Pickfords

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1. Negligent and incompetent.

   This is a follow up to a review I wrote about 2 months ago.
   
   Pickfords have offered me GBP40 for my lost item. A priceless family heirloom. A 150 y/o mahogany family table. TO BE CLEAR. I do not care about the money.
   
   I care that they lost my table and have made no attempt to explain how it happened, how or where their systems failed or even to have apologized.
   
   I care that the contract I entered into with Pickfords, is to all intents and purposes a 'best efforts' contract. It appears that I have no fundamental expectation that a service I paid for will in fact be provided. And should it not be provided then at least an apology and a refund will be offered.
   
   They lost my table, charged me ~$2000 for a job they did not do and hide behind waiver language that limits them to GBP40. Shocking !
   
   This is a very very shady company. I have emailed the CEO Russel Start directly, several times and he has not had the decency to respond. I suspect he is overwhelmed with emails of complaints.
   
   I have run my situation by The Property Ombudsman and they declined to get involved. I have actually asked TPO under what circumstances could/would they help. They have not answered that question. Does anyone know ?
   
   I am now moving onto BAR and the Better Business Bureau. Again and to be clear my monetary loss is of little importance to me. I will be giving the GBP40 to charity when I receive it * and I would be very happy to give any other compensation/refunds to charity too. My physical loss is of great importance to me and negligence and incompetence of Pickfords is driving me mad. I simply can't let this company keep going about their business with this cavalier and carefree attitude. PLEASE DO NOT EVER USE PICKFORDS They just don't care about the customer or his/her belongings.
   
   *Pickfords asked me to provide them with my bank details so they could deposit GBP40 directly. HA ! They think I am giving them my bank details. They must be insane. I asked them to send a cheque via open mail. I trust they will use Royal Mail/United States Post office for delivery methods. There is a chance it might arrive.
   
   One more note. I have been blocked from Pickfords Twitter feed. if anyone wants to tweet their displeasure then I am @bjlloyd1406.

2. Appalling liars and incompetents.

   Pickfords Edinburgh were paid to pack,store, and return our property. They have demonstrated an utterly unprofessional attitude throughout, their staff are either totally incompetent or simply dishonest. In addition to packing dirty nappies alongside our kitchen equipment they have damaged or lost a great many items. They also only packed half of the items in our loft before closing it and telling my husband it had been fully emptied. We subsequently had to hire a van to remove the remain items and then throw most of th away as we had nowhere to store things before moving to our new house. They are now saying that only items notified to them within 7 days are covered by their insurance so most of our missing items aren't covered because I didn't realise they were missing till I went looking for them.
   
   Overall they have turned an already stressful experience into a total nightmare and charged us a fortune for the privilege.

3. After care.

   The actual move was fine, though the walls and my new leather sofa was damaged.
   We emailed and sent photos in reference to this. A week on and still no resolution.
   Also I was told by the staff member to ring the local pickfords and that they would collect the empty boxes. I rang the local branch was told I would be contacted to arrange a suitable day/time but have still not had the conversation.
   Considering the cost of the service I expected a much better customer service and after care.
   
   I would struggle recommend pickfords to family or friends.

4. Avoid avoid avoid.

   This is one of my worst-ever experience, with any service company.
   
   I used Pickfords for an international move because the initial quote seemed ok and service responsive, but it ended up being a disaster, for several reasons:
   The door to door move took much longer than initially announced (almost 14 weeks, compared with a promise of 8-12 weeks). The date of reception was also suddenly changed, with no clear justification, and I had to insist multiple times to finally get an appointment for delivery.
   - The overall state in which my goods arrived was very bad, clearly due to hasty packaging.
   - Some valued items had simply disappeared (highly breakable ones), with no explanation provided. I suspect movers stole them or broke them and quietly hid them to avoid any blame.
   - Some items came in broken, but I could not get a claim because of some exception in the insurance rule (despite spending hundreds of Pounds in insurance fees).
   
   They're very good at finding excuses for these problems, but not for providing any actual help. Do yourself a favour and avoid. Even if the initial price elsewhere may seem a bit high, you'll end up saving much more by not using Pickfords.

5. Pickfords Manchester.

   If I could give no star, I would!
   The packing team was badly organised, careless and unprofessional. Our furniture was damaged in transit, boxes were old and had been reused; some items were packed together when they should not have been, for instance food with bleach and shoes!! We have moved many times and this was the first time we had so many items damaged. It took over 3 months to get the furniture repaired and, after 6 months, we are still trying to get compensation.
   Absolutely not recommended.

6. London removals_don't use.

   Booked Pickfords as I had done several times before in the last three years for a move within London. It was hair raising. They sent a team of inexperienced non-English speakers , got the quantity (site of vehicle) and length of time needed completely wrong and after a harrowing experience that included me collecting a whole car full of stuff they had left behind and spending two nights in a hotel due to the delay they now refuse to pay for the damage to items. Turns out their new insurance arrangements disadvantage the customer to the extent that customer is practically uninsured. Their staff duly took photos and made a note on the delivery note as in previous moves where damages were duly handled but nothing happens now. Turns out customer has to handle everything with a third party that had not been disclosed to me before the actual move or in the course of the contracting process. Customer has to prove ownership, value, causation etc when it is of course Pickfords who are liable for damage. Thankfully my damage was not big. But a grand big warning here!! Also, they damage lampshades every time, all of them. Don't give them any lampshades to carry. Also strangely the non-English speaking crew suddenly refused to transport any candles (not they knew the word for candle) so chaos left right and centre. Avoid!!

