“I wish I had found this website before I went ahead and booked Pickfords Exeter for my removals and storage, because if I had, I would have avoided Pickfords!
I have been left devastated with the damage they have caused, I have literally paid them to damage my possessions! They caused 80% damage to my possessions and in the process mislaid other items never to be seen. This company really do not care about their customers, the response I had from one of the managers 'we are sorry that you are not happy with our service'! Not a sorry for damaging my possessions! A real kick in the teeth! The insurance company they are affiliated to appear to be just as bad, its been almost two months and still no closer to getting the issue resolved with them, no contact number and only contact once a week. I am shocked that companys like Pickfords are getting away with this. Please please avoid at all costs”
“Absolutely terrible! Shocking service, long delays, lies and more damaged items than not. We had our items shipped from the UK to Canada and were quote 6-10 weeks, after 10 weeks our items were still in the UK with no sign of any shipping date. We were having to chase Pickfords for any information only to be met with 'I don't know' and a very rude move manager called Rachel who quite frankly couldn't give two hoots about anything!
Eventually after my husband leaving a poor review on social media were were contacted by the group sales manager who miraculously managed to give us a shipping date. Unbeknown to them we knew exactly where our stuff was as there was an airtag placed in one of the boxes so knew we were being lied to on numerous occasions. Fast forward to the day our stuff arrived and our hearts sank when we saw the level of damage to our items and the state of some of hte boxes that were being brought in. There were boxes crushed and others with huge wholes and even cables dragging on the floor out of them. That wasn't the worst of it, when we opened some of the other boxes (the people who came to unpack were limited on time and it was the day before Christmas eve so had even tried to leave without unpacking anything!) our items were screwed up and thrown in there. There was clearly a lack of care or professionalism in the way these boxes were packed and it was clear to see from the damage. We had taken the insurance with the company Pickfords make you use and continued to put a claim in following the unpack and the amount of damage. Still over two months later they are dragging their heels to deal with this or come with any resolution. We have done everything they have asked and are left with over £6900 worth of damage that they are avoiding dealing with. Had we known the issues we would have using such an appalling company we would have sold everything in the UK and started again here as not only has the massive delay in our stuff arriving cost us more money we are now left with items that are unusable and we have simply paid money for Pickfords to move and damage our items making them useless. I would give no stars if I could and strongly warn against anyone using this awful company!”
“Have used Pickfords for a previous move and was very impressed so decided to use them again.
Very nice lady came to give me a quote.
BUT on the day they hired two subcontractors. Just as well they did, as the one person from Pickfords was rude, bumptious and 'too busy' to talk to me when I was trying to give him information about the house I was moving to. Neither did he bother to introduce himself.
The situation was complicated both by my solicitor not having acted on information she had had for a week and my buyer's turning up two hours late to collect the house keys from me.
The lorry Pickfords had sent was too large to get into the street I was moving to. This clearly annoyed the men, who just dumped the furniture in the house, so when I arrived, it was to find that the exit via the kitchen was blocked by a fridge/freezer. . Some of the boxes were wrongly labelled, so had been put into the wrong room. Took me 5 days to find out a plate and11 days to find my iron.
One of the items was damaged,but Pickfords would take no responsibility for this.
I know that I was unlucky in getting this particular man (the others did not seem comfortable around him either) but you have no choice in who you are sent.
I will certainly not be using this firm again and would advise others not to, either.”
“This is a terrible company who have…
This is a terrible company who have held all our belongings and furniture in storage for 4 months and counting. They said it would arrive in Nz with in 12-13 weeks. It has not even left uk. We are stranded in Nz with no belongings or furniture. We have 2 young children aged 3 & 1 years of age and all our baby care stuff will be of no use as we will have to purchase new. They don’t care or even answer emails. Do not trust this company. This is not an accident but complete disregard for our position.”
“We used Pickfords to move from the UK to Australia and our experience from start to finish was absolutely appalling. We wish we had never shipped anything. Every single box and item of furniture had damage to it ranging from water damage to large heavy items of furniture being smashed to pieces. Our furniture was missing for 8 months with virtually no real correspondence and no apology and the insurance company (Centry Services Ltd) are horrendous to deal with. Fiona Goulder at the company is indeed dragging her heels with our claim even with absolutely overwhelming evidence that all of our consignment is destroyed. Absolutely disgraceful customer service and still no apology to this day. AVOID AT ALL COSTS”
“Moving a 4x2 household with children and pets to Australia is difficult and stressful enough. We got 4 quotes from removalists and chose Pickfords based on price a very nice rep called Lynda who we informed that our move from Australia to UK wasn't the best so we wanted to make sure the same didn't happen moving back to Australia (specially because of the very strict quarantine rules) and we wanted to reduce from a 40ft container to a 20ft container.
So after being reassured that we " would be looked after " we never saw the rep again. We had a few wooden, african artefacts and quite a lot of items that we weren't sure could all fit into 20ft container ( we aimed at bringing all that could fit into the container). Insurance is extra and it's calculated on a percentage scale, so when you list the items and their values, they are placed into 2 categories, once all value for items is added for 1st category, if it's higher than a certain amount, then the percentage goes up...so you could end up paying quite a lot for insurance...so we decided not to insure items of emotional value only, clothes, books, crockery which wasn't expensive but well liked, toys...as a result, when the boxes of damaged books and broken crockery got unpacked we couldn't do anything about it.
