JCL Transport

My experience with JCL was really very smooth and clear...until the day the van was due to arrive. The driver was due at 9am, but didn't show up until 3.30pm. I had a flight to catch that afternoon to meet the van at the destination the next day, so was keen on the early start.

My rep at JCL did seem genuinely concerned about it, as I think the contractor they used was messing them around. I was told by the contractor on the phone that their driver was new and had taken the wrong job ahead of mine. A few minutes later I got a text from JCL saying the van had broken down. This was pretty annoying as it was clearly a white lie. We loaded the van up and I managed to get a lift to the airport just in time catch my flight.

The van was way over the weight limit which I feel was a shared responsibility between myself and JCL, as I sent photos for the estimate and did a video call walk through. Anyway, long story short we had to pay for a second van (1500) plus a handling fee (165) to move half the load to a new van.

Due to the driver being late and the van being overloaded the ferry was missed to get back to the UK. As a knock on effect of this I spent the first night in my new house sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag...not ideal.

I do believe my rep tried his best in the background but communication back to me on updates got really poor at this stage and I had no clear idea on when my belongings would arrive. I was told the 1st van would arrive around 3pm on Friday, which was ok as I had some errands to run. The van arrived at 1pm while I was about an hour away. The driver then called me angrily saying he wasn't going to wait for me and just unload without me. I then had to drop everything and rush back, all while not being able to get through to my rep at JCL. As shown in the pictures the van used was actually damaged at the top and leaked a lot of water (it was also untaxed). It's just luck that nothing was actually damaged as the boxes at the bottom were plates/plastic containers etc. When I spotted the 1st wet box the driver told me ''oh yeah that was customs checking it''....

The second van arrived after the weekend on Monday, again while I wasn't around, luckily a friend was able to attend and put our belongings under cover in the garden.

I was driving at this stage and had my reps manager, the driver and the drivers boss all ringing me to pay them. It was like being hounded, one point that really bothered me was the driver rang me and said that he had some medical equipment to pick up urgently and he couldn't leave until I paid JCL. Going on the previous comments from the drivers and the contractor I highly doubt this was true.

I did ask for a small refund from JCL for some damages to my childs cot, some of my bikes and some furniture (that was wrapped up) but was firmly told no with a copy and paste of the shipment terms from the contract.

Did my belongings all arrive eventually? YES.

Was anything damaged beyond repair? NO.

Was it cheaper than other company quotes? On par but not worth the small savings due to the stress of it all.

Did I know what was going on with my belongings after pick up or where they were? Not a clue.

Was it a stress-free experience? Not at all.

Would I use JCL again? Unfortunately no.

Would I recommend JCL? I do think my experience wasn't the norm, so it would be unfair to slate them but I would certainly over estimate the space you need and consider weight as this was not taken fully into account - which is a lesson learnt my side but an oversight from JCL on this occasion.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: £3100

Great service at great price, they helped us through the whole process, collected everything from England, on a Sunday morning and by Tuesday morning everything was delivered in Portugal intact.

Very happy with the service and the driver was very kind to help us move and store everything safely in the back of the van.

Great communication, all docs were sent to us what made the process easy and even helped us fill in those same documents.

Thank you to JCL Transport.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: £2600

I am incredibly happy with the service they provided and would highly recommend it.

We only enquired for a part-load (as we did not transport any big furniture) and they were able to provide us with a quote within 24 hours.

The company was very accomodating regarding pick-up times and dates. The delivery took place on the next day.

Good value for money.

The driver was very helpful and incredibly polite. I was able to add an extra bag which we completely forgot about while doing the inventory.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: £899

If I could give no stars, I would. JCL are nothing short of despicable. They took my money, smashed up my goods on delivery and severely damaged the recipient's property. Then refused to help me claim anything back on insurance. Subsequently I have found out that they are NOT INSURED for any damage they cause to property, presumably hence the careless way the drivers off loaded the goods. They destroyed my pool table, an expensive metal gatepost and tore up the walls and floor of the delivery address, before beating a hasty retreat without a word, leaving my girlfriend utterly distraught. JCL palmed my removal off to a subcontractor and there was a problem right from the start. The two drivers turned up and refused to load anything, implying they weren't there to move my stuff, simply lend me a hand. After a panicked call to JCL, they reluctantly agreed to honor the agreement. On arrival in Austria, they were told that their truck would not fit onto the driveway. They insisted on trying and trashed the metal gatepost to an expensive electric gate before giving up. I gave them advice on how to unload the pool table at the other end, which the recipient reinforced when they arrived. They ignored us and moved the table without any protection, damaging it beyond repair. I was threatened that unless I paid the balance of the money, regardless of the damage being caused, that they would stop unloading. So I reluctantly paid the balance on their promise that they would sort it all out for me with the insurance people afterwards. They then proceeded to send me an email with the insurance company's contact details and washed their hands of the matter. It turns out that they only insure goods, not property, so we've been left with a big bill for all the redecorating needed inside and the repair to the gatepost outside. Please, I would urge you from the bottom of my heart to avoid this company like the plague.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: £3248