Shipping of goods to Australia

[Corina]

Hi all

I thought I would share my experience of shipping our items over to Australia, so you can make informed decisions on how/who and what to do when shipping your goods.

Unfortunately we had a bad experience using a reputable firm. We shipped our items out here and it took 14 weeks. Within the first 24 hours items were lost and damaged in the UK.

Then to add further insult to injury when it arrived in Australia our items in the boxes were damaged and the hardest part to take was sentimental items were damaged beyond repair. We have spent $1,000 already replacing damaged goods and have not stopped yet! We were also charged an additional 150 pounds which we were not warned about until after they had taken payment.

My key learns:

- it is worth paying the extra for the shipping company to pack your goods for you
- the boxes they provide are meant to withstand international transit. Unfortunately this is not true, so ensure lots of padding around your items. We did this but still our items were completely smashed.
- make sure the advisor you speak to gives you an overestimate of cost.
- furniture should be packed in special materials else they get damaged (in our case they were delivered in pieces (four or five pieces).

I used XXXXXXX (name removed by moderator). Unfortunately they will not refund any of the costs we paid for their services. The damage caused was, in their eyes, our fault for using their packing materials and not protecting our furniture properly. This was despite the furniture being damaged in the UK and losing items in the UK.

They stack your boxes on top of each other, no protective shelving is used to prevent crushing from movement within the ship. So if you get a choppy crossing damage will occur to items inside the boxes despite bubble wrap, newspaper and all the usual protective measures.

These are the things that went wrong for me. I've copied from my correspondence with XXXXXXX (name removed by moderator) and hopefully others will not have the same issues as me:

1) I was told I would be provided with “free” sufficient packaging. This was two pieces of bubble wrap and the boxes. I am sure you would agree; if I had believed this statement my items would be in more of a mess than they already are.

2) I explained from the start I had furniture and at no point was I advised to purchase further protective wrapping for this furniture. I was advised to spend 90 pounds on protective wrapping after my furniture was damaged. Again, I am sure you’ll agree this should have been outlined before my goods were damaged.

3) I was sent an email to be advised my payment had failed - a payment that was more than I had been originally quoted (in my calculations I included the insurance quote and courier costs) and I had asked for confirmation of the amount before taking the money from my card.

4) My goods were lost and damaged in the UK before the international transit even began. I have moved the furniture several times with no protective wrapping and they have never been damaged. I believe our goods were not treated as they should have been prior to transit. The legs to our drawers have clearly been ripped off using a lot of force. This was the only damage on the drawers and we were advised of this in the UK.

5) The delivery men in Australia were disgusted with the state our delivery was in. They said the rest of the boxes on the ship were not crushed. Again this would indicate mistreatment in the UK. These guys do this job day in day out.

6) The boxes that were provided were not fit for purpose. We bubble wrapped all items inside (we spent a further 60 pounds on protective wrapping) and hollow items we placed newspaper and bubble wrap inside. A large amount of our goods were crushed and damaged in the boxes. Only after the damage was caused were the limitations of the boxes revealed (e.g. stacked 3 high – no shelving or racking used). I entered a contract of good faith – unfortunately the assurances given in the quote have been contradicted.

The above could all come down to naivity on our part, so I thought I would share so others don't have the same misfortune as ourselves. As I say, XXXXXXX (name removed by moderator) claim no fault.

Corina

[jeremyh]

Maybe you hired movers are not good with their services. Generally the shippers are very good at their work. Which shipping did you hired. Because i hired Aussieshipping services and they made my move complete stress free. They did all the things including packing with bubble wraps.

[Bunyip02]

Originally Posted by Corina

Hi all

I thought I would share my experience of shipping our items over to Australia, so you can make informed decisions on how/who and what to do when shipping your goods.

Unfortunately we had a bad experience using a reputable firm. We shipped our items out here and it took 14 weeks. Within the first 24 hours items were lost and damaged in the UK.

Then to add further insult to injury when it arrived in Australia our items in the boxes were damaged and the hardest part to take was sentimental items were damaged beyond repair. We have spent $1,000 already replacing damaged goods and have not stopped yet! We were also charged an additional 150 pounds which we were not warned about until after they had taken payment.

My key learns:

- it is worth paying the extra for the shipping company to pack your goods for you
- the boxes they provide are meant to withstand international transit. Unfortunately this is not true, so ensure lots of padding around your items. We did this but still our items were completely smashed.
- make sure the advisor you speak to gives you an overestimate of cost.
- furniture should be packed in special materials else they get damaged (in our case they were delivered in pieces (four or five pieces).