Our packing team on the first day of packing was good, all went well. On the second day however the packer in charge was not interested in asking what was going and what was staying, didn't supervise a very inexperienced packer who was sent to pack on his own and subsequently packed incorrectly books (on their sides or standing up in box!!). Didn't pack the crockery that had been put aside in plastic boxes with no or very little packing paper (all broken on arrival). Doors of an outroom (old and rickety) were open without consultation first, when a perfectly large main entrance was available, a sliding heavy glass main door was taken off it's rollers and we were not informed. When attempting to say to packer in charge that i should have been informed of this he raised his voice, denied knowing about it (though he transported the oversized wardrobes thru it, when a wider but longer route exit was available), he placed blame on us because ' the door track was hadn't been cleaned by us' ...worth stating that it was November, very wet and windy day....items were poorly packed on second day, with little padding/wrapping or none at all..( we had requested to have boxes so we could pre-pack, but were told no, because Pickford's has to pack everything!) Meanwhile the inexperienced, unsupervised packer spent 5 hours packing about 10 boxes (which actually arrived in Australia still in the original plastic containers we had used)..and when a cuppa tea was brought over, he was spotted looking through the boxed items, commenting on the collection, flicking through the books......unfortunately the day was stormy, wet, the packers in their very questionable wisdom packed the truck they had arrived in with wet boxes and furniture and lighter vacuum bags full of clean linen and clothing by throwing these on top of the furniture...when the container arrived they then moved all the stuff across to the container by now placing a lot of the lighter top items in the container first!.. Only to realise that the container had a leak...this was an usual bit of bad luck, which i guess luckily got picked up before it's soggy arrival in Australia. But this meant unpacking the container, back to the truck which then got unpacked at the depot into a wooden container whilst we waited for a new container to be delivered and all items re-packed into it again....so it's easy to imagine the damage this is doing to all items!!
The cargo arrived in Australia after 4 weeks and the tracking was fairly good...but it took quite a while for the office here to contact us on progress...we had to chase that up a few times...delivery was fantastic and efficient the packers here were polite, conscientious and hardworking...they unpacked only the items listed in the insurance...the rest we had to unpack ourselves. They did offer to collect packaging once we had unfinished...we had to do all undoing and putting together of furniture which would have cost a fair bit extra for Pickford's to do...which I think in hindsight was included in price of other removalists, therefore making Pickford's lower price maybe a false economy...this is something worth considering on your move. Finally the packaging was collected and the driver managed to drive too close to trees (NOT overgrown or unkept) on the front verge of our property though it's suburbia, wide streets and driveways, no cars in the way or parked on the verge...?!!?..We got left with loads of big broken branches and tree debris on the road and driveway to clear and a tree looking like a big bite had been taken out of! No apologies given and in fact driver blamed us for having a tree!...In conclusion...don't move your belongings with Pickford's! In fact consider selling all furniture, crockery, toys, clothing that you're not sentimental about, since all that is good quality, very affordable (specially when you look at costs of moving) and easy to replace in the UK...anything else, sentimental or of value...leave with your family, friends or in a rented lock up facility and travel light! Makes for a much more affordable and stress less move.”
“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.”
“Worst experience dealing with Pickfords! Extensive damages to my household goods packed and shipped by Pickfords. Packing was not done according to the quotation for example frames / mirrors that should have been carded and wrapped were not. Boxes were completely squashed out of shape so you can imagine the state of the goods, packaging was ripped and torn. And worst still, Pickfords claimed the damages were caused during loading and shipping and therefore not their responsibility- shockingly! The contract was door to door so included packing, handling, shipping and delivery.
The insurance claim process is a nightmare!! Most stressful, time consuming and frustrating. Instead of sending out an assessor, you are made to do all the hard work - getting countless photos, quotes, etc, answering questions on back and forth emails and give tight time frames- I was given 5 days to put a claim (bearing in mind I had damages to almost wvery item of furniture and this was a full house move) but they finally settled after 3 months!
While pickfords chooses and engages the local delivery company, you have to deal with them to arrange the delivery. Again Pickfords were contracted and paid for door to door!
PS. They got 1 star only cos you can't get zero!!”
“I have bad experience with pick Ford. They don't have professional coordinator as well as staff. My materials like computer table , cot and photo frames are damaged. Kitchen material also spoiled. Their unpacking team is highly unskilled. They will not commit to the amount as per their quotation. I am not at all satisfied with their arrogant behavior. They talk decently till booking only. I will not recommend this packers again to any one.”
“Sitting here on a Thursday evening, still not knowing when our goods will be arriving in spain is just the tip of the ice berg. We were told WC 10.10.2022 but they cannot even tell us which date after this.
The service from young ladies that are clearly NOT Managers and are experts are delaying, avoiding and blaming others is appalling.