7. Worst Mover Ever.

   I engaged Allied Pickford to move from Singapore to Australia and it is the worst experience ever. Firstly they offered competitive quotation. Unbelievably the actual price is more than 50% than the quotation. They held back my belongings and refused to ship it until I paid them the extra charges on the purported extras I had. I escalated the matter but their senior management just not keen to entertain me. They sent a team lead, who was argumentative rather than providing solutions to my issue. They also delayed my shipment by 7 days from the agreed delivery date. Their customer service has since disappeared when I asked them for compensation. Very regret to appoint Allied Pickford. The worst decision ever. NEVER USE ALLIED PICKFORD.

8. Disappointing.

   Used Allied Pickfords because they had such a good reputation, but were quite disappointed. They insisted on repacking our items for insurance purposes, but our original packing was actually better and many items arrived damaged or completely broken. 'Their' insurance company is actually separate from Allied, and when we tried to make a claim they just masterfully bounced us back and forth between each other. Every claim seemed to be related to moisture damage somehow, which was a convenient exclusion from the policy. Wouldn't use again in a hurry!

9. Pickfords has no integrity - Move overseas.

   We were moving from London to Canada and wanted to ship 4 small boxes of personal effects we could not get in our suitcases. We ended up with a total of 80 kg that we asked Pickfords to ship. I received two quotes, one that was to the destination airport and one that was delivered to the door which was about 25% more and it would arrive in 7-10 days. I wanted to pick it up at the airport but was convinced that I could experience obscene "handling charges" on the destination end, so I agreed on door-to-door as Pickfords claimed they would handle all the paperwork and I would incur no further charges. I provided all paperwork requested, including inventories. They dropped off the boxes on a Friday and picked up the packed boxes on the Monday explaining that they would provide a final invoice on Tuesday.
   
   The first red flag went up when I did not receive the final invoice on Tuesday, or Wednesday, despite phone assurances that we would. By Friday, the second red flag was raised when they contacted me saying they would have to open the boxes and remove an item claiming it was liquid (it was not liquid), at a charge of 30 pounds, plus 20 pounds to send it to a UK address. Given that we had already left the UK and were at that point in Canada, this was very concerning. I had to argue extensively that there were no prohibited items in the shipment, at which point Hannah tried to point out the conditions of carriage I had apparently signed onto when I was given the quote. Given it was a verbal quote over the phone, I never did see these conditions of carriage, but regardless, there were no prohibited items and I finally received an invoice on the Monday after it had been picked up, 7 days after it was picked up on a 7-10 day service.. Keep in mind that they stated several times on their website and on the invoice that any delays would incur storage fees, so I was very concerned they would try to charge me more for this. Finally, they shipped my cartons by DHL and I received a tracking number.
   
   When we came through customs on our arrival, I went to Customs and had them stamp the inventory for the goods being shipped. I immediately provided this to Pickfords and DHL. I then received notification that the shipment was delayed at destination because I had to go back to the airport to clear it through customs and then go to DHL to provide the clearance. So much for door-to-door and looking after all the paperwork. There was an additional form that required a stamp from CBSA that I was not provided initially in order to get it stamped on our arrival, but within seconds at the CBSA office, they stamped it and I then proceeded to the DHL depot as instructed.
   
   On arrival at DHL, they checked the documents and released the goods to me. There was no discussion of potential delivery times, so the door-to-door service I paid about 80 quid for was not even an option. Given the potential hassles that would ensue and being only 30 yards away from the goods, I opted to collect them rather than argue the point.
   
   When I contacted Pickfords regarding a refund of the additional charges, they said I should have contacted them again to escalate and arrange delivery. The UK is 7 hours ahead and the Pickfords office was closed, I was at the DHL depot at the airport, 30 yards from my goods. Helen repeated the line about high "handling fees" that could be incurred, but would not specify by whom, or how much. I was open to not having issue if they had incurred any charges, but they would/could not provide any information to that regard. They sent me an invoice they say a previous client had been subjected to, which was absolutely not applicable. The communication I received claimed that it was always a requirement to clear goods in person, so Pickfords knew, or should have known that they could not actually provide me the service they promised. They have absolutely refused to refund me for services they had no intention or ability to provide. I paid via a bank transfer, so have no recourse. If I had paid by credit card, I would have enough documented evidence to pursue a claim through the credit card. In hindsight, Pickfords must know this as they said they would charge more if I used a credit card. I have all the emails and documentation and it is very plain to see. I was amazed they refused to refund such a small amount, but it just shows the level of integrity this company has.
   
