Pickfords – Crap Removal Company
Pickfords – A Crap Removal Company
Halloween – the day of the long awaited office move….
Having endured the nuisance of packing up a few bits and bobs the previous day and unplugging various cables and computer bits whilst suffering the allergic reaction to the dust disturbed after many months of dodging the cleaner’s tools the office move was on course for Halloween – Friday 31st October. Pickfords, the removal company selected for this important task, had left instruction about packing and labelling the cases to facilitate an efficient office move which was assumed to be done during the evening in order for crates and equipment to be in position the next day for connection and continuing work – however this was not the case.
Removal Company Arrives Late
The day begins with the surprising realisation that not only had nothing been moved since close of business the previous day but the Pickfords “Crap Removal” team turned up sometime after 9am – over an hour late.
Close inspection of the Pickfords removal van failed to reveal a new strap line - “Why arrive early when you can still get paid for a crap removal job by turning up when you feel like it?”
Crap removal company Pickfords were amongst several removal companies who have been assisted to stop them from going under during the current housing downturn.
You’d have thought that some degree of pride in the service they provide would be in order instead of the classic British workman attitude.The office manager was sure that every effort would be made to “crack on” and get the new office up and running as quickly as possible. How very wrong…
Slowly Slowly that’s the Pickfords Removal Way
Unaware they were in earshot, following a request that they prioritise certain items for immediate and urgent removal one of the Pickfords gang was observed shaking his head and telling his team “That’s not how it works, she’ll have to learn…” followed by the mob agreeing and trying to out do each other with promises of just how awkward they could be.
First in the door was the Boardroom table and chairs, Plastic plants, framed pictures, stationery supplies, nine water bottle refills but no water cooler. Clearly this removal company were “on side” as they watched all the staff standing around desks with no chairs or computers to sit and work at.
Following a full hour for lunch the Pickfords team re-appeared and the first glimpse of essential equipment was seen. We’re still unsure if the sight of a pc unit and two monitors precariously balance on an office chair being wheeled across the space was a hilarious wind up to reinforce the gaffers exclamation that they were “fully trained professionals” and knew what they were doing. Someone remembered the instructions we received that computers should be left on the desk for proper specialist packing and transportation during removal.
It seems they fair just as badly in domestic home moves although it is possible that the favourable reviews of Pickfords removals “it took three men to remove my drawers” are actually contributed by
In conclusion it was agreed that the whole exercise was a shoddy job. heaven knows what the cost was – the office manager keeps such things close to the chest – and it would ahve been illuminating to see the responses on Pickfords customer feed back questionnaire – which had conveniently been deleted…
In my opinion – Pickfords failed to impress and deserve the award of CRAP REMOVAL COMPANY.
I am so glad I found your blog! I also HATE pickfords. When we moved house from an island onto the mainland, the company lost 2 of our boxes, which held all of my dad´s old sporting medals and antique car collection AND my mum´s wedding dress!!! I agree that they should have taken them in the car with them, but they had enough to dea with with us! The boxes were never recovered….. no idea how they could have gone missing!!
DEFINATELY not using PICKFORDS again. Lesley
It is very hard to find a reliable mover these days. When we moved our office we pack everything electric, computers, tvs etc and move them ourselfs. Then we leave the crap lazy slobs of movers to move all the stuff like plastic plants and file cabinets.
There is a middle way.Use a man and van service and insist on helping load and unload.You will find that anyone who takes a pride in their job does not want to be shown up by the client.Plus its always nice to get repeat work.
They were over priced and useless when they did my move. Quite how Pickfords call themselves carefull i don’t know, all our gear arrived smashed and their so called customer services took 2 weeks to even reply to my complaint. Do yourself a favour and steer well clear of Pickfords Removals – they’re CRAP!
Thanks for this article. A friend of mine told me about Pickfords – the crap removal company. Good thing I decided to research it a bit on the net.. I think I’ll pass on their services
I had to move a few months ago, I didn’t use Pickfords Removals, however I did end up with a torn leather sofa, its probably best to hire a van yourself and have a few mates help out.
I’m glad I found your post and blog because surely I will not be letting my husband call that crap removal company to help us at all with our move now. Thanks so much for helping me save my energy and time now!
I have to agree , Pickfords are a bit overpriced , it would have been ok for me if they offered good service along with that rather high price tag.
Unfortunately their service was really crappy , that’s the last time I avail Pickfords removals
just a thought but next time hire a Luton van, for most full house moves two trips in one of them (though make sure you get one with a tail lift to make loading easier) will get all your stuff shifted, plus you can take more care of packing everything, so more chance of it getting there in one peace.
I should always use larger Removals Companies for small moves, as yes, they run up and down the country all the time, and can put one item on the end of someone else’s move, and you may not even have to wait that long, if they have a load going in a few days! Pickfords is part of Allied Pickfords, though ‘Allied’ is an International part of it. Pickfords (UK) staff attend many training courses,….. I loved your op!
I will not be letting my friend call that crap removal company Pickfords to help us at all with our move now. Thanks so much for helping me save my time!
i wish i’d seen this before my move with Pickfords!! they’ve trashed half my bedroom furniture, computer desk, tv stand and shelves. not to mention my under 2 month old very expensive tv!! my fridge and they being funny buggers about that. the brand new flat carpet. couldn’t even be bothered to but my matress in a protector like they said they would or my pc in a box either!! can’t believe how much money was spent on such crap service!!!
