Pickfords Removals www.pickfords.co.uk

★☆☆☆☆
1.4
9.0% of users recommend this
  • Value For Money

Latest Reviews

“Shambolic Service from start to end”

★☆☆☆☆

written by jameswbristol on 18/03/2024

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.

Was this review helpful? 0 0

“Overpriced. Unreliable. Appalling Customer Service..”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Jonniboy on 18/01/2024

Pickfords are very quick to take your money (and a lot of it!), promise you all sorts but then do not deliver. The Customer Service is shocking. I contacted my ‘dedicated’ move manager with a time sensitive query and they said they would check and call me back. They never did and it took repeated calls over the next 48 hours to get an answer. I submitted a complaint with numerous issues and the Group Manager said he would conduct a full review and respond accordingly. I did not hear within the 8 weeks specified so had to chase a response and was then sent an email that was all of 2 sentences long that did not even acknowledge, let alone answer or apologise for the majority of issues I raised. Pickfords quoted almost double the other firms but due to availability issues and the assurance that they had the resources to do the move as we wanted, we went with them. Big mistake. Day 1 of a 4 Day move and I was expecting a team of 6 for a full days packing. I received 2 people for just over 4 hours who then lied and left saying they had used all the boxes they had brought (there were 30+ unused in the house) Pickfords refuted they had said there would be 6 and said they had provided enough resources to complete the move by the end of Day 4. The leaving early and lying about it, not acknowledged. I had specified I wanted the house clear by the end of Day 2 so it could be cleaned and that the sale would complete by 10am on Day 3. The agent quoting had said that this would be possible and the morning of Day 3 would be spent packing the garage and garden. The afternoon of Day 3 would begin unpacking at the new property which would then continue on Day 4. This did not happen and Pickfords did not finish packing until after 17:30 on Day 3. Unpacking did not begin until Day 4. This meant I had to rearrange cleaners and arrange an extra night’s accommodation and care for my elderly mother. Not acknowledged. Fortunately the new occupants of my house were not waiting to move in on Day 3. The owners of the new property I was moving into also used Pickfords and they were not finished packing by completion of my purchase at 12:30 on Day 3. Not acknowledged. To be fair, some of the packing was very good, a lot of it was not. Belongings were stuffed in to boxes with little or no packing resulting in damage and the contents spilling out inside. Boxes were not labelled properly and contents were sometimes random and so items were difficult to find. Items of sentimental value that cannot be replaced were destroyed. There was also Pickfords rubbish packed in the boxes. Not acknowledged. I found empty rolls of tape, biscuit wrappers and even an empty milk carton. Because of the poor start on Day 1 it felt like the move was rushed to be completed by the end of Day 4 and the quality of the move suffered. Not acknowledged. You only get 7 days to unpack everything, check it and then compile and submit in writing a claim. This was not long enough and Pickfords refused to extend the time. Not acknowledged. This meant I discovered missing and damaged items that I was not able to claim for. Pickfords did pay some compensation but this was well below what I expected or deserved. A very poor experience and I will never use Pickfords again.

Was this review helpful? 1 0

“Shocking service”

★☆☆☆☆

written by 123blondie on 06/01/2024

My son and daughter in law emigrated to Australia march 2022. Used Pickford's and the two guys who came to pick up the furniture and other items seemed pretty good. When one said we will have to pack it all at the depot as we have to do another job. So they put everything in the van and off they went. My daughter in law had previously packed glasses and breakables items in newspaper. Thinking Pickford's would pack professionally. They went off to Australia march 15th knowing the shipping of their goods would be about 8/12 wks before it got to Australia. Well it finally got their after 3 months after being to Australia twice then to another country before they actually received to shipment. When it did get delivered the glasses were broken STILL wrapped in newspaper. Two TVs had broken screens. My son had his 3 ton trolley jack sent in the shipment but this had been swapped for an old rusty jack nothing as strong. This obviously was swapped at the Pickford depot. This is outrageous customer care. My son took insurance cover but Pickford's passed the buck and still not had any money for the items that were damaged and really the jack was stolen. Although was swapped. Pickford's are not trustworthy in my opinion.

