Shipping... a couple of very quick checks

[Guest Ellejay11]

Hi All

 

Apologies to post a topic on here which has clearly been done to death! I've gone through loads of the forum threads and called a few of the recommended companies (thanks so much to all the info everyone has posted). We are moving to Brisbane in late December, and are sending a 20 foot container with roughly 800 cubic feet in it.

 

I had 2 questions..:

1) I've narrowed it down to John Masons, Global Moving Systems and Altantic International (friends recently used Atlantic - but they are at least £600 more expensive than the other 2!!). I can't seem to find any reviews on Global Moving Systems and just wondered if anyone had used these guys? They seem to offer the most competitive deal and the man who came around to do the survey was extremely helpful.

 

2) Insurance via the shipping company or direct through an insurance company, from what I've read it's cheaper and more efficient to go to via an insurance company, can anyone recommend one they have used recently?

 

3) One of the companies said we would be ok to take our indoor wicker furniture (it's a solid wood chest of drawers with a very small wicker patter detail on the front of the drawer - from homebase and is treated). Just wanted to check if anyone got hit with huge costs for cleaning of any treated indoor furniture with wicker?

 

Thanks for reading, and again apologies for exhausting a question which has been hugely asked over the years! I'm very nervous about the shipping company we choose due to the personal effects being taken (as I'm sure most are)!

 

Thanks

 

Laurie

[samshep]

I wouldn't take the wicker, if they see it you will be fumigated. we have wicker/rattan seats on our dining room chairs and all removals companies have said we shoukdn't take them, so I need to reupholster them (well, my mother - in law does, I can't sew). With regarfds to your removal quotes i've only heard of John Masons out of the ones you discussed. I have to narrow ours down, no idea how to decide - liked them all!! Guesss will go with cheapest which is Pickfords, however some are now trying to price match so will wait and see.

With regards to insurance, we are going to go with Letton Perceival, MUCH cheaper than rem comp. quotes.

we fly April 2nd to Brisbane - SCARY!!

Sam x

[Guest Ellejay11]

Hi Sam

 

Thanks so much for responding. I'll get a quote from Pickfords too! That's what we thought re the wicker, all the rest said NOT to take it, but this company said it will get through fine.. strange.. it was GMS...

 

How are you feeling about your move to brissie? I'm from there originally, although my husband and 2 small children(baby and toddler!) aren't. It's a nice city for family.. fingers crossed we'll find work ok! Been in London all my adolescent life!

[Guest Ellejay11]

Having spoken to quite a few more shipping companies and people that have moved, I thought I'd post the answers to my questions... (well 2 out of 3 aint bad!)

 

2. Insurance, as long as you get the marine insurance to cover you the full way, and not just with certain companies, you are fine. And yes its cheaper to go direct with other insurance companies.. just read the fine print!

 

3. Wicker.. as long as it's treated and you can prove it is, they apparently can't charge you fumigation. In saying that, leave the proof in or on the actual furniture! But a couple of shipping companie's say that as long as it's indoor and you can prove it's been treated, you will be fine.

[Guest inau]

We used GMS (global moving systems) from the UK. It was absolutely terrible experience and no compensation received.

 

First, they did not turn up on the agreed moving date. This was a Saturday and so we could not contact the office until Monday. When we finally got through to them they said it was a 'administrative error' and sent someone out to pick the things up on Monday afternoon. By this point we were supposed to have moved out of our accommodation 2 days previously and so we had already incurred costs for this. We also had packed our things on the Sunday not knowing when GMS would next be able to come.

 

Secondly, once they picked up our things 2 days late, they were supposed to repack them (we had paid for the packing and moving service). We later found out when they were delivered that they hadn't.

 

Thirdly, once the things were delivered late (no surprise by this point..) we realised our things had come all the way without being properly repacked at all. We had a number of things broken which could easily have been avoided.

 

This was 2 months ago and to date we have not received an apology or any compensation.

[Guest jayfez19]

i have just emigrated and i looked at all the big companys like robinsons bishops pickfords and in the end i went with global moving systems thier price was very competative compared to the big companies but what impressed me most was there willingness to help with some of the suff i was shipping like my go kart and canoes (big items). But there was no problem where as the bigger companies made a fuss about it . They turned up on the day and did a cracking job.

I have been very pleased with thier service from start to finish the guys that came and packed for us were polite and curteous and thats hard to find these days

So I have no reservations in reccomending them for your move good luck and I hope you enjoy your new life as much as I am :wink:

 

 

--------------------------

 

ADMIN NOTE: This post originates from the UK. The owner of this account has created another duplicate account which they are also using to promote 'Global Moving Systems' (http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/transport-shipping/93229-anglo-pacific-global-moving-systems.html#post1935832814)

[Guest charleysmum74]

Hi all,

Can anyone give me an idea about different companies. My head is swimming now with shipping stuff.

