Shipping Companies
Dec 30th 2011, 10:31 pm
#1
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 503
Shipping Companies
Hi Everyone, Can anyone recommend a good shipping company? My husband lives in the Midlands and his goods will be shipped here...I live close to Toronto.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Dec 31st 2011, 10:07 am
#2
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2011
Location: Somewhere between Vancouver & St Johns
Posts: 19,849
Dec 31st 2011, 11:14 am
#3
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Joined: Jul 2008
Location: GTA
Posts: 301
Re: Shipping Companies
Hi,
I trawled through those threads and chose Crown Relocations, based on recommendations in the threads and the fact that they have an office in Toronto.
Reading the threads some folk seem to have had problems when their goods landed on the other side.
We used the Birmingham office and so far they have been brilliant. We are only shipping essentials and personal bits but the guys who came to pack yesterday were excellent. They were friendly, efficient and very thorough. The office rang after they left to check if all was ok and they sent us a comprehensive info pack on Toronto and all contact details for the Toronto office.
Obviously, the goods haven't arrived yet so I can't comment on damage. Time will tell...
We didn't take their insurance, we got that through A. Letton, Percival and Co.Ltd, based in Liverpool. We talked to Ian Harrison and he was very helpful.
Hope that helps.
Regards
I trawled through those threads and chose Crown Relocations, based on recommendations in the threads and the fact that they have an office in Toronto.
Reading the threads some folk seem to have had problems when their goods landed on the other side.
We used the Birmingham office and so far they have been brilliant. We are only shipping essentials and personal bits but the guys who came to pack yesterday were excellent. They were friendly, efficient and very thorough. The office rang after they left to check if all was ok and they sent us a comprehensive info pack on Toronto and all contact details for the Toronto office.
Obviously, the goods haven't arrived yet so I can't comment on damage. Time will tell...
We didn't take their insurance, we got that through A. Letton, Percival and Co.Ltd, based in Liverpool. We talked to Ian Harrison and he was very helpful.
Hope that helps.
Regards
Jan 1st 2012, 2:21 am
#4
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 503
Re: Shipping Companies
Hi,
I trawled through those threads and chose Crown Relocations, based on recommendations in the threads and the fact that they have an office in Toronto.
Reading the threads some folk seem to have had problems when their goods landed on the other side.
We used the Birmingham office and so far they have been brilliant. We are only shipping essentials and personal bits but the guys who came to pack yesterday were excellent. They were friendly, efficient and very thorough. The office rang after they left to check if all was ok and they sent us a comprehensive info pack on Toronto and all contact details for the Toronto office.
Obviously, the goods haven't arrived yet so I can't comment on damage. Time will tell...
We didn't take their insurance, we got that through A. Letton, Percival and Co.Ltd, based in Liverpool. We talked to Ian Harrison and he was very helpful.
Hope that helps.
Regards
I trawled through those threads and chose Crown Relocations, based on recommendations in the threads and the fact that they have an office in Toronto.
Reading the threads some folk seem to have had problems when their goods landed on the other side.
We used the Birmingham office and so far they have been brilliant. We are only shipping essentials and personal bits but the guys who came to pack yesterday were excellent. They were friendly, efficient and very thorough. The office rang after they left to check if all was ok and they sent us a comprehensive info pack on Toronto and all contact details for the Toronto office.
Obviously, the goods haven't arrived yet so I can't comment on damage. Time will tell...
We didn't take their insurance, we got that through A. Letton, Percival and Co.Ltd, based in Liverpool. We talked to Ian Harrison and he was very helpful.
Hope that helps.
Regards
Jan 1st 2012, 2:22 am
#5
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 503
Re: Shipping Companies
Jan 4th 2012, 2:44 pm
#6
Senior member
Joined: Jul 2008
Location: Originally Leicestershire, England...Moved to Barrie, Ontario. Autumn 2010
Posts: 28
Re: Shipping Companies
Hi whatever you do DO NOT use PSS. They are an unprofessional bunch of cowboys. we were completley miss led and consequently ripped off by these. We were of the understanding that the quote they gave us was for a full container, however, on the day of packing they arrived with ONE luton van and 3 men. We never got the service we were promised despite trying to negotiate and had to part with a lot of our stuff to ensure it fitted in the smaller container.