Was this review helpful? 1 0

“5 stars for crew but 1 for Pickfords ”

★★★☆☆

written by SavionHowell6 on 07/09/2023

That’s 5 (or 6) starts for the team and 1 star for Pickfords themselves. We had a complex move, 300 miles away and paid extra for them to finish packing up the day before we completed and deliver pm the next day. All went to plan with fantastic packing up, and incredible loading of the van (sorry can’t remember his name). A further local crew came to our new house to help unload. We’ve nothing but praise for these guys, unlike Pickfords itself. Issue 1 – on the day they were packing up the van, the Pickfords supervisor (I think) took away any unused boxes. He had kept back c10 for last minute things and was then unable to wrap and box up a few remaining items, including an antique light fitting which had to travel loose wrapped in a blanket. Through no fault of his, one of the glass shades fell off and smashed on a tile floor in our new house. Its proving very difficult to replace – and the only breakage which could easily have been avoided if it was as well packed as everything else had been. Issue 2 – we unpacked some boxes as they were being delivered but emailed our move manager the next day to say the bulk of them were ready for collection. This is clearly set out as a service as part of the price. We reminded and reminded for weeks, every time being told someone would be in touch. You can imagine how much space 50+ sodden boxes and wrapping papers takes up. We finally gave up and got rid of them ourselves – on the same day they were supposedly trying to contact us to come to collect. Really…after 6 weeks of nothing? So my advice is make sure you get the A team (from Kent) but either get Pickfords to hold back some payment so you can get rid of the boxes yourself, or have the date for their collection booked in when you book your moving date.

Was this review helpful? 1 0

“Shocking service, delivery time was 200% of estimate....”

★☆☆☆☆

written by heystuartmacleod on 28/06/2023

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.

Was this review helpful? 1 0

“unprofessional with zero customer care ”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Bourmi on 01/08/2022

We have entrusted Pickfords , the removal company , to pack our items in April 2021 and to store them in their warehouse during the renovation works Before our move we have asked to provide a crate to pack a very fragile antique vitrine. On the day of the move the crate has never materialise On the day of the move the crate has never materialised. We kept our belongings at Pickfords's storage for 13 months In June 2021 Pickfords has moved our belongings back to our renovated house. During the move the delivery of our grand piano turned out to be a total disaster: the unprofessionalism of the team, the non -existant communication between the team and their managers had resulted in a very bad damage to the piano. Very alarming that the the vital set of the screws , bolts and other important details to re-assemble the pino gone missing and was lost. the managerial team was late with apologies and very indifferent to this situation. No one in this company is taking the responsibility for this disaster. We can not use the piano and we were offered £40 to replace those lost items. the whole experience with Pickfords turned out to be a very unpleasant and stressful despite their promise of the opposite I question Pickfords company ability to deal with specialised items. I would think trice before to move with them the antiques or musical instruments their approach with us was !00% unprofessional and with zero for customer care

Was this review helpful? 2 0

“Disaster from start to finish”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Jennijenk on 13/02/2019

The disaster started with the assessor, who clearly decided he could economise on my move by providing only 3 men rather than the usual 5 that all other companies had provided in the past. On packing day, by early afternoon, it was clear that the 3 were not going to cope alone and another 2 arrived after completing a job elsewhere. At the end of the day, I said goodbye to the 5, expecting to see them the next day for the move into my new home, but was told only 2 of them would be there, one gpfrom the morning, and one from the later two arrivals. A new man joined them on the second day, so only one person who knew exactly where everything should go was there for the move into the new house. The result was that several items were missing (one, an expensive Victorian Soton planter that I’d carefully posted out to the team the first morning) was left behind in my old garden. A lagprge number of items were damaged or broken. Much of the packing was done atrociously, and as the days go by (it’s now 5 weeks since my move) I’m still discovering missing and damaged items. Pickfords charged twice as much as the next BAR recommended company, and are by far the worst removal company I have ever used. In fact in 6 house moves, this was the only one where I’ve had anything damaged, and only inone other did I have anything missing (one small radio). The only positive (for which the sine star is awarded) is that the men themselves were really nice. I will never ever use Pickfords again and strongly ad I’ve others to steer very clear of them.

Was this review helpful? 2 0

“They lost some of our possessions.”

★★☆☆☆

written by hooperski on 06/03/2018

The removal men turned up at 9.30 a.m. as promised, then proceeded to have a cigarette break before starting. This turned out to be a theme throughout the day. The removal team were not given all the details of the move by the man that came out and quoted us. When the man came out to take our requirements, we told him we wanted two wardrobes dismantling and putting together at the destination. This was news to the removal men. The men started to get concerned that all of our furniture wouldn't fit on the two lorries that turned up, so a third was requested and turned up. Even though at this time there was 6 men on site, the job wasn't completed until 5.45 p.m. Didn't seem to be much urgency. When the three lorries went back to their depot, the load was squeezed onto two lorries. The next day at our new home the men there didn't know how to assemble our wardrobes, the man that took them apart wasn't included on this trip! We had some 60 boxes to unpack, and unfortunately a week before the move and two weeks after, I was ill so couldn't help my wife unpack. After 3 weeks she realised that we had some items missing. We contacted the company to report this and was told to list them with valuations, which we did. The claim was turned down as we were outside the 7 day window that you have to report any shortages. I don't think that there are many people, let alone pensioners like us, that can unpack and check everything in just 7 days. It seems very sharp practice that the customer has to pay insurance against the company's faults, yet when you try to claim, they won't pay out for THEIR mistakes. So all in all, we are very disappointed in the not cheap service that we paid for. Would not recommend. Cost of removal, £2,300+.

