R&S March 2013 Magazine

March 2013 Removals & Storage 1

Features

www.bar.co.uk

Removals & StorageThe Magazine of the British Association of Removers

Inside this Issue

Industry News BAR News

>> OFT disappoints on petrol prices

>> Kilmarnock Removals moves a monster

>> Rightmove’s Robin Wilson on competitive pricing>> The highs and lows of a DED: Brian Maidman

>> Apprenticeships champion to speak at BAR Conference

>> EUROGROUP adds two new road-trains

Features

>> How the German moving industry works

>> Has overseas moving changed since 1965?

Breaking News

Brand new look for Bournes

March 2013 // Issue 464 // £4

On the coverBournes, one of the country’s oldest and best known removals companies, has decided to launch a new look to respond to the changing needs of its customers.

Page 46

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Removals & Storage March 2013


Features

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BAR News


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Industry News

March 2013 Removals & Storage

European Perspectives: Dr. Ellen Troska, AMÖ R&S talks to Dr. Ellen Troska of the German Association of Removers (AMÖ) about the removals market in Germany. 50

News from Watford

BAR’s new Company Secretary, Paul Swindon, sets out the arrangements for the new Code of Practice.

On the cover: Bournes launch a new identity.5

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Contents

Contents

Industry News

Just a snippet...• Whitewash on petrol prices• Removals fi rm licence suspended• Thinking of recruiting new staff?• Laws tightened on foreign driving licences• Webb’s move Nigel Benn• Royal Move for Edwards Removals• Good progress for the Coldest Journey

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BAR News

BAR Members speak up, plus update on the code of practice.

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• Brand new look for Bournes • The R&S Interview: How Rightmove got to where it is today• Real Time Information• Moving to Mauritius• Graham Puddephatt: The RBA needs you!

Features44

Overseas Group News

Then and Now - how has overseas moving changed since 1965?

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BAR Services

QSS

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People News53

Diary Dates 54

Membership 56

Commercial Moving Group News30

Training News

Apprenticeships champion Catherine McKinnell MP will be keynote speaker at the BAR Conference 2013.

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European News40

Stephen Gray, Overseas Group Co-opted MemberCo-opted Member, Stephen Gray, talks about how Anglo Pacifi c is addressing market conditions and its plans for the future.

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Refl ex Moody’s go demountableRefl ex Moody’s of Salisbury have now added two Mercedes Actros units plus two trailers on a demountable/swap body system to their removal operations.

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BAR News


News from Watford

There are now only a few weeks to go to the start of a new Code to replace the OFT scheme. Just to reiterate, the OFT scheme will legally cease to exist after 31st March and a new Code must be in place by 1st April 2013.

The new branding for the Code of Practice logo has now been agreed between the Code Sponsors and Trading Standards Institute (TSI), a draft of which has already been distributed to Members. Further information on how the logo can be used by Members in their marketing material, including access to the full colour version of the logo, is expected to be released by early March. BAR is confident that the logo will support the Association’s efforts to raise consumer awareness and will be a powerful marketing tool for Members.

The Association is making great progress in the online arena, as the BAR website continues to grow in popularity. New survey figures released from Rightmove claim that 64% of the public have heard of the British Association of Removers, up from 46% in 2011!

Early indications suggest that the BAR Annual Conference in Newcastle, on 16-18 May, will be very well attended, as the number of bookings at this early stage, is extremely positive. We are pleased to report that our keynote speaker will be local MP and Shadow Treasury Minister, Catherine McKinnell, who will talk to us about the Labour Party’s plans for promoting apprenticeships, among other topics.

The entry deadlines for DMotY and CMotY have now passed, and the fate of those entrants is now in the hands of the Judges. Both competitions are highly regarded within the industry, and we look forward to discovering who the winners are at the Conference Gala Dinner. Undoubtedly, the highlight of last year’s event was the vintage vehicle display, and this year’s procession, hosted at the world famous Beamish Museum, is set to be another a great occasion, with a great line up of classic vehicles already registered – it’s a day not to be missed.

On a personal note, as I embark on a new journey as BAR Company Secretary, I would like to thank those Members for their good wishes and messages of support. I am very much looking forward to a new challenge at BAR and hope to cross paths with many of you in the near future.

Paul SwindonBAR Company Secretary

Follow BAR on:

Contact Details:

Editorial Contributions on all aspects of the removals and storage industry are welcome, together with photographs if appropriate.

Please contact the Managing Editor, Louise Gale on:Tel: 020 3235 1806Email: [email protected]

Advertising For all enquiries and bookings, please contact Steve Pearce on:Tel: 0117 957 5400Email: [email protected] or [email protected]: The booking deadline for all display advertisements for the April 2013 issue of R&S is 10 March.

Subscriptions Removals & Storage is subscribed to by members of the British Association of Removers in the UK and Overseas. Current annual subscription is £48.00 in the UK and £72.00 overseas. Additional subscriptions are available from BAR.

Registered as a magazine © The British Association of Removers 2013. ISSN 0034-4265

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be scanned, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in part or whole in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the British Association of Removers.

Opinions expressed in Removals & Storage are not necessarily those of the publisher, British Association of Removers.The description of a product or service in this publication does not constitute endorsement by the publisher.The publisher does not accept any responsibility for any claims by advertisers.The articles in this publication are for general information only and are not intended to be advice to any specific person.Readers are recommended to seek professional advice before taking or refraining from taking any action on the basis of the contents of any article in this publication.

The British Association of Removers

Tel: 01923 699 480 Fax: 01923 699 481 Email: [email protected]

Tangent House, 62 Exchange Road, Watford, Hertfordshire WD18 OTG

President: Ian StuddDirector General: Stephen VickersCompany Secretary: Paul Swindon

Removals & Storage is designed on behalf of The British Association of Removers by:Rubicon Marketing Ltd. Tel: 0117 957 5400Email: [email protected]

Removals & Storage is written and edited for the British Association of Removers by Analytica MediaTel: 0203 235 1800 Email: [email protected]

Copy and advertising deadlines 2013 for future issues of R&S magazineArticle submission: 2nd of the month preceding publication

Booking of display Adverts: 10th of the month preceding publication

Booking of classified Adverts: 10th of the month preceding publication

Booking of trade Adverts: 10th of the month preceding publication

Artwork for Adverts: 15th of the month preceding publication

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Industry News


Dutch set for smart highways Smart Highways that glow in the dark and provide ice warnings are set to be unveiled in the Netherlands in mid-2013. The Glow-in-the-dark roads are treated with a special photoluminescent powder making extra lighting unnecessary. Charged in daylight, the Glow-in-the-dark road illuminates the contours of the road at night for up to 10 hours. Dynamic Paint, paint that becomes visible in response to temperature fluctuations, enables the surface of roads to communicate relevant and adequate traffic information directly to drivers. For example ice-crystals become visible on the surface of the road when it is cold and slippery. The project forms part of a plan to transform the driving experience by focusing on the road, not the car. The overall goal is to make roads that are more sustainable and interactive by using interactive lights, smart energy and road signs that adapt to specific traffic situations.

Monster move in Scotland Kilmarnock Removals in Scotland has handled some unusual requests over the years, but it’s not every day that the guys get their hands on something as fearsome as a prehistoric dinosaur. Luckily for them, Alisdair MacDougall (pictured) is from Skye in the highlands, so he is used to wildlife of all varieties and was unfazed by the ferocious beast. Alisdair was part of the team carrying out a move for the local museum, which included this distant cousin of Nessie, who is now terrifying the children of Kilmarnock from a new home.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary presented to the OFT by the transport industry, the OFT said that rises in pump prices for petrol and diesel over the last 10 years have been caused largely by higher crude oil prices and increases in tax and duty, and not by a lack of competition.

Quentin Willson of FairFuelUK reflected the views of the public and those in the removals industry when he said, “UK consumers will be bitterly disappointed. Every motorist and business in Britain instinctively knows that ‘something’s not right’. The Americans and the Germans are holding inquiries – why aren’t we?”

FairFuel UK believes the OFT has failed to address the key issues of: why diesel is more expensive than unleaded petrol in the UK, when this is not the case in Europe; why falls in the price of oil take so long to be reflected at the pump and why there are such variations in price, often from the same branded forecourts, within the same area. In addition, the OFT did not address the whistleblower evidence of potential ‘rigging’ of the oil commodity market.

The OFT launched a call for information on the UK road fuel sector in September last year to determine whether there are competition problems that need to be addressed in the £47bn market. Speaking before the report was released, Energy Minister Baroness Verma said the Government should look at ways to ensure consumers are not “ripped off at the petrol pump.”

Professor Stephen Glaister of the RAC Foundation said “this report will give only limited comfort to the UK’s 35 million drivers who continue to pay near record prices at the pumps, but the OFT does identify the true cause of drivers’ misery – the Chancellor and crude oil prices. About 60% of the pump price is accounted for by fuel duty and VAT and we would now call on retailers to provide a breakdown on till

receipts to show exactly what the proportion the Exchequer is creaming off.”

In the 10 years between 2003 and 2012 pump prices increased from 76 pence per litre (ppl) to 136ppl for petrol, and from 78ppl to 142ppl for diesel, caused largely by an increase of nearly 24ppl in tax and duty and 33ppl in the cost of crude oil. Motorway rip-offThe OFT did show some courage in identifying an absence of pricing information on motorways as a concern.

It also found that fuel is often significantly more expensive at motorway service stations. In August 2012, for example, prices were on average 7.5ppl higher for petrol and 8.3ppl higher for diesel than at other UK forecourts.

While these differences may be explained to some extent by the higher costs associated with running motorway forecourts, the OFT said it is concerned that drivers are not able to view prices until they have pulled into the service station. It has asked the Department for Transport to consider introducing new road signs that would display service station petrol and diesel prices for motorway drivers.

Another key feature of the road fuels sector over the past decade has been the growing influence of the big four supermarkets. They increased their share of road fuel sold in the UK from 29% in 2004 to 39% in 2012. The OFT said the supermarkets’ high throughput per forecourt and greater buying power has allowed them to sell fuel more cheaply than other competitors. In August 2012, for example, the average price of petrol at supermarkets was 2ppl cheaper than the average at oil company owned sites and 4.3ppl cheaper than the average charged by independent dealers.

The OFT also recognises that many independent dealers have found it difficult to compete in this sector, with a significant number exiting the market. Overall, the number of UK forecourts has fallen from 10,867 in 2004 to 8,677 in 2012.

Clive Maxwell, OFT Chief Executive, said “our call for information has not identified any evidence of anti-competitive behaviour in the fuel market at a national level, where competition appears to be strong. There may be some issues at a local level. Where we receive evidence of potential anti-competitive behaviour we will consider taking action. For example, we have recently opened an investigation into the supply of road fuel in the Western Isles of Scotland.”

Criticism of the OFT’s overall response was well summed up by Edmund King of the AA who said: “If fuel pricing is fair and competitive, there is no reason not to publish petrol and diesel wholesale prices to prove the point and reassure motorists.”

Whitewash on petrol prices To the dismay of just about everybody in the road transport business, the Office of Fair Trading has said “competition is working well in the UK road fuel sector,” although it did say that better signage may be required at motorway service stations.

Industry News

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Removals firm licence suspended A removals firm is to have its vehicle operating licence suspended for seven days in February, following an investigation by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and a public inquiry by Nicholas Denton, Traffic Commissioner for London and the South East. The company is not a BAR Member.

Denton heard that Vista Global Trade Ltd, which trades as Handy Removals, committed a most serious infringement – using a vehicle without a valid MOT for over two months. It also permitted the use of a vehicle with a defective speed limiter; and failed to identify that one of its employees was breaking the regulations on drivers’ hours.

The London-based firm was called to the regulatory hearing to respond to an investigation by VOSA. An examiner from the enforcement body encountered the company’s vehicle in September 2012 on the M25 and found a number of offences relating to the driver and vehicle, including that its annual test had expired. Operating a vehicle without a valid MOT is classed as a most serious infringement under EU regulations, with licence termination a possible penalty. As a result of the offences, VOSA immobilised the vehicle and prevented it from further movement. The examiner suggested that the operator had allowed an illegal and dangerous vehicle to be used on the UK road network. After hearing evidence from the company during the inquiry, the Traffic Commissioner noted that improvements had been made following the VOSA investigation, including that the director and transport manager had attended a refresher course on his certificate of professional competence – a mandatory qualification.

However, the Traffic Commissioner ruled that the firm should face disciplinary action against its licence for the offences committed. He made an order to suspend their authority to operate vehicles for seven days.

MPs debate crime against road transport The Transport Committee of the House of Commons has opened an inquiry into land transport security and heard evidence from industry and Simon Burns, Minister of State.

CMA CGM sells stake in port terminals CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipper, is to sell a 49% stake in its Terminal Link division for 400 million euros to China Merchants Holdings, the largest public port operator in China. Terminal Link, a 100% owned subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group based in Marseilles, France, operates, develops and invests in a global network of 15 terminals located on the world’s key international shipping routes. Terminal Link

ranks number 12 worldwide based on throughput handled with a volume of 8.1m TEUs handled in 2011. CMA CGM said the transaction marked the start of a strategic partnership with the Chinese. The company also plans to list shares on the Paris Stock Exchange to improve its access to finance amid tough conditions for container shippers and low freight rates.

