BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Earlier this year (Jan time) we did our BE research and found what we thought were the top three shipping companies, based on individuals personal experience. We were impressed with all three and did not make any immediate decisions as we had not sold our house and it was our initial intention that I would stay in the Uk until sold then we would ship our belongings.

During February all three companies stayed in touch, but mainly Crown, when we decided (last minute, mid March) that we would leave the house for sale and all travel in April, we rang all three compaies and asked if the quotes would be the same, they were for the first 2, we spoke to Crown last and when they confirmed the price, we immediately told them that they were too expensive (by a long way) and we would be going with one of the other cheaper quotes as we were satidfied that we would get the same level of service but at a cheaper price, the Crown sales man agreed to match that quote if we gave them the business, so we did.

How wrong we were to do that, we should have had doubts when they arrived to pack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was agreed during our consultation that we wanted sole use of a 20ft container, we also have a large drive and it would not be a problem to bring the container and pack on the drive, we have documentation to verify this was agreed.

On the morning of the packing a HUGE and I mean HUGE delivery van turned up, before they started doing anything we told the packers what we had been told about the container coming to the house and questioned why this was not the case, he rang the office to check this to be told that as they would be packing over 2 days this was the easiest option for them, Ok we let them carry on, what fools we were.

After we had been here a week or so we decided to have a look at the Crown site, and track our container, when we had a look we had very little information, if I had paid Crown full price thinking that I would be able to track my container then I would have been disappointed, but one thing we did notice was that our container had not left the UK until 16th April, this is a delay of 15 days, so what had they been doing with our belongings all this time. We were concerned and emailed the office to be told that ” sometimes there are delays getting to and at port and this will have been when the ship departed and should not cause a delay in our shipment arriving”

We accepted the response, but Jason was keen to try and track the container himself, he eventually found a web site, which is

https://www.maerskline.com/appmanager/,

we had received an email from our local contact and when responding to her asked what the container number was and she very kindly provided this so we could track the shipment.

Tonight we have tracked our shipment and the 40t container that it is in, we believe that we have knowingly been deceived by Crown, who are currently investigating this. Because they reduced the price they have placed our belongings which should be in a sole use 20 ft container in a 40ft shared container, had they knowingly not tried to deceive us, when we asked what they delay was we would have been told that they were waiting for the container to be filled wouldn’t they, not that it was traffic and the port.

We will be taking this further but wanted to warn any others who were considering Crown, that if Crown reduce the price it seems they also reduce the specification that you believe that you are getting, but don't tell you, so make sure you aren’t fooled, also if anyone else didn’t have the container packed at home you might also want to check the above site and see if you have paid for sole use and are sharing too!! I wouldn’t mind but the price we have paid is comparable with the other companies sole 20ft use price, as Crown were way off the mark with the initial quote and had I wanted to share could have got that cheaper than this price.

I am furious, I don’t think anyone will be able to comprehend how cross we are at the moment and just wanted to share our not so great experience so far with Crown.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

I would never recommend Crown, if i saw a post asking about them i always tell them how bad they were for us. I know people do have good luck with them, but for you and me they were useless beyond useless:curse:
They stole our stuff after packing it. Our furniture was also packed in a van, not a container. It was broken into the day they packed and one of their packers stole alot of our property.
Then when it did finally arrive 2 months later in OZ, most stuff were damaged. Took them 3 months to pay up!!!
So a bad start to our new life, which never got much better anyway.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

We had a problem with pickfords and after numerous emails and no response got onto the ombudsman in the u.k. a few hours later we had 2 emails back, one from the office manager from the office that we dealt with and one from the national manager. his first question was . how far along where we with the grievance with the ombudsman. we told him not far but we would be if we didn't get the help that we needed. he duly obliged and refunded part of the money we had paid. don't want to go in to too many details but use the facilities that are in place to help you and you won't go too far wrong.

lisa

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Thanks for the warning!! This was one of the companies we had contacted & were planning to use :eek:
Not now!!!
The other company we are thinking of is PSS International, does anyone have any views on them? I have only heard good ones so far :thumbsup:

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

WE USED CROWN RELOCATIONS AND WE COULD NOT FAULT THEM!! THE ESTIMATOR WAS VERY FRIENDLY & INFORMATIVE & THE PACKERS WERE BRILLIANT. THE ONLY PROBLEM WE HAD WAS WITH OUR WHIPPER SNIPPER WHICH WAS SENT TO QUARANTINE BUT THAT WASN'T CROWN'S FAULT.
KATRINA

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

We had heard great reports about Crown which is why we went with them, the estimator was good, the packers great, really friendly, our issue is that we have paid for a sole use 20ft container and got a shared 40 ft container and had we not tracked the container ourselves would have been non the wiser. Somewhat deceptive of Crown I think.
Tracy

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Hi Tracy

What awful timing. We have already paid Crown and they are coming next Thursday!

