International movers (possessions!)

[Todamhottoday]

HI all,

Looking for your recent experiences of international movers, Pickfords, Britannia, Wrights and so on. Not a huge amount and not enough for a 20ft container.

Have used a couple before but just wanting any recent dealings with company's.

Move from Asia back to UK, (Thank god).

Any thoughts would be very welcome.

I have used Pickfords to Australia and was pleased with their service, it is Pickfords both ends whereas a lot will work with another company, I liked that it was the same.

I had Doree Bonner upon my return to the UK, although I booked with another company. I would not recommend them at all, it was a group of 16 year olds and they made no attempt to leave things in a reasonably ordered manner for me. My beds were piled almost to the ceiling with things that they had just dumped. I thought they could have taken a bit more time (they were done in a couple of hours) and left things just a bit easier for me to sort out. I have moved internationally four times and they were my worst experience.

We used Pickfords U.K. to US. We had a 40ft container and not a single item was damaged.

I used Crown from UK to Hong Kong and they were great.

Returning from Hong Kong to UK, I used a local HK company (that I'd used previously for a move within HK) and their UK counterpart was Doree Bonner. That was a mistake. My possessions made it back to the UK but then Doree Bonner damaged them in their warehouse by reversing a forklift into one of my pallets. They neglected to mention this until everything was delivered to my address and it was obvious that some items were damaged (some were beyond repair). Fortunately I'd taken out insurance but it still caused me a load of aggravation getting things fixed - and some items were not replaceable/able to be fixed.

We’ve used Pickfords U.K. to USA. Communication from them to get it arranged could have been better, emails often had to be sent twice etc but ultimately they did the job and I’d use them again.

Thanks everyone for your feedback, Doree Bonner looks like they are to be avoided, sorry for you who had issues with them.

I have used Pickfords both domestic and internationally and on the whole been happy (apart from a ruined expensive rug) must say last time used them for an international move they went above and beyond helping us.

Anyone used wrights?

Of course it depends if the company will agree with who we want.......

But thanks again for your input and experiences.

I used Asian Tigers recently to move from Asia back to UK (The UK Partner was GB Liners) , they were fine, except Asian Tigers totally misjudged one item, which I told them was extremely heavy, they got six guys in Asia to shift it (In bare feet ) but GB Liners couldn't shift it as they had no idea it was a heavy item so they didn't have the right equipment. It had to go back to the depot and arguements about who was paying a huge amount for the redelivery ensued!
Spoiler - I won

I used Britannia to move from the UK. Used the full packing service and they were great. One box went missing but I think that was lost by the people at the other end.

I can thoroughly recommend John Mason. The packers were meticulous and every single item, including my nan’s 70 year old sherry glasses, survived the 10,000 mile journey They were great to deal with too; very professional and helpful.

Thanks all for your suggestions, just sent emails off to Pickfords, and Britannia will look at the others.

So much to do as you know......

Hi everyone

I'm about to move to Sweden and we have booked our shipment with Pickfords. The only issue is they only insure what they pack and we have packed most of our stuff ourselves!

Does anyone have advice on third-party insurers we can go to to cover our stuff whilst it's being shipped?!

Thanks in advance :)

I used Anglo Pacific from UK to Dubai, air freight as no furniture and I wasn't paying. All went very smoothly. Also only insured if they packed, but as long as they checked my unsealed boxes before they sealed them and signed them off, they were still insured.

We used crown from Singapore to UK they were very good

We used Chess to move house from Australia to UK, they were very good. One wine glass broken.

Interdean from UK to Germany were quite good too. Nothing broken; a few dings on wooden furniture.

We had no end of issues with Pickfords from Germany to UK. Messed up/slow to confirm timings for delivery to UK, and a large number of missing and broken items.

We were a bit unsettled when the removalists in Germany arrived; none of them spoke English, and they looked like a local outfit Interdean had hired. We left everything neatly in each room for them to pack (eg all kitchen items in kitchen), having done earlier international moves.

We think the removalists that packed our items in Germany mislabelled some of the boxes; or some of the smaller missing items were randomly packed into whatever box they would fit in without care of where they were going; or, the people that handled the storage of our items stored some boxes for delivery by mistake. Or all of the above.

For example, 1 plate of a set 8 was missing, and an office shelf was delivered, however all its drawer contents (which were needed right away for business) were missing. Then they wanted to charge more to search for the missing items.

After a long time and a lot of follow up (calls to their UK number were not being answered), they found the missing items and didn't charge us. Insurance also covered the damaged items. This (as well as Chess and Interdean) was a company sponsored move so we had some help in dealing with Pickfords, but overall it was a painful process.

If you use Pickfords I hope you don't have the same experience!

Wow Di you did have problems with Pickfords, thats such a shame.

As I said I have used them 3 times before, both domestic and from SE Asia and they could not of been better. They even held our shipment for 3 months so we could go travelling then sent it when we arrived back home, all for no extra charge.

I suppose it depends on the local area/staff as to what you get. But really it should all be consistent.

Well, have both Pickfords and Writers (who Britannia use in our area) coming next week as well as a local company so we shall see.

Well 2 removers are not that interested in less than a full 20ft container.

It appears there is either not enough money in it or really they cannot be bothered with a smaller amount.

That's a shame!

We had Asian Tigers ships a a dozen small boxes (home decor and documents) from Southeast Asia to UK this month, so still waiting for the items to arrive.

Sadly Asian Tigers do not operate from our area.

Hope your shipment arrives soon!!

Well all packed up now and my goods are on their way (somewhere)

We went with Crown Relocations, the local crew were very good, but I did make it very easy for them to pack. I sorted everything out and emptied all draws cupboards etc. all in order.

Gave so much away to people who would use what I did not want, the only annoying thing was they said they would pack some items then sent us a list which stated we could not pack items they already said we could.

The worked hard must say and fingers crossed in 60/70 days it will all arrive safe and sound.

Glad you got someone in the end (sounds like a good company, despite list changes) and all the best with the move back to the UK!

diwata, yes home now and its freezing........but Im so glad to be back in the UK!

We left 30 dgs and people were bundled up with hats coats etc as its our (well was) winter.

Think when all the stuff arrives it may be going off on its travels soon after to wherever were going next.

Have a great Christmas, I know for sure we will be!!!