks later. We waited and waited for the shipment, kept trying to contact them to find out where it was, and eventually after 16 weeks managed to find out that it had arrived in Sydney four weeks previously but that they had lost the paperwork. Actually, they tried to blame us by saying that we hadn't provided the paperwork, but the packers had taken it with them and I had a signed receipt to say as much. They eventually admitted they'd lost it so I had to provide a second copy to them. When we eventually got our stuff, I checked and counted everything, and sure enough, the extra things weren't in the container. I suspect that somehow they treated our sole use container as a partial container because there was some space left inside, and put someone else's things in it and they had mixed up the paperwork which is why it had gone missing and why we were charged. The missing paperwork was why it was delayed, because it couldn't go through customs. So, I would check with them that the paperwork is in order because that was what caused the delay in our case. One of the companies that we had out to quote warned me that some other companies were doing that with containers that weren't full. For anyone looking for quotes they advised me to make sure it says sole use of the container on the quote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lp77 Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 We had sole use container packed 17/18th December never arrived till 11th march to us. They had overbooked ships apparently.... But tbh we moved into our rental end feb so it worked out but I wasn't happy when it missed its booked shipment dates... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 Our 20ft sole container was packed and left our home on 9 July 2015 scheduled to sail on 13 July to Brisbane. We were informed the expected dae of arrival was 22 August and, sure enough, it arrived that day. A couple of items had to be destroyed but custums clearance was achieved on 27 August. Unfortunately for us we were not ready for it and it had to be held until 2 October when we moved into our house but it could have been delivered just 7 weeks door to door. Everything was well packed, nothing broken. We used John Mason/Santa Fe Wridgeways. They were the cheapest quote too. No complaints at all, excellent service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Nav Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 Hi Guys, Wow some of you all have had some bad experiences with shipping!! I'd say having your own container, not a shared one, gives you more control over your goods. Taking more than 2 months from the UK I'd be worried, as a general rule it will depend on the shipping line you use. We have used MOL in the past from Southampton to Fremantle, total takes 35 days on the water, allowing a week at loading and another week to get thru Aus customs/Quarantine. If you are going to share a container, please please PLEASE use a reputable agent and get pricing door-door...some LCL unpack depots charge a mint in unpack fees. I've seen people send stuff with cheap ocean freight, when it gets to the unpack depot - thousands to unpack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elainexwx Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 We went with pickfords ours took 6 weeks that included 1 week to clear quarantine and customs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elainexwx Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 We went with pickfords ours took 6 weeks from scotland to perth that included 1 week to clear quarantine and customs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trabonita Posted June 17, 2016 Author Share Posted June 17, 2016 wow that is so quick! How long did it sit in the UK before it left for Australia? we have gone with pickfords too, our stuff was collected 2 weeks ago and it hasn't left the UK yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted June 17, 2016 Share Posted June 17, 2016 wow that is so quick! How long did it sit in the UK before it left for Australia? we have gone with pickfords too, our stuff was collected 2 weeks ago and it hasn't left the UK yet! Was it a sole use container? If it wasn't, then it will sit there until they find enough other orders to fill it up before they even schedule it on a ship. That's why it's so hard to predict how long it will take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trabonita Posted June 18, 2016 Author Share Posted June 18, 2016 Was it a sole use container? If it wasn't, then it will sit there until they find enough other orders to fill it up before they even schedule it on a ship. That's why it's so hard to predict how long it will take. It was a shared container so we knew we might have to wait. Apparently the 10-14 weeks they quote you factors in this though, still I would like to know it is on its way! We have 5 weeks before we leave for Aus though so plenty of time I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elainexwx Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) Our stuff was packed in January as we had sold our house but we didnt plan on coming to Oz till may so we used pickfords storage, we got 8 weeks free and paid for nearly 2 weeks on top. it was our choice to not ship till April they would have shipped whenever we asked Edited June 19, 2016 by elainexwx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaty Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Ah yes. Reminds me on my importing business history... The term they use for chucking your stuff in with some other peoples stuff in a conatiner is: 'groupage'. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanga Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 I tried to get a quote from John Mason, but even after 2 emails they never came back to me. Going with Anglo Pacific. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.