We are using a shared container already but it has made me want to go back to Crown and get more information on the process.

Mark

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

We have used then 2 times and can not fault them at all.

LibbyX

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

If you search this forum you will find that people have had good and very bad experiences with just about every shipping company going.At the end of the day whatever company you use its down to "the human element" ie if you happen to get good packers both ends whether the person who deals with your claim is an ahole or not !!!! Its pot luck and at the moment i'm having trouble choosing which one to use. So far i've had in White and co, Excess baggage, Allied Pickfords and a quote over the phone from Crown who are a £1000 more expensive than the rest !!
So far its down to Pickfords and Excess as both were very professional but Crown are coming to see me next week so will see :sneaky:

From the sounds of it though Crown have pulled a fast one and saved a buck or two !! Take them to the cleaners !!!! :thumbsup:
Sunbound

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

We knocked crown down to 3050 for a sole use 20ft container, it arrived at the house, the guys spent 2 days packing it REALLY well (we didn't even insure it), was packed on the fri and on the sea on the saturday - and it arrived without a single breakage.

So, not all experiences have been like yours - but i don't blame you for being extremely angry in your case:mad:
Alarm bells would have been ringing when they turned up without a 20ft container - as you know they are going to repack you if they take away stuff in a removals van:(

Best of luck getting something out of it:)

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

I agree with this post - crown gave 100% throughout our shipment from beginning to end. Not 1 piece of our shipment was damaged and the service was good at both ends. I am afraid it sounds like you have just been unlucky and had a bad experience which could be experienced with any company. Hope all works out for you in the end.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

My company used David Turner, who were expensive but excellent.

I wonder if you sometimes get what you pay for and that you're better not screwing people down?

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Well, we screwed them down and our stuff was superbly packed so i'd say - no:D

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Nice.:thumbup:

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

I'm so sorry to hear you are going through this. I saw a lot of people come and go in Singapore and until this I'd heard good things about Crown - they would have been top of my list, had I had a choice.

However, I think you may need to be careful what you say publicly if this is an on-going situation, especially if it is likely to get litigious.

(Our company went with Unigroup/UTS and, so far, they've been fantastic; our stuff cleared customs and quarantine yesterday so now it's down to the local guys but we're going to have it within a month of packing.)

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

I would never recommend them either, they almost did everything to the letter to what they did to you, on top of it they damage so many other things, kept part of our stuff back in UK, they wouldnt send it unless we paid for it, it took 6 months to get them back at the end we had to pay for it, that was only way we could get it back.
We still havent received a penny from the insurance company, we have been here 15 months.:thumbdown:

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Crown - have used them twice now - first time they were great (but I wasnt paying - company was). Second time they were abyssmal at both ends - they lied, broke stuff, and were just plain downright rude. Would highly recommend AGAINST them

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

[£3050, I wish, we have paid a lot more than that for shared use.

I didn't think that just under £4,000 was screwing them down and they agreed to match a competitors quote, just negletected to mention it wasn't for the same service.

Hi, thanks for the warning, but Crown are already offering compensation, they have already apologised and admitted they failed to communicate the difference to us and have agreed that we were misled.

I suppose the frustrating part is that had we not tracked it ourselves, we would have be non the wiser about this.

We would never use them nor recommend them again, but that is just our opinion on the back of this, we chose to use them from others personal experience, you just don't know which way the cookie to going to crumble really basically, some have a good experience others don't.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

I'm not being funny, but am I the only person who thinks that being "furious" is a bit of an over-reaction to having your stuff put in a 40ft shared container instead of a 20ft one? :huh: I suspect that 20ft or 40ft would have set sail on the same ship on the same day probably, and I doubt very much if your belongings will mind having to share for a few weeks. I know it's not exactly what you have paid for, but I think you're getting too worked up about it.
If your container arrives on time (and hasn't been lost over the side of the ship like so many are) and all your belongings are present and in one piece, you have received the service that you paid for essentially.