Use pickfords recently amazing service didnt have to do a thing. Much better than using a man in the van and worrying if you will ever see your goods again. Well worth paying a bit extra to bit true professionals to do the job. For those who have been put off I would at least give them call and let them come round to quote.
There are good branches of Pickfords and not so good ones. Your geographical location often determines the level of service received from them. I used to work for them so I know. Most removers take a pride in their job and do their utmost to help the customer but some customers do make the day harder than others, i.e not being ready on the day and expecting the mover to help with the packing even when they have not quoted to do so. The idea of using a hire van and a few mates always appeals to the first time mover but I rarely hear anyone say that they will do it a second time. Also, if doing a self drive move, you inevitably end uphaving to do 2 or more journeys. You can’t gain access to your new home until midday, so can’t empty your old home and hence keep the new occupant’s movers waiting around until the house is clear. Who pays for the remover’s wasted time? – the owner of the removal company! A decent removal company will give good value for money and it is worth checking them out and asking for references. Pickfords have many branches so of course many people do have bad experiences but I’ll bet they have a lot of happy customers also! As for the person bad mouthing Pickfords at the beginning of this thread, perhaps if you had been ready for the move, things would have gone a lot smoother. As for making life difficult, in order to accommodate items on a furniture van, they have to be loaded in a certain order, so if some items do not immediately appear on delivery, it is not out of spite but more often than not, out of necessity.
i used pickfords once and ended with huge bill and damaged tv cabinet. last week we get small company the removals to move my sister 2 bed house and they were great and much cheaper. i wish i read your posts before:(((
@ Peter James – Fair points well recieved however my experience of Pickfords removals was enought o drive me to publish this post. We had prepared for the move the previous day – so we were ready for the move – Pickfords arrived late and the move did not require a van so the choice of what to take first was entirely free.
We are about to move again and after our dreadful experience with Pickfords in Cambridge on our last move I wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole.
How does a company with such an appalling track
record stay in business.
I am amazed at the comments i have read above, no doubt all comments are genuine, if not a bit inflated perhaps. I have used Pickfords all over the uk on a commercial and domestic basis and have always been more than pleased in every aspect of the process. It is very easy to read these comments and be put off, however Pickfords move thousands of people every month and i am sure only the rare few that go wrong are obviously going to have a moan like the above. Bigger picture everyone!!!
How I hate moving. It seems to never go over as smoothly as you hope, even when you take the time to pack early and label things. You really think that Pickfords are crap don’t you? Hopefully you won’t have to do it again for a while
I’ve just moved from Glasgow down to Manchester with Pickfords and can’t praise them enough. I was highly stressed before the move (the usual my husband left me to do it all!) but Pickfords did everything I asked AND more. I’ve already written a letter of thanks to the local team and also to their MD. People nowadays always look to post the negaitives when there are still companies out there that do a damn good job!
I wished I had found this site earlier!!!
Here’s what happened:
We had moved from AUstralia to the Uk a few years ago with Allied Pickfords. It went okay, so we selected Pickfords for our removal back home, even though they were slightly more expensive than others.
Packers arrived late and kept on wandering off for breaks: 2 1/2 hours of breaks on a 7 1/2 working day. Team leader spent another 2 hours or so texting!
Packing was done without any care or thinking- fragile items practically thrown into boxes, no consideration to space (we pay by volume!).
Boxes thrown into a great big heap onto the truck!
Packers too lazy to inspect items closely at beginning. When everything was packed, team leader showved packing list into our face, claimed to be in a hurry and urged us to sign quickly – when we noticed that he had marked everything that is valuable as ‘marked & scratched’!!! Most of the items he hadn’t even seen. All items were absolutely as new, without a single scratch!!!
So we refused to sign and got them to rub the comments out. After lengthy negotiations with head office they did.
Packers told us that they are always instructed by head office to mark all wooden and valuable items as marked & scratched!!!!
This is fraudulent!!!!!!!
Now we got a mail from head office telling us that they were going to unpack and rewrap all those items to check – did that without us present!
I see a lawsuit against Pickfords on the horizon.
@Petra – crikey let us know how the legal proceedings go.
A crap removal company is a great idea. People have way too much crap. They need to get rid of it and move on with their much neater lives!
I’ve worked for Pickfords for about 18 years & the main reason for any damages or poor workmanship is down to using ‘Casual’ labour.
The amount of times the customer has been told that we use fully trained staff etc…Absolute crap!
The only one with experience on the job is the driver & he is as happy as you are to be seen with this rabble.
They can’t be bothered to do anything, want to be home by 4pm & are just a total embarrassment to the company.
All the drivers have brought this up at every meeting & told, basically, tough.
Next time you move, have a quiet word with the porters & ask them how long they’ve been doing this job for. The answer you’ll get is about an hour!
Good luck.
It’s interesting that the big boys like Pickfords can be awful too! I started my man and van business in Plymouth a few months ago, against the best advice of many and having read lots of information (not surprisingly from other removalcompanies) about there being too many cowboys out there. One has to wonder how these big boys can charge the money they do and yet invest nothing in their personnel. I think that is probably more criminal than the small one man band just trying to scratch a living!
I used to work for pickfords and i can honestly say…..DONT USE THEM….
They use full time drivers,but part time offsiders….from who knows where….
the office staff have never actually done removals,so havnt a clue what they are talking about……..
My advice…..use a middle of the road company and local…..
