[scotia]

Hi
Our worldly goods got uplifted yesterday from Scotland to Liverpool where it will be sent on to Napier. John Mason is the handling agent. Just wondered if anyone had experience of what happens when the shipment arrives at Napier. I've read the threads on Auckland but wondered whether Napier was any different. We're wanting to avoid any problems with paying too much in fees and would rather pay MAF direct. It all got a bit frantic yesterday. We elected to do our own packing but husband had to go to work and I was still packing when the removal men were taking stuff out to the truck. Didn't have time to clean OH's golf clubs although they look used but not dirty. However worried that the golf bag might still have some beasties in it! Although I made up comprehensive lists of items the removal guy generalised everything so the itinerary really bears no resemblance as to whats actually in the boxes. Should I be worried? Still have the copies I made up which I'll use if there's a problem. Also when do you fill in the restricted/prohibited items forms for customs? I packed some sheepskins, one from NZ and one from Scotland and a paua shell also from NZ. Also a few bottles of wine and some sealed dry goods. I think this shouldn't be a problem as long as I declare it but as I said it won't be on the itinerary so when do I declare it? Looking forward to coming out in Feb. Lots of fruit and veg, yum, yum!
Scotia

[Diny]

Hi there.

Our shipment arrived in Napier. It was then sent by rail down to Wellington then deliverd to us by road.

We paid MAF direct - don't be persuaded otherwise, the shipping co's will lead you to believe that you have to pay the MAF fees to them - you don't !!!!!

I also wrote a very detailed list of what was in every box, and our shippers also wrote a very 'watered down' version so in the end their list didn't really give much on an indication. I would list that a box contained cheese grater, vegetable knife, pyrex dish, salt cellar etc ..... they simply listed the contents as 'kitchen'. In the end, this didn't present any probs at all.

When our container arrived the chap from MAF wanted to check out 4 things. There were 3 ladders - 2 of them were the ladders to the boys bunkbeds so in the end he wasn't interested in them as they were indoors stuff - not outdoors. The 3rd ladder was a step ladder which he checked over. There was a tiny amount of soil that had been pushed up one of the legs, he sprayed it with some magic chemical and then 'passed' it as OK. The 4th item was a box of Christmas tree decorations. He just wanted to check that there were no fir cones, holly or anyting 'natural' in there.

I bought a large amount of dry food stuffs - all un-opened. Although the items were listed they didn't even mention them.

I brought a sheepskin rug with us (which we'd bought in NZ a few years earlier) - again this went un-noticed.

If there's any other specific questions you have please free free to ask - I'm only too happy to help.

Diny

[scotia]

Hi Diny
Great to hear from you! I was just worried about the discrepancies on the itinerary - as you say it bears no resemblance to what I had actually detailed.Where did your shipment get checked? Was it Napier and were you there or did MAF come to your house? We have shipped only about half a container load so have to wait for it to be filled.Hopefully it will arrive roughly around the time we get there in mid Feb. It will probably have to be in storage either in Liverpool or Napier. I also was a tad worried about detailing the contents on the boxes , I have experience in the airline industry and am fully aware that things go missing out of peoples belongings as a matter of course - was your shipment as it was when you received it? Sounds a bit paranoid but when you have all your important things lying around for months, you do wonder whether its being looked after!
Thanks for the prompt reply - really enjoy this forum
Cheers Scotia

[Diny]

Our container remained sealed until it reached Wellington. We paid the MAFF man when he came to our house. He was a French man who has lived out here for 11 years and he almost begged me for a share of my stash of gravy granules (which were listed but not checked).

Yeah - the container arrived here in the exact same condition as it left our house in the UK. The only damage was to a leather belt belonging to my hubby, it had got creased and 'kinked' while packed. But like you, we packed everything ourselves so I'm the only one to blame for that.

We shipped with Britannia from the UK and then NZ Vanlines took over this end. I have to say that the entire service from door to door with everybody/everything involved in between was 110% brilliant !!!!!

We had a sole use 20ft container so it set sail the day after leaving our UK house, if you have gone groupage (half container) it will have to hang around until the containr can be filled to capacity (at least I understand this to be the case). I wouldn't worry too much, make sure you have full insurance just for peace of mind.

Good luck.

Diny

[scotia]

Thanks Diny. You've put my mind at ease! All I have to worry about now is getting blue stickers before I leave! Applied through the partnership route but have only been told that a case officer will be assigned within 2 months. We leave in early Jan and winding our way slowly out there so it could be touch and go! Will be looking to see how others are getting on.
Cheers
Scotia

[willsken]

This has got my interest. I wanted to do all the packing myself but for some reason I thought it might cause problems. Is it a lot cheaper to do this option? John Mason has quoted nearly £4000 for the sole use of a 20 footer. How much does it cost (roughly) if we do the packing and who did you use for the insurance? :)

[scotia]

A local company quoted us just over £1,700 for shared use of a container which included loading from our home in Scotland, transporting to Liverpool,shipping, customs clearance and unloading at our home address in Napier. We packed everything ourselves and the company provided us with all packing materials. John Mason is involved from the Liverpool end. Insurance is for total loss only so doesn't include breakages, scratches etc as we were responsible for the packing. Insurance is calculated at £3.50 per £100 of your goods value, again arranged by our local shipping agent. Due to a hic cup in getting paperwork organised, I still have to do this! I did consider looking for other quotes to see whether this could be reduced. As mentioned we got rid of a lot of stuff prior to moving, but we still ended up packing 20 boxes, in total 73 items. I am waiting to see whether our local agent is going to up the quote as I think in the end we did end up with more than he or we envisaged when he came to do the initial quote. However if it stays the same, we are more than satisfied. Hope this helps.
Cheers
Scotia

[willsken]

Thanks for that. Will give JM a ring for a quote if we pack ourselves.

[Diny]

Nicola - we did a self pack and had a 20 footer to ourselves. The shippers wrapped all the furniture and loaded everything.

Can't bring the exact figure to mind but it was approx 3300 (sorry - don't have a pound sign on this keyboard).

Diny

[willsken]

Thanks Diny. Well if I can save a few hundred quid then I'm happy to do the packing! :D