Armishaws Removals

Reviews

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1. R

   Rachel

   Source: RemovalReviews · London, UK to Manchester, UK

   23 Aug 2018Paid £2,500

   Not to be trusted!

   Moving house is stressful enough without having to deal with this team of amateurs. I was quoted for a move from the south east to the north which included a drop in Manchester and two in Barnsley. I'd accepted the quoted price and paid the required deposit. No confirmation of payment or removal dates was received from them. After chasing for this confirmation, I eventually received an e-mail saying they were going to increase the quoted price by 28% as it hadn't been costed correctly. Unprofessional and underhand. This company are not to be trusted. I wish I'd read everyone else's reviews before contacting them..

2. J

   John

   Source: RemovalReviews · Reading, UK to Blackpool, UK

   4 Aug 2018Paid £100

   Dreadful Service.

   I could go on for ages about the terrible service and unprofessionalism of this company but there is not enough space. The office staff are rude, their reps makes promises they do not keep. I would not recommend using this company under any circumstances. My move was aimed at South to North, the exact location is not in the drop down menus below.

3. M

   Mrs C.

   Source: RemovalReviews · Taunton, UK

   12 Jun 2018Paid £400

   Moving from Chard.

   Do not use this company! Shocking customer service, I had arranged an appointment for 9am after waiting over half an hour I phoned the office to be told the appointment had been changed to 10.30, the guy didn't bother to turn up! what a waste of peoples time. no phone call or any form of communication to me to explain why he didn't turn up. This company need to get their act together and remember it's a very competitive world out there and if they want to continue as a company SHAPE UP!

4. K

   Kirsty

   Source: RemovalReviews · Guildford, UK

   18 May 2018Paid £3,300

   Terrible Customer Service - Rude and defensive.

   Don't go near them. They sent an estimator round who gave us a verbal quote. They then sent a written estimate that was a completely different number. When I queried this, firstly they tried to cover up the mistake and then told me they didn't want my business anyway when I called to understand what had happened. Didn't even get as far as actually using them. Came away shaken enough from the way I was spoken to and the basic lack of integrity, courtesy and any form of professionalism. A complete waste of time.

5. M

   Mr J.

   Source: RemovalReviews · London, UK to Plymouth, UK

   17 Nov 2017Paid £4,200

   Removal Experience.

   My experience with Armishaws was initially very good. Hence the one solitary star. We were impressed and comfortable with the representative providing the quote. However in spite of paying a deposit,as we were informedto hold a booking,and keeping in regular contact with them, when the time came to confirm they turned around and told us that it probably was not possible anymore. I was now faced with the prospect of not being able to move on our completion date and therefore had no option other than to contact other companies to see if they could move us. In the end a second company was able to move us on the required date. When I then contacted Armishaws to cancel their booking I was met with verbal abuse, refusal to refund my deposit and threatened with being taken to court. When I then tried to speak with head office, I was subjected to the same verbal abuse, prevented from speaking and told "We will see you in court!!". In my view this is nothing short of a business that was unable to meet its obligations and therefore reverted to bullying customers who had no option but to secure business elsewhere. In my view, their behaviour is unprofessional and contradicts all good business codes of ethics.

6. A

   Ann R.

   Source: RemovalReviews · Salisbury, UK

   11 Nov 2017Paid £2,400

   Awful Experience.

   I have a young family and a full time job and wanted to make moving as easy as possible for my family. A surveyor came who quoted me what I thought was a good price, I advised we would be needing smaller vehicles as access was restricted (we had been specifically warned this by our seller so I wanted to be clear), he said he was already aware of this in the location we were going to and ticked the 'restricted access' box on the form. He also made a note '7.5tonnes', I now understand that even these are unable to reach the property and 3.5tonnes were required, however, I did not know this. I signed the quote and paid my deposit. On the day of exchange I telephoned to check availability before exchange and then called back after to say that exchange had taken place and to please book us in. That evening I got back from work to find an EMail stating that there was going to be an additional £600 charge for the use of small vehicles and that I was to sign a new quote for them to be able to book me in! I telephoned the next morning the woman who had sent the EMail wouldn't even talk to me and apparently I wouldn't be able to speak to the 'Sales Manager' until 2.30pm! I asked to speak to his manager who basically said that I could not challenge the quote and would have to pay the additional charge but he would 'look into it'. A man from the transport department telephoned at around 4.30pm to ask where exactly I was moving to (I have no idea why he couldn't find out from the information I had already provided - and surely they had checked when they gave me the quote?), I have to say he was very nice but he said he was 85% sure they could do the move with 7.5tonne vehicles. At lunchtime the next day a received an EMail from the Sales manager saying that it had been left to him to inform me that they were unable to use the 7.5tonne vehicles and now their 3.5tonne vehicles were booked up and they would not be able to move me! Again they had not even bothered to telephone me to tell me. I understand that a mistake had been made with the quote but they had not checked (and I was told they cannot check access to each house); given that I had told them about the access from the outset I would think this would be the first thing any professional firm would do! The way the EMails were written were extremely dismissive I was made to feel like a nuisance. There was no customer service evident at all, I was just dismissed because my move didn't fit into the 'standard' bracket. I am left wondering why they have a contract to move military families especially when I see all the other reviews here. I am thankful they did not end up moving us and I only wish I had looked online first. I add my own experience to hope that others do not have to experience similar.

