marysidey

lATEST INSTALLMENT

Going to the port tomorrow to pay the $585 to have the outside of the container cleaned 11 weeks since the container left 4 weeks since it arrived in Brisbane

This is a container we have never seen
it never left the back of the lorry provided by the company we had a contract with
They have agreed our contract was with them they have agreed that they contracted our business to the shipping company

We stupidly thought our obligation was to ensure all of our goods were adequatly cleaned before loading which we did and it was declared fine by customs
Didnt realise we needed to come back from Australia to check the outside of the container was clean Would have thought a well recommended national company specialising in sending goods to Australia would have known that was quite important

But having now spoken to the managing director of the company that we contracted with to provide a door ro door service, and paid up front 3 months ago £6000 we find ourselves still unable to understand why it is our responsibility to pay to have the outside of the container cleaned
So the owner of a national company has simply said tough
I have been shouted at by him
offered no help
no compassion
no explanation
just said you are unlucky

so beware what ever you think you are going to pay you could actually be asked to pay anything at the end of the day
After all this time they know you are so desperate to get your things you will just pay

Anyone who would like to know who we dealt with just PM me

I just think we have had a Particularly Shit Service

Mary Stu and all our mates

moneypenny20

Why do we need to PM you after your Particularly Shit Shippers nightmare.

I assume it's not Masons

marysidey

You assume right !!
Wish it was
In fact wish it was anyone else
In fact wish I had done it myself because I woiuld have cleaned the damn thing if I realised that was down to me too

jond

Or Pickfords

chatty34

Oh no, I was hoping it was that Particularly Shit Shippers as I have them booked to ship us in 15 days time.

Flying Banana

Sorry to hear they are being a***oles about it. Whether you pay or not I still think it would be a good idea to write to BAR international (and the other removal association they are in) and complain, nothing to lose and who knows they may take it further.

Main thing now is to get your stuff back and settle in after such a lousy experience. Hope it all works out from here

marysidey

Thanks Guys luckily we can pay it but I just feel people coming on a tight budget need to be well and truely warned

And we have already been on to the BAR

angela&rob

We were quoted a price by the sales guy too but low and behold the invoice added another 50% worth of charges. Spoke to them and they resent me an invoice and added on Maff disinfectant for good measure. Phoned them up and said I hadn't bought any Maff disinfectant so am now thinking that this was yours and the outside of your container has been cleaned by me but don't worry as am sure your liable for cleaning the plane I'm flying on and 25% of the captains shoe.

I too am enjoying the Same Peculiar Service as you (getting really cryptic now just to mix it up a bit)

Steevie

Hi all,

We had someone around yesterday quoting for shipping and we brought this issue up with him. Apparently there are a number of things you should know regarding shipping:

Firstly you are held accountable for any 'other' costs associated with the container. The shippers (the people who own the ship carrying the container) are rightly or wrongly covered by 'maritime law' and can charge you for all sorts of things. For example if the ship is run aground everyone using the ship has to pay a relevant percentage of the costs associated for pulling the ship back into sea!!!!!!!!!!
A bit like being charged by a taxi driver for all costs incurred if he crashes while you are a passenger.

All cleaning, customs clearance is the responsibility of the importer (ie you) this will include any relevant cleaning/de fumigation or destruction of goods from the container.

It seems the shippers (who own the ship) wash their hands of the container once it is offloaded into dock where, before the delivery people can get their hands on it, it needs to clear customs - your responsibility.

Not good news and a bit rubbish if you get caught up in it.

Our guys quoting had said they had only heard of 3 of the containers they had moved needing outside cleaning in ten years but they seemed to think it was getting a bit more frequent recently.

You would be unlucky to get that from customs was his input but ultimately it seems we (the customer) are responsible for getting it through customs clearance whatever the charges.

While I am on anyone got a decent company for shipping insurance or does everyone take it out with the company they use to ship their worldly possessions???

Steve

marysidey

Thinking of giving up midwifery and taking up container cleaning
Could be a business opportunity anyone want to jump on the bandwagon with me !!!

Steve G

I bet we pay to wash their hands too!!


Paying
Surcharges
Sucks

lynnlovessun

This is why we went with Crown - this cleaning charge is included in their quote but not with the other quotes we got - PSS and Pickfords did not mention it and that annoyed me and in the end Crown worked out cheaper. As far as i'm aware this cleaning charge at the port is fairly standard therefore thats why Crown include this 'inspection fee' . Don't know what shipper you used but imagine it wasn't Crown anyway.

Lynn

Andrew Cross

Hi there, we are in the process of trying to find a shipper too.
Could you give me a rough idea of how much the average for a 3 bed house would be any any email addresses would be great. How long does it take to
get down under and do they do all the packing for you???

Many thanks
Sue

lynnlovessun

Hi Sue - my house was 2 bedroom but from research on here i'd say that you'd be looking at £3500-£4000 pounds for the contents of a 3 bedroomed house - could be wrong though. If you do a search on google etc. for Crown, PSS, John Masons, Allied Pickfords etc you'll find the addresses - I don't have them all bookmarked i'm afraid.

Our container left on 24th August and is estimated to arrive 7th October - this is because its a shared container however if you have sole use of a container it could get there in 8 weeks.

Lynn

andrewb

And when you do get the quotes they will haggle on price.

We liked one more than the other and so told them they were too expensive (which they were) and we got a new quote the next day!!