The Select Committee is specifically seeking views on the European Commission’s working document on transport security, published last year, which values lorry load theft at some €8bn per annum in the EU. The Select Committee is seeking information from EU member states on topics such as the strengths and weaknesses of current land transport security arrangements in the UK, whether there is a need for further EU involvement in land transport security issues, and what would be the positive and negative impacts of potential proposals arising from the Commission’s working document. During the evidence session, the Committee covered issues including cargo theft from vehicles, co-operation between member states, and the issue of stowaways on board both lorries and coaches, which are all considered security problems to the freight industry across Europe. The Freight Transport Association is calling for the creation of an expert

group on land transport security within the EU to work on measures to secure borders more effectively and ensure trans-European working, with channels of communication created between industry stakeholders. Any costs involved in providing additional security should be borne at national or EU level and not by a levy imposed on road fleet operators at border crossings.

It is also keeping up the pressure for a simple and harmonised system of Intelligent Transport which can be easily accessed by vehicles, irrespective of their member state of registration. “The availability of secure lorry parking is pitifully small and measures need to be developed to facilitate the development of additional sites both at home and abroad,” it said. “This requires genuine political leadership as, despite the strategic economic benefits of safe lorry parking, the creation of sites often meets considerable local opposition.”

Do you have any news to share with R&S readers?Send to: [email protected]

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Industry News


The survey revealed that people driving for business purposes are more likely than the general driving population to take all of these risks, prompting calls for employers to take action to ensure employees are safe and not putting others in danger.

Nearly a third (30%) of journeys on roads are made by drivers who are at work at the time. These drivers are 26% more likely to be in a crash than people driving on their own time. In Great Britain, 10 people are killed each week and 100 injured by people driving for work.

Julie Townsend, Brake deputy chief executive, said “we are urging all employers to ensure they have comprehensive safe driving policies in place and that staff know the importance of not speeding or driving distracted. We are also calling on anyone who drives for work to make a commitment to stay within speed limits, stay off the phone, and focus on the critical task at hand.” Nearly a third (31%) of work drivers text while driving, compared to 28% of non-work drivers. Nearly one in six (17%) admit grooming while driving, compared with 14% of non-work drivers, and more than a third (37%) admit driving

while talking on a hands-free phone, compared with 24% of non-work drivers.

Employers have a duty of care to take steps to minimise risks employees face and pose to others while driving on company time, whether it is a commercial vehicle, company car, or own car driven to work appointments. Brake advises that organisations who manage road risk effectively often see big reductions in insurance costs and benefits to staff morale. “For HGV drivers, their cab is their place of work and the safety record for such drivers is excellent,” said Geoff Dunning of the Road Haulage Association. “Regrettably, there are a minority who ignore the rules and they only serve to bring the rest of the industry and its workforce into disrepute.

Regrettably, there will always be exceptions to these rules and the Association firmly believes that those caught and convicted of any offence that puts other road users in danger, whether by unsafe driving or, for example, tampering with tachograph devices, should face the harshest sentence possible under current legislation. Only then will it act as a deterrent for others.”

Professional drivers face deadly distractionsSignificant numbers of people who drive for work are risking devastating crashes by texting, speeding and grooming at the wheel, according to joint research by road safety charity Brake and insurers Direct Line.

Acas expects continued pay tensions Employment relations service Acas is predicting that pay will continue to cause tension as austerity measures continue, and has highlighted the need for employers to motivate and engage workforces.

John Taylor, Acas Chief Executive, said “with forecasts for continuing long-term austerity measures and a possible triple-dip we may very well see increasing tensions and conflict around pay. Pressure on employers to keep wage costs under control could clash with the desire by employees to catch up with the cost of living - inflation has been outstripping median pay awards for the last three years.

He advises that if inflation and interest rates rise, this could increase wage demands. Clearly, motivating and engaging staff by other ways rather than pay will therefore be a challenge and may require employers to be more inventive. He recommends that one way of engaging with staff may be to offer more flexible working arrangements. The Government is proposing to extend the right to request flexible working to everyone, not just parents and carers.

Acas is preparing to introduce a free Early Conciliation service as from April 2014. In future anyone thinking of making a tribunal claim will need to contact Acas first to try to resolve the dispute before it becomes a tribunal claim. Acas advice is: “it is better to resolve disputes at the earliest possible stage, ideally in the workplace itself.”

Second phase of M74 improvements The second phase of the multi-million pound upgrade of the A74(M)/M74 between Junction 22 (Gretna) and Junction 12 (Millbank) is now underway. The programme of works is set to improve the condition of the road, which is over 20 years old in places, and extend its long-term life. This busy

motorway carries over 30,000 vehicles a day and is the main route between the Border and the central belt.

Traffic will be limited to 40mph through the works in the interests of safety for the workforce and motorists.

Industry News


Laws tightened on foreign driving licences Foreign drivers must prove they have passed an appropriate driving test before getting a British licence under new rules announced by Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond. An inconsistency in the law meant that previously some non-EU drivers were able to exchange their licence without proving that the necessary standards to drive in this country had been met. The change in the law means requests to exchange driving licences from outside the EU will only be accepted if the licence holder can prove they passed a driving test in a country where the testing standards are comparable with those in Britain. All driving licences issued by an EU state allow that driver to drive in any part of the EU and there is no need for them to exchange their licences. This does not apply to drivers outside Europe but arrangements are in place with 15 countries that allow drivers to exchange their licences for a Great Britain one. They do not need to take any additional driving tests as DVLA recognises that the licence they hold proves that they have already met the appropriate standards to drive in this country. Because of an inconsistency in the law, some foreign drivers were able to exchange a licence with another overseas country with which DVLA have an exchange agreement, and then subsequently swap it for a Great Britain one. This meant that DVLA could not be sure that the driver had met the appropriate standards to drive in this country before exchanging their licence. The law will now make clear that the licence to be exchanged will only be issued on the basis that the driver has met the appropriate standards to drive in this country. The change in law came into force on 11 January 2013.

DfT praises clear-up initiativeMotorists and the economy are seeing huge benefits from a Government-led initiative to reopen motorways and roads quickly following major incidents, according to Roads Minister Stephen Hammond.

The ‘CLEAR’ (collision, lead, evaluate, act and reopen) initiative – launched by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2011 to improve incident clear-up times – is helping to save the economy tens of millions of pounds annually.

A key achievement has been the success of 38 DfT/police-funded 3D laser scanners which allow police forces to capture evidence quickly following collisions, helping to reopen major roads and motorways more quickly. The latest figures show an average time saving of 44 minutes per investigation – a 5 minute improvement on test estimates.

Other initiatives include the launch of a new hands-free smart phone app that notifies users of incidents and congestion, as well as the planned roll out of incident screens to shield collisions and prevent rubber necking. Time savings associated with screens alone can be up to several hundred thousand pounds per incident.

In addition, as part of CLEAR, VOSA and the Highways Agency have signed a memorandum of

understanding to facilitate data sharing about heavy goods vehicles. Studies have shown this type of vehicle is involved in a high proportion of the longest incidents. VOSA is working closely with operators to make sure problems are addressed.

The Highways Agency has also introduced new towing equipment (load cells) to remove heavier vehicles obstructing live lanes and spill kits to clear spillages from motorway lanes. Overall, the Government says it is confident these measures will help reduce the estimated £750m cost to the economy that incidents cause on the strategic road network in England annually. Congestion on the strategic road network is estimated to cost the economy £3bn each year, 25% of which is caused by incidents. A single incident that closes a 3-lane motorway for 4 hours can cost several million pounds in lost time, and there are some 80,000 incidents that impact at least one motorway lane each year.

A report which sets out the next steps of CLEAR is currently being finalised for publication later in 2013.

Transport for London (TfL) has begun the design work on its Structures and Tunnels Investment Portfolio.

Engineering consultancies Ramboll and Parsons Brinckerhoff have started mapping out this portfolio, which is part of TfL’s wider £3.8bn investment into the capital’s road network in the next ten years.

The Structures and Tunnels improvements will affect the following structures:

• UpperHollowayRailwayBridgeandHighburyCorner Bridge on the A1, the A127 Ardleigh Green Railway Bridge and the A406 Power Road Railway Bridge

• A406ForeStreetTunnel,ChiswickBridgeonthe A316 and the reconstruction of the woodlands retaining wall on the A406 near Golders Green

• NextphaseofimprovementworksontheHammersmith Flyover.

TfL appoints consultants for road improvements

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Industry News


New powers will allow local councils to set conditions on the length of time it will take utility companies to complete the work and the amount of road space to be left available for road users. Companies who work without a permit or break the conditions will be fined. According to the Department for Transport, permit schemes have been effective in reducing the time taken to complete works, reducing inconvenience for motorists and businesses alike. For example, in the first year of Kent County Council’s permit scheme operation, highway occupation was reduced by the equivalent of six years, equating to a reduction in disruption of 5%. Currently councils wanting to introduce a permit scheme need approval from the Department for Transport. Following consultation, this requirement will be removed to give councils more freedom in reducing congestion and making it easier to put new permit schemes in place. Under the new plans, councils will still need to comply with the law on the penalties and requirements they can impose on utility companies when operating a permit scheme. The changes will give them greater freedom to introduce schemes in

their local area. A council running a permit scheme is able to charge companies for providing a permit, although this charge can only cover the costs of administering the permit scheme and should not result in a surplus.

....guidance on speed limits and signageSeparately, the DfT has published new guidance to help local authorities across England set speed limits. The updated guidance will help local councils implement more consistent speed limits on local roads and incorporates recent changes that create more flexibility for authorities to implement 20mph limits and zones. It is not clear at this point whether this will lead to a reduction or an increase in speed cameras! Meanwhile, thousands of traffic signs are being brought down across the country as part of a Government drive to rid streets of clutter. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has unveiled a new document called ‘Reducing sign clutter’ that provides guidance to local authorities on how to remove unnecessary traffic signs as cost-effectively as possible.

In London alone 8,000 repeater signs and 4,000

poles installed on the capital’s roads in the early 1990s have been ripped out. In Hampshire 200 traffic signs have been taken away along a 12 mile stretch of the A32 while Somerset has also done away with a further 1,000 signs.

Local councils given road works power…Councils will find it easier to tackle disruptive road works and will be given power to control when and how utility companies dig up their roads.

TfL appoints consultants for road improvements

Industry News


Unfair dismissal claims capped The Government has announced plans to introduce a 12 month pay cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal and to make template letters available to encourage the use of the new settlement agreements, as part of plans to reduce the number of workplace disputes that end up at Employment Tribunal. Business associations have welcomed the development but are disappointed that the Government has refused to reduce the overall cap from its current high level of £72,300. Two-thirds of businesses who responded to the consultation felt the cap was too high. For the Institute of Directors: “Most successful claimants receive less than £5,000 in compensation, and leaving the cap so much bigger than this only helps to create unrealistic expectations, and encourage tribunal cases which could be sorted out more quickly and easily before that stage.” Employment Minister Jo Swinson said “Employment Tribunals are costly for everyone, in terms of money but also time and stress. We need to tackle unrealistic expectations about the levels of compensation awards, especially when only 1 in 350 people who make a claim for unfair dismissal receive an award of more than their own salary, and the average award is less than £5,000. Tribunals should be the last resort not the first port of call.” Neil Carberry, CBI Director of Employment and Skills said “delays in the current tribunal system are the single biggest confidence killer for firms wanting to grow. No one wants disputes to end in tribunals, particularly small businesses, so the system needs to promote early settlement more actively. “The current cap on unfair dismissal payouts is many times higher than the average sums awarded, giving workers unrealistic and inflated expectations of what a claim is worth. It’s right that the new cap is linked more explicitly to an employee’s earnings. This will give businesses clarity about the potential costs and will scrap the perverse incentive for workers not to settle in the hope of getting a higher award.”

The proposals to implement a new employee shareholder status are contained within Clause 27 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, which is currently before the House of Lords.

The Government said the aim of the new status is to boost employee engagement and productivity and to remove the perceived barriers around the fear of being taken to employment tribunal, which the Government says is deterring businesses from hiring.

However the Law Society is concerned that small businesses, who are the prime target audience for this proposal, will be put off by the complex tax, company law requirements and extra costs.

Law Society President Lucy Scott-Moncrieff said “the new status will cause substantial confusion for employers at the beginning, but particularly on the termination of an employee’s contract. There is potential for costly litigation on a range of complex issues which are likely to arise when an employee leaves, which runs counter to the Government’s stated aim of supporting small and medium sized enterprises through simpler regulation.

“The decision to restrict employee shareholders’

access to maternity rights and flexible working also conflicts with the Government’s commitment to family friendly policies.”

