Green Grass

Hi. Just wanted to make a quick recommendation. Letton Percival were recommended to me on this forum. Their service was great at half the price (or less) of the removal companies.

Removal companies quoted me 3% of value of my possessions and I paid 1.3% (plus 6% insurance premium tax) to Letton Percival for my shipment to Melbourne. Pretty sure removal companies use them anyway to insure through so cutting out the middle man makes sense.

Cheers

Mazza12

Thanks for this. I intend to get an insurance quote from them too. Which removal company did you go for? I'm just about to contact some companies for quotes. Having done a bit of research on here there seems to be good and bad reports about almost all of them. Bit of a gamble really!

Green Grass

No problem. I'm only shipping about 60 cu ft and was using the Excess Baggage Company out of London following a recommendation on here. They use a courier company outside the M25 who delivered my packaging to the wrong address! So, having been to the Expo in Edinburgh at the weekend, I got quotes from Crown, Anglo Pacific, and Doree Bonner.

You need to ensure quotes are comparable. Some included VAT, others didn't. Some included the $110 AQIS fee payable at the port of arrival and others didn't.

I went with Crown as they were cheapest but that might not be key for you if you are taking everything. I've seen a review website which rates Doree Bonner highest of these but recognises they are far from being the cheapest.

I expect if you polled a 100 people who used each of them, you'd get plenty of good and bad feedback for each. I do think it is a bit of a lottery too.

Good luck with it all!

Buzzy--Bee

Hi GG, just to let you know that Crown's Melbourne depot is only a few streets away from your accommodation.

BB

Green Grass

Thanks BB, more by luck than skill! I never knew that!

Loch Lomond

I used Letton Percival on my move back to Scotland from Perth WA and highly recommend them. However another poster advised not to let your removal company know you intend to use them until after you get thier shipping quote.

asher

i used letton percival too, the only hiccup was my boat was delayed due to unforseen circumstances and my belongings had to be stored for a while, I was informed that letton percival only covered my belongings whilst in transit not in storage
so ask about that when you take out the insurance it may have changed as that was 5 years ago

Green Grass

They now cover from collection of goods and during transit. You can ask for extended storage cover post transit if you want.

Mazza12

Thanks for the heads up re ensuring quotes are comparable. I will definitely get a quote from Doree Bonner as my friend used them in September and was very happy with the service from beginning to end. Yes Crown was on my list to contact too. However in the end the most competitive quote will determine our choice. We will be moving probably the equivalent of a one bedroom house once we've had a good clearout. We will probably opt for a shared 20 foot container with full packing service. However depending on the quotes we may also look at hiring a container and doing the packing ourselves to keep costs down. Thanks for the good luck wishes. All the best for your move too.

Safin

We used Letton Percival 4 yrs ago and needed to claim. Great service.

We had quite a number of breakages/damage. The excess only came off once not per item, Any costs incurred in getting replacement/repairs quoted were also covered. Got a nice cheque for all the odds and ends (that covered a new plasma to replace the still usable CRT) with no hassle.

brian.w

Hi guys well finally started the ball rolling yesterday on our move to australia,by booking our flights one way,yes i know have had my visa a while now,but time is running out so need to make the move before august 2013.

I still to sell or if i need to rent my house plus lots of other stuff so its time for me to get its all into place,lets hope it all works out and i dont run out of time before we are due to fly.

Anyway its regarding shipping,i am planning on using an agent to ship our stuff over and right now i have a list of these companies:

angio pacific
john masons
bonners
bournes
pss
crown
pickfords
britannia
white and co

I know this question has been asked many times but who is still around above,who is highly recommended and who always comes up with best prices.

I know many have had issues with some and not with others and i wonder what these where.

I was wondering of these companies who the use the other end,same company or a suncontractor if so who and are they ok.

When getting quotes,price matching etc etc how long does this all take and how much in advance do these guys need to know,lets just say we are not flying till 30th may 2013 but that sure does come along quick,and was just not sure when the right time would be in seeing about this.

I have many items which are stored away right now,still packed in there boxes from new,i would plan on taking them out of there boxes before shippers was gonna give us a quote as these items having there boxes make them look bigger,more space up,so getting rid of there boxes before then would be an idea as for now they are just used to keep them new and clean etc.

I do have many flat packed items also stored away and i feel that leaving them this way will save on space,i take if shippers feel they need more packing to them they will.

