MoveCorp removals went into liquidation before delivering my shipment

nikhil2112

Hi forum,
Need advice re my rights and recourse dealing with a removals company. I recently moved from the Netherlands to Belfast, and shipped my household items through MoveCorp removals company, based near Birmingham. After more than a month since collecting my items, and more than 2 weeks since demanding and collecting my full payment, they announced last Friday that they are now going into liquidation (bankrupt). They didn't inform me until Monday, however, and only after I called and demanded to know what was happening to my shipment.

In the meantime, prior to their announcement, they have apparently handed over my consignment to another partner removals company - Prolink, based in Galway, Ireland - to complete the delivery. But MoveCorp has not paid Prolink. So now Prolink is holding onto my consignment and will not deliver my belongings until they get paid by MoveCorp - which may or may not happen.

My question is, is this appropriate? Is this the standard practice to withhold customers' shipments until the two sub-contractors resolve their own payment issues?

Prolink tells me they *are confident* that they will receive payment next week and then will be able to make delivery the following week after that - so another 2 weeks at best, under the best case scenario, and 1.5 months in total.

Even still, it seems to me that now my items are being held as a form of "hostage" while the 2 companies sort out payment issues between themselves - even though (a) they are my personal belongings, and (b) I have done my part of the bargain and paid in full.

Any advise on what my recourse is here? Thanks in advance.

N

davidmcn

Where's your stuff now? Galway? Has anybody said you can't go and get it yourself (or pay someone else to do so)?

Castle

Did you pay by credit card?

mattyprice4004

I think it's fair enough that Prolink won't spend their own money delivering your shipment when they haven't been paid - but I'm not sure they could hold your goods hostage if you turned up to collect them.

unholyangel

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

I think it's fair enough that Prolink won't spend their own money delivering your shipment when they haven't been paid - but I'm not sure they could hold your goods hostage if you turned up to collect them.

Pretty much spot on.

They can't hold the goods hostage as they don't belong to them and never belonged to the contracting company either (so they couldn't have given them a lien over something that doesn't belong to them). But nor are they obligated to deliver the goods, since they weren't the contracting party.

nikhil2112

Hi Forum,

Thanks very much for the advice.

BY WAY OF UPDATE: I have indeed been in touch with Prolink directly and they have been very helpful and sympathetic, and have been working with me to resolve the situation quickly as well. I am now arranging with them directly (covering what they were owed from MoveCorp) to have my consignment delivered asap. I will sort out the recovery of my lost payments to MoveCorp in due course through the B.A.R and my credit card company.

CLARIFICATION: I should clarify, in fairness to Prolink, that Prolink is not affiliated or associated in any way with MoveCorp; they don't share any board members or directors or any other links. They have also been caught up in the middle of this mess through no fault of their own and are just trying to mitigate their own losses. They have been quite responsive and kind enough to deal with me directly to get my things delivered early next week. So I appreciate their help and hope they don't get dragged for the present situation.

TIP FOR OTHERS IN A SIMILAR SITUATION: As others have already suggested here and elsewhere, the best recourse does seem to be to deal with the intermediary moving company directly if possible. Pay them directly - as they too are likely getting screwed and are just looking to mitigate losses - and then try to recover your losses through the BAR, the administrator or the credit card company in due course, once your consignment is sorted.

Also as others have mentioned elsewhere, the BAR (British Association of Removers) are the ones to be in touch with and have the Advanced Payment Guarantee scheme to avail of to recover lost payments. It may take time, given the liquidation process, but better than nothing.

LYNXY_2

Hello, I am so very pleased to hear that you have found a way to get your belongings delivered. I am also in a situation where the Movecorp collapse has affected me. They delivered my household goods to Greece at the end of September, but many of the items wrapped by them, the larger items items of furniture and some electricals were either damaged beyond repair or damaged in a way that would devalue them. I put in a fairly large claim in the thousands before the end of September and heard very little afterwards. Then, when I was pursuing the Claim with the Claims Assessor last week, I was told Movecorp was going into Liquidtation which it did yesterday. The company apparently cancelled it's membership with BAR on about 11th Oct, and also stopped being a member of some other protection bodies. I have now registered myself as as Creditor, but I don't hold out much hope of recompense. I have more to tell you about their situation which I feel may assist you, but I do not wish to do it on a public Forum. Is there any way we can speak privately? I have only just joined MSE and don't really get how it works yet!!! Anyway, I hope your stuff arrived/arrives in one piece, and from one Movecorp casualty to another..I wish you luck in getting your money back.