Furniture into storage
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If the garden furniture is worth keeping then surely it's worth keeping at one's own expense?
Would one expect a classic car to be kept at government, i.e. public, expense?
Man up! I'm guessing the overseas posting was't a 'go, or get sacked' choice.
Would one expect a classic car to be kept at government, i.e. public, expense?
Man up! I'm guessing the overseas posting was't a 'go, or get sacked' choice.
edited to add: Prior to volunteering for some US posts you have to ring up the Unit so you can receive a brief warning you of the financial implications of volunteering i.e. you'll be massively out of pocket.
Last edited by 4everAD; 26th May 2015 at 06:21.
Thread Starter
We stored teak garden furniture and a petrol lawn mower amongst other things.
Sniggering at this thread to be honest. In the hard faced first past the post world post-armed forces world we are now inhabiting, I strongly suggest you smash the teak garden furniture to pieces, get pissed up, have a bonfire with it in the garden and then piss all over it to put it out! You'll attract more interest, even sympathy.
However, it is now impossible to find out who made that decision
Do you have any idea how much the RAF is struggling to get people to go overseas? Why do you think they came up with that pathetic attempt at improving the offer? No one really wants to go any more as the whole things costs too much and your attitude compounds that sentiment.
Stay close to your desk and never go to see
and you'll be the ruler of the Queen's Navy
And let's not mention the how partners' careers are damaged (and the huge loss of income).
and you'll be the ruler of the Queen's Navy
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Firstly, to the OP: I'd advise your friends to seriously consider selling their white goods rather than putting them into storage. When we went to the States for four years, all ours went into storage (care of Whites, iirc). On our return, they were covered in mould, despite our following the instructions for cleaning, drying etc. Unsurprisingly, there was no sympathy; the reply was (fairly, I suppose), "Well, they must have still been damp when they went into storage." The mould that appeared on our sofas was also explained away in the same manner however; they were in such a state that we had to throw them away and buy new.
I'm on my second overseas tour now (first to the USA and then after a couple of years in the UK, to Germany), and there have been a whole host of ballsaches and setbacks to contend with. Amongst others:
The kids have had a 'better' (IMHO) education than they would have got in England (plus becoming fluent in a foreign language), and with boarding school looming before we move back to the UK, the doubling of the number of school children's visits is welcome. We also have the opportunity to do far more travelling than we ever would have done if we'd have been in the UK for the last 10 years.
There's plenty to grumble about overseas, but equally Prune seems bereft of people waxing lyrical about how life in the real RAF is improving at the moment and how the budget cuts aren't affecting them. It really isn't all doom and gloom. I've still got two years to go over here and I'm already working on how I can extend, and where the next overseas adventure will be to...
I'm on my second overseas tour now (first to the USA and then after a couple of years in the UK, to Germany), and there have been a whole host of ballsaches and setbacks to contend with. Amongst others:
- We had ten days between the day we found out that we were going to the States, and actually leaving the UK.
- Our PEs were airfreighted out to the States, but due to a change in contract they were sea-freighted home (taking a good six weeks).
- DIO were not able to source us a suitable house in time for our move to Germany, so we spent the first three months of the tour moving around from one holiday home to another while they found us something suitable.
- LOA has been heavily reduced, once by 40% while we were in the States, and last month by about 70%.
The kids have had a 'better' (IMHO) education than they would have got in England (plus becoming fluent in a foreign language), and with boarding school looming before we move back to the UK, the doubling of the number of school children's visits is welcome. We also have the opportunity to do far more travelling than we ever would have done if we'd have been in the UK for the last 10 years.
There's plenty to grumble about overseas, but equally Prune seems bereft of people waxing lyrical about how life in the real RAF is improving at the moment and how the budget cuts aren't affecting them. It really isn't all doom and gloom. I've still got two years to go over here and I'm already working on how I can extend, and where the next overseas adventure will be to...
