Crown Relocations
 

Hi everyone, I've been reading these forums for a while now and they've been very helpful, esp with the shipping information which is the stage i'm at right now.

I decided to phone Crown as they've been recommended by many people on the forum. I expected them to send somebody round to do the estimate, but instead they've sent me a house contents form to fill in! I thought this was ok at first, but after trying to guess how many boxes things will take up and the volume of things it's turned into a near impossible task.

Is sending a form out normal for Crown or am I being fobbed off cos I'm not moving a huge house full of stuff? Anyone else done this for Crown and how did you go about it?

thanks,
Pete

Re: Crown Relocations
 

I will be interested in the replies to this too as Crown were the only company of 5 contacted that wanted me to estimate myself rather than send an estimator round. ( Maybe they are busy) Anyway based on the estimate I provided they were a lot more expensive than most of the other companies that I contacted.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Sounds odd. We had a guy come round and do all the estimating. There's no way the average Joe can be expected to do that! They've been pretty good with us on the whole. They packed up our stuff 3 weeks ago and we expect to see it again in about 2 months (:eek: ).

If I were you, I'd give them a ring and make sure there wasn't some misunderstanding or something.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

We're using Crown and they sent someone around to us....so did all the others too.

Out of all the firms we had around they have given the best service so far :)

Sue

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Hi Pete

no same happened to us this last week got same form to fill in.

Chris

Re: Crown Relocations
 

From what Ive heard, I wouldnt touch Crown with a bargepole. I seem to recall that they are almost as bad as ***** ********? If they cant be arsed to come out and give you a quote, why should you bother giving them the business? Its apalling really. The quote they gave us was also £950 more than anyone else! I think they may be rip off merchants!

Can anyone who has used them give us advice?

Re: Crown Relocations
 

We had about 8 different companies round for quotes and none of them sent a form for us to fill in!!! I don't know how they expect you to know how to estimate it anyway.
Crown were the most expensive of all the companies we had round and they wouldn't price match ........ so we didn't use them.
We had PSS here on 14/15 July and now our stuff is on its way to Oz. We were very pleased with them and have no complaints at all with them. Would highly recommend them.

Lorraine

Re: Crown Relocations
 

do you have the web address for PSS

Chris

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Sure do -

http://www.pss.uk.com/

Hope this helps and be interested to hear your comments on them.

Lorraine

Re: Crown Relocations
 

we used crown, and a guy came round to the house and did the estimating for us. Couldnt complain about them ,they were excellent.. the guys that did all the packing were great, really quick and everything arrived undamaged..thankfully.
on the day that the container arrived, the girl from the crown office (peggy i think she was called) phoned me to ask if everything was ok and wished us luck for our new life etc etc, and when the container arrived here, we had all the stuff delivered to the house within 2 days. So we were really happy with them.
however you will find that everyone will have good and bad experiences with every company, i dont think you'll ever find one company whom everyone has been satisfied with, unfortunatley, good customer service can be a rare find these days, which is a shame.
good luck anyway , hope you find a company you are happy with :)

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Hi, we used Crown and have no complaints at all. They did come around to give us a quote (as did the other removal companies). Did not even have to go to customs - it was exactly what they promised, door to door delivery.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

We used Crown but I wouldn't again. The UK bit was OK but the Oz side was just too laid back for my liking. They managed to smash $thousands worth of items, although they paid up insurance-wise within a couple of days it was very hard work getting quotes for replacements, repairs etc.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Hi,

We used Crown and in the main happy with them. They sent a guy Billy Saunders round to do the estimate, so no guessitmate for us to do.

Our part shipment left UK April 26, and arrived chez-Perth July 20. It waited in UK until they found another part shipment to make it a full one, then customs wanted to spot check it in Fremantle, so it did take sometime at both ends. Only about 4-5 weeks seabourn though. No breakages, and packed and unwrapped at either end, pleased with service.

Get in touch and get an estimator down, don't be fobbed off.

All the best Paul

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Thanks for youur replys everyone. I think i'll give them a call.
:)

Re: Crown Relocations
 

So how much are you shipping,

We did an inventory yesterday and still cannot make up our minds whether to just send boxes which will cost us about £300 or to ship some other items of furniture. It seems so expensive if you do not have that much to send. We are looking at possibly just a few other objects like cupboards and our cast iron bed frame etc (furniture that will not fit in boxes)

Tara

Re: Crown Relocations
 

One question that is worth asking anyone who comes round for an estimate is regarding disposing of the packing materials the other end.

If you decide to unpack some of the boxes yourself will they come back and collect the rubbish for free?

