New Arrivals

[Guest calamitycaz]

Hi everyone, well it's 96 days till we leave the UK which sounds like ages but seems to be rushing up on us! I'm just after a bit of advice -

 

Removal companies - so far I have booked Anglo Pacific to come next week for a shipping quote, but can anyone else recommend two other companies for comparable estimates?

 

I've had my 136 Visa for FOUR YEARS :swoon: yes, I know!! so feel a bit rusty now I am finally using it - does anyone know if I need to forewarn Australian Immigration that we are actually going to be arriving after all this time?

 

On arrival the things that I think I need to do in the first few days are - Tax File number, and Medicare...is this right? And if so how do I go about it? I haven't booked 'Meet and Greet' as we arrive on a Sunday and thought I'd do it Mon/Tues.

 

Any other advice anyone has would be appreciated, I have a rental for a month, a car for a week, a Midwifery job that I start at Flinders in January, just getting a Commonwealth Bank account together (unless someone recommends anyone better?!) so recommendations for used car sales (I'm thinking of buying another Kia for their reliability) and rental agents would be appreciated

 

Sorry for the long post - these are the things that are starting to keep me awake at night!!!

 

Caz xxxx

[Guest kas17]

Hi Caz

we moved here 2 weeks ago and used anglo pacific. Not a good experience and since then we have heard lots of horror stories about them, although am sure some will have had good experiences. There is even a website called victims of anglo pacific. they subcontract out to other removal companies, ours emptied our drink cabinet on the first night then couldnt do any packing due to their hangovers so we had to pack most of the stuff ourselves.

They were very professional on their visit to get our business though. I'm sure people have good and bad about most companies. We were limited by choice few companies would quote us think due to where we lived.

Karen

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

I take it that you have already validated your VISA?

 

HG

[Guest vikkiann]

Caz

 

We have had our visa for 2 years now and hope to be out in Adelaide by the end of the year.

Our house was given a good valuation, 10k more than i'd expected to get so fingers crossed, no buyers yet though!

 

I have Doree Bonner and Pickfords coming next week. Pickfords seem to get good reviews on PIA so i thought i'd get them to quote.

 

I typed their name into google and got their contact details.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Vikki

xx

[Guest nikki & john]

Hiya. We used Doree Bonner and overall were happy with them, the packers turned up when they were supposed to, worked hard and couldn't have been nicer. There were a couple of things broken at the other end, these thing happen and that why you have insurance I suppose and there were no issues with the getting the claim sorted through the insurance company.

 

There would be no problem with getting Meet & Greet on a sunday but not sure you can get them after you arrive, I might be wrong but thought they were supposed to pick you up from the airport, take you to your accommodation, take you to local shops to get the basics etc and guide you through the stuff like getting TFN and Medicare etc. If you decide against getting Meet & Greet, just get into your local library in Noarlunga so you can use the internet, you can register for TFN online just log onto the ATO website. Medicare there will probably be an office in Noarlunga but if not there is definately one in the Marion shopping centre.

 

I know its easy for me to say and believe me having gone through it I know its not an easy thing to do but try not to stress to much, you've actually already sorted all of the major things, like having a job to come to, a vehicle to get around in and most importantly accommodation, that will make your life soooo much easier )

 

Good luck and we'll see you soon.

 

Nikki

[Guest WhatNow?]

Meet and greet was suspended as of 1st July, I believe, as posted on this site by people who had applied for it.

[Guest WhatNow?]

Having dealt with many migrants over the last few years we have heard many stories about just about all of them - and we have our own too. It seems like none of the companies have a consistent record. We have heard about excellent service from one set of clients, then a horror story about the same company from another. The majority of them sub-contract out the delivery at this end and to be fair this doesn't seem to be where the problem is. We have heard of one very 'reputable' company who underestimated the size of a load (to get the job in the first place, presumably) then virtually held the family to ransom about paying extra for the (TWO) extra loads it took to get their things here! This seems to be quite a common strategy so I would advise you to ask the question when you get the quote - What happens if your estimator gets it wrong?' and get the answer in writing. Other common problems include inadequate packing resulting in breakages. The only way around this is to keep an eye on them when they are packing an question them and take photos of anything you think is a bit dodgy. I saw one of my boxes get knocked off the lorry as they were loading it and the guy looked round to see if I was watching - I made sure he knew I was. I'm afraid it's a bit of a lottery. I have a good friend whose partner ships stuff round the world for his work and swears by Anglo Pacific - I have also heard many stories similar to the one on here. This is why Home2Home never recommend any one removal company as sooner or later they all let themselves down...