I operate a very reliable and above all professional removal company. We operate as a removal brokers so can cover the whole of the UK. We have had dealings with Pickford’s in the past, our customer was satisfied, they did pay more for the service – we could have got a company of comparable quality at a lower rate, the customer was happy to pay for Pickfords. “We have only used them once. We would use them again”. It is unfair to judge a company who has been operating for over 300 years on 26 reviews.
If anyone would like to discuss their removal needs with me then please visit our website, or give us a call. Mention discount coupon code Pastymuncher and we will not place your move with Pickfords!!
As an ex soldier i can say that pickfords
are the worse company out there
they moved my family on a number of occasions not our decision,
Try RTS removals for youre next relocation they are medium size company based in surrey who have moved a number of my friends of mine nothing but praise. By the way i dont work for RTS Removals.
October of last year i lost a number of things. from this firm.If anyone has seen a bright red Morrison 30 inch cylinder mower please get in touch.
I used Pickfords twice and im really happy from them. They were fast and organized, all tvs have been wraped even my leather sofa and armchair. I had a brilliant team which dealt with all my requests without any problems.
Remember – if you want a job to be done without any prblems you have to keep an eye on them and if any probs you just have to tell them and they will deal with it. Be form and dont be scared to tell what you think about bad service you’ve got. Spelling mistakes – sorry.
I disagree, I have used Pickford to use my business and home several times ( yes I’m often on the run) , they are freindly, professional and quick I would highly recommend the North Central office – Pickfords rock.
Pickfords actually listened to what I needed. they packed all my stuff with care,nothing was broken and I came from the USA. they handled all the import paperwork so nothing was held up in customers.. Great Job Pickfords
glients of mine used them to store their stuff when we turn up there to collect it they seem not to know where was the stufff (hey here’s a few more ffffffffffffs) so i agree the Pickfords are crap
Running a removal company is very difficult as you only get one chance to impress your customer.
But I also believe that all drivers should remain professional at all time and at all cost as you do not want unhappy customers.
I totally agree with Peter James and as removers we have our great and not so great days but our customers should remain our main and only priority.
Utter Crap. Driver was the laziest sod ever, and porters were shifty and rude Romanians with a chip on there shoulder. We had damages due to the careless handling and some Blu Ray discs strangely go astray. PLEASE AVOID ! I am not surprised they keep going into administration and being bought by random firms.
I “work” for this great company and if half you dim wits took time to see the pressure the guys are under to move your fat lazy arse from one place to another you would see they do the best they can for the time limits set by the ones above.
John – thanks for your contribution – I now see better how Pickfords employees are driven to berating paying customers and think that blaming “the ones above” justifies their arrogant slap dash and down right crap removal work. After all removal work is just moving stuff – keep the faith and may your hands never be empty.
Thanks feedback really useful – I was just about to book Pickfords for my move out of London. Instead I will book an alternative removal company. And that’s based on giving them the benefit of assuming John from PR was a hoax – as no one who speaks about their customers like that could possibly be employed by any company
Pickfords moved my family several yrs ago 2 newcastle, they were ok apart from their breaks and the price was scandalous, 780+ for a 3 bedroom house move, no wardrobes etc, I moved from my family home and used a local company scottwells i think, they charged me £140 for my contents which was roughly a large 2 bedroom flat..they were friendly and very effecient, and not 1 break in 5 hrs.. use a local company with goods in transit insurance or a man and van and dont be afraid to keep them right..
try A luckes and son in Swindon they were great to us on our move nothing too much trouble and hard working all we had to do was keep them toped up with tea (simplez) family run with there name on the truck
So glad to have found this website as we are moving house soon. Any comments on removal firms such as Crsipin, Rogers and Coles?
If the company is proud to put real names on its vans – Crispin Rogers Cole – and you don’t think they’re trying a cunning double entendre – get a quote
Pickfords – just moved a two-bed flat to a house, a grand total of perhaps 70 miles. Chose them on a friend’s recommendation.
The estimator was woefully wrong: suggested it would take half a day, but actually it took one and a half.
Plants – said they’d take them; then when they arrived said they couldn’t. Long and repeated ‘phone calls to head office and much stress later, they took them (one pot smashed).
Wrapping and packing staff were charming and hard working. The real problems appeared on delivery, three days later (stuff in storage meanwhile).
When it arrived, our furniture included the following:
one piano – wrecked;
one polished oak bed headboard – heavily gouged and scratched;
one polished teak dining table – scratched and gouged on sides and top;
one varnished wood wardrobe – liberally scratched;
one antique chest of drawers – battered, with veneer patches of wood veneer bashed off.
So far, Pickfords’ response to our complaints (we were insured) has been to say that we’re unlikely to get any compensation, that anything that was marked already won’t count, and that we can’t prove our piano was in working order when we moved (so they won’t compensate us). And when we’ve asked them how, in the light of all this, they claim to be the best they just say “We are”.
I’ve have some truly ghastly moving experiences – both DIY and with cowboys, but I can honestly say Pickfords have been by far the worst, by some margin.
Hey, I feel I’ve found a new home! check out my recent pickfords disaster.
http://quietriots.com/issues/214-not-getting-what-you-paid-for/organisations/1872-pickfords
please join up and help me get something done
Have just had the horror of a pickfords
move [hoults]
I had one item that was particularly precious to me, stressed its importance from the first contact. I paid £80 for insurance. They came and packed all my “fragile” things, glass, pictures, a collection of Studio Pottery including the piece that was totally unique, when we reached my new house I asked for the box that contained my collection…
Really sorry to have stopped half way through I was very upset indeed.
