Pickfords

In recent years we have moved home 5 times and this was the best experience of the lot. This was a slick and professional operation and we were impressed with all of the staff that we encountered; including the office staff on the telephone. The surveyor had the sense to look at access arrangements for the new property and identified logistical issues that were overlooked by other companies that had quoted. A solution was provided at short notice. The level of care and attention to protect walkways and carpets surpassed previous experiences. The crew were polite, efficient, friendly and helpful throughout the two days of the move. No request was too much for them!

Service cost: £2000

I have never experienced such a poor quality service in any sector. After leaving our home of 38 years, we knew our furniture would have to go into storage for upto six months. On the day of moving the removals crew turned up two hours late, hung over from a Friday night on the drink. I twice asked the movers to unwrap articles on their way into the van as I had witnessed my brand new £4500 settee being dragged across the van floor with the arms in contact with the floor. We chose Pickfords as we thought they were the number one removal company and believed they would look after our belongings. My poor wife was a nervous wreck all throughout the storage period, anticipating the worst.

Throughout the six month storage period we were advised on numerous occasions that we needed additional waiver insurances for everything under the sun which we had no choice but to take out to protect our assets.

The team that delivered our furniture were the total opposite of the original team, professional, caring and punctual and came equipped with dismantling and assembling tools, unlike the first team who had to borrow our tools for this purpose.

Unfortunately, we discovered that when our furniture had been removed from our house, our brand new TV had been dropped on our oak TV stand. Nevermind, we had the foresight to take out the additional insurance. That’s when the real distress started as we have battled for a month, so far receiving a low offer of a reconditioned £400 TV. We paid in total with insurances close to £4000 for six months storage, removal costs and insurances and we have now been offered £800 for a TV that we paid £1350 for.
To get to the point, don’t fall for the salesman in the suit that Pickfords send out to quote you for your removal, they use local subcontractors to move your furniture and that’s where our move failed.

I would never use Pickfords again and certainly wouldn’t recommend them under any circumstances.

Service cost: £3700

Used Pickfords because they were selected by my employers removal agents. Pickfords surveyor underestimated the load so things were left behind, particularly my very large potted shrub collection. They assured me these would be collected the next day and delivered to my new address. Didn't happen and after chasing I have had one phone call from their move admin saying she would get it sorted, but hasn't, and they are not responding to my attempts to communicate by phone or email. Also some breakages, crew took away to be repaired / replaced, no sign of that either. And they were supposed to arrive at my new address, only 60 miles, on the same day, never showed up till next day, I had no bed no clothes no toiletries, slept on the floor under my raincoat that night and they didn't even bother to contact me, apparently some manager had stopped the crew delivering till next day. Totally worthless company, do not trust them if you have a choice.

Service cost: £1000

I just completed a tricky long-distance move within the UK, with storage in between of furniture and some 200 boxes. Pickford have been absolutely fantastic all the way through, from the move manager that spoke to me umpteen times on the phone, always helpful and cheerful to the movers at both ends who did everything in record time. Even small problems with cracks in a coupe of its were sorted by the insurance quickly and painlessly. I could not be more pleased with them!
Beatrice.

Service cost: £5500

If you value your possessions DO NOT use this company.

In 2017 I had 7 items shipped to Canada, all part of an inheritance. 4 items arrived damaged. Unfortunately I was not on site when Picfords collected the items.Their insurance states that items are not covered unless packed by Pickfords. I moved to Canada a nunber of years ago and then a few years later across Canada. On both occasions, the standard of service was very high and there were no damages to any items on either occasion. However on neither occasion was Pickfords involved in the move. I chose Pickfords for this shipment as I thought they had a good reputation and could be relied on to take care of my possessions. How wrong can you be! The worst damage was done to a painting on canvas that had been wrapped in paper only and arrived with tears in it; a sculpture, the dimensions of which had been provided to Pickfords in advance, arrived in a cardboard box that was several inches too small. It was obvious that the damage was done at the time of packing (completely smashed up because it did not fit in the box without being squeezed in), Another pictture arrived in a very flimsy piece of cardboard it had been wrapped in while previously in storage at a relative's home; Picfords had made no attempt to provide more secure wrapping. A writing bureau arrived with a broken leg. A chair arrived with a piece of wood chipped out.

