shoequeen

I have 3 removal companies coming round to oversee my forthcoming overseas move to Canada.

Does anyone have any experience with the following?

Pickfords
Robinsons
Anglo-Pacific

Love to hear any good/bad points about them, or can anyone highly recommend someone?

gibsonslanding

we're using pickfords.....

personally, no to robinsons......

anglo-pacific.....can't help as don't know.......

we had out five companies and in truth, it came down to two of them, pickfords and overs....we choose pickfords as they are literally 5mins down the road from us and have been very good.....we've had box's, tape etc etc and i've built up a very good relationship with my co-ordinator......

personal choice at the end of the day, as they all came in roughly the same cost; at least four of them did, one was way out in cyber-space!!!!!!!

shoequeen

That's great - thank you!

marieceleste

Just out of interest, Gibsonslanding what was it about Robinsons that put you off. My hubby has had four visits from removals and Robinsons is one he is favouring....

Monkey Puzzle

Hi...

We are currently waiting with baited breath to hear when our container sent by Robinsons will arrive on Vancouver Island.

They have been okayyyy up til now ...not brilliant or anything. The guys who did the packing were a bit grumpy but they WERE in a chilly barn all day in the middle of December! (Our stuff had been stored at in our friends' barn for a while until we decided to send it over.) Also, due to poor access and delicate drains under the driveway at the property, we had agreed to a small transit van being used to shuttle stuff 50 metres from barn to where the container could be parked on the street. The guys turned up with a large removal lorry instead and weren't pleased when they were told in no uncertain terms that they would have to carry the stuff. Oh dear.

A 20ft container was booked for the Tuesday .... a FORTY FIVE foot one had arrived on the Monday. Our friends woke us up peeing themselves laughing. It nearly blocked up their whole village. We could have moved in! Anyway, the "move manager" from Robinsons sorted it out and the correct one then arrived on the correct day.

We were told our container would be shipped to Vancouver from Southampton on 22 Dec to arrive on 13 Jan. Well, we received a call about a week ago from the Canadian movers (ie third party used by Robinsons) who said the ship actually went to Montreal and the container will come across the country on a train. No update yet as to when but it's obviously later than planned. (Of course, when you check the small print of the contract it says that the ship's schedule can be changed willy nilly or more legal sounding words to that effect!)

Fingers crossed it'll be here soon ....to be delivered to the house. Will be so exciting to have our own stuff after 2 years. (Geez, I even got excited when I came across my lovely chrome kitchen bin when packing up...sad but true )

Make sure you negotiate HARD. There isn't a lot of business to go round in the shipping industry right now so competition is fierce. Robinsons bettered my lowest quote. Also, we gambled that we woudn't need insurance (or be able to claim anyway) so that saved us money, providing it all arrives safely in the end.

Deb

gibsonslanding

truthfully, the guy was young, extremly in-experienced, was more happy to talk about the motorbikes in our garage than get on with the job in hand, wasted alot of our precious time, made promises that i knew that they couldn't keep and he filled me with horror and dread. talked about a 20ft, then a 40ft, then back to a 20ft, was wildly guessing at sizes????.....yep! think that's got it all!......oh! and he had holes in his socks, both of them, which i noticed when he went up stairs; not alot of science in that one, call it womens intuition....

gibsonslanding

did you pay no insurrance? we're thinking of doing the same......the standard £40 a box insurrance is only for when in this country (minute it's in the container and left pickfords premises, it's invalid) and i really don't think that any amount of money can re-place the most precious items (photo's) if we lost everything.....it's only 'stuff' right.....would be a ball-ache but not life threatning, right.......my solicitor called me pragmatic the other day; can't think why?.....

Monkey Puzzle

That's us! I read on here that 1 in 10000 containers falls off the ship so wasn't TOO worried about that particular scenario. Also, I had a lovely chat with the driver of the container lorry about the whole process and he reassured me that

1. Our container would be relatively light so likely to be in the middle of lots of others on the ship
and
2. They are all bolted together on the ship so wouldn't just topple off.

