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Our no hidden charge guarantee explained

We guarantee to honour the prices within our full quote provided you follow our terms and conditions and don’t ship any prohibited itemsPlease always ensure you have read the full quote. This gives you a full breakdown of the charges. We are the only shipping company specialising in shipping personal belongings that do this. However, there are times when customers do receive additional charges.

These charges are called avoidable charges.

 

What is an avoidable charge?

At Seven Seas Worldwide, our mission is to make shipping as stress-free as possible. However, when you are navigating a world of rules, regulations and red tape things sometimes become complicated. If there are any errors or omissions, then, unfortunately, extra charges can arise to make corrections. We really don't want to charge you for these, so please see the "Table of charges” below to learn how to avoid these fees.

Avoidable charges considerations
A couple looking at international shipping online

Reasons why the quotation charge may vary

Once you've generated your free instant online quote, the charges shown remain valid for seven days. If you then place your order with us, the charges stay valid for sixty days, no matter how the underlying costs fluctuate.

However, the charges to complete your job are subject to revision if one or more of the following events occur:

  1. you decide to change a significant part of the job including but not limited to:

    • the number and/or the size of the items collected (if shipping by sea or by land),
    • the number and/or the weight of the items collected (if shipping by air),
    • the origin or destination address, such that it requires relocation to a different depot or to a more remote area serviced by us or by a courier
    • the storage period, such that it exceeds the 2-weeks free storage period, or,
  2. you resume the job after an extended period greater than 60 days. After which we reserve the right to requote you for the completion of the order unless the delay is due to operational disruption beyond our control, including the closing of borders,
  3. dimensions measured by the driver differ from those entered into the quote engine. Please note, our driver will check the dimensions of the items you've included in the quote when they collect the shipment as these form the basis of the charge, or,
  4. a natural disaster fundamentally changes the ability to complete the order, including but not limited to earthquakes or floods destroying road and rail connections.

See below for a list of all our surcharges.

Avoidable charges

While we endeavour to make our quotes and pricing as transparent as possible, our Shipping terms and conditions stipulate you must comply with specific deadlines and correctly complete all necessary forms and documents for us to fulfil our duties.

Failure to meet these requirements may result in you paying additional fees that could otherwise be avoided.

Also, different territories have different rules for allowing personal effects through their borders. Therefore, it is in your best interest to thoroughly read all the necessary documentation. If in doubt, consult the guidance on our website or call our Business Centre Advisors.

Detailed below are our avoidable charges.

 

If required, we offer shipments exported by sea 2 weeks of free storage following collection in both the origin and destination countries. For air shipments, we offer 2 weeks of free storage in the origin country as we send them directly from the airport to your address.

Imported shipments have 2 weeks of free storage following the date of their arrival at our destination depot.

At the end of this period, if we cannot dispatch your shipment or deliver it to its destination address due to incomplete or incorrect documentation or unpaid invoices, and you have not already requested storage, we will apply a weekly storage charge (payable in advance).

The weekly storage charges are based on 7 days and are payable in advance. Storage is charged for a minimum of one whole week, no matter the day on which it begins or ends.

Weekly storage charges are based on your quoted items, so please refer to your quote.

International Excess Baggage Worldwide, National Moves, and Student Storage services provide boxes and packing materials to assist with your move — stated in the quotes we issue for these services.

If you do not use all the boxes (available in Large and Standard sizes) we deliver to you, please return them in a good, reusable condition when we arrive to collect your shipment. Do note this doesn't apply to our MoveCube® service.

While the boxes you use to pack your possessions are free, we will charge your account for unused boxes you fail to return or if you give them back in poor condition.

  • Australia AUD 16.50 each
  • Canada CAD 10.00 each
  • China CNY 70.00 each
  • Ireland (EIRE) Euros 10.00 each
  • New Zealand NZD 15.00 each
  • Singapore SGD 14.00 each
  • United Kingdom GBP 5.00 each
  • United States USD 10.00 each
  • Hong Kong HKD 70.00 each
  • South Africa ZAR 75.66 each
  • Continental Europe EUR 12.10 each
  • Malaysia MYR 34.00 each
  • Thailand THB 250.00 each

Price includes relevant sales taxes.

If we cannot deliver the empty boxes and packing materials or collect them once packed (and this was not due to our driver or contractor failing to arrive), you will have to book another transfer date. As this is an extra activity outside the original quote, we will charge a fee for this journey to your account (see below).