In a letter to members of the House of Lords, Ms Scott-Moncrieff said the proposals to offer employee ownership to workers in return for the forfeiture of employment rights should be deleted from the Growth and Infrastructure Bill.

In October 2012, the Chancellor announced plans for a new kind of employment contract called an employee-shareholder.

New employee-shareholders will exchange some of their UK employment rights for rights of ownership in the form of shares in the business they work for, any gains on which will be exempt from capital gains tax.

Under the new type of contract, employees will be given between £2,000 and £50,000 of shares that are exempt from capital gains tax. In exchange, they will give up their UK rights on unfair dismissal, redundancy, and the right to request flexible working and time off for training, and will be required to provide 16 weeks’ notice of a firm date of return from maternity leave, instead of the usual 8.

Law Society lukewarm on employee shareholdersProposals for new employee-shareholder contracts are flawed and will lead to more red tape, rather than less, the Law Society has warned.

New support for long-term sickness absenceBritish businesses will be helped to tackle long-term sickness absence in the workplace thanks to a new independent assessment and advisory service aimed at getting people back to work and away from long-term sickness benefits. The Government believes the scheme will save employers up to £160m a year in statutory sick pay and increase economic output by up to £900m a year. Currently, only 10% of employees of small firms have access to an occupational health service, compared with more than half of staff in larger

firms. The new service will enable employers of all sizes to access expert advice to help them manage sickness absence in the workplace. This new initiative will ensure employers receive bespoke, independent advice for cases of sickness absence lasting more than four weeks. Experts agree this approach will help to stop thousands of people falling out of work and onto long-term sickness benefits. The lack of advice or support is one of the main barriers faced by employers tackling sickness absence in the workplace. Under the current system,

the vast majority of fit notes declare employees to be unfit for work. Around 131 million working days are lost each year to sickness absence in Great Britain (approximately 4.5 days per worker or 1.8% of hours being lost), and one million employees each year experience one or more spells of long-term absence (over 4 weeks). Employers pay £9bn a year on sick pay and associated costs e.g. administrative and recruitment costs (£1.5bn on Statutory Sick Pay; £6.9bn on Occupational Sick Pay and £0.5bn on associated costs).

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Industry News


GB Liners starts new weekly service to Germany Following the success of its weekly Swiss service, GB Liners have now added a weekly German service.

Run in conjunction with the leading German moving company, Max Jacobi, this leaves London each Monday. Delivery anywhere in Germany is guaranteed by the end of the following week. Consignments can be delivered to any of GB Liners’ eleven depots to link up with the weekly service to Germany or the Swiss service. Richard Allen is in charge of the new services and is looking forward to building up volumes as the

service becomes better known in the industry. “The trade has found our Swiss service to be extremely efficient, economic and flexible and I am sure that those hallmarks will soon become associated with the new German service,” he said. GB Liners are also planning a groupage service to Qatar and more details of this should be available shortly.

Interdean Netherlands acquires T&A Relocation

Interdean Netherlands, part of the Santa Fe Group, has acquired T&A Relocation B.V. in the Netherlands. Over the past 10 years, Interdean Netherlands has developed its international relocation department to become one of the leading relocation companies in the Netherlands. The recent addition of T&A Relocation to its capabilities further strengthens this position. Since 1999, T&A Relocation has established itself as a high quality provider of relocation and immigration services. T&A Relocation’s commitment and expertise was recognised in 2009, when it was awarded the EuRA Quality Seal for the very highest standards in relocation services. The key team members joining Interdean Relocation Services are Jolanda Tetteroo, founder of T&A Relocation, Brenda Jongman, Senior Immigration Consultant and Marion Kunstman, Relocation Coordinator. Interdean Netherlands’ latest development is part of the Santa Fe Group’s strategy to provide relocation, moving and immigration services through each of its local offices globally. Lars Lykke Iversen (pictured), CEO, Santa Fe Group said “It is absolutely key that we provide an end-to-end relocation service in every single country in which we operate. I am personally delighted that we are able to build on the expertise and knowledge of T&A Relocation to offer excellent specialist relocation destination services to all our customers requiring services in the Netherlands.”

Royal Move for Edwards Zara Phillips, the Queen’s oldest granddaughter, and husband Mike Tindall chose BAR Member, Edwards Removals, part of the Clockwork Removals group, for their move out of their Cheltenham home.

The couple are moving to a new residence on the Gatcombe Park estate of Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, Zara’s mother. The estate is about 20 miles outside Cheltenham and Zara already keeps her horses there. The move generated extensive coverage in the press – and another two happy customers for Edwards!

Webb’s move Nigel Benn

Webbs International Removals of Mallorca has recently completed the move of The Dark Destroyer himself, Nigel Benn, from his home on the Spanish island all the way to Sydney.

Webbs specialise in Mallorca moves and Nigel has been a regular client for the firm’s weekly schedule service over the years – but never for a move quite as far as this. “We have got to know Nigel reasonably well and we were honoured to get the job of moving him to Sydney,” Bill Webb

says. “We were up against stiff opposition, with one other company offering a price below cost just for the publicity!” The move took three days to wrap and pack with a lot of crates, glass furniture and restricted access to Nigel’s home because of a steep gated driveway. “Our fleet of conventional and not so conventional removal vehicles came to the rescue - the joys of being a specialist, lots of toys for all occasions! We wish Mr and Mrs Benn all the best in their new home.”

Industry News


Burke Bros reaps benefits of recovery Just four years after Burke Bros of Wolverhampton branched out into vehicle recovery services, Burke Bros Recovery now has four vehicles in its fleet and 100 regular customers.

In addition to its unqualified success in the local light vehicle recovery market, the vehicle recovery arm has also proved to be a major benefit for the main removals work, Director Chris Burke explains.

“Our Recovery business collects a lot of cars for the removal side of the business, and also provides assistance with loading and unloading cars from shipping containers as against using ramps.

Burke Bros Recovery also regularly assists other movers outside the group when they need to collect cars.”

Having the recovery business alongside the moving business has helped secure additional work with moving customers’ cars, re-builds and classic cars, Chris adds. The recovery business is based in the same location as the family removal business, and both companies in the group share the space for their vehicles and offices.

Clients that Sam Burke, the young founder of Burke Bros Recovery, has won in the last four years include St John’s Ambulance, Call Assist, Equity Red Star, and Mondial.

Sam has also followed the same general strategy as the parent removals company, investing in quality and joining the national trade association to support marketing and networking and meet the highest professional standards. With such clear overlaps and synergies between the two industries, this strategy of diversification seems to be paying off.

Harrow Green’s Manchester office was chosen to relocate teaching materials, desktop, operating and laboratory equipment to Fern Grove Veterinary Surgery, the University’s first opinion veterinary practice, and six other locations within Liverpool and the Wirral, as well as the Veterinary library. Harrow Green, which has carried out a number of relocation projects in the past for the University including the Sidney Jones library, won the business – a competitive tender – after providing the most efficient relocation programme. In addition, the company has also chalked up another library move, a phased-move project for Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln. The scheme means the company, which has its north-east regional centre in Leeds, has now won over £500,000 of new contracts in the libraries sector in the last 12 months. The University’s Library Services department brought in Harrow Green for the four-phase move,

which included moving 289 metres of books plus shelving and furniture for the Children’s library; and dismantling and reassembling over 4,000 metres of shelving and packing, storing and transferring 133,000 volumes of books whilst it refurbished and extended its main library facility from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet. The project was carried out over several months.

Harrow Green moves Liverpool vetsHarrow Green has completed a multi-site move at the University of Liverpool’s School of Veterinary Science.

New cycling challenge for BournesA team from Bournes Removals will be supporting Cancer Research UK by participating in the challenge to conquer the Tumble in South Wales in the third Tumbleup4Life cycling event on 4 May. In the initiative Tumbleup4Life cyclists unite to gather funds in support of cancer recovery.

They also seek to share their inspiration about living life to the fullest, even when that seems an uphill battle.

Individual participants cycle up to the top of the ‘Iron mountain’ up to fifteen times each (or as

many as possible); teams pool their efforts to total the fifteen runs.

The struggle to conquer the Tumble as many times as you can in a single day symbolizes the task that cancer patients undertake every day to live life in spite of a disease. If you or your company would like to join the team or put together a team of your own to participate in the event, contact team leader Tom Bourne [email protected] or register at http://tumbleup4life.wordpress.com/home/

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Industry News


New cycling challenge for Bournes

Reflex Moody’s go demountable In the February 2013 issue of R&S, we reported on the growing trend for removals firms to build up their fleets of demountable vehicles. And it seems it is not only multinational operations that are seeing the benefits; Reflex Moody’s of Salisbury have now added two Mercedes Actros units plus two trailers on a demountable/swap body system to their removal operations. The vehicles were sourced through an online auction site and were purchased for half the amount that was being asked from a dealer for the same vehicles some three months before. Managing Director Peter Rattue says he had been looking to update their swap body system for some time and these vehicles met the requirements.

After a few trips to Northampton to finalise the deal, the two units, two trailers and six demountable bodies were taken to Trans Load in Andover for body modifications and spraying. Four of the bodies are standard boxes with barn doors to the rear and the other two are container bodies with four side loading doors and rear barn doors. The height of the four conventional boxes has been kept to 4 metres to allow for safe running on the continent.Reflex Moody’s have been able to reduce their fleet size by selling the container vehicles and replacing them with the demountable bodies. The Actros units have long distance cabs and are very popular with the drivers who travel to France. Peter says the swap body system is particularly useful

when delivering in France as many properties are inaccessible with a lorry and drawbar. Such was the demand to drive them, that Peter put two of his porters through their tests to upgrade to a Class C (without trailer) and one to a C+E! Peter took one of the new additions to the Alps in France just before Christmas (without the trailer) and was hugely impressed with the vehicle and its performance. “I was getting nearly 13 miles to the gallon” says Peter “and it was such a comfortable ride. It is a far cry from my first trip to France in a Bedford TK in 1987!”

Upgrade for O’Neil BAR Affiliate O’Neil Software has announced their newest upgrade to their software, introducing RS-SQL Version 4.05 with more new features.

“Change is inevitable. But embrace it and your entire record centre can become more efficient and rise to new levels,” said Ian Thomas, Executive VP of O’Neil Software. “This is why O’Neil continuously upgrades their records storage and management software. We never lose sight of where the industry is headed and how we can apply technology to our customers’ operations, to help them achieve greater productivity and profitability.”

RS-SQL Version 4.05 is Now Supported on Windows 8 and RSWeb.NET is supported on Internet Explorer 10. Several new predefined queries have been added to the User grid related to Web User Settings. Predefined queries automate searches that a user can perform online. Monthly schedules can also now be created based on the day and the week within the month (i.e. 3rd Tuesday of the month).

New vehicles for Eurogroup EUROGROUP International Movers has acquired two new road-trains for its European service operating out of its Grantham facility. The vehicles are Scania R310 power units with a Vancraft bodies, 5 pallet on the motor unit and a close coupled twin axle trailer with 4 pallets.

A Scania unit and step frame trailer have also been added to the European fleet at the company’s Dereham branch in Norfolk.

Your thoughts on trucks and bodies R&S is researching BAR Members’ views on the best trucks and bodies on the market.

Are there any questions you have for other BAR Members about their experiences and preferences?

Is there anything you would like to say about the trucks and bodies you use? Good points? Bad points?

Send your questions and thoughts to [email protected] and we will follow up your questions and include your comments in an upcoming issue of R&S. Don’t delay – have your say now!


Industry News


Anglo Pacific takes Prince Hamlet to the US

The Washington Post wrote “fast and furious at the Folger” and the LA Times admired a “fresh-faced approach” to Shakespeare. London’s stripped-down Hamlet production went down a treat in the States and specialist theatrical movers Anglo Pacific were delighted to offer behind-the-scenes shipping assistance. Running from September to November last year, Shakespeare’s Globe’s touring production of Hamlet took in seven venues across North America from Washington to Boston, Santa Barbara to Santa Monica. As with any portable performance, the delivery of costumes and props was vital to keep the show on the road and Paul Russell, Production Manager for Shakespeare’s Globe, always opts for Anglo Pacific’s reliable, professional service. “I have worked with Anglo Pacific for many years, stretching back to the days when I organised international tours for the Young Vic in London Waterloo,” he said. “Unlike many other industries, our deadlines are immovable and logistics is crucial. When touring overseas in particular, the margins are very fine financially and the penalties for cancelling a performance are incredibly severe. Customs are always a big unknown, varying according to the country in question, and awkward situations such as previously having to send someone to the docks in Australia with a spray bottle of wood insecticide to treat scenery before customs clearance are those we can do without. We rely on expert guidance from Anglo Pacific to avoid glitches and hitches.”

Anton is in charge of the Support Group and is currently coordinating the establishment of Base Camp for the team who will make the first ever winter crossing of the frozen continent.

SA Agulhas set sail from London on 6 December last year, and travelled from Cape Town to the Antarctic, arriving two weeks later at Crown Bay, Queen Maud Land, where Anton has overseen the offloading of all the equipment needed by the Ice Group, including 25 ton Caterpillar bulldozers and hundreds of drums of fuel, sledges, containers and accommodation cabooses.

