Anglo Pacific

We had previously used Pickfords and had a good experience. From the reviews, we thought Anglo-Pacific would be similar quality, at a 15% cheaper price point based on the quotations. Unfortunately not, for reasons I think is well-reflected in some of the most recent reviews..

The main issue - we asked for delivery in Israel 15 August, they collected our goods in the UK on 7th July with a 2-3 week transit time. We have understood from our correspondence that nobody on their side bothered to book the boat until early/mid August. The result - delivery a month late (compounded by a further 1-week delay as a result of high winds at the port)..

Other secondary issues - a sarcastic guy who collected our goods full of comments about our items that made us uncomfortable; not bringing enough boxes and papers to complete the collection on the intended day; lack of responsiveness to communications (in one case, 13 days); poor or absent labelling of the boxes.

To be fair, when we raised the complaint, we were offered a small amount of compensation. However, this was a fraction of the amount of extra cost we had incurred as a result of the delay, so we refused it unless they upped the amount, which they refused.

On the other side, the local delivery agents on the Israeli side were excellent, and AP were helpful when we needed to retrieve an item that had accidentally been put into shipping.

Service cost: £3200

Simple - I placed all my belongings in the 'care' of Anglo Pacific storage prior to a move to USA. When that didn't happen, I asked them to return my consignment.
Simple - they couldn't find it. They lost everything I owned. Everything, including many personal and professional items that no insurance could cover. Yes they paid the face value insurance, but I had to take them to court to recover all the fees and other costs spent on unfulfilled services.
No idea if they ever really looked for my things at the time, or have since made any effort to trace them. They have ignored my written request for information and offer of a contribution to costs of return.
Imagine - losing everything. That's what Anglo Pacific did to me.

Service cost: £2300

DO NOT TRUST AP WITH YOUR VALUED POSSESSIONS.
Through neglect and incompetence they somehow lost EVERYTHING I owned, having put my belongings in storage with them, pending a move to the States - later abandoned.
I would give the company a ZERO stars, even a minus, if that were possible.
When you pack away your life after 70 years, there will be many, many items that no insurance can cover. Frankly, you don’t expect a so-called ‘professional’ storage/removal company to lose all the belongings entrusted to their care. But clearly AP cannot be trusted.
Yes, they paid the insurance face value, but that does not compensate for such things as lost family heirlooms and irreplaceable memorabilia, 40+ years of original creative work, etc.
Then, after they had lost everything I owned, I had to take AP to court to recover all the fees and other costs - £2000+ - I’d paid them - for nothing.
I have asked them repeatedly to tell me if they ever found any of my shipment - they do not even have the courtesy or decency to reply. If you become a problem for AP, they will not respond.
Reminder: this was not just a missing box, a few damaged valuables - they lost EVERYTHING, my whole life disappeared.
Anglo Pacific are INCOMPETENT and UNPROFESSIONAL to an extent bordering on the criminal. You cannot trust them, do not use them.

Service cost: £2000

We had our stuff packed and shipped from the UK to Australia by these cowboys. It was all great at first, pretty much what you'd expect when you deal with "professionals" - nice on the phone, emails etc. They took a long time to get the goods shipped but we waited patiently to receive many badly packed items and broken/damaged goods. Worst of all they lost a suitcase of ours which contained expensive formal clothes, some of which was worn at a recent family wedding and had sentimental value for us. "We have insurance" so we thought. After weeks of filling out forms and numerous nudges to the company we were told that a) our excess was greater than the cost of the damaged items and b) the specific number of boxes as packed was delivered and hence there is no proof that the case was actually lost. Given that we didn't pack our boxes, how does that rationale actually work?!
I have tried (and still am!) trying to at least get an answer to my complaint to senior management but getting nowhere. They clearly exercise the exhaustive approach to make complaints go away as they must have many disgruntled customers. I wish we had used a different company.

Service cost: £2500

So on the whole, the run up to leaving the UK went really smoothly, the guy that can to quote had some really good advice and everything went really well packing up the house..

However.. make sure you clarify what the terms mean. On arrival we were given a bill for customs, the quote states in one part that -
Destination customs and quarantine clearance but excluding any incidental fees are included, and then later states -
Quarantine inspection fees, customs examination fees are excluded.
As someone that does not move internationally on a regular basis (lets face it who is!) this is very misleading and led to a further bill of $480. We are also being charged additional fees for delivery (even though the quote stated door to door) as there was a steep drive way up to the apartment, apparently as the company needs to hire a smaller vehicle, again, I would expect a removals company to have a fleet available to meet the needs of the destination city.

