fesuvious

I presume I am not falling foul of the forums rules this far?

Mitzyboy

You mean the rules about advertising and soliciting for business??

fesuvious

yes, although I am guessing you'd have slapped my wrist by now if I was

Mitzyboy

Exactly

jdr

I used to get the Guild of Master Craftsmen call me every year and the only joining qualification they needed was the cheque.

Mitzyboy

Thats the point JDR, many of these associations are the same. We used to be members of the RHA (Road Haulage Association) and they did very little for us apart from send us a renewal notice every year

fesuvious

Absolutely right.

However, NGRS ; you have an annual inspection. Plus members have to fulfill relevant criteria relating to insurances, vehicles etc

BAR ; BAR members are legally bound by a code of practice drawn up by the Office for Fair Trading

With Guild; Removers customers have access to an Ombudsman that is impartial, indeed Guild have to foot the charges.

BAR; BAR operate their own conciliation service that customers have access too. Not too mention, the code is available online and any members not keeping in adherence can be reported directly to both Trading Standards & Office for Fair Trading.

IF members of the public properly do their homework and enlist the services of a proper firm of professionals then the chances of something going wrong are massively minimised.

In the event that it does; The remover has to act, if they don't, or won't then, well, see whats written above.

There is an awful lot of ignorance among the wider public relating to firms of removers and how they operate.

All too often internet forums are full of people who have had awful experiences, but these same people opted to save a measly 5>8% on the removal charge instead of properly looking into it.

Sometimes, its not even that. It can be the case that they simply, due to lack of knowledge failed to ask the right questions, which would have led to a more informed decision.

It's easy to lay all the blame at the remover, and indeed very often the bigger part does indeed head their way, but very often a significant portion can head in the customers direction.

Forewarned is forearmed, education is the key.
Hopefully anyone reading this will decide to check out what I have written and may just ensure, for themselves that they have a swift, smooth, professional move.

ETA

RHA, Road Haulage Association - has sod all to do with the removals trade,

and neither does the FTA (Freight Transport Association)

Like I said, properly forewarned (and educated) is forearmed

Mitzyboy

I can remember people who have used Pickfords and had terrible problems - those werent people who were trying to save money

I used to be registered to BS 5750 Quality standards. Once a year we got an inspection visit. The guy used to spend an hour in the office, then sign the certificate and take our £600 renewal.

I'm not knocking what you are satying .... I'm just making the point to the OP that its never an easy thing ..... I hope they find the company they used is BAR ..... but at the end of the day unless the OP can prove what he is saying, and the operator denys it .... well, it may not get much further

fesuvious

There is much more a member of the public can check for.

I have refrained from going into it as that would drag the thread way off topic.

And all of it has naff all to do with BAR or Guild !


p.s nowadays Pickfords are far from expensive

jay01

Just an update,

I have now assumed that they are not affiliated to anyone as they have not responded to my requests. They are now accusing us of making a fraudulent claim and that the items were never there. They have changed their loading story again to it not being unloaded at all and we are "confused".

We have now had to take consumer advice and that was very interesting and well worth doing, I am acting on their protocols and we have an appointment with a solicitor regarding the matter.

We may be banging our head on a wall but unless someone does something companies will continue to mislay items and not take account of it as it is less than £5000 and thus a small claim. If we can not name and shame them because it opens the forum to potential litigation how on earth are we to stand up for our selves, it just seems to be tuff and replace it yourself, hence my title buyer beware.

The company we used had nothing to do with chess because of reading previous threads regarding them so the warning of people does work, I accept what happens to me may not happen to joe public but what if it does and they had not been informed it could.

As far as I am concerned bravo mike charlie should come with a potential warning of "may mislay your items and make you feel like crap to boot",

mikelincs

we just used a company which appears to have a chess tournament going, and they were very good, move was within the UK, but they turned up on time, loaded quickly, the goods arrived at the destination on time, they put everything in the right rooms, and put the bed together for us, not the cheapest quote, but at least they were very efficient. They had done a survey of the house before they quoted as well, so knew just what was to go, they supplied boxes FREE, and also wrapping paper, tape and wardrobe boxes. When they delivered the goods they even put the contents of the wardrobe boxes in the wardrobe.

Fredbargate

Did they charge extra for the Meercat ?

jay01

Glad you had a good move, was it the same company as others have mentioned or just one with the same name that moved you. It just seems pretty pot luck as to whether you get good or bad treatment could do with a directory of recommendations but it would still be up to the potential user to do their home work first.

paintermujer

...Or perhaps they should just stick to removals in the UK.

jay01

I do not think that it matters where you move to and from as far as luck and treatment goes. I know of someone that moved within the UK at Christmas, used a well known company and they broke a mirror during the move. They accepted at the time it was damaged when moved but are now refusing to replace the item and pay out. So it is not unique.

If I was in the situation of having to use a removal company again I would be a lot more vigilant, ask for their V.O.S.A. operators licence details and check that they have the appropriate licence for use, example- if they are going to Europe it has to be an international operators licence, if they get stopped and checked and do not hold the appropriate licences it could be your stuff that is impounded while they sort the fines out, Make sure that any company is aware of the potential weight you are taking as places like Spain and France are tending to stop overweight vehicles, fining them and also what then happens to the stuff that has been offloaded while they check the vehicle out and what happens to the stuff left over, also ask if they are vat/business registered with H.M.R.C. this will at least offer you peace of mind that they are a legitimate company and if they are cowboys they will run a mile. Make a note of the vehicles reg number and clarify how many people deal with your goods.

Always get the insurance details up front as they are less likely to want to give them to you after something goes wrong and if possible contact the insurance company to confirm that they have a policy as taking them to court with a solicitor can cost thousands.

Websites can be deceptive and testimonials are only ego boost to the firm as if they have given bad service or damaged anything they are not going to post it, so of course they have never had a problem and you can not prove otherwise.

Ask if they are affiliated to any professional body like the B.A.R. although many are pay your fee and your a member, it at least it gives you somewhere to start if anything goes wrong.

Take pictures during the upload and also of anything that is of value such as laptops, jewellery and sentimental objects, I know companies say take it in your car but that is not always possible.

It May be worth contacting local removal companies although they may not be specialists in intercontinental removals they may be able to do it or tell you where to go.

Since the start of our troubles it is amazing how many other ex pat's have told us they had stuff missing or damaged during transit but were unable to do anything about it as the get out clauses are the size of America and to pursue it legally with a solicitor may cost £10.000 and over so it is not always worth the stress and cost for potentially a fail depending on the judge.
You can pursue it through the small claims court if they are British company but this is often a frightening prospect and limited to £5000.

Until someone takes a stand or it is regulated I will not be the last to have problems.