Anglo Pacific

I was, and remain genuinely appalled by the level of service I received from Anglo Pacific. Paid to move my belongings within 7-10 working days from the UK my consignment took in excess of double that time to arrive.

This was initially because they deemed my measurements to be incorrect, something which I doubted highly having measured them multiple times. I disputed this with them repeatedly, as having initially been quoted £310, the cost was not increasing to be closer to £400. This included an £18 pick up fee using an external courier, which is mentioned singularly on their online method, however was not mentioned in conversations with my consultant TK. This fact was disputed by the company, but being sure of my own recollection of events, and having agreed verbally over the phone to the quote without this mentioned, I felt justified in disputing it. Due to delays in communication, days between emails and a frankly belittling tone to the emails I was receiving, I eventually spoke to a manager regarding the issues.

By the time my belongings were released, having agreed a 50% reduction in additional costs with regard to the size of my consignment and courier fee, which I still wasn't happy with, but as I required my belongings in my new country I was willing to pay, as to release my belongings to another company would apparently cost an outrageous £50 in itself. They offered to wrap the soft bag in question, 'but this could take at least another 3 working days as our warehouse is busy'.

I was also charged £30 for prohibited item removal, as I had packed hair wax within my belongings, (sounds odd, but difficult to get abroad). Fair enough, I had misread the item list, but this still seemed extortionate considering the service required, I was told that this price was set by the third party warehouse company, and there was nothing they could do. Be under no illusions, Anglo Pacific are apparently just booking third party services as a membrane at all stages of shipping.

I was unhappy about this but faced up to the cost, that was until my consignment arrived at my new flat, with the hair wax still within it.

This meant I had paid £30 for essentially NOTHING. I emailed once more, receiving once more a black and white, 'that's impossible, we have the hair wax here, would you like us to send it to your address?' response, despite me sending a picture of the wax fresh out of my consignment. I informed TK that I thought that this process should have already been underway, (my home address hasn't received it yet to this day), and that I still wished to have my money returned as they had not completed the job. If this is considered a prohibited item, then my shipment would have been delayed further within customs, something which can be a genuinely very long delay in the Middle East.

I have now emailed multiple times about being reimbursed the £30 for the service that was categorically not completed, and I have received absolutely no response from my consultant, or anyone else in the company that I have been in contact with.

This may be a cliche when reading reviews, but I rarely write reviews aside from leaving 5 stars for good service and moving on. I have had such a negative experience with this company that I feel compelled to warn others from using them. They are friendly and informative on the phone initially, but once you have a genuine exception to their services, they are cold, closed and at times belittling. Their additional prices are extortionate. Take a random persons opinion on the internet for what you will, but I thoroughly recommend utilising another company if you are making any form of international shipment.

Service cost: £358

Our belongings arrived badly damaged, broken and some didn't arrive at all. A lot of cash, some of my husband's jewellery, and some very choice expensive items never made it to the Manchester depot - they were picked over before they even got there. The police were informed of this incident. The Managing Director and the Manager of the Manchester branch refused to believe their staff were responsible.  When you think about it you are inviting strangers into your home and paying through the nose for the privilege of being robbed in broad daylight.  Their insurance policy does not cover for theft - that's all you need to know.  Our clothes were used to pack out boxes - the condition they were in on arrival was unbelievable.
IF YOU WANT TO AVOID HUGE STRESS AND HEARTACHE PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

Service cost: £6000

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. I recently foolishly used Anglo Pacific to move from the UK to Canada. During the packing and shipping of my valuables several expensive pictures were smashed. I can totally understand breakages during an international shipment, however out of 12 pictures, I believe 50% did not survive. Fiona Goulder delayed and hid behind company small print that my dear old mum in the UK did not read. Because AP strapped all 12 pictures together (which may be why they broke), they assigned this to be one asset and only admitted one breakage - when 6 were broken. They also broke several irreplaceable figurines (warner brothers) and as I could not acquire a quote as they are not repairable they refused to pay for any of these breakages. In total, the breakages total about 1000 dollars but AP only offered 40 pounds. REPEAT - DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY UNLESS YOU DONT CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR VALUABLES..

Service cost: £700

I would avoid this company at all costs, they have been incredibly unprofessional and as a result I have damage and ruined items through their incompetence.

I have tried for weeks to resolve my issues with the company but they repeatedly make promises and fail to deliver against them.

I paid for special shipping for my computing equipment and TV and didn't get it and even when it was raised the cost was not refunded.

