A whole new waiting room - removals rant.

[Fisher1]

We were told when we booked removal of a part load to Sydney, to expect a wait of 10-12 weeks, plus 10-15 working days with the customs in Sydney, so we settled in for a long period of sleeping on a blow up mattress and borrowing necessities from friendly neighbours and family. We have been patient and calm and have laughed about our ever flattening blow up mattress, which is becoming as depressed by the whole thing as we are. The stuff arrived a month ago. We know because we paid duty on a couple of bottles of spirits. Then - silence. We contacted the removers - they said it was booked for bio security checks last Tuesday. Then - silence. We contacted them again today - apparently this is a busy period and the customs didn't get round to our part load last week, so its been booked again for tomorrow. It is now seventeen weeks since we last saw our belongings.

Is this a record??

Rant over.

Merry Christmas everyone

 

Edited December 18, 2017 by Fisher1
tact

[ali]

Longer than our whole container which took 12 weeks exactly door to door

[Fisher1]

1 hour ago, ali said:

Longer than our whole container which took 12 weeks exactly door to door

I wrote to the removers suggesting that they should estimate longer than ten to twelve weeks for other customers since, had we been warned we would have left more things behind and bought more new. Just had a reply saying that they have no control over customs ( obviously, I acknowledged that in my mail to them) and that is the reason they only quote transit times to the arrival port.  It seems to me that a removals "expert" could still warn clients that the whole process might take considerably longer. In any case their estimate to port was about two weeks out. If anyone reading this wants to know the name of our removals firm, PM me and I'll give you the name.

[ScottieGirl]

My shared container took 17 weeks, 7 of which was in Sydney waiting for a corresponding load to fill the container. I was quoted 14 weeks but told it could take longer depending on when they could  match it with anorher load. UK customs took 1 day to clear it although I was quoted up to a week.

Edited December 18, 2017 by ScottieGirl

[calNgary]

Thats not very good, i really hope you get your things in time for xmas.

keep us updated.

Cal x

[Nemesis]

Mine took five months door to door London to Brisbane. Took 8 weeks to get to Brisbane then 3 months waiting for clearance by customs.

[ali]

12 hours ago, Fisher1 said:

I wrote to the removers suggesting that they should estimate longer than ten to twelve weeks for other customers since, had we been warned we would have left more things behind and bought more new. Just had a reply saying that they have no control over customs ( obviously, I acknowledged that in my mail to them) and that is the reason they only quote transit times to the arrival port.  It seems to me that a removals "expert" could still warn clients that the whole process might take considerably longer. In any case their estimate to port was about two weeks out. If anyone reading this wants to know the name of our removals firm, PM me and I'll give you the name.

One of the reasons we didn't go with a shared container is the removalists told us that they could not guarantee when the other half of it would be filled 

[NicF]

I think you are being too polite with the removal company.  Our container took less than a week to clear customs and be delivered to our house when we moved.  Granted it’s a busier time of year but I’m sure some of the speed of ours was due to my OH being on the back of the removal company to get them to get it to us as soon as possible.

[calNgary]

1 hour ago, NicF said:

I think you are being too polite with the removal company.  Our container took less than a week to clear customs and be delivered to our house when we moved.  Granted it’s a busier time of year but I’m sure some of the speed of ours was due to my OH being on the back of the removal company to get them to get it to us as soon as possible.

I agree with this Nic  and fair enough it's a busy time of year but the shippers must know that, so should allow for it when quoting timescales in the first place.. 

  Cal x

[Fisher1]

On 18 December 2017 at 23:01, ScottieGirl said:

My shared container took 17 weeks, 7 of which was in Sydney waiting for a corresponding load to fill the container. I was quoted 14 weeks but told it could take longer depending on when they could  match it with anorher load. UK customs took 1 day to clear it although I was quoted up to a week.

Glad I'm not the only one! We were realistic about part loads taking longer while the container fills up - my beef was with the original firm who advised a wait of 10-12 weeks with 10-15 days in customs. 

Thanks for the moral support. New movers, beware!

 

[Fisher1]

13 hours ago, NicF said:

I think you are being too polite with the removal company.  Our container took less than a week to clear customs and be delivered to our house when we moved.  Granted it’s a busier time of year but I’m sure some of the speed of ours was due to my OH being on the back of the removal company to get them to get it to us as soon as possible.

Hi Nic F.   Took your advice and emailed the removers again - just had a reply saying our shipment has now been marked as urgent ...   

