Personal Effects Shipping Guide

Welcome again. EON Logistics understand how precious your goods are to you and your family. If you are considering Moving Household Goods overseas, using D.I.Y. (Do it yourself) packing and freight shipping, then hopefully the below additional information guides will help you to understand more fully the International moving process.

What is Freight Forwarding?

Freight Forwarders are a bit like travel agents, in that instead of knowing all the best airlines, beach resorts, hotels and cruise lines for holidays, your Freight Forwarder will know all the best UK Sea Freight Shipping agents, Road Freight & Air Cargo carriers, from the hundreds who offer freight shipping services to and from UK to any major destination worldwide. Subject to your cargo shipment volumes and your delivery deadlines, your Freight Forwarders will be best placed to find the best freight shipping options, for you to meet your moving deadlines. The Freight Forwarder does not own the Ocean vessels or the aircraft, his role is to select the most suitable carriers for his clients freighting needs.

Moving Checklist

We fully understand that when you start to plan your International Household Goods Move, you may not know the full volume of what you will take with you. However, for a Freight Forwarder or a UK International Removals Company to give you some budget freight shipping costs, you will need to give them a good idea of what you will ship.

As explained in earlier Personal Effects Shipping pages, if the cost is not an issue then we can recommend you employ the services of any UK International Removals Company, who can come to your house and quote for a white gloves packing service to wrap, pack, transport, freight shipping and deliver at destination. However, if you need to work to a much lower freight cost budget and wish to know costs for Ocean Freight Shipping, then you may wish to D.I.Y. pack your own goods. You should start by making a Moving Checklist of what large items you definitely wish to ship and a separate list of what you may take, should it be cost effective to ship more. Then send us your lists, containing the dimensions of your larger items only, also confirming when you plan to move overseas, any arrival deadline for your goods, together with your collection address, which floor collection is from and destination address.

From your moving checklists and any arrival deadlines you have for arrival of your goods at destination, we quote you the current costs for Ocean Freight Shipping and the approximate transit. We may also give you some Air Freight shipping quotes, should your volume be small or you require goods to arrive more quickly.

Air Freight Shipping is naturally faster, however, costs are considerably higher than Ocean Freight Shipping. If you have a large quantity of Household Furniture and Effects to ship, then using a FCL -Full Ocean Container maybe your best option. As pro-rata it will be less costly and you don’t need to spend as much on quality packing, as the ocean container partly protects your goods. For smaller consignments, you need to pay more for better quality packing, as they will be shipped with other people’s goods, as LCL shipping, in a part-load consolidated container, where your packages will be handled many times during the door to door freight shipment.

For valuable or fragile goods that you may not be able to safely or suitably pack yourself, we can arrange for a reliable Export Packing Services Company, to collect and professionally pack these items for you.

Inventory & Marking Packages

You will need to complete an accurate Inventory of all goods you are shipping, which if you have lots of small items can appear to be a tedious exercise, however, it is required by UK Customs, destination Customs and by your Cargo Insurers.

Simplest way of completing your inventory is to number each package from one upwards, then list what you put into the package as you go along and once full, seal the package, address it with your overseas address, measure it in cm in L.W.H. order, estimate the weight and add these to your inventory list.

Once finished your last package, send this completed inventory to your Freight Forwarder and they will work out the correct volume, estimated weight you have supplied and should be able to give you a fairly accurate current Ocean Freight Shipping Quote to the destination you wish to ship to.

Logically, if you do not make an accurate inventory, then the Ocean Freight Shipping Quote will not be correct, your cargo insurance maybe void and you may encounter fines/customs penalties, in your destination country, should customs examine your packages and find items not declared in your inventory.

Freight Shipping Costs and Charges Quoted

The freight shipping rates we quote you are normally from your UK Kerbside to your destination port of arrival or customs warehouse un-cleared and will include:-

• UK Transport/collection from your Kerbside of your packed goods (not labour to carry from your house to the collection truck).
• Export Bills of Lading and UK Export Customs
• UK Terminal Handling and UK Port Security
• Air or Sea freight shipping prices up to arrival your destination port or airport

Unless you have requested us to quote, the rates will not include:-

• Any Timber Packing Cases, Cartons or packing materials. Any special Tail-lift collection transport or Labour to carry from your house.
• Cargo Insurance for your Household goods – Check notes on Insurance cover.
• Any destination Handling, Delivery, local documents, Port Security, Customs Clearance costs, duty, taxes on new goods, or any requested Customs Examination costs
• Any destination Ministry of agriculture costs for fumigation or treating any timber packaging you use, which has not been properly pre-treated and stamped
• Any destination Storage or detention costs incurred awaiting your completion of your import Customs Clearance.