We used Crown, even though they were the most expensive quote and had absolutely no regrets at all. Fantastic service at both ends, and nothing missing or broken.

I'm sure I won't have made any friends with this post as everyone else seems to think you have been deceived in the most heinous fashion, but if this is the biggest issue you face in your emigration "journey" then consider yourselves very, very lucky. I'd hate to see how you'd react if something really big happened..............:curse::eek:

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Paid Crown over £3700 for the priviledge of sharing said 40 ft container.

Had we gone with another company and asked to share a 40 ft container it would have been approx £2,000

Thus paying in excess of £1700 EXTRA to Crown

Thats an extra $2000 dollars we could have brought with us, to spend on something we need here.

They have also decieved us regarding this and have admitted to the same

Can you now see why we are furious !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I really don't think you can judge me as you know don't know anything about me or how I would react to a situation.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

But had you gone with the other company, you would not have been getting the same product. Presumably Crown charge more because there is something they do better for their money. How much would Crown have charged you for a shared 40ft? The difference between that price and what you paid is what you should be getting back.
I have no issue with you wanting a refund of money paid for something you haven't received, but I was simply pointing out that to be as upset as you are about it is a bit of an over-reaction in my opinion.
And to say that I don't know anything about how you would react to a situation is blatantly untrue. You've just displayed to the whole of the internet how you react to a situation. So what if they turned up in a HUGE, and I mean HUGE van? Who cares? Were you worried about what the neighbours might say? I wouldn't care if they turned up in a yellow submarine as long as they packed everything well and didn't steal anything. Would you rather they left a container in your drive overnight? How would that look?

As I said before, you wanting something back is not my issue. I think you're perfectly entitled to it. I'm just saying calm down a bit. It'll be sorted out and I'm sure you'll get something back. Just make sure you don't have to spend you refund on medication for your ulcers..................

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

We asked Crown how much for a 20 ft sole use container and got a price.

We asked other companies how much for a 20 ft sole use container would be and got prices.

Crown SAID they would MATCH other companies price for 20 ft sole use container, we didn't push them to do this.

Had they said we will match the other company price, but you will share, we would have said no thanks, we want sole use and would have gone with the other company. They didn't even give us this option.

We found out last night that we were sharing and were furious when the thread was typed, Crown HAVE admitted deceiving us and the money we would have had, had we chosen to share would go a long way over here.

We haven't sold our UK home, it is still for sale, as a result of this we did not arrive cash rich and are sending a significant sum back to pay the mortgage each month. We have 3 children and getting organised initially is not cheap, nor is ongoing day to day living.

I am not expecting a full refund but the differnence between what we would have paid had we chosen to share and what we actually paid.

Ok, perhaps I was over the top on the HUGE van, I was cross, in fact I was furious last night, we had been lied to and decieved by them, if someone you trusted, lied and deceived you and couldn't explain why, wouldn't your initial reaction be fury.

I wasn't worried about the neighbours and yes I would have preferred a container, it is a private drive and would not have affected anyone else and if you had bothered reading my first post today I think you will find that I had calmed down and was rather happy.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

I would be mighty angry too. To tell you the truth more about it having been in a van and then moved again rather than straight into the container. Far more chance of things being broken/stolen when you are not there to oversee.

The money would have had me fuming too. I don't believe for a second they MUST be better because they cost more! Unfortunetly too many people get themselves into debt with just that attitiude.

Good luck, and ignor people who are just trying to pick fights.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Its a shame you have had an experience which has caused you distress it couldn't have been very nice for you but I just wanted to let other people know too that we had a very good experience, our packers were great and the only thing that was broke was a 10 pound ikea lamp and that was because it had been opened and checked this end. I suppose you can't please everyone every time just most people most of the time.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

It is a shame, but as I have said before this was our experience and appreciate that not everyone has the same experience. I am pleased that you had a good one with them as have others.

My suggestions would be that if Crown offer to match a price, then you check that you are getting the service you initially requested.

Also the tracking website could be useful if anyone is interested to know where the ships is.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

I don't think you over reacted at all! This journey is very stressful anyway without the added fact that the removal company is trying to rip you off!
If you were not going thru this long drawn out process & didn't have the financial worry of paying your mortgage back home this problem may not have affected you in this way but to say you have over reacted & can't deal with stressful situations is dam right rude! :wub:

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Wow - can't believe Crown did this (knowingly decieve you!)