7. T

   Tracy R.

   Source: RemovalReviews · Guildford, UK to Taunton, UK

   2 Aug 2017Paid £2,500

   Shocking Customer Service.

   I will start off by saying that the guys who actually did the move were great, but the office staff are rude, unhelpful and have the most antiquated processes. So many issues that I don't know where to start! There were complications in our chain that meant the move would be at very short notice and it was expected to be around a very busy period around a bank holiday. This was made all the more stressful by the fact that there is one person in the whole company who can book a slot but he goes home by about 2.30pm. On the day of exchange we were told he would be there until 3pm, we were ready to exchange just after 2.30, so rang Armishaws to book and he had gone home, so the whole chain had to wait another day. When I mentioned that I was pretty annoyed about this the lady I spoke to complained that I had upset her. We then found out the day before moving that they could not honour the agreement to pack most stuff on the day before, then come back on the moving day for the last bits (i.e our bed, freezer and animal beds/cage). So everything was packed the day before moving and we had to borrow and airbed, then try to cram all the animal beds/cages in our car the next day. The thing I am most annoyed about is that NOT ONCE have we had an apology for their shocking customer service and attitude. I had hoped to sort this out with them directly, but their response to my letter was so rude, not to mention incorrect, that I feel compelled to write a review and warn others. I have since heard similar feedback from other people locally and even the guys that moved us said it was common to get complaints about the office staff.

8. L

   Lee S.

   Source: RemovalReviews · Reading, UK

   15 Jul 2017Paid £3,000

   Armishaws - Poor.

   Moved within Wokingham (near Reading) on Dec 6th, 2016. We had previously used Rainbow Removals of Wokingham a few years previously. When we went back, we found out they had been acquired by Armishaws. Nonetheless, we thought it likely that they'd be the same people - we were partly right, the same removal crew, but everything else had changed. We paid for packing and removal. About week before our move, our move date had to fall back by about a week. We lost a large chunk of our deposit and our packing service. During this discussion, the customer service was very poor and very rude, despite it being chain related and not a choice on our part. On the move day itself, the removal crew were good, polite and helpful. We got keys about 2:30pm, which is quite a normal time on move day. Half way though unloading, head office called to say that we'd have to pay waiting time (as I recall, asking for a fee of about £150+) on the spot (there was no times written in the contract) - we challenged this and the crew said if this wasn't paid they would be told to stop the move. So we felt we had little choice, as it was getting dark and begrudgingly paid. The move completed and we had a damaged bookcase. When I wrote to claim for damage, we were sent a cheque for a derisory £40 and told they we had waived damage insurance cover. This won't come near to cover the damage that had been caused to the item of furniture. My wife managed the removals aspect of the move and didn't read the small print (she trusted them to be fair with good and reasonable customer services) - but also did not have the deposit cancellation clause explained to her, nor the insurance cover when she signed the contract. Having read the contract retrospectively, the contract is not a reasonable or fair contract. we seriously considered taking legal action but thought this would be throwing good money after bad. I would not use this company again - unreasonable & rude, poor customer service. Lots of reviews on here about poor service. I will leave this same review on Trust Pilot and see if it is published (as in complete contrast to this site, they all seem overwhelming positive on there..). I would not use this company again and strongly advise anyone else to avoid them and take careful note of these reviews. without a doubt, one of the worst companies I have ever dealt with.