John Mason (Kent International in Aus) left a dozen huge binliners and told me to call when I had rubbish for pickup and they would come back and collect, no charge, all part of the service.

I recall reading a post here where Crown had promised this in the UK and then their Aussie end decided it was only free to take away stuff on the actual delivery day.

Bearing in mind you pay to go to the tip here it could cost you money to get rid of it yourself.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Hi

We had several estimates (PSS, Robinsons,Crown, Allied Pickfords)

A chap called Andrew Healey visited us from Crown and was excellent. Very friendly and helpful, much more professional set up than some of the other companies. We had some questions later and he was always prompt and helpful with his replies.

We queeried the quote as it was much more expensive than the others and they reduced it (thats business I suppose). It still worked out about £300 more than the others but we felt we were getting better service (free storage, they use there own depot for customs etc).

When the men came to pack, they were also very friendly and chatty. They did an excellent job (touch wood). We can also add to our container before it is shipped if we need to (my cricket bag and daughters bike maybe).

So up to now, we are more than satisfied. Maybe it is other offices that dont give as good a service as the Leeds branch and Andrew Healey. ( You watching Andrew :D )

Paul :)

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Hi Pete,
We've just had exactly same response a form to fill in on the net....utterly ridiculous, when everyone else gives a free home visit!!!
I rang them up this morning and asked for a home visit as some friends of ours had used them said how good they were.
After reading things on here tho' I'm wondering if I should have just tell them to go elsewhere, seems like they are dearer than everyone else and don't offer to come out unless asked!!
I am sure they are not doing themselves any favours!!!

Who are the best shippers??
Lots of people recommend PSS and John Mason.
Any one else like to comment?

Sherie.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Hi we have had a few companies out and found Crown to be the best. They may not have been the cheapest but the service so far has been the best. The little extra they do for the kids and the fact they have there own company at the other end has also gone towards our decision to use them. As people have said before unfortunately I think it depends who you get on the day.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

We would never use Crown again and here's why.... Guy came out to do an estimate and was very friendly and efficient promised us the moon on a stick, Did the hard sell and pointed out all the reasons we should use them like door to door service and they even collect all the packaging (which we were told would be a lot). A half container was about £4k. We pointed out to him that we didn’t know where we would end up in Australia but were assured that it didn’t matter as it was a door to door service and the stuff would get kept in crown storage (which we pay for weekly) and then delivered to our new house once we found one. So we paid up and everything at the UK end went fine apart from they forgot to send our stuff until about 2 months later than when we asked. No problem here as like I said we didn’t know where we would end up.

Within 3 months of getting to Australia we bought a house 3 and a half hours north of Sydney and phoned to arrange delivery. And this is where Crown’s service went pair shaped. They wanted nearly $1000 to deliver our stuff as we were not in the Sydney metro area! I refused as we had paid for and signed a contract to the effect it was ‘Door to Door’ and no mention either by the sales man or contracts that it was metro only. We were told to pay or else we would not get our stuff and to take it up with the UK. So reluctantly I paid the money and delivery was arranged. I complained to the UK and was fobbed off that it was metro only, I asked them to provide proof of that in the contracts I signed and that was the last I heard from them.

Then on delivery day the delivery men brought all the boxes into the house and asked if we really wanted them to unload the boxes all over the floor as that was all they were contracted to do. They told us it would be ok to leave us to do it and they would come back in a week or so and collect the boxes on the next pass up the highway. Weeks went by and no one came to pick up the not too small pile of boxes, so we phoned crown to arrange pickup. We were then told they would only come and get them if we paid another $60. I pointed out that this was included as part of the original fee and they basically called me a liar and asked me to prove it!! I had to photo copy the contract and send it to Crown! They still did nothing until I phoned again for a 3rd time this time all pleasantries went out the window and was told they would only waive the fee once they had spoken to the original delivery men to confirm that they had indeed said they would pick them up for us. About a week later they came to get their boxes…

In a nutshell, Crown UK 10/10, Crown Australia 0/10

Crown if your reading this I still want my delivery fee back and while your at it you can refund the fee you charged us for cleaning mud off 12 pairs of the wife’s shoes, 4 pairs of which were BRAND NEW and had never been worn!

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Almost identical to our experience with Crown: we had paid for unpacking but the two who brought the stuff just dumped it in the living room and went. then they tried to charge us for collecting the packaging. Then they charged us for storage insurance - despite the contract including several month's storage insurance. We eventually got back most of the overcharge but only after getting back to London several times.

As I said, at least the insurance claim was paid promptly.......