I just finished working for Pickfords so I can speak my mind about these companies. Crown is actually one of the better companies from reports I have heard (along with Pickfords of course), but as anothert poster mentioned, human element is ALWAYS the swing factor.

Alot of people will handle a removal from start to finish - it you get one imcompetent person then that can stuff you right up. And I am sure you have heard the term 'it's hard to find good help' :)

But anyway - at Pickfords we were not allowed to sell anything other than what was quoted - often due to a small stuff up the company could be out £1000s but you could never choose to recoup that by changed what the customer had contracted us to do. I assume they will call it a mistake...but I would personally think they were trying to make money on what would've been a loss account.

My advice would be to call up and pretend to be a different customer. Tell them you have had a quote from a competitor for the same volume you have in your shipment and that you would like a quote for shipping the cheapest way (ie shared container). See what they come back with and you might be able to use this to get your price reduced properly. Once of my colleagues customer did this when my collegaue overquoted and it worked for them!

Really sorry to hear about this - I would be LIVID too. It's just not on for a company to do that. No wonder they aren't going bust!!!! Cheeky buggers.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

I don't quite get what the advantages are of sole use of a 20ft container, as opposed to shared use of a 40ft container, other than the cost differential you've indicated? And if cost was the main driver why not save your 1700 GBP and go for shared use from the start?

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

in our case it is quite simple, ideally the 20ft container would have been packed and sealed at our house, then opened at customs and unpacked here.

We have a couple of really nice pieces of furniture (family stuff) and some limited edition china, (sentimental and irreplaceable value) and we personally didn't want them to be moved too often, certainly not as often as is the case when sharing, having to be moved to removal vans etc. Again this is one of the reasons we (well I) was so upset.

This is why we chose to spend the money on a sole use container.

I honesty think they hoped that we wouldn't find out, but we have! Perhaps it was a mistake, and not intentional that they didn't tell us, we don't know.

Give them there due they have taken responsibility for this and admitted fault and we are dealing with BAR over this.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

All makes perfect sense when delicate sentimental items are at stake.

Comes down to contracts at the end, and by your description, it all happened rather quickly. Trying to amend details, like cost, effectively voids the contract, requiring a new one to be drawn up (I would think).

Hope it all works out for the good.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Look, I really feel for you, as if moving wasn't going to give you enough stress without having sold your house - this situation has obviously quite understandably put you over the edge. I do feel for you, I think most of us would agree that handing your life's belongings over to strangers and waiting for them over the other side of the world means putting your trust into a company. Now this 'trust' has been broken by their deceiving you - well it sort of goes without saying that your emotional and upset.

I would really urge you to get some money out of them - in the hope that this will help you here and try to let it go and enjoy your new life in spite of this. It would be such a shame to let this spoil something thats already going to challenge you emotionally anyway.

Good luck

Tracey

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Thanks for this

Tracy

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Thanks for this Tracey, It is the deceipt that has hurt the most.

We are just trying to understand what it would have cost us had we chosen to share, to use as a comparison against what we have paid.

Tracy

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

We used Crown and had quite a lot of damage mainly due to the "persons of Islander appearance" who delivered at this end.

IIRC the insurance claim was around $3500 but this didn't really cover the cost of replacement. The insurers *did* pay up immediately we'd put in the documented claim, though we had to spend weeks getting quotes on things that weren't even being made any more.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Apart from having it sealed at your home etc, you are also given a departure date and 9 times out of 10 your container will leave on that date. With a shared one you have no idea when your container will leave as it depends on how quick and organised the shippers are at filling the rest of the container. You are also more likely to be opened by customs judging by comments on here about shared containers.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

we've used Crown twice as well, and had absolutley no problems with them. :)

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Ours was delayed 16 days before setting off which is why Jason was keen to understand the ship, and when we queried this with Crown, they just told us we it was a delay with the ship and not them.

I am dreading it arriving now !

Tracy

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

I think we seem to be in the minority with this problem, glad you had a good experience. We chose them as one of our 3 to contact on the back of others positive experiences.

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Sending you a big hug Tracy! I hope it arrives soon for you :(

Re: BEWARE CROWN RELOCATIONS
 

Unfortunately there is good and bad in all shippers. We used John Mason and were more than pleased, they even suggested we track the ship with the link above as we would obviously be interested in where our belongings were. However others (a minority to be honest) had nothing but bad to say about the company.

At least Crown have admitted they were wrong. That's a huge step for a shipper, generally speaking they deny everything so well done for keeping all your paperwork and having proof of what they said.