Britannia Movers International

I have just moved from Aylesbury to Watford and I had to write my review after seeing the previous comment on this website! From the initial phone call to arrange an appointment to the staff leaving my new home at the end, my removal was handled with care and I can not speak highly enough of my experience! I had a lot of queries as I have not moved in a long time and I felt supported by the office staff who answered every question. The crew arrived by 8.30am on both days (earlier than I expected!) and were a delight! They made a very stressful time far easier and kept us smiling all day! I would not hesitate in recommending Britannia.

Service cost: £1000

I hired Britannia in May to move a consignment of my things from Bath, UK to Jakarta, Indonesia in June. I had hired them primarily because they were extremely quick and efficient with booking a visit from one of their team to assess my move. The man who came to my flat to help me with this won my confidence over and was so lovely and helpful I pretty much hired them on the spot.

My specific requirements were 1. I didn't need my move to be done quickly, I was going on a month's holiday and was happy for my boxes to arrive within 2 months. 2. I wouldn't yet have a visa for Indonesia, if this were to be a problem we could put the consignment under my mum's name as she's an Indonesian national. 3. I may not be there to receive the consignment upon delivery, would my family in Jakarta be able to accept it for me. Britannia told me none of this would be a problem; my boxes would arrive within two weeks, a visa wouldn't be required and anyone in my family would be able to receive my consignment for me.

Over the next few weeks, I received calls from the Britannia office asking me for my visa information. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I asked to confirm the above with them again, and they again promised none of it would be an issue.

Pick up day came and went, and I went on holiday with my friends. About a month and a half later, I remembered that Britannia hadn't yet been in touch with me about my boxes so I emailed them. I received an email back a few days later apologising because my consignment had been forgotten and left in storage. As I was still on holiday and this didn't inconvenience me (it was well within my 2 month range) I accepted a discount they offered me as compensation and waited a few weeks for the boxes to arrive.

When they eventually did, I was in Jakarta, able to accept the consignment (as it happened, the consignment also couldn't be released to anyone but me). Unfortunately it was held by Indonesian customs because I didn't meet the visa requirements. For the next two months there was an excruciating back and forth about the consignment; the customs officials refused to communicate with the Britannia team, instead asking me their questions. I was constantly and consistently told two different messages from the Britannia team and the customs officials (who were far more helpful). Thankfully and rightfully, Britannia promised to accept the storage costs, given that they couldn't deliver on their promises (ETA, no visa, me not being available to accept the consignment)

My things were finally released in mid-OCTOBER, after the customs team decided that there was no way around the visa requirement (we waited for my visa to be ready). At this point, the storage bill had also been released (USD $1,649.50) and of course, Britannia shamelessly writes me another email to inform me that they would not accept the full amount. I wrote back and refused, detailing their negligence, with evidence of my communications with them and the customs officials in Jakarta throughout. They finally accepted and I got my boxes. Of course they had repacked my things (ramming 1 and a half of my boxes into a larger one) and there was about a box worth of things missing.

I am extremely fortunate that in all this time I had either been on holiday or staying at my mum's house, so I didn't feel I had been living out of a box for 5 months. For most of those five months I thought the customer service at Britannia was amazing, despite it becoming increasingly transparent that they were avoiding my calls. The only reason I think they deserve 1/5 stars is because they had promised to make the move easy (I had told them that I was extremely anxious about my visa situation beforehand) and I found I had a new full time job chasing them up every few days (my consignment would never have been sent without me reminding them for example, a lot of the communication between the customs people and Britannia had to be prompted too).

If you have a small move inside the UK, I'm sure they're fine. But I certainly wouldn't go abroad with them again, all in all, I'm convinced they don't really know what they're doing.

Service cost: £950

I have moved quite a bit over the course of the years, and Britannia made the experience so smooth and efficient it didn't even feel like a move. While I went to fetch some tea for the packing crew, they were practically done and ready to go. Everything arrived in tact and on time. I can't thank Robert Hurley and his team enough on bearing with me through months of adjusted schedules due to a delayed immigration process. I recommend Britannia without reservation!

Service cost: £7000

Warning: if you are sending belonging to the USA ensure you get Britannia to find out all the, potentially huge, extra costs that could be imposed in the USA.

My son sent his belongings to Arizona and the local Britannia were fine, apart from having no idea of extra costs in the USA. They used a company called Schumacher Cargo Logistics Ltd who informed us that there was a 90% chance his goods could be chosen for X-ray, and a 40% chance of a full inspection, at a cost of up to $2500! We would not have sent goods had we have known.