As i have items stored away in another location and some stuff in my house going would it be best to have all in one location,would the costs go up if they needed to load from another location as well as our house.

Im from the aberdeenshire area,do any of these shippers have places up here if so who and if any of the shippers dont in the list above,do most or are most willing to come to your location or are you better to get one from the list who has someone not far.

As in the guys coming to pack,are these guys employed by the company or subcontractors,are most very trusting,could you leave them to get on with it or would you need to keep or try and keep a close eye on them when they are in the house.

When they have packed your container,do you see a sea/lockl going on the door and is this still the same seal until it gets to the other side,or do these shippers take stuff out while say in warehouse etc

What is todays costs for 20ft container and also a 40ft,anyone been getting quotes recently and what had they been quoted, i suppose every quote is different and depends on the volume and stuff you have getting shipped but give me an idea.
Do these cost go up very year and when is best to get this done before it does?
what other costs are involved when shipping your stuff is the quote they give you all costs or are there extras.if so what

As in the insurance cover to they ask what the value of your shipment is,i had been thinking of letton percival for this,why,are the much cheaper and can they be dealt with online etc.

When getting your quotes do you get them to fight it out so you get best prices,and why do most end up picking a certain shipper by what they have heard,read or they just feel right or very friendly.
Do they come to your house and look to see what you be shipping.

I stay in a town,pretty much just off the centre of town where the main road is busy and can be hard to get parked,will this add to the costs of they giving me a quote,there is a bit of ground next door off road parking where they might be able to put container but i would need to ask owners,do they need a certain width to park into etc and do they use large lorry or one just big enough to hold a container.

When they pack up your stuff and it gets to australia,do they unpack this as well or do some just pack this end and leave you to unpack in australia,as in taking all the stuff out of the boxes or does the unpacking mean with them just putting the boxes into your garage.

So say as we was going 30th may 2013 when is the best time to have container booked and shipped for,would it go straight to boat or does that depend on if the boat has just left,how many weeks average does stuff take to get over there.

When shipping your stuff over is there anything you just would not bother taking over,no point,does not work etc etc like a dab radio cant remember stuff at this time or as many say just take the lot.

I take these guys are very carefull with your items as in packing and also when they are moving things out of the house.

Has anyone had too much stuff to send thinking a 20ft would be ok,do the shippers know what is required for the stuff you want to take,no after phone calls,etc etc saying you need bigger,price is more etc.

How long does a quote last for when you get one from them.

I hope i have covered everything in the shipping questions i have asked,as im soon to be doing this anything you can help me with above you be great as many of you will have already been through this,in the stages of doing so or have many times over.

Pollyana

Have you read any of the previous threads on here about ahipping?

old.sparkles

That's a long post and I stopped reading someway down. I think all of the companies you've listed still exist - I've had quotes from quite a few of them. Cheapest I have is John Masons, although quote from anglo pacific was close and they had some extras included like a free airfreight shipment of urgent stuff. You can get quick quotes from some online - but give them a call and they will give you a quote for free. Once you've decided they need about 2 weeks in advance of shipment to arrange to come and collect and box everything up.

Good luck

Bermudashorts

That is a lot of questions on shippping! I think you will put people off with loong posts like that for future reference! I couldn't be bothered to read all of it but I skimmed down and here are a few comments.

I have read nothing to suggest that any of the main shippers are notably better or worse than any other, there are good and bad stories of all of them. So here is what you do; pick three from your list, get them in for a survey, get quotes, go with the cheapest.

I organised my entire move with about four weeks notice so you have plenty of time. Still it was tight for me, some needed ten days notice before they could even do the survey. So I would recommend you give them a call about 6-8 weeks before you want the shipping to go to book in the survey.

You can ask them your questions about things being in different places, but yes I would think it would be better to get eveyrthing in one place if you can.

My rough estimates, for a 40ft container you are probably looking at about GBP 6k and maybe about GBP 4k for a 20 foot.

brian.w

Thanks for the reply,i know i get carried away with my questions,but i just cant see any point in asking just a few questions when i want to know more etc and why not ask all at same time.
I did try and search but nothing much came up unless im not searching right put in shipping,maybe i need to enter the shipping company instead etc.
But by the sounds of it then i have a bit of time to look into this.but thought i ask anyway,i am gonna be asking a lot more on other stuff im not sure about in the coming weeks/months if i cant find the answers or if they are not recent,its a big thing and i really dont want to be missing anything out.