When the damage was reported, Pickfords tried to blame it on customs or the transportation company they hired for the Canadian leg of the company - this company was a real cowboy outfit and displayed none of the professionalism previously experienced by a removal company. An insurance claim was then submitted. If you ignore the advice in this review and go ahead with using Pickfords be aware that there seems to be something fishy about the relationship between Picfords and the company they use for insurance. It was only after threatening to go to the insurance ombudsman that I actually received any payout for the damage.

When I then complained that the damage was due to the totally unsatisfactory service provided by Pickfords and they should refund at least part of the payment for the shipment they advised that everything had been packed to export standard. This is a totally laughable statement in light of the manner in which the items had actually been packed.

So far I have not taken the matter any further, as it felt too much to deal with at the time. But moving forward I shall be contacting all the associations of which Pickfords are members, as well as the insurance ombudsman to see if that side of the business is legitimate.

If I could give a rating of '0' stars I would. What a complete cowboy outfit, just like their affiliate company in Canada,.

Service cost: £645

Pickfords lost a very precious item of mine. It wasn't worth anything to anyone else and I desperately regret ever sending it, but I was taken in by their Quality System claims. It appears to have gone missing in transit between their Milton Keynes depot and Dubai. Their inaction means I will probably never find it. It came as a surprise to them when the loss was discovered and their follow up action was sorely lacking. This was compounded by diabolical customer service which consisted of untruths and vague responses. I will not rest until they are stripped of their ISO 9001 accreditation. This has been going on since May! I cannot believe how relaxed they are at having lost an item and that they have no idea where it went. Ok, things do go missing, but failure to take acion and respond to reasonable questions is unforgivable and they need to be held to account. They do not seem to care about their individual customers and I am utterly appalled by their responses.

Service cost: £551

If your looking for a stressless move either do it yourself, or get another company in!! They  turned up at 2:30 to do a pre-pack, we were to be packed and loaded that day??  They ripped my Lino in the old house!!  They broke my tv, I did get money to replace the tv eventually, but had the cheek to take the old one away (I'm sure it is in an employees house now?)??  They dented my tumble dryer, overall they were not helpful, and only increased my stress levels to an all time high!! NEVER, NEVER USE PICKFORDS GLASGOW!! Unless you thrive on stress. .

Service cost: £1200

This is a follow up to a review I wrote about 2 months ago.

Pickfords have offered me GBP40 for my lost item. A priceless family heirloom. A 150 y/o mahogany family table. TO BE CLEAR. I do not care about the money.

I care that they lost my table and have made no attempt to explain how it happened, how or where their systems failed or even to have apologized.

I care that the contract I entered into with Pickfords, is to all intents and purposes a 'best efforts' contract. It appears that I have no fundamental expectation that a service I paid for will in fact be provided. And should it not be provided then at least an apology and a refund will be offered.

They lost my table, charged me ~$2000 for a job they did not do and hide behind waiver language that limits them to GBP40. Shocking !

This is a very very shady company. I have emailed the CEO Russel Start directly, several times and he has not had the decency to respond. I suspect he is overwhelmed with emails of complaints.

I have run my situation by The Property Ombudsman and they declined to get involved. I have actually asked TPO under what circumstances could/would they help. They have not answered that question. Does anyone know ?

I am now moving onto BAR and the Better Business Bureau. Again and to be clear my monetary loss is of little importance to me. I will be giving the GBP40 to charity when I receive it * and I would be very happy to give any other compensation/refunds to charity too. My physical loss is of great importance to me and negligence and incompetence of Pickfords is driving me mad. I simply can't let this company keep going about their business with this cavalier and carefree attitude. PLEASE DO NOT EVER USE PICKFORDS They just don't care about the customer or his/her belongings.

*Pickfords asked me to provide them with my bank details so they could deposit GBP40 directly. HA ! They think I am giving them my bank details. They must be insane. I asked them to send a cheque via open mail. I trust they will use Royal Mail/United States Post office for delivery methods. There is a chance it might arrive.

One more note. I have been blocked from Pickfords Twitter feed. if anyone wants to tweet their displeasure then I am @bjlloyd1406.

