“We used Pickfords to move our belongings into storage and then after 6 months to our new property in October; whilst the actual packing and delivery of our goods was fine and the crew seemed pretty helpful; what happened to our goods in store was extremely disappointing. Many items of antique furniture were damaged - some badly (deep gouges in dining room table; panel of 17th century chest broken) - most items had scratches and marks on them. Two boxes of china and glass were missing as was a container of clothes - as this was not reported within 7 days not able to claim as outside required period - when unpacking numerous boxes it is not immediately apparent what is missing. No one apologised for what happened- in fact did not seem very interested despite fact had paid them thousand in removal and storage fees. So if you need to store your goods don’t use Pickfords”
“If I could give 0 star for this company, I would. We arranged an AM appointment for our move from our belongings from their storage, to our new house which was confirmed via email by our “Move Manager” only for them to leave a voicemail on Friday evening (move scheduled Monday AM) saying they would be arriving Monday PM. We made several attempts to contact them Friday evening and througout the weekend to resolve this but as they were closed, we had no reply. I contacted them first thing on Monday and was of course told there was nothing they could do and that we would have to wait for the movers to come, in which they didn’t until 2:30 that day. We have since raised a complaint and asked for some kind of compensation, only to be given some unacceptable excuse that their terms and conditions mean we are not entitled to one. I think it’s disgusting they are allowed to get away with confirming one time and then for them to internally mess that up somehow and we are the ones that pay for it!”
“One of the worst experiences we’ve ever had. Pickfords completely mishandled our international move in May,they arrived hours late with too few people, leaving us stuck in a hotel with two under-twos. The crew had no proper tools or instructions, and belongings were left outside in the heat. The insurance process has been slow, dismissive, and full of excuses to avoid responsibility. Even the Head of Corporate Moves has been completely unhelpful and unresponsive. Ironically, there seems to be no functioning escalation process at all, so poor service and unresponsiveness go unchecked. It’s now October and our case still isn’t resolved. Totally unprofessional — avoid at all costs”
“We hired Pickfords for a one-day move in September 2025, expecting a professional service. What we received was chaos, damage, and indifference.
- The team arrived unprepared, understaffed, and included subcontractors — one of whom injured himself and sat smoking in his van for hours.
- My husband had to help move items due to lack of manpower.
- High-value items including £10,000 curtains, £9,000 cooker, and £15,000 shelving units were mishandled, scratched, or left unprotected.
- The move took two days, not one. The joiner didn’t complete his work. Communication was non-existent.
- When we complained, Pickfords offered £40 per damaged item — regardless of actual value — and blamed us for not taking insurance, even though most damage occurred inside the property.
The only professional on site was Ryan, who tried to salvage the situation. The rest of the experience was appalling. We’re now escalating to the Ombudsman.
Avoid if you value your possessions and peace of mind.”
“Extremely Disappointing Experience – Lack of Communication and Accountability
I chose Pickfords to handle the international shipment of my L-shaped leather sofa and glass coffee table from the UK to the US because of the company’s long-standing reputation and positive reviews. Unfortunately, my personal experience has been incredibly disappointing and frustrating.
The items arrived damaged, the glass top of the coffee table was shattered, the leather sofa was scuffed and scratched, and one of its legs was broken with the connecting pin bent. I had paid for insurance through Pickfords, and I promptly provided detailed photo and video evidence of the damage. I even hired someone at additional cost to unbox and record the condition of the items.
Despite my efforts and timely communication, the company has now stopped responding altogether. My last update to Pickfords was on July 28, 2025, when I informed them that I needed to replace the glass top. Since then, there has been complete silence — no guidance on how to file a formal claim, no apology, and no effort to resolve the issue.
This lack of follow-through is unacceptable for a company of this calibre. Customers should not have to chase down service providers for accountability, especially when insurance has been paid for and valid evidence has been submitted.
I would urge potential customers to proceed with caution and reconsider before entrusting Pickfords with valuable and irreplaceable items. A positive track record means little if the company does not stand by its promises or assist clients when things go wrong.”
“3 very professional men did everything for us removed without any issues and replaced in our new home nothing was to much trouble will defiantly recommend to people thanks pickfords”
“I wouldn't recommend this company after the diabolical service we received. We're in Cornwall UK, and we were going to Western Australia in 2011, so we booked Pickfords as they had a reputable name and covered the world. So they came and collected our stuff, we went off to Australia 🇦🇺 to live. We stayed in Australia a few months while they had our stuff still in UK as we couldn't find a property and paid Pickfords to keep our stuff safe. We were then contacted as to when we wanted our contents sent as they had our stuff in two different storage facilities. We decided to come back to UK as the job wasn't what hubby was promised so came back, told Pickfords to deliver our house contents to our original address. They delivered a week late and we were missing a lot of items which they blamed us on, as they said they had to split our house contents up as there was no room so had to store elsewhere and said we should've insured our house contents, which it was but not for loss, especially them loosing it.
So, if you are moving the otherside of the world, don't use these. They did it across another family who also went with us to Australia, they stayed in Australia but when there items were unpacked, they found it all smashed and tools missing, also the contents of their living room, TV, DVD player, 3 piece suite, table and chairs. They complained to Pickfords and said the same "You should've had it insured", they did and they claimed but Pickfords ignored them and they had to deal with it all.”
“Mari Woest is mean and greedy as hell, unprofessional and mostly bad for business pasop vir om, you can do better Pickford removals by removing this virus before it removes your business from the top.”
“We’ve had a most traumatic dealings with Pickfords, and just for context this is our 11th country move. So we are quite used to all sorts of unexpected complications and problems. But this time we have come face to face with the most unhelpful and opaque wall of double speak, and after five months Pickfords are still unable to say when our heavy packages will even leave, let alone when they can be expected to arrive. It’s been a total nightmare and I’d very much recommend any company or individual to avoid using Pickfords, ever, at all. They cannot be trusted and lack the most basic consumer oriented concern. Basically, it’s been made very clear to us that they could not care less for the very negative impact their total incompetence has had on our lives.”