I asked for the box containing the candlesticks which were 24 inches tall and therefore particularly vulnerable ,so that I could check that they were safe. I wanted to make sure while the team from Pickfords were still in the house. They promise in their publicity that their “expert packers” will use a range of materials to safeguard your fragile possessions!! When I opened the cardboard box all it contained were three small soft cushions and my beautiful candlesticks were just wrapped in paper with no support at all. I knew when I reached into the box to lift them out that one was broken in two. I showed the “team” what had happened and added a note to the document that they asked me to sign to the effect that been a breakage. I paid over £1000 for this move which included £80 for “in transit” insurance!!!
I obtained a quote from the potter to replace them,emailed it to the local Lincoln branch to be told by the manager that
He was very rude and so was his Area manager when I asked to speak to his superior. When I asked what was meant by “in transit” he told me that was in case there was an accident involving their vehicle and my goods were damaged as a result. They have just flatly refused to accept any responsibility whatsoever and have told me that I should have let the “team” unpack every thing onto a “flat surface” before they left.
The only flat surface left at that time was the floor in between the piles of boxes.
I booked with Pickfords as I thought they were an old established company with a reliable reputation, how wrong I was and only wish that seen this blog first. I shall make sure that I shall use every opportunity to tell as many people as possible how they charge you for insurance that they have no intention of paying out on, they do not take care of your treasured possessions and their management are rude, uncooperative and dreadfully letting down the polite, charming and professional staff who came to see me when I first booked the company.
Pickfords moved my family to Saudi a few years ago and were a nightmare from start to finish. I have moved overseas several times due to my job in the oil industry and have used Simply Ship on the last two occasions (there and back a year later) and they were fantastic. My sister also used a company called Caledonian Moving & Storage to move from Glasgow to London and was very impressed.
i used to be a removal man for about 13 years for a few companys, it is true they use a lot of agency guys and only the drivers seem to be full time staff. i enjoyed my removal career and would class myself as one of the better removal men out there. my advice would be to find a small local, family run bussiness as they usually run on recomendations and can’t risk doing shoddy jobs. if your in south east england may i suggest TURNERS REMOVALS or D.DURRANT REMOVALS they are quite literaly the best i have seen, and i would recomend these guys personaly. sorry for you guys who had a bad removal with pickfords but they are not all bad i have personaly worked with some verry good pickfords staff and they have been let down by agency staff. P.S make the guys plenty of tea and they will work hard for you.
Why would you expect a company to pay for something that they had not broken ?
I worked for Pickfords for 35 years and they do use agency men who are 2 bob but on the otherhand don’t tar them all with the same brush. Sure, if somebody has a bad move, they want revenge and want to get it off their chest and you’ll hear about it. You won’t hear about the good moves though. You can do 5 jobs a week for months on end and not hear a dicky bird then with the law of averages something goes wrong and you soon hear. I’ve had casuals out with me and within 5 mins you know what to expect and you kick them into touch. On the otherhand I’ve worked with blokes for 20 -25 years who are superb. Remember, good and bad in all.
The old saying – you get what you pay for – just does not ring true for Pickfords. Bad service and high prices. You would expect a company this size would be good. We hear all these types of complaints for other companies all the time. We strive to ensure that we don’t make the same mistakes.
Never never never again.
We have noted all of the comments posted onto this website. Pickfords manages thousands of moves within the UK and overseas each year and we welcome the opportunity to discuss our customers’ experiences.
Pickfords is part of the British Association of Removals. Members of the British Association of Removers must meet strict standards to maintain their membership. Pickfords and the British Association of Removers liaise closely with the Office of Fair Trading to ensure trading terms and conditions meet current statutory requirements and that consumers’ interests are taken into account
Customer service is our highest priority, if you have a comment or would like to speak directly to a senior manager at Pickfords about your experience of our services, please contact our Customer Services Manager by emailing customer.services@pickfords.com, we welcome the opportunity to speak to you.
Man, i hope they learned something from it. But anyway, every issue has both sides right? We just heard the two sides so it’s up to the reader’s and to everybody what they think about the article.
@Anne – as i said to my bank manager – it’s all about balance
After reading these all I glad that I just received a phone call from Pickfords informing me that they can’t move me at the end of this week after all. Despite being quoted for last October, booked last December and initially ordered for last week – but our sale got bumped a week – so I went in with the paperwork and said – I’d like to book it and pay – they said, no need, just ring us when you know the date. So I did today – only to be told that between last Thursday and today they’ve booked themselves full and ‘tough’ and that it was my fault for not booking and paying last week. But you told me last week not to book it… erm… so even if they don’t move you, looks like they are crap.
When living in London you have so many more options then simply choosing Pickfors, why not look around for a smaller removals compnay next time. Thanks for the article btw
My husband works for Allied Pickfords and is nothing but a complete professional.He takes massive pride in representing the company he works for and has done for many years.All his time and energy are put into every single job he does and they are all done with pride,i can only assume that none of you have ever had the pleasure of my husband doing your removals!
There are so many options when it comes to moving gear these days.
Pickfords are so big, it just tends to become just like the major Satellite player. Some parts of the company are excellent and actually give a stuff and some pocket just do it because they have to.
Like anything else, take time to do your homework, if you have the time of course!!
