londonmike

Thanks mr mover, I think you're referring to the 'wooden items' issue: I had seen the note on 'wooden items' before and had taken that to mean things like our wooden blanket box, and possibly some mexican carvings we own (and my didjeridoo!). I was surprised to be told that the list should include every wooden and part-wooden item including things like our wine rack, picture frames and stereo speakers; not least because it didn't appear to be an issue raised anywhere on this forum.
It will prove to be quite an extensive list...

londonmike

Scratch that. Seek and ye shall find.


Jeez, this is hard work! I'm a little concerned that I'm discovering all these things myself, often almost by accident.

chiefster1976

mmm interesting variations...
A friend used pickfords 2 years ago..20ft container no breakages, no problems..
i have used them last week... I think if you get a good competative quote i think pickfords are very good..they were the cheapest for myself with only 70cft...
£525...
I do agree its down to the packers that come.. 2 came to my house and all they was interested in is how fast they could pack the boxes.. and when i asked one of them did he use bubble wrap for my trophies he said they are well packed..i know he was fibbing, they just used thin paper to wrap your stuff in before putting into boxes... each box has a letter on them equating to a certain amount of cft... All that was written on the boxes was E.G. clothes and trophies mixed..NOT a full run down of items....
time will tell if there will be breakages..only have to wait 3 months to get it..lol...
All though you may get more of a chance of customs checking self packed containers i think personally its best practise to let the company do your packing but make sure you have and itinery of EVERY item you have before THEY pack it and make your own itinery of whats in your boxes..cos they wont mark on the boxes every item in there!!!!!
lets be honest they wont give a monkeys whats precious to YOU!!!

ITS worth knowing pickfords apparently use there company door to door thats one reason i used them...
most other companies use there own company door to port then a sub contractor will pick up your items to drop them to your door...
I thought if any problems happen its and argument with ONE company not dealing with 2 companies..

londonmike

One point that may be of interest: I first had Pickfords come and give me an estimate in June. They were the first company I approached and they came back with a quote based on 600cft.
A month or so later, I'd received several other quotes, all of which came in nearer to 400 or 450cft. I asked Pickfords for a requote at which point they came back and re-estimated our belongings at 450cft.
Despite the drop of 150cft. (25%) they told me they were unable to reduce their quote due to a global increase in shipping charges! To be honest, this did kind of put me on my guard...

londongrady

Hello Mike,

The Australian Customs from B534, does request a list of 'Furniture or other articles of wood' ( pg 4) however I would suggest that a full list is not necessary.TheRemovalist will make an Inventory list on packing the goods and let you have a copy and retain a copy themselves to be presented to Customs/AQIS at destination - so on pg 4 it would be possible
to say 'see inventory list' and let AQIS make their own decision.

In truth they are not interested in most 'high street' furniture, so if you have purchased from a major retailer, then you are unlikely to have issues.
The timber used would already be compliant.Exceptions might be any articles made of Bamboo or Whicker ( most likely to be treated) or Water Hyancinth
( which apparently is now been used to manufacture some furniture and is a definate NO!) If you have any antique furniture that may have been attackedby wood worm, then this would also be an issue and fumigation certificates would be required - though AQIS may also order retreatment.

On Insurance, I'm not sure I understand what you are referring to, possibly
Category one (hi value) goods? If you want to call me, please do and I will
try to clarify further for you.

Grady

londongrady

Hi Mike,

Me again!

The Shipping lines have a fuel factor in their freight rates - we are notified when changes occur and filter these through to our freight costs. currently
the fuel factor on a 40 foot container ( which we use for shared load/groupage shipments) is over 50% higher than the early part of the year.

Hopefully this factor has now 'topped out' and may go down, though we have not been notified of anything yet - there tends to be a slight lag in the way
these changes reach the market ( in fairness both on upwards and downwards movements)

It would be the application of the fuel factor which would have meant we
could not offer a reduction for a reduced quantity, as your change in quantity
most likely straddled a change in the fuel factor.

Back on wood - I meant to mention untreated timbers such as African carvings - I think your Mexican items will definately require treatment.

Regards
Grady

londonmike

Thanks Grady, you're being a great help - to me, and hopefully others too (which is why I'm posting my queries here).
Wood [sic] you know where I would find a fumigator in London ?

londongrady

Hi Mike,

I would not recommend Professionally treating anything in the UK prior to shipment - the Aussies could order re treatment, so better to pay once and have it done in Australia.
General advice - other items of interest to the Aussies could be sports equipment, golf clubs, wellingtons, garden tools and furniture. Washing/cleaning these items and making sure they are not soiled in any way is a sensible precaution in the weeks leading up to packing day.

Regards
Grady

londongrady

Hi Mike,

Hope things are coming together, are there any more things you need
to know about the Removal service? Please let me know.

Regards
Grady

meldrum

I hired Allied Pickfords. They appeared very proffessional at the outset. The packing was late No bubble wrap was used, no cratting was used. I was assured this would be done at night !!!! I paid for containers My goods arrived at my new home in France thrown into a lorry with someone elses goods, I had to state what was mine.
Huge unrepairable damage was incured, They have admited Liability but are not paying compensation. I am devistated. I WOULD NEVER TRUST THEM AGAIN.

Rich Albon

I used them from the UK to Aus on my first move there. They were okay.

I can, however recommend a GREAT removal service. We used them from Aus to America and now are using them again for the return.

They are called Wridgways:

www.wridgways.com.au

I haven't read through this entire thread and am sorry if this is a repeat statement or contrary to another view. I don't know who Wridgways use in the UK, but they will be able to tell you via an email.

They were efficient, very well organised, incredibly gentle with our items (they packed it all) and the shipment took only 5 weeks from UK to Aus!

londongrady

hello meldrum,

I work for Pickfords and am sorry to hear of the problems you have encountered. We are the biggest removalist in the UK, members of the
British Association of Removers and Worldwide associations.Our staff attend
industry approved approved training courses and we couple this training with
our 400 years of experience.Our aim is to provide a cost effective and
efficient door to door removal service, be it for a Domestic, Business or International Relocation.

We ship more Customers around the globe than any other removalist, many thousands each year are completely happy with the service - I have pasted in just one recent response from our testimonials;

Good Morning Victoria, We would like to thank both your team & the one over here for such a wonderful job! We would have no hesitation in recommending you to anyone. Kind Regards, Richard.

In your instance we have clearly not provided a suitable service and
even worse when things have gone wrong we have not according to your
report acted fairly - I am mailing you to try and rectify that situation.

If you could mail directly to me at [email protected]
with your full name, a reference number if possible, or the original Move coordinator whom you worked with and your destination town, then I will
look at what went wrong and resolve this as best as possible.

We offer a range of transport options for Europe, from direct house to house -
quick but more expensive, to shared load options, which are more economical
but will involve sharing the space on the vehicle (and the costs) and will
usually take a little longer to arrive.There is also a variety of pack options to
choose from, though none should have led to the problems you describe.

I apologise for the damages that have occurred and would ask you to mail
me directly as per above

thankyou
grady