[Guest calamitycaz]

I take it that you have already validated your VISA?

 

HG

 

 

Haha!! Yes, don't worry

 

Caz x

[Guest calamitycaz]

Brilliant advice from all of you - especially the bit about registering for my TFN online - my temporary rental has Wifi and I will have my Notebook so hopefully will even manage to avoid trips to the library in the early days.

I guess the packers are a lottery really, but good advice about safeguarding stuff while they are packing it.

 

Any more advice gratefully received !!

 

Caz x

[Guest nikki & john]

The on arrival accommodation was supposed to be finished as at 1st July but was extended until the end of December or so I heard, not sure about Meet & Greet though.

[Guest willow1234]

hi caz we used pickfords for the move n they was great,its deb frm ilkeston u can always give me a tinkle if ur usure fb n ill send you our number.xxxx speak very soon

[Guest WhatNow?]

The on arrival accommodation was supposed to be finished as at 1st July but was extended until the end of December or so I heard, not sure about Meet & Greet though.

 

 

Quite right, sorry for misleading everyone...must stop posting when the eyes are closing!

[Guest calamitycaz]

hi caz we used pickfords for the move n they was great,its deb frm ilkeston u can always give me a tinkle if ur usure fb n ill send you our number.xxxx speak very soon

 

 

Thanks Deb, I'll give them a try too then - were they OK cost wise? X

[Guest Grahame68]

Hi We used PSS and were very happy with them. !0 weeks door to door, no breakages and communication was excellent throughout.

[rachel31]

we used doree bonners when we came out last year. Original quote wass good and the packers couldn't have been more helpful. however we arranged for the container to be packed end of sept in order for it to arrive in oz early november and we were going to pay for it to go in to storage in adelaide.unfortunately the container got mislaid and we were lied to repeatedly about its whereabouts and when it would get to us. It eventually turned up at our house on 23rd december. I was NOT happy!!! we had been in our unfurnished rental for nearly a month with 2 camping chairs, nothing else and 6 people! however they might have improved since then, in laws used them a few years ago and said they were good. good luck with the move

[Guest WhatNow?]

Sadly I had a very bad experience with DB myself. They seemed very professional until the moment I paid them! I was told they needed three men and a full day to pack. They turned up on the agreed day at the agreed time (Friday before I was due to leave on the Monday) - so far so good...When it came time to dismantle two tables to pack they had no tools on the wagon,(mine were already on their way). The two guys who were supposed to be doing the job of three worked so hard all day but were getting tired by 4 pm and dropped a box of pictures/mirrors off the wagon (amazingly nothing was broken but I only knew what had happened because I actually saw it!), they left part of my bed behind and disappeared at 7pm with no indication of when they were coming back (they all knew I was flying on the Monday!) Ops manager was in the pub when the guy rang for instruction and couldn't be a***d to make any arrangements. Monday 9 am I rang the office to find that nothing had been arranged to collect remaining stuff. Finally had to leave keys with the agent who was arranging to rent the property so they could come back Tuesday (I was in the air by then!). My tenants were due to move in on Wednesday. Emailed the estate agent from Dubai airport to check they had collected remaining stuff and returned the keys which they had but hadn't bothered to let me know by text as I had asked them. Several emails later I had no reply and no apology, in fact no contact from them at all despite a letter of complaint to their MD. When stuff arrived here, my snooker/dining table that was supposed to be crated (for which they charged me an extra £175) was just packed in bubble wrap like the other table. Gave up with them and would not recommend them to anyone...the words 'p**s up' and 'brewery' come to mind. Have been careful not to say too much about this to clients etc but have been fuming about this ever since!