Was this review helpful? 2 0

“STORAGE NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE”

★☆☆☆☆

written by RayRowe on 08/11/2017

I have had my storage returned , not wrapped or protected while in storage and in transit , estimated damage from water , breakages and moth infestation £20,000 , complained and am being given the run around , no offer of compensation , so many limits and exclusions re the insurance I have paid for , not insured for , Damp , Infestation , non wrapped soft furnishings . DO NOT USE !!!!!!!!

Was this review helpful? 3 0

“NEVER USE”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Simone151 on 27/09/2017

Pickfords are now a joke in removal services. When I joined 25 years ago blue chip company. Now a money grabbing company using Polish, Romanian, Latvian, Partner crews, not trained by Pickfords Trainers untrained staff at a very very high price to customers, stating all staff trained, this is a joke.

Was this review helpful? 1 0

“Let down at the last minute”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Cash377 on 06/07/2017

do not use this company they were booked on June 26th to move us on 18th July, they have had to be constantly chased and today they pulled out! apparently it happens occasionally and they were sorry!

Was this review helpful? 1 0

“awful”

★☆☆☆☆

written by on 11/05/2017

a Berkshire move of only a few miles but a three day move. Office staff were unhelpful, unkind and uncaring in the extreme. Actual movers were no better. We are still in shock as to the lack of any care by Pickfords. What an ordeal

Was this review helpful? 2 0

“NEVER EVER USE OR TRUST THIS COMPANY”

★☆☆☆☆

written by JensenGauthier443 on 19/04/2017

NEVER EVER USE OR TRUST THIS COMPANY. Please avoid them because my belongings went missing or were stolen and 8 months on since the collection, my items were never found! (no surprise there). I want to share the horrific experience I have had with Pickfords as the employees working for them are dishonest and untrustworthy. My first mistake was ignoring the reviews and stories I had already read about them but I gave them the benefit of doubt and went ahead and used them for my international shipping. I moved from London to Dubai and used the groupage shipping beginning of August). It took almost 4 months for me to receive my things! And this was after I repeatedly emailed them but would not receive any response. Only when I escalated it to management (which was a challenge to find a contact person) someone finally started providing me with information about the progress and got things moving. My belongings were collected at the beginning of August and I received some of my things mid November! After opening my boxes I noticed bags were missing and instantly realised they hadn't arrived! I had taken pictures of my things which I'd packed and organised myself into bags so I had clear evidence and memory of what was collected by the packing team. All my vintage, expensive clothes, pashminas, perfumes and personal belongings have not arrived. The worst part is when I contacted them about it, they didn't seem alarmed by it at all! The immediate response was for me to complete an insurance form! I requested for them to try and track my items thinking it might have been unintentionally misplaced somewhere but of course they were nowhere to be found. It's not necessarily the monetary value of what's happened that's has affected me but the sentimental and the years of collection of things I collected from all over that they have now taken away from me. That can't be replaced. It is clearly obvious that they have been selective about what they took. They took what they knew was most valuable and helped themselves to it all! I received all my kitchen items, bedding etc; things that don't have as much value and am now without so many of my belongings which I needed the most. I'm now going to have to spend money replacing all the things they've helped themselves to! I feel violated of my privacy. The fact that they have clearly gone through my things and decided which bags to take/keep. What gives them the right to take someone else's clothes and belongings just because it was in their hands? What gives them the right to take things someone else has paid for?! It's completely unacceptable. Even though you shouldn't have to do the following as they sell themselves as being 'trustworthy' and 'reliable', make sure you do watch them pack every single item and you watch them pack your boxes properly in front of you. Watch them label everything and take pictures of all of this. Film it if need be!! Film them labeling every box. Then take pictures of everything as it's being loaded in the van because they cannot be trusted and will lie about it after. Count exactly how many boxes they pack and ensure they finish packing ALL the boxes because they will lie about it later and tell you whatever they enter in their 'audit' trail. Make sure that they tell you how many boxes they have packed and check it matches with what you have counted. Then check that they have documented this as they never showed me anything or told me how many boxes they had packed!! I would never ever use them again however, have learnt a valuable lesson that whichever company I use now for shipping; I will do all the above even though we shouldn't have to! 6 months after the shipping I was told that a box had 'surfaced' in Shanghai with my details on it so I thought it was mine. Pickfords shipped it across to me in Dubai (which took another 6 weeks) only for me to discover that the tiny box of 6 kitchen items inside belonged to someone else!! But the box worryingly had my name on it! This proved the incompetence of their employees even more. I'm now trying to go through insurance and listed all the items that I can remember which are missing. Regardless of the insurance, it will never replace or make up for the loss, inconvenience, distress, and upset they have caused. It has been a total nightmare dealing with them. The insurance process is slow and the lack of response from them is frustrating. It's completely unacceptable how they treat their customers and all I want is for them to compensate for my loss so that I can be done with them. Pickfords have no integrity. They have no duty of care or responsibility. They are dishonest and untrustworthy. I'm so disappointed that a UK based company has become so lousy, irresponsible and unreputable.