If you choose to cancel the order following a failed "deliver empty" transfer, you are not entitled to a refund of your deposit as the service has commenced, and we have already incurred costs.

  • Australia AUD 25.00
  • Canada CAD 20.00
  • China CNY 140.00
  • Malaysia MYR 65.00
  • Ireland (EIRE) Euros 15.00
  • New Zealand NZD 30.00
  • Singapore SGD 30.00
  • Thailand THB 750.00
  • United Kingdom GBP 15.00
  • United States USD 20.00
  • Hong Kong HKD 200.00
  • South Africa ZAR 151.32
  • Continental Europe EUR 18.15

Price includes relevant sales tax.

If delivery of your packed boxes, bags and suitcases is unsuccessful (and this was not due to our driver or contractor failing to arrive), we will charge a fee (see below) to your account for this extra activity as it is outside the original quote. You must pay this before booking another transfer.

  • Australia AUD 60.00
  • Canada CAD 50.00
  • China CNY 350.00
  • Malaysia MYR 150.00
  • Ireland (EIRE) Euros 48.40
  • New Zealand NZD 70.00
  • Singapore SGD 70.00
  • Thailand THB 750.00
  • United Kingdom GBP 50.00
  • United States USD 25.00
  • Hong Kong HKD 400.00
  • South Africa ZAR 504.39
  • Continental Europe EUR 40.00

Price includes relevant sales tax.

This charge is incurred when our team have to remove multiple items from a box, bag or suitcase due to them weighing over the 30kg limit or containing an item on our Prohibited Goods list and packing them into another container.

  • Australia AUD 120.00
  • Canada CAD 100.00
  • China CNY 700.00
  • Malaysia MYR 330.00
  • Ireland (EIRE) Euros 72.00
  • New Zealand NZD 120.00
  • Singapore SGD 100.00
  • Thailand THB 2500.00
  • United Kingdom GBP 50.00
  • United States USD 100.00
  • Hong Kong HKD 700.00
  • South Africa ZAR 750.00
  • Continental Europe EUR 90.00

Price includes relevant sales tax.

No individual box, bag or suitcase must exceed 30kg or 66lbs.

You, not our driver, are responsible for ensuring boxes, bags, and suitcases do not exceed the maximum weight limit. If containers are too heavy, the excess weight will need to be removed and repacked into a suitable box.

The charge for us to open containers exceeding the weight limit and remove and repack the items they contain consists of a handling fee (see above) AND relevant collection and shipping rates for the additional box. Our advisors will re-quote you an exact price.

If most of your boxes, bags and suitcases are found to exceed the weight limit during collection, our drivers have a discretionary right to fail the pickup and request you reschedule. This weight limit is a strict health and safety requirement. Plus, the driver has a timed schedule to keep and cannot factor in delays due to repacking heavy boxes.

You will be liable to pay the charge for the new collection and are responsible for adjusting the supporting documentation to reflect these changes.

If a packed item weighs over 30kg or 66lbs and can’t be split between several boxes, we may recommend using the MoveCube® service to proceed.

We will charge an extra fee (detailed below) to your account for each corrective action if, at our depot, our team discover items within your shipment requiring additional attention to bring them to a suitable standard for shipping.

Examples of items requiring attention include, but are not limited to: removing pedals from bicycles and additional sealing of boxes. 

  • Australia AUD 36.00 per item
  • Canada CAD 30.00 per item
  • China CNY 210.00 per item
  • Malaysia MYR 100.00 per item
  • Ireland (EIRE) Euros 22.00 per item
  • New Zealand NZD 42.00 per item
  • Singapore SGD 14.00 per item
  • Thailand THB 750.00 per item
  • United Kingdom GBP 15.00 per item
  • United States USD 30.00 per item
  • Hong Kong HKD 350.00 per item
  • South Africa ZAR 225.00 per item
  • Continental Europe EUR 22.00 per item

Price includes relevant sales tax.

Any items found that we list on our Prohibited Goods page will be disposed of immediately.

All international shipments transported by sea and air are subject to a strict security inspection, including an x-ray scan before loading. Seven Seas Worldwide cannot return any confiscated goods under any circumstances. If any "Prohibited Goods" have to be removed from your shipment, we will hold them for a period of 60 days. If they are not claimed within 60 days, we will have no choice but to dispose of them.

