Shipping
 

Hi people,
I am getting ready for my imminent move to Cairns mid September.
The next job on the list is to organise shipping our personal affects. As my girlfriend and I both still live with parents at the moment, we only have itmes such as clothes CD's and books. The only bulky or furniture type item I will be shipping is my beloved HiFi and two floor standing speakers.

I am currently in the proccess of obtaining quotes from Allied Pickfords and White & Co.

Just wondering what other peoples experinces of shipping were and do you have any advice or recommendations?

Thanks in advance

Dom

Re: Shipping
 

we used harrow green...the packers are actually in our house right now as i type..these guys seem very professional and everything has been packed up and bubble wrapped..all in neat boxes...
€5,800 (euro) for a 20ft container from dublin to sydney.

Re: Shipping
 

hi, we have harrow green coming on monday morning... OMG. will let you know how we get on...

Re: Shipping
 

Stay away from Pickfords... they are atrocious... I would recommend Doree Bonner or John Mason

Re: Shipping
 

Thanks guys,
I have spoken to pickfords today, and they say the closet they get to Cairns is Brisbane, which leaves me to organsie and pay for the courier from Brisbane to Cairns.... er no thank you, enough on my plate already.

I also spoke to White & Co, they said they will deliver to Cairns a door to door service, and also the estimate from them works out cheaper than pickfords.

I will investigate the others you have mentioned.
If anyone would like to share experiences of White & Co please get in touch.


Thanks again

Dom

Re: Shipping
 

Its a good idea to play these companies off against one another... For example your quote is £1000 tell them that company x has quoted £900 but you would prefer peace of mind as their company has come recommended. Ask if they will match company x quote.

I did this with John Mason many years ago and the beat all the other quotes provided.

Re: Shipping
 

I work for Pickfords and I apologise if we have not explained our services correctly - we most certainly can deliver on a door to door basis all over
Australia. We have 37 Allied Pickfords locations in Australia, including places
such as Townsville and Cairns etc. We run regular 'groupage' or shared load services to all main Australian destinations, where you pay only for the space you use in the container.
What our Sales were trying to explain is that we send containers to Brisbane as the main port, Allied Pickfords, Brisbane will collect the container and unload into their Brisbane warehouse, then go through the AQIS/quarantine and Customs process with you and the relevant authorities. Once cleared individual shipments would be redelivered to address' all over Queensland
at times and dates pre agreed with you as the customer.

Pickfords Uk offer regular shared load departures to all main Australian areas -
Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as Brisbane and ship
several thousand Customers each year to Australia.
We are members of the British Association of Movers ( BAR ) - the accredited
UK movers group, as well as the Worldwide FIDI movers association.We have
ISO 9001:2000 and were the first UK Moving Company to achieve this status, which is regularly audited.
Our aim is to provide a first class and cost effective service worldwide.
We do occasionally make mistakes, like any Company or Organisation,
but our focus is firmly on providing an excellent door to door service
through the Pickfords / Allied Pickfords worldwide group.

If I can be of any further assistance, please let me know.

Grady

Re: Shipping
 

We used Pickfords from UK through to Cairns.
The service in the UK was absolutely spot on.
Professional in every conceivable way.
Could not fault them.

Unfortunately the story in Australia was the opposite.
The Brisbane office is crap.
You get a different story from everyone you speak to.
Totally conflicting information which just suggests they are making up excuses on the fly as to the status of your container.
First it's cleared AQIS but not customs then the reverse.
Then it's booked to come up by road on this day, then a different day by rail.
The truth of the matter is that there is an imbalance of traffic between Brisbane and Cairns. Majority of goods is on the North journey so space availability can be tight. I suspect they have a number of slots booked and once they are filled any other cargo has to be bounced to a later date and that seems to happen a lot. It probably costs more to get extra slots and they won't pay it so the customer suffers.

In the end we did get a firm promise from the manager but guess what ? It was still shipped up to us on a different date and when it got here it "went missing".

Eventually the lovely uniformed Pickford guys bring round your container and all is well. Oh no, that's what is supposed to happen but didn't.

Instead you get a fly by night operator with two cowboys who deliver because in the small print of your contract it allows them to subcontract at any time to anyone.

So 15 weeks after shipment we got our container. A far sight from the estimate quoted.

So that's it then ?

Well no, because there is damage to your goods which was more than likely caused by the two cowboys who sheepishly gave us broken pieces of TV and furniture.

Then the fun begins as we insured with Pickfords insurance company who over several weeks did everything possible not to pay what was a pretty simple claim.

My advice ?
Use Pickfords if moving in the UK but not to Australia.

Re: Shipping
 

we have harrow green coming on monday morning... OMG. will let you know how we get on...



well...harrow green arrived this morning at 10am(3 guys) worked non stop, everything packed by 3pm. great service so far:thumbsup:

Re: Shipping
 

Hi guys,
Just had quotes from John Masons and White and Co, as well as pickfords.

All pretty much the same, John Masons quote was more expensive initally, but when I asked them to price match the others and they have come back, with a quote that matches the rest.


So...... how do I decide!! lol. I guess it must go on who's service is best!

Any advice?

Cheers

Dom

Re: Shipping
 

Dom

Make sure that you adequately insure your goods - particularly the hi-fi

Most shipping companies charge x% of the insured value of the goods. Some charge a higher % than others.

I doubt it will make too much difference though if you're not shipping a whole lot of gear.

Oh, and don't be tempted to pack any of those Poveys oatcakes. You won't be allowed to bring them in!! :lol:

Cheers

Re: Shipping
 

On the subject of insurance: be aware that White & Co cannot provide insurance. They are not licenced to do so, but their sales people sometimes say they provide insurance. There have been other threads on this subject - do a search.

If you decide to use White & Co to ship your goods, get insurance from soneone like Letton Percival (from memory, their premium was 1.6% of the value of the goods). Website: www.lettonpercival.co.uk

Gina

Re: Shipping
 

I used excess baggage. Yeah they were good would recommend them. I looked around the internet to get a few quotes. I also checked out the net to see what horror stories people had posted about various moving companies.

I suppose it's bad luck if your stuff goes on a fantastic voyage of its own, but it's all about what the company does to try to find it again for you. I heard some absolutely atrocious stories some people had posted. One was about a shipping company who lost somebodies stuff, it then turned up a year or so later in their depot not having left the UK, and then the company tried to charge the guy storage fees!

Excess baggage were a little more expensive than some of the other shippers, but I couldn't find anything bad on the net about them - so decided to pay a little more because I love my stuff and didn't want it being sent somewhere else.