Please recommend shipping company from UK to Melbourne, Australia :)

[Tamashii]

We've heard LOADS of horror stories and people's rough experiences trying to ship their containers over to Oz... As a result we are concerned about choosing the best company although we don't have all that much stuff. We want to take as much as possible to avoid buying from scratch when we get to Australia.

Who did you use and what did they do for you? I have heard lots about them coming to your house, checking and packaging everything then putting it in the container only for it to be mishandled when it finally arrives in Australia. I have also heard a lot about customs holding items that they are unhappy about and charging a fortune for this. Mainly things like unclean couches, garden items and hoovers etc. I was also told taking a real wood dining table/chairs is iffy since we would have to ensure the wood was treated and they allow you to import the type of wood the table is made from (???) Not entirely sure about this either.

Anyway, once again I have asked for too much info. Just what shipping company is best to use when emigrating to Melbourne. Thanks very much for anything.

Our shipping was organised by DHs work, and they used Interdean - we didn't have any problems at all. In terms of importing things, there are a lot of scare stories out there - the things you bring in have to be clean - especially anything that has been outside - they do check at customs and will charge you for cleaning if it's not good enough - so garden toys etc have to be mud free. We didn't bother bringing lawnmowers/hoovers over because of the different plugs over here - decided with the hassle of cleaning them it wasn't worth it. In terms of wood items, the relocation agents gave us lots of advice (if it's varnished it's almost certainly ok, if it's ikea it's almost certainly ok, if it's hand carved or antique then you might have more of an issue). You are also to allowed to bring in animal products like feathers, and the relocation agent said they'd had lots of problems with wooden souvenirs and skin drums etc. there's a list of prohibited items on the Australian customs website which is really useful.

We used Anglo Pacific which I thought were pretty good. We didn't bring much with us,no furniture as we sold our flat fully furnished. Just clothes, books, toys etc.

We had no problems at all. Their packers cracked on and got everything boxed up quickly and nothing was damaged or broken when it arrived.

We were also able to track the ship online and had no hold ups or delays when it all arrived here in Melb.

Tama - try british expats australia website - you'll get good advice there.

We also used Anglo Pacific to move to Adelaide. Very smooth, they did all packing efficiently and it arrived at the other end on the day they said it would and all in one piece. Good price too although we were reimbursed that cost.

We used White & Co, and they were absolutely brilliant - prompt, attentive, competitively priced, and the only thing broken was a 99p mug from Asda.

We have used Robinsons twice: brilliant both times. Agree with the advice given about lawnmowers and hoovers. Unless it is very special don't bother cleaning it. THere are a great many stories out there of people cleaning things to perfection only to have AQIS clean it again in Australia and charge for the privilege. We actually did the reverse by deciding it was cheaper to pay for the inevitable cleaning of our jogging stroller than to buy a new one, so I didn't do the best job cleaning it!

I have a friend who included a new bike (with receipt to say it was new for duty reasons) and they charged him to clean it. it was BRAND NEW.

Also, no wicker AT ALL, not even if it's obviously not outdoor furniture. Apparently they destroy it or charge a fortune for fumigation.

Ours was organised by DH's work, we had Team Allied doing the shipping and Sirva handling the whole thing. It was brilliant, the only damage was to one of my shoes (my only expensive pair) and they paid for a replacement very quickly.
We were told no "plant based" material i.e. no wicker, no pine cones in christmas decorations etc.
I cleaned the hoover and appliances and they all made it through with no problem, just as well because you'd pay a lot more to buy them here. Customs only opened the boxes with kitchen appliances, shoes and the hoover, everything else was unopened.

I forgot to mention that we bought quite a few electrical appliances including food processor, bread maker, vacuum cleaner etc and just replaced the plugs. The voltage is the same here as the uk or you can use adapters until they naturally need replacing. It does help that my Dad and brother are electricians so it cost me nothing.

We also discovered all of our home videos which were still on the original camcorder tapes were blank after they arrived. It was suggested to us that customs may have deleted them magnetically but we don't know for sure. Be careful!

eselle how weird! We found that any batteries in the shipping were completely dead, so all the batteries in toys, remotes etc. needed replacing. Maybe it's something to do with scanning?! DH suggested that the ship had gone through the Bermuda Triangle.

I've just had a relocation 'consultant' around to discuss our move (to Sydney). I am irrationally annoyed by the no wicker/bamboo and absolutely no food stuffs. I can't imagine spices are that dangerous? Someone will now prove me very wrong...

He also strongly recommended no wine or spirits as customs duties make it very expensive. Now pondering who I am going to make happy with a big wine donation!

We gave away loads of food and wine. Even the salt and pepper grinders because the consultant said it would be impossible to remove all traces of "food" from them.

It si ok.. you can buy beer ,wine and spices in Aus :0)

is even....

hmmm... we used Crown Relocations to ship our belongings from Australia to Dubai and then on to the UK with no problems at all. We are planning to ship them back to Oz later this year. Didn't realise about the wicker thing - we have a number of baskets (that we bought in Oz...) and it will be a huge shame if we can't take them with us. Also a couple of laundry baskets. Must check what the definition of 'wicker' is...

Britannia.

They supplied boxes, tape & bubble wrap. On the day they packaged up some delicate items & listen all the contents of boxes.

Took about 12 weeks to get to us. That is after quarantine etc . They bought it to us, took it to the rooms I directed them to & unpacked the big items. Beds, sofa etc. Then took all the packaging away with them & disposed of it.

Out of about 30 boxes plus other wrapped items, we had one breakage. That was dds toy (plastic) kitchen. The noise box for the stove top was left in & it came out & smashed the edge of the kitchen. That wasn't anyone's fault, just one of those unforeseen things that happened. Dh managed to fix it nicely!

We used White and Co. Not to Aus but to the Middle East (and back). They were excellent - careful, efficient and very professional. They had a local agent who dealt with customs as they better understood the process.

I think the 'wicker' thing may only apply to things going to Australia - they have very tight customs control.

I know you can buy everything in Australia but I have spent a long time building my spice collection . Ah, the sacrifices we must make!

We used Doree Bonner and they were very good. They use Grace Removals on the aussie side to bring to final destination, where they put furniture and boxes in rooms as I ordered them about and then removed wrapping from house. Only two breakages - a crystal bowl sadly but we were too busy/tired to follow it up with them; and a cheap glass clip frame over a poster. All in all very pleased.

We used Doree Bonner because we were hearing stuff about the types of insurance policies that shipping companies use... I'm trying to remember what it was now - something about most companies' insurance not actually offering much cover. I will have to go off and google it. DB were still a good price though; we got 3 quotes and they were not the most expensive in spite of having this better insurance.

Well I?ve had a quick look and re insurance - you need to look into the difference between standard liability insurance and marine insurance. With SLI if you need to claim anything you go via the shipping company who have to claim from their insurers; and as so many people handle the goods in transit you have to prove it was damage done by the shippers rather than say at customs. Marine insurance, the policy is between yourself and the insurance company. Just found that on an expat forum so may be worth looking into that.
Try not to read all the horror stories though! Most people's experience would be fine. (Think about how far it?s all travelling and a couple of scrapes or breakages is understandable really.) It's the ones who do unfortunately have a bad experience that make the most 'noise' on the net, so try not to get too bogged down in personal stories as all companies will have a bad reviewer somewhere.

Can anyone recommend Pickfords?

I used Pickfords to go from London-San Francisco and they were brilliant. Hoping to use them again when we go back to Europe this summer.

Thanks Teacakebiscuit {smile]

you're welcome :)