Confiscation of "Prohibited Goods" (as outlined on our website) will incur an additional charge of:

  • Australia AUD 120.00
  • Canada CAD 150.00
  • China CNY 1050.00
  • South Africa ZAR 1134.87
  • Ireland (EIRE) Euros 130.68
  • New Zealand NZD 120.00
  • Singapore SGD 128.00
  • Continental Europe EUR 130.68
  • United Kingdom GBP 75.00
  • United States USD 150.00
  • Hong Kong HKD 1050.00
  • Malaysia MYR 406.00
  • Thailand THB 3263.71

Price includes relevant sales tax.

Any items found that we list on our Prohibited Goods page will be disposed of immediately.

If you accidentally pack small essential items like your passport or thesis in your bags or boxes, we can return them for a charge. We base this fee on the recovery of multiple items from your shipment and the delivery cost through a national carrier's next-day parcel delivery service and depends on the size and weight of the objects.

The charge to have your contents returned also includes:

Handling + Transport (minimum cost applicable for <2kg)

If an item within your shipment is identified as requiring cleaning before it can legally be shipped, then the exporting company will apply a charge. For more information, please see our Customs Advice page.

Similarly, if items are assessed as requiring cleaning after the Environmental Agency inspection in the destination country, then a charge will be applied by the importing company.

Please note that the cleaning or disposal charge varies according to the size of the item and the seriousness of the contamination risk.

  • Australia AUD 36-500 per item
  • Canada CAD 30.00 per item
  • China CNY 210.00 per item
  • Ireland (EIRE) Euros 26.62 per item
  • New Zealand NZD 42-500 per item
  • Singapore SGD 42.00 per item
  • United Kingdom GBP 15.00 per item
  • United States USD 30.00 per item
  • Hong Kong HKD 350.00 per item
  • Malaysia MYR 100.00 per item
  • Thailand THB 750.00 per item
  • South Africa ZAR 226.98 per item
  • Continental Europe Euros 26.62 per item

Price includes relevant sales tax.

If you would like to alter the service you have booked after we collect your items, such as changing a door-to-depot shipment to a door-to-door shipment or swapping the service method from air to sea, we will apply a "change of service" fee, detailed below. This fee is in addition to any changes to the quoted price arising from the new service.

  • Australia AUD 60.00
  • Canada CAD 50.00
  • China CNY 350.00
  • Malaysia MYR 165.00
  • Ireland (EIRE) Euros 43.56
  • New Zealand NZD 70.00
  • Singapore SGD 70.00
  • Thailand THB 1250.00
  • United Kingdom GBP 25.00
  • United States USD 50.00
  • Hong Kong HKD 350.00
  • South Africa ZAR 378.29
  • Continental Europe EUR 43.56

Price includes relevant sales tax.

There is NO administrative charge for changing your destination address for international and domestic shipping.

However, depending on the extent of the change of address (i.e., changing to a different suburb within the same city, a completely different city in the same state or a new city in a new state), the revised charges for the "deliver full" transfer can be substantially different.

These charges are available online, and you will be informed of them immediately. However, please note that we might not cover the new city or state, so the earlier you can make us aware, the better.

If your plans change and you no longer need us to proceed with the original service as quoted, all or part of your shipment can be returned to you using our National Moves service. You can find our costs for this online or via a quote provided by one of our advisors.

The charge includes:

Handling + Transport (minimum cost applicable for <2kg)

However, if your possessions are in transit, you will be liable to pay the shipping fees on the return leg. In most cases, the shipment will still need to arrive at the original destination to be cleared and sent back to you. Subject to availability, this may be discounted.

A "late payment charge" will be applied to your account if you don't pay the total value of each of our invoices within 7 days of them being dispatched.

  • Australia AUD 60.00
  • Canada CAD 50.00
  • China CNY 350.00
  • Malaysia MYR 165.00
  • Ireland (EIRE) Euros 36.00
  • New Zealand NZD 70.00
  • Singapore SGD 68.00
  • Thailand THB 1250.00
  • United Kingdom GBP 25.00
  • United States USD 50.00
  • Hong Kong HKD 350.00
  • South Africa ZAR 375.00
  • Continental Europe EUR 36.00

Price includes relevant sales tax.

The oversized package surcharge is only applied when your shipment is collected or delivered by an external contractor.

