I had the misfortune of using this firm to move house. I recognise that there are some good reviews…read moreon here, though would regard my review as an accurate reflection of the experience I had using Own Removals, and subsequently would urge anyone using Own Removals to be vigilant of the below.
When Own Removals company came round to pack the goods, the day before I moved house, this was done in an exceedingly unprofessional manner with items literally flung in a box and paperwork in boxes clearly rummaged through. We notice after the packing that my wife's: engagement ring, diamond and ruby necklace, and diamond earrings were missing. When I put this to Oliver his immediate suggestion was that the jewellery was packed away. However, taking into account that all items were in a specific part of her jewellery box, it was evident that one of the movers had stolen the items the day prior to moving when they came round to pack.
When we arrived at the new property, and the jewellery was still not accounted for a police report was filed. As the weeks went on and we unpacked, the evidence of a rogue packing firm became clear. As you can see from the pictures, for reasons only known to the Own Removals, a £5000 vanity was ruined as the idiot decided to use masking tape to secure it, which subsequently meant that when the masking tape was removed the skin of the leather came off. When I challenged Oliver about this his excuse was that they normally use low level adhesive tape. It is clear that they have absolutely no idea what they are doing, as the correct protocol is to strap this item down or reverse the tape when putting it on. Regrettably I found this out later.
Excluding the jewellery, we also noted that various items were also damaged, or missing, such as my child's mobile and picture frames. As a further insult, one of the packers clearly had such low levels of concern for our property that he even discarded his empty food wrappers into our packing boxes. There was also the added theft of all of my aftershaves, many of which were half full, and therefore would have had no financial resale benefits.
I am suspicious that both packers were in on this, as they were quite adamant that they needed to leave at 15:00 that day, despite outstanding items to pack. But I guess the pawn shops do close early some days. After the move, I returned to my previous property and noticed that many of the items had not been collected, and were merely left in one room, this then required another four hours for me to ferry the items to my new property.
When I put all of this to Oliver he did rescinded the charge for this move, which goes absolutely no way to appease the damage that Own Removals slapdash business practices have resulted in. So no, I would not recommend Own Removals.