We have had quotes from:

Crown

Pickfords

Anglo Pacific

Doree Bonner

Sterling

Does anyone have any feedback they can give me about any of these companies. I need to make a decision by the end of this week and to get our shipping booked as our stuff needs to go asap!

Thanks.

[PollyGirl]

Hi all,

Can anyone give me an idea about different companies. My head is swimming now with shipping stuff.

We have had quotes from:

Crown

Pickfords

Anglo Pacific

Doree Bonner

Sterling

Does anyone have any feedback they can give me about any of these companies. I need to make a decision by the end of this week and to get our shipping booked as our stuff needs to go asap!

Thanks.

 

We have just had 2 quotes Doree Bonner and PSS both were professional, although the later believed that we had less in volume, and the difference in price was £450 more. The quotes were more than we anticipated, and I have read on here about trying to get a reduction. Any thoughts on that?? Just wish my OH was here as hes the businessman, and always able to address these matters, but will have to have a go :err: Wish me luck!!!

[PollyGirl]

What did you think of your quotes were they all quoting the same volume and price????

[JoandJon]

We used Doree Bonner and htey were fine - I haggled prices with them all and got them down substantially from their first quote

 

Just give the companies a call and tell them you've received a much lower quote, but you liked their service etc etc and wanted to give them an opportunity to review their price.

 

But also consider the accuracy of their advice as well - I included a few items in the survey to see what the companies said (to assess their knowledge of quarantine and customs) and took notes about the advice they gave.

 

However do remember that I'm a paranoid cynic who doesn't really trust anyone very much

[clusterofgeals]

Hi

me and the family are moving out end of August to Brisbane we are using Pss for the shipping we haggled the price down to 3900 for a 20 ft container with one months free storage but also 25 kilo air freight container in with the price

For the insurance we used Letton Percival based in Liverpool they charge 1.5% and insure the whole container

[PollyGirl]

I have just spoken to a guy from the same company and tried to haggle said that he could only reduce by a small amount, yet told him that the volume they have quoted is far above everyone elses and the cost of the insurance at 2.8% was too high, and he said we would have to have it with them, as to go with another would cause complications with claiming, good salesman pitch though!!!! He said he could reduce the quote by £140 yeah right!!! If I was a guy I am sure he would have reduced it more, back to the drawing board!!!!

[kentkids]

Hi all,

Can anyone give me an idea about different companies. My head is swimming now with shipping stuff.

We have had quotes from:

Crown

Pickfords

Anglo Pacific

Doree Bonner

Sterling

Does anyone have any feedback they can give me about any of these companies. I need to make a decision by the end of this week and to get our shipping booked as our stuff needs to go asap!

Thanks.

Hi

we came out in March and used Anglo. Their price for a 20 ft container was right in the middle of 7 quotes we got. Due to sudden exchange/completion of our house sale, we only gave them 4 days (including weekend) to get a team in to pack. The guys were excellent and the whole process went seamlessly. We were quoted approx 10 weeks door to door and ended up being less than 9. Everything arrived in one piece, delivery team unpacked everything we asked, and came back on request to collect the empty boxes that we chose to unpack ourselves. All in all I couldn't fault any part of their service. Bonus from Anglo was a code/link to Qantas giving 40 kg luggage on one way flight - not sure many others offer this on a 457

 

S

[Guest Guest62720]

I am a Director of Insure-Your-Move.com

 

Regarding Polly Girl's comments about being informed that it is mandatory to have the insurance through the removal company is slightly wide of the mark.

 

The insurance contract is a contract between YOU and the Insurer and it will have no bearing on which remover you appoint to move your goods. The removal company is only an intermediary (broker) and as long as you have have complied with the terms and conditions of the Policy then, as with any insurance policy, any claim will be honoured.

 

Hope this clarifies this particular point.

[PollyGirl]

I am a Director of Insure-Your-Move.com

 

Regarding Polly Girl's comments about being informed that it is mandatory to have the insurance through the removal company is slightly wide of the mark.

 

The insurance contract is a contract between YOU and the Insurer and it will have no bearing on which remover you appoint to move your goods. The removal company is only an intermediary (broker) and as long as you have have complied with the terms and conditions of the Policy then, as with any insurance policy, any claim will be honoured.

 

Hope this clarifies this particular point.

 

Thank you for your comment, I actually couldn't believe what the removals guy was trying to prove, was I that naive or stupid. Thankfully, I used to work for one of the larger insurance companies and realised that this comment actually has resulted in us looking for an alternative removals firm. As 1. it wasn't professional or 2. acceptable to believe that bullying tactics and false information could work. Again, I believe that if my OH had called him and said actually we are sorting our own insurance out, he wouldn't have been spun a tale.

[JoandJon]

Oooh I'd #definitely have kicked them to touch for that load of codswollop!!!! Good on ya for doing so

 

The key to negotiating prices is to be prepared to walk away - now they've not negotiated adequately, send an email declining their service and tell them why: price but mostly some noted inaccuracies in the information they've provided.

