di90

Packers came on friday and i noticed that they didn't dismantle a couple of things that were supposed to be dismantled. They also used pillows and quilts that i was told to put in drawers, to pack out boxes as cushioning. They were also very liberal with their usage of boxes. I asked them if this was ok and wouldn't it increase the load.......'no its fine' was their answer!

Low and behold i got a call from pickfords this morning and they said that the volume had increased by 75 cu ft and this resulted in £160 extra to pay. I explained the above to her and she said she would pass it onto her supervisor and call back later!

I am a bit cross with them and i hope they don't end up charging me!

What can i do, if anything, if they say i have to pay it??

Kim67

They did exactly the same to us from Perth to Dubai. They wanted another $900, my husband told them he wasn't going to pay it because they'd given us the quote and we actually had less than what they quoted on because we sold some stuff. We ended up getting them to leave out a cross trainer and an antique dining table and they sent them over in someone elses container at no cost to us. They ended up arriving just after we unpacked anyway.

emelems

Not sure what you agreed in the beginning - you need to check your contract.. that should decide if you have to pay or not..

However, seeing as they have your goods and prob wont deliver until you DO pay, I'd say they have you over the proverbial barrel..

Pay them, and write it off to experience... and of course, make sure that EVERYONE who might use them in the future is well aware of how they conduct business.. which of course, you have just done so.. so good on ya!



Em x

di90

original quote was for £2155 for 485 cu ft, so now that its 560 cu ft they want an extra £160!

well they should hopefully see sense and realise that their packers are responsible for this not me. Maybe they should send their packers to the warehouse where our belongings are stored and dismantle the stuff properly and re pack the boxes to reduce the load!

I will update you all, once i know the outcome.

emelems

Good luck with it all.. did you agree that that they could increase the price should their quotation be completely @rse? I thought a quote was a written agreement for price?

Em x

Toe Dipper

For the sake of a good argument, or to keep as a reply to their demands... would they have reimbused you if the cubic capacity was less than quoted? - I think not! Keep arguing and they may just let it go.

Toe Dipper

paul1968mcr

I'll never use Pickfords again.

They moved us to USA from the UK, when we finally unpacked everything, 6 months later - noticed few things were missing!!

Mini Marshal Guitar Amp, and a quite expensive Inova Flashlight - I remembered packing them in a box with some other gear as it was a box of delicate electronics - open box in USA - not there!!!!

Even though the company paid for our second move within' the US, never even considered using Pickfords!

Dorothy

The fact that the packers may have lifted a couple of your things is not necessarily the fault of Pickfords. We too have moved long haul a couple of times with Pickfords and found things missing, but that's not the fault of a large multinational company. It's the fault of the franchise holder who hired the packers in the first place.

savanna454

It is cf an estimate which can change.

There's probably a clause in the contract that allows them to charge more if the volume has altered substantially............

Having said that if you make a fuss (I would) and get the right person to make a fuss to - a company with Pickfords standing may waive it. IMO worth a shot.

Failing which in the scheme of things 160 quid isn't a vast amount of dosh so you might pay it and move on but its often the principle of the thing isn't it?

Good luck whatever you decide!

savanna454

I'm not sure I totally agree with this - sure your contract is with the franchise holder and any claim for theft would be directed at them.

They also have a duty of care to ensure their employees don't thieve of their customers......

This may be easier said than done but it is an important reason why the public choose companies like Pickfords rather than 'Dodgy' removals.

As a large multinational Pickfords vet and appoint their franchisees and take a % for allowing them to operate under the Pickfords "umbrella".

In doing so Pickfords must take some corporate responsibility for franchisee actions in a broad sense to preserve their hard won reputation.

I suspect that if theft occurred persistently with a particular franchisee appropriate corporate action from the parent company would soon follow - indeed it could be deemed negligent if they did nothing.

Its important to add that due diligence can only follow if Pickfords find out - hence IMO the importance of making an appropriate response in writing to the correct person within the organization if this happens and not putting theft down to experience.

Reading fan

Hi we had the same not with Pickfords - they wanted an extra £980. They informed us by email after one lot was sent. When they left after the first day we had to move some boxes and thought they felt a bit light - when we had opened them they were only about 1/4 full.We took photos and repacked them saving 5 - 6 boxes in one room. We sent these photos with a strong letter to the removals - after all it fitted in a 20ft container Oz to Uk and we had less stuff this time. They have let us off the extra although I think we are going to have to pay for 2 lots of customs fees Good luck

Dorothy

The OP's beef is not necessarily with Pickfords, but rather with the franchisee. If you go to your local McDonalds and find a hair in your chips does that automatically make ALL McDonald's franchises hair servers? No, of course not. However if it was a regular occurrance at that particular franchise then yes, corporate McDonald's would need to step in and let them know it is unacceptable.

JAJ

That's one opinion. The counter argument is that if Pickfords (or any company) allow their brand to be used by other companies, they are fully responsible for ensuring the exact same standards are maintained.

savanna454

Sorry I thought you were responding to a post by paul1968mcr saying "I'll never use Pickfords again......." and involving theft - not the OP.

My opening paragraph states "your contract is with the franchise holder and any claim for theft would be directed at them" so as I've said I don't totally disagree with what you've said.

I was looking at the bigger picture of a serious issue and if I've read your last paragraph correctly it would appear that you agree with the broader point I was trying to make regarding Pickfords corporate responsibility.

As to your Maccas comparison there is a big difference between finding a "hair in your chips" which presumably fell in accidentally and can be sorted in a few seconds at the counter and theft by Pickfords packers which is a serious criminal activity punishable by imprisonment.

I am not party to how prevalent this thieving is. It could be a rare event or commonplace. What I do know is that hard earned reputations very rapidly take a nosedive and most good companies including Pickfords would be very interested in stamping out such activities.

Not much difference to this really - after all its baggage in transit entrusted to others....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7092946.stm

di90

just to update you on the latest.

I was called by pickfords yesterday and they said they were going to the warehouse to try to reduce the load as much as possible and get back to me once this was done and go from there. I told her i was very unhappy and this was causing unnecessary stress. She appologised and said she would be in touch. That fine, though not sure i like the idea of people going through my stuff without me being there. I hope that nothing goes missing!!

I then called the guy from pickfords who came to quote me, as i had built a really good rapport with him (had his home number so called him there). He was aware of what had happened.

Just to give you some background before i continue - when i was getting quotes from different removal companies a few months ago, a competetor told me to avoid pickfords like the plague as they were finacially unstable and that they would charge me the extra when they discovered that i had more cu ft. In fact pickfords at the time had quoted me as having 430 cuft, compared to everyone elses 525-550 cuft. When pickfords contacted me later to see if i liked the quote i told them what the other competetor had said and that i was put off. The guy reassured me that they were NOT finacially unstable and said he was more than happy to requote and demontrate by bringing boxes to show me that i had indeed 430cuft!! I said ok and he came round and i then had 485 cuft (i had added some more stuff in though). I decided to go with pickfords from then on. So to continue...

The guy from pickfords was very understanding and appologetic yesterday. I reminded him of the above and said i felt that what the other competitor had initially said had actually come true and i was very dissapointed to be in that exact position. He totally understood, said he would speak with the appropriate people and get this sorted for me! I got the impression he was very much on my side and he implyed that he would make sure i was not charged the extra - though only my interpretation of what he said.

Now just waiting for them to get back to me. Not sure what the contract says.....will take a look. I know its only £160 but for me its the principal of things. If things had been done properly in the first place, i wouldn't be going through this! The packers were not subcontracted to pickfords, they actually worked for them.