Removals

[algarvedave]

If somebody has had a bad experience of a company, then that company cannot go around stating it was "slander" because anything written(ie: on a website) allegedly of a defamatory nature is libel and not slander. Also, if someone has had a bad experience of a company and what was described was true then that is a fair comment and the defence of justification/truth can be invoked. You can never be sued for the truth!

The company in question will just have to take it on the chin! Not every customer of a company will be happy and what service is gold to somebody may be plastic crap to another You only have to go to that Tripadvisor website. The same hotel reviewed can be praised to the skies or condemned as utterly bad!

There will be a time I will want my household effects moved from the UK to CVO so thank god for forums such as this, which is very insightive.

Good post James, I agree but all that is fair provided that the facts are reported accurately. There are often 2 different sides to a story and "slagging" a company or service on here could have a very negative effect on their business without them having the right to state their side of it.

[shanagarry]

I detect a degree of self-interest in Algarvedave's post.

I think your sensitivity to criticism is making more of the matter than is necessary. The comments should be interpreted as 'constructive' - certainly on my part - my response was not intended to be 'slagging' - I wrote as I found. I think you need to contact the others you have accused and get them to explain where the service, in their opinion failed and use it as good market intelligence to get it right next time. While it is not always the fault of the provider - customers can also get it wrong - but your case may be better served if you choose to consult those who posted negative comments. It may be a better starting point that throwing accusations and demands around. Think of the goodwill you could create if you were to publish on here the outcome of an exchange with those who have found fault with your service and the action you have taken to put it right.

I made my decision on the basis of my face-to-face experience with the service provider - which afforded me the opportunity to get the service and price I desired.

Have a pleasant weekend

[fmm]

Good post James, I agree but all that is fair provided that the facts are reported accurately. There are often 2 different sides to a story and "slagging" a company or service on here could have a very negative effect on their business without them having the right to state their side of it.

I am missing the bit in the forum Ts and Cs which says that the business in question is not allowed to "state their side of it".

For 3 regular forum members to have problems with the same company shouts out (to me at least) that there is obviously some sort of problem.

If the company is yours, then please be bold enough to stand up and be counted - at the moment you have made the company look far worse than it did before.

In addition, AlgarveDave has only ever posted on the topic of removals, and the one other person who recommended this company has only posted once. Hmmmm.

[James Faro]

What FMM wrote is invaluable advice!

If I was going to purchase an expensive item on an internet auction site(not that I would) i would look at the feedback of that seller. If he was new or he/she sold just a a few items THE CAUTION BUTTON would soon be pressed!

The same would apply on this website. If someone recommended a service I would check the number of posts of that contributor. Masters and regulars are a good pointer as they would tend to be known within the CVO community be it in reality or virtual reality! Of course, just looking at the number of posts does not mean what a contributor says is "bible" but it is an important considerable factor to be taken on-board.

- J

[shanagarry]

Algarvedave

Heed the comments made - you are in danger of doing more harm than good

[sam]

Why do some people/companies get on the defensive, rather than acknowledge a problem and act on it. I recently left a message on the answerphone of a company (UK), whose message promised to ring me back. They did not, so I rang the next afternoon and spoke to the receptionist. I explained what had happened and asked to make an appointment with the person I wished to see. She replied that they had not had any messages or someone would have rung me back, and asked me how they could help. Annoyed that she had not listened to what I requested, and angry at her implication that I was a liar I said an apology would help. To which she repeated that they had not had any messages or someone would have rung me back. I told her that had I been a new customer, or had I not been a regular client I would have put the phone down and gone elsewhere. She then apologised and made the appointment. Needless to say I made a complaint at my appointment, and he was very apologetic.

[pat anderson]

As one of the 3 threatened with legal action , I would like like say 2 things -

1 It was made quite clear that I personally wouldn't touch Algarve fre**** with a 20 ft barge pole - as far as I am aware personal opinions are allowed and can not be deemed as slander, libel or even treason .

