This platform is a joke!!!! Don’t trust it.  Reviews 7

Trust pilot claims to be a platform for both happy consumers and disgruntled customers alike, to vent or share their personal experiences, good or bad, with a wider audience, I find it very frustrating that you have to choose a star from 1 to 5 before you can continue, personally, I only write a review, when I'm unhappy, why should I have to give 1 star when it doesn't represent my honest evaluation?

Trustpilot is a well-known consumer review platform founded in Denmark in 2007. It provides a space for customers to share and read reviews about businesses and services. Trustpilot's mission is to promote transparency and trust in the online marketplace by allowing users to rate and review companies. It has gained popularity as a source of customer feedback and a tool for businesses to improve their customer service and reputation. Trustpilot operates on a global scale, offering reviews and insights on a wide range of industries and companies.

In September 2022, I employed the services of OWN Removals to pack and move our belongings from one flat to another. Half went into storage and the other went into the new flat. I was immensely disappointed to find that upon arrival at the new flat, several items had been damaged - our heavy oak dining table and the bases of two adjustable beds.

Although this damage was compensated for, what I did not see coming was the fact that when I went to retrieve my Dyson Hot+Cool fan (£340) as well as two brand new GreenPan Frying Pans (£90 x 2) from our storage unit at a later date, they were nowhere to be found.

I personally packed all of these items in our old flat (Dyson fan in its original box and GreenPans in storage boxes) and handed them to a member of the team. So, I am absolutely certain that they were handled by the removal men as I physically put the items into their hands.

I was so upset to find that they were missing that I emailed OWN Removals, who rang me at 7 in the morning the next day to tell me, “my guys aren’t thieves”. What made me lose all confidence and trust in their services is the fact that I never accused OWN Removals of theft in my email. I think it’s apt to mention at this point that one of the guys stole a cold drink from my fridge on the second day of packing. Already a sign of things to come…

I would like to add that my items going missing in their care is very plausible as for some reason that is beyond me, the men said that they had to go to the storage unit unsupervised, and were there for nearly two hours on their own. I allowed for this as I trusted them at the time.

With all this in mind, I would urge anyone to think twice before using Own Removals.

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REPLY TO OWN Removal: "Here at OWN Removals we take complaints very seriously, and would like to offer our sincere apologies for any undue stress caused."

If you take complaints so seriously, why has it taken until now, only after I have posted on a public forum like Trustpilot, for you to offer an apology?

"We were made aware of the damage.. we held our hands up straight away, and agreed an amount of compensation that was paid timely..."

You did not compensate me timely, it took a total of 6 weeks for you to resolve the damage caused to my table and other items, and that was only after I pursued you three times. I have written evidence of this.

"We are very saddened to hear that one of our customers would think so little of our extremely hard working teams... This all changed when the time came to pay the bill."

This is completely untrue. It is I who paid timely for the bill and never questioned the cost. Again, I have written evidence of this. I would encourage OWN to refresh themselves with the invoice I paid before they start fabricating the truth.

Oli and his team were fantastic, couldn’t fault them. Would highly recommend.

I had the misfortune of using this firm to move house. I recognise that there are some good reviews on 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. 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 Own Removals 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 I question Oliver’s, understanding of his triad, 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 inconvenience that all of my aftershaves, many of which were half full, and therefore would have had no financial resale benefits were missing. These were always housed in the vanity, which was taped up as evidenced by the photos. Oliver refused to reply to my correspondence about aftershave.

I am also confused why both packers were adamant that they needed to leave at 15:00 that day, despite outstanding items to be packed, I have suspicions, were they had to go so urgently??? 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. Well I guess they are called Own Removals, which I did have to!

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. Worst thing was, he was a recommendation.

I was organising a move of furniture from two locations to one. I received quotes from three companies, Oli at OWN removals was the best and the teamed were highly professional, knew exactly what they were doing and their timings were spot-on!
I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.