Shared with others · 6
Shared with people you will never meet
A domestic move has two parties. An international one has five or six, most of whom you will never speak to. Establishing where our responsibility ends and somebody else’s begins is the single most useful thing to do before booking anything.
Ask where goods-in-transit cover stops and marine cover starts. Almost nobody does, and it is the whole question.
Who is in the chain
Where the cover changes hands
On a European road movement the position stays relatively simple, because the vehicle and the cover generally travel together across the border.
On a sea or air movement it does not. Goods-in-transit cover typically ends somewhere defined, and marine or transit cover takes over for the crossing. That handover point should be written down before anything sails, and on a cheap quotation it frequently is not.
Nothing here is insurance advice. Ask for the policy summary and the handover point in writing, from us and from anybody else you approach.
Shared container, or sole use
A shared container is consolidated with other consignments at a depot, shipped, and deconsolidated at the far end. More parties, more handling, lower cost. A sole-use container is loaded at your property, sealed, shipped and opened at your new address.
Both are legitimate and we quote both. The difference is not a service level — it is the number of people who touch your belongings, and it should be a decision rather than a default.
The half of the paperwork that is yours
We prepare everything that comes from the inventory: the described list, the export declaration, the import entry and the relief claim. That half is finished before the goods leave.
The other half is attached to you as a person — a residence permit, a registration, a tax number, evidence of your own arrival. It cannot be obtained for you, it takes longer than people plan for, and on several routes a container arriving ahead of it simply waits at cost.
Where we go
Across Europe by road and worldwide by sea and air. Oman, Thailand, Mexico and Mauritius have their own pages because each moves the liability handover to a different place: a residence permit, a long chain of hands, a substantial inland leg, and an island with no road alternative.
We collect from anywhere on the UK mainland, including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bristol.
Shared with people you will never meet
Questions about shared with people you will never meet
01 Where does your cover stop?
On a road movement it generally travels with the vehicle. On a sea or air movement it ends at a defined point and marine cover takes over. Ask for that point in writing before anything sails.
02 Who actually handles our goods?
Us at origin, then possibly a consolidator, the carrier, port operators at both ends, and a destination agent. On a shared container that is a long chain and most of it is not us.
03 Is a sole-use container worth it?
It removes the consolidation handling at both ends, which on a long route is a real difference rather than a comfort. We quote both and explain what each involves.
04 What paperwork is ours?
Everything derived from the inventory — the list, the export declaration, the import entry and the relief claim. Documents attached to you as a person cannot be obtained for you.
05 What happens if the container arrives before our permit?
It waits, at the receiving end, at cost. On several routes that is the single biggest risk in the whole move and it is a matter of sequencing rather than shipping.
06 Do you handle air freight?
For small urgent consignments, and we will say plainly when it is not worth it. Air freight prices weight and volume in a way that punishes ordinary furniture severely.
Ask us for it in writing
Both addresses, roughly what is going, and whether you are packing any of it yourself. Ask for the policy summary in the same message and we will send it without being awkward about it.