We planned on using this company to move from Michigan to France and everything was seemingly going smoothly. We had all the boxes packed and labeled and were waiting for the truck to arrive to pick up the boxes. Then, we get a call saying 2 different drivers bailed and that there was nothing they could do. After talking them into actually trying to find a solution, they called back to re-assert the claim that there was nothing they could do and that it wasn't their problem. A last minute cancellation on something like this is completely unacceptable. People have homes they need to leave and planes they need to catch. You can't just leave someone stranded with 30 packed boxes in a house they can no longer legally live in. read more

The lack of communication with this company is just awful. Granted, my boxes did arrive at their destination, but it was weeks later than originally promised, and at a MUCH higher price. The fees charged at the destination port more than doubled the total price of the shipment, with absolutely no warning from Crown. When we inquired about it we never received a response. Communication is key with something as critical as a home move and this company totally dropped the ball. Edit: looking back through the emails, it was definitely made clear that I was responsible for customs charges and clearance. Communication and punctuality were still a problem. read more

I contracted with Chris Neo of Crown to move my personal effects from Oakland, CA to Strasbourg, France. Crown used Troy Container LIne to ship my goods. When the shipment arrived at Le Havre, I was hit with an extra 214 euros in "fees" by the shipper's partner, NVO Consolidation, plus I had to pay an additional 155 euros for customs inspection, something I could have done myself if customs had been done in Strasbourg, where I live and which was the mutually-agreed on destination. Moreover, instead of arriving in Strasbourg, NVO Consolidation trucked my stuff to a town 40+ Km away, so I had to pay extra for the rental truck. Finally, two items arrived broken: a precious framed collage of photos of my kids when they were little and my Specialized Air Tool Pro bike pump. which cost over 188 euros to replace or repair; not surprisingly, Chris Neo never responded to my emails asking if I would be reimbursed for the breakage. In all, my expenses were over 400 euros beyond what was agreed to plus the 188 euros. The bottom line: avoid Chris Neo and Crown International Forwarder at all costs! read more

I've been a repeat customer of Crown International Forwarders for 10 years. Chris Neo has been great time and time again. As a small personal shipper, I have found Crown to be the only affordable way to ship overseas. I've never had any problem at all, and the only time there was a delay due to weather, Chris sent me updates. I've really appreciated their service and haven't had any problems at all. I will continue to be a loyal customer. *BTW, be prepared for possible customs charges at the overseas destination, which Crown has absolutely no control over. read more

I found out about this company's review way too late. It may be a good company for people who do lots of shipments with them on a regular basis but definitely NOT for individual use. It's a whole different approach from an individual viewpoint, someone who tries to save money. Doing most of the work oneself, including bringing the shipment to the warehouse myself and picking it up at the warehouse of destination, etc... I got several different quotes from different companies and yes Crown International Forwarder made the best offer. Almost a third of other quotes. I called them up and only one person, Chris Neo, spoke with me and kept being the only person to deal with. Like a one man show, I feel. I asked him how he could be possibly so cheap and he told me it is our outstanding customer service and we get mostly word of mouth referrals and that way we can be so competitive. I packed my own stuff and rented a uhaul to transport it to the warehouse. Last minute I was told that the place to transport it to is a different one than originally said. So I had no chance to inform myself about the terms and conditions of that 'new' warehouse. Upon arrival as told by Chris, I would be helped carry the load onto pallets and get them shrinkwrapped. The reality was that I had to unload the truck and put the things on pallets and get them ready for shipment. BUT then I was sent the bill for that work and they wanted to charge me for the palletization! PLUS the warehouse people measured more volume than was actually present, increasing the bill. Chris then took that charge off later as he saw the mistake. This reduced the bill by a forth. The additional problems were that there were three companies involved not one. Chris told me that there are destination charges - going to Austria, Europe. But that would be in the range of €150. But it turned out to be over €550 and with the additonal transportation costs about €800 overall. Including also additonal custom charges. Originally it was supposed to be about 5 weeks until arrival but it turned out to be over 9 weeks overall. And there were three companies involved in the process, not one. The communication was extremely poor, It was pulling things out of their noses to find things out. And no prediction of what would occur and when, None of what I was told besides the US charges were fulfilled. It constantly changed. And only excuses. In the end the price had doubled. With all the hassle and additional time spent I could have easily chosen a more 'expensive' company and would have been better off. read more

I've done business with Crown for over a decade now and couldn't be happier with their services. Being a business person, I'm constantly seeking better alternatives. As shipping goes, I always find myself back at Crown because of their competetive prices and excellent service. read more

The quote from the company was the lowest i got, so I took a chance and shipped through them. My boxes did arrive at the destination but quite late. I was told over the phone that it will take around 30 days max, but my stuff arrived at close to 70 days. This was later refuted and i was told it was only an estimate. There is absolutely zero communication from the company. The initial problem started when dropping the stuff at the shipping location. I was charged double the amount of palletisation mentioned during calls. (I ignored since i did not have this cost-estimate in writing from them.) Then the fee's charged at the destination directly doubled the price of shipping. The fee's charged were much more than the competitors who had atleast broken them down and listed on the quotation. The company was not helpful when asked about the fee's. In the end, the total price came out to be abt the same (rather a little more) than the competitors. In my opinion, if I have to ship again, i will avoid this company and before shipping one should check the reviews here (which i ignored) read more

Same as previous reviewer. Wish I had read this! Price was cheap enough, but ended up paying almost 45% extra for the port handling fees. Crown International gave a "rough estimate" that was only a fourth of my actual cost. They should have known better. Now that I am asking for a better invoice for my tax records than an email, they are no longer responding to my email. read more