“We are here to complete a job. Fanciful observations of our surroundings are not our priority,” Anton writes. “But, if you stop for a moment or two and tilt your head back to feel the warmth of

the sun on your face, then look at the scenery around you, I challenge anyone not to feel pretty good. It is a stunning and inspiring place untainted by development or man-made construction (apart from our own transitory presence).”

“We are now two distinct groups,” Anton explains, as the Ice Group prepared to set out. “The umbilical cord is now cut. But despite this, the mothership still has a role to play in nurturing and supporting our progeny until they are self-sufficient and able to continue on their way without us.”

Scheduled departure date for the Ice Team is 21 March, 2013. The team will travel from the coast via the depot(s) and the expedition will aim to travel an average of 35km per eight-hour-day throughout the traverse.

Good progress for the Coldest JourneyIt’s been a chill winter for everyone here in the UK, but spare a thought for Anton Bowring of Revells Removals, currently in the Antarctic as co-leader of The Coldest Journey expedition with Sir Ranulph Fiennes.


Anton Bowring of Revells Removals with Expedition Co-Leader Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

Revells delivers essential equipment for The Coldest Journey.

ContactFor more information, see www.thecoldestjourney.org and if you want to keep in touch with Anton during the expedition, please see the facebook page of the site www.facebook.com/TheColdestJourney

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Industry News


Looking for new staff? By the end of its first year, the Government’s Work Programme found stable work for 31,000 people and so could be a useful avenue to go down for companies looking to recruit new staff.

The Work Programme, launched in 2011, helps people who have been claiming out of work benefits for a long period, or who are at risk of falling into this group. It supports people who have claimed Jobseekers Allowance for a long period of time as well as those with long-term health conditions who claim Employment Support Allowance. It is a national initiative and replaced the ‘Flexible New Deal’ programme in June 2011. Nowadays the long-term unemployed people are referred to a range of specialist private, voluntary and public sector organisations who give unemployed people the skills, training and experience they need to get a job. According to a Government report, more than half of the people who joined the Work Programme in the first few months spent some time off benefits. The industry trade organisation, the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), reported to the Department of Work and Pensions that Work Programme participants have started in more than 200,000 jobs. In addition, over 31,000 people have been given a job and stayed there long enough for providers to receive an “outcome payment” – normally when someone has been in work for six months, or three

months for the very hardest-to-help. The Work Programme divides the country into eighteen different areas, and there are at least two providers running the Programme in each area. The

Work Programme is delivered through 40 contracts held by 18 private, public and voluntary and community sector organisations. Providers are paid primarily for sustained job outcomes.

Contact details for these providers can be found at www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wp-prime-supplier-contact-details.pdf.

Industry News


Prospect of more moves It’s been a hard winter, and conditions in the housing market have been chilly for many a year now, but there could at last be some indications that things are getting better as 2013 gets underway and access to mortgage finance improves.According to Rightmove, more sellers are coming to market, with a 27% New Year jump in Rightmove traffic. It said early indicators offer reasons to be confident that both prices and transaction numbers will see a modest rise in 2013. Miles Shipside, Director and Housing Market Analyst at Rightmove, said “those coming to market have taken a pragmatic pricing approach and kept their asking prices pretty much the same as sellers in December, up by just 0.2%.” He said sensible pricing will help buyer affordability, one of the factors needed to help warm up the market and encourage a recovery from the credit-crunch freeze in transaction volumes. The thaw will also be helped by growing confidence that prices are more likely to go up than down. There is an increasing body of evidence suggesting genuine ‘green shoots’ of recovery after a prolonged period of the housing market bumping along the bottom.” Meanwhile, figures from the December 2012 Housing Market Report from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) revealed a rise in the number of house hunters, reaching an average of 282 per branch. This represents an increase on the three months to December and a high-point for the quarter. The NAEA’s December house hunter numbers were up 41% since their lowest December levels in 2008 (200), and up 7% on November 2012. In terms of pricing, figures from the Land Registry show a monthly price increase of 0.8% in house prices in December, bringing the average house price in England and Wales to £162,080. The region with the most significant annual price increase was London with a movement of 8.4%. The region with the greatest annual price fall was the North West with a movement of -3.5%. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in the 12 months to November 2012 UK house prices increased by 2.1%, up from a 1.5% increase in the 12 months to October. The year-on-year increase reflected growth of 2.5% in England and 0.8% in Wales, which were offset by a decline of 1.1% in Scotland and 8.5% in Northern Ireland. Annual house price increases in England were driven by a 5.0% rise in London and a 3.0% increase in the South East. Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 0.8% in the 12 months to November 2012. Property analytics firm Hometrack said that house prices were unchanged in January, but said that 79% of estate agents are optimistic about the prospects for the spring market – primarily in relation to sales volumes rather than price growth. “Despite the slow start recorded in the January survey, the housing market looks to be in slightly better shape than at the start of the previous two years,” Hometrack said. In addition, LSL Acadametrics said it estimated the number of domestic house purchase transactions in England and Wales for the year 2012 at 657,000, or 63% of the long-term average number of transactions

in a year, calculated over the period 1995 - 2011.Acadametrics Chairman Peter Williams said “the market in 2012 is still operating below its potential, largely due to the difficulties being faced by would-be purchasers in obtaining mortgage finance.” He said the general view is that transactions will pick up next year, assisted by increased lending. According to Nationwide, house prices rose by 0.5% in January and the typical UK home is now worth £162,245, the same level as in January last year. Chief Economist Robert Gardner said that the Funding for Lending Scheme has achieved some success in bringing down mortgage rates, with signs of a pick up in lending activity. Importantly, conditions are improving for first-time buyers, who are the lifeblood of the propertyhousing transactions, according to Nationwide estimates. Nationwide expects a gradual rise in first time buyers in the quarters ahead – which clearly would be excellent news for the removals industry.

Halifax said that activity was at its highest for five years. Home sales increased by 5% in 2012 to 932,000; the highest annual total since 2007 (1,619,000).

Sales in the final three months of 2012 were 4% higher than in the preceding quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Housing Economist Martin Ellis said: “Rising mortgage approval numbers point to further increases in home sales in the coming months.

The Funding for Lending scheme has helped lenders to lower interest rates and improve availability in the past few months. This is likely to have been a factor contributing to the pick-up in both home sales and prices.” Halifax noted that approvals for purchase – a leading indicator of completed house sales – increased by 3% to 55,800 in December. Overall, there was a 19% increase in approvals over the last five months of 2012.

Source: Rightmove

Average Weekly Run Rate of New Listings since January 2008

19

Industry News


Source: Rightmove

20

BAR News


BAR Members speak upResults are in from November’s nationwide BAR Membership Survey. Participants responded to a wide range of questions covering all areas of BAR activities. Members came up with many useful views and suggestions for BAR to consider as they plan for the future.

BAR has made a major drive to improve its communications with its membership base, especially for communicating proactively with those Members who cannot attend Conference or area meetings as regularly as they would like.

The BAR Membership Survey is one of the main ways in which the Association can talk to and listen to its Members. In November 2012, BAR commissioned a major survey of its Members, with almost 200 people participating in the initiative, answering questions on a wide range of issues concerning the BAR, its products and services, and sharing their ideas on how to improve the Association.

Perhaps the overriding theme of the 2012 Survey is that Members recognise the efforts that BAR is making to improve communications, public relations and awareness but say that more work could be done. Unsurprisingly, in today’s difficult market conditions, many respondents also took the opportunity to call on BAR to control the costs of Membership and services.

The survey also reflected the continued divergence of opinion among the Membership about the need for tougher criteria and the mandatory use of standards.

The vast majority of Members either agree or strongly agree that BAR Membership is a benefit; just two respondents do not use the BAR badge at all. Many respondents believe that BAR still needs to do more to promote the badge and the brand with the general public, and some commented that too many badges do cause confusion. “The badge is the most important part of the branding,” one Member noted.

Perhaps with an eye on the recent Membership referendum, one respondent said controversially that there are unfortunately companies within the Association that should not be Members.

Most companies also use the BAR terms & conditions; one Member said he had won a court case against a client specifically because the client had signed the T&C. Many suggestions were made for improvements; some respondents thought that Members are penalised too much when clients postpone and said clause 6 of the T&C should be adjusted more to the removal company’s favour.

Judging from the feedback on the T&C, BAR also needs to clarify and reword the £40 limit, the wording of which is confusing some consumers.

CommunicationsBAR’s Broadcast System seems to be popular but could also do with some simplification, the survey suggests, although one Member did describe it as “fantastic, it has come to the rescue many times!” There does also appear to be a groundswell of opinion that the 100 mile radius needs to be extended to nationwide, so that all Members can be targeted.

The system is much more widely used than the BAR notice board, which is not seen to be as accessible as

the Broadcast System, and which needs to be updated more frequently, Members said.

Also on the communications side of BAR, Members agreed that the newsletter is a benefit to them, although a few noted that Friday might not be the best time to send it to removals companies, as it is the busiest day of the week for many in the business.

The vast majority also read and like the new look R&S, saying it helps them keep up to date with legislation and with what other BAR Members are up to, and is especially good for picking up tips from interviews.

Ideas for improvement included more coverage about small companies, VOSA and overseas providers, as well as more practical case studies and more input from other BAR Members. Some respondents also complained that there was too much coverage of BAR (so presumably they will not be enjoying this article!).

“It’s got better in the last 12 months, with more articles related to the industry and what drives the industry, such as housing market trends and predictions,” one reader said.

In general, the Membership has noticed that BAR has been making an effort to improve its communications and keep Members informed about any changes. “BAR has moved on over the last few years - with the newsletter, social media and online - much better,” one respondent said.

“Social media has come on in leaps and bounds this year,” another said. “It’s the right way forward.”

“Slowly but surely the BAR name is improving recognition,” another Member added.

However, Members would like to see more participation from their peers in area meetings. As one Member put it, “the more involved you get, the more you get back.”

“Members should have to attend area meetings and display the badge everywhere.”

ServicesA majority of Members also use services from BAR’s professional services advisors, and only 11 respondents used no products from BAR affiliates at all. Packaging companies in particular have a high level of penetration of the Membership base.

Members have a whole range of good ideas on where BAR should look to find new affiliates, including vehicle maintenance and body companies, tyre companies, suppliers of materials and uniforms, shipping companies, breakdown service companies, estate agents, web designers and IT consultants.

The survey also showed a high level of awareness of the partnerships that BAR has agreed, with RightMove and Move Me in particular enjoying widespread recognition.

“The recent agreements are good additions and help public relations,” one respondent noted. “It’s imperative for BAR and the way forward,” another Member said. “The more partnerships the more brand awareness, which is exactly what BAR needs.”


BAR News

Ideas from Members for partnership agreements with other businesses included house builders, mortgage providers, solicitors, and other property websites.

Packaging services from BAR also remain popular, although some Members do prefer to use more local suppliers.

However, most Members are not using BAR Training Services, with many relying on in-house training. Given the recession in the market, Members said that the Association may need to rethink its pricing strategy; “the cost of courses is a problem for family-run companies,” a respondent said.

As one Member summed up, “everything is about price - anything they can do to trim costs for the Members is only a good thing.”

Disappointingly, a majority of respondents did not use quality standards, with familiar complaints about the paper trail needed for QSS and lack of public awareness.

One Member suggested combining the standards inspection with the BAR inspection, to reduce costs to Members. Several respondents also used the survey to repeat the call for standards-based Membership.

Sales and NetworkingIn terms of generating new business, it is surprising that less than half of respondents had opted in to receive BAR sales leads. Apart from the lucky few who have enough business as it is, reasons given ranged from “too much time to opt in” to “I rely on word of mouth.” Many Members however said they would sign up to the

sales lead system if leads would continue to be free of charge. Since the survey (in December) the Board of Directors have decided that all sales leads generated will remain free.

A large majority of Members believe that networking events organised by BAR are a membership benefi t, although much fewer are able to participate in Conference, Young Movers or the Business Seminars/Workshops. With so many Members out there fi ghting for business, sadly it isn’t always easy for them to make the time (and the money) to get away.

However, those Members who are able to invest a small amount of their resources in DMoTY and CMoTY say the competition is of high benefi t externally and internally, with several respondents looking to enter the race either this year or in the future.

Refl ecting widespread recognition of the benefi ts of these contests, a number of Members suggested starting an Overseas Mover of the Year competition as well.

‘‘ The vast majority also read and like the new look R&S, saying it helps them keep up to date with legislation and with what other BAR Members are up to, and is especially good for picking up tips from interviews.

‘‘

22

BAR News


Update on the Approved Code BAR confi rms that just about everything is at a stage for the new Code of Practice to be in place by 1 April 2013 to replace the OFT scheme which will legally cease to exist at that date. The new Code of Practice logo has now been agreed in principle with the Trading Standards Institute (TSI). At the time of going to press, this logo was subject to formal approval by TSI so until you hear confi rmation, it cannot be used by any organisation until then. A Welsh version will also be available. The initial feedback on this is that it is a strong brand that will be recognisable by consumers and will be a powerful marketing tool for Members. The full colour version and all of the rules of use should be available to Members no later than the fi rst week of March.