   Response from Armishaws Removals

   Thank you for your review. I trust you will accept our right to respond in relative detail when taking into account the context of your review. Quotation/Contract The quotation is based on the standard quotation as advised by the British Association of Removers and is inspected yearly by a B.A.R inspector. The quotation is designed to be clear, specific and in plain English. You have stated that the contract is not fair or reasonable and that you considered taking legal action but did not wish to throw good money after bad.If you feel as strongly as your review indicates I suggest you raise your complaint direct to the British Association of Removers compliance department, or indeed, if you follow the complaints procedure, raise it with the Ombudsman. Cancellation/Postponement Charge You claim the above was not explained to you at the time of the survey, I very much suspect it was as it is part of the surveyors requirement. Nevertheless in the quotation package you received, your attention was drawn to the Terms and Conditions that form part of the contract no less than on three separate occasions. Liability Cover Once again you claim not to have had the ramifications of standard and limited liability explained to you, indeed very much I suspect it was. However your attention was drawn to the subject five times in the quotation package, In fact your wife has clearly signed the acceptance stating that you do not require liability cover for your goods during the removal. Your claim for damage to a bookcase was settled under the terms of the contract. Waiting Time The detail of the waiting time, and the charges, are clearly shown in the Confirmation of Removal sent to you in advance of the removal. In your case the crew arrived at the delivery point at 12.07 hours, based on your instruction of a lunchtime completion. You did not get the keys until 14.30 hours. Therefore there we a crew of five waiting for just over two hours. Waiting time kicks in after one hour, you were charged £110 plus VAT. As a point of clarity the crew did not complete the unloading until 19.11 hours some two hours later than expected. Rudeness Please let me know in particular who was rude and I will investigate the matter and write to you separately. We do not condone rudeness. Conclusion It appears that the crux of your complaint is as a result of your wife not reading the contract terms, personally I find this rather demeaning against your wife. Basically you choose to ignore the terms conditions of the contract, yet expect them, retrospectively, not to apply to you. I ask would you not bother to examine the contract if you were going on holiday or entering into a finance agreement. I am sorry I do not accept that Rainbow Removals under the banner of Armishaws has mislead you in any way. I feel your review in the main is unnecessary in its criticism. The failure on your part to either read or understand salient points of the contract cannot be laid at our door. If you wish to write to me privately I will be pleased to address the points you make in more detail. Pat Carter.

9. L

   Lorna

   Source: RemovalReviews · Salisbury, UK to Bath, UK

   15 Jun 2017Paid £3,500

   Removals and storage.

   Armishaws had my furniture in storage for 6 months and moved me out of my last house and into my present one after storage. My furniture came out of store covered in rust (fridge freezer) and/or mould (white goods), damp with damp marks (bed linen) and much was damaged and lost. They have been intransigent and unhelpful, immediately called out a loss adjuster and walked away. They are a big, expensive and don't care about the small fry. Don't use them.

   Response from Armishaws Removals

   Our storage facility is open to inspection. The building is purpose built for the storage off goods providing a constant dry temperature through all seasons. The interior and exterior of the building is inspected monthly to ensure there is not any water ingress. We have had and do hove goods which have been in storage for a number of years without the problems related to in the above review. The condition of goods held in storage will very much depend on the attention given by the owner prior to storage. If items such as white goods are not thoroughly cleaned in preparation for storage on a long term basis this may and will lead to mould growth and possibly the formation of rust. The same applies to soft furnishings, linen not rust of course. In this particular instance an independent Loss Adjuster was engaged to view the alleged reports of rust etc. On inspection an offer was made under the terms of limited liability as you provided your own insurance for goods whilst in storage. A reply to the Loss Adjuster was never given.

10. T

    T N.

    Source: RemovalReviews · Guildford, UK

    2 May 2017Paid £3,400

    Dreadful experience.

    This move was a nightmare from start to finish. There was a lot of furniture to move and the many moves we have done in the past have been with companies who sent at least 6 men. Armishaws arrived with 3 on the first day and 2 on the second. Needless to say, they were rushing like madmen to try and make the deadline to move out. The result was many items stuffed into boxes (clothes not even folded or hung, just dropped in) which were often incorrectly, and always inadequately, labelled. They were late on completing the move due to insufficient staff being deployed. Head Office was no help whatsoever in spite of plaintive calls both from me and the foreman. As chance would have it, the new owners of our house were also, unknown to us at the time, using Armishaws for their move and they had the same problems. This meant they were late arriving but Head Office didn't even have the ability to notice this which could have relieved a lot of the pressure on the day of the move fi we had been told the new owners were delayed. It is true that our move was changed from one going into storage to a move to an unfurnished house just a few days before the move. However, we asked Armishaws if this was possible and they said they could do it. They did not say they could only do a second rate job which is what it turned out to be. We followed up with a complaint to which they completely failed to acknowledge any responsibility. We have spent months trying to locate missing items (much of it has had to stay in boxes as we are in smaller, rented accommodation before we move into our own house) and they made a stressful event the most stressful of all our moves. Do not use this company - they don't care.