A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Anything to do with Port.
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ATB61
Cruz Ruby
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Joined: 14:40 Mon 22 May 2017

A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by ATB61 »

Can anyone recommend a company to collect and forward bottles won at auctions particularly in the Midlands and the South West? The company I used to use turned out to be unreliable.
idj123
Morgan 1991
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by idj123 »

I use Mailboxes etc or Benelux-the latter being cheaper (but not always) with the former being more timely.
ATB61
Cruz Ruby
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by ATB61 »

Thanks for your reply idj.

I'm afraid Benelux is the unreliable company I referred to in my original post; I had used them quite a bit until December 2015. At that time I was advised they had a problem sourcing the boxes to ship the bottles to me. Then in January 2016 I was told that my bottles, worth several thousand pounds, had been stolen during a break in at their premises. During the next 16 months they have failed to provide me with a copy of the police report, any documentation from their insurance admitting their claim or even confirmation of the amount they claimed in relation to my stolen bottles. Needless to say I have not received a single penny of compensation.

I have used mailboxes a fair bit and agree with your comments regarding their costs which seem to vary substantially from branch to branch.
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

I'm really sorry to hear about your bad experience. I work for a courier company (not Benelux!) and would be horrified to have treated one of our customers in the way you've described.

I can't actually help much with your original request. I spent quite a long time looking for a reliable packing and shipping company to handle wine and port bottles bought at auction. I had so little luck that I normally now collect my wines in person - which also means I get to see some very interesting parts of the UK and elsewhere in the world.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
ATB61
Cruz Ruby
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by ATB61 »

Thanks AHB I really think Benelux are atypical of the shipping industry.

It would be interesting to learn if anyone else was impacted by the burglary and whether they have been successful in obtaining any compensation from Benelux Shipping?
ATB61
Cruz Ruby
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by ATB61 »

Are any of the on-going clients of Benelux Shipping able to confirm their physical address? Unfortunately, their website, beneluxshipping.com, fails to provide this basic information. If anyone on the site happens to this I would really appreciate it if they could share it with me. If you don't know it please ask them.... If they are unwilling to provide it, I leave to you to draw your own conclusion why!
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

A quick search of Benelux Shipping at Companies House reveals the registered office of Benelux Shipping Ltd to be:
Roland House, Princes Dock Street, Hull, East Yorkshire, HU1 2LD

The only director is Jan Willem Christiaan VERSCHOOR who lives in Spain and owns 75% or more of the shares in the company.

Interestingly, I believe (but am not certain) that their website is supposed to include their company number and certain other details which appear to be missing.

I'm guessing that you're asking for this information so you can pursue your request for compensation. Please let us know how you get on.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
ATB61
Cruz Ruby
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by ATB61 »

Hi

I am absolutely certain that this company has no connection with the Benelux Shipping I have had the problem with.

Having undertaken a lot of research the company I have had the problems with is a sole trader called Michael Vaus who is based in Wellington. He operates under the name "David" and through the website www.beneluxshipping.com. I have manged to get a fair sized dossier on on his operation and if anyone else has had issues with "David" please feel free to contact me.

I have spoken to the Hull based company and they have mentioned that the similarity of name has caused issues for them in the past.

Just to clarify the Wellington, Somerset trading details are as follows:-

Web site - www.beneluxshipping.com
Telephone number +44 (0)1823 660645
Fax Number +44 (0)1823 662430
Mobile number 07887 752698
E-Mail address benelux@talk21.com

I am a bit surprised why the Hull based company has not taken legal action to protect their identity but if need further assistance I will help them in any way I can.
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

Thank you for correcting my assumption that the two companies were the same.

01823 is the dialling code for the Taunton area, which may help you track the address of the business.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
PhilW
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by PhilW »

Use of a Whois search for the domain beneluxshipping.com provides the full name, address and contact details of the sole trader you mention, if you do not have them. Example lookup: https://www.whois.com/whois/beneluxshipping.com
idj123
Morgan 1991
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by idj123 »

I must confess that when writing a response to the original post I was going to ask whether the carrier in question began with the letter 'B' as I kind guessed that you might be referring to them.

A second confession is that a good friend of mine (known to a few people on this Forum) suffered the same problem as you-namely, that he was told that his case of F2000 (or it might have been F2003) were among a number of cases that had been taken in a burglary. He told me this just after the time and I must admit I then forgot about it (thinking that he would the receive value of the goods as the person in question had told me on a number of occasions previously that my goods were insured). However when I spoke to my friend a while ago, it came up in conversation again and that he had heard nothing further on it from Benelux. However, being a busy and non confrontational sort of person, my friend had not really pursued. However, I was appalled and disgusted and having already started to use them less and less (due to their timeliness and pricing vagaries not to mention some other odd habits) have not used them in the last seven months. This does limit my buying as unlike Alex I have less opportunity these days to visit the auction houses personally but so be it.

As a footnote to this one of our number on the Forum still uses them from time to time (I'll leave it to them to make further comment if they wish) but I understand that the person at the centre of all this is looking to retire soon and so you may have limited time to catch up them before they disappear.
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uncle tom
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by uncle tom »

The Somerset company seems to be well in with Strakers - I've used them a couple of times for small stashes and the bottles have arrived promptly and well packed.

Seems very odd that there should be two similarly named companies trading in the same sector..
I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly - W.S. Churchill
Will W.
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by Will W. »

Having just purchased a few bottles at auction in the UK, which I need to have collected (and packed) for shipping to the Continent, I am wondering if anyone has hit upon a reliable courier to such end since this discussion started?
idj123
Morgan 1991
Posts: 1116
Joined: 20:54 Tue 13 Nov 2012

Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by idj123 »

Will W. wrote: 13:33 Wed 29 May 2019 Having just purchased a few bottles at auction in the UK, which I need to have collected (and packed) for shipping to the Continent, I am wondering if anyone has hit upon a reliable courier to such end since this discussion started?
Sadly,no-I still use Benelux but very, very sparingly. I try to pick up personally when I can. Mailboxes are good but a bit expensive and disproportionate if you’ve only secured a few bottles.
Will W.
Taylor’s LBV
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Re: A reliable company to collect and forward bottles won at Auction

Post by Will W. »

Profuse thanks for the response. In the end, I used Mailboxes which, as I only took a few bottles, was just as you say - a bit pricey.
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