11 Jan 2024 · RemovalReviews
1.0 out of 51.0
This may be a lengthy review but please read it.
Paid White and Company to move our belongings from our existing house into their storage facility and then onto our new house a few weeks later. Also paid them a further £390 for their insurance to cover both our moves and also for the storage period.
We decided to pack and box our own possessions given that the reviews of White and Co’s packing service had not been particularly complimentary; small items were carefully wrapped and placed using bubble wrap in storage boxes that White and Co provided and larger items of furniture were protected in multi-layer bubble wrap and then covered with a layer of thick packing grade cardboard and duct tape.
Upon delivery of our belongings we discovered that ten items, primarily furniture, but also including an expensive Bose hi-fi speaker which appeared to have been dropped, had been damaged.
After numerous chasing emails to them and finally after waiting nearly three months, we were informed that due to the fact that we had carried out our own packing, our belongings, albeit with the exception of a couple of items that White and Co themselves had placed within plastic bags, we were not actually insured against damage!
They referred us to their small print contained within a page of thirty four specific insurance clauses which were sent to us as part of sixteen pages of contradictory contract documentation and which stated that our belongings were only actually insured if one of their vehicles was involved in an accident or overturned!!!
White and Co had therefore taken our £390 knowing full well that our entire possessions were never actually covered for such things as basic damage, theft, flood, fire etc (ie all of the risks that one might want to actually insure against), at any time during our moves or whilst in storage.
We therefore took them to court for breach of contract and their failure to meet their contractual obligations as a ‘supposed’ professional removals company and to use care and diligence to carefully move and store our belongings. Unfortunately, although we were successful with our claim, after taking into account court fees, our settlement only covered a fraction of the replacement cost of the damaged items!
The basis of White and Company’s defence in court was effectively that the items that were damaged were done so prior to our wrapping / packing and we had covered up this damage in order to claim against their insurance! They also ridiculously stated that we should have photographed every item prior to packing in order to prove that nothing was damaged beforehand!!
The moral of the story. Firstly, based upon our experience we would suggest employing someone else; any company that can manage to damage ten items clearly can’t be that diligent or professional! Secondly, if despite this review you really do feel the need to use this company, irrespective of whether they pack your belongings or you pack yourself, make sure that you have agreed the condition of everything with them before anything is covered up. Finally, if you do decide to pack yourself, their insurance is pretty much worthless, so use an independent company to ensure adequate cover.
Would just conclude by saying that even after the settlement, the manager from White and Co who attended court could not even bring himself to offer any semblance of an apology, but chose instead to major upon how much time he had lost and how far he’d had to travel to attend court! Perhaps his company should have provided a better service in the first place!
Make up your own mind, but you have been warned!!!
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