Happy moving all.
Lot of big removals companys are crap, Why is this! They pay shit wages, and they employee monkeys to do the job, this is mainely agency staff, they might turn up in a pretty lorry, but there work will be crap and they charge you the earth.
The person that started this thread seems a little unhinged from reality.
She admits that her office was far from being ready for the move. They had taken responsibility for packing but had not done it. As a result they made the removal mens job even harder from the start. By not preparing the move properly she and her firm had broken the agreement upon which Pickfords had quoted. In any other industry the contractor would say “sorry – you’ve broken the deal we can’t do the work because you’re not ready”. However, in general, removal people battle through and get the job done.
She claims picfords were late at turning up as they arrived at 9am. Well in my experience (which is vast in this industry), removals begin between 8.30am and 9am – as a rule at least. In any case, it’s not as if you were even ready for them!
The writter of this thread suggests that the removal crew were being difficult on purpose to annoy their client. This is the craziest thing i’ve heard for a while. Removals is hard work, it’s even harder if you create extra work by taking out items in a certain order which you think may upset your client. Believe me, the removal men wouldn’t create any extra work for themselves and they certainly wouldn’t want to upset their client if it was at all possible to avoid. The truck needs to be packed in a certain order to make it safe and it comes out of the truck as it comes. You didn’t get the chairs when you wanted them – my heart bleeds but hey, you’re moving!!! You need to expect some inconveinence don’t you?
The writter of this thread seems to have no respect for others. She seems not to realise the simple life fact that you get the best from others when you treat them with respect. She seems to believe that she knows better than the removal crew who were there doing a hard job which she and her team had made that bit harder by not being ready and a bit harder again by being patronising. If you were one of the crew can you imagine how hard it would be not to tell her what you think of her!! My hat goes off to them for biting their tounge.
I would be prepared to accept that Pickfords are not the best. I’m sure they have problems like every business. But I do not think that the original writter of this thread has any credibility at all. She appears to me to be self important and lacking in social skills and self awareness. My tip for her would be to take some responsibility, stop looking to blame others and show respect to your fellow person (especially if you want their best efforts).
hi everyone
my name is marcus and i am the relocation manger of removals west midlands!! we r a small company established 14 years ago near dudley.i had plenty of complains saying pickfords even canceled jobs half hour before they suppose 2 turn up and i heard they get paid by the hour and but not really sure about that tho but that would explain why they take so b…. long and take long breaks…..we in the other hand wanna get the job done and dont mess around…..thought it might be worth mentioning
Pastymuncher (or anyone else) I presume you were using Pickfords south west?
Are Pickfords run from regional offices, or from one nationwide depot? If regional it makes sense that some offices might be better run than others. I have just been quoted by Pickfords for moving in the Somerset/Devon area – any recent opinions on that office?
Keep munching.
I work for Pickfords – we ARE a rip off! I make a fortune from speaking to you bunch of idiots and getting you pay inflated margains for a move that a monkey could carry out!! Soon, we will be getting rid of all the ‘porters’ because they cost too much – you think its bad now, you wait until they go! Keep buying you bunch of morons!!
WE VERY FOOLISHLY CHOSE PICKFORDS TO MOVE A HOUSEFUL OF ANTIQUE FURNITURE. THEY BROKE A 4 POSTER BED AND TRIED TO REPAIR IT WITH MASONRY NAILS, SMASHED A MIRROR, SCRATCHED MOST OF THE FURNITURE AND SOME OF THE FAMILY SILVER WENT MISSING. PICKFORDS ARE CRAP
Arriving an hour late is unforgivable. How unreliable. If they want their customers to be loyal, they should know the definition of a good service.
My experience with Pickfords was and continues to be anything but smooth. I moved from my old property (South London, UK) in August 2009 and into my new property (Leeds, UK) in November 2009. The intermediate period my possessions were in Pickfords storage.
All my furniture with maybe one or two exceptions were damaged – some considerably. I also had some artwork damaged and my soft furnishings were stained and grubby. It took Pickfords over four months from my move in date to remidy the furniture damage and a further month to attend to the soft furnishings and art work (thankfully it was only damage to the frames). I settled part of the repair cost out of my own pocket and I am still waiting for reimbursement six weeks on despite being advised the money would be in my account in 15 days.
Reading the comments above we each have our own good and bad luck stories and each move is personal/individual but I for one would never use Pickfords to move or store my possessions again. I could never recommend Pickfords but I accept they must get it right sometimes.
The frustrating part for me is not the damage; I accept things will get damaged, but it is now seven months after the move and the transaction with Pickfords is still not finished. I would expect better after sales from a company with a reputation to maintain; maybe they just don’t care after all the company trades as Pickfords but is no longer owned by the original owners. I suspect it may not be run by bean counters.
In any event I am now in contact with the FSA and will be contacting any industry bodies that Pickfords are registered with to express my less than satisfactory service.
i work for a removals firm in south devon and a very good one at that, ive helped with many other firms but pickfords are in a league of their own…..SHOCKING!
I thought they would do a good job because it was goint to be a difficult move – 2 stages and I have loads of stuff partly because I’m a professional glass artist. I showed the Pickford’s rep how full the cupboards were and how much glass there was.
My leaded panels were supposed to be boxed abd kept verticl — they werent. There were also several glass lightboxes – they were filled with heavy objects. I didn’t get the ‘team’ as promised – I got one man who was the driver and s succession of casual agency personnel. They ended up packing up my shed by candle light.