Packing Household Goods for Freight Shipping

It’s very important that if you are D.I.Y. packing your goods, that you fully wrap to protect items and use good quality packaging, to protect goods from the multiple handling they will endure, throughout the voyage from UK to destination. Important to remember, if your goods are damaged due to insufficient or poor packing, then you’re Insurers and the Freight Shipping Carriers may refuse to settle any claims.

If you use any Timber Packing Cases or wooden pallets, you must ensure that your suppliers of timber packaging used, only use timbers suitable for importing into the country you are shipping to. Timber packing cases and pallets must have the correct ISPM 15 Timber or Heat Treated Timber stamps. Failure to have the correct treatment stamps on any timber packing, can result in your cargo being refused entry into your destination country, possibly destroyed or even returned to UK .With all and any resulting costs for your account. Your UK Freight Forwarder can help with recommending correct packaging to use, or we can bring back to their warehouse to improve packing by palletising or crating, as required.

International Cargo Insurance for Freight Shipping

Our Cargo Insurance Brokers do not allow us to quote for Personal Effects Insurance cover. However, Insurers can quote you directly for DIY owner packed or Professionally Packed Household Effects.

It’s very important that you check what is covered by any cargo insurance you buy, as normally cover will be very limited. It should be logical to you that when insuring your personal goods, the insurance company only have your word that the goods are actually there in the first place, that they are in good condition before you packed them and you have properly/safely packed them. So hopefully it’s understandable that Insurance cover will be limited for D.I.Y. Owner Packed Household Effects and will have strict conditions. However, if you pay for Professional Export Packing Services, the Cargo Insurance cover will be much higher, covering individual items, as an independent Export Packing Service company has seen your goods, listed them and professionally packed them. Something you should consider for valuable or fragile items.

*Please note that jewellery, watches, trinkets, precious stones, money, securities, valuable documents, wines, spirits, tobacco, drugs, firearms or hazardous goods, should not be packed within your household effects and will not be covered by your Cargo Insurance Insurance

Claims for Household Effects

In the unusual event that your goods arrive with some damages or packages short, it’s very important that you immediately do the following;

• Sign/clause the delivering drivers notes of the damage or missing package numbers (whichever applies) and keep a copy of this claused driver’s delivery note.
• Unpack and check all your numbered packages against your original inventory, making a full list of what is damaged or missing from each numbered package. ‘’Preferably whilst the driver is still with you’’ Notify the local destination Customs agent or the carrier’s agent of the damages/shortages and that you will be sending them a full claim.
• Notify your UK Freight Forwarder immediately, or next working day with same information
• Notify your Cargo Insurance Company immediately or next working day with same information. Asking them for contact details of there local Insurance Handling agents and what they need from you, to make a claim for your loss.

Documentation & Information for you

• You will need to supply a copy of your passport, your destination address and telephone numbers.
• You need to supply your inventory/declaration of contents of your packages *See Inventory completion notes. –
• You need to be in the country you are shipping to, for you to assist with the Customs Clearance requirements and in case destination Customs wish to speak with you.
• We recommend that you make contact with the Embassy of the country you are shipping your goods to, for clear information about importing your goods and for guidance on any special requirements, visa’s or documentation you may need, for importing your personal goods into that country.

Documentation We Give to You

Once your goods have been shipped by Sea Freight Shipping or Air Freight Shipping services, to your new country and you have paid your Freight Forwarders agreed freight shipping charges, your Forwarder will send you the Export Bill of Lading or Air waybill, together with the contact details for the local destination release agents. You will then need to contact this agent for: release of your goods, to pay any local charges, assistance with the destination local Customs Clearance and delivery to your new residence.

Any questions on the above Contact us

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