Either that or he was just trying to allay my fears of a big sploosh!

What also helped the "no insurance" decision (along with the flippin cost of it ) was that I've also read about people having problems when they actually try to claim for broken items.

All in all, we reckoned that it was worth the gamble to send it uninsured. Fingers quite firmly crossed! At least it's off the water now ...wherever it is in Montreal waiting on the platform for a train west...

Good luck

Mitzyboy

Having spent my whole life in the shipping industry I've got to tell you that the driver wouldn't have a clue where your container would be stored. Yes containers are locked together, but it has often happened that they have come off the stack in very rough seas.

And another factor to consider is that if a catastrophic event were to take place on board the vessel causing delay, running aground, losing cargo, damage or even sinking, then a general average would probably be declared, meaning that every cargo owner on board would have a cost to bear in compensation, something that would be normally covered by a marine insurance policy on your goods.

http://law.jrank.org/pages/10263/Shi...l-Average.html

Of course as you say .... Its a calculated risk. I went on the City of Edinburgh in Southampton once and the officer told me that they had had 23 fires on board on their trip from Hong Kong All dealt with thankfully by the ships fire protection system

gibsonslanding

it's late, i'm tired, been 'wet' all day......so, i need some brain food to get my head around this as i think i'm being a 'numpty'.......does the above mean (and i've checked out the link too, thanks) that as a cargo owner, that i would have a cost to bear in compensation to other cargo owners, based on the average worth?????? so, if i have 'no' insurance (as in marine insurance), then i would be personally liable to pay for others cargo too........?

Mitzyboy

Yes .... thats correct.
I've actually been involved in a general average and its a bloody nightmare. A Libyan contaviner vessel had a fire off the south coast in the 80's and was towed around to Milford Haven (being the cheapest port they could find). All the cargo holders were invited to contribute to the carriers costs.

But to put this in perspective, the chances of anything serious happening that would invoke one are low obviously so dont lose sleep over it. I'm just illustrating that although in general not insuring seems a saving ...... in point of fact its quite important.

gibsonslanding

OMG......but you use the words, 'invited to contribute'! what if i say 'no thanks'?.......did you pay? or did you say no?

i am going to check out the very lowest amount that i can get insurance for, even to cover this eventuality!......i really don't have a 'total value' for any of my belongings, it's just 'stuff'.....sounds very cavalier but how do you put a value on a sofa, bed, table etc.....? my massive amount of photo's is what's important to me (too many to take as hand luggage, lol) and anything else is just a 'ball ache' if got lost.....need my 'stuff' in vancouver, hence it being shipped in the first place but i really wouldn't be 'too' upset......and that's the rub of this really isn't it! insurance or no insurance? i'm not a gambler by nature but insurance just takes the 'sting' away, right......

Mitzyboy

No I was actually acting as the agent who controlled the vessel requirements, repatriating the crew (who were arrested on landing),

As I said, you should get this into perspective. How many ships do you hear of per year sinking at sea against the number that are sailing. Very few. I use it as an illustration to show what insurance covers.

Not taking it is a risk you have to weigh up. Personally I think the chances of your personal effects being damaged whilst in the shipping lines hands far outweigh the risk of the vessel being involved in a catastrophic event and thats why when I was "in the job" we always recommended people take marine insurance.

When packing your effects generally you should make a packing list whilst numbering the cartons / cases accordingly. It may be required for customs purposes. Then you value it as best you can, and I agree thats difficult.

If you do take an insurance though you need to read the small print

I wrote a long resume of what you should do with links, but its on the other pc downstairs. I'll try and fire it up later as it has links

gibsonslanding

thanks, really apprieciate any info.....i do have it in perspective really but i'm the type of person who likes to dot i's and cross t's......info is my friend!....x

Mitzyboy

Here it is ... written a while ago for a forum

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 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...sociation&meta=

Marine insurance: http://www.marine-insurance-uk.net/i...=google&kw=all