[HarrisL16]

Hope this all gets sorted out for you soon? Merry Christmas ?

[Fisher1]

9 hours ago, HarrisL16 said:

Hope this all gets sorted out for you soon? Merry Christmas ?

Merry Christmas to you too!   We have just treated ourselves to a new blow up mattress as the last one had, after three months constant use, begun letting us down gently in the middle of the night  After three months constant use for a mere 57 dollars, I can't say I was surprised. The good news is that we will have A REAL BED over Christmas, we are staying with our daughter.

Will post when the stuff finally arrives!!!

 

Happy Christmas to you too!

 

 

Edited December 20, 2017 by Fisher1

[Fisher1]

You couldn't make this up ... I just had this email from the UK removals company. ( Didn't even get a reply to my last request for info from the Sydney end)

 

 

Dear Mr & Mrs Kath Breen

Merry Christmas and a magical New Year from everyone at  *******  Removals.

We would like to thank you for entrusting ******** with your move overseas and wish you well with your new start in 2018!.

If you have any immediate questions, reply to this email or call us on *********

Until then we wish you and your family an enjoyable Christmas break.

 

GRRRRRRR!!!!!

 

 

 

 

[calNgary]

11 hours ago, Fisher1 said:

You couldn't make this up ... I just had this email from the UK removals company. ( Didn't even get a reply to my last request for info from the Sydney end)

 

 

Dear Mr & Mrs Kath Breen

Merry Christmas and a magical New Year from everyone at  *******  Removals.

We would like to thank you for entrusting ******** with your move overseas and wish you well with your new start in 2018!.

If you have any immediate questions, reply to this email or call us on *********

Until then we wish you and your family an enjoyable Christmas break.

 

GRRRRRRR!!!!!

 

 

 

 

I bet it was sent 2 minutes before they closed for xmas,lol

Cal x

[NicF]

12 hours ago, Fisher1 said:

You couldn't make this up ... I just had this email from the UK removals company. ( Didn't even get a reply to my last request for info from the Sydney end)

 

 

Dear Mr & Mrs Kath Breen

Merry Christmas and a magical New Year from everyone at  *******  Removals.

We would like to thank you for entrusting ******** with your move overseas and wish you well with your new start in 2018!.

If you have any immediate questions, reply to this email or call us on *********

Until then we wish you and your family an enjoyable Christmas break.

 

GRRRRRRR!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Forget the email.  You need to phone them.  Daily if necessary until they give you a definite date for delivering your stuff.  I’ve found with Australians that in writing they are really formal and rule based but as soon as you speak to someone they are much more helpful and it’s like the rules don’t exist.

[Fisher1]

15 minutes ago, NicF said:

Forget the email.  You need to phone them.  Daily if necessary until they give you a definite date for delivering your stuff.  I’ve found with Australians that in writing they are really formal and rule based but as soon as you speak to someone they are much more helpful and it’s like the rules don’t exist.

Yes, I think you're right. I sent a message to the sydney end yesterday telling them I would be phoning as soon as the holiday was over. I intend to phone every day until we get our things. I don't understand how they can be booked in for bio security checks and then not screened ... Twice.  We've decided not to let it ruin Christmas but really, what a bunch of incompetents. I can't wait to get all our things safely out of their clutches so I can hit the review sites!

[ScottieGirl]

7 hours ago, Fisher1 said:

Yes, I think you're right. I sent a message to the sydney end yesterday telling them I would be phoning as soon as the holiday was over. I intend to phone every day until we get our things. I don't understand how they can be booked in for bio security checks and then not screened ... Twice.  We've decided not to let it ruin Christmas but really, what a bunch of incompetents. I can't wait to get all our things safely out of their clutches so I can hit the review sites!

Whichever way you go the delivery and customs clearance at the other end is subcontracted to a local operator, no point contacting the UK outfit. You do seem to have been unlucky I have made the move twice and know plenty of others who have done it and whilst the wait has always been longer that UK customs clearance has happened when they said it would.  I can't help wondering if you are being given the brush off and it was never actually booked in for the security check. Can you contact customs to verify? My goods cleared customs very quickly but I had to wait 2 weeks for delivery, basically I offered several dates and they picked the last one. Not a problem for me as it was going into storage again but it demonstrated that t if you don't push you go to the back of a long queue. Especially at Christmas.