Tabbymann's Comment

Written on: 22/02/2023

Same happened to me . Every box had been opened and they selected the most valuable items to take . My property was stored with them for many years and it cost an arm and a leg in fees . In a nutshell , I paid fifteen thousand pounds in storage fees for them to help themselves to my valuable personal property .

Reply to this comment
Was this review helpful? 2 0

“Worst ever”

★☆☆☆☆

written by Dawsonv199 on 30/11/2016

This is one of my worst-ever experience, with any service company. I used Pickfords for an international move because the initial quote seemed ok and service responsive, but it ended up being a disaster, for several reasons: The door to door move took much longer than initially announced (almost 14 weeks, compared with a promise of 8-12 weeks). The date of reception was also suddenly changed, with no clear justification, and I had to insist multiple times to finally get an appointment for delivery. - The overall state in which my goods arrived was very bad, clearly due to hasty packaging. - Some valued items had simply disappeared (highly breakable ones), with no explanation provided. I suspect movers broke them and quietly hid them to avoid any blame. - Some items came in broken, but I could not get a claim because of some exception in the insurance rule (despite spending hundreds of Pounds in insurance fees). They're very good at finding excuses for these problems, but not for providing any actual help. Do yourself a favour and avoid. Even if the initial price elsewhere may seem a bit high, you'll end up saving much more by avoiding Pickfords.

Was this review helpful? 1 0

“DO NOT USE”

★☆☆☆☆

written by 60Allen on 30/09/2016

I moved from UK to Northern Cyprus. I had a shared container booked on the 31.12.15 to go to Famagusta they decided it was cheaper to send to limasol???!!! in southern Cyprus it took 4 months to finally get my belongings INTO NORTHERN CYPRUS after a long arduous process of me having to go to the Turkish Government and border control. Pickfords finally delivered to me in April 12th only to find many of my items had been gone through and a lot of goods stolen. Now they say because I acepted and signed for my container I cant claim on the insurance. I have never in my life had to deal with such a poor company I have lost precious wedding presents from 35 years ago. I am trying to go through the ombudsman to try and find out where my items are ! DO NOT USE EVER

Xenobiamalik's Comment

Written on: 30/01/2017

Hello

I am reaching out to everyone who believes Pickfords may have taken from them or you have been told your valuable items have gone 'missing'

We have had a serious theft during our removal process from UK to Australia where three expensive electrical items have been taken from us.

Pickfords unsurprisingly deny this. I am in shock just how many people are claiming suspicious circumstances around valuable items going missing, believed to be taken.

I have created a closed Facebook group for all victims of Pickfords who feel they have been the victim of a crime committed by Pickfords.

With a collaborated effort, I intend to unite us and present ourselves as one voice to Pickfords.

Some of us are fed up of being fobbed off and will not rest until Pickfords have been stripped of their accreditation.

We refuse to be the victims of crime from an organisation we hired to move us.

Please message me and I will add you to the Facebook Group so we can openly share experiences and collectively approach Pickfords and demand we all be compensated.

Reply to this comment
Was this review helpful? 1 0

“Cupboards opened without permission”

★☆☆☆☆

written by MsCHewitt on 18/08/2016

Hi, When Pickfords visited cupboards were opened without permission by the Pickfords representative. This is in spite of me making it clear that he should ask first. I find this unacceptable.