At the same time BAR will publish the new Code, which will be fundamentally the same as the OFT Code but with new branding. TSI have already started promoting this brand and the launch of the new code on their website: www.tradingstandards.gov.uk It is envisaged that the TSI element of the logo will be available to be used in several colours so that Members can select the best one for their own corporate branding. The vehicle stickers will be available with both a white background and a transparent background. The rules of use will be more fl exible than those of the OFT code.

Customer feedbackTSI will be including a full directory of all Code sponsors Members and are working with other organisations to replicate this directory elsewhere to increase the brand awareness and give consumers greater access to companies who comply with the Code. The directory will also be made available to Citizens Advice, Trading Standards offi cers and other organisations with an interest in consumer codes. To coincide with the launch of the new Code, BAR are developing a customer feedback website www.trustedmover.org (see R&S December 2012 for more information). This site is due to be launched this month, with a view to making it visible to consumers early in April allowing Members time to start using it and get some data. This facility will be FREE to all BAR Members. There will be a second phase of development following on looking at the specifi c feedback needed for moving customers overseas. The questionnaire will be electronic; Members can brand the questionnaires and also add their own questions in addition to the questions already part of the questionnaire. As part of the governance of the Consumer Codes Approval Scheme’s a new Code Sponsors Panel has been established. BAR are one of the founder Members of this panel having actively participated in the working groups developing the fi nancial models and the branding of the new Code.

The same survey carried out in 2011 revealed that only 46% of the public had heard of BAR. Since the last survey, that means that public awareness of BAR has signifi cantly increased. This increase in brand recognition is due above all to the signifi cant partnerships and alliances that BAR has agreed to in recent months, as well as to a major ramp-up in PR activities. BAR believes that the agreements that it has struck with major websites such as Rightmove, which reach millions of potential home movers, are raising the profi le of the Association with the general public and generating new business for Members in a testing and ultra-competitive market. Internal statistics also show that since BAR formed partnerships with Rightmove and Money Advice Service, the number of unique visitors to the BAR website month on month has increased considerably. The Rightmove website alone receives over 40 million

visits a month, and BAR believes that its partnership with the company is responsible for much of the spike in traffi c over the last year. Meanwhile, the Money Advice Service has been helping around 30,000 people per week since it was launched in April 2011. BAR management expects the rise in online traffi c to continue during 2013 as new visitors come to the website from the Association’s existing partners, and as BAR continues to pursue partnerships and alliances with other organisations.

Raising public awareness of the Association and driving traffi c to the Association website, and consequently to Members, will continue to be one of the main aims of BAR in 2013.

Major rise in awareness of BARA recent survey conducted by Rightmove has shown that more than 64% of the public have now heard of the British Association of Removers.

“Before joining BAR I was completing a postgraduate degree in Marketing at the University of West London. This was followed by a couple of internships, including four months of market analysis and marketing at Just-Clear UK, the property clearance company.

I am originally from Montbéliard in eastern France, very near Switzerland. Caroline Suard is my manager, and of course she is French as well. I also work closely with the rest of the Commercial Department at BAR.

So far I have really enjoyed getting to grip with all the duties and responsibilities here.

It is very interesting to be in daily contact with the Members, as well as administering the marketing that we are doing for the Association and for Members. There is always something going on here! It’s only been a month but I feel like I have learnt a lot already – the job has been very busy and interesting. I am looking forward to getting to know more Members, especially at the National Group Council.”

Pauline Gay has joined BAR as Membership & Marketing Administrator.

New face at BAR HQ



BAR News

24

BAR News


• Inspectionsarenowtobecarriedoutannually instead of every three years

• Thescopeoftheinspectionsnowincludesseveral new elements which were brought into the Membership Criteria in 2012

• Thereisanew“Pre-submission”processwhereby Members are required to provide certain information directly to BAR in advance of their inspection.

Chris Waymouth of QSS reports that he is very pleased with the way things are going so far. “Deliberately, we have had a relatively easy start as January and February were treated as a trial period and inspections were only being carried out on those Members who

hold a quality standard (a “combined visit”), so we are not yet under full pressure,” he told R&S. “This is giving us time to bed in our new systems and ensure that we will be ready to handle the greater workload once we start including “standalone” inspections from March onwards.”

Chris adds that Members have been extremely cooperative in completing and returning the new Inspection Pre-submission questionnaires on a timely basis and with very few queries. “The information is being loaded into our new database together with the inspectors’ reports, which will make it very much easier to prepare our statistics and analysis for Code compliance, as required by Trading Standards,” he explains.

Some Members have voiced concerns that the new annual inspections will create extra visits and cost for

Members holding quality standards, i.e. QSS would carry out the standards audit at one time and then the membership inspection in another, separate visit. Chris confi rms that “This is most defi nitely not the case. QSS has always held the policy of combining audits and inspections wherever possible and will continue to do so.” Separate visits would only arise in exceptional circumstances and by agreement with the Member, and at no additional cost.

BAR Training ServicesTraining from the Removals Experts

To book Call: 01923 699484 or email: [email protected]

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• Why is volume important • How do we calculate volume • Things to be aware of when estimating furniture • Estimating the amount of packing crates, questions to be asked, method of a site viewing • What should be included in a commercial quotation, practical exercise.

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BRANDNEW

for 2013!

Course Dates 20133 AprilCourse to be held at BAR Headquarters, Watford between 10:00am and 16:00pm

QSS is a UKAS accredited certifi cation body that offers professional certifi cation and auditing services to a broad range of Quality Standards relevant to companies operating in the removals and storage industry.

QSS Update

New annual inspection regime off to a good start

Contact:For further information please contact Chris Waymouth or Melissa Fowler at QSS on 01923 699480, or email [email protected]

As from 1 January, the membership inspection process has undergone several signifi cant changes:


BAR News

26

BAR News


BAR ServicesBAR Services

Remembering the important things in lifeBAR Services’ Ali Cowie is one very proud Mum.

With March being the month that sees us celebrate our wonderful mums, there will be one very proud mum at BAR Services. On March 16th, the daughter of Ali Cowie will be holding a charity fundraising day in aid of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. What is even more amazing is that Emma (pictured) is just 9 years old. Emma feels very passionately about raising money for the charity having seen not just her Mum being treated for cancer but her grandmother and grandfather too; all were treated at the Royal Marsden.The original idea was to have a small lemonade stand with a modest target of £100. However, Emma has already smashed this target raising over £1,000 in advance of the event through her Just Giving account. “This is a cause very close to Emma’s heart,” says Ali. “Many Members will know that I was diagnosed with breast cancer some

years ago but what they won’t know is that at the same time we lost my Dad to the illness and my Mum was diagnosed with myeloma soon after.” Understandably, Ali is incredibly proud of her daughter. “This was all Emma’s idea as having been affected by cancer it is something she feels strongly about and I’m really supportive of her.” With the help of Ali, Emma has arranged the fete to take place at her East Grinstead primary school. By writing to local businesses, shops and enrolling the help of friends, Emma has made sure the event will be a great family day out. With a bouncy castle, candy fl oss and a raffl e being just some of the entertainment, Emma is sure to raise an incredible amount of money for her chosen charity. BAR Services will of course be supporting Ali and Emma. If you would like to make a donation please visit www.justgiving.com/emmaestcots.

DONT MISS OUT ON THESE GREAT DISCOUNTS!10% DISCOUNT IF YOU SPEND £500 AND OVER

OR 5% DISCOUNT ON ALL SELF STORAGE RETAIL PRODUCTS

(Off er ends 31/03/13)

* Off er subject to stock. The price is ex VAT and inclusive of delivery to the UK mainland (extra charges may apply to deliveries in Scotland & Northern Ireland - Please ask for a quote)

BAR ServicesMoorhallSandhawes LaneEast GrinsteadWest SussexRH19 3NR

Tel: 01342 870087Email: [email protected]

‘Working for you’

SPRING SPECIAL OFFER



BAR News

28

BAR News


BAR Training News

Anglo-Pacifi c was founded in 1978 by Steve Perry, who continues to be involved in the business on a daily basis.

“Anglo still has a family feel to it, albeit a large family,” Managing Director Stephen Gray says. “However we are also very sales focused and there isn’t a sales person in the business who doesn’t have some element of commission to their pay.”

Stephen says that Anglo Pacifi c chooses its staff carefully: “We search out those individuals that have the right attitude and technical skills to work in our team. Once we have chosen our staff we work hard to look after them. Our aim is to provide a professional service to all of our clients at a realistic price.”

The company has always been known as a migrant mover. Over the years it has also built a thriving baggage department and mini-move team, as well as a successful fi ne art department that looks after the shipment of antiques, fi ne art, and new furniture. In addition, Anglo-Pacifi c has a well-known trade shipping team who work closely with other moving companies to provide a seamless door-to-door service.

Migrant house moving is the core part of the company’s business. “We have built a reputation for good service and fair pricing,” Stephen says. “Our network of contacts around the world allows us to provide a professional service to our customers.”

Keeping the focus on people and trainingStephen himself has worked in the removals industry since joining Pickfords in 1988, and has taken on various management roles and company director roles. He says the last fi ve years have been extremely challenging for the industry, but that Anglo-Pacifi c has successfully concentrated on stripping out any fat in the business while also continuing to invest in staff development.

“We have taken the opportunity to review everything that we do and drive effi ciencies into the business,” he explains. “We have concentrated our efforts on our people and continue to invest heavily in training to ensure the team are best equipped to win that sale. We continually review e-commerce and you will see some exciting new developments on this shortly.”

BAR membership is also a core part of Anglo-Pacifi c’s marketing strategy in these testing conditions.

“The BAR has come a long way in the last fi ve years and we are now seeing the benefi ts of belonging to a strong trade association,” Stephen says. “However, we still need to increase awareness of the BAR amongst consumers so that customers are aware of the benefi ts of transacting with a BAR Member.”

As Anglo-Pacifi c specialises in international moving, it was an obvious step for the company to join the BAR Overseas Group.

Stephen has been involved in the OG Council as a co-opted member since June 2011.

Stephen prescribes the same medicine of investment in training and standards for the overseas industry as a whole as well as for Anglo-Pacifi c in particular.

“The main focus of the OG currently is the overseas standard,” he says. “A lot of work has been put into developing the standard. Without such a standard there isn’t anything formal to distinguish professional movers from the rest of the crowd.”

Stephen Gray, Anglo-Pacifi c – Co-opted Member

Overseas Group News

The Overseas Group (OG) is a dedicated group of companies within the British Association of Removers that specialise in all aspects of overseas relocations.

Anglo-Pacifi c specialises in migrant moves and is the major player in the UK-Australasia market. Managing Director, Stephen Gray, talked to R&S about how the company is addressing market conditions and its plans for the future.

‘‘We have concentrated our efforts on our people and continue to invest heavily in training to ensure the team are best equipped to win that sale. We continually review e-commerce and you will see some exciting new developments on this shortly.

‘‘


BAR NewsBAR Training News

Much like today’s equivalents, the pamphlet is full of useful information and specialist advice about insurance and import regulations, and about what to expect at collection and destination.

Perhaps slightly unusually, however, a whole page is given over to a somewhat complex summary of the economics of shipping furniture, explaining when it is better to simply buy replacement

furniture at destination. We would be interested to hear readers’ theories about why this sort of advice seems to have disappeared. Or is anyone out there still having this discussion with their clients?

Stephen Gray, Anglo-Pacifi c – Co-opted Member

Then and Now Overseas Group News

Liverpool in 1965 must have been quite some place to be, with Liverpool F.C. winning the FA Cup for the fi rst time, and a young guitar band also causing a bit of a stir. Amid all the action, it also seems to have been a busy period for international moving. Caroline Mason of John Mason International in Liverpool has sent us a marketing leafl et produced by the then British Association of Overseas Movers.

30

BAR News


CMG News

The Commercial Moving Group (CMG) is a dedicated group of companies within the British Association of Removers that specialise in all aspects of commercial relocations.

Seminar. Following the success of the 2012 CMG event at St. Pierre, Chepstow, the CMG plans to make a bigger and better feature of the Seminar. The aim of the Seminar is to serve as a showcase to the industry and the event will involve many partners and affiliates of the commercial moving industry. Networking. In addition to the stimulating and practical information due to be presented at the Seminar, the programme ensures that company representatives will have the opportunity to talk to Seminar participants. There will also be networking time available before and after the golf, as well as over dinner.

Golf. The format will be an individual and Stableford Competition, using full handicaps (max 24 for men, 30 for ladies). Prizes will be for CMG Members. Prizes will also be awarded for any Non-Members, along with a longest drive prize and a nearest the pin prize. The organising committee reserve the right to amend the rules up to the start of play but within the recognised CONGU & EGU golf rules.

