Shipping company recommendations?

[Kensington]

Hi All,

We've had quite a few shipping companies round to do surveys/quotes and to be honest there is not an awful lot to differentiate between them. I would welcome any views - good AND bad - on the following: PSS International, Pickfords, Anglo Pacific and John Mason please.

Ta, Jane.

[dwgknz]

Pickfords did the job for us. Everything was in the same condition as when we sent it. Our bed got a scratch when they set it up here but that was it.

They quoted well, were able to beat any other quotes (not insurance tho we got this through letton percival, much cheaper).

They weren't up to date on all the current rules and told us we didn't need to be in NZ when the goods arrived. This has changed so instead they held the goods in London instead of taking them straight to the port. They didn't charge us storage for this period. They then didn't send them on the date agreed and we didn't realise until I rang them in Auckland on the day they were supposed to arrive. In the meantime I found work in Wellington so we asked them to ship the goods there instead and they finallly arrived the day after we took possession of our house! Worked out perfectly for us due to our circumstances and we got 4 months storage and transit from Auckland to Wellington for free.

[Sun777]

You might find this thread/poll useful http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?31309

[noodles3]

We used Pickfords and were very impressed with their work, both in the UK and here in NZ. The only slight issue was that we payed for the packing/unpacking but due to one truck being late arriving here in NZ (flat tyre) they left a LOT of unopened boxes, but they had put up all the big stuff. In hindsight it wasn't a really big issue.

Good luck.

[Kensington]

Thanks guys.

[Living Life]

This thread is useful, we are hoping to phone through a few companies for some quotes also soon - well as soon as we know we are accepted but can anyone answer if the prices include the boxes you pack your goods into or is that an additional price?? I have been saving boxes from work to help reduce the cost!!

[noodles3]

This thread is useful, we are hoping to phone through a few companies for some quotes also soon - well as soon as we know we are accepted but can anyone answer if the prices include the boxes you pack your goods into or is that an additional price?? I have been saving boxes from work to help reduce the cost!!

Pickford's did for us, as well as all of the packing wrap they used. It might not be the case if you don't use their packing service.
Good luck.

[Living Life]

Thanks noodles3!! I am sure I will find out once I start getting qoutes!!

[Kensington]

Most companies we say you won't be covered for breakages etc. for the boxes you pack yourself. At least if they pack they know exactly what you can/can't take into NZ which may cause less hassle the other end.

[hoglet121]

Hi,

We had 6 companies round and I prepared a list of about 50 questions for them (from a post of questions to ask shipping companies thread on here) and also did my own research as I work in logistics. That very quickly separated the good from the bad - they are not all the same by any stretch of the imagination. John Masons basically lied to us about MAFF and customs regulations, and couldn't tell me which handling agent they would be passing all our worldly possessions to in NZ. As if that wasn't bad enough they told me they would sent through the details of the handling agent when he got back to the office and never did. As they were the first company we had round I wasn't feeling to happy about the process.

But Pickfords won hands down for us. They were the only company that quoted the correct t MAFF inspection fees (it isn't a set fee of $1000, it's a sliding scale depending how many boxes MaFF want to see). And true to their word we paid $390approx . They did all the packing, wrapping, unpacking and a bit of building (bed, dining table). Only casualty was a cheap clip frame. Their office was a but slow and I had to keep on top of them, and remind them they hadn't sent us the advice of shipment, but they did with plenty of time to spare, and their office in Auckland were very helpful. We would thoroughly recommend them.