When they delivered my stuff they were late – the agency people particularly and as they had to use the smaller van the agancey were providing nothing could be done till they came.
Lots of stuff was damaged and broken. It looked as if the Pickford’s van had been in a road accident but nothing was addmitted. They put stuff anywhere. In the end I was so ditressed I just wanted them to go so when they said – ‘is there anything else’ I said ‘no’.
Well that was in December. I have now done the stage 2 of the move – but not with Pickfords. Today I went to see the craftsman who is repairing an art deco sofa that they broke. He has been given the run arround trying to get his payment because he hand writes his paperwork! They accetped the hand written quotation from him but not his invoice!!
They didn’t want to compensate me for damage to pieces that I had made either!
Yes the word is CRAP
I think Pickfords are fantastic. I used them recently to do a fairly large household removal for me and the service they provided was excellent. Exerything was carefully wrapped and a detailed inventoy was taken.
The Crew were efficient and went above and beyond the call of duty in everything they did..yes the did take a lunch break, but it was well deserved and i’m sure all of you get one at your work to!
Loved Pickfords and they made what could have been a very stressful time, extremely easy.
Thank you so much Pickford’s!
I agree 100%. A crap removal company! I had the worst experience ever with removal companies. Very unprofessional and did a very bad job.
Pickfords have done a really bad job for us, we ended up with burnt clothes, a burnt carpet and risked of having a fire in our just-bought flat but they did not want to recognize their responsibility. The customer service we received after the incident was simply appalling, we had to keep calling them and finally got an answer after 40 days. Saying that they don’t think it’s their fault! Well, it surely wasn’t ours!
Stay away from them.
Can I recommend Mitchells Removals & Storage as a thoroughly trustworthy, reliable Family run Removal Company. All their staff are extremely helpful and they cover the whole of the UK, Europe and Internationally. Much better than hiring a Luton yourself. They also sell boxes and packing materials cheaper than most of the storage places. So you can pack your own stuff, or they will send packers in a day or so before you move.
I work for pickfords and we are actually very professional.. Funny how office workers can call us lazy when we work hard and you just push buttons and moan. Try and do what we do you arrogant pen pushing pricks.
P.s… Pickfords use smaller removal companys now, not agency people so it looks like your mum either way. Heres an idea, do your own removals!
worked for pickfords eight years and give 100percent in all the moves i do i,m hgv and done thousends of moves lwith good results like to see you do our job you wouldent last you winging fu–s
before any off u say that pickfords is a crap removal team, think again, my dad works for pickfords and have done for nearly 19 yrs now and he is as careful as ever, u try doing a job like they do, my dad is always getting up at 4 in the morning to get ready to go to work. him and his collegues allways take PRIDE in THEIR JOB!!!!! my dad and his collegues always get good feed back and say they would recommend PICKFORDS again. my dad is in his 50′S and he works his arse off to get the job done, he’s on crap wages as well so he’s always working to get the money in, he doesn’t spend any time with his children coz he’s always working 6 days aweek, so think again on what you say. dont judge anyone coz i dont see half the people doing a job like he does, most of you just sit on arse in a office doing paperwork and ansering calls!!!! i think half of you just lie just to get compensation on nought that wasnt even lost or stolen
been a driver for pickfords in glasgow for sometime i find some of the coments quite amusing all the staff in glasgow take pride in there work and do the job to the best of there ability we as staff get a bonus of £68 a month if we dont have any claims against us on jobs which every member has had but even if you are the best removal man in the world accidents will happen and when people take out insurance there are people out there who will put a claim in even if there isnt anythink broken but just to get some of the cost of there removal back from the company we often have to deal with difficult customers but we are told the customer is allways right i have often turned up on jobs that are supposed to be owner packed but are not so we allways have cartons on the van we dont mind helping out because we no that it is very stressfull moving house it also states on Pickfords removals job sheets our responseabilities and the customers we are always dismantling furniture that we shouldnt or taking items that states on the job sheet are staying but we do it to make it easyer for ourselves and for the customer and to hopefully get more work for the company and to keep us in a job glasgow only use agency staff on big office moves or schools and they never pack they just push a barrow with crates which anyone can do all the casual staff are long time casual and all fully trained so please dont tar every branch and removal company with the same brush because accidents no matter how carefull we try to be will still happen thanks
try and move yourselfs out, i worked for pickfords, i was on crap money worked crap hours and you moan bout a removal company turning up late but i guess you dont think about rush hour traffic in the morning. most of the traffic is from you over paid snobs that work in an office and think your job is so good and important and hard. try and move yourself out in a day or two! its not easy!! oh yeah and try it non stop and if you think we shouldnt stop for a lunch break then you try it without stopping. your all a bunch of lazy twats and things will break…… try it yourself!!!
You will love this I run a medium removal business in the south west
Someone asked us to get 1000 cubic feet that they were told by Pickfords
Was on four pallets (containers) which they were paying for .