“Pickfords were booked and paid for and didn't turn up to my move. Can you imagine the problems and expense this has caused me? My house buyer turns up with their stuff and I'm still here. People are sobbing, it's so stressful. Pickfords have NOBODY answering any phones, or emails, or twitter, or instagram. Voicemails full...”
“Great company they exceeded our expectations and the communication throughout the process was great. Having a dedicated move manager was great and helped us through this very stressful period. Would only move with Pickfords.”
“The worse company service I have ever purchase. DO NOT give them the benefit of the doubt like I foolish did. I spent circa £7k to have my household effects transported from the UK to Australia and I was called to say 'did I realise there was a hole in my container but not worry as everything appears fine'. Upon delivery day, which was a month late, I find that nearly every item is damaged, but worse of all is the smell. Every item is covered in a sinking mould that was so bad that we had to move all the items out of the house for the sake of our health. When I complained to Allied, the Australian sister company, they said they would look into it, and haven't replied since despite many follow up messages. How they are allowed to operate I have no idea. A absolute disgrace.”
“After deciding to pay a premium for the Pickfords service rather than a local operator, the sales pitch was slick with detailed promises of service levels. The post sales pitch and agreement signing was also slick but the service levels slip drastically when it comes to the packing and move day. The moving team are hit and miss, some are exceptionally co-operative and assist/fulfil their role, others were only keen on moaning and demanding endless tea. The move sequence was not as promised, double handling and access issues despite their own assurances that this would not accrue. Specific agreements to dismantle, move, store and rebuild gym equipment has not materialised. In fact, most of the kit was dragged across gravel driveways causing cosmetic and operational damage to several pieces of kit inclusive of a Peloton tread. At move in time, several impacts / damage to door frames and alike were caused. I can understand that accidents happen, but this was careless and negligent issues, not accidental. It is a conscious decision to drag kit across gravel driveways - this is not an accidental decision. Furthermore, I am sure that the kit that the move teams are provided with could have avoided such a "drag" but no, they chose to drag and damage with little regard to what happened. As a result, 3 months on and I am still awaiting the rebuild of the gym kit and also the settlement of the damaged items and damage to the (brand new) house.”
“We had goods in storage over 2 years
We paid insurance as well for them to collect store and deliver back to us
There were over 50 boxes
On receipt we had numerous damages and we then discovered numerous missing items
They said we didn’t find these till after 7 days and as such the insurance was invalid
We now know they had 57 boxes but only delivered 54
So 3 missing boxes costing us over £1000 and their response is sorry tell the police !
They have no interest in those missing items because it’s over 7days
The company is a disgrace and take our advice DO NOT ISE PiCKFORDS for collection storage or delivery !”
“*** Our move was outsourced
Be aware, Pickfords aren’t obliged to tell you they are outsourcing your move to one of their ‘partners’. Although staff were professional and courteous - move day was disjointed awaiting for mechanical work to be carried out on one van. The supervisor on the day told me ”they run vans into the ground before they’ll shell out cash to fix them”. This move was 300 miles England - to - Scotland and they “needed to make sure their brakes were ok”.
*** We packed our own items meticulously
Any high value items (mainly electronics) were moved separately in our own cars and therefore we did not take Pickford’s costly insurance premium of over £450. Items from the first house were labelled and boxed and I was present the whole day to make sure no items were left in our first property.
*** Damage to items
We initially had small amounts of damage to furniture (mattress, coffee table) and we were reimbursed the non-insurance standard of £40 per item. I appreciate this is all part of moving home and items can be scuffed/damaged etc but can be repaired.
*** Stolen items
What is the most disappointing element of the entire move are the amount of boxes and items which have gone missing despite no boxes being left in our original property.
I spoke with Pickfords and the outsourced company and no one can tell me where these items have disappeared to. After our initial communication with Pickfords to discuss the missing items, we have now discovered further items which have been lost i.e. Vases, kitchen bowls etc(~£250). We were assured that none of our items were removed from the vans after they left our original property - so I can only assume they have been stolen, damaged and/or discarded. What else could have possibly happened?
Pickfords have reimbursed us their standard £40 per box, however there are other items we have since discovered missing.
We were reimbursed a total of £240 and unlikely to see any further monies as we signed a ‘full and final settlement’ document which Pickfords were very keen for us to complete.
We would never use Pickfords again.”
“Do not go with this company they don't guise you through the process they rely on T&Cs for their bad customer service
Realy let us down through the whole process cost money time ,19 day no response time .
Ruined what should of been a happy time for my family .Go with the smaller companies they care more and are more professional.”
“Shocking customer service, delivery time was 200% of estimate. Avoid.
We engaged Pickford's to move our house contents from the UK to the US. The price was high, but they came recommended, so we bit the bullet. Initially, all was well. Goods were collected by an excellent team, and our contact was quick to reply. However, once our goods were with Pickford's (and we had paid) suddenly most of our requests for updates went unanswered. This would not have been an issue except that we had not provided a specific customs form, without which (unbeknownst to us) nothing would move. Pickford's failed to mention this in several emails they actually deigned to respond to, and so our stuff sat in a warehouse for 2 whole months before someone more competent was put on our account who immediately informed us of the missing form. When our goods were finally delivered, 6 months after they were collected (estimate was 3-4 months), we duly complained, only to be told that it was simply our fault for not providing everything needed for a highly complex international house move, without being reminded by the company of supposed 'experts' we had hired for exactly that purpose. Do not use these muppets. 1 star is 2 stars too many.”