Enjoy the new air bed. Like you I am sleeping on the floor and I will be bed shopping in the sales, my Aussie Queen divan base would not fit up the stairs as it is in one piece. Fortunately the mattress did so at least I am on a proper mattress  

[LKC]

We had trouble with the Sydney end of our removal company when we moved out there nine years ago.  It got stuck at the dock in Sydney for a month because they lost the paperwork for it.  Only they blamed us for not providing the paperwork, which was a lie because it was all completed and handed to the UK end when they packed the container.  Then it took ages for the UK end to provide them with another copy of it.  

We moved back to the UK in September, and received our container full of belongings in November, and I can tell you it is just like having a second Christmas!  We actually left our old mattress in Australia, and bought a new one here to sleep on the floor on so we weren't quite like you with your air bed, but it was wonderful to have a proper bed back!  We're moving into a house that we've bought in a couple of months so I've hardly unpacked anything (doesn't seem much point), but it's nice to know it's there in the garage just waiting to be done.  OH doesn't know this yet, but he's got to go in and find my serving dishes and the gravy boat tomorrow!  I think I know which box...

[Fisher1]

3 hours ago, ScottieGirl said:

Whichever way you go the delivery and customs clearance at the other end is subcontracted to a local operator, no point contacting the UK outfit. You do seem to have been unlucky I have made the move twice and know plenty of others who have done it and whilst the wait has always been longer that UK customs clearance has happened when they said it would.  I can't help wondering if you are being given the brush off and it was never actually booked in for the security check. Can you contact customs to verify? My goods cleared customs very quickly but I had to wait 2 weeks for delivery, basically I offered several dates and they picked the last one. Not a problem for me as it was going into storage again but it demonstrated that t if you don't push you go to the back of a long queue. Especially at Christmas.

Enjoy the new air bed. Like you I am sleeping on the floor and I will be bed shopping in the sales, my Aussie Queen divan base would not fit up the stairs as it is in one piece. Fortunately the mattress did so at least I am on a proper mattress  

Thanks for the tip. I've been wondering about contacting the customs directly - the firm this end asked for some paperwork when the shipment arrived, which I thought was strange because it covered a lot of the questions we had already answered on the original paperwork at the UK end. I just assumed it was yet another piece of repetitious bureaucracy...   It's nice to have the moral support, and we aren't too badly off because we left our sofas behind and have bought new ones, plus a kind neighbour lent us a large and very comfortable garden dining set ... We just want our things ... Christmas decorations etcetera .   Good luck with the new bed! 

[Fisher1]

3 hours ago, LKC said:

We had trouble with the Sydney end of our removal company when we moved out there nine years ago.  It got stuck at the dock in Sydney for a month because they lost the paperwork for it.  Only they blamed us for not providing the paperwork, which was a lie because it was all completed and handed to the UK end when they packed the container.  Then it took ages for the UK end to provide them with another copy of it.  

We moved back to the UK in September, and received our container full of belongings in November, and I can tell you it is just like having a second Christmas!  We actually left our old mattress in Australia, and bought a new one here to sleep on the floor on so we weren't quite like you with your air bed, but it was wonderful to have a proper bed back!  We're moving into a house that we've bought in a couple of months so I've hardly unpacked anything (doesn't seem much point), but it's nice to know it's there in the garage just waiting to be done.  OH doesn't know this yet, but he's got to go in and find my serving dishes and the gravy boat tomorrow!  I think I know which box...

Oh you've cheered me up with the image of your OH poking round amongst sundry boxes, trying to find a gravy boat!   We're ahead of you there because we are going to our daughter's in-laws for Christmas Day and they have cupboards full of their belongings ... They've got beds and everything :-)  Have a lovely Christmas and thank you for cheering me up - I hope you find that gravy boat!

[LKC]

1 hour ago, Fisher1 said:

Oh you've cheered me up with the image of your OH poking round amongst sundry boxes, trying to find a gravy boat!   We're ahead of you there because we are going to our daughter's in-laws for Christmas Day and they have cupboards full of their belongings ... They've got beds and everything :-)  Have a lovely Christmas and thank you for cheering me up - I hope you find that gravy boat!

I shall post a photo if I do!

[Fisher1]

2 hours ago, Fisher1 said:

Oh you've cheered me up with the image of your OH poking round amongst sundry boxes, trying to find a gravy boat!   We're ahead of you there because we are going to our daughter's in-laws for Christmas Day and they have cupboards full of their belongings ... They've got beds and everything :-)  Have a lovely Christmas and thank you for cheering me up - I hope you find that gravy boat!

Haha that should have read daughter's in laws!