Did you ship with Allied Pickfords, Kent Removals, or OSS World Wide Movers?

[FLAussie 5]

Looking for any members who used either Allied Pickfords, Kent Removals, or OSS World Wide Movers to ship their stuff from Australia to the U.S.

How were they: good, bad or indifferent?

Would you use them again?

Any tips you'd share / things you wish you'd known, in hindsight?

I'm trying to pick the shipping company to move my stuff. I'm only taking sentimental and irreplaceable things, so it'll be a shared container. I got quotes from a few, and those three are my shortlist.

OSS have had best customer service by far so far, but they're $500 more expensive than Kent (who are cheapest; Pickfords are in the middle). Pickfords have heaps of terrible reviews online, so I've almost crossed them off... but I know most online reviews are fakes, so looking for some reviews from real people here.

So if you used one of the companies above, please share!

[FLAussie 5]

Bump

Anyone on here used one of these companies to ship your stuff? How did it go?

Thank you!

[AuSomeGee 5]

Hi FSG

We have used Allied Pickfords and could not fault them so far. We are moving clothes, personal belongings, etc (No furniture or bedding) so it's not a huge amount.

Due to convenience (for ourselves) we are doing door to door. Considering it is likely to arrive in winter months we were not too keen on hiring small van and travelling somewhere to pickup the stuff in a blizzard.

From first contact to obtaining quote, organising packing and removal has been great. (Can't comment on US arrival as of yet, as it's still on a ship towards destination).

Customer Service was great - quoted price and we were over the size quoted and they adjusted $ accordingly after packing which was clearly explained (and previously advised so was not a hidden charge).

The person who visited was kind and courteous and wrapped the items efficiently.

Hope the above helps.

[stephen.marlow 0]

I used Allied Pickfords to move from the US to Australia back in 2010 and they were brilliant. Not a thing was broken in that move and the movers were very professional. Their price was middle out of the 3 quotes I received. We are now moving back to the US and used Allied Pickfords again. Their quote was $500 more expensive the Grace Removals however their network was larger. I specifically went with Allieds because they are the agent in the US (not a third party like most others) and they have a centralised warehouse in Australia which meant we had a great chance of our household goods being sent to the US faster (waiting for other people's stuff to fill a container - it won't ship until there is a full container load).

I was home at uplift and watched Allied pickfords pack our stuff. It was packed really well... although a box was dropped right in front of me which was pretty awkward. hahaha. I didn't hear anything break so I just gave him a furrowed eyebrow hahaha. As it turns out, my furnature is going to arrive in the US before me... this visa process is taking its sweet time. Anyway, so I just wanted to share that my experience with Allied's was pretty good. They wern't the cheapest but I personally was happy to pay an extra $500 based on my previous experience and their network reach.

[vanessalga 8]

I am currently using OSS. I'm bringing 20 boxes of clothes, toys, papers, etc. no furniture. They had the cheapest quote for me and like you said their customer service seemed great. However, after pick up everything changed... You no longer talk to the 'sales' team but the operational team and their story is always different than what sales advised. Long story short, I had my items collected back at the beginning of July and at this stage they estimating I should receive just before Xmas. On the original quote the maximum timeframe would be 4 month but I was guaranteed that a shared container was leaving in July/August so it shouldn't take this long. The ship ended up not leaving till September so I'm still waiting. I'm very disappointed as I planned to be waiting for 3 month not 6 month... I ended up having to buy loads of stuff here for me and my 1y old son as I cant keep waiting on them anymore. Anyway I will submit a claim with consumer affairs once my things arrived but I'm waiting for the delivery first to make sure nothing has been broken etc... Good luck!

[Olives24 9]

I am currently using OSS. I'm bringing 20 boxes of clothes, toys, papers, etc. no furniture. They had the cheapest quote for me and like you said their customer service seemed great. However, after pick up everything changed... You no longer talk to the 'sales' team but the operational team and their story is always different than what sales advised. Long story short, I had my items collected back at the beginning of July and at this stage they estimating I should receive just before Xmas. On the original quote the maximum timeframe would be 4 month but I was guaranteed that a shared container was leaving in July/August so it shouldn't take this long. The ship ended up not leaving till September so I'm still waiting. I'm very disappointed as I planned to be waiting for 3 month not 6 month... I ended up having to buy loads of stuff here for me and my 1y old son as I cant keep waiting on them anymore. Anyway I will submit a claim with consumer affairs once my things arrived but I'm waiting for the delivery first to make sure nothing has been broken etc... Good luck!

Oh dear! We decided to go with OSS based on reviews and their customer service thus far. Hoping our experience is good. : /

[stephen.marlow 0]

Use Allied Pickfords at your own risk!

Further to my previous post, I just wanted to give you guys an update on my experience with using Allied Pickfords from Australia since now we are trying to organise delivery. In my previous post I mentioned that Allied don't use 3rd party agents to deliver in the US. Turns out I misunderstood the consultant as our consignment is being handled by someone other then Allied Pickfords.