I used XXXXXXX (name removed by moderator). Unfortunately they will not refund any of the costs we paid for their services. The damage caused was, in their eyes, our fault for using their packing materials and not protecting our furniture properly. This was despite the furniture being damaged in the UK and losing items in the UK.

They stack your boxes on top of each other, no protective shelving is used to prevent crushing from movement within the ship. So if you get a choppy crossing damage will occur to items inside the boxes despite bubble wrap, newspaper and all the usual protective measures.

These are the things that went wrong for me. I've copied from my correspondence with XXXXXXX (name removed by moderator) and hopefully others will not have the same issues as me:

1) I was told I would be provided with “free” sufficient packaging. This was two pieces of bubble wrap and the boxes. I am sure you would agree; if I had believed this statement my items would be in more of a mess than they already are.

2) I explained from the start I had furniture and at no point was I advised to purchase further protective wrapping for this furniture. I was advised to spend 90 pounds on protective wrapping after my furniture was damaged. Again, I am sure you’ll agree this should have been outlined before my goods were damaged.

3) I was sent an email to be advised my payment had failed - a payment that was more than I had been originally quoted (in my calculations I included the insurance quote and courier costs) and I had asked for confirmation of the amount before taking the money from my card.

4) My goods were lost and damaged in the UK before the international transit even began. I have moved the furniture several times with no protective wrapping and they have never been damaged. I believe our goods were not treated as they should have been prior to transit. The legs to our drawers have clearly been ripped off using a lot of force. This was the only damage on the drawers and we were advised of this in the UK.

5) The delivery men in Australia were disgusted with the state our delivery was in. They said the rest of the boxes on the ship were not crushed. Again this would indicate mistreatment in the UK. These guys do this job day in day out.

6) The boxes that were provided were not fit for purpose. We bubble wrapped all items inside (we spent a further 60 pounds on protective wrapping) and hollow items we placed newspaper and bubble wrap inside. A large amount of our goods were crushed and damaged in the boxes. Only after the damage was caused were the limitations of the boxes revealed (e.g. stacked 3 high – no shelving or racking used). I entered a contract of good faith – unfortunately the assurances given in the quote have been contradicted.

The above could all come down to naivity on our part, so I thought I would share so others don't have the same misfortune as ourselves. As I say, XXXXXXX (name removed by moderator) claim no fault.

Corina

thanks for the warning sorry to hear of your bad experience. i have read many treads on different forums about XXXXXXX (name removed by moderator), and none of them were positive. I will definately stear clear of this company i'm sure people will benifit from your post

[kaz101]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Moving country can be traumatic enough without something like that happening.

The company we used (Harrow Green) were quite explicit in that if we didn't use their packing services our insurance wouldn't be valid. To be honest I was happy to let them do everything since that's their job and they have experience in it. One small thing was broken and that was all.

Regards,
Karen

[kaz101]

Corina,

I've removed the name of the company from your post since it could be seen as a 'name and shame' post which can't be allowed for legal reasons.

However there is nothing to stop members contacting you directly for the name of the company.

Regards,
Karen

[Ozdream]

Hi Corina, we will be shipping soon as we are moving in january. Could you kindly send me a private message with the company name.

Thank you for sharing.

[Corina]

Hi Karen

Sorry for using the company name. I am happy for people to PM me so if they are using the same company they can take steps to ensure the safe arrival of their goods.

On another note we just took out insurance for lost and theft. I highly recommend the insurance for damage due to the stresses of international transit.

Many thanks

Corina

[AArshad]

Originally Posted by kaz101

Corina,

I've removed the name of the company from your post since it could be seen as a 'name and shame' post which can't be allowed for legal reasons.

However there is nothing to stop members contacting you directly for the name of the company.

Regards,
Karen

I have come across a number of posts by people shipping thier household stuff and furniture from UK to Aus so i wan to ask somethings....
1, how much do you pay for customs, etc in Australia
2. how do you move your things from port to home, what does it costs, are there people to lift the heavy furniture for you?
3. if the furniture is new, some other kitchen stuff that is new too or as good as new, will the customs clearance be a problem?
I was thinking of a double bed & side tables, two single beds for the kids, a chest of drawers, living room sofa sets and side table.... the prices of the ones i found on websites are so costly and the ones under $500 are just so basic and dull. all these will cost me much much less in my country.
thanks for any suggestions.

[adamvagley]

Hi Corina, I'd also appreciate it if you could PM me the name of the mover.

CHeers,
Adam

[taylormartin304]

This is terrible. I had elite crete concrete products brought over from Canada and it was fine.