 

Might make you feel better

[Danny&Em]

I'll tag onto this thread if I may. For obtaining quotes, do I need to do anything in particular? I hoping it will be a quick walk around the house of 'yes,,, no,,,, maybe?' etc... Or do I need to be exact with number of boxes, such as clothing which would beta guess?

 

Dont fancy lining all my possession up on the generation games conveyor belt for my shipping itinery etc. ta.. D

[PollyGirl]

I'll tag onto this thread if I may. For obtaining quotes, do I need to do anything in particular? I hoping it will be a quick walk around the house of 'yes,,, no,,,, maybe?' etc... Or do I need to be exact with number of boxes, such as clothing which would beta guess?

 

Dont fancy lining all my possession up on the generation games conveyor belt for my shipping itinery etc. ta.. D

 

 

Its the name of the game .....lol!!!! It does feel a bit like that, but basically the removals guy just walks around and measures up, if you can call it that and then asks what your taking to check if you have anything that is not permitted, needs cleaning (outside stuff) etc. Dont let them fool you in to taking their insurance either its 3% where as other independent insurance companies offer it at 1.5%. Good luck !!!!:chatterbox:

[Guest Global Moving Systems]

Dear Inau,

Thank for your feedback. After reading your review I wanted to answer back to the points you made. We are happy to admit that there had been a mistake made in the booking process and the job was not collected as scheduled we do take responsibility for that error. On the Monday morning when we received your correspondence and this error came to light we acted swiftly to resolve the issue by immediately scheduling a crew and sending them to your residence promptly. The packing was carried out professionally and to our very high standards given the timeframe we encountered. Throughout the day we could not apologise enough for this mistake and compensated you for this. We even have proof of the £150 compensation that we removed from your final invoice for the inconvenience this caused. We know that you did not receive the best service however, we did rectify the situation as best we could under the circumstances we faced. I do believe that this was the only glitch that you encountered throughout the moving process and if I am mistaken than please do let me know.

 

I would also like to take this opportunity to explain the error on the 2 comments from the same IP address:

 

The client in question with the 2 email accounts has responded to our services on the website both himself and his wife, we do not understand why they both put a comment each but this explains the same UK IP address, they are in no way fraudulent however, we can see why it would seem like this. We are very pleased that our clients would take the time to comment on our services as this will allow other clients moving to Australia to hear of our services. Just to further back up the fact that these 2 accounts are genuine, we do have photographs of the job, loading and packing of the items and i am happy to post them under this comment as a way of proof. I have sent the photos to the administrators of Pomsinoz and it clearly shows the Canoes and the go-kart that was mentioned in our references and i am sure that if requested directly to the administrators they can back up this error.

 

We are a genuine International moving company that works very hard in what is a very overcrowded industry, we must use the good, or bad, feedback that we receive from our clients to ensure we are on top of our game at all times.

 

If we can be of any assistance or provide any information on International moving please do not hesitate to contact us, please do not believe everything you may read as they say the proof is in the pudding.........

 

Thank you all for your understanding and we welcome the chance to assist you further.

 

John Greening

Company Director

Global Moving Systems

[Guest charleysmum74]

Hi

we came out in March and used Anglo. Their price for a 20 ft container was right in the middle of 7 quotes we got. Due to sudden exchange/completion of our house sale, we only gave them 4 days (including weekend) to get a team in to pack. The guys were excellent and the whole process went seamlessly. We were quoted approx 10 weeks door to door and ended up being less than 9. Everything arrived in one piece, delivery team unpacked everything we asked, and came back on request to collect the empty boxes that we chose to unpack ourselves. All in all I couldn't fault any part of their service. Bonus from Anglo was a code/link to Qantas giving 40 kg luggage on one way flight - not sure many others offer this on a 457

 

S

 

Thanks for this! I am waiting to hear if they can negotiate on price as they are a bit pricier than some of the quotes I have got for the same service. Good to hear your stuff got there in 9 weeks, as we are on a tight schedule also. Everything crossed

[Guest charleysmum74]

Thanks guys, we went with AP in the end, got them down on price to below our lowest quote from another company. We also gave them very little notice to collec!. Our stuff has been collected last week, we only had 1/2 container worth, and it came in slightly less than their quote. We have been told it will be shipped in the next two weeks. Packers were lovely guys who did a decent job. The lady in the office has been really helpful. We are also sending a box via air so that we have some stuff for when we arrive. Fingers crossed!!!

[Guest charleysmum74]

Its the name of the game .....lol!!!! It does feel a bit like that, but basically the removals guy just walks around and measures up, if you can call it that and then asks what your taking to check if you have anything that is not permitted, needs cleaning (outside stuff) etc. Dont let them fool you in to taking their insurance either its 3% where as other independent insurance companies offer it at 1.5%. Good luck !!!!:chatterbox:

 

We went with Letton Percival, very easy process and 1.3%. The guy I dealt with was really nice. Our stuff had already been collected and they still insured us.