Stories about Moving via Sea Container – £50 Prize
- This topic has 5 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 1st April 2016 at 10:10 am by
.
-
Posts
-
Dear all, we’re writing an article about the true costs of container shipping to Greece – we’ve heard some horror stories over the years! From delays lasting 16 weeks and more, to containers being left at Heraklion and customers told to empty it themselves and somehow get their belongings up to their home… If you’ve got a story about container shipping in Crete please let us know. Either reply below or PM me!
When people are researching the idea of using a sea container to move to Greece, *all* of the available information online gives them "best case scenario" figures for both the time and cost. Some sources even quote impossible figures such as "4 days transit time by sea"… there is no accuracy. We want to write an article that shows the range, from shortest shipping time to longest, from best experience to worst.
We’ve decided to give a £50 prize to the most interesting (true) horror story, judged by the Nomad team. We’ll decide at the end of March 2016 so please reply before then! Winner will be announced on this thread.
(Please note that we’ve also requested submissions on our Facebook page, but without the prize – if the winning entry is not from Crete via the BIC Forum, then we’ll donate the £50 to a charity on Crete instead – also announced on this thread).
My neighbour moved all his stuff via container. AFAIK it all went smoothly – he’d done his research. The container was collected and delivered to his property where it has been converted into an insulated "shed" with double-glazed doors.
That’s good! Sometimes it does go smoothly. But we’ve head so many stories over the years of containers being lost, containers being left at Heraklion, companies telling customers to empty the container themselves, container trucks not making it anywhere near the house and with no backup plan, stories where the goods are delivered by pickup truck with the men standing on top of the boxes, extensive damages, delays for months, repeated paperwork issues, excessive storage fees… the list goes on. We’ve never written any of these stories down though!
The problem is that when people are researching the idea of shipping via sea container, all of the available information simply quotes the best case scenario in terms of time and price, as if it always goes like clockwork. In reality there are many things that can go wrong with container shipping, and they very often do go wrong.
We’re starting to receive submissions via Facebook but hopefully we will get some stories on the BIC forum soon!
Everyone shipping a container should be aware that it gets delivered to the nearest port (in our case Iraklio) and that’s it. After that, YOU (the recipient) must employ someone to do all the necessary paperwork AND employ someone to collect and deliver the container to your door (and dispose of it if you don’t want to keep it).
I know this because my neighbour researched it, thoroughly, and told me about it before the event. Frankly, I feared the worst, but this guy is good at organising.
However, I would think twice about shipping a container, myself, unless I had a use for it.
I would certainly recommend using Nomad simply for peace of mind.
Thanks very much Kefalas :) I agree of course! (although this thread was just intended to find out more about people’s experiences with container shipping).
Thank you for the info you mentioned from your neighbour’s research too.
Dear all, just a note to say that we’ve decided to donate the £50 prize to Sara’s Hope Foundation, a charity on Crete that provides UK children and teens with cancer some much needed time away with their families in Crete (http://www.sarashopefoundation.co.uk/).
If anyone reads this thread after the deadline, if you have a story about problems with moving to Crete via sea container, we’d still love to hear from you! Please PM or email us with your stories. We have enough information to write the article but more stories are always appreciated.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.