We paid for two days of effort and barely got one and a half days with the container arriving before the crew on the second day with only a two hour window.

From start to finish it was a bad decision.

Service cost: £3600

This was an international move-- from UK to US.  (I am not sure why this is not given as an option in this website's drop-down menu).  The salesperson who came (Dudley Milne) to our home gave a quote nearly 3 times lower than what was actually charged, the delivery time was longer than expected, the customs charges required upon receipt were about 3 times more than advised.  A number of items were very poorly packed (a straw hat beneath glass and ceramic dishes, light metal storage shelving delivered with the legs completely bent and twisted, etc.).  The inner cardboard tubes which held the bubble wrap used were thrown into boxes at random.  A great excess in packing materials was used (12 sheets of new packing paper for a single Kilner Jar, for example).  Communication was terrible.  I would highly recommend you seek a different removals company.  Overall, it seems the company completely abused the fact that this was an employer-paid relocation in underquoting and overcharging for services rendered, and that we were underinsured in the process.

Service cost: £6000

I have used Anglo Pacific for two moves from and to Australia. In my last move carried out, the salesperson failed to disclose openly other port charges that I would incurr and the collection agent, wrongly advised me about a process which resulted in me being hit with additional fees. I raised this with the MD, Mr Stephen Gray who hid behind the paperwork saying that it is all in the fine print and the collection agent was not employed by Anglo Pacific and therefore they are not able to be held accountable for his comments and wrong advice. They suck at customer service and are so rigid and flexible that they throw the fine print back at you and hide behind that. No goodwill gesture, no customer service. Never use them if you want an honest, respectable company to deal with.

Service cost: £11000

Anglo Pacific seem to pride themselves that their after sales sets them apart from others - however nothing could be further from the truth. When my goods finally arrived, I had a few broken items. I claimed on the insurance for the bigger ticket items, leaving the smaller items off the list. The damaged items were due to poor handling - legs on furnitee broken and then I had my front wheel of my bicycle missing.?? When getting quotes for the repairs/replacements, the quotes were very fair. However when it came for the insurers to pay, I was offered  a refund after excess that left me £200 out of pocket for their poor service. Anglo Pacific also were not interested in paying for the excess even though it was their fault that caused the issues.   Clearly it doesn't pay to be honest with these people and if you are wanting to use Anglo Pacific, be careful when claiming on the insurance you have piad for. Make sure that you cover all of your costs, as Anglo Pacific wont.  .

Service cost: £10000

We booked a full house move from the UK to NZ in Dec 2012. My brother had recently moved using AngloPacific and apart from a few issues, the experience was pretty satisfactory. Because we were pushed for time we bargained on 'the devil you know', and booked Anglo Pacific also. Partly also as they specialise in NZ/Aus removals from the UK. The initial pack up was excellent. There was some back and forth over timing, but we gave them very little notice in the end, and they confirmed and were prompt. We managed to get a parking bay suspension and all went fine. We couldn't have been more impressed by the two guys who did the packing. Personable, polite, friendly and efficient. Truly impressive with the tape and boxes, they came within the original quote even though we made a few last-minute additions to the removal items, such as a slat bed. It was only after our stuff had departed and we were in interim accommodation that we started thinking, hmm, maybe we should have checked some reviews. I'm usually a pretty canny online shopper/consumer, but we were under heaps of pressure at the time, and I couldn't believe we hadn't vetted Anglo Pacific more closely. I read a few reviews and PANICKED. I was convinced our stuff would disappear in transit, we'd face lengthy delays or would get stung for massive fees on the other end. Cue our arrival in NZ, six weeks later. Our shipment came in exactly on the date predicted. There was another small panic as we thought NZ Vanlines (the NZ deliverer) was causing delays, but was easily smoothed out (email mis-send). There was the customs charge they'd told us about, of about $33, but no additional fees. They were very accommodating with delivery time - fit us in when someone cancelled to ensure our things were there before we were. The drop off went smoothly, and every single one of our things was there, intact (apart from one wine glass). I hardly ever post reviews, but this is one situation where I feel like it's necessary. I think people often post on their bad experiences (fair enough) but this can give a skewed perspective. When things go smoothly, people rarely review. So, just wanted to put a shout out for Anglo Pacific, who were really fantastic for us. I was totally wary and sceptical right up until the last minute (until the last things were found in the last boxes, I was all - oh, that's gone! they've lost it!), but all-told, this was an excellent service. Good company communication throughout and individually great service from the guys doing the physical labour at both ends.   .