So we set off for there depot in London near Wembley
What a shower gate house man just let us in as the staff (ha) all told to see someone else
The 1000 cube turned out to be more like 750 in three containers (they were billing for four)
Had to phone them to sort out some problems with the load two days later and job done still waiting
For return phone call (good job I didn’t sit and weight) no one could be found to sign us out
So we just drove to gate house and up went the gate, what a shower
i have a removal company, try it yourself it does not work, you get paid for what you do(moving people staff not taking break ) can take break before start the job. people paying alot of money for moving , wasting time it does not help..i admit removal companies. not all most of them they get paid by hour ,So you have to be honest for the money you get.
never ever pay by the hour there are so many hold ups and problems
just get a fixed price sit back and (try)
and relax
There are lots of removal service to choose from and you should simply hire one for being friendly and could take good care of the things you are going to bring to your new house
.-= Anthony Foster´s last blog ..Removal Companies Didsbury =-.
I see a lot of people here jumping on the band wagon even other movers! “He who is perfect let him cast the first stone.” I have the greatest respect for anyone who works in the moving industry, especially the guys that are out on the road doing manual labour. There will always be mistakes and mishaps on a move, but is all the blame to be placed on the moving company or the guys doing the actual move? I dont think so. If I was a mover and I had a customer standing over me all day, I think i would get a bit nervous, or if I turned up for a job and that customer was already in a bad mood, how do you think that would affect the way that I carry out my task for the day. Guys who leave their homes 6 days a week not sure of what time they will get back home. Would you sit on your sofa all day and not move? Then why should a group of guys lift your personal shit all day and not take a lunch break are they machines? You small time wanna be movers can attack picfords as much as you want but until you know what it takes to be a true mover go back to humping boxes and stop finding fault. As for the few customers that have written a comment here to let others know their HONEST opinion, why dnt you write a letter in to pickfords head office and place a official compalint?
I used Pickfords to move to Australia earlier this year & had 2 significant loss / damages.
Trying to get them to consider these as insurance items has so far been impossible. The excuses are bordering on senseless – with no help for escalation
I always use Citymules and they really are brilliant. I think they are family run which I like. The movers arrive on time and they offer a free £10000 goods in transit insurance which is quite unusual. The woman who runs the show is friendly and unbelievably helpful. Anyone wanting to move as painlessly as possible should contact Citymules.
With regards to paying by the hour, I prefer it. At least you know you are not being overcharged. If the movers are efficient it ends up being cheaper than a fixed quote. Citymules for example charge in 15 minute slots after the first hour which is genius! But I agree, I have total respect for movers, it is intense physical labour. People can also be very demanding and very often expect the impossible!
I too used Allied to move to Perth Aus, I have 2 significant items damaged, in spite of going with the more expensive insurance option of “Valued Inventory” to get total replacement for damages, they are reviewing for repair and will not answer my questions. Plus, the lady at Sirva (in the US) just will not answer my emails, not even the mails sent by the local agent! I have been waiting since 20th December, sent at least 5 emails too! DONT use them! Insure separately!
John Koch are you affiliated with city mules and why are you linking back to their site? Please keep the reviews honest and unbiased.
I hear all the time comments about many national removal companies! As I work for a family run removals and storage company i believe the main reason these company’s have a bad customer care and on the job know how, results on using agency staff that have no house removals knowledge, as they are usually courier drivers! their is a massive difference as this is a trained profession. After reading Pickford’s comments i trustfully believe it is great being members of the BAR associations but there is no rule to stop this issue? always make sure when booking a company that they use full time staff and always get a reference…
Removals´s last [type] ..Well done easymove
i used to work with them before ,,, they are oky compare to many big removal companies ,it depends to your luck,,, it could be a good day or …. ,
Unbelievable ! Some people are amazing , you quibble about costs but never moan about the estate agent who gets 2% of your house sell and does not lift a thing! You moan if we late but by 10 minutes but if we are early like sometimes we get told to wait !? As you not ready ? Er your moving today …… When we do get in the house most people are ready and it makes the day easier , some leave dirty washing up in the sink , dirty pants etc in the bathrooms and duvets just thrown back where they just got out of bed cos of yer they just realised they are moving today , then when we get shown around the house and on some jobs when it’s supposed to be packed it’s all still left and assumed oh they will help us ! Then even if you have packed it you put books into the largest box and were told oh you be ok you can lift it ! New backs please and don’t say 2 men can carry it this takes time eh something we up against , you put pillows on small boxes ! Common sense people !!! And don’t say we are not packers you choose to pack , the price is not much greater if you ask , customers are suppose to not all take there beds apart but act dumb sometimes in oh I thought you may be able to help , again time ! Washing machines left plumbed in , oh the boys will do it. ! Again time but do you know most drivers are helpful , it’s the blatant acting stupid of customers which make us as you all say grumpy , we come to work to move you from a to b all packed beds down machines done, access clear you would be on your new home earlier, no good packing the kettle away either it does not make us work faster! You carry furniture and boxed for 1 hr solid with out a small rest and see how you cope, yes we choose to work here and I love it ! I love the customers I move apart from the darn right rude ones , please don’t tarnish us with the same brush . ” good chefs n bad chefs”
Also sorry , Pickfords is a great place to work for sadly the ones who let us down are people who hate there jobs ! I bet we all know people are are unhappy in there jobs but just put up with it ? Pickfords train all there staff , yes there are casual labour but most guys casual love there jobs and become employed full time just like I did 15 years ago , I wish ever customer I have moved over the years could leave a comment because it would out number the bad ones , I am first to admit there are days when I have marked something and believe me I take it personally , I don’t come to work to intentionally break things , the company monitor claims against all staff and believe me if I was a bull in a china shop I would get sacked , I have a family like you and this job is my life , I move you and your friends like your my friend or family , of course lucky for us all we all have a choice and that’s a good thing , all we ask as drivers just prepare For the move in advance it’s a big thing we know this and yes it’s a job to us but most of us love it ….
be happy life is short
I am absolutely disgusted with Pickfords. I had them round to quote and accepted the quote. A man called Gary spoke to my wife some weeks ago and she explained very clearly our needs – that we move out on Thursday 21 July and move into our new property on Friday 22 July. She requested that he provision these dates, as we had not yet exchanged. This was agreed.
