Bournes Removals

Bournes moved us from one large property to another within Surrey. It took four days with packing, loading and unloading. We had a core team over the four days and others brought in as and when required. We found the whole team polite and professional throughout, especially Robbie and Patrick who did everything to make the whole process less stressful. The move, which involved four lorries, was completed without a single broken item. I would recommend Bournes without hesitation.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: £5400

I was stressed and worried at the prospect of this move, as I haven't had to do it for several years. But the two-person crew Bournes sent actually made it fun! They were just so nice to have around -- friendly, flexible, supportive, and obviously very experienced -- I felt like they really cared I was leaving my old home and moving to make a new start in a new place: this wasn't 'just a job' and they weren't just boxes/bits of furniture, they were a key part of me and my life, and that approach was really, very much appreciated.".

Service cost: £600

We had the misfortune of choosing Bournes which was our first move in 19 years so therefore a big thing for the whole family. Please be very aware when choosing this company . We had 4 quotes and they worked their hardest to persuade us to go with them. The salesperson will do a wonderful pitch and appear very professional , at no point will he tell you to expect 11 different people of all abilities to tramp through your home which is what happened to us. He will also make a big thing about all staff being long standing and fully trained, again this appeared not to be the case with us. On day one the telephone line was taken down and the glass in our coffee table smashed during packing. This was measured and indeed taken away by them with the assurance that it would be replaced by the end of the week. This did not happen! Five weeks later a piece of glass appeared that was far too big and was sent back. Their man reluctantly put the balance of the packing boxes on his van although he said technically he shouldn't have done so without the correct ticket?? In the end we sourced the glass ourselves, we did not want anyone from Bournes in our home again! They did reimburse quite rightly. Three employees were with us for the whole week and to be fair seemed personable, good chaps, however we were disturbed to have another 8 people of all abilities turning up and dealing with our hard earned belongings. Items were packed that should not have been even after clear instructions not to do so. The most upsetting thing being a pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses being packed in one the last remaining boxes to leave and never turning up at the new property!! When this incident was reported to Wesley Bourne MD we got nowhere!! No compensation was given which considering he charged £4258 to move just 6 miles is unforgivable and an absolute disgrace. We are so rightly upset and violated, we tipped his employees handsomely and made bacon sandwiches / refreshments for 5 days. All the office staff were incredibly rude and offensive, their attitude changing dramatically as soon as our money in their bank, the job was done! Moving is stressful enough without your hard earned belongings disappearing! We paid for packing boxes but expect lots of recycled ones to slip through and after removal you will have to push for them to be collected, again you become insignificant once the money is in their bank. We should have stuck to our original convictions and used our local firm, they would not have left us as distraught as we are now. Shame on you Wesley Bourne our new start has been far from joyous.

Service cost: £4258

We can not recommend Bournes more highly for a home move. From the moment Craid Wood called to provide a quote and discuss our requirements we knew we had chosen the right removal company. This was a very short notice move and they accommodated us immediately with a superb quote. We used their full packing service and on the morning of the move Pat and Dean arrived promptly and packed all our belongings carefully as per our instructions. We had to leave them for a couple of hours to collect keys to our temporary rental home and when we returned they had nearly finished packing and loading the lorry. A short distance to our rental home and they started unloading immediately having devoured a platter of sandwiches and hot drinks. They were friendly and good fun and they even fixed up our TV including the birds nest of wiring and Sky worked immediately. They cleared all unpacked boxes and 2 days later collected the rest. We will have no hesitation in employing Bournes again when we move in 6 months to our new property in Tunbridge Wells.

Service cost: £504

My family were relocating from the South of England to the North and we chose Bournes for our removals. We took a full packing service as well (BEST thing EVER!!) and we cannot rate the team highly enough. The crew arrived promptly first thing in the morning, packed up our entire house and loaded it to the lorry in the same day.

When we got to the new house 300 miles later the following day, the two guys who had travelled with the lorry were ready again to unload. As we moved into a new build house, the site was muddy. The crew ensured all our new carpets were protected before unloading so we didn't have to worry about a clean up afterwards. They were also brilliant at letting our daughter "help" so she felt involved which kept her happy during a busy few days. For a two day job with travel from one end of the country to the other the price was better than we expected and worth every penny as they provided an excellent service and complete peace of mind the whole time. Good job guys!

Service cost: £2300

I used Bournes for both removals and storage but the service was terrible and it was a very distressing experience. Their storage facilities were not water tight and many of my possessions were water damaged, including family photos, which went undetected for many weeks. Having been assured that they would retain the damaged goods in their storage facilities in case they could be recovered in some way, they went ahead and disposed of my possessions without even consulting with me and did not even keep a record of what they disposed of. It was not until my goods were eventually delivered to my new address that I became aware of this. Items were also carelessly damaged in transit, despite the fact their quote was almost twice that of some other removal companies. They eventually admitted that their service was below par but did not offer a formal apology and I continued to pay storage fees for items that they had already disposed of. On the whole it was a very distressing experience and I lost items that I will never be able to replace. This was not helped by the attitude of Bournes who basically could not care less.

I have reported them to the furniture ombudsman and have also warned friends and work colleagues to not use this trader. Hopefully this review will make anyone considering using Bournes for their more to think twice.

Service cost: £10000