Those unable to take part in the golf are invited to take a spa treatment. For those who would like to know a little more about the game of golf, there will be a group lesson to help you break the myths that surround the game! The CMG would like to thank Basil Fry & Company for their continued support as the major sponsor of this two-day event. Sponsorship of this event by any other companies interested is also welcome!

To book your place go to: www.bar.co.uk/CMGGolf2013.aspx

The 2013 CMG Seminar and Golf Day will take place on 30 September - 1 October 2013 and will be held at Wychwood Park, Cheshire.

Supported by:

Sponsored by:

CMG Seminar and Golf Day

www.pluscrates.com


BAR News

32

Features



Features

34

Features



BAR News

4pp Conference Advert(Jan 2013 Martyn)

page 3

36

BAR News


The RBA needs you!Graham Puddephatt sits as an affi liate on the Removers Benevolent Association committee. He says that removals companies need to do more to support what is the industry’s only dedicated charity.

As Marketing Manager of specialist insurers Reason Global Insurance, over the years Graham Puddephatt has come to know the British removals industry as well as anyone. If there’s one thing that characterises the business, he says, it’s the way that companies cooperate with one another and stick together, perhaps refl ecting the historic family origins of so much of the UK removals trade today.

Acting in an advisory capacity to the Removers Benevolent Association (RBA), Graham says he is surprised by how little is known about the charity in the trade.

Frankly, he is also disappointed at the level of support provided by removal companies to the RBA. “Every time the Board meets we hear up to 40 claims about people who have lost everything, of people who have cancer but can’t afford to go to hospital, or of families left completely destitute because the breadwinner has died and has left no life insurance,” he says.

“A lot of times the money that the RBA provides is also the only thing that can ensure a decent and respectful funeral.”

“The RBA is not a cash-rich organisation and cannot do more than provide a small level of assistance,” Graham explains. “We need to generate income from the members to be able to support these truly needy cases.”

According to Graham, not enough companies and former removals employees are aware of the work of the RBA.

Many claims come from the same small set of fi rms, and even more disappointingly, many come from other charities who fi nd out that an individual has a connection to the removals trade and then try to use the RBA to avoid paying out themselves.

“The RBA wants to become more inclusive and receive claims from all Members,” he says. “We would love to be able to do more, but for that we really need to raise more money and generate other income. We want Members to engage more with us, both in making claims and in providing support.”

Contrary to the perceptions of some members, the RBA is not a cash-rich organisation and can only invest in the safest asset classes.

Although the RBA’s stockbrokers have successfully protected the association’s cash and generated a respectable income stream, if the RBA is to increase the level of its pay-outs, then members will have to be prepared to donate more. Under the terms of the Charities Act, the RBA can only dig into its reserves in the event of a major catastrophe. The cash that it pays out comes from the income from its investments, and any new money raised.

“The removals industry does so much for charity that it’s a real shame it doesn’t look after its own charity,” Graham says.

“Obviously the RBA doesn’t have to be the charity of choice for a company, but I think it would be fair to

donate 10% to 20% of the amount that a removal company raises at one of its charitable events, with the balance going to their chosen charity.

“It would have a major impact on what the RBA can do. It would make a big difference, but without affecting the charity of choice. These are diffi cult times for all removal companies and employees, and perhaps not all companies can contribute.

But everyone involved in the RBA is passionate about their responsibilities, and we would love to be able to give more to those truly needy people who once depended on removals for their livelihood.”

For more details please contact The BAR company secretary:

Tel: 01923 699480or email: [email protected]

‘‘The RBA wants to become more inclusive and receive claims from all Members.We would love to be able to do more, but for that we really need to raise more money and generate other income. We want Members to engage more with us, both in making claims and in providing support.

‘‘


BAR News

38

BAR News


Training News

BAR Training Services carry out a range of training courses for removals companies. For more information on all courses, please go to www.removalstraining.co.uk

Catherine McKinnell MP to deliver keynote Conference speechCatherine McKinnell, MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North and Shadow Treasury Minister, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s BAR Annual Conference in Newcastle. Ms McKinnell is a key figure in the Opposition’s economic team, and has campaigned hard on promoting apprenticeships since being elected to Parliament.As well as being the local Member of Parliament, as a Shadow Treasury Minister Catherine McKinnell is very well placed to discuss the uncertain state of the British economy and to talk about Labour’s proposals for stimulating economic activity and breathing life into the property market.

With Labour currently well ahead in opinion polls and the general election just over two years away, Ms McKinnell’s views will be of the highest interest to the removals industry, an industry which has been hit hard by the apparent failure of the current administration’s Plan A for getting the economy back to growth.

Ms McKinnell will also talk about the Labour Party’s plan to strengthen apprenticeships nationwide, the importance of which she has promoted since becoming an MP in 2010 - most particularly through the introduction of her Apprenticeships and Skills (Public Procurement Contracts) Bill into the Commons, which seeks to ensure that all companies winning public contracts worth more than £1m would be required to take on apprentices.

In response to Ed Miliband’s announcement that this proposal would be national Labour Party policy, Catherine said: “I am delighted that my idea – of ensuring large companies in receipt of substantial sums of public money are required to take on apprentices – is acknowledged across the board as key step in developing opportunities and vocational education for a new generation. It is a relatively small change that would make such a big difference to the North East, and to the rest of the country. The Coalition may not be willing to take this idea forward, but the Labour Party is.”

She has also welcomed Ed Miliband’s wider focus on developing vocational education – and particularly apprenticeships. “Good quality, properly-funded apprenticeships are absolutely invaluable to the future of our economy and create a win-win situation for workers of all ages, for employers and for UK plc,” she says. “We must ensure that they develop the skills and training we need for the economy of the future.”

Ms McKinnell is also campaigning for the Living Wage, and her proposals in this area will be of interest to removals companies. She can also expect to be quizzed intensively about the Labour Party’s

ambitious proposals for reforming Britain’s broken housing market and supporting first-time buyers. Before being elected as the Labour Member of Parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne North in May 2010, Ms McKinnell worked as an employment solicitor with a large Newcastle law firm. She was appointed to the position of Shadow Solicitor General by Ed Miliband as part of his first frontbench team in October 2010, before being appointed Shadow Minister for Children and Young Families in October 2011. She became Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and a member of the Shadow Treasury team in May 2012.

In her time as an MP, Ms McKinnell has won plaudits as a good speaker in the House of Commons and BAR Members look set to enjoy an interesting and thought-provoking keynote speech in Newcastle this year.

BAR Conference 2013Catherine McKinnell MP will deliver a keynote speech at the BAR Annual Conference 16-18 May 2013.For more information see www.bar.co.uk/conference2013.aspx


BAR NewsTraining News


£985 + VAT p/p (BAR Member)

Library Packing & RemovalsBrand new course designed, based on member feedback aimed at training operative foremen, packers and estimators in the methodologies for packing and removing libraries and extensive fi ling systems. This course will be delivered on site.

• Library classifi cations • Sequential order• Labelling and packing the crate• Methods of packing a library• Existing and mobile shelving• Crew organisation • Collections

Removals EssentialsBrand new course, this course will be delivered on site as practical skills training. Delegates will take part in all practical exercises and will have no classroom element.

• Manual handling• Health and safety • Vehicle loading• Packing (fragile and non fragile)• Wrapping• Tail lifts• Risk assessment

BTEC in Removals ManagementThe course can now be completed in 5 days meaning less time away from your place of work!

Upon completion of the later exam, successful students will be presented with a nationally recognised BTEC qualifi cation.

Course Dates 201315-19 April

£1,675 + VAT p/p (BAR Member)

NEWLY IMPROVED for 2013!


BTEC Award in Practical Estimating


Course Dates 20135-6 March 14-15 May

This 2 day course is practically based and is designed to teach students the art of estimating as well as face to face sales techniques


BARTS 2013 Training Dates All courses taking place at BAR Watford

Did you know that BARTS can deliver all training onsite at your premises?

Please visit www.removalstraining.com and see all of the different training sessions, workshops and courses we provide, as well as the Removals Apprenticeship Scheme and Online E-learning.

We can also tailor training programmes to fi t your individual business needs.

Call BARTS on 01923 699484.

NEWLY IMPROVED for 2013!

• Labelling and packing the crate

BRANDNEW

for 2013!

Industry News


European News

In July, the EC presented two new proposals for regulations to update the existing Directives 2009/40 on periodic roadworthiness tests and on roadside roadworthiness inspections. The EC itself estimates the costs of compliance with the newly proposed rules at 3.5 billion euros and the package has been heavily questioned by commercial operators. The IRU has raised doubts about whether the newly proposed standards for periodic testing and roadside inspections will lead to sufficient harmonisation and standardisation to allow the establishment of a system of mutual recognition of roadworthiness certificates. The new proposal does not aim to harmonise current national practices, the IRU notes. The IRU also doubts whether member states will be able to control the testing of commercial vehicles, and calls for “a realistic objective” for roadside inspections not higher than 2% of vehicles registered in a given country. It says the EU should harmonise and standardise enforcement procedures, including the maximum length of roadside inspections and the creation of a commonly accepted roadside inspection document.

Finally, the IRU proposes a harmonised accreditation system for operators to become testers to carry out periodic roadworthiness testing on their own and others’ vehicles. “Such systems are currently operational in several EU Member States such as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and have proven to work correctly,” it says. The IRU also rejects the proposal for EU rules on roadside roadworthiness inspections to be used to create a harmonised EU approach to cargo securing. These two issues should be dealt with separately because there are no formal EU rules yet stipulating how the cargo should be secured. The roadworthiness package has created conflict between the Commission and the Member States.

In December, Member States made major changes to the EC’s proposals, including deciding not to subject light commercial vehicles to annual testing and weakening proposed measures to reduce mileage manipulation.

The European Parliament still has to vote on the roadworthiness package. A vote in the Transport and Tourism Committee is scheduled for the end of May.

IRU slams roadside testing directive The IRU has criticised the roadside testing plans of the European Commission and called for the current package of laws to be radically changed, including the establishment of a system of mutual recognition of roadworthiness certificates as a final objective.

Sweden may crack down on HGVs According to a report from FEDEMAC, Sweden’s Department of Transport is considering tightening laws on HGVs following a major accident on the E4 in January.

The accident was caused by a collision of three trucks, including two foreign-operated vehicles, in icy and foggy conditions. Because of the accident, the government many impose new rules to be followed by HGVs in the Swedish winter,

covering speed, traction system standards, and winter tyres.

Elsewhere in the country, there has been a positive response to the Gothenburg congestion charge, which was launched on 1 January 2013. Initial conclusions are that there has been an estimated 20% reduction in traffic volumes and less congestion on radial roads leading to the city.

France delays breathalyser requirement again The French government has postponed indefinitely the controversial requirement that all vehicles driving in France carry a breathalyser. The measure was originally scheduled to take effect in 2012 and had then been delayed until March 2013 due to supply shortages of the kit. The Minister of Interior will make a decision, upon receipt of the conclusions made by the working group on drink-driving organised by the National Road Safety Council. The widespread concerns about the reliability of breathalyser kits means the obligation to carry the devices may now be scrapped completely.

EC consults on emissions from non-road engines The European Commission has launched a public consultation into emissions from the non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) sector, which includes a large variety of equipment such as forklift trucks and outside hoists as well as agricultural, rail and waterway machinery.

According to the EC, the NRMM sector has become an increasingly important source of air pollution, in particular of NOx and particulate matter. In order to reverse this trend, the Commission has been exploring different options for revising the relevant directive.

The Commission says that one of the problems is that not all categories of NRMM engines are currently covered by the scope of the directive and is consulting with stakeholders to extend the scope.

It believes that there is still significant potential for reducing emissions from the NRMM sector, mainly from engines in lower power bands (< 19 kW) and higher power bands (> 560 kW). It says that the introduction of particle number limits also needs to be considered.

“Engines of more than 560 kW represent the overwhelming part of NRMM emissions,” the EC says. “Considering the difference in cost between regulated engines below 560 kW and the more powerful unregulated engines just above, many manufacturers will be tempted to migrate to the cheaper unregulated ones thus further increasing emissions and distorting the market.”

41

Industry News


European News

Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC countries), on the other hand, experienced a 5% increase in GDP and a 6% increase in transported tonnes in 2012 and will continue outperforming the EU in 2013. EU road transport performance, measured in transported tonnes, stagnated in 2012 and will only

slightly increase by 0.7% in 2013, according to the IRU. However, next year’s stagnation across Europe masks a north-south divide, in which the economy ekes out slightly positive fi gures along an arc from Finland to France, while contraction grips Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. BRIC countries have outperformed EU countries in terms of GDP and growth in tonnes transported and will continue doing so in 2013. GDP in the BRIC countries rose by 7% in 2012 and road transport operators carried 6.5% more volume (in tonnes) in 2012. Furthermore, GDP will increase in 2013 by 6.3% and road transport operators will carry 6.7% more tonnage in 2013. Jens Hügel of the IRU said “in light of the economic fi gures, it comes as no surprise that in 2012 EU transport operators were reluctant to invest in new vehicles resulting in a stagnation of new vehicle sales, compared to transport operators in the BRIC countries who continued to invest.”