   In short, this company has no integrity and should not be used. I should have gone directly to DHL rather than dealing with this dishonest middle-man company. If you do decide to use them, do not fall for the fear mongering tactics they will use to get you to pay more. Pay by credit card so you have some recourse and ensure you keep every bit of correspondence. I would be happy to share any of this correspondence with anyone interested, but I would strongly suggest avoiding Pickfords and instead dealing with a company that has some integrity.

10. Worst customer service - ever.

    Normally I don't write reviews, and when I do they are for good service or positive experiences.. unfortunately, in this case, I can not report a positive experience.
    Having used Pickfords for a previous move, they were top of my list.. how wrong could I be.
    Initial contact was good, with Adam Pe.. coming out to estimate and quote. Note this was moving two properties into one, and so a reasonably complex move for us, but should have been easy for them (as professionals?). Quote was provided and were-were handed across to our move manager (CharlottePu).
    We had a provisional date penciled in, but as with many things the moving date changed, and as we were getting ready the quantity of contents were recycled to the charity shop resulting in a reduction of volume. So we asked for a requote!
    AdamPe, visited, reviewed, and then went on holiday without providing the new quote, although he indicated that the new move date was OK.. (he obviously hasn't returned as he has not returned any of my numerous calls) strangely CharlottePu.. also went on leave. Unfortunately, there was no one within the business who could provide a quote or confirm availability of the new moving date.
    After numerous calls, we failed to reach anyone who could help within the Pickfords business.
    To cut a long story short, we spent the first 6 days of our European holiday trying to organize a removal company as Pickfords finally responded to us on the day we were flying and informed us that they could no longer move us on the requested date..
    I don't have a problem with them being busy, I don't have a problem with them not being able to accommodate us.
    However, I do find that their communication was incredibly poor, with no handover or holiday cover within the office space, and apparently, no records being kept. The overall customer service was incredibly poor, and the view of the office management was that it was very disorganized and chaotic. I would have preferred to communicate this experience directly Adam, but I'm still waiting for him to return my calls.
    We did find a reliable removal company, who communicated and delivered everything we expected (and more).

11. Damages to goods - claims service slow.

    We moved from the UK to Spain. Our house in Spain was under construction so goods had to be put into storage on the property. The few items that were unpacked straight away included my husband's model aircraft which were damaged. The removers said that if any more items were damaged when we came to unpack we could claim for them on the insurance. They knew we would not be unpacking them within 7 days. When we found other damaged items including antiques we were told by the insurers we could not claim as we only had 7 days to do so! We asked Pickfords to repair the antique items as they could not be replaced - Pickfords refused. Pickfords claim service was terrible, the customer service department never emailed us back, we had to keep telephoning them. It took 6 months for the claim to go through. Altogether terrible service, lots of damaged items and the claim payout didn't cover 25% of the damage done. We would never use them again.

12. Pickfords lousy service.

    We had a signed agreed contract with Pickfords Removals Ltd to move us from Totton, Southampton, UK to our new home in Italy.
    They did full estimate and started off at £12,000 and after a few different quotes, we agreed a quote of £6057. Quite a difference.
    They collected our goods as agreed and we had a delivery date.
    Once we left the country that we had to pay another £900 (which turned out to be £1080) or they would not deliver our goods.
    The date of delivery came and Pickfords told us they waited down the road until we paid or they would have kept our goods, they would not deliver our goods until we paid. I told them this was blackmail and extortion.
    A lot of boxes were way unpacked and stuffed with paper to bulk them up.
    Then they lost and damaged some goods and we are now struggling to get an insurance claim which we paid £600 for.
    They have admitted what they have done by email.
    They seem to think this is all ok to do this.
    There were also mouse holes in some of the boxes when they arrived too.
    Delivery to Italy.

13. Moving with Pickfords.

    I just completed a tricky long-distance move within the UK, with storage in between of furniture and some 200 boxes. Pickford have been absolutely fantastic all the way through, from the move manager that spoke to me umpteen times on the phone, always helpful and cheerful to the movers at both ends who did everything in record time. Even small problems with cracks in a coupe of its were sorted by the insurance quickly and painlessly. I could not be more pleased with them!
    Beatrice.

14. Left with a damaged property.

    They delivered my mattress to my new house. I had new carpets that they dragged mud through with their dirty boots. They also dragged the dirty box across the carpets leaving marks on the floor and ceiling.
    
    They eventually cleaned the markings but left my walls damaged. I asked for a refund which they refused and said their liability was limited to £75. They refused to repair the damage caused.
    
    They have left me very, very unhappy.

15. Absolute waste of time, avoid !

    Very disappointing experience with these lads. Hopefully it ended before to start. I called them on the 28th of June for a quotation and I was told that a consultant would have called me back the 8th of July for "asking me the details of the removal" that means twelfe days after my call !! They confirmed the phone appointment by e-mail. On the 8th of July this consultant called and asked me so general questions that could have been provided on the first call. Then the quotation that she made was so much higher than all the others I had, but most of all not effectively related to the specific amount I had to move (I am a tenant and I have not furnitures to move!) Finally I asked gently for something in writings to compare and to send me by e-mail. She agreed but this e-mail never received. Horrible. Absolute waste of time. Avoid.