Pickfords

I am extremely happy with the service I received from Pickfords to relocate to Dubai. I had a few challenges which meant possible need to change plans part way through the move and Alison was extremely helpful to make sure it would all work out fine, which it did. Also on both sides, the people collecting and delivering have been very professional and efficient. I would definitely recommend pickfords to other people I know relocating and would use Pickfords again in the future should I need their services.

Please note - my move was to Dubai, but that is not on the list of places to move to!

Service cost: £855

After undertaking on online quote of £938 ex vat (£1,125) we had a visit from a very nice lady whom subsequently quoted £2,887.20 that did NOT include any insurance. Only my wife and I live in this 2-bedroom flat and are not moving fridge, freezer, washing machine, etc. Only one bed, etc. However, I have circa 20 art works/prints, perhaps a few more than a normal flat of this size, half of which are valuable and require extra packaging.

Those few pictures/prints required an additional and frankly mindboggling additional charge of £1,762.

So, there are some serious questions to be asked about the online pricing methods which appear untoward to say the least.

I am shocked by this behaviour from what I thought was a reputable household name and shall be talking to the Trading Standards Office about their business practices.

Service cost: £2887

We used the Pickfords full packing service to move to our new home. As we were moving a few days before Christmas and were very busy, my wife talked me into using the packing service. I was not at all comfortable with people packing our possessions, but my wife assured me everything was insured and the packing service had good reviews, so I reluctantly agreed.

The day before the move three Pickfords staff turned up at 8AM and began packing our possessions. The staff seemed friendly and professional, but they soon dropped my grandfather's antique blacket box down the stairs, which went through the wall! Other than that the rest of the day went smoothly.

On the day of the move an additional staff member turned up, with the three staff from the day before. After a couple of hours everything was packed and the lorry left ahead of me whilst I finished cleaning the house and thoroughly checked nothing had been left behind.

When I got to our new house, my wife was already there and the Pickfords staff were busy unpacking everything. They finished quite quickly and again seemed friendly and professional. Before they left my wife and I gave them a £40 tip between them as we trusted they were honest and had done a good job. The staff left very pleased with themselves.

But that is where the problems began, I immediately began to unpack and within a few hours could not find my wifes new £300 Dyson hairdryer. The insurance policy stated that any claims had to be made within seven days. But the move was a few days before Christmas and we had a six month old baby, so I unpacked as much I could, but could not get everything unpacked. It was just before the new year when I had everything unpacked and was sure the Dyson hairdryer was actually missing. Also several pieces of furniture had been damaged.

We got in touch with Pickfords and reported the missing Dyson hairdryer and damage, we then had a fairly abrupt reply informing us that any claims had to be made within seven days of the move, so we could not claim on the insurance. I of course hit the roof and several strongly worded letters to Pickfords later, pointing out the fact that several days were lost due to Christmas and as far as I was concerned the Dyson hairdryer had been stolen by one of their staff. Pickfords then did reverse their decision and said we would be able to make a claim.

It was horrible and distressing thinking we had allowed these people into our house, paid for a very expensive service and they had betrayed our trust and stole from us! Also we were then thinking what else had they stolen. I then spent many hours checking all expensive items were accounted for. Fortunately I had taken lots of pictures of items the night before the Pickfords staff arrived. From the pictures of my spirits collection I noticed I had four identical bottles of unopened expensive Gin in the pictures I took. I now only had three, I expect the thief thought I would not notice if one went missing. The missing Dyson hairdryer and Gin were packed on the Thursday, everything was supposed to go into sealed boxes with just the room name indicated on the box, so it was very unlikely to have been the forth person who turned up on the day of the move, who stole the items.

I spent many hours dealing with Pickfords and spoke to the staffs manager, who told me the truck had been searched but nothing had been found. Their manager also told me all the staff had been interviewed and as the culprit(s) were not identified all of them had the missing items recorded against their records. Although I was extremely annoyed and upset about the missing items it really was not fair on the staff who were not responsible for this.

I then reported the missing items to the Police, there was nothing much the Police could do, other than speak to Pickfords and record it in case it happened again.

It took many months before we were reimbursed for the stolen hairdryer and damages. The insurance refused to reimburse us for the expensive bottle of Gin as apparently alcohol was not covered! I eventually got Pickfords to reimburse me for this, but they refused to compensate me for all the time I spent dealing with this matter, which was appalling when we spent the best part of £2,000 with them, for their staff to steal from us. Moving house is a stressful time as it is. So please save yourselves a lot of further distress and hassle and do not to use Pickfords, their staff cannot be trusted.

Service cost: £1900

Quick response from the website. Follow up call was a 5 minutes after so great 1st impressions. A quotation visit was booked up straight away.

The day before the visit a phone call from the Chris stating that they cannot offer a competative quote. He also said that they are quite busy and if we were sure we wanted a quote from them? At first I said yes. However on further thought how can I be sure this company will care for my belongings if they can't be bothered with a quote.

Service cost: £2000

Movers damaged my carpet by leaving nasty marks on it. When I spoke to the company they washed their hands off saying that I had not taken premises insurance. Their overall attitude was very unhelpful and disappointing. The movers did not take reasonable care to avoid damaging my property( for example by using covers or taking their shoes off) which has nothing to do with taking premises insurance or not. The whole experience caused me a lot of frustration and grief and I am not planning to use Pickfords again or recommend them to anyone.

