A. Univers Transit Ltd

Avoid this company by all means. We were shipping our belongings from Germany to Israel. In Germany (Brandes) everything went smoothly and perfectly.

The trouble began in Israel with Univers Transit. Despite our queries we were not notified about the arrival of the ship. We were simply told that "delays are normal". 2 weeks after the ship ported (as we now know) we were charged nearly 7000 NIS (not including customs – which were also handled poorly and with significant delay) - including 4500 NIS "for storage and demurrage". They held back the cargo for two weeks (accusing the fall holidays, two of which fell this year on a Shabbat) to make us pay extra fees. A lot of extra fees. We were told to pay "immediately" to avoid further delays. In other words: we'll charge you more if you don't pay immediately. Actually you can interpret this as a kind of blackmailing. Upon our inquiry what the meaning of all this is, we were told, that we were supposed that there might be "incidential charges."

The movers who delivered the goods to our place were fine and professional, but they obviously belonged to a subcontractor. I am talking only about the role played by Univers transit who handled the arrival of the container and its release from customs. Not to be trusted.

Move size: Studio Service cost: 7000ILS

The company has a very professional, dedicated and efficient team. I have always got fast feedback to all my questions and requests.

The marketing department (Haggai) was kind and careful, the import manager (Ed) was helpful and patient, the bookkeeper(Inbal) was organized and precise, the moving team arrived on time, was friendly, diligent and efficient and did a quick and good job. The connection with the counterpart overseas was excellent, available and quick feedback.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $4850

They fool you to sign a contract with them give you false assessment and then they double the price when your cargo is already collected by them and now when it arrived to destination it turned out that there are more significant charges have to be paid to the local company!! Charges that they never told me about! So it’s definitely not door to door in addition to the fact that they committed for 90 days and the cargo arrived to the port after 120 days (4 months) bad service. Highly dis recommend!

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6500

Dear Universe Relocation Team,

We would like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation for the exceptional service we received during our recent move.

From the very first call with Avi, whose calm, kind, and attentive manner set the tone for the entire process, through to the packing crew and the truck driver – every member of your team showed outstanding professionalism, patience, and care.

What started as a stressful day for us quickly turned into a smooth and reassuring experience thanks to your team. The moment the packing and operations crew arrived, their calm and efficient presence helped ease our worries. Throughout the process, Avi remained in close contact, offering continuous support and reassurance, which made all the difference.

We are truly grateful for the respectful and thoughtful way we were treated and for the care taken with our belongings. It was a pleasure working with you, and we will gladly recommend Universe Relocation to anyone looking for reliable, warm, and professional service.

Warm regards,

Michal and Tal Timor

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5448

The shipment took about two month. Some of the boxes were damaged and robbed. I have paid additional fees for nothing at destination port. The representatives of Univers Transit in face of Avi Ayash and Ruth Loredo instead of apologies are trying to avoid responsibility. I did not get any compensation for stolen, damaged items and moral damage. Even more - Avi has called me a liar!!
I am ready to provide the pictures of robbed and damaged boxes, any additional information. the boxes were opened in presence of delivery crew.
The worst experience ever.

Service cost: $2000

I hired them to move a small amount of furniture from South Africa to Israel. They had promised me the world. They promised the price they quoted would not have any extra charges... it did. They said they used agents in South Africa and would coordinate everything. They not only did not coordinate fully with the agents they did not send them any of the documentation I provided. I landed up having to coordinate with the agents directly which was stressful and confusing for them. They also forgot I was importing as an immigrant until I reminded them. I also specifically asked for the ship to dock in Haifa where I live but it didn't and I was charged for this. I specifically took out insurance because the chairs were antique. They broke the one chair and then promised "everything would be okay". I emailed the insurance documents and it took a month and prompting them before they bothered to get back to me to tell me there was an excess (never mentioned before) and so the insurance wouldn't pay and they were sorry about the chair. No offer to repair it. They dented and dinged every single piece of furniture which I didn't claim for but I was not impressed with the service or the attitude. I do not recommend this company

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $5462

When Shai came to my apartment to give an appraisal he was all smiles and promises for reliable and professional service. However things got turned to the ugly side very quickly. On package day the movers decided to make a shortcut with my belongings through the garbage area which was quite disgusting. The boxes were marked only by pen and not electronically and some went missing at destination- New Jersey. The agents at destination- Schumacher were despeakable- as I had no forward address yet they said I need to give them an address of unit storage and they will deliver my stuff to that point with no door to door service, eventhogh Shai said that storage will be provided at low cost until delivery. Their agent offered to provide storage services at double the price contrary to Shai sweet talk. They charged me extra $450 for stairs and were going to charge extra for elevator also if that was the case. And in all that caus Shai was nowhere to be found. Many of my items were broken- and few boxes went missing all together. Avoid contracting with this company- you will do yourself a great service.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $5800

This company was hired as a subcontractor by the company we hired. The level of rudeness and unprofessionalism I experienced by them has truly been unparalleled. No one apologized for the disgusting things that were said to me by their employee It cost us $1300 at customs because they were "caught by surprise and didn't realize our container came in early". No one contacted us about our container being early, or anything at all before we reached out to them.

