Shipping companies

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Elpie

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#129390 13-Sep-2013 17:14

I'm arranging a move from NZ to Montreal, Canada. Has anyone experience with shipping companies that ship to or from NZ and that allow for packing by owner?

The ones I've phoned here won't even allow me to pack my computer gear :-(

TechSol

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#896693 17-Sep-2013 08:11

I would say it's a liability thing. For example, if you pack the computer gear and it gets damaged, who is at fault? (Poor packing, or the company that dropped the box)

I realise that this doesn't answer your question, but I imagine, between this, and trying to maximise profit, this is the reason.

knoydart

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#896723 17-Sep-2013 09:14

+1

I suspect you'll struggle on the insurance front. Used Conroy from NZ - UK a few years ago and they seemed to be good. I'm sure I packed some stuff but they bought along industrial bubble wrap and the like for tool cases and books none the less

Elpie

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#896768 17-Sep-2013 10:08

I'm not worried about the insurance as I know that packed by owner means the owner has to arrange their own cover. Shipping companies have no liability for items packed by the owner, unless the entire shipment is lost.

Klipspringer

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#896816 17-Sep-2013 11:11

Its not so much about the insurance. You have an option to insure or not.
I think its more about the declaration of contents.

When we moved to NZ we were not allowed to pack our stuff ourselves. Each and every item had to be put onto an inventory list. Some countries are stricter than others.

Elpie

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#897067 17-Sep-2013 16:24

Klipspringer: Its not so much about the insurance. You have an option to insure or not.
I think its more about the declaration of contents.

When we moved to NZ we were not allowed to pack our stuff ourselves. Each and every item had to be put onto an inventory list. Some countries are stricter than others.

That's actually the problem with having removalists do it. Canada requires a very detailed inventory including make, model and serial numbers where applicable, everything itemised and valued with current replacement values. All jewellery has to be photographed and valuations included, and the same with paintings, heirlooms, and other non-standard household items. None of the shipping companies I've contacted will inventory to such detail. They say they don't have time and would simply do an inventory list like, "box 1, glassware. Box 2, clothing" etc.
The argument that they have given me is that the requirement for a detailed inventory is a requirement of border control so we are not charged duty and is not a freight requirement so they won't do it.

This means the only way I can do such an inventory is by photographing, recording, itemising myself and putting into boxes THEN have the shipping company come along, unpack the boxes I have packed up, and repack - all the while hoping they don't move things between boxes and stuff up my list.

When I moved back to NZ the overseas shipping company recorded everything as it went in boxes and I didn't have any issues. NZ companies are either inexperienced with moving people to countries with such requirements or just plain lazy.

jpoc

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#898142 19-Sep-2013 05:27

Klipspringer: Its not so much about the insurance. You have an option to insure or not.
I think its more about the declaration of contents.

When we moved to NZ we were not allowed to pack our stuff ourselves. Each and every item had to be put onto an inventory list. Some countries are stricter than others.

That is a shipping company rule and not a New Zealand rule.

At the end of my big OE, I bought a couple of huge wooden chests. Made by a company who specialise in that sort of thing and constructed from appropriately treated timber. The boxes had integral pallet bases. I filed them with stuff (just under one tonne each) and screwed the lids on. Then I called my shippers and they just turned up with a big truck and a small forklift. The shippers just accepted the contents as personal effects and I had to provide the NZ authorities with a detailed list of contents.

If I had to do a move out of here, I would do that or something similar again. You might not want to do the bit with the custom crates, so a simpler idea is to buy good quality cardboard moving boxes and pack them yourself. Then get an appropriate number of pallets and stack the boxes on the pallets. Then wrap the whole lot up in multiple windings of shipping grade glad-wrap and phone a shipping company. "Hi, I have three pallets to be moved from Auckland to Toronto. Sizes and weights blah blah blah. The contents are personal effects and I have a detailed packing list for you and I have my own insurance. When can you come and collect them?"

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Geektastic

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#898253 19-Sep-2013 09:40

Elpie: I'm arranging a move from NZ to Montreal, Canada. Has anyone experience with shipping companies that ship to or from NZ and that allow for packing by owner?

The ones I've phoned here won't even allow me to pack my computer gear :-(

Having moved my stuff from the UK I would say insure it in Canada if you can.

My experience of NZ shipping insurance is that they will find every excuse under the sun to avoid paying - we lost almost $30,000 worth of stuff through sea water and impact damage and the insurers' Loss Adjuster concurred. The insurer then tried to avoid paying, saying we had not told them that the goods were in storage. We produced correspondence between us and the broker saying that explicitly and also pointed out that the proposal form had "Safe Store Ltd" as the "address where goods are currently located".

After a lot of lawyers and stuff they grudgingly paid us $15,000 - we could get no more out of them without a huge fight which we did not have the resources for.

The danger of packing yourself is that the insurers will just tell you that the damage resulted from the items not being professionally packed and disclaim liability for damage.