2 I would love the details of how badly we were treated to be brought out in the open, I very much doubt if that this company would but a court room could be just the place, I suggest that it would be far better to treat expats here with respect, not threats, networking here works well, not only by forum but by word of mouth . When supplying good references I have as yet to find a company that includes the complaints. Working on getting a good name means respect for all, no matter what relationship you have, with customers and employees alike. This in our experience was not the case here.

I would also like to point out that there are a lot of removal companies in the Algarve that sub contract their work out , no longer being financially viable to use trucks of their own. So it is advisable to find out who will actually be covering the international transport side of things.

[maccasa]

Hi pat, I was impressed with how you managed not to tell us why you wouldnt touch them with a 20ft barge pole - mine - I am the third memebr of course - was mentioned at the time of posting - I called them - asked for a price for a certain size - they gave me a figure and said would send a written quote and never did. I rang again and said I hadnt received the quote, but also asked for anothe parcel to be included - the figure they gave me was ~30% higher - I asked for it in writing and never received it. Shanagarry seemed to have the same experience. It sounded like it was an amateur doing the job!

If they would like to try to sue - please, please - I could do with the cash!

[shanagarry]

Game, set and match

[algarvedave]

I detect a degree of self-interest in Algarvedave's post.

I think your sensitivity to criticism is making more of the matter than is necessary. The comments should be interpreted as 'constructive' - certainly on my part - my response was not intended to be 'slagging' - I wrote as I found. I think you need to contact the others you have accused and get them to explain where the service, in their opinion failed and use it as good market intelligence to get it right next time. While it is not always the fault of the provider - customers can also get it wrong - but your case may be better served if you choose to consult those who posted negative comments. It may be a better starting point that throwing accusations and demands around. Think of the goodwill you could create if you were to publish on here the outcome of an exchange with those who have found fault with your service and the action you have taken to put it right.

I made my decision on the basis of my face-to-face experience with the service provider - which afforded me the opportunity to get the service and price I desired.

Have a pleasant weekend

Hi, I can assure you that I have no self interest in this at all. You obviously think that I am Algarve Fre**** but I am not.
I have used Algarve Fre**** myself on more than one occasion and found them to be very good and posted on here to say that. That is my personal experience and option.
I never said that anyone else could not express their personal opinion and if they have had a bad experience than it is fair to discuss it.
I do not often post on forums although I read lots of posts as they are often very interesting and informative.
I posted on here after seeing comments about a company I had used and liked and thought I would like to tell others of my experience with them. A balanced debate.
Sorry to upset some of the regulars.

[shanagarry]

In which case - leave well alone as you have dragged that organisation into something they would probably not want to have had highlighted. I suspect business is hard enough to come by without third parties debating its 'strengths and weaknesses'.

Clearly they did a good job for you - others were not so fortunate. Suffice it to say the members of this forum now have a reasonably clear 'picture' of the transport and removal services and companies on offer - they will be the judges(s).

[pat anderson]

Algarvedave I would just like to point out that your post was not what upset anybody, it was a direct notification from R F ( Algarve fre**** ) naming 3 of us for breaking forum terms and conditions and threatening legal action.

It would be interesting to know in what context you have used Algarve fre**** before, it does appear to me that all you previous posts are to do with Removals and the first company on you list of recommendations is New concept - owned by David Wright isn't it ? who use Algarve fre**** a lot to do their international transport .

Oh and just for the record I or any of my family owned or run any type of removal company, if we did we know we couldn't advertise on here it would be against terms and conditions. We do however know there are alot of companies in cahoots with each other and one " I wouldn't touch with a 20 ft nah that's changed 30 ft barge pole.

[algarvedave]

In which case - leave well alone as you have dragged that organisation into something they would probably not want to have had highlighted. I suspect business is hard enough to come by without third parties debating its 'strengths and weaknesses'.

