We contacted Uniworld in New Jersey in June about our proposed move from New Jersey back to London, UK. We asked for a binding survey and proposal, which they eventually provided. Having moved several times before, I did ask that the proposal be binding, and they agreed that the price would not exceed 5% of the estimate. I did ask for a list of the items surveyed, but received one that was illegible and in the chaos before moving never managed to push them for anything better. I took out insurance, which was extremely expensive, much more so than other times we had moved. They also concealed the $500 deductible (very fine print said a reasonable deductible) until after a claim had been made.
When it came time to move, in August the movers who showed up seemed to have very little idea of how to pack items for moving. A number of items they did not pack at all before putting on the truck, assuring me that they would be packed at base because they didn't have the right materials with them. A number of items that would normally be disassembled, like beds and a dining table, were left fully assembled and unwrapped. Kitchen goods were mixed up and not protected in any way, bikes were taken away as is. I was very nervous about this, but trying to organise children and suitcases for our flight home, and assumed that Uniworld would get it all sorted out as promised.
Several weeks later, the UK company advised that the items had arrived, but that they could not be released as Uniworld had not sent a release. I contacted them again, and they sent a revised invoice, this time charging nearly twice the original amount. They claimed it was because the volume was greater than originally estimated and that we had added items not on the original survey. This was patently untrue, we had actually gotten rid of quite a lot. But we had to pay them as they were effectively holding our goods for ransom — if we did not pay the extra we could not get the items released. On top of that, we had to pay extra storage charges in the UK because even after receiving the extra payment, UNIWORLD took two weeks to send a release to the UK agents.
However, even after all that, when the goods did finally arrive, we were amazed to see that they had never been properly packed and were in an appalling state. Bits of the dining table were chipped or missing, chairs were scratched and torn, clothing was missing, the exercise bicycle and kids bicycles were broken. Most of the kitchen items and toys were destroyed. The London movers told us they were extremely shocked at the state of things when they removed them from the shipping crate, and helped me to get photos for the insurance (available on request). Almost nothing arrived in a usable state, and on top of having to replace our belongings, we had to pay UNIWORLD a fortune for the privilege!
Unfortunately, the insurance papers, when Uniworld finally managed to send them, included a note saying that they weren't responsible for scratches, chips and other cosmetic damage to furniture!!! (what else would one have insurance for?). They also claimed that there was a $500 deductible (not on my original documentation), and refused to pay for any of the missing items as they claimed there was no proof they had been taken in the first place (the inventory they had only listed the number of boxes). For instance, the children's bunk beds were missing their side rails, and the company who made the beds said it would cost $300 to ship replacements to the UK. The insurers offered to pay $45 towards this cost! There was conservatively about $10,000 worth of loss and damage, and the insurance offer was $335. (Still nothing received or finalised).
I have moved internationally about a dozen times and have never encountered such a crummy, shady company. They are incompetent, dishonest and should be avoided at all costs. I have asked the United Nations and Reuters to blacklist them, and will post this story as widely as possible to protect others.
There has still been no insurance settlement paid, as most of the damage to the furniture was deemed to be outside the policy, though we have received the tiny offer cited above. Unfortunately, Uniworld's insurers are conveniently located outside the US, so are extremely difficult to contact and we have not received any insurance settlement yet, even after more than six months.
Uniworld is a big-time con operation when they are trying to sell you their service, they provide plenty of "helpful" information about how common sharp practices are in the moving trade, to deceive you into thinking that they're different, then rip you off at every opportunity, including by using the very tactics they warn you against. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
Anne
London, New Jersey
United Kingdom
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