Pickfords

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

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

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

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

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

Very disappointing experience with these lads. Hopefully it ended before to start. I called them on the 28th of June for a quotation and I was told that a consultant would have called me back the 8th of July for "asking me the details of the removal" that means twelfe days after my call !! They confirmed the phone appointment by e-mail. On the 8th of July this consultant called and asked me so general questions that could have been provided on the first call. Then the quotation that she made was so much higher than all the others I had, but most of all not effectively related to the specific amount I had to move (I am a tenant and I have not furnitures to move!) Finally I asked gently for something in writings to compare and to send me by e-mail. She agreed but this e-mail never received. Horrible. Absolute waste of time. Avoid.

Service cost: £1600

Pickfords were contracted by the firm of Caroline Coats & Co (also never use) to clear family home when my mother went into care. Rolled up to deliver items to me with no notification and as I wasn't in then stuck them in storage without my knowledge or permission, refused to release them to my agent and charged me well over market rates for storage (although never sent me a bill despite having my address). Claimed I had not paid the bills they refused to send me. Refused to answer any correspondence whatsoever despite their MD acknowledging in court that the property was mine and being well aware that Coats did not represent me and had no authorisation to enter into a contract with them (i.e. contract between Pickfords and Coats was fraudulent and illegal). Refused to co-operate with the police when they became involved over missing valuables. DO NOT ever consider using this firm for anything.

Service cost: £10000

We had a signed agreed contract with Pickfords Removals Ltd to move us from Totton, Southampton, UK to our new home in Italy.
They did full estimate and started off at £12,000 and after a few different quotes, we agreed a quote of £6057. Quite a difference.
They collected our goods as agreed and we had a delivery date.
Once we left the country that we had to pay another £900 (which turned out to be £1080) or they would not deliver our goods.
The date of delivery came and Pickfords told us they waited down the road until we paid or they would have kept our goods, they would not deliver our goods until we paid. I told them this was blackmail and extortion.
A lot of boxes were way unpacked and stuffed with paper to bulk them up.
Then they lost and damaged some goods and we are now struggling to get an insurance claim which we paid £600 for.
They have admitted what they have done by email.
They seem to think this is all ok to do this.
There were also mouse holes in some of the boxes when they arrived too.
Delivery to Italy.

Service cost: £6057