If we made a cockup like this we would at least have the balls to apologise and try to put it right, not just ignore the customer...

[Guest mark&rachel]

We used Robinsons and they werent the best. Sticky fingers etc etc.

I have heard from lots of people that crown are good though.

 

Good luck with the move, its worth it

[Guest guest3462]

We used Brittania Appleyard and had several items "lost" enroute, but it was random items from several boxes which leads to think that sticky fingers were at work, it was just rubbish that was sentimental to us and not worth much that was missing. Having said that, they were reasonably priced and we shall be using them again at the end of the year to bring the rest of our stuff accross!!

[Jessica Berry]

We used Pickfords to move our personal belongings (we sold the contents of our house and house before we left so only had personal things left in the UK to send over), so most of the items had sentinemtal value rather than a monetary value and Pickfords were excellent, I would use them again.

[Guest calamitycaz]

Sadly I had a very bad experience with DB myself. They seemed very professional until the moment I paid them! I was told they needed three men and a full day to pack. They turned up on the agreed day at the agreed time (Friday before I was due to leave on the Monday) - so far so good...When it came time to dismantle two tables to pack they had no tools on the wagon,(mine were already on their way). The two guys who were supposed to be doing the job of three worked so hard all day but were getting tired by 4 pm and dropped a box of pictures/mirrors off the wagon (amazingly nothing was broken but I only knew what had happened because I actually saw it!), they left part of my bed behind and disappeared at 7pm with no indication of when they were coming back (they all knew I was flying on the Monday!) Ops manager was in the pub when the guy rang for instruction and couldn't be a***d to make any arrangements. Monday 9 am I rang the office to find that nothing had been arranged to collect remaining stuff. Finally had to leave keys with the agent who was arranging to rent the property so they could come back Tuesday (I was in the air by then!). My tenants were due to move in on Wednesday. Emailed the estate agent from Dubai airport to check they had collected remaining stuff and returned the keys which they had but hadn't bothered to let me know by text as I had asked them. Several emails later I had no reply and no apology, in fact no contact from them at all despite a letter of complaint to their MD. When stuff arrived here, my snooker/dining table that was supposed to be crated (for which they charged me an extra £175) was just packed in bubble wrap like the other table. Gave up with them and would not recommend them to anyone...the words 'p**s up' and 'brewery' come to mind. Have been careful not to say too much about this to clients etc but have been fuming about this ever since!

If we made a cockup like this we would at least have the balls to apologise and try to put it right, not just ignore the customer...

 

 

Hmm...think I may cross DB off the list!!

 

Caz

[Guest WhatNow?]

Not half as as I was!

[Guest calamitycaz]

Bloody hell...Anglo Pacific have just quoted £4000 for a 20ft container!!!!!!!

+ Insurance + Aussie import costs - eek!

 

I only live in a tiny house for goodness sakes...

[andi]

We used John Masons after a few quotes, have to say there office service and on the day services was excellent along with feedback. Now just have to wait and see what the service is like when our goods arrive!

 

Have to say last few days have been hell but hope its worth it in the end. Anybody setting up any meets and greets next week please let me know.

[Guest calamitycaz]

We used John Masons after a few quotes, have to say there office service and on the day services was excellent along with feedback. Now just have to wait and see what the service is like when our goods arrive!

 

Have to say last few days have been hell but hope its worth it in the end. Anybody setting up any meets and greets next week please let me know.

 

JM are coming to do a quote on 23rd Sept now - the woman I spoke to was lovely and I've heard really good things about them. Good luck with the next few weeks, if you find a good launderette / chippy / etc !!

 

Caz x

[Guest calamitycaz]

OMG just got the John Mason quote back......£3850 eek.

 

Am now just thinking "oh bugger it I'm just going to sell EVERYTHING!!!" and bring clothes and personal effects only? Has anyone any views on which is better?

 

Caz x