Thread Starter
The only sensible option is to sell, at a loss, and buy in future, at a cost. Where something may become outdated or degraded,then selling may be an option but why should you be placed at a disadvantage?
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
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Just a point of order - almost no-one will have teak garden furniture. Not unless they've had it made from the decks of scrapped ships.
Teak is exceptionally rare and costs about 5x more than similar looking South American hardwoods. But they don't have the durability of teak.
If we had a set of genuine teak garden furniture, it would be by far the most expensive furniture in the house. Ours is metal & stone!
Teak is exceptionally rare and costs about 5x more than similar looking South American hardwoods. But they don't have the durability of teak.
If we had a set of genuine teak garden furniture, it would be by far the most expensive furniture in the house. Ours is metal & stone!
Roadster
You are absolutely right. I (and perhaps Whenurhappy) should have said 'teaked' furniture.
As has been said on here, overseas tours are maybe not what they once were in terms of financial recompense. However, I consider this to be the most valuable experience I have had, both personally and professionally, during my time in the military. Despite the fact we will return to the UK slightly worse off financially I would not change it for anything. I certainly wouldn't have been taking two week family holidays in Hawaii from the UK!
I do fear though that maybe these jobs will become the preserve of married SPs with young kids and a partner who is willing to stay at home to care for kids. Spouses with careers may not enjoy certain tours but horses for courses I suppose.
I think that my family and I have been well looked after on the whole. I didn't expect to get rich and in that regard I have certainly not been dissappointed!
BV
As has been said on here, overseas tours are maybe not what they once were in terms of financial recompense. However, I consider this to be the most valuable experience I have had, both personally and professionally, during my time in the military. Despite the fact we will return to the UK slightly worse off financially I would not change it for anything. I certainly wouldn't have been taking two week family holidays in Hawaii from the UK!
I do fear though that maybe these jobs will become the preserve of married SPs with young kids and a partner who is willing to stay at home to care for kids. Spouses with careers may not enjoy certain tours but horses for courses I suppose.
I think that my family and I have been well looked after on the whole. I didn't expect to get rich and in that regard I have certainly not been dissappointed!
BV
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Had two overseas tours that necessitated storage. On both occasions as long as the items were drained and vented there was no problem, same with the garden furniture. All the white good survived too (putting dry tea bags in them worked a treat!). However, on a more recent internal UK move the company assigned to do our move were the most incompetent jobsworths (not the guys doing the humping and dumping but the 'Head Office' planners). Letters to the company, Agility and DSCOM to outline the problems met with a wall of silence....not even an acknowledgement. 
Thread Starter
Ahh, yes. Head Office staff. In a move a couple of years ago from Germany, we were advised that the Truck would be with us as soon as they dropped off some packing materials 'round the corner' in Paderborne. I then pointed out - rather politely for me - that they may wish to consult an atlas or a GPS; we lived a good 8 hours away at an ISODET.
AN UPDATE
After a few phone calls, another assessor visited and confirmed to our friends that, on this occasion, garden furniture wouldbe allowed in storage, but that this was a favour and very much at the discretion of the storage company. No decision on the lawn mower!
Again, this all sounds trivial, but those who have been sent abroad know how stressful a move can be - housing, schools, cars, jobs - all being juggled simultaneously, and what is not needed are further buggerance factors that, at best, are arbitrary. Those who know me (or do so from my posts) know that in addition to Ops, we have lived in 4 different overseas locations; with two being decidedly non-benign, with my current location requiring daily use of a CAV. However, peacetime UK rules are rigidly applied meaning that, technically, I cannot commute from the residence to work in a CAV, as it should only be used for official transport. In spite of my wife and I receiving very expensive (and fun) training in use of said vehicles, we have to use our soft-skinned estate for commuting. I just hope the terrorists only work office hours! If anyone doubts the risk, Google Brigadier Saunders...not that I'm in Greece.
AN UPDATE
After a few phone calls, another assessor visited and confirmed to our friends that, on this occasion, garden furniture wouldbe allowed in storage, but that this was a favour and very much at the discretion of the storage company. No decision on the lawn mower!
