Unregulated Furniture Removals In Sydney

The Australian Furniture Removal industry is an unregulated mess. Basically, anyone with a truck can call themselves a professional furniture removalist. All they need is an advertisement in the local newspaper and a mobile phone. These fly-by-night 'removalists' will demand cash after the job as often they possess no legitimate company bank account. And lookout when things go wrong - because things will go wrong ; the consumer will have no way of enforcing any action as the company was not even registered and no physical address exists.

Using an AFRA member is the main rule when choosing a furniture removalist. AFRA is the Australian Furniture Removers Association. To become an AFRA member removalist companies must reach the required standard in areas such as staff training, correct insurance policies, correct equipment, suitable premises, secure storage facilities and a competent trading record. All AFRA members will carry the correct public liability and additionally only AFRA members are legally entitled to offer full insurance for goods in transit and storage. AFRA give the following warning notice on their Sydney web site, WARNING : choosing the wrong removalist could cost you thousands of dollars.

During a recent interview, a manager from AFRA removalist Man and His Van stated the following
 

"Any Saturday, but particularly a Saturday of a long weekend, we take numerous calls from distraught people. These people urgently need help because their removalists have not turned up, or their removalists started the job but decided it was too big, so they left; we often hear about other removalists smashing furniture and walls so the customer sends them away. I will not even tell you about some situations because they are just so incredible"

All consumers in Australia have some protection under the Trade Practices act of 1974. This Act ensures Tradesmen will conduct themselves in a "workman like manner" ; basically it ensures they will do a decent job. However, the Act does have some limitations, for example when a furniture removalist is working for a company rather than a private individual, and when damages occur which are not the fault of the removalist or when the customer did not advise the removalist that some objects were of a brittle or fragile nature. To ensure full peace of mind when moving house it is recommended that the customer always takes out transit insurance with the removalist.

So, be very careful when moving house in Sydney. Always use an AFRA removalist, look for a company that has been trading for at least ten years, ask to see any testimonial letters, only use a company with a physical address and depot, do not pick a removalist from the classified section of the local newspaper, and always take out transit insurance.

Unfortunately, even with AFRA members things can occasionally go wrong, . The difference is 

AFRA members will efficiently rectify the situation. In the unlikely case that this does not happen then the customer has the right to take the case to an AFRA tribunal where any decision is binding.

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