EU transport recession forecast The IRU Road Transport Indices, which compare GDP growth, road freight transport volumes and new vehicle registrations in 58 countries, forecast that in 2013 both GDP and transport volume in the European Union will stagnate before gradually picking up again.

EU to fi nance Finnish road The European Union will provide co-fi nancing of €4.4m for a project to complete a missing part of the E18 motorway in Finland.

The project will build one section of the 15 km Hamina bypass and also install the relevant Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) applications. Once completed, the bypass will help improve the traffi c fl ow on this key part of the Nordic Triangle road axis.

The project involves the construction of a 6 km long section of motorway between Kolsila and Lelu, with fi ve bridges and private road arrangements, and the implementation of traffi c telematics (variable speed limits, traffi c information system and tunnel safety and security systems) between Rantahaka and Lelu.

The project is set to be completed by the end of 2014.



Commercial EstimatingA specially designed course for the commercial estimator, expanding the knowledge of Estimating in general. The course focuses on calculating volume, methods for Estimating in the Commercial environment, what to look out for and questions to ask the customer. This course will make estimating large offi ce moves less daunting for the less experienced estimator and includes a practical exercise, where delegates will experience estimating in a ‘real time’ situation.

• Why is volume important • How do we calculate volume • Things to be aware of when estimating furniture • Estimating the amount of packing crates, questions to be asked, method of a site viewing • What should be included in a commercial quotation, practical exercise.

Just £199 + VAT per person

BRANDNEW

for 2013!

Course Dates 20133 AprilCourse to be held at BAR Headquarters, Watford between 10:00am and 16:00pm

42

Features


The R&S Interview: Robin Wilson, Rightmove

Robin Wilson joined the UK’s number one property website Rightmove in 2000 as a web designer. Fast forward thirteen years and 850 million page impressions a month later and he’s seen action across the company from designing the page flows and user journeys on the consumer site to developing and running new business units and products, including the recent launch of Rightmove’s lead generation service for removal companies.

R&S: You are speaking at the upcoming BAR conference and also taking a workshop. What topics will you cover?Robin Wilson: In my Friday session ‘Pricing in Competitive Markets’ I’d like to share some of our insights around pricing as it seemed to strike a nerve in our recent consumer attitudes to removers survey (R&S December 2012 and January 2013 issues). We know from our conversations with removers using our lead generation service that there’s a lot of pressure on price, particularly in the lower value but higher volume market.

My presentation will update and draw on the research we’ve undertaken into how consumers evaluate and choose removers and explore some possible routes to avoid getting trapped in the ‘race to the bottom’ on price. I’ll also share some of Rightmove’s approach to pricing, drawing on our own experiences with estate agents in competitive markets.

In the Workshop session ‘Digital Best Practice’ I think it would be useful to spend some time doing some case studies with live websites of BAR Members, looking at how well optimised they are for search engines and introducing the concept of usability to maximise the effectiveness of the site.

Rightmove invests significant resources in both Search Engine Optimisation and Usability. The former to ensure we generate significant ‘free’ traffic to our site and the latter to ensure when we do attract an audience, we keep them and give them satisfying experiences.

No matter what the size of your operation, those same principles apply so this workshop is a chance to walk through some of the best practices Rightmove adopts that can help ensure your website is working for you, not against you.

I hope it will be a good opportunity for Members to get an insight into some of the driving factors behind how we built Rightmove into a top 10 UK website and how our mistakes and successes could apply to their own digital strategy.

R&S: How do applying usability principles help websites that aren’t engaged in eCommerce?RW: One of the primary lessons I’ve learned over the years with Rightmove is the vital importance of designing services around end users. It sounds obvious and simple, but without thoroughly researching and putting yourself in users’ shoes, it’s very easy to miss insights that can fundamentally alter the success of your business or product. Little things like wording on buttons can have big effects on conversions. Understanding what is important to a consumer and what they are thinking can help you get first impressions right and accelerate confidence and trust in your service. It can be quite a brutal process as nobody likes hearing the things they think are good are actually irrelevant or in the worst cases actually damaging to their brand. When it comes to usability, the customer really is king, so it pays to put aside your pride and design for your audience rather than you.

R&S: Do you need lots of tools and expertise to evaluate usability issues?RW: There are lots of ‘specialists’ out there who will happily charge you thousands for advice and it’s certainly possible to spend similar amounts of money on trick software, but in practice you can go a long way with an open mind, good questions and common sense. Some of our most profound insights come from applying ‘the mum test’ i.e. if your mum doesn’t get it, chances are lots of other people won’t either. There’s so much competition online, you cannot afford to make your site the one that is hard work to use. Modern internet savvy users simply don’t tolerate it because they know there’ll be another site a few clicks away. The cost to them of switching is minimal and even if you have a great offline brand, pretty quickly that goodwill can be eroded if the online experience is poor.

R&S: Search Engine Optimisation seems a bit of a black art; how does Rightmove stay on top it?RW: Lots of hard work, cautious testing and traffic analysis, research and being careful with ‘the juice’! Whilst there are a range of search engines and directories, the primary point of optimisation has to be Google. They regularly change their ‘rules’ and algorithms to try and return better results for consumers which results in a bit of an arms race with sites that rely on Google positioning to grow. Fortunately there are some basics that content owners can implement that, whilst not guaranteeing

results, will radically improve your standings. In my workshop session, I’ll cover some of those elements and give some pointers on how to combine understanding of traffic patterns with applying the ‘juice’ concept to lift your results.

R&S: Finally, what are your personal experiences of moving?RW: So far, I haven’t needed to use a professional remover as I’ve been lucky enough to move very short distances so could literally wheel my stuff a few hundred meters around the corner. Back in the day, on a summer job, I did however spend time with a removal crew working the Oxford area which was a lesson in ‘life’s rich pattern’. I have vivid memories of the wide range in preparation movers seemed to have made, ranging from none whatsoever for one pair of artists (which resulted in about 6 hours of unexpected careful packing of a house full of fragile, un-stackable objects) to the physics professor who had packed and sequenced the entire contents of his house in numbered boxes. Favourite moment? Collapsing in the shade of the truck on a summer evening after humping an enormous sofa up a spiral staircase and being presented with a crate of cold beer by the client.

In advance of his talks at this year’s BAR Conference, Robin Wilson shares his insights on how Rightmove got to where it is today, including pricing in competitive markets and digital best practice.

BAR Conference 2013 Robin Wilson will be a speaker at the BAR Annual Conference 16-18 May 2013.For more information see www.bar.co.uk/conference2013.aspx


Features

44

Features


Service De Déménagement International, or SDI, is based in the capital of Mauritius, Port Louis, right at the crossroads between Europe, Africa and Asia.The company was founded by Sam Sooprayen in the year 2000, providing warehousing and logistics facilities to locals and expatriates. Since then the company has grown its market share significantly in a highly competitive environment, and has benefited as Mauritius opens up its economy to foreign investment and capital.

After starting business in a simple garage, SDI now works out of offices situated at Riche Terre, near the Port area, and owns its own warehouse of 11,000 square feet, where it has been offering multi-use warehouse services since 2011. The company provides the complete infrastructure for warehousing, transport and other operations related to the import and export of personal and household effects and personal vehicles.

The workforce has grown rapidly in the same period, from two employees originally to 24 permanent members of staff now. SDI invests significant resources in training its workers, who are fully qualified to carry out any packing services in accordance with international norms.

At the same time, it has increased its fleet of vehicles to a total of five trucks, increasing SDI’s options and flexibility and enabling it to provide an excellent quality of service at all times. Reflecting these prolonged investments, financial turnover has increased substantially over the years.

SDI has worked hard to acquire a reputation as perhaps the island’s most international mover as Mauritius consolidates its role in the Southern African and global economy. One of SDI’s main sources of business over the years has been foreign embassies (including the British, French, South African and American embassies), international banking institutions and local companies with expatriate staff.

“In this international line of business, we believe

that being a recognised international associate of BAR will support our efforts to become the leading removal company in Mauritius,” says Sam Sooprayen, Managing Director at SDI.

“Being part of the BAR family will help our position in both the local and the international market, as the market leader in Mauritius for moving personal and household effects. We also want to learn from other countries in terms of know-how, organisation and administration.”

Mauritius is a small country with a population of around 1.3 million. The removals trade is focused mainly on the removal of personal and household effects of expatriates and foreigners, especially since the government moved to make it easier for non-citizens to acquire resort and residential property. However, the commercial sector is also experiencing rapid growth.

“Based on recent trends, we have noticed a spike in demand for the removal of offices to be carried out by specialized removal companies like ourselves,” Sam says.

Apart from the occasional risk of cyclones, perhaps the main problem that SDI faces in its day-to-day international operations is customs clearance; Sam stresses the need for agents abroad to provide SDI with updated information and requirements, and says the company always aims to provide regular updates to agents to facilitate the customs clearance on the Mauritius side.

“SDI has achieved excellence by listening to its customers and understanding their needs,” Sam says. “Our team is committed to providing quality service, professionalism and a wide-range of services adapted to clients’ requirements and specifications, wherever they are from.”

For anyone lucky enough to have to organise a move to the island paradise of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, new BAR International Associate SDI is the place to start.

Moving to Mauritius


Features

Being part of the BAR family will help our position in both the local and the international market, as the market leader in Mauritius for moving personal and household effects. We also want to learn from other countries in terms of know-how, organisation and administration. Sam Sooprayen, Managing Director, SDI

‘‘

‘‘Contact Service De Demenagement International LimitéeM3, Motorway(Behind Caltex), Industrial Zone, Riche Terre, Mauritius

Tel: (+230) 247 2400 Fax: (+230) 247 2401Email: [email protected] or visit: www.demenagement.mu

46

Features


Brand new look for Bournes

“When you’ve been around as long as we have it’s easy to sit back and become complacent about how you present yourself, but at Bournes we recognise that in order to stay relevant, continuously improve and respond to the changing needs of our customers, you need to evolve, and with this rebrand we have done just that,” General Manager Wesley Bourne tells R&S.

Wesley is part of the fifth generation of the Bourne family to be involved in the business, which has now been operating for an incredible 138 years. The company’s new visual identity tries to reflect both the core values Bournes has always held, as well as the spirit of the dynamic, modern organisation that the company has since become.

“Our brand evolution is more than just a new logo,” Wesley explains. “It’s also about improving our customer experience and committing to building value in our service upon the things our customers tell us are important to them.”

Although the rebranding process will involve time and effort, Wesley is clear that the company will continue to focus on “our key priority – providing excellent personal service to our customers. Each and every customer is important to us and we look forward to living up to and building on the reputation our staff have earned over the last 138 years.”

Indeed, the rebranding campaign uses the slogan: “With Bournes, it’s personal”. The phrase intends to reflect the culture of the company whose heritage is built on exceptional levels of customer service and a commitment to understand and meet the needs of every single customer.

Bournes people and a distinctive Bournes personality feature heavily in new company presentations. During an Insight programme conducted as part of the rebrand, one of the constant themes that emerged was the value and security Bournes customers derive from the knowledge and friendliness that Bournes staff bring to their work. According to Bournes, more than 99% of its customers in 2012 said that they would recommend Bournes’ services.

Separate identitiesThe new brand presents tailored identities for the company’s four focused divisions built around the unique requirements of their customers, professionals, individuals and businesses.

The four new identities are: • BournesHomeMoves,forlocalRemovalsand

Storage services for customers moving home within the UK

• BournesInternationalMoves,forInternationalShipping services for customers relocating overseas to and from countries across the globe

• BournesBusinessMoves,forlogisticsandcommercial moving and storage services for business customers.

• BournesRelocationSolutions,whichsupportstheactivities of corporate organisations as a single source provider for the relocation of their employees or their customers both globally and locally within the UK.

As part of the UniGroup Worldwide UTS global network Bournes provides physical resources and customer services at more than 1,300 locations on 6 continents. Following the public launch of the new identity, Bournes will also be refreshing its marketing communications, including launching a new website, as well as new content and tools to assist the customer before, during and after relocation.

Bournes will also grow its social media activity in order to support its customers. “In the coming months our customers, suppliers and partners will become familiar with the refreshed Bournes brand,” Wesley says. “As well as the cosmetic changes you’ll also see a new more user friendly website and a range of new tools to help you throughout your relocation.”

As confidence slowly begins to return to the UK economy and the housing market, there’s no better time for a moving company to launch a new look. That’s exactly what one of the country’s oldest and best known removal businesses, Bournes, has decided to do.

The Management Team at Bournes

Contact BournesRye Harbour Rd,Rye,E SussexTN31 7TE

Tel: 0845 0702007Email: [email protected]: www.bournesmoves.com

February 2013 Removals & Storage 47

Features

48

Features


Brian came onto the BAR Board with the fi rst intake of Directly Elected Directors (DEDs). Although initially the term of the DEDs was set at two years, to ensure a degree of continuity this was increased to three years with the DEDs by rotation.