Again, this all sounds trivial, but those who have been sent abroad know how stressful a move can be - housing, schools, cars, jobs - all being juggled simultaneously, and what is not needed are further buggerance factors that, at best, are arbitrary. Those who know me (or do so from my posts) know that in addition to Ops, we have lived in 4 different overseas locations; with two being decidedly non-benign, with my current location requiring daily use of a CAV. However, peacetime UK rules are rigidly applied meaning that, technically, I cannot commute from the residence to work in a CAV, as it should only be used for official transport. In spite of my wife and I receiving very expensive (and fun) training in use of said vehicles, we have to use our soft-skinned estate for commuting. I just hope the terrorists only work office hours! If anyone doubts the risk, Google Brigadier Saunders...not that I'm in Greece.
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We are currently serving overseas and our storage effects include all the discussed items: We have garden furniture, petrol-powered garden tools (drained and flushed) and all manner of other things. Our Agility contract was locally handled by T H White and they were extremely helpful and nothing got argued about. To be honest, if you are within your capacity allowance, I really can't see what their problem is with non-dangerous stuff like garden chairs. They get paid for every m3 so its in their interest to store as much as possible!
This was all 2 years ago however, so things may have changed...We haven't got the stuff back yet either...
This was all 2 years ago however, so things may have changed...We haven't got the stuff back yet either...
Thread Starter
FJ2ME,
I've just looked at our paperwork, also with Whites and it states that for all move and storage combinations:
About 12 years ago we made a claim against a contractor when we moved from Benson. One rather scrawny lad was left to unload the truck and I arrived as he was trying to unload a large oak Georgina chest of drawers from the deck of the truck. It fell to the ground and the bracket feet were smashed. He had also dragged it - unwrapped - along the deck, damaging the finish. I received the usual 'well, that's what insurance is for' nonsense, but I was determined that the contractors were held to account for negligences (as repairs would have been in the hundreds of pounds). I took the matter up with the British Association of Removers who ruled that the liability for damage did, indeed, rest with the carrier, who undertook to have the item repaired. After a week of unpacking, we started to think where some of our pictures were. We checked everywhere and ran the contractors who were sure that they had unloaded everything. A couple of weeks later we received a phone call saying that a box of pictures was up at a depot in North Wales, and would we like to pick the, up? I, err, persuaded them that they might like to deliver them - which they did.
I've just looked at our paperwork, also with Whites and it states that for all move and storage combinations:
'Trailers (any type), caravans, garden sheds, greenhouses, wooden garden furniture'
Are not stored or carried at the public expense. So we've been lucky that the contractor that we used, and that our friends have been allocated is flexible, however it is a case of 'rules is rules' it seems.About 12 years ago we made a claim against a contractor when we moved from Benson. One rather scrawny lad was left to unload the truck and I arrived as he was trying to unload a large oak Georgina chest of drawers from the deck of the truck. It fell to the ground and the bracket feet were smashed. He had also dragged it - unwrapped - along the deck, damaging the finish. I received the usual 'well, that's what insurance is for' nonsense, but I was determined that the contractors were held to account for negligences (as repairs would have been in the hundreds of pounds). I took the matter up with the British Association of Removers who ruled that the liability for damage did, indeed, rest with the carrier, who undertook to have the item repaired. After a week of unpacking, we started to think where some of our pictures were. We checked everywhere and ran the contractors who were sure that they had unloaded everything. A couple of weeks later we received a phone call saying that a box of pictures was up at a depot in North Wales, and would we like to pick the, up? I, err, persuaded them that they might like to deliver them - which they did.
Blimey, this really does make for depressing reading and an example of when words and deeds really don't marry up in any way shape or form.
Thank heavens for the "I wish I hadn't said that" thread being resurrected to bring a bit of levity back to proceedings!
Thank heavens for the "I wish I hadn't said that" thread being resurrected to bring a bit of levity back to proceedings!