Service cost: £1600

I sent 2 boxes and one suitcase by sea, and one box by air. This was some time ago so I don't remember how much the total cost was, and I can't find a copy of the invoice in my emails. I shipped my stuff from the UK, London to Canada, Ontario. It arrived the very last day it was expected to arrive (which was slightly past 3 months, given it shipped in early Sept and arrived in mid Nov). I did everything I was expected to do - filled out the goods item properly, made sure nothing that wasn't supposed to be shipped was shipped, when I arrived in Canada I went to customs and cleared my boxes as 'goods to follow', and the customs guy told me that everything would be fine, because I had described the items in the boxes accurately so my items wouldn't be put on hold or anything.

However, when my boxes did arrive
a) I was already out of the country by then, and
b) they sent me an email stating that if I didn't go 'Clear' my boxes, which I had already, supposedly customs had my stuff on hold and if I didn't go I would incur a hold charge of $25 a day. At the bottom of that email in smaller print it read:  'Pls note: cntr had been put on hold by customs. action was taken and eventually it was released. there is a customs hold processing fee to be paid of CDN 35.00 on your arrival in our office. we accept cash, certified cheque or money order.' Then they emailed me back and said it wasn't on hold, and that it needed to be cleared. I only had a few days to get someone to go to their office, not customs, to 'clear' my stuff - which entailed paying a one day late charge of $25 and the $35 hold charge - though they said my stuff was not on hold and it needed to be cleared! I complained about how they handled this, and how they didn't tell me anything about this - no where was it said that when the boxes arrive I had to go 'clear' my boxes by paying Anglo Pacific! Customs certainly told me everything was A-ok! They wrote me back and said it was 'my fault' because they told me once my boxes arrived of these charges - wish I knew all this BS when I used this company! They kept my stuff for a ransom! I am going back through my emails with them and I found this: 'At Anglo Pacific we believe in total transparency. Our door to door service includes Customs clearance and delivery to residence. Others may exclude destination charges and demand up to $200 on arrival, so be sure to read the small print and compare like for like' They are liars. They held my stuff if I didn't pay them. They did come and pick up my boxes at my flat in London on time, and it was delivered in the expected time frame, but the trouble I had to go through with them was too much! So many back and forth emails of their many sales member emailing me asking for information I had already provided them. A headache. And not to mention the trouble and money I had to pay them to get my stuff from them! I had to pay them $60 to release my stuff and deliver it - they blamed it on customs but my family member who acted on my behalf did not go to customs, she went to Anglo and they took the money and gave her an 'Anglo receipt'. Nothing proving customs needed my stuff to be 'cleared'. I had already cleared it with customs and I had all the proof, but they didn't care, so I had to pay them! It was a disaster of an experience. Do not use!

Service cost: £260

Nobody wants to read a 12 page rant about our experiences, so here is a summary.

The pros
Packers have been thorough with most items (bar one antique clock which was not even marked fragile and is now damaged)

The Cons;

- we were told with the quote there would be one point of contact in Glasgow (our departure point) this was categorically not the case and led to us dealing with people across 3 timezones at the most critical point, if and when we could get through to anyone. 'Glasgow' regularly did not answer the phone or emails. No useful when your entirely home is in transit..

- we were quoted £8500 to pack and ship our goods from Glasgow to Chicago. + insurance. another £900
On arrival we were held to ransom, by another company, who had our container for another £800 to release the goods. Apparently this was for unpacking the container and road transport, despite the fact our quote clearly states it covers everything door to door delivery from glasgow to our new home. Hugely stressful and basically bullied us into paying it or they wouldn't release our goods.

- we were given a delivery date of Jan 5th. They wanted to deliver on Dec 22nd! we didn't have a house by this point which caused a huge deal of stress and they told us we would incur even further costs..

- Because they delivered so early and over xmas we managed to get early entry to our property but it was not ready to be unpacked as it wasn't ready, so we paid for unpacking and packaging removal but have been unable to use!

- Communication is severely lacking


- Despite having 'one point of contact' and the fact our contract was clearly with Anglo-Pacific, they are blaming Schumacher logistics who charged us the extra money. This is over 8 weeks later and we have no feedback..


In Summary the quote you get means nothing, I would use an alternative supplier who is not going to add a huge amount of extra stress in a already very difficult situation. They were supposed to make it easier!

Service cost: £9500