Doree Bonner International

Thank you to the Doree Bonner Team.
From the start of my extensively delayed move, you stayed with me all the way.
Always in contact, with updated quotations and all my questions answered from the team.
The removal day eventually arrived, and honestly could not fault the removal team. Friendly, polite movers who were very careful with all of my furniture.
I will recommend Doree Bonner to anyone who is looking for a removal company and should I ever need to move again, I know who to contact. Thank you again to everyone.

Service cost: £497

This is the third time I have used Doree Bonner (two international and one domestic) and would highly recommend them.

Their service is excellent all the way from quotation to execution and back office support. Even though it was touch and go, they managed to fit everything into the container. The staff on the day were very polite and respectful of our possessions.

There is very little breakage considering the size of the move and the fragility of some of our glassware. This is due to the quality of their packing.

We had a tight deadline (a plane to catch) on move out day and the move was completed earlier than scheduled which took a lot of pressure off.

Service cost: £6500

I chose Doree Bonner based on the positive reviews. It definitely wasn't a low quote compared to the others but it was definitely the right choice. Everyone from was fantastic. Responsive and helpful. Movers on the day were punctual, quick and took great care with my items.Everything was properly tracked when packed and with no mess. Most importantly there were absolutely no additional or hidden costs.

Really friendly and professional team. I would absolutely recommend and use again!

Move size: 1 Bedroom Flat Service cost: £0

Let me start by saying that my partner and I have had a successful Ombudsman claim against Doree Bonner, after they essentially defrauded us.

Brief summary: Doree Bonner drove our possessions to our new address in France, then decided they couldn't deliver and took everything back into storage in the UK, hence breaching the contract we had with them. They then sent us an extortionate bill for a second delivery that we had to pay in order to get our possessions back. We opened a claim requesting they reimburse the second delivery, but after ignoring us for weeks, they eventually dismissed it claiming they had no responsibility in the failed delivery. The Ombudsman eventually found in our favour and ordered Doree Bonner to reimburse us. They ignored the ruling, even after TFO's aftercare team chased them. Eventually, some 3 months after TFO's ruling, it took us involving the BAR and the press for Doree Bonner to finally pay the settlement.

If you are considering hiring them, I strongly advise you take the time to read the full story.

My partner and I hired Doree Bonner to handle our move from the UK to France in July 2019. We signed a 2 legged contract which we paid upfront: Doree Bonner was to pack all our possessions, put them into storage in the UK, and deliver them at our new place once we'd found it.

Doree Bonner badly underestimated the volume to be packed, so on packing day, they sent too few people, with too few boxes, too little time, and too small a van. The people they did send, however, were friendly and efficient. We had to spend most of the afternoon on the phone with DB for them to eventually send another man and van at about 8pm, on the day before completion on our house sale. They charged us another fortune to cover the cost of the additional volume. Quotes are meaningless if companies can up the cost after the contract has been signed and demand more money.

Things got much worse when we found a place in France. Doree Bonner charged us extra for a 4th floor delivery. We filled in a form about our new place, stating amongst other things that we could not guarantee a parking spot, and we sent a Google Street view link of our street so they could see how wide it is.

Doree Bonner would not confirm the date when the delivery would take place. They said it would be one of 2 consecutive days. My partner had to take 2 days off work. Only on the morning of day 1 did Doree Bonner say the delivery would be the next day. On day 2, in November 2019, 2 drivers showed up. They said they couldn't find a convenient place to park their lorry, drove around for a bit, parked on a nearby square for a while and eventually declared they had to go do another delivery and would be taking our things back to the UK. While we were frustrated not to be getting our things that day as planned, our feelings turned to outrage when Doree Bonner sent us a new bill for £2,760 for a re-delivery. They told us we would never get our possessions back unless we paid. We contacted the BAR (British Assocation of Removers) who suggested we pay to get our possessions back and open a claim later for our money back.

Our possessions were finally delivered in December 2019, but it became apparent that proper care had not been taken: our TV was broken, several items were missing, and several boxes had been stored in water.

We then opened a claim with Doree Bonner to ask for the cost of the second delivery back. Doree Bonner ignored us for weeks. They kept promising to call us back but never did. They claimed our contact there was on holiday, and then off sick, but could not explain why noone else would speak to us. We had to involve the BAR for someone to finally contact us, saying they'll investigate. In lieu of an investigation, they claimed 2 weeks later that they had 'done nothing wrong' (though they could give no argument to defend that) and only offered a 'goodwill gesture'. We refused and turned to the Furniture Ombudsman (TFO), in January 2020. Their investigation took a long time because Doree Bonner was very slow to engage.

TFO eventually ruled in our favour and ordered Doree Bonner to pay us back, on 1 April 2020. Doree Bonner ignored the ruling for 3 months, despite them still operating throughout lockdown. 6 weeks later. By late June, we still had not heard from them, despite chasing them, the BAR, and TFO. TFO chased Doree Bonner on our behalf, but were ignored for weeks. The BAR stepped in, but Doree Bonner untruthfully told them the matter was resolved. They only paid when we involved the press (the Observer recently published our experience: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/jul/16/we-paid-2227-for-our-move-to-france-and-it-got-us-nowhere).

Moving can be stressful, but Doree Bonner turned it into a 7-months ordeal.

I have since reviewed them on trustpilot, only for them to unjustifiably report my review, now offline pending investigation.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: £3408

After extensive research we choose to use Doree Bonner based on the great reviews and some assuring chats with their consultant. However, everything I was sold on has not been delivered. I received a quote from the company during the height of COVID in the UK and was told that in normal circumstances they average 8 weeks but during COVID we should expect a 12 week delivery time from door to door.

The problems began when our flight was cancelled last minute. We called the company as soon as we found out (9 days before the move) but as it did not fall within their 10 day policy, they were unwilling to delay the move without a large fee. So we went forward, resolving that at least we would have our shipment when we arrived in Australia. The move itself was wonderful and the removalists were kind, courteous and did a fantastic job, however, we were promised three movers and only 2 turned up with no explanation. We finally arrived in Australia 9.5 weeks after our things had been collected and were shocked to find out our shipment hadn’t even left the warehouse in the UK!!! There has been no apology, no explanation and no transparency whatsoever. We are now looking at a 5 month wait until we can access our belongings in Australia. I am hugely disappointed in this service and would strongly advise AGAINST using this company.

Although the sales pitch was excellent and the consultant very helpful as soon as we signed on the dotted line and paid our money we were passed over to a dedicated 'move consultant' at which point the high level of customer service completely disappeared. We have been left completely in the dark, never updated (unless we reached out) and we've received vague and curt responses.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: £3076

We were moving from Dartford to Suffolk. Bonner's was the most expensive quote we received. However, they were the only company in which we felt confident. Their office was experiencing a problem with their telephones which necessitated emails when a quick telephone conversation would have been more helpful. The guys who did most of the loading, Dale, Graham, and Darrell were excellent. Dale was in control and dealt with all our concerns during what is always a worrying time.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: £7000

Sent a large delivery vehicle despite being told of access issues. Did not provide the notice of delivery asked for, failed to hit their delivery window and then accused us of lying before insisting we pay for a second delivery attempt. How about you stick to what you promised, send the right size vehicle within the agreed time window, and employ polite drivers who won't lie? Review to be updated once we've received our belongings & can verify if they are undamaged (not hopefuly!). Avoid!

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: £250