We have also encounted massive issues with trying to have our consignment delivered. The delivery agent essentially could only give us 1 day that they could deliver our consignment. 1 day! Unfortunately, that day didn't work for us as we were out of the state and so we requested an alternate. The agent responded saying that they don't know when they will be back in Chicago again. And I guess they were not kidding because it's been a week now and we have had no further contact from the agent... it's like they are ignoring us. So we have no idea where our household goods are or when it will ever be delivered. Allied in Australia have been good trying to get Allied in the US to contact us but their US office doesn't return calls and they don't know what's happening with our consignment either... so they are also trying to get in contact with the agent. It's like a bunch of monkeys are running the show and it's turning into a nightmare for us.

So I wish to change my previous post hahaha My experience with Allied Pickfords has gone from good to ugly.

[vanessalga 8]

Oh dear! We decided to go with OSS based on reviews and their customer service thus far. Hoping our experience is good. : /

Just an update on this:

I have finally received my shipment. Like I mentioned previously, although I was quoted a max. 4 month, it ended up taking them 6 month.

Also, the truck driver who delivered my things here was alone and said they don't unpack (my contract included packing and unpacking).

The truck driver was lovely and mentioned that several other people were actually complaining about the 6 month wait...

Having said that, apart from the delay, everything arrived safely and they did keep in contact with me through the whole process.

Also, I was not charged anything 'extra' at the arrival (sometimes there are extra customs charges) and I did have a couple extra boxes that I included later (after the initial quote) and they did not charge anything extra for them either.

The 'packers' in Sydney were extremely fast and professional and apart from one 'rude' operational consultant (from the Sydney office), everybody else was 'apologizing' and at least trying to be sympathetic.

Overall, although I am still not happy about the delay, considering all the other positive factors I guess I would use them again.

Oh, and the delivery here is assigned to a third party (not OSS). Their name is Schumacher Cargo Logistics

Good luck with your move!

[Olives24 9]

Just an update on this:

I have finally received my shipment. Like I mentioned previously, although I was quoted a max. 4 month, it ended up taking them 6 month.

Also, the truck driver who delivered my things here was alone and said they don't unpack (my contract included packing and unpacking).

The truck driver was lovely and mentioned that several other people were actually complaining about the 6 month wait...

Having said that, apart from the delay, everything arrived safely and they did keep in contact with me through the whole process.

Also, I was not charged anything 'extra' at the arrival (sometimes there are extra customs charges) and I did have a couple extra boxes that I included later (after the initial quote) and they did not charge anything extra for them either.

The 'packers' in Sydney were extremely fast and professional and apart from one 'rude' operational consultant (from the Sydney office), everybody else was 'apologizing' and at least trying to be sympathetic.

Overall, although I am still not happy about the delay, considering all the other positive factors I guess I would use them again.

Oh, and the delivery here is assigned to a third party (not OSS). Their name is Schumacher Cargo Logistics

Good luck with your move!

Hi Vanessa,

Thanks so much for your update. It's really helpful especially since we'll be shipping everything in 2 weeks.

Question: Did you opt in for the insurance? Which type did you get?

Cheers!

Hope you're have a great time in the US

[vanessalga 8]

Hi Vanessa,

Thanks so much for your update. It's really helpful especially since we'll be shipping everything in 2 weeks.

Question: Did you opt in for the insurance? Which type did you get?

Cheers!

Hope you're have a great time in the US

Yes, I did get insurance. I did through them and I think I just got the standard option (3.5% of the goods declared value). So it depends on how much you valuate your belongings.

BTW, I think the date on the last line of your signature is incorrect

13/30/2014 - Medical and police check sent to embassy

[Olives24 9]

Yes, I did get insurance. I did through them and I think I just got the standard option (3.5% of the goods declared value). So it depends on how much you valuate your belongings.

BTW, I think the date on the last line of your signature is incorrect

13/30/2014 - Medical and police check sent to embassy

Ok thanks Vanessa.

Oops! I fixed it! Thanks

[H & S 0]

Hi,

I just wanted to post our experience with OSS in case anyone would find it helpful in the future. We shipped one room of furniture, including bed, desk, chairs, clothes, and a bike. We paid for the door-to-door service plus insurance. They came at the scheduled time and packed everything extremely well. Our shipment was put in a shared container, and it took 3 months for it to arrive to the U.S. port. The shipment was then transferred to the local company, Schumacher Cargo Logistics. Schumacher's communication via email was not clear, and they charged an additional fee which they said was due to customs that we had to pay before they would deliver our shipment. They also only gave one day notice to let us know when they would arrive at our house with the shipment. However in the end we did receive everything in good condition and nothing was missing or damaged. Door to door it ended up taking about 4 months.

Edited November 15, 2015 by H & S