Incidentally, where we are, there is no charge for disposal at the tip if it's recyclable, as are the boxes. Just make sure that any plastic is separate: you can get rid of that in the bin over a week or two.

In all honesty I can't say if it's only Crown: I think it's more to do with the Australian way and is probably common. Efficiency and commercial integrity here are more like the UK in the seventies but whereas the Thatcher era pulled a lot of the thinking into the twentieth century the rest of the world seems to have passed Oz by. See the banking threads <g>

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Hi we got three quotes and crowns quote was a £1000 more than both the other 2!The way we saw it in the end was the services are all the same and it costs so much to move out here in the first place, why pay more out unless you need to.All our furniture arrived in one piece and we are more than happy with the company we had.I have also read though that crown are not taking away at this end mwhich could work out costly as you would have to pay to have it taken away .Hope this helps.Shop around aswell for insurance as you can get it alot cheaper than the companies offer,I am sure there is a link on here ,might be worth doing a search...

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Experience with Crown seems a bit mixed. We were very happy, although they did stall on collecting the empty boxes here in Sydney.
The UK end was faultless, being the only ones to come and quote at the house and closely match the "blind" quotes.

We happily recommended Crown to a few people.

Firstly a couple being sponsered to go to Jakarta. They had great service and used them again to return a year later. No trouble.

Next my parents off to N Cyprus - what a nightmare!
Container size was under-estimated so on day of moving out mum and dad are left with some furniture and no where to put it. That got shipped seperately. Then the container got lost enroute, and no one knew where it had gone. The left over furniture arrived first. Then a call from the Turkish dockers to say that there was a container arrived for them!

Finally a couple in Brisbane who had packed up all their stuff a year or two before in the UK, but never shipped it. Crown went in and quoted, unpacked and repacked and shipped with no problems.

So overall I would still recommend Crown.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

We had Crown and PSS out, between the two Crown were far superior, the PSS guy couldn't even find or house (so how would they find Australia) and I wasn' impressed with the way he spoke to my wife on the phone. The PSS guy was more interested in getting away before the traffic got busy instead of giving us a decent quote. PSS were about £750 more than Crown so for us it was a no brainer.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

They told us to give them a rough idea of how many cubic feet. We told them they sent us an email said they'd be in touch never heard from them again :rolleyes:

Re: Crown Relocations
 

We too had Crown and PSS OUT, the pricing however was the other way around with Crown coming in almost £1k more expensive than PSS' and from the very good reports i'I'veead on PSS - It seems a no brainer - but before i make the decision this morning i will give them a call and find out why 30% difference in costs.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

We decided to pick Crown because they were prompt and knowledgeable about the move. Covered all angles and don't employ contractors at other end, which all other firms do, we believe.

Once we agreed to go with them, it been nothing but problems. Failing to send any forms out to us to fill in, unable to contact the person at Crown we were dealing with, and lies. Finally after complaining to this persons MD, i got some response, and he finally sent me all the paper work, which we filled in. Got a call yesterday from Crown, and we move in 7 days time, saying where is the rest of the paper work, and do you realise that you have too much stuff to fit into one container, and that you will have to pay extra for this. We had no idea, but she insisted that we were told all of this, as she has a note of it. Bloody lier's. We were told everything would fit into one container. She would not help us in anyway to resolve this. She has sent us loads of forms to fill in, and one is about the fridge and its CFC compliance. Phones her just now, to ask how to fill this form in, and she has told us, that we should have a letter from the fridge company telling us that it complies to CFC regs, and we were told about this on there first visit. more lies.

I would not recommend them to anyone. Beware. I thought that paying more, meant we would get better service. you pay for what you get is the old saying, but in this case, its rubbish. Avoid them if you can

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Hi just out of interest who is it you have been dealing with? We are also going with Crown and live in Hampshire and have had completely different help and was wondering if it was the same person. At least when we get to your stage we will be forwarned. They came out to us again yesterday as we move in 7 weeks time and she couldnt have been more helpful. Makes you wonder if its just who you get at the time Unfortunately.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Typical! Having ruled out our favourites PSS because they wouldn't come out for several weeks we had a choice of Masons and Crown. The day after we signed up for Crown this thread appears which isn't too complimentary. :(

We also had Robinsons and Bishops Move out to quote. After 3 weeks we still haven't heard from Bishops Move. Robinsons quote was £500 cheaper than Crown/Masons but didn't arrive until 2 weeks after they measured up by which time we had already chosen Crown. :(

So, as a general point, bear in mind that this is the busiest time of the year for moving house so all shippers are busy. That also seems to mean they are less willing to negotiate on price.

