Simpsons Removals & Storage

Consumer Reviews and Complaints

1. 

   Simpsons Removals & Storage Reviews & Complaints

   (1)

   Hi, I did not wish to make a formal complaint but unfortunately my recent emails to a member of Simpsons Removals staff have all gone unanswered, when I requested further information as to the status of our delayed shipment. I was looking for a removal/shipment company to ship our boxes from the UK to the USA. Moving house is a hectic time and I am sure you can appreciate that moving country is even more complicated. Amongst the sale of our house and packing of our boxes, I obtained many quotes for the shipment of all of our boxes. It was quite turnaround we were looking for as we couldn”t organise shipment until the day(s) before the sale of our house and completion dates are always given at such short notice. However, I was very happy with the quotes a colleague Ersin Cayan sent. He was helpful and responsive. This is the first time I have done this process so it was all very new to me, but he explained to me how it worked, what he needed from me if I was to confirm the booking etc. I did go back and forth with a lot of companies to ensure I went with one that suited my needs. I wanted a company that provided me with a low cost quote as moving house was already costing us a lot of money. I was very happy with the quote Ersin sent over. He responded quickly and gave me another quote if I was to go over the estimated shipment size (and we did!) which I was also very happy with. Another factor that I had to take into consideration was when the boxes would arrive. As mentioned above, this is something I have never done before, nor organised. I can appreciate it is a huge task with a lot of different parties involved. I asked for the duration of time it would take to ship our boxes. I confirmed with Ersin when they would be shipped (some companies do not ship until their container is full, and others ship once a week for convenience for the customer). This was another important factor for us, and I confirmed the date it would be shipped and the time it would take to arrive at our destination. I heard through other reviews that some companies will only give a transit time for it to reach the country, and I wanted to know the date it would reach our specific address. I was confirmed by Ersin that it would reach our address 6 weeks after collection, which was on 4th September. I”ve since received an email from another company which I presume to be the courier saying we will receive our order on 15th – 17th November, which is nearly 5 weeks late. I would understand and could let it slide if it was a week late but this is over a month late. Through this, I have concerns about the order, and unfortunately unhappiness at the service I have since received from Simpsons. I don”t feel I need to explain why it was so important that we receive our order on the time stated – surely if I asked the question and checked the information I was given with your colleague, then this conveys its importance to me. Understandably, we cannot pack the entire contents of our possessions into the two suitcases we were each allowed on the plane. Moving house is expensive, and we cannot afford to also duplicate our possessions once out here. Namely, we had suits that my husband needed for job interviews he had lined up for early November, which we since had to buy. I had contact lens solution and contact lenses which I have since run out of. I don”t have an optician over here yet and was relying on my specific contact lenses provided for me by the optician in the UK, and I have had to leave my lenses in for longer than the recommended time, which could be hazardous for my eye health. We both have winter clothing which is in the shipment. Over here, summer lasts longer than in the UK so we knew we would be fine in summer clothing until October, which is great because it is smaller and easier to pack than thick winter clothing! But the weather has turned colder now, and I have one sweater here that I am having to wear every day now that it is colder. I have office clothing in shipment which I need now that I have a job (I did not expect to get one in the first few weeks here which is why I did not deem it necessary to pack). I had a planned trip to New York last weekend which was cold and had no winter clothing for this trip. Fortunately, my sister was visiting and able to lend me some to keep me warm. I don”t need to give you the entire contents of our shipment (I think you have this anyways in the itinerary we were asked to provide) but I am sure it is quite clear that there were many items we were relying on, and why we were relying on them to arrive at the time they were scheduled to. I don”t know how difficult this kind of shipment is to organise. I can only imagine the logistics involved. However, this was not my job. My concern is that our shipment will not arrive even on the dates we have now been given, between 15th and 17th November, and my issue and unhappiness lies with Simpsons in the fact that – 1) I was given important information prior to our booking which now appears was given falsely and that they had no way of guaranteeing, simply to make a sale. 2) I was not kept informed of changes to expected delivery date. 3) I was not given any sort of apology. If all I am to take from this is that sometimes, these things “just happen”, then why wasn”t I informed of this? Why, when I emailed Ersin numerous times to convey my concerns, did my emails go unanswered? If it isn”t the fault of Simpsons, and indeed this may be the case, why did they not get in touch with the courier or whoever is at fault, to find out the delay and get back to me to explain the reason behind it? I would just like some answers if nothing else can be done, as I am assuming it is too late now, though I would ask for some compensation given the unnecessary expense that we have had due to our shipment not arriving in time. I feel that I was lied to at the start, with a delivery date that perhaps Simpsons had no way of guaranteeing. After all of my emails to Ersin went unanswered (perhaps he has left the company but no redirection has been set up? This is the only explanation I can think of), I in the end had to telephone Simpsons, and explain the situation to another member of staff to assured me they would chase this up with the couriers. Whether this has been done or not, I do not know. The telephone call also cost me a lot of money as it was an international call, but I am sure you can see how I was running out of options to hear back from any Simpsons communication. I feel that if Simpsons gave me a date of delivery to the exact address of where I was saying, then it was their job to chase this up and ensure that it happened. If not, then they could come back to me to explain any possible delays. I do have all of my sent emails, all of my previous emails from Simpsons and Ersin in particular which I can indeed send over. I didn”t want this to be a “witch hunt” or to get any particular individual in trouble (though surely not responding to any subsequent email after I mentioned the delay to our order is quite poor customer service?), but I feel that as they were going unanswered, this was my only way of hearing back from someone at Simpsons as to my issues, and to get some answers. I look forward to hearing from someone.

   By Annalee Larr

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