Service cost: £4100

Like the previous poster, Andrew Harris, we recently received a bill for approx $400 to move our items from Napier to Wellington port. The reason being that Wellington port is partly closed post earthquake.
This is despite the fact that we booked our shipment 2 weeks after the quake, and our shipment didn't actually leave for another 7 weeks (9 weeks post quake). At no point did anyone at Anglo Pacific contact us to suggest there may be an issue or further costs. I presume this was to prevent us from making alternative arrangements.
To make matters worse, they never even contacted us about the additional cost, but instead told their chosen transport company that we would foot their bill. At the very least a courtesy email should have been sent to customers but this didn't happen.
I eventually spoke with a manager who while superficially very polite, repeatedly said that they were fulfilling their contract by moving items door to door. When I said that the contract was two parts I.e. A job for a fixed price, he said he disagreed as the earthquakes was outside their control. This is of course true, but their ability to quote appropriately AFTER an earthquake is certainly in their power. He refused to acknowledge that Anglo Pacific had any power in the situation, this is despite the fact that they were aware of issues at the port in November until now.
When I asked what would happen if I refused to pay, he said that I wouldn't want things to get nasty. When I asked for clarification, as I was merely asking a question he became very vague, and started talking about having to distinguish between personal items and freight- he gave no straight answer.
He then changed tactics and appeared very concerned about my having to cover storage costs, as he did not want this to cost me even more.
I feel these statements were veiled threats. He wouldn't say what would happen to our items, the question hung in the air..
He then had the cheek to say how frustrating it is for them to have to defend Anglo Pacific to customers when they make the effort to carefully pack and ship our belongings! I had to remind him that this was what they were paid to do.

As I see it, Anglo Pacific had all the power, but refused to do anything useful for their customers. If fact, it seems they think we should be grateful to them for even partly doing their job.
They accept a contract, take your money and your items, and then try to change the terms to avoid their part of the bargain. They lack the decency and the integrity to communicate around potential issues, and instead appear to feel entitled to apply extra costs. Then, worst of all, they use veiled threats to hold you to ransom.
I have decided to take the matter further via their regulatory body. I will post an update. I refused to be threatened.
My advice- avoid. Perhaps use a smaller company, one which actually cares about its customers.

Note- the menu wouldn't give me the option to say delivery to New Zealand so I've put Australia instead. Shipment was due to Wellington port, then to our home in napier.

Service cost: £4100

I sent 32 items (ca 130 cubic feet) from the UK to Australia.
After receiving the quote I had a few question, which were answered quickly by the sales team in the UK. After confirming my shipment I was allocated a shipment manager, who provided me will all neccessary forms and answered further questions. My items were collected on time, and within 45 minutes (I had packed and things had been in storage for 5 months) everything was logged on their shipping documents and loaded onto their lorry. Communication continued to be excellent, with me receiving a corrected quote (less cubic feet than initially quoted) and a refund of my over paid money. Once the shipment was loaded into a container, I received an email detailing container number, name of the ship, estimated date of arrival and the contacts for the local partner company (King & Wilson) in Sydney. Before the shipment arrived I was contacted by King & Wilson and communication was fantastic (email replies usually within minutes). They took care of customs, delivery was arranged and all things arrived without damage or loss of items. I would definitely use Anglo-Pacific (or King & Wilson for that matter again)!

Shipping time was c. 6 weeks, plus 4 weeks storage in the UK as my things were to go into a shared container and they had to wait for more items to arrive before shipping it to Australia.

Service cost: £1000

While dealing with Anglo Pacific we encountered a lot of miss information and later on (and more frustrating) Anglo Pacific were not willing to take responsibility for there employees mistakes. We ended up cancelling there service although already paid 50 pounds as a deposit. We might have been unlucky and had to deal with a new or an incompetent worker, that could happen everywhere, but in that case the costumer shouldn't pay the price for the workers mistakes. The least that I would expect in this situation is that Anglo Pacific would apologise for their mistakes and return the deposit money. We have obviously did not receive a reply of that sort nor did we receive our deposit money back. If you decide to use Anglo Pacific services make sure you record any conversation over the phone and save all communications with them, and be ware for dubious work ethics.

Service cost: £50

We sent our precious belongings in premium service to go directly from our home to Heathrow and then arriving a few days later at our home in Tenerife. After a month they arrived with everything smashed! When we when to claim on the Insurance for the £2500 as although I had detailed the items I had not correctly completed the form so instead of the value we received a couple of hundred pounds. We provided all the photographic evidence but still they would pay for our loss of our wedding gifts and items from deceased parent. This company has no ethics and couldn't careless as has been factually demonstrated. We have never made an insurance claim and this is how people are treated when clearly their fault for what happened!! DO NOT USE.

Service cost: £1400

Anglo Pacific start friendly. My first email stated (with little else around it): "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."

Don't believe it. You'll almost certainly be charged for the customs clearance, especially if you're sending good to the US.

Schumacher (AP's US partner) noted that 90%+ of shipments to the US are subject to an X-ray exam, and 40% are subject to a detailed exam. Neither exam is included in your "totally transparent" Anglo Pacific price. Instead, you get an invoice from Schumacher, which you need to pay if you'd like to see your things again.

Anglo Pacific will pretend that this is a "quarantine fee," and totally out of the ordinary. This wouldn't be terribly annoying *except* that every other quote I received did clearly exclude customs inspection costs - so I really believed I was getting a better deal with Anglo Pacific.

They're also sloppy. I updated the delivery address from Illinois to California well before the move date. Unfortunately, Anglo Pacific didn't update it everywhere in their system, so our shipment was sent to the wrong port, adding a significant delay to the receipt of our goods. It's been over two months, and I still have no idea when we might see our stuff.