Clearly they did a good job for you - others were not so fortunate. Suffice it to say the members of this forum now have a reasonably clear 'picture' of the transport and removal services and companies on offer - they will be the judges(s).

Not quite sure how I have dragged anyone into anything.
I saw some comments on here about a company and made a comment myself, which many other posters have also done. I wasn't having a go at you or anyone else, just throwing my 2 penn'th in.
I thought debating the good and bad was what these kind of forums are all about, to inform and educate us in all things Algarve.
No more to say really.

[shanagarry]

Enough said - at least as far as I am concerned

[almancil-depot]

Hi all, this is Rob Francis here, proprietor of The Algarve Fre**** Centre. I feel the need to jot a few words down to share with you. I will need to back track a little so bear with me... I stumbled across this site while checking my company position on Google the latter part of last week. I was delighted to read that a client of ours had posted a very positive comment relating to our services, we brought down a number of motor bikes and some personal items for him last year. It felt great to read those comments, freely available for all to see who visit this site. The reason it felt so good was although the comments were about my company, it felt very personal to me, you see, I started this company from scratch, it’s my baby if you like. Blood sweat & tears have been lost along the way, with considerable investment & re-investment putting my neck (& house) on the line to purchase equipment, each time a gamble that creates that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach, wondering ‘am I doing the right thing here?’ Therefore, I hope you understand, as I read on and saw the less than complimentary comments from 3 members I was equally horrified and more than a little upset, again it felt very personal. A ‘knee jerk’ reaction followed by me sending an email to the administration dept of this site requesting those comments to be removed and suggesting them to be slanderous. The reply was negative, stating the content had been checked and there was nothing slanderous written. For me, that was the end of the story....Clearly not. I feel the communication between myself and this site should have remained that way, between us only. Unfortunately someone somewhere decided it would be a good idea to share my email with its members, thus starting a chain reaction of comments that are beginning to escalate out of control, for example, in my email there was no mention of suing, taking people to court, or any threat of legal action in any way shape or form, so I must ask..Why is one member in particular accusing me of this? Getting back to my email I regret not choosing my words more carefully, slander was the wrong word , I jumped in too quick there, too late now. I will turn this negative into a positive though, having time to reflect it is clear to me there is a problem with my company, not with confirmed bookings for deliveries, I feel our service overall is excellent. The problem lies with securing the job in the first place, lack of communication and misquoting. The reason for this is obvious to me now, over the past 5 or 6 Months my company has become much busier, I have become truck driver, van driver, fork lift truck driver, warehouse manager, furniture wrapper, yard sweeper, close to disappearing up my own back side basically. Something always suffers of course, in this case the administration department. Therefore I thank you all kindly for bringing this to my attention. I shall now do what I should have done 6 Months ago and employ more staff to free me up to spend my time where it belongs, at my desk, in front of my computer and by the phone. As for the ‘three’ of you I mentioned in my email, for the record, Mr ‘Shangarry’, I have checked the emails between us commencing 3rd April 2010, I must have misunderstood your request for a re-quote. I calculated you added approx 12m3 when in fact you did not, I think you did add more than one piece of furniture though, Macassa, I have searched high & low for emails between us and I am unable to find anything so I am unable to comment, clearly though you were disappointed so apologies there. I now come to ‘Pat Anderson’ please sir/madam send me a PM and explain why you speak so badly about my company. You may be the only one of the three that has had an experience of actually using our services, with Shangarry & Macassa it is clear no business was undertaken. Your comments are by far the most spiteful so I would love to have the opportunity to know why. Have you complained directly to me about the service you received? Is there anything I can do to put things right? Please contact me and let me know what the problem was. I hope this message does not start another chain reaction, I just wanted to state a couple of facts. By the way, if any of you out there fancy coming to Almancil tomorrow to help unload 3 trucks I can offer a free lunch. It will allow me to sit in the office on my computer and (hopefully) get you all off yours (if only for a day!) Have a good week and enjoy the sunshine xx