We had a guy from Allied Pickfords come out to see us today so he could give us a quote for shipping. They came across as a very professional group who really care about the stuff there moving (there was even a little book for our son in the information they gave us). We just want to know if anyone else has used this company and if you think they were good. They are the only company who have come out to see us and we have contacted loads. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

P.S. I think I put this in the wrong place to start with, sorry.

we had them out yesterday, we got the book as well!
seem very pro, but i thought a bit expensive.
we are getting another quote next week

We had Pickfords, PSS, John Mason and White & Co round when we started the process and although they werent the cheapest (they were second cheapest) we have gone with Pickfords because they seemed very professional - we also had a letter apparently from their Perth office a few days after the visit explaining in more detail the process once your stuff gets to Oz which was quite impressive.

Cant comment on what kind of job they do as they arent coming until the 15th Feb but everything upto yet has been very professional and they have been great at helping me fill out the insurance forms and answering any questions I have had.

saw this from the front page and thought I'd come back with a reply.

We used them back in 2005 when we moved to the US. Very good price wise, and we ended up using them, compared to all teh others we had in to quote.

They did all the packing. We only had one item damaged upon its arrival (insurance covered that). However, we did loose ALL of our PC equipment. Left our house but never made it to the US. Again covered by insurance and we still don't know if it was lifted by the packers or when it went into storage awaiting shipment. Hell it might have gone when US customs did their inspection.

Other than the missing items, all went okay

We had them for a move within the UK 3 years ago - 1 mile up the road. We chose them because they came over as the most caring and careful - we had the kids book too.

As it turned out, they weren't very careful or caring. I don't think there was an item of furniture without a scratch and we ended up having to claim a hell of a lot on the insurance. A lot of things damaged were irreplaceable - ie a Georgian mirror, the insurance only covers replacement and a piece of glass is cheap - they do not cover the financial loss you make as a consequence. Item was worth £500 with original glass now worth £50. Also some things went missing in between being packed and being delivered. These were not valuable items, so I can only assume that they were broken on the van and thrown away in the hope that we didn't notice. Pickfords did the packing for us and the boxes weren't labelled well. We had 2 weeks to check everything for the insurance to be valid. You can imagine what a nightmare that was. Tonnes of stuff was broken in the boxes too.

I know that you will get a different 'crew' to us and they are the crucial factor, but it was the attitude afterwards which was shocking. The admin staff were obviously so used to items being damaged that one actually said she was surprised there was so little damage.

When we ship, I will partially pack everything myself - just let the shipper check what is in the boxes and label them properly. I am also going to use another company.

Sorry if this is a bit of a rant, but I want to make sure you look into it more than the slick sales presentation. I hear Dorree Bonner are highly recommended.

We used them as they were local and one of the cheapest quotes.

Our stuff arrived last week and we arrive next Tuesday.... time will tell if they were worth it.

But, like other people's replies, they were professional, answered all questions and measured everything to give an accurate quote.

We used them nearly 2 years ago now, to be honest we couldn't fault their service from start to finish, We tried a few on line quotes and they were the only company to bother to get back to us, We paid £2100 including their insurance for a shared 20ft container as this is what we were expecting we didn't bother with any other quotes, The team that did our packing were excellent not 1 item damaged or broken.
There has been a couple of bad reports about them but i think with all the removal companies it comes down to the individual packing team.

Good Luck

John

Thanks guys, I think we will end up going with them. They have gone the extra mile already, the guy thinks we will only need 300sq feet (and he was being generous) also he wasnt at all pushy, gave us a list of other reputable companies and said to get there price for the same footage, then compare all the prices.

[QUOTE=Fly

When we ship, I will partially pack everything myself - just let the shipper check what is in the boxes and label them properly. I am also going to use another company.

Sorry if this is a bit of a rant, but I want to make sure you look into it more than the slick sales presentation. I hear Dorree Bonner are highly recommended.[/QUOTE]

Just remember any thing packed by you will be listed as PBO and will not becovered by insurance.................mm

Apologies if its been asked on other threads, but how much can you fit into
a shared 20ft container and do you basically share the container 50/50?

Steve

Thanks MM! Now I have to think of another plan. Pickfords packed all my delicate china at the bottom of boxes - which I am trying to avoid happening again.

Which UK companies would you recommend?

Hi,
I think it goes on the volume the price, we have booked a local firm and he told the quote but said the cost would be calculated when the shipment was packed . He also gave us a tip that the others didn`t. He told us to put soft things like cushions bedding etc into the washer ,tumble dryer etc owt with a hole He also advised us to put some clothing ,linen into the drawers of units etc as this would reduce the volume therefore reducing the cost


Malc

Take all your delicates, and with tissue paper ,pack them into Tupperware containers, it is fool proof..........mm

Good plan!! But wouldn't the shippers want to see inside the boxes before packing them?

Hi pickfords use temp staff so you run more of a risk with things going missing and not much care taken. I was adv to look for a comp that had full time reg staff. Also I know someone is going to have bad things about any company, but my gradparents used them to go to malta and had all their sliver wear and some other valuable stuff stolen. Hope if you do use them it is a much better story for you. good luck

P.S we are using bournes.