They didnt respond to multiple email requests and changed their explanations multiple times mid conversation for issues we had.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4000

Shai at Univers was all smiles when he pitched me on using their service. However, it seems that I am experiencing the exact same problem as Paul, the other reviewer.
Paperwork for this shipment has not been completed properly (my address not stated correctly, documents missing) and now there is a long delay at customs on the UK side which TNT are currently looking into.
Meanwhile, Shai - (the supposed rep looking after my shipment) doesn't return calls (his mobile number no longer works!!).
I agree with Paul, avoid using this company.

Service cost: $1400

Packing and pick-up crew was courteous and worked swiftly. Damages were minimal (cracked glass on two paintings, gouged piano leg) all below the insurance deductible. However, unjustified charges added over $2000 beyond the original quote.

As contracted, a crane was used to move our bed and sofa from out 5th floor apartment to the truck below. The agent had taken photographs of exactly how far it was to the ground, noted which articles would require the crane, and stated that Univers had the appropriate crane. He specified the price for the crane in the written quote we received. Nonetheless, we were charged hundreds of dollars extra for the crane that was used because Univers claimed they needed a bigger crane.

We were also unexpectedly charged extra for the distance from the ground floor to the container into which our goods were loaded (about 25 meters). We only found out about this when sent the bill. The movers could have moved the crane when finished and parked the container in its place, since they only began to load the container after the crane was finished. This would have been the closest point for loading.

Finally, we were required to pay extra port charges (detention & demurrage) of $287 and $356 because Univers failed to send the local mover in New York the money owed to them by the date the local mover had scheduled to deliver the goods to us. The local mover scheduled delivery on a date which would have avoided the late payments. I quote from the local mover: "I will need you to contact your overseas agent Ruth asap, as we may have to cancel your delivery .. Your overseas agent has yet paid for this job and we require payment. Tomorrow is your last free day at the terminal. Beginning Wed detention/per diem fees will apply and will be applied to you."
The excuse given to us was that the owner of Univers had been out of the country. After paying all fees under protest, I corresponded with Univers, requesting reimbursement of the charges I incurred due to their late payment. After several exchanges in which Univers denied that they were at fault, I am now writing this review. Univers claimed that they were not responsible for the delays despite my providing them with my correspondence with the local mover which explicitly attributed the delays to Univers' late payment. They also disputed the information provided to me by the local mover that indicated that I would have had no extra charges had the Univers payment arrived on time and removal from the port occurred when originally scheduled.

Let me end by saying that the local mover, Flatrate, was most cooperative, delivered the goods in a professional manner, and kept me fully informed of developments.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9524

Shalom Amnon.

I want to thant you with my whole heath of your very very good service. Everything was just perfect from the packing of my goods in Finland till they were carried inside our house in Kibbutz Eilon. The service of your company was very professional and friendly and I will recommend you to everyone who needs such service. And the most important was for me to receive all my memorable goods from my childhood home from Finland to Israel safe and sound, also all the breakable kitchenwere were unbroken.
Thank you very much.

With best wishes Marianna Schlossberg.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $3000

I have shipped my personal belongings from Israel to East Europe, and obtained a few quotes, from several firms.  I chose Avi's team both on price but also based on the personal, friendly approach.He and his team are extremely polite, efficient and professional. Avi took part in the move from start to finish and he promptly returned every phone call I made to him for answering all of my questions. I am so happy I chose Universe Transit over other more expensive and less personal moving companies.

Service cost: €1425

We moved from Israel to Spain. This was our 15th international moving so we are quite used to deal with relocation shipments.
This has been our worst experience ever. The Russian packing team had no experience in packing, they didn't care at all about our belongings. They company is barely providing the boxes and some extra paper, and nothing more. They pretended to prepare something like 200 boxes and pack a 20 feet container in 3 hours. We also had robbed items (silver jewelry) and a box that strangely arrived completely empty. Even with paying an extra for the insurance, we have realized - too late, that it was all a fake and the company itself was "insuring" the container, with a 250 usd participation. Of course we just abandoned the idea of trying to get any money back for the damaged items or get them fixed.
If you want to avoid troubles and bad surprises, just pass your way when seeing the name of this company.

Service cost: $6000

Avi, good evening. I want to thank you for your help in packing the contents of our house. Everything worked perfectly and I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to you, the team, and company A. Universe Transit Ltd. As an employee of the US State Department, I moved many, many times overseas and it was one of the most pleasant transitions. The packing team was nice and pleasant, very professional, and very efficient. I could not have asked for better service. Thank you,

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $4850

Our move was smooth and professional. All quotes were accurate and communication at every point in the journey was great.

Packing took less than 3 hours and was very detail oriented. Our shipment was on a boat within a couple of weeks. The sea journey was uneventful and took around the time they estimated.

Destination agent was especially great. He was always checking in and updating me. Port fees were not unreasonable and under the estimate we had. No unexpected charges or problems.

Delivery day was fast and easy. Everything arrived in great shape. Would definitely use Gil and his team again.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $6300

The Sales rep was very nice and polite but it seems that their internal process are terrible that in the end made this journey almost a nightmare. Missing details at sign up and and the fine print was actually used against us to charge extra storage fees that were caused by the team themselves. They take no responsibility over their teams mistakes and delays since they have an "open account" to charge or hold your belongings hostage.

Both packing and delivery teams were very professional on both ends but a big shame the company you have no action with are a total mess.

This could have been a perfect experience if the back office was not screwed up.

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9097