“I would recommend the position to anyone who is interested in the industry and in the association,” Brian says. “It’s a great opportunity to work closely with BAR and to fi nd out more about the business, and also a great opportunity for personal development.”

Brian himself has been in the position for an unprecedented four years, because former DED Gary Wheadon took on the BAR Vice President role last year. DEDs provide very valuable input into BAR decision-making and were introduced following the wide-ranging governance review a few years back. They do not have a personal agenda or represent special interest groups, but instead stand up for the ordinary Member and help shape policy for the wider membership.

“I came into the position with an open mind and with no real agenda,” Brian explains. “A DED’s main responsibility is to give a voice to independent Members. I’ve tried to make a point of always looking for the other point of view, and on several occasions in the last four years I’ve changed my mind on a number of issues after discussions with Members.”

Driving the commercial side of BARBrian’s time as DED has coincided with major changes at BAR itself. He has seen the association become much more commercially aware, raising its profi le in the marketplace and increasing business opportunities for Members thanks to partnerships with the likes of Rightmove and Twentyci.

“We need to continually develop the commercial side of BAR, not just for the general public but for the commercial moving sector as well,” he says. Like many on the BAR board, Brian was disappointed by the outcome of the referendum and the rejection of standards-based membership. He believes that the strengthening of membership criteria is only the fi rst step towards one day basing membership on standards. “It is going to come eventually. It is only a matter of time before Members will see that it is the best thing for us as an association and for the removals industry as a whole,” he says.

As he leaves the DED position, Brian says he has been very impressed by the commitment to BAR of many members and of senior management in Watford.

“Senior management have a very good grip on all the commercial and fi nancial issues that BAR and the industry is facing,” he says. “The last four years

haven’t been easy but the right commercial decisions have been made in a diffi cult fi nancial climate, and the delivery rate is excellent. The right team is in place at the right time.” During his time as DED, BAR has made a concerted effort to improve communications with Members, and this has strengthened the association’s links to the ground. Brian calls on all members to make the most of these links, which range from newsletters to area meetings, LinkedIn and member surveys as well as in R&S and the BAR website..“Members need to take advantage of all the channels they have for communicating with BAR and with each other,” Brian says.

“There is a vocal minority of Members who know how to use these communications channels and love to raise issues with the DEDs, but there is also a large number of members who prefer to keep quiet. I would call on all members to get in touch with their DED. I will miss my ringside seat and would consider doing it again at another time, but it is time now for other members to stand up and be counted!”

Brian Maidman on the highs and lows of a DED Brian Maidman is retiring as a Directly Elected Director after four years in the position. It’s a role he says he would recommend to anyone who wants to roll their sleeves up and stand up for Members’ interests at the highest level of BAR.

The last four years haven’t been easy but the right commercial decisions have been made in a diffi cult fi nancial climate, and the delivery rate is excellent. The right team is in place at the right time.

‘‘

‘‘


Features

Real Time Information: extra requirements for employers

In this issue, I delve deeper into the additional submissions that employers will now be required to make from April 2013, when all companies with up to 5,000 employees will need to start making RTI submissions.

Remind me: what is RTI?RTI is a new system for reporting tax, NI and other details to HMRC. As an employer you will be responsible for all tax deductions and calculations but instead of submitting this data once a year to HMRC (forms P35 or P14s), you will be required to send the figures at the same time as payment is made to your employees i.e. in ‘real time’.

Are there any additional requirements?There are additional submissions that employers will be required to make. However, please note that not all the submissions will be necessary for all employers.

a) Employer Alignment Submission (EAS) Before you can report using RTI all PAYE Schemes must undergo something called employer alignment. Employers will receive details from HMRC about the date they need to submit either an Employer Alignment Submission (EAS) or their first Full Payment Submission (FPS, see ‘b’). You will submit an EAS if:

• YouhavealargePAYEschemewithover250 employees OR• YourPAYEschemeis‘split’becauseyouhave

different payroll providers, two or more payroll systems for example monthly and weekly, or you can’t make a single FPS submission because of bandwidth restrictions

For the first FPS, employers should include all employees who have been employed during the current tax year, including starters and leavers, or those that have not yet received a payment in the relevant period. If you prefer, you can submit an FPS for each ‘part’ of your payroll, for example one first FPS for weekly pay; one for monthly and a separate FPS for leavers. The first FPS should also include the hours normally worked, that is, the number of hours a person is expected or regularly works in a week.

The second and subsequent FPSs will only contain pay and deduction details for those employees paid on that payday. You don’t need to include employees that are not being paid. The hours worked need to be included for the purposes of calculating Tax Credit

payments. You will submit your employee details for payroll alignment when you send your first FPS, although you can submit a separate EAS if you wish.

b) Full Payment Submission (FPS) Using RTI employers and pension providers will send HMRC an FPS detailing tax, NICs and other deductions on or before the payroll is paid.

c) Employer Payment Summary (EPS) An Employer Payment Summary (EPS) can be sent if:

• nopaymentsaremadetoanyemployeesina tax month, or• youwanttorecoverstatutorypayments,NICs compensation on statutory payments, Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions suffered (limited companies only) or an amount under the Regional National Insurance Contributions Holiday for New Businesses (NICs Holiday).

If you want the deduction to apply to a specific tax month, you’ll need to send the EPS by the 19th of the following tax month. For example, if you wish to inform HMRC that you are recovering some money for the June tax month (06 June to 05 July), the EPS showing these details must be received by HMRC before 19 July. If HMRC does not receive the EPS until 20 July it will apply the reduction to the July tax month. Once you’ve sent an EPS to HMRC, they can then offset the amounts you want to recover against the payments you’re due to make. If no payments are made within a pay period, an EPS should be submitted to indicate ‘No payment due as no employees or subcontractors paid in this pay period’.

d) NINO Verification Request (NVR) The NVR will enable you as an employer to:

• confirmthattheNationalInsurancenumberthenew employee has given you is correct if it matches to personal data provided by the employee

• traceaNationalInsurancenumberwherethenew employee provides personal identity details including full name, address, date of birth and gender.

e) Earlier Year Update (EYU) You can use an Earlier Year Update (EYU) to correct data for 2012-13 and later tax years. This can be used only for the years where RTI was applicable.

Which submissions will no longer be used?The following submissions will be scrapped with RTI:

•endofyearreturns(P14,P35andP38A)•newemployeeinformation(P45Part3,P46,P46 (Pen) or P46 (Expat))•leaverinformation(P45Part1).

In the February issue of R&S I outlined the impact of Real Time Information (RTI) obligations on employers, which represents the biggest change in payroll since the introduction of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) in 1944.

By Kathleen Parker of Wellers.

Contact For more information, see www.wellersaccountants.co.uk or for a free trial of Portico call 020 7630 6665

For further details on Employer Alignment go to: www.hmrc.gov.uk/softwaredevelopers/rti/payroll-alignment.pdf

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Features


European Perspectives: Ellen Troska, AMÖ In the first of a series of interviews with those heading BAR’s equivalent national association in Europe, R&S talks to Dr. Ellen Troska of the German Association of Removers (AMÖ), who also works on the coordination team at FEDEMAC, about the removals market in Germany.

R&S: Can you provide a brief overview of the history of removals in your country?Ellen Troska, AMÖ: In the very beginning removal activities were taken over by general or heavy freight forwarders with horse-drawn vehicles. But the specialisation in transport of sensitive goods started early. The transport of household goods, and everything else needed, to the summer resorts of wealthy families was, in addition to removing residencies, an interesting part of activities in the 19th century. Cooperation and collegiality was always important in the removal sector, especially for long distance removals. As a logical consequence the German Association of Furniture Transport (DMTG) was founded in 1881. The DMTG was the first supra-regional unification, specialised in Furniture Transports. The most important aim was the implementation of transport standards to enable supra-regional, national and international removals in a controlled network. Long distance removals were carried out by railway transports only, whereas the horse-drawn vehicles took over the transport to and from the railway station. A standard furniture vehicle capable of doing transport by railway and road was introduced. A furniture lift van for long distances was also used. Information had to be exchanged about the availability and location of the furniture vehicles and lift vans as well as back loads. A weekly paper started to publish this information for the removers in August 1900. In 1913 the DMTG became the Tariff and Interest Association of the German Furniture Transport (TUIG). Tariff regulations for local and distance transports were decided. Trade practices and an arbitration court were established. In the beginning of the 20th Century motorised transport vehicles started to replace the horse-drawn vehicles. The standard furniture vehicles were replaced by lorries with furniture bodies. More and more goods, including household goods and new furniture were transported on the road instead of the railways. In the course of the two world wars, the structure of the furniture transport organisation changed a few times. In 1947 the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Möbeltransport (AMÖ), presently Bundesverband Möbelspedition und Logistik (AMÖ) e.V., was established.

Also after World War II removals pricing was fixed based on volume and distance. From time to time, price amendments were agreed by the Federal Ministry of Transport and the Removers Association. A freight inspection authority for furniture transport was established. The number of transport licences for transports of more than 50 km (including removals) was limited. The transport and removal market was highly restricted and competition was limited.

The on-going process of the formation of the European Market influenced the German transport industry especially in the 1980s and 1990s. The limitation on the number of licences for national removals was reduced and finally abolished. From 1 January 1993 the whole system of limitation of licences for different kinds of road transport was abandoned. Price regulation for all general freight transports as well as removals was abolished on 1 January 1994. A price recommendation was published by the Removers Association to enable a smooth transition to the new market conditions. In the light of unlimited access to the market, new removal companies were established while others closed. All in all, the removals and storage market as well as the market for new furniture transport is still going through a process of consolidation.

R&S: What sort of work takes up the bulk of your country’s removals trade? Ellen Troska, AMÖ: The bulk is still the removal of private households and most of the removals (by number) are local or regional removals. Storage is another core business.

R&S: Is there anything about removals in your country that is different?Ellen Troska, AMÖ: I assume that Germans are the only ones to remove and get their built in kitchens assembled in their new housing.

R&S: How is the recession affecting the removals market in your country and the economy in general?Ellen Troska, AMÖ: Recession hasn’t hit the German economy as hard as other economies have been hit. Nevertheless, the recession noticeably affected the removal and new furniture transport market. The number of private moves decreased during the recession since the main reason for changing houses is taking on a new job. Office moves were withdrawn or delayed.

The sales of new furniture decreased by more than 10% in 2009, which affected the transport volume heavily. Luckily the recession was not as long or as harsh as in other European countries like Spain, Portugal and Italy. Today Germany’s economy is back to its pre-recession levels.


Features

R&S: What are your Members doing to diversify / innovate?Ellen Troska, AMÖ: Companies are mainly diversifying into archive storage and self-storage. Relocation is an area of diversification for the international removers. Logistics for hospitals and other specialist niche markets are also growing.

R&S: How important is self-storage in your country?Ellen Troska, AMÖ: Self-storage is still a developing market in Germany. In recent times its importance has increased as more and more houses are built without cellar or garret space for storage of personal effects. In general, Germans like “do-it-yourself” solutions and the flexibility offered by self-storage.

R&S: What effect do value added tax levels in your country have on the removals business?Ellen Troska, AMÖ: The full VAT rate was always applicable for removals and storage in Germany. The only exceptions are removal to or from locations outside the EU. There is no differentiation for the reason for the removal or the type of storage. Even for self-storage, VAT has always been applicable in Germany. So it is hard to judge the effect of VAT. However, the increase in the costs of professional removals, regardless of whether they have been caused by increasing VAT or labour costs, result in more DIY removals and black labour.

We are proud that the German association was successful in achieving a change in the income taxation for private removals. Since 1 January 2009, 20% of costs for private removals done by professionals can be subtracted from the individual income tax payment, whatever the reason for the removal. Only the costs for materials are not deductible. This can compensate for the German VAT rate of 19%.

R&S: Can you describe customer expectations in your country and how your Members aim to meet them?Ellen Troska, AMÖ: Increasingly the price is becoming THE criterion for choosing the removal company; especially in times of increasing use of the internet for research, where everything seems to be transparent and comparable. The association is continuously clarifying that quality, reliability and last but not least a balanced ratio of value for the household and costs for the removal and related services demanded, should be the basis for a decision about the appropriate service provider. But it cannot be ignored that the internet is getting more and more important for the customer to make their first contact with a service provider. In order to offer private and commercial customers a removal internet portal of good reputation, the association is setting up a platform which will provide all necessary information on removals. Potential customers will be able to easily make contact with the remover of their choice and the expertise of AMÖ will support the removal portal and its use. Costs for bringing together client and service provider will not increase, either for the potential customer or for the remover.

R&S: In what percentage of moves is insurance taken out by customers and how important is this part of the service to your Members?Ellen Troska, AMÖ: In general, the liability of the German remover is limited to 620 Euro/cu m. The remover has to inform the client of this limitation and possibilities of additional insurance. This is a legal obligation. We estimate that about 60% of private removals are additionally insured via our member companies. Our member companies are not involved in low budget removals. For these

removals additional insurance is not important at