  • Australia AUD 120.00
  • New Zealand NZD 130.00
  • Canada CAD 90.00
  • United States USD 90.00
  • Ireland (EIRE) Euros 103.00
  • Hong Kong HKD 650.00
  • Continental Europe Euros 113.00

Price includes relevant sales tax.

Customs in all countries emphasise electronic-based shipping documentation to help clear all shipments quickly. As a result, you must complete your shipping documents online via your customer dashboard. If you request to submit paper-based documents scanned or by post, this will incur an additional charge of:

  • Australia AUD 60.00
  • Canada CAD 50.00
  • China CNY 350.00
  • Malaysia MYR 150.00
  • Ireland (EIRE) Euros 40.00
  • New Zealand NZD 70.00
  • Singapore SGD 70.00
  • Thailand THB 500.00
  • United Kingdom GBP 25.00
  • United States USD 25.00
  • Hong Kong HKD 350.00
  • South Africa ZAR 151.32
  • Continental Europe EUR 40.00

Price includes relevant sales tax.

An international shipment that crosses a border from one country to another (but where those countries do not have an open border agreement) will usually have duties and taxes applied to the shipment's contents.

However, shipments of personal effects and household items are given an exemption with simplified documentation and clearance. In these circumstances, taxes and duties are often limited to electronic items owned for less than 6 months. Specific rules for each destination country are on our website and listed on your quote.

Please be aware that you, the shipment's owner, are responsible for paying duties and taxes and must make payment before we can return your goods.

We add these charges to your quote, where possible, so it's included beforehand.

Additional services

The costs in your quote form the basic contractual charge for each service, including any applicable sales taxes. We offer four optional additional services in certain territories, and our costs for these are detailed below. Unfortunately, if there is no price for a particular region, we do not currently offer that service in that area.

All stated prices include all applicable sales taxes.

 

If required, we offer shipments exported by sea or air 2 weeks of free storage following collection in both the origin and destination countries.  

You can request an extension at the end of this period if you need your items to be held longer before shipping.

Please refer to your quote for storage availability.

The weekly storage charges are based on 7 days and are payable in advance. Storage is charged for a minimum of one whole week, no matter the day on which it begins or ends.

Weekly storage charges are based on your quoted items.

This service is not always available as it is subject to seasonal variation in certain territories.

If this service is available, and you would like your delivery or collection to arrive in the morning (up to 12 noon) or afternoon (after 12 noon), then the fixed price is below. You must make your request by telephone to our Business Centre by 2pm local time the day before your delivery or collection.

You will receive an estimated schedule time (incorporating this request) the evening before the day of your delivery or collection.

  • Australia AUD 60.00
  • New Zealand NZD 70.00
  • United Kingdom GBP 25.00

Price includes relevant sales taxes.

If required, we offer shipments exported by sea or air 2 weeks of free storage following collection in both the origin and destination countries.  

We also offer imported shipments 2 weeks of free storage, if required, following the date of your shipment’s arrival at our destination depot.

At the end of this period, if we cannot ship or deliver your shipment to your destination address owing to incomplete documents or unpaid invoices, and you have not requested storage for your shipment, then a weekly charge will be applied (payable in advance). See “Avoidable charges” below.

The weekly storage charges are based on 7 days and are payable in advance. Storage is charged for a minimum of one whole week, no matter the day on which it begins or ends.

Weekly storage charges are based on your quoted items.

You can order additional boxes at any time to ensure your items are packed correctly and within the weight allowance. Please remember that these extra boxes will be outside of your original quote, and we will need to re-quote once the items are collected. You may also be subject to an additional deposit.  

Although these extra boxes are free, there is an additional delivery charge which is outlined below.

There will be extra charges if you require additional "deliver empty" transfers (especially those delivered on a separate day) above those confirmed in your quote.

Extra charges for additional “deliver empty” box transfers

  • Australia AUD 25.00
  • Canada CAD 20.00
  • China CNY 140.00
  • Malaysia MYR 65.00
  • Ireland (EIRE) Euros 15.00
  • New Zealand NZD 30.00
  • Singapore SGD 30.00
  • Thailand THB 550.00
  • United Kingdom GBP 10.00
  • United States USD 20.00
  • Hong Kong HKD 140.00
  • South Africa ZAR 150.00
  • Continental Europe EUR 15.00

Price includes relevant sales tax.