Problems with removal firms

[Moira723]

Hello

I am not strictly a 'newbie' but I have not submitted a thred to this forum site.

My problem is this. I have a son and daughter in law who have been waiting for a firm called Brtittania Removals to arrive in Aachen with their furniture. They are currently having to pay out for hotel accommodation because this firm has let them down. They were due to deliver today - after being pressurised several times - but will not now be delivering until Wednesday. I addition to this, they have informed my son and daughter in law that a further £700 must be paid by them if they want their furniture placed in their flat - this was not written into the original contract,

My son and his wife have been unable to start their new jobs because of this - does anyone have a similar experience and can anyone advise me how to priceed against this company.

[Guest Old_andrew2018]

If they refuse to place furniture in the flat, then IMHO they should pay them issuue a county court claim to recover monies.

[the_grey_squirrel]

This sounds sadly familiar...look at my thread:

Removal service made an illegal charge to my bank account and lost some of my things

It was them too.

 

I can't say I'm surprised by your son's situation. I get the feeling that they take on too many jobs and have a limited number of lorries and staff available. There was a student working with the team on both ends of my move (so much for their 'well-trained, highly-qualified professionals') and they were in a desperate hurry to get to the next job.

 

The extra £700 sounds outrageous but the terms in their contract are so vague that they can come up with any excuse to charge you more.

 

I'd be interested in hearing more stories about Britannia. I chose them because they gave the cheapest quote. However with the extra charge, I ended up paying more. Maybe it's a trick to stay ahead of the competition?

Edited August 25, 2008 by the_grey_squirrel

[KJD]

Goodness, removal companies seem to be getting a bit of bashing on CAG recently!

 

From what both yourselves & greysquirrel have described it would appear that there are some serious issues here.

 

Britannia is a company who 'take on' independent removal companies. As I understand it, the companies continue to trade as an independent, with the benefits of Britannia's name.

 

Personally, I would contact Britannia's head office (google them - shout if you can't find the details) and make a complaint.

 

They are also members of BAR - British Association of Removers - who have a complaints and disputes resolution service. Details on their website.

 

Hope this helps.

[Moira723]

Thank you for all your replies I have passed them on to my son and daughter in law in Germany. They refused to pay the extra money and moved their furniture up to their 4th floor apartment themselves.

I have seen correspondence between Britannia and BAR. It seemed to be very friendly on first name terms - self regulation may not be working in this case.

My son and his wife are still waiting for their own reply from Britannia.

[heb]

Do not waste time and energy with BAR. They are a trade association for removal firms who pay a fee to join. BAR always act on behalf of their members (as they need the fees and members) and have no power to get their member to `play fair`. They are not an independent ombudsman assoc and from my experience the staff are very inefficient - and not particularly switched on to say the least. They will send a standard `we have received your correspondence` and play with smoke and mirrors for several months but solve nothing. It would be interesting to find out how may consumers they actually help!!?