Puja Mehtarated5.0
9 yrs ago
I highly recommend this company!
Ok, its going to be a long post, but I hope to help people who are going through what I went through. And please pay it forward :)
I wanted to move my things in June 2016 from Philadelphia, USA to India - door to door. I had no electronics or furniture and was doing this move all on my own. SCARY! I went through several company websites, read several reviews(horror stories, some of them) and was one confused and extremely stressed out person. Moving on your own is expensive and no fun.
It took me some to figure out that I did not qualify for FCL or LCL but 'excess baggage'. Spoke to several movers - ridiculous rates, incomplete information, was just not satisfied.
Thankfully, I came across Universal Relocations. Guys, this is different from UniReLo.
Some things that set them apart.
1. Excellent customer service - there was someone who I could talk to anytime, even weekends. I got all my questions answered, thank you to Balaji and Rishi Aravind. They were very patient and very straightforward. No hurry to rush and pay money, like some other companies I spoke to.
Once my shipment reached India, the India office person (Shyamala) got in touch with me, confirmed my address etc.
My shipment took about two and a half months. I was kept up to date regularly by email. I did not even need to use the tracking number they gave me to track my shipment, they were so good.
2. This is one of very few companies that does Excess Baggage Shipment WITH door to door service. Some companies have stopped it as it is not financially lucrative, also, there is also lot of harassment apparently, at India Customs.
3. MOST IMP - they have their own office in India. Please, please clarify this when you are booking with a moving company. i read and heard stories of people who shipped with companies who had a partner in India, not their own people. So once the shipment reached India, they absolved themselves of all responsibility, and the customer had a crazy time getting in touch with the third party, extra unexplained costs, etc.
All in all, I moved six boxes - very, very reasonable price. I bought insurance from them too, I believe it is mandatory, gives you some peace of mind. They sent the shipping labels, forms by email - very simple process.
Fedex came and picked up my boxes from my house, they were sent to NJ warehouse(I think it was NJ). The company put extra wrapping too. and then shipped to Chennai. They reached my house in Mumbai by road.
I paid online. I had extra payment to be made Rs.1696 for misc charges incurred at customs - Customs looked through two boxes. Since I did not want to make my parents go to the Bank and transfer money etc, they agreed for Cash on Delivery! They did not hold up shipment or anything like that(yes other companies have done that).
My shipment was intact - except for two broken glasses, which I suspect was broken as I labeled the Fragile box only after the Fedex guy picked it up and loaded it(threw it) onto the truck.
I was going to be travelling in the US for 3 months, so it did not matter to me if the shipping took one week or 3 months. For those who have a time crunch, think of shipping by air instead.
I am happy with Universal Relocations - it was a surprisingly very pleasant experience. Best part was the transparency and these guys know what they are doing and are very professional.
I went through their website and trustpilot prior to booking, they personally reply to grievances and have overall very good reviews(yeah, sometimes things will go wrong, people will be unhappy).
Would recommend them any day. I generally never write such long glowing reviews, but I am truly pleased with the whole process.
Good luck with your move!