Having used them over a year ago now I have met lots of people who have also had bad service with them.
Our quote went from just over 3k to over 8k...they know you have no other options on the day!!! Beware!!!
Having used them over a year ago now I have met lots of people who have also had bad service with them.
Our quote went from just over 3k to over 8k...they know you have no other options on the day!!! Beware!!!
Jan 4th 2012, 4:26 pm
#7
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 503
Re: Shipping Companies
Hi whatever you do DO NOT use PSS. They are an unprofessional bunch of cowboys. we were completley miss led and consequently ripped off by these. We were of the understanding that the quote they gave us was for a full container, however, on the day of packing they arrived with ONE luton van and 3 men. We never got the service we were promised despite trying to negotiate and had to part with a lot of our stuff to ensure it fitted in the smaller container.
Having used them over a year ago now I have met lots of people who have also had bad service with them.
Our quote went from just over 3k to over 8k...they know you have no other options on the day!!! Beware!!!
Having used them over a year ago now I have met lots of people who have also had bad service with them.
Our quote went from just over 3k to over 8k...they know you have no other options on the day!!! Beware!!!
Jan 4th 2012, 4:32 pm
#8
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 126
Re: Shipping Companies
We had a very bad experience with The Moving Partnership..Poor customer service and promises that arnt kept..
Jan 4th 2012, 9:03 pm
#9
Island life at last
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: BC
Posts: 2,715
Re: Shipping Companies
Big vote for White and Co.
http://www.whiteandcompany.co.uk/
Great personal service, good price and reliable.
I cannot recommend them highly enough.
(Derbyshire to Vancouver 2011)
http://www.whiteandcompany.co.uk/
Great personal service, good price and reliable.
I cannot recommend them highly enough.
(Derbyshire to Vancouver 2011)
Jan 16th 2012, 5:56 am
#10
Just Joined
Joined: Jan 2012
Location: Bangkok
Posts: 12
Re: Shipping Companies
Here's a summary of our personal experience of three companies:
My family and I have moved several times within Asia and to/from the UK and so we've had some experience of three of the main relocation businesses. I hope the following notes will help other families to decide on who to use, and more importantly who NOT to use.
Pickfords:
Their sales person was an enthusiastic, if slightly eccentric ex-pat who seemed to prefer chatting and coffee to business, but he got the job done with his own style.
On moving day the truck was late (stuck in traffic, in Bangkok, who's have thought that would happen?), but they sent two guys on a motorbike to start the packing in advance of the full team arriving by truck. A nice touch and it meant we were not really delayed.
Packing was efficient and the team created the most amazing 'origami' packing cases from the card boxes and they managed to mirror the shape of the item being packed, so we had carboard sculptures of TV's, coat stands and chairs sitting in the apartment awaiting the arrival of the truck.
Everything was delivered to the new place on time and undamaged. The only breakage was when the local Manager tried to help and he dropped a picture frame and broke the glass .... no big deal and not even worth an insurance claim. However, the unpacking seemed to be done without any logic, with items placed in cupboards at random. We were still finding odd socks, bags and shoes in strange places weeks later. It would have been much quicker to unpack ourselves and we learnt from this.
9/10 but better to unpack yourself
Asian Tigers
Efficent inital contact, good packing, although their artistic skills with card and parcel tape did not match the creative skills of the Pickfords team. Delivery on time, a few small items missing but nothing serious. We unpacked ourselves. Asian Tigers were very competitive on price and they seem to use contractors for the shipping and delivery so it is not all under thei direct control, but in practice this made little difference to us. After the move they took all the old packing cases and paper away and swept the apartment. Lowest quote for this move.