His shared container was X-rayed and he was charged $358 for his part of the container. His goods would not be released until he paid, and extra storage costs would be added.

To add insult to injury, he was charged $150 extra on delivery as the firm charged $5.36 a step over 8 steps!

Service cost: £2500

The team at Britannia did a terrific job. They accepted a volume estimate provided by another company because we could not schedule a estimation visit in time.

We especially appreciated the lengths that the packing team went to in order to get all of our possessions onto the van - it was an extremely tight fit and they took the time to get it right. The unpacking was equally good, everything ended up in the right room and reassembly was quick and properly done.

All in all the whole move went very smoothly and we would recommend Britannia.

Service cost: £2150

I whole-heartedly recommend Britannia. We were let down badly by our international shipper (possessions arriving in port with no proper documentation and no onward delivery arrangements). I contacted Laura at Britannia who gave me tons of advice, help and assistance and ran me through the various options we had - she was really patient with me and we got everything sorted in an efficient and cost effective manner.

The removal guys who then carried out the delivery and unpacking were also super friendly and helpful and worked tirelessly despite the 30+ degree heatwave.

From the first moment I contacted Britannia to the moment they delivered our items, and the follow up after care everyone at Britannia has been professional, efficient, friendly and careing. The price was competitive with another quote I got, but I went with Britania mostly because of the friendly helpful welcome I received. I certainly feel like I made the right decision.

If I need a removal firm in the future I will certainly use Britannia.

Service cost: £1500

Britannia were responsible for the third and final delivery leg of our removal from Wisconsin, USA. They kept us informed of the progress of out container as it transferred ships and ports in Europe. The office staff always answered the telephone where I spoke to a person, and I was never placed on hold or had to go through a machine. They delivered the container on time and their crew of four worked efficiently and effectively taking our possessions into our house. They did not complain and worked cheerfully. I would recommend the team and the company without any reservation. We are renting for one year before we move to buy a property. We will be using them again when we do this. Thank you for.

Service cost: £15000

Overall a good experience in moving. We had most of our effects moved by seafreight a few weeks before finally moving with essential items used up to the last day before removal taken by airfreight. The packers were very attentive and wrapped all items very well on both collection days. The seafreight arrived on time, still in overall good condition, but with two picture frames damaged and the glass broken because boxes had been pushed against the glass causing them to break. The airfreight was very expensive, yet took too long to arrive so wasn't really worth the extra money spent. All employees/contractors of Britannia were polite and courteous at all times. I would use BMI again but forego the airfreight option.

Service cost: £8000

I My international move of all my worldly goods from Africa to Ireland was handled with professionalism and efficiency.
From the pick up in Cape Town to the delivery in Wexford I dealt with fabulous people and they were always available at the end of a phone or email. My shipment arrived in the time frame that I was given and I was kept in the loop as to where it was. I also used the app to see where the container was at any point in its route. The goods arrived all ship shape and was unpacked from the lorry to various destinations in the house, which was fabulous as I was on my own at the time. I have highly recommended this company on various platforms because of the way everything was handled. Thank you team Britannia! only negative thing I can find is the pick up locator for the survey does not give me the option I need.

Service cost: €2000

Moved from Kent to Paris. I was very impressed with the entire service, from the initial quotation through to final delivery.

The removers arrived on time, & were professional & courteous throughout. All items were packed with care.

Unloading was potentially problematic, as traffic / parking was horrendous in my new home street. However, the removal foreman remained calm & completed my removal with no fuss.

I am very pleased to recommend this company.

Service cost: £3000

As a full time working mum of 2 kids with OCD moving house was always going to be tough for me. However, Britannia Movers made it very very easy for us! They packed, transported and unpacked our entire 4 bedroom house with care and pure efficiency. The kids left the old house with their bedrooms as normal and by the time they came home in the evening; their bedrooms had been unpacked in the new house! They honestly could not have done more for us! Britannia were a recommendation for us from a friend who used them to move to London from the US and I am soo grateful! I would highly recommend them to anyone; however big or small your move!

