Shipping out furniture
Aug 19th 2007, 6:04 pm
#1
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 23
Shipping out furniture
Does anyone know any good shipping companies for sending over furniture from London to Barbados?
Also would there be any duty to pay on arrival in Barbados?
Thanks
Alex x
Also would there be any duty to pay on arrival in Barbados?
Thanks
Alex x
Aug 19th 2007, 6:37 pm
#2
Senior Moment
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: On the edge
Posts: 20,460
Re: Shipping out furniture
Something I wrote on shipping for another forum ... used to own a shipping company
Link for Westward Freight .... I have not used them, just know of them as a name in Barbados Freight
http://www.westwardfreight.com/shipping-barbados.htm
Also Auto Shippers, who specialise in personal effects
http://www.autoshippers.co.uk/Overse...s_Barbados.htm
One of the most difficult experiences in re locating is the actual shipping of your worldly goods and chattels. Not only are there a huge number of companies offering you the opportunity to use their services, but they all tell you that it will be trouble free and that all will arrive at destination in good order. In reality this is often far from the truth. We’ve all read posts from people arriving at destination only to find that their furniture is elsewhere. Whats that old saying? ….. breakfast in London, dinner in New York, luggage in Bombay!
Here are a few hints from someone who spent his life in the ever so stressful shipping industry and is glad to be out of it!
There are so many different destinations worldwide that it’s difficult to be specific so I will generalise as much as possible. If you want specific help then I have contacts in the industry and can point you in the right direction.
Get three quotes from different removal companies. Prices can vary enormously. Many carriers will not honour insurance claims unless they have packed the goods themselves. When you get their quote ask about full marine insurance cover (get a separate quote from them) and check their conditions of carriage carefully. Check to see if they are members of the British Intl Freight Association (http://www.bifa.org/Content/Home.asp )
It doesn’t mean they are perfect but at least they will be an established company.
Gain separate quotes for insurance. Again be careful about the conditions of cover, i.e. do the goods have to be packed by you, do they have to be packed professionally. How extensive is the cover. Check the exclusions and look for clauses about “atmospheric conditions”. If your goods arrive damp (usually deep sea long voyages) you don’t want the insurance company copping out.
If you pack your goods yourself, always make up a detailed packing list in triplicate of what is in each box with a nominal value (I’m assuming the effects are all used and not new). DON’T attach this to the box but number the boxes (and the packing lists) and keep the list separately as it will be required for (a) the shipping line (b) the Revenue & Customs and (c) you. Mark each box with your destination name, destination address and a destination telephone number.
If you are shipping to sea voyage destinations then your effects will probably ship in a steel shipping container. Although these are checked regularly it is not unusual for holes to appear. When you receive your goods you must check them carefully for wet damage as they come off the container. Once you have signed for them it will be more difficult to make a claim.
If you are shipping to Europe then it is more likely that your goods will travel in a box van / truck. The same rules apply when receiving the goods although quite often the effects will have been transhipped at least twice (unless you’ve commissioned a full load) before they get to you. Also remember that if your new home is in a difficult location then the effects may have to be transhipped to a smaller vehicle. Again, count the number of cartons and check for impact / wet damage.
If (in the case of international removals) the cartons have been examined by customs then there will normally be evidence of this. In the UK they are re sealed with security tape. If any cartons look as if they have been tampered with then call it to the attention of the delivery driver and then open to investigate.
Buy decent tri wall boxes to pack your effects in. Most removal specialists will supply them. Try to avoid cardboard boxes that you bought your last supply of baked beans in. They will collapse in transit.
Complaints: http://www.removalsombudsman.org.uk/yourqas.htm
Google: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=international+removals+association& meta=
Marine insurance: http://www.marine-insurance-uk.net/index.htm?c1=marine&source=google&kw=all
Link for Westward Freight .... I have not used them, just know of them as a name in Barbados Freight
http://www.westwardfreight.com/shipping-barbados.htm
Also Auto Shippers, who specialise in personal effects
http://www.autoshippers.co.uk/Overse...s_Barbados.htm
One of the most difficult experiences in re locating is the actual shipping of your worldly goods and chattels. Not only are there a huge number of companies offering you the opportunity to use their services, but they all tell you that it will be trouble free and that all will arrive at destination in good order. In reality this is often far from the truth. We’ve all read posts from people arriving at destination only to find that their furniture is elsewhere. Whats that old saying? ….. breakfast in London, dinner in New York, luggage in Bombay!
Here are a few hints from someone who spent his life in the ever so stressful shipping industry and is glad to be out of it!
There are so many different destinations worldwide that it’s difficult to be specific so I will generalise as much as possible. If you want specific help then I have contacts in the industry and can point you in the right direction.
Get three quotes from different removal companies. Prices can vary enormously. Many carriers will not honour insurance claims unless they have packed the goods themselves. When you get their quote ask about full marine insurance cover (get a separate quote from them) and check their conditions of carriage carefully. Check to see if they are members of the British Intl Freight Association (http://www.bifa.org/Content/Home.asp )
It doesn’t mean they are perfect but at least they will be an established company.
Gain separate quotes for insurance. Again be careful about the conditions of cover, i.e. do the goods have to be packed by you, do they have to be packed professionally. How extensive is the cover. Check the exclusions and look for clauses about “atmospheric conditions”. If your goods arrive damp (usually deep sea long voyages) you don’t want the insurance company copping out.
If you pack your goods yourself, always make up a detailed packing list in triplicate of what is in each box with a nominal value (I’m assuming the effects are all used and not new). DON’T attach this to the box but number the boxes (and the packing lists) and keep the list separately as it will be required for (a) the shipping line (b) the Revenue & Customs and (c) you. Mark each box with your destination name, destination address and a destination telephone number.
If you are shipping to sea voyage destinations then your effects will probably ship in a steel shipping container. Although these are checked regularly it is not unusual for holes to appear. When you receive your goods you must check them carefully for wet damage as they come off the container. Once you have signed for them it will be more difficult to make a claim.
If you are shipping to Europe then it is more likely that your goods will travel in a box van / truck. The same rules apply when receiving the goods although quite often the effects will have been transhipped at least twice (unless you’ve commissioned a full load) before they get to you. Also remember that if your new home is in a difficult location then the effects may have to be transhipped to a smaller vehicle. Again, count the number of cartons and check for impact / wet damage.
If (in the case of international removals) the cartons have been examined by customs then there will normally be evidence of this. In the UK they are re sealed with security tape. If any cartons look as if they have been tampered with then call it to the attention of the delivery driver and then open to investigate.
Buy decent tri wall boxes to pack your effects in. Most removal specialists will supply them. Try to avoid cardboard boxes that you bought your last supply of baked beans in. They will collapse in transit.
Complaints: http://www.removalsombudsman.org.uk/yourqas.htm
Google: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=international+removals+association& meta=
Marine insurance: http://www.marine-insurance-uk.net/index.htm?c1=marine&source=google&kw=all