Further, unless you're in Manchester, Glasgow or London, you pay a premium for the collection of your goods, as they use an outside courier.

The one plus I can think of is that they include boxes and crates - though that wouldn't be enough for me to recommend their services.

Service cost: £1000

Moving from UK to Australia.
Everyone was very helpful and the packing team was apparently very efficient, and the shipment to the docks seemed to go smoothly.
It turned out that the packing was inadequate, and all the advice given to us by the rep Paul Handley was not known to the packing team.
On delivery to our new home it became apparent that things were not as they should be. Be advised that the guys that delivered and unpacked our furniture were very helpful, and had nothing to do with the damage we found.
Much of our furniture was damaged, and it was immediately obvious that it was due to negligence on the part of the packers. Also many fragile items were broken, again obviously due to poor packing - perhaps we should have done all this type of packing ourselves.
Our Insurers made a reasonable settlement for the claim we made; we used this company because AP premiums were double. This maybe because they anticipate many similar claims due to their negligence.
Then we claimed compensation from AP for the anxiety and stress we experienced due to their negligence, and it was also indicative of liability that they paid us $258.
If we had seen the reviews/forums before deciding on a shipping agent, Anglo Pacific would not have been considered.
BE WARNED!

Service cost: £3000

Shipping from UK to Australia was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. My entire shipment was all in one piece when we unpacked it, no breakages and only 3 boxes were opened by customs, and these were carefully repacked and sealed.  Would highly recommend Anglo Pacific and OSS shipping.  They maintained great communication through out and took time to listen to me over my concerns. Pick up and delivery were at the times quoted and no extra costs were incurred.  We paid what we were quoted, plus we added insurance and obviously the customs charge was extra when it arrived in Australia, but we were advised about that so it wasn't a surprise.  We packed the shipment ourselves, so personally ensured our belongings were carefully padded and protected.  The boxes I purchased not from Anglo were triple layered and we used a lot of bubble wrap!  Our shipment was 16 boxes in total and all our wooden items were placed in a box by themselves rather than spread over lots of boxes.  I did that to make the customs clearance a bit easier, which I believe worked. The other boxes that they opened were due to me declaring 'Xmas decorations' in them.  This is a big thing at the moment as it seems people are shipping pine cones, which obviously are not allowed In the country.

Service cost: £550

The initial contact with the company was good. The staff were polite. Box delivery, pick up was good and efficient. My boxes arrived when they said they would.
Initially I was only planning to ship clothes/books etc, but after discussing with the sales representative, I was convinced that I could take my glassware and crockery. I was even considering taking mirrors and tv on the advise and reassurance of the sales representative. (Thank god I decided not to)
When I started unpacking it was apparent anything breakable was shattered to pieces. I had packed things like my glass ware and crockery in plastic boxes and bubble wrap before packing them into the shipment boxes surrounded by towels/ clothes. Everything was not only broken but shattered. My metal bin had a huge dent and was unusable.
I had taken out insurance. I am still yet to reiceve anything despite my box arriving a month ago. I asked for compensation on shipping as had I known I would be getting boxes of broken possessions I wouldn’t have paid to have them shipped. Their response “We are unable to offer compensation for your shipping costs as we actually shipped your items. If the items were not shipped there would be basis for a claim but contractually we have no mechanism to handle this.”
So basically if you want a box of damaged possessions then go ahead and use this company. They will certainly deliver them, they just don’t specify what condition they deliver them in. But you’d get the same sort of effect if you threw your boxes down several flights of stairs and didn’t bother shipping them (it would certainly be cheaper anyway).

Service cost: £500

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 arranged to have some belongings shipped from Glasgow to Melbourne, and there were several problems along the way.Firstly, I was given a day to be home so cartons could be delivered. They did not arrive which wasted an entire day, time which was especially valuable when trying to plan everything for a big move, as I'm sure you can appreciate. I was given no reason for this, and was told they would be delivered before 5 the next day. They arrived at 5, which wasted a great deal of that day too as I was unable to leave the house.I then organised for my mother to be in for collection of the items once they were packed. She asked if it was possible to be given a specific time that they would be collected, to try and avoid wasting yet another day. She was told that it would be before 5pm, and that was as specific as they could be. When no one had arrived by 5pm she again contacted an anglo pacific employee to chase up the collection. She was informed that there were no vans available, but that they would send someone anyway. A driver then turned up in a builders van, and my belongings were put in the back of a van filled with tiles and blocks. The driver wasn't sure what had gone on as he said he was in the area that day and could have easily collected earlier, and in the appropriate van.When the items arrived in Australia, they were held in customs for days, which was to be expected I know. But when my things were delivered, they were left outside on the step, in plain view of anyone who walked by. I couldn't say how long they had been left there for. I understand that it is in the hands of the Australian courier company at that point, but I paid for a service that would ensure safe delivery of my things, and I never would have expected such carelessness at any stage of the operation.I would strongly advise against ever using Anglo-Pacific for your removal needs.

Service cost: £500

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