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I moved overseas this month and had no problem storing teak furniture and petrol lawnmower (guidance said this was ok if properly drained and ventilated) so either I was very lucky or the rules have changed VERY recently!
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My experience of moving a few years ago was mixed. I found the removal guys who came around to collect my stuff going into storage, but also being shipped, polite and professional.
Unfortunately when my un-accompanied pack reached me there was a huge amount of damage done, mainly on account of my fragile items (pictures etc) being placed at the bottom of the pack and the heavy boxes placed on top of them, and a bureau desk that I stupidly sent out was totally destroyed.
My advise is this. Don't ship or store anything that is valuable and fragile. See if you have some friends who will be willing to look after this stuff for the duration of your tour. Finally take photos of your furniture prior to it leaving your possession so you have evidence of the original state it was in.
The website below gives you guidance on the standards you should expect.
BAR : British Association of Removers - domestic commercial overseas removals
Unfortunately when my un-accompanied pack reached me there was a huge amount of damage done, mainly on account of my fragile items (pictures etc) being placed at the bottom of the pack and the heavy boxes placed on top of them, and a bureau desk that I stupidly sent out was totally destroyed.
My advise is this. Don't ship or store anything that is valuable and fragile. See if you have some friends who will be willing to look after this stuff for the duration of your tour. Finally take photos of your furniture prior to it leaving your possession so you have evidence of the original state it was in.
The website below gives you guidance on the standards you should expect.
BAR : British Association of Removers - domestic commercial overseas removals
Thread Starter
AutoBit,
These were the people I went to some years ago when furniture was mishandled. They have an arbitration service, and whilst working for their members, they also are keen to preserve their reputation.
On one of our moves, our furniture went into storage with a company based at (former) RAF Carlisle. They had this fully automated warehouse, with effects stored in ISO containers. They were very flexible approach to their business, and would happily allow additions to storage without too much fuss. Unfortunately, they lost the storage contract whilst we were abroad; First thing we knew was when we contacted them to get our effects and was told Agility had transhipped them to a company in the Midlands. Our furniture had been put in the classic wooden crates and everything seemed to be accounted for; two years later we are still saying 'what happened to, you know, that thingy that we put in storage?' I guess we'll never know - did we get rid of it or did it go into storage?
I suppose it is inevitable that there will be disruption and heartache in these moves, however the small consignments (I doubt the volumes have changed for many decades), increasingly tighter restrictions on what can be moved or stored - and added to the lack of support when moving overseas, especially if you are 'diaspora' - just seems to make the moves unnecessarily difficult.
EDITED TO ADD: for anyone moving over the next 6 months, get booked in quickly, because of the huge surge of unit moves from Germany. We had this two years ago in our previous move which was along the lines of 'where is your unit moving to?'
These were the people I went to some years ago when furniture was mishandled. They have an arbitration service, and whilst working for their members, they also are keen to preserve their reputation.
On one of our moves, our furniture went into storage with a company based at (former) RAF Carlisle. They had this fully automated warehouse, with effects stored in ISO containers. They were very flexible approach to their business, and would happily allow additions to storage without too much fuss. Unfortunately, they lost the storage contract whilst we were abroad; First thing we knew was when we contacted them to get our effects and was told Agility had transhipped them to a company in the Midlands. Our furniture had been put in the classic wooden crates and everything seemed to be accounted for; two years later we are still saying 'what happened to, you know, that thingy that we put in storage?' I guess we'll never know - did we get rid of it or did it go into storage?
I suppose it is inevitable that there will be disruption and heartache in these moves, however the small consignments (I doubt the volumes have changed for many decades), increasingly tighter restrictions on what can be moved or stored - and added to the lack of support when moving overseas, especially if you are 'diaspora' - just seems to make the moves unnecessarily difficult.
EDITED TO ADD: for anyone moving over the next 6 months, get booked in quickly, because of the huge surge of unit moves from Germany. We had this two years ago in our previous move which was along the lines of 'where is your unit moving to?'
