Cheap cheap removals dot .com
Back loading and independent middle people find their way into almost all forms of house moving.
Its legitimate and legal and a service I must admit to using.
And then...
The scenario is this, you are obtaining quotes for your move, usually distance like interstate.
You use the internet or yellow pages to find removal people and obtain quotes. You ring the usual well known removal comanies and then you ring the ones that mentions daily, door to door, state to state daily etc etc and usually the business is a dot com or generic type of name. As normal you call and they soon arrive and quote.
Cheap removals?
You view all quotes and this mystery removals company is several hundred dollars less than the others. You call them and give them the job.
What happens next
Firstly I have personally used a similar service there are several of them (see 8 moves 5 years) But this is based on a true story from a young couple moving Melbourne to Brisbane early 2009.
Their moving house story
This couple needed their items picked up and put into storage until further notice until they had a address for delivery. This was OK , and the mystery removal company needed 2 weeks notice to then take their items out of storage, load and have a delivery time set..
This companies quote was $900 cheaper than the others (warning bells) the company was only at the other end of the phone but offered a almost impossible service of daily door to door most states.
The pick up for the house move was ok no problems and the couple drove to Brisbane to find accommodation. Several weeks later accommodation ready they call the mystery removal co and give them 2 weeks notice for delivery and a date was given back Ok so far.
Now for the moving house Stress
Now rent being paid and work days taken off the couple eagerly await the arrival of all their possessions on that morning.
No arrival and after many frustrating calls back to the company it was worked out that by 11.30 that evening that nothing was going to happen. The company claimed their items were on a truck and the driver could not be contacted.( I have heard this before)
To cut to the chase this went on for 4 days and finally they received a phone call from the truck driver who then gave them a time. More time was taken of but finally not a 8.30 as promised but 4.30 pm the truck arrived and delivery was ok. Mind you the driver on his own charged them more because there was steps into the premises . Ironically they still had to assists in the unloading .
OK nothing bad the job was done but for 5 days the stress that this couple went through was enormous and avoidable.
What happens here is that the mystery company co ordinates removals people between jobs. So your priority job is only used when someone needs to fill in a space in their day.
Your goods could trave could go aywhere.
For example. A independent company !@# takes a load from Sydney to Melbourne When it gets there instead of returning empty it will try and take a job that will return it back to Sydney. This is a good business practice that most trucking companies would undertake. Usually this backload is done by them at a reduced rate or a commission paid to the finders in this case the mystery removal company. Yes they take commision.
This back load could be a part load or it could be many small loads to different destinations. It may be a load to a destination totally out of the way but in turn gives the driver a return to his home base. In this example, this driver may have a job in Melbourne to Adelaide. Then when in Adelaide he will find another to Wagga NSW and from there if lucky a small job to Sydney. However the person in Wagga has had to wait for this opportunity to get their items and this could take weeks and much inconvenience . Your part load could go via Alice Spring to get to Tasmania.
I have even heard stories of items unloaded and stored in other states awaiting a back load. Usually this is part truck loads. You the owner of these items has no idea.
If you knew all this prior would you spend the money on a more reputable method of house moving?
There is nothing wrong with this service on offer , but unfortunately the reason for its pricing and using your job as a fill in is never made clear. If it was you would weigh that up before using them. In my case I saved $400 on the move but spent a further $1500 in accommodation for my young family plus the stress I had for 4 days not knowing where our possessions were. Its not a nice feeling.
So Moral of the story if you are happy with this service go for it. But to avoid stress moving house you may have to consider the options of a more reliable house moving method.
Good Luck.
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