Was this review helpful? 0 0

“Real value for money on a very tough move”

★★★★★

written by 201Flood on 13/08/2016

I moved from London to Leeds last October. I had a 4 bed house for them to pack. It took them all day, 100 boxes. The same guys drove it to Leeds and delivered it at 10am the next morning. It wasn't perfect; the job had been underestimated and was only meant to take the morning to pack but they finished at 7pm! They worked so hard and were polite and nothing I asked was too much trouble though. At about 4pm, when they had not only unpacked the lorry, but also insisted on carrying all 100 boxes through a garage and into a cellar, they drove off and unfortunately, accidently shunted a stone wall. I was glad at this point that I had chosen such a big company as Pickford's insurance paid for the repair. I would definitely use them again but I haven't even unpacked properly from the last time yet!

Was this review helpful? 1 0

“NEVER use Pickfords”

★☆☆☆☆

written by AveriOgle172 on 20/06/2016

With disappointment I write this review. NEVER use Pickfords as a moving company - unless you want your items stolen. I recently moved from London to Singapore. The shipment took just over 3 months as I purchased part of a container (a full container was too large). When my shipment arrived to my new house in Singapore, to my disappointment and frustration two electronic items were stolen and I don't know what else may have been taken. I want to make myself clear, it's not the monetary value which I am most frustrated by, it's the fact that I fully trusted Pickfords and they have stolen from me. What gives them the right to take something that is not theirs? A customer would expect non damage or loss to their goods incurred by Pickfords personnel - this was not the case and hence I urge nobody to use Pickfords as a moving service, save yourself the money and hassle. What I ask Pickfords is: - How can you employ staff that are untrustworthy and willing to take from your customers? - How can you then not make it right out of goodwill by compensating those customers for their loss? - What steps are you taking to minimise damage and loss by your own staff? Whatever the case, I fully agree with the other poor reviews on this site - DO NOT USE PICKFORDS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. The company is dishonest, does not hire trustworthy employees and furthermore does not take responsibility to compensate for the loss of its customers. There is no duty of care or goodwill. Expect Pickfords to take your money for the move, damage or take y our goods, and then wash their hands of any complaints. You're better off moving your goods on your own using a zip van or a friend's car, or in my case paying the airline for extra baggage.

Was this review helpful? 1 0

“Damage to goodso”

★☆☆☆☆

written by cqMuir300 on 26/05/2016

1st damaged item being dining table should have been protected according to their rep. Sofas also without protection with signs of being placed on a dirty grimy floor 3 Ikea units with adjustable feet. The feet were ripped out obviously too difficult to unscrew plus other items of damage estimated at hundreds of pounds and still not fully unpacked Pickfords avoiding return calls, usually we are sorry words in one instance even though I have an authorised claim number from their insurers they denied that I have placed a claim for the damaged dining table I can see that small claims court against their Financial Director is on the horizon Trading Standards are an interesting party recommended them CERTAINLY NOTE

Was this review helpful? 1 0

“Jesus Christ, NO !”

★☆☆☆☆

written by A.T.Harrows on 22/02/2016

What a shoddy company. We were ready to move to France and had Pickfords booked to move us. My husbands' new company were financing the move, so we just went ahead with it. We endured hours of foul language during the packing and loading of our goods including god knows what hilarious conversations in Romanian from the packers. There were a few clumsy breakages on the day but nothing to get upset about. The whole process as you may imagine was quite uncomfortable. Three days later (1 day late) our vehicle arrived finally to our new home in France. We had 2 of the original crew and suddenly a new driver. It turns out there was no ferry delays, but rather the driver was involved in a fight with the other staff the night they finished, and now had to replace the driver with an agency driver. This was now a Polish driver who literally did not speak a word of English. Anyway, the delivery showed the worse part. We had so many breakages it was close to vandalism. Fragile boxes were under cabinets, sharp objects on leather sofas. Basically it looked as if the lorry had been through a washing machine. The guys unloading blamed the Romanian packers on the day. The claim was so high we had to go through our home insurance, who would in turn successfully counterclaim from them. Some examples were a bedside unit going through the screen of a new Sony 65" 4k TV. 2 sofas ripped and grazed, badly dented £4500 Liebbher fridge, glasses, plates etc etc. 3 weeks later my brother moved also to France about 40 miles from us also on the Riviera. He used a company called Falcon Removals or movers (irrelevant) who moved him down with more stuff, with English staff for about £3000 cheaper not 1 single claim ! . Just a thought, look before you book people !! 

Was this review helpful? 1 0

Do you have a question about this product or company? Simply type it in the box below and one of our community will give you an answer

Our helpful community of likeminded people will be happy to answer any questions that you have.

Thanks for asking a question.

Once we've checked over your question we will put it live on the site and our strong community of experts will hopefully give you some great answers that you find useful.

We will email you when the question is on the site

overview