[janeb]

I went to the NZ Expo at manchester last autumn and PSS (personal shipping services) were there selling there services as a shipping/relocation agent to NZ. Obviously they sounded good (as you'd expect!!!) but does anyone have any experience of them ? Soon we need to get some quotes so any comments on who had a good or a bad experience with any agents you've used would be greatfully received, there seems to be some right cowboys out there........!! :uhoh

Thanks!

Jane

[Pamela]

Hi Janeb

We had pss round and all wonderful till we recieved the quote and I had a question to ask so did no more and gave them a call, Went down hill from there the telephone manner from the person on the phone was awful she did not give a hoot and that was enough for me to say no way are you shipping my home. She was so rude and off hand it really rattled me. 1st impressions count after all.

If you do a search on shippers you will also find good posts and bad I am sure Timbo had a horror story as well.

Not sure if shippers look on here but if they do they would learn a lot from the wonderful forumites. And learn some do's and dont's as far as customers go after all we do pay their wages lol.

Goodluck
Pam

[Bubbles]

Hi jane ,
I'm in the same position as you. We have booked Britannia and GB Liners for Tues' and Wed' next week to quote. Have also put a request into Whites by email as no-one would pick up the phone when I rang ( and rang, and rang again :roll ), but they have failed already as I'm still waiting for a reply to my email.
With regard to PSS. A very good friend of mine is having a bit of a ruck with them at the moment, here's his story......................

From personal experience, I would advise against using PSS, as they have been anything but helpfull\professional.
There surveyor checked everything in our place and concluded that it would be circa 570 cu ft. The packers came and upon completion, agreed that the original estimate was about right in their opinion. When PSS eventually made contact with a final figure, the quantity had jumped to 720 cubic feet. This meant a very big price hike.
The packers came on Nov 21st 05, and I am still chasing for a written invoice as I write. When I questioned the figures, I was basically told that the surveyor had been doing this job for 40 years and simply would not make such an error. In other words, we must have conjured up the extra goods once he had been and gone.
Make sure that they list EVERYTHING that is is to be shipped on the ESTIMATE, as against just on the final list. This should prevent you getting caught out.

PSS seem to be getting some bad press lately.

It's seems like its a bit of a lottery, but I will go on personal recommendations everytime. Thats the very reason we chose Britannia and GB Liners to quote.

I'll let you know how we get on next week after they've been.

:cheers

John

[janeb]

Jesus!! I reckon once we have made the move to NZ there is a niche market for a good shipping company..... Good luck John, please do let me know how you get on!

Cheers :cheers
Jane

[k-k]

Hi Jane

We had PSS round to quote after already getting quotes from Britannia and Crown. The PSS guy took 15 minutes to look round and inventory our stuff (the other 2 took over an hour each). PSS reckoned we didn't have enough stuff for sole use of a 20' container and we'd have to share one. (Crown and Britannia both said we'd need sole use of a 20' refer container). We went with Crown in the end and as it was we had to ditch the washing machine and a chair because there was just no room in the 20' container.
Good job we didn't rely on the PSS quote!
The estimator was also rude and patronising, I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.
We chose Crown, although they were a bit more expensive than Britannia, based on a recommendation from a friend and the fact they didn't use NZ Van Lines. We've just had our stuff delivered and bar a couple of minor niggles we were more than satisfied with the service in the UK and here in NZ.
Look at other peoples experiences of the different shippers, it really helps.
Regards
Karen

[bob_the_engineer]

We used GB Liners who shipped from the UK. We found the service wonderful. NZ Van Lines act as an NZ agent for them and we found their service excellent too.

I’ve heard some bad things about NZ Van Liners, this doesn’t match my experience so I thought that it may be a “bad Branch” thing.

(so to cover the area differences I’ll tell you the following) We moved the contents of a three bed house from Cheshire, UK to Hawkes Bay, NZ without a hitch for just over £3K.


Hope that’s helpful Bob

[janeb]

Thanks Bob & Karen, its so helpful to hear your experiences, we are going to obviously bear all the comments in mind when choosing our agent...

Cheers
:cheers

[Karen and Rich Matthews]

We're half way through the process of shipping from the UK to NZ with PSS. We had a good vibe with the guy that came to talk with us, and the packers on the day were professional and respectful with our stuff.

We'll see what happens when it gets here, but we've had a good experience so and regular updates from PSS as to what's happening.

I agree that you should personal recommendations woth your local firms as it appears there's no standard with companies throughout the UK.

Good luck with your decisions :)

Rich

[Paul & Rach]

We had PSS round (booked also at the Manchester expo last year)... He seemed professional and thorough. Quoted £3700 for a 20ft container door to door, packed and insured..... sound reasonable ????

Will be looking at other firms as well though

[Paul & Rach]

We had PSS round (booked also at the Manchester expo last year)... He seemed professional and thorough. Quoted £3700 for a 20ft container door to door, packed and insured. Sound reasonable ???

We'll check out some of the other firms mentioned here too...