My wife rung today 15/7/11 to confirm that we are moving on those dates, only to be told that it was too late and Pickford’s are fully booked for those dates. There have been no calls since my wife provisioned these dates with Gary, to ask if we were still planning to move on those dates. As we understood it, we had an agreement. Had someone called to say that we are now getting pressure on those dates and it is time to pay a deposit then we would have done so.
This total failure in communication from pickfords is unacceptable. To leave us high and dry the week before a staggered move is not what we expected from a national company with a reputation to maintain
I have emailed russell.start@pickfords.com (Managing Director) and Have yet to receive a reply
I received a call from Russell Start (MD Pickfords) yesterday. He was very apologetic and was willing to move heaven and earth in order to accommodate our move.
He had investigated the circumstances of my grievance and had come to the conclusion that it was a combination of poor communication and process issues and planned to remedy them in the not too distant future.
If I had received the call on Friday evening I would be moving with Pickfords but by Monday, when I received the call, I had already packed and arranged a mover who had hired a lorry.
An interesting note is that I had work to do at the weekend but had to for go it in order to facilitate the packing and that at my level of income, considering the 2 days of lost income as a cost of the move, it has been substantially more expensive to pack ourselves and we are not covered by the carriers insurance.
Dean´s last [type] ..Back ache and Boxes
On watching ‘The removal men’ 03/08/11 on channel 5 there were two comments made by one Pickford employee to another who was trying to start the removal lorry but couldn’t. The driver was from Liverpool and so had a Liverpool accent. The scouser’s colleague insinuated to the driver (called Scouse in the programme) that he should be able to start the engine as Scousers are all known for stealing cars. The second comment was that ‘Scouse’ was able to ‘hotwire the car to get it started. I have today sent an email to channel 5 complaining about this and asking for an appology, I can’t however find a place on the Pickfords website to send them an email of complaint. After reading the above I’m not surprised now and I strongly agree with what I have read and also agree that Pickfords are crap and I wouldn’t want to be that fella if he ever stepped foot into Liverpool. ”WE ARE NOT ALL BAD PEOPLE” and I don’t like people tarring everybody from one place with the same brush. Many of my friends will not be using Pickfords in the future so that idiot has cost that firm money but I can’t get to tell them that by email so I will be writing to the head office. I’m not expecting any outcome as I am sure they are crap at appologies as well as moving peoples belongings safely.
Pickfords moved my belongings from Richmond, Surrey to Mexico City without a hitch. One suitcase was damaged but that can happen on any transatlantic crossing. Nothing was stolen. As for the price I didn’t ask for quotations – as I worked for the United Nations it was normal to ask for three – the cheapest was always accepted meaning that one ended up with broken and battered bits and pieces. Also, after the 1986 earthquake in Mexico Pickfords delivered without charging blankets and other donated essentials to people who were left in the streets with nothing. I won’t hesitate to get in touch with Pickfords as I intend to leave France to go and live in southern England. The British are known for complaining about everything . Try living in a Central European State – or South America or even worse, Asia. If these people complaining about their precious objects being broken they should have packed them in cotton wool themselves. We have a saying in Scotland when we can’t be bothered to listen to cackle is: “Shut your gub!”.
I, too, wish I had researched this site before using Pickfords.
We were moved in January. On arrival several irreplaceable family heirlooms had either been damaged, or smashed beyond repair, and some cane furniture which had been simply wrapped in paper and therefore obviously damaged on arrival. It took until August to get an offer of compensation from Pickfords, after having had to do all the work ourselves of getting the damaged items valued. We have been offered less than the very reasonable claim – and the claim came to less than the original premium paid!
Glad to find this site – have a five bed move to arrange and then into storage for 2 weeks then move again into new house in Cheshire. Will NOT use Pickfords!
I was shocked to hear the comments in this blog …. particularly as they moved my family home only a few days ago. I must say, however, “speak as you find”:
I found the team that I had absolutely brilliant! They took great care of my items and everything was extremely well packed in order that it arrived safely. The staff were also extremely polite and helped move several items that I was unable to move myself and that didn’t form part of the household that was moved. We even asked them to postpone the delivery by a couple of days and this was also undertaken with ease and good nature. Communications with the office in Exeter also proved to be superb.
I am sorry for those who had such poor experiences …… but mine appear be the opposite.
“Speak as you find” indeed – I am glad that the service you experienced was good. Thanks for commenting.
I worked for Edinburgh branch for 2 months with no training, kept getting sent out with agency guys who were as untrained as I was, the blond leading the blind, also some of the guys in Edinburgh branch hygiene was so terrible the had the ability to embarrass the customer in there own home with there body oder. There vehicles are poorly maintained and in a shocking state inside and out!
I up until 30/09/11 worked for pickfords for 10 years and i can completely agree with alot of these comments.
THEY ARE CRAP!!
We were moving from the Manchester area to Birmingham earlier this year, but had no problems from Pickfords, who apart from being a little late, got the job done without a hitch.