Service cost: £1700

If I could give zero stars I would have. Quoted to move are furniture etc from our house in lincolnshire to Dubai, UAE. As expected and estimated would take a 4-6 weeks before arrive in the UAE, fair distance so not too bad a time at all. That turned out to be lie number 1, finally left the UK after over 7 weeks with another 4 weeks expected before delivery - almost twice the estimate.
When questioned on this they told numerous lies reference where our shipment was why it hadn't been shipped etc. That is when you can actually get hold of them, emails ignored call backs never happen, once they have your money they really don't care.
Their customer service is non - existent, generally consists of If they don't like the point you are trying to make they hang up the call and ignore your emails.
Really wish had read previous reviews about this company as its clear they are the same with everyone. Learn from our mistakes and avoid this company at all costs, service is poor and customer service appalling. (Dread to actually think what state my goods will turn up in, if they ever do!).

Service cost: £1000

Britannia Movers Int'l was responsible for the second part (UK to Germany) of my move from Canada to Germany. I was notified in advance of the arrival of my shipment and the estimated arrival date. The movers were wonderful: helpful, careful, pleasant, and hard-working. My only complaint is that an important piece of information (i.e., that only 1/3 of my shipment had arrived in the UK port) was not communicated to me, only to the Canadian company that took care of the first part of my move. Otherwise, wonderful service.

Service cost: $4100

The move itself wasn't too bad. The guys did a good job. However, trying to get them to remove the boxes and packag they  supplied was not so good. They scheduled in to collect nearly 3 weeks later. I explained that I would be out of an hour that afternoon. They said to remove the boxes and the packaging and leave it on the drive. They didn't show up. I got a phone call explaining that they had run out of time and that I could leave them out for recycling or take them to the tip myself. Alternatively they might! be able to collect in a couple of weeks time. Considering they were very nearly as expensive as Pickfords I expected better from them. Do you get anymore for your money than someone half the price? no, Id say not. I wont recommend them as we paid a higher price for a better service. It is now going to take me half an hour to re load the boxes back into my garage and probably about 4 trips to the local tip.   I was reminded however the boxes did state AT THEIR CONVENIENCE. Seems that once you've paid your money they don't want to know. And the cost of those boxes being thrown away you pay for in the price!   Cost just over £2000   p.s. the pick up was in fact Northampton and moving 15 minutes down the road to Northampton.

Service cost: £2000

This company were amazing. We exchanged last Thursday and the transport manager was so helpful and managed to arrange removals for the following Monday!

The three removal guys Tom, Chris and Jamie were brilliant- Friendly, chatty, approachable and nothing seemed too much. They were so careful and worked so hard! My goods were packed safely and organised. They are an asset to the company and I would recommend them to anyone.

Thank you once again.

Service cost: £2150

Absolutely first class from start to finish.
I emailed 3 different companies regarding the shipping of our good from the UK to Tenerife.
They were the first to respond to my queries every time and also gave me a very competitive quote for the shipment.
The staff that collected and also delivered our goods were superb, very polite, well presented and made it all so simple.
If you want a stress free move , then I can’t recommend Britannia movers international enough.
Thank you very much
Todd Davis.

Service cost: £1400

Britannia Movers, is a company I have used several times in recent years and have always been extremely impressed with the service. They moved us from both NY and France to London and provided seamless service on both occasions. Both these moves were complicated & challenging and Britannia did a superb job. Our most recent move from the Cotswolds into storage has gone without a hitch. The staff on the ground are courteous, friendly and very professional, nothing is too much trouble - they excel in ensuring the customer is happy and kept informed. And the office staff are a dream to deal with too! I have absolutely NO hesitation in recommending Britannia as the mover of choice - I have used others in the past and have not been impressed.

Service cost: £3850

My homemove experience with Britannia removals was excellent and took the stress out of home moving. The move was complicated as it involved two different locations with the delivery of the furniture to all arrive from two locations on the same day! The service was so efficient with Angela at the company end handling my millions of queries so patiently and Scott and Steve doing the actual removals with such patience, calmness and a good sense of humor even when I made them move bookcases back and forth into the wrong bedrooms! I would highly recommend Britannia Removals to anyone needing a stress free home removals service.

Service cost: £1600

A catalogue of errors too long to list here that was one of the most stressful experiences of my life. I was so annoyed with this company that I wrote a blog that you can read here:http://britanniaremovals.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/do-not-use-britannia/ In short they> lied to me; manipulated increased charges; failed to provide adequate packaging materials; provided too small a container; were unprofessional; almost had to pay fines in the country of destination due to poor packing; I had to pack the container with the guys they sent; they didn't come out to check my property; truck couldn't get up drive; extra van fees; delays and general ineptitude. I took complaints to office of fair trading and international removals ombudsman. SHOCKING- don't use them!

Service cost: £3500