capri

hi,
i just got off the phones with a couple of shippers and they all want a contact address in NZ before they would ship our stuff over.

the problem is: we haven't found a home yet and intend to get to Auckland and rent a cheap place before we go house-hunting for a permanent place. we haven't got any friends or relatives in Auckland either.

so is it ok to give the shippers a temporary address like a hostel address? if anyone has shipped to NZ without a permanent home address, can you pls help shed some light on how to do this?

and finally, any good recommendations for insurance? we have abt 10-15 tea chests to ship over.

thanks very much!

Charlie Paynter

Capri, when we emigrated (albeit 9 years ago), we too did not have an address but found it no problem. In fact, we left the containers in storage in the UK for several weeks until we knew which city were going to!

Regarding insurance, why not insure the goods via a NZ company? It should be cheaper and more convenient if you have to make a claim. We have used Vision Insurance who are based in Auckland:
PO Box 7159
Wellesley Street
Auckland
[email protected]

Best of luck

Stef_Paul

Yes we were in the same situation as you, they need a full address as they basically send an inventory to that address confirming everything that is in the container etc.

If I were you I would not give them a hostel address because you don't want just anyone there getting hold of this paperwork. Do you have a job to go to as you could give them your employers address? If not it might be wise to send the stuff when you know where you are and keep it in storage for now? It may not be ideal but that is what we have done. You could try to rent a furnished place when you get here? We have been very lucky and have had alot of stuff like armchairs, washing machine etc lent to us while we wait for our stuff but it is hard when you don't know anyone. I hope you manage to sort everything out.

mickey_d

We gave the shippers the address of the apartments we were staying in for the first 3 weeks.
When we found a rental we rang them up & changed it, simple really

RobClubley

How can you possibly give an address before you come out here?

dreamfish

that wasnt expected of us either.

in fact the form we filled out asked for a correspondance address so we used the in-laws in the UK.

when you reach NZ and you know where you will be leaving you will be asked to get in touch with your moving agent in NZ (whoever your UK shippers use, eg NZ Van lines, The Moving COmpany) etc etc

RobClubley

You could always open a PO box

dreamfish

they'd never get all their boxes in that though..... perhaps the 'odds box'

RobClubley

Maybe a private bag would do it?

BEVS

We had no address either. In the end I used my husbands new NZ employer.
You can use a temporary address. It's a contact address only. We have offered to be a contact address for a couple of people now. Once for a container and once for a pair of pouches.

With the inventory, no way should that have been sent through the mail to anywhere IMVHO.
What should happen is that you are given a copy of that list right after your goods have been packed and you have countersigned it. You keep that with you along with your marine insurance.
With that you should also have a note of which items MAF could possibly be interested in. The inventory will cross check against that.
Once the container arrives and you are ready to have it unloaded , check out your stuff against that inventory.
You may have MAF present in which case they will

capri

Thanks everyone for your inputs and suggestions.

We haven't got a job in NZ yet so will have to do house-hunting and job-hunting at the same time!

I suppose if it's easy to change address, then we will probably still stay in a hostel when we first get to Auckland and then try our best to find a rented place quickly so that we can change the hostel address to one that's more permanent and secure.

We didn't think abt using a NZ insurer at all, so that's a good tip. Thanks mpg!!!
Will go check it out.

BEVS I just saw your entry. So will you be kind enough to offer us your address as a temporary address???!!!

BEVS

Different City. Different Island.

Maybe one of the Auckland chapter will offer. ;-)

capri

What a shame!!! Hope some kind soul from Auckland reads this...

lardyl

We've done it before for someone but what type of visa do you have?
AFIK if you don't have a work visa then you will need PR/Citizenship before the shippers will move your stuff - well that was the position for us anyway, we had to wait until the work visa came through before the shippers shipped it so to speak.
We can offer an address as a temporary measure although our rental is up for renewal and we are waiting on the managing agents.......
Anyone more permanent around??

Maz

We didn't need an address, just had e-mail and phone contact with our shippers.

However, if you're just on a visitors visa when it goes through MAD and customs, you'll need to pay GST on your possessions. I *think* that a minimum of a 12-month work permit is required to get around this.