Daisy616

Hi folks - I'm a newbie so please be gentle with me. My hubby is already in Auckland working and I'm left here to do the hard work! I've had several quotes for containers and they all have offered similar quotes and most suggest a 20ft container. However, my problem is that one says I won't quite fill it and I could possibly bring more stuff, a couple of them say that I may need to leave some stuff behind and the last one says get a 40ft container to make sure! My question are ... has anyone else been in this situation - who should I believe - should I bit the bullet and go for a 40 footer to make sure? And does anyone want to buy some space if I go for the big one? (I'm in the Midlands and leaving for NZ approx end July). Any advice would be appreciated.

MrsFychan

we had contents of a three bedroom house to move and could of gotten away with a 20ft container. but as we were taking the car we went for a 40ft.

there are options with the companies to share containers so you should ask them about that option.

ellenarosemary

We had a 40@ which should have been ample, unfortunately it was badly packed with loads of wasted space so we have approx 1/3 of a 20' still in the UK, which we are arguing about 6 months down the line with regard to shipping cost etc. Currently waiting for a revised quote with them paying something towards the bill. Personally I would say dont buy anymore unless it something you really want - just in case

RobDon

We managed got the contents of a 5 bedroom house into a 20ft container.
Having said that, it was amazing to watch our packers fill every available nook and cranny with our stuff.

Daisy616

Thanks for your replies! Very much confirming my suspicions - all that really matters is the skill of the packers on the day!
ellenarosemary - sounds like you had some bad ones..
RobDon - wow you had some brilliant ones!
Is either of you willing to name the ones you used? RobDon - your lot won't mind a mention as it's positive...

MOSO

We had a 3 bed house and was told exactly the same as you by PSS and Anglo Pacific and thought the same. They both said we'd have to prioritise and some stuff may be left out and we'd have to pay extra if we took a 20ft.

We went with Pickfords as they measured what we had, we paid a fixed price based on this and then we had a share of a 40ft. We did have more than a 20ft in the end. The other advantage of Pickfords is that they have an office in Wellington so it was easy to communicate and we were able to track the container online. MAF also inspect the contents at Pickfords warehouse so we didn't have to pay extra.

Mrs F and others used PSS but they use a third party to deliver the goods to the house and they had to pay extra to have their stuff inspected at their home. Make sure you know exactly what the quote includes. We also got Pickfords to match Letton Percival's insurance quote and used the Post Office for one way travel insurance.

I was here in NZ by myself with the kids while hubby was in the UK when our container was delivered - just the opposite to you - not easy at this end either in a new country, trying to cope with all those boxes and putting the furniture together by myself Still the kids were so excited to see their stuff, especially as Pickfords packed my son's birthday party balloons and they were still inflated

RobDon

Dont mind naming them at all. Would recommend them anytime.
We used John Mason based in Liverpool. Plus everything arrived intact.
As a side issue, we also used JM for our insurance as they price matched Letton Percival, although that was nearly 4 years go.

kirstyp

My advice would be to ask for a quote to do it both ways.

a) for a sole use 20ft container and then the excess (if there is any) as a part load (groupage) shipment to follow
b) for a sole use 40ft container

compare the costs and see! also if you do go for the 40ft but are prepared to share the spare space ask your shipping company if they have other customers they can load with you to reduce the costs.

PHONEJUNKY

we are using a 40' container ( its still at sea i hope ) as we had a very large 4 bed house to empty and two large garages. we where told it will fill container and as we took all the belongings ourselves to the container company and they wrapped and packed into two 20' containers until the 40' one was due and as we brought the contents over a two week period so we where not left sleeping on floor for a few days. We could see the two 20' boxes getting filled and we could gauge how much space we had to bring more or get rid of things. We used a local shipping firm in Hull that was £2000 cheaper than the big boys.

ellenarosemary

Used Chudley International - have had so much hastle wouldnt use them again.

Katej

Gosh bit of a minefield trying to choose a good company...has anybody used a shipping company called Doree Bonner?

Ianriv

Hi, our stuff gets picked up in just 12 days by PSS. We had a quote from Doree but they were over a grand more than PSS. We went with PSS! Hopefully this wasn't the wrong decision made by us but time will tell. Also the storage prices offered by PSS in NZ were significantly cheaper than DB. Shame as DB are based just around the corner from us and we wanted to us a local company but never mind

Snap Shot

PSS told us that we would just about get it all into a 20' container and that's exactly what they did.

Again I would remark that the packers pack. The lifting and shifting crew only lift and shift. Therefore anything not packed by the packers the day before, hard luck. The lifting and shifting crew do not have paper and rolls of tape or any inclination to do the job the packers should have done.

They move like greased lightning as well. You may want to 'hide' what's not being packed in the car or a suitcase. You are really going to think hard what's not being packed as I nearly let my make up bag get packed as I wasn't quick enough squirrel it away ! They are also savvy enough to use your towels and blankets etc to brace big things like t.v.'s before putting them into a box.

It was comical seeing our sofa wrapped up in paper ! They will wrap your bed on 2 days i.e. wrap the base the night before then wrap the mattress on move day. Sleeping the last night with the gentle crackle of paper under your mattress is a once in a life time experience !

There was once a really funny story on this board about a guy who had hid several thousand NZ dollars in cash in a shoe box. On move day the shoe box got packed ! He had to borrow cash from family and friends 2 days before he left Britain, just as a sub. He caught up with the money in NZ but the race was on before customs found it as he hadn't declared it !

Katej

Thanks for info everybody, think I'll get onto PSS for a quote and see how it compares to Pickfords and Doree Bonner... will let you know how it goes ;0)