Questions we would rather answer before the crate is sealed.

Yes, if you qualify for Transfer of Residence relief and HMRC approves your ToR1 application. You generally need to have lived outside the UK for 12 consecutive months, owned and used the goods for 6 months, and import them within 12 months of transferring your normal home. Approval is HMRC’s decision. We prepare the file; we do not grant the relief.

Before the goods are shipped. The online form cannot be saved part-way, so have passport details, dates of residence, a first-cut inventory and your UK address ready. We can walk the form with you on a call. Do not sail first and apply later unless you enjoy paying VAT on furniture.

Declare it. Items owned and used for under six months usually sit outside ToR. We split them on the packing list so the rest of the used household can still claim. Hiding new goods inside a “used” crate is how consignments get examined.

On the lanes we book, groupage from Europe is commonly two to four weeks after collection. Deep-sea groupage is commonly five to nine weeks port to port, plus origin packing and UK delivery. Vessel space, canal events and customs holds move those numbers. Air first-need consignments are priced separately.

We can. It is not a Great Britain delivery with a different postcode. Tell us the destination at survey so we do not file a GB plan for an NI arrival.

Yes, for clothes, books and sturdy items. We still prefer to pack glass, ceramics, art and electronics. We will open or refuse a self-packed carton that is clearly unsafe. Export packing is not optional for anything that has to survive a shared container.

We store in the North West after the included arrival window on your quote. Storage is charged by the cubic metre per week. Partial deliveries (beds and kitchen first) can be arranged.

Cars are a separate consignment with their own customs treatment. Pets are not a household crate. Wine and tobacco are excise goods and are outside ToR; we often refuse them rather than improvise at the port.

Both, on household effects. The van and the CDS entry are the same job. We are not a general commercial freight forwarder for pallets of new stock.

Send origin, destination postcode, property size, target dates and whether you expect to claim ToR, to [email protected] or via the contact form. A video survey is usually enough for a firm quote on a 1- or 2-bedroom flat; larger houses get an on-site survey when we or a partner can stand in the rooms.