We went with Crown as they use their own staff in Perth. Masons said they use several contractors to keep them all competitive. I will let you know how we get on with Crown in due course.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Yes we chose Crown also mainly because they had offices here in Australia and thought we would get the same kind of decent service here as we did in the UK. How wrong we were!

Re: Crown Relocations
 

This thread ,has cracked me up , in my 1500 post i have TOLD you ,Doree bonner ,John Masons , Interpac[Excess} Or if you have plenty of dosh , Micheal GERSHON, or like most people on here Do YOU want the "Removal you want. ?? Or the removal you want to PAY for.??...........YOUR CALL......... :beer: mm

Re: Crown Relocations
 

I had exactly the same thing with Crown, just emailed me an attachment form to fill in. I deleted it. I thought that if they can't be bothered to ring or send someone round then I can't be bothered to give them my money!

Re: Crown Relocations
 

I think I am being thick. Don't say anything! Is this the list you do recommend or the list you don't? Doree Bonner don't have a very good reputation on here as I recall but Masons do. Never heard of Interpac or Gershon.

Having read nearly every thread on this forum for 9 months now I always thought PSS had the best reputation. After them Crown and Mason were next best from memory. So I was quite surprised to see such negative feedback on Crown (even if most of it is to do with not turning up to quote rather than quality of service for those who did get a personal visit).

I wonder if I was to start a thread on PSS or Masons, say, would I get just as many negative comments.

After all we are British. We slag people off when they are crap but don't praise them when they are good.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

:) What on earth makes them as bad as ***** ******** - I never thought that could be possible!!!? :D - please can you tell me more and what has put you off so much :confused: as many of us have booked them. So far I haven't had any problems - fingers crossed I don't either. I never had any problems getting an estimator out and that was only for a small 2 bedroom house. The Livingston branch were excellent. I wonder if the cases of people not getting estimators out are fairly isolated?
Lynn :)

Re: Crown Relocations
 

I wrote a letter to the head office of Boots once to tell them about the good service I had received from one of their shop girls :p

Re: Crown Relocations
 

I wonder if I was to start a thread on PSS or Masons, say, would I get just as many negative comments.

Hi
I was going to post this exact thread tonight. I have had quotes from the standard 5 but am now undecided whether to go with pss or masons. I received a quote from masons tonight which suprisingly is actually cheaper than pss, although i am checking it out!

out of the two companies who would you recommend? and why?
I need to make a decision fairly swiftly as i am completing all going well on 26th august and its a busy time.
Any help gratefully appreciated.
Irene

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Yeah mate Cause Australian's are bastards!!!

Re: Crown Relocations
 

Glad to hear it - we have PSS coming on Friday to pack us up- fairly rapid transit time - expected in Fremantle by 8th Sep
Will report back to this thread when we have news :)

Re: Crown Relocations
 

I have also decided with PSS.

When Crown called me i advised them they were 30% more expensive - and without any prompting he said he would go and look at his price. Within 20mins they had dropped a substantial amount.

I told them i was going with PSS and he thanked us for the opportunity to look at his price - so i guess its something that they like doing...

So if anyone is considering Crown its worth asking the question.. Maybe it was just a one off but he did ask my wife if and who we were getting other quotes from.....which made me feel uneasy.

Mind you i asked PSS if they could do anything with their price and their response was "Why should we we have plenty of business and we know we are very competitive!"

I told them that i had to ask just in case - otherwise i would never know.

Re: Crown Relocations
 

We have just moved to Sydney & used Crown for the move.

We've been very impressed with them so far - their service has been excellent. They did send someone round to do an estimate though & we're glad they did because the estimate was way over 20ft container & gave us th incentive to throw loads of stuff out! In the end, we shipped a 20 foot container & the UK team packed us really efficiently. We even received an email from the Sydney office before we left the UK to introduce themselves. Since our arrival in Sydney, they have been in contact with us to check forms etc. & seem on the ball.

We had estimates from a number of companies & Crown were more expensive but they also seemed to be more honest by telling us all the customs costs upfront (not all do!) & also, they were the only ones to point out that we could get shipping insurance from anywhere we liked - it didn't have to come from them. At the end of the day, we decided to go with Crown because they also have an Australian office rather than just an agent. Having read some of the previous posts on this site, it seemed that there can be quite a lot of debate over broken/damaged items & where the responsibility lies. Crown's service has certainly been worth the extra money to date .

It comes down to personal preference at the end of the day...

Good luck with the move

Michele