# Shipping of goods to Australia



## Corina (Jan 31, 2011)

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


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## jeremyh (Mar 31, 2011)

*Shipping*

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.


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## Bunyip02 (Apr 11, 2011)

Corina said:


> 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.
> 
> ...


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:boxing: i'm sure people will benifit from your post :clap2:


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

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


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

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


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## Ozdream (May 16, 2011)

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.


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## Corina (Jan 31, 2011)

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


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## AArshad (Apr 24, 2012)

kaz101 said:


> 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.
> 
> ...


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.


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## adamvagley (Apr 10, 2011)

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

CHeers,
Adam


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## taylormartin304 (Apr 18, 2012)

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


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## xMarcusx (Nov 8, 2011)

Even when using packing services damage can still occur. We paid for insurance on our shipment but found that because of the packers documentation we were unable to claim an appropriate amount of compensation.

We used a national UK company, I'm happy to share with others by PM, for our move and everthing went well until the goods left our house. The company sent us a tracking number to tell us where our container was and they seemed to be on their way but in reality they were then late to the ship and spent 4 weeks in the UK and incurred further delays on the way due to missed connections but we were not aware of this for 8 weeks and were told everything was fine by the movers. All told our shipment was 14 weeks and we were fuming. 

On arrival our dining room table was broken. As it was part of a set it essentially ruined the whole set and even though we had taken insurance our compnay refused to refund us for anything other than a table. So in the end, after or excess we got 80GBP refund and had to replace a 1000GBP set. Morale of the story is review the packing list carefully, make sure you note sets not just chairs and tables.


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## adamvagley (Apr 10, 2011)

Hi Marcus, would you mind PMing me with the company name?

Cheers,
Adam


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## andystack (Aug 17, 2010)

The removal company I am using from the uk were lite Rottweilers in getting the order, once the furniture had been collected they sent wrong info and would not respond to emails had to get someone back in the uk to contact them for me.
Marcus who did you use? 
Feel free to pm me and I will advise of the company name --- p------s


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## andystack (Aug 17, 2010)

Should of mentioned it my hauler has been aggressive to me over the phone and via email, I have the proof. His boss is now trying to offer £ to make up for it.


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## academic (Dec 17, 2011)

HI Corina- I'd be grateful if you can PM me the company's name.
Thanks,
Ilan


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## Overhear (Jun 3, 2013)

Hi Corina,

I would also appreciate the name of your shipping company. You can't be too careful with such a big move!

Thank you in advance,

Kathy


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## Michelle69 (Aug 18, 2013)

Hi Corina

I would really appreciate if you could let me know who this company is as I am in the process of moving to Australia & wouldn't want to end up using a company like this.

Many thanks

Michelle


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## NickYCRC (May 22, 2016)

Hi Corina,

I know you posted this a while a go but it still comes up on the first page of the google results. Would you be able to PM me the name of the company please? I am moving soon and I have a lot of sentimental stuff. 

Thanks,
Nick


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## rezakhan (Feb 13, 2019)

thanks


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