Service cost: £1500

I recently moved with Pickfords and despite the fact I moved from a bigger house into a smaller house and couldn't get to a lot of my boxes for well over a month, they told me I had no claim after seven days. They broke a lamp that cost well in excess of 100 pounds. Lost another one completely (same cost). Smashed a crock pot to pieces, and smashed my best casserole dish from my best dinner set and one I cannot get now! They also damaged a barometer worth in excess of 1000 pounds and I am livid about that. It wasn't packed in a separate box as requested mostly because the person who came to look at our stuff greatly underestimated the amount and they had no extra room for any extra boxes. So this precious barometer was packed along with other things with two flimsy sheets of paper separating it from other breakables! Several things are missing completely, things that were extremely precious to me, I.e.( mother or pearl American Indian jewellery) but when I contacted them (despite the fact I had witnesses who had opened the boxes (most of them unmarked and put into the wrong room) they wouldn't look at me and simply quoted their contract of seven days to make a claim. I wouldn't recommend anyone to use this firm to move their possessions since they do not give a damn. Many of the boxes were unmarked and almost two months since my move I am still left wondering where my things are. DO NOT TOUCH THIS COMPANY WITH A BARGE POLL. THEY ARE INCOMPETANT AND THEY SIMPLY DO NOT GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOUR POSESSIONS WHEN THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BREAKING THEM AND LOSING THEM (OR STEALING THEM) DISGUSTED.

Service cost: £2189

I'd love to write a review of my experience with Pickfords.. Only they haven't even bothered to show up today to pack and remove my belongings to storage. No message, no explanation. I've tried every number I can find for them, but it would appear no one works weekends - not even the removals people booked for the job. It's ruined everything. I'm supposed to complete my flat sale in 6 days but everything is still in there. On top of all this they've taken nearly £500 of my money. I'm utterly destroyed by this experience. I honestly don't know what to do.

Service cost: £480

The website cost guide bears no resemblance to the actual cost. Check it out.
They quote storage prices per week but neglect to inform you they charge per month. When queried, the answer was "it is in the small print of your contract" (very small!!)
We paid for the packing service but the delivery men refused to unpack, were unhelpful, and not pleasant.
One item was damaged and compensated for. One item was stained and the removal person argued with my wife that it could not be Pickfords fault.
They were demanding in the return of the wardrobe boxes, not giving us time to store the items.
The delivery process was rushed and took 2 hours where the pick up from Portsmouth took 6 hours to pack.
Whilst the removals manager agreed the service was not up to standard she just said the delivery fulfilled Pickfords contract with us. Any kind of compensation was flatly refused although they admitted there would be inhouse training for staff following our experience.
We have used this company several times before, but customer loyalty counts for nothing. We accepted the price was more than competitors in the past, but the service was better. NOT ANY MORE!
When you contact the office by phone or email it is like the person is reading off a script.
I would never recommend this company to anyone.
Do not use them.

Service cost: £2628

Disgusting service We ordered the top of the range removals for my 84 and 90 year old parents and were sold this deal on the proviso that Pickfords would do absolutely everything. Although the young lads who did the removals tried their hardest and were extremely pleasant, we had the most disgusting service. My husband and I had to empty about 30 of the boxes as there were simply not enough staff available. They left us on  Sunday to go home to Stoke from Newcastle with the house in an  absolute tip. My mother, who is 84, had to move and tidy up the mess. My husband and I have worked solidly for 3 full days doing the work which  should have done by pickford staff . I must make it clear this was not the fault of the removal lads, who were lovely, but the general management from on high, who totally under estimated the job. We asked them to pack a very valuable barometer and they promised they would put it in a box. When we looked we found there was mercury all over the carpet (highly dangerous) I could never recommend Pickfords to any one - we paid a fortune and had to do mcuh of it ourselves. NEVER NEVER use the bespoke service as it was a complete rip off A very very disgruntled customer.

Service cost: £8000

In the small print, Pickfords say that they will only pay compensation if damage is reported within seven days. We have discovered damage, but too late to recieve compensation. The most serious damage is the breaking of most of the fastenings of the slats of the double bed, which they deliberately concealed by laying them back on (but not fastening them, since they now can't be fastened) and putting the mattress on top, so that we would not discover the damage until we came to turn it some weeks later. I presume this was a calculated risk, given that they know people are unlikely to turn mattresses for weeks or even months after they've been shaken up in a move. As most of the slats are broken, they must have known that whatever tool they were using to take apart the bed was breaking the fastenings, but kept doing it anyway, thinking that they would get away with it - as they have. They have refused to pay compensation or to acknowledge the wilful damage inflicted by the movers and the dishonesty involved in concealing it.

The man who gave us the quote did a lot of talking about how Pickfords cared about its reputation and would want us to be satisfied enough to use them again and to recommend them to our friends. Clearly not so, since this is a large international company that could well afford appropriate compensation when it has been at fault, but prefers to lose customers and harm its reputation than behave decently or honestly.

Service cost: £3000