Household effects (4 tons) was shipped to Woodford, Co. Galway, Ireland in February with Cork, Ireland the designated Port of entry. No specific date or timeline was necessary or requested. This was my first experience with international shipping and any security regards the packing of house whole effects since 9-11.
Mr Gary Washington from CoVan was up front on the International Dept (Int'l). That it would track the container and we would be informed. To questions on security and/or customs, he said they weren't a problem. Rather, we debated the container size and the most feasible method of packing it and decided, given the driveway length and space around the garage, CoVan would pick-up the shipment and pack the container at the warehouse.
The Int'l Dept. Would contact us about the shipping date, but allow them sufficient time to compile a large container and locate a shipping company going to Cork. I never heard from the Int'l Dept. About the shipment, a tracking or reference #, a shipping date, a different designated port, customs or shipment value, storage and registration fees.
In New York City a month or 6 wks later, Ireland (family) calls me that Devonport, Eng. (?) needs a registration fee and the value of the cargo from the owner of the container and the port considers storage on cargo after 3 days. I call the number given and speak with a customs official at the port, who states that the value has to be on a specific tax form which had been forwarded via the internet to Ireland and again the issue of storage is mentioned. I also get a fax #.
A long story short I get the form and fax a 1650 euro value on used furniture to the customs office at the Port Authority.
On returning to Birmingham, I call CoVan; the office knew nothing, of course, and contacts the Int'l Dept. Which knew nothing about the shipment which I learned from a sec'y's comment. The information exchanges became e-mail exchanges with a Sharon in the office once "CoVan Int'l" was back in the loop. Custom duties were cleared and the furniture as finally delivered to Ireland in late May.
As a mover CoVan is totally irresponsible and unreliable, esp., the alleged Int'l Dept. Calls to G. Washington were not returned after the household effects left the house and the funds had been collected.
On August 2nd I am in Ireland and am able to examine the actual condition of the furniture. There was no wrapping material of any type except what we had them use and the cardboard taped to the desktops and tabletops.
The rt. Rear leg of a commode was broken off and the leg brace which was also a drawer frame was off; The rt. Fr. Leg of a solid maple desk was cracked out at the desktop. Two finials on a mahogany bed were cracked out the bed posts; The left legs (2 in. Sq) of a coffee table were broken off; A finial and spindle on an oak chair were broken; A brass wheel on a solid wooden chair was broken out of the rt. Leg and its mate on the other fr. Leg was missing; The edge on a leaded glass light fixture was cracked and glass missing. The fixture was in the same box we put on the truck at our house in the U.S. The men packing our effects were asked, if the fixture would be properly packed: the answer was "yes." A butcher block table was missing a coaster the fr. Left leg.
My conclusion: the butcher block table was not secured in the container and was rolling against the other furniture until the missing coaster came off, then the table just swung and slid around hitting various items repeatedly.
When G. Washington spoke with me about insurance, I stated that his insurance brochure offers very limited coverage and he said, 'it wouldn't cover repairs much less real value and was not worth the expense." I told him our real insurance would be CoVan's experience, knowledge and responsibility to pack and containerize our goods and get them to Ireland safely. He clearly stated: "Yes, that is the case."
The facts show the opposite.individual need t be be very careful relying on CoVan Worldwide Movers.
0 comments