8/10, but be aware that they may contract out some of the work
Crown Relocation
Initial contact was OK but we were left to do much of the paperwork and customs admin ourselves. It was a dual move for Crown from India and UK to Bangkok and their rules on what we were alloed to ship and what would not be allowed by local Customs (in their view) were petty compared to the other companies (no household cleaning chemicals, computer equipment, wine) At the UK end they arrived late and caused some damage to the house whilst moving out. In India they were on time, but failed to pack 10% of the items as they stacked the cartons in from of cupboards that still contained items to be shipped then left without checking. Unpacking was haphazard and there was significant damage to electrical items and they left all the old boxes and tape behind (this may sound petty, but it was a huge heap and this servcie is not cheap).
Unfortunately Crown were the prefered servcie provider for my company, and they were used again for a shipment back to the UK. We asked for quotes from all three companies and Crown matched Asian Tigers on price with Pickfords being much more expensive. Asian Tigers was a half container and Crown was 'Groupage'. I was concerned about Groupage as you can't get a guaranteed shipping date, but Crown promised to ship within two months. The shipment finally arrvied one and half years later! Mould had destroyed all the clothing and several vital items were missing (TV stand, screws and connectors) so in effect the shipment was a total loss. Insurance cover did not cover most of the loss due to small print and limitations and the attitude of Crown was that we should have paid more for insurance and a container so it was in no way their responsibility.
0/10 Avoid at all costs
My family and I have moved several times within Asia and to/from the UK and so we've had some experience of three of the main relocation businesses. I hope the following notes will help other families to decide on who to use, and more importantly who NOT to use.
Pickfords:
Their sales person was an enthusiastic, if slightly eccentric ex-pat who seemed to prefer chatting and coffee to business, but he got the job done with his own style.
On moving day the truck was late (stuck in traffic, in Bangkok, who's have thought that would happen?), but they sent two guys on a motorbike to start the packing in advance of the full team arriving by truck. A nice touch and it meant we were not really delayed.
Packing was efficient and the team created the most amazing 'origami' packing cases from the card boxes and they managed to mirror the shape of the item being packed, so we had carboard sculptures of TV's, coat stands and chairs sitting in the apartment awaiting the arrival of the truck.
Everything was delivered to the new place on time and undamaged. The only breakage was when the local Manager tried to help and he dropped a picture frame and broke the glass .... no big deal and not even worth an insurance claim. However, the unpacking seemed to be done without any logic, with items placed in cupboards at random. We were still finding odd socks, bags and shoes in strange places weeks later. It would have been much quicker to unpack ourselves and we learnt from this.
9/10 but better to unpack yourself
Asian Tigers
Efficent inital contact, good packing, although their artistic skills with card and parcel tape did not match the creative skills of the Pickfords team. Delivery on time, a few small items missing but nothing serious. We unpacked ourselves. Asian Tigers were very competitive on price and they seem to use contractors for the shipping and delivery so it is not all under thei direct control, but in practice this made little difference to us. After the move they took all the old packing cases and paper away and swept the apartment. Lowest quote for this move.
8/10, but be aware that they may contract out some of the work
Crown Relocation
Initial contact was OK but we were left to do much of the paperwork and customs admin ourselves. It was a dual move for Crown from India and UK to Bangkok and their rules on what we were alloed to ship and what would not be allowed by local Customs (in their view) were petty compared to the other companies (no household cleaning chemicals, computer equipment, wine) At the UK end they arrived late and caused some damage to the house whilst moving out. In India they were on time, but failed to pack 10% of the items as they stacked the cartons in from of cupboards that still contained items to be shipped then left without checking. Unpacking was haphazard and there was significant damage to electrical items and they left all the old boxes and tape behind (this may sound petty, but it was a huge heap and this servcie is not cheap).
Unfortunately Crown were the prefered servcie provider for my company, and they were used again for a shipment back to the UK. We asked for quotes from all three companies and Crown matched Asian Tigers on price with Pickfords being much more expensive. Asian Tigers was a half container and Crown was 'Groupage'. I was concerned about Groupage as you can't get a guaranteed shipping date, but Crown promised to ship within two months. The shipment finally arrvied one and half years later! Mould had destroyed all the clothing and several vital items were missing (TV stand, screws and connectors) so in effect the shipment was a total loss. Insurance cover did not cover most of the loss due to small print and limitations and the attitude of Crown was that we should have paid more for insurance and a container so it was in no way their responsibility.
0/10 Avoid at all costs