Service cost: £1103

Pickford's helped us move house. I was initially reluctant to use a removal service as would have liked to do myself, however I had to work on the completion date and therefore didn't have a choice. However, I am so glad we did! Pickford's were great from start to finish. In particular the guys that did the move were brilliant. Friendly, professional and really looked after my wife and her mother on the day. Would definitely use Pickford's if we move again. Regardless of whether I was working or not!

Service cost: £1000

We decided to book Pickfords after their salesman convinced us that they were the most experienced and professional and that we wouldn't have to lift a finger. They were twice the price of other local firms.
What a nightmare, they turned up late and had totally misjudged the amount of stuff we had. Even though they did a home visit to assess it all !! They did not have enough staff and the van wasn't big enough. We complained on the day and i'm still waiting 6 weeks later for the manager of the York branch to call me back as promised.
We had to help them load and unload all day, after paying twice as much not to lift a finger !!
I put in an official complaint 4 weeks ago and they are so arrogant and rude they have not even got back to us yet.
I owuld never ever recomend thses cowboys to anybody. .

Service cost: £900

I worked for pickfords for along time, and one day fell asleep in the services for an hour. All I had to do for the day was travel, and they terminated my employment for falsifying my hours over the hour I fell asleep. So what do you do fall asleep while driving or do you pull over so you don't cause an accident on the motorways, obviously according to Pickfords you carry on driving cause the accident so the don't pay you for an hours sleep. Just thought I would lease this message to see what you think and let you know what the company is like you are about to use.

Service cost: £100

I chose pickfords, and paid £200 more than local firms, as I wanted a reliable and conciencious service. I also paid for a fragile packing service
half the 4 man team arrived early for a cig in my garage, no introductions were made. The other half turned up about half an hour later and promptly went away again for bacon sandwiches and tools to dismantle the beds as they hadn't bothered to bring any with them. I only found out their names by asking and I was called love until around 2pm when I told them my name.
The  day went ok, I wasn't as impressed as I expected to be after watching the TV programme but it was all done by 5pm and we had beds to sleep in. 
Over the next few days I discovered multiple breakages, scratched furniture, furniture which had been scrapped along walls and left with paint marks on them, items left at the old house (thankfully we still had keys), and dirty carpets. 
No attempt was made to protect my floors at either house despite my asking. Items we're knocked against fittings and these now need securing. Fragile boxes had been packed with no packing materials and then other items had been thrown in on top, I'm bloody lucky I got away with only 11 items broken. Despite fragile items being all around the house they moved them all to the kitchen where they were packed and labelled "kitchen glasses" even if the contents were bedroom lamps. Boxes which I had packed and carefully labelled using their "house" diagram was ignored and I ended up shunting around 75 heavy boxes round a 3 story house myself to get them in the right place
hopefully I won't ever be moving again but if I do I will be doing it by myself because if you CANT trust pickfords then who can you trust to move you.

Service cost: £800

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.

Service cost: £1600

I really can't fault the service provided by Pickfords for my recent move. The price was very competitive, the removal men efficient, helpful, well organised and pleasant, and not a single breakage with all the packing done to a high standard. The house contents were all removed to the new premises on time; correct furniture and boxes delivered to the correct rooms, and there were no knocks or marks on the walls of either property. I would definitely recommend Pickfords to anyone planning a house move, based on the service I received.

Service cost: £1700

I've recently had my effects arrive from the UK handeled by Pickfords. They were recommended to me by a neighbour who had also moved to Aus and I fully support the recommendation.

In particular I'd like to thank Susie Westgarth (international move manager). I felt under a tremedous amount of pressure in general with everything going on, it was all last minute (my fault) and I was very unsure of what I wanted or was even allowed to take. Susie was incredibley patient, helpful and proactive. Her response times always excellent and she provided a real sense of ownership which gave me confidence in the whole process.

The staff on the day arrived on time, we're proffessional and and friendly and did a great job.

I didn't shop around on price but I found the quote to be reasonable and given the excellent level of service worth the money.

Many Thanks

George Taylor.

Service cost: £1300

Great experience with Pickfords full packing and removal service. We moved with a toddler and a 3 week old baby and with this service, it was pretty much stress free. Our account manager was helpful from the off despite a few stops and starts with completion and removal dates.

Most of our stuff was packed the night before then they whizzed round the following morning to get final bits together. I couldn't believe how quick and efficient it was to get everything in and out the lorry and no broken plates etc.

We were late getting our keys and yet were still set up with beds / sofas in the new house by 5 pm.

I would thoroughly recommend this service - great price too.

Service cost: £840

They are massively overpriced compared to competitors, with many hidden charges they will not tell you about until you receive the invoice. On top of this they're office staff are incompetent and fail to set up payments schemes when requested. They then neglect to inform you when a payment is missed until less than a day before your removal is due, threatening you with cancellation unless you pay immediately and lying about deadlines that I suspect they impose because they want to leave the office early on friday.

Worst moving experience I've ever had. Never again!

Service cost: £2500