This is the second attempted delivery of our goods to Spain as the first time we were told it would be anytime in a 10 day window. We explained that we gave 6 weeks notice of the dates we would be in Spain for a week, and was told that it was a 10 day window - that's what you paid for!
After speaking to the sales person who definitely lied to us when being sold this service said "sorry but I am not an expert on Export".....then why sell it?
We tried to escalate the situation and our calls were never replied to.
Make no mistake this has cost us MANY thousands of pounds plus the monthly storage fee.
I welcome any pickfords real management to contact me and hear the real truth of how people are treated and read all the emails.
We wait to see how and what condition our goods will be delivered in.”
“They hound you daily for payment but when they need to respond to a claim they disappear. Avoid this company! They are overpriced and unprofessional. Not only did the movers break a fixture in the house we were moving from but they put boxes in the wrong rooms despite being clearly marked, broke our bed and refused to put the furniture in the correct rooms. When one of their movers broke a fixture in our house, they told us their insurance would cover it. Actually the insurance won't and pickfords won't take responsibility for their own mistakes. We have been trying to get a response from Jade in Aylesford for over a month, she ignores emails and doesn't answer her phone, but she had no problem hounding me on a daily basis to make the overpriced payment. Look for other moving companies, we will never use pickfords again”
“We have used Pickfords,the removal company, to pack our items in April 2021 and to store them in their warehouse. Before our move we have asked to provide us with a crate to pack a very fragile antique vitrine. On the day of the move the crate has never materialised. We kept our belongings at Pickford warehouse for 13 months. In June 2021 Pickfords has moved our belongings back to our house. During the move the delivery of our grand piano turned out to be
a total disaster:the unprofessionalism of the team, the non-existent communication between the team and their managers had resulted in a very, very badly damaged piano. Most importantly the vital set of the screws, bolts and other important details to re-assemble the piano was lost by Pickfords. The managerial team of the company was late with apologies and is not accepting the responsibility for piano damage and lost of the screws . As a result of their unprofessionalism we no longer can use the piano as a musical instrument. We were offered by Pickfords £40 to get new screws. The Pickford's team of the day of the move included a female worker with very long acrylic nails.I felt very nervous seeing her carrying our items.
The whole experience with Pickford's was extremely unpleasant and I seriously question this company Pickford's to handle specialised or antique items .
If you have to pack and move antiques or other specialist items like musical instruments, please think twice before entrusting these items into the hands of Pickford's unprofessional movers and packers.”
“Our experience of using Pickfords for our move was absolutely appalling. They didn't send enough vans or people to move us and ended up having to leave some things behind while I had to ask our house buyer if they would please let us do this!! Even so they left many items behind and we'll never see them again.
The removals men damaged our bed base, a chest of drawers and a new metal work bench so badly that they will have to be sent to the tip. We even paid extra for them to carefully take our bed base apart and put it back together again and they massacred it!!
Worst of all is their transit Insurance - Centry services. We moved on the 23rd but so far our claim has elicited just two emails from them after the initial one - asking us to pay for a 'furniture restorer' to come and look at the bed base! it's foil coated chip board!! They dont seem to want to send anyone out to actually look at anything and haven't responded to any of my emails since last Wednesday.
Today I discovered that the removals company have left behind a load of large garden trays etc which will be next to impossible to replace. Our removals experience was a nightmare which doesn't seem to want to end. We have to live with the knackered items as we're not supposed to move them until they've decided they're going to pay - any guesses as to when or even IF? Because I haven't.
Appalling experience, appalling insensitive customer service and a total lack of interest in helping us in any way at all. They got their money and they seem to be quite happy to leave us like this.”
“I would provide zero stars for Pickfords if this were an option. Normally I do not leave negative reviews, but this company failed on way too many counts: poor communication if at all; instead of 6-10 weeks for service it took almost 8 months; an item was completely damaged and they refused to properly compensate despite my insurance calculation reflecting the actual cost; and finally terrible customer service. Do not trust this company and give your business elsewhere.”
“I used Pickfords my my move to Germany and I really wish now that I didn't. There were many problems but the key ones are:
It took one month longer than expected for my goods to arrive at their destination. During this time there were no guaranteed dates and no communication, I had to repeatedly follow up and keep pressing to try and get my things delivered. This made it impossible to plan if I needed to find new / extend my temporary accommodation in Germany.
At one point my customs documentation / proof was lost by Pickfords (computer problem I think) and I had to gather it all again and re-fill out some forms etc.
Many Items were carelessly packed and several items badly damaged including a TV (which arrived with a knock and was bent) and some wooden furniture which had been dropped or bashed by Pickfords.
I have tried to raise an insurance claim, so far, 1 week after initiating the claim I have heard nothing back other than that my claim has been forwarded to the processing company.
For the last month I have been attempting to raise a complaint and not once have I had a call back, only after calling multiple people did I finally manage to get an email back from someone but they just said they will look into my complaint and it's been a week since I heard anything from them, and now I can't get through to anyone on the phone.
Think twice before you move with Pickfords, the sales part is super smooth, it's only once your at their mercy that you start to have problems and it feels like no-one cares”
