totalmovingsolutions.co.uk

Missing and Damaged Items

I find it difficult to write this review but feel like I should as I appear to have exhausted all avenues directly with Total Moving Solutions.If you take nothing else away from this review, what is factual is that, we did not receive everything in our shipment and of what we did receive, a number of items were damaged.It was not made clear to us during the process of selecting a partner for our international relocation (US > UK) that TMS would be selecting third parties for all stages of the move. This is not a problem in itself but it is the selection of partners that must be called into question after the service we received. TMS were not the cheapest quote when we researched movers but they made us feel most confident so our experience is doubly frustrating.The first issue came during the packing of items. It was clear that some of the movers on the US side were not experienced or taking proper consideration during packing and on multiple occasions we had to ask them if they would re pack items. The most visible items this happened for were furniture and bikes and this was an area where a number of these items arrived damaged. In addition, we were told that 3 movers would complete the packing in a day and then when they arrived they said they would need 2 more movers to finish in a day. We agreed to this as we felt we had little choice but that then resulted in additional costs for providing food, refreshments and tips (as is the US culture). Never mind, we thought, a small cost and everything was packed. The items were then transferred to be moved into a separate 20ft shipping container for the move. As an additional FYI we were recommended a full 20ft container for our move based on the survey and for reducing the risk of losing items but on opening the container when it arrived, at least a third of it was empty.Fast forward to delivery and once we received the container, the date having changed last minute and extra storage costs incurred unnecessarily, it was unloaded to our storage unit, as we were in between places. The 2 delivery men worked fast, explaining that they had other jobs to get to. Not all items were crossed off but they reassured us that it was all there and and we trusted them, seeing that it was a sealed container when they opened it. At this stage our storage unit was completely full, so after assessing and reporting damage we could see, we waited to find a place to live to be able to properly unload. This took a number of months and once in place, we unpacked and realized that a number of items were missing, including high value visible electronics. We reported this to TMS and were informed that nothing could be done as the period for reporting had expired. (I will note, they did show willing with some emails to look into it but it came to no resolution and no offer from themselves or the insurer to make amends). Whilst I can understand having a time frame, our situation made it very difficult to make a proper assessment of our shipment.So in the end we have been left with a number of items missing and additional items damaged. For such a high cost service, the lack of empathy or willingness to provide some apology and compensation is distressing and undermines any trust in the partner. For TMS, it is concerning that they do not appear to have vetted their partners appropriately. The items were likely lost or disappeared on the US side and some of the movers that visited our property were not diligent or suitable removals experts.Unfortunately we cannot recommend Total Moving Solutions because for a large sum of money you would expect piece of mind and support if anything went wrong instead we were made to feel stupid for not following due process properly and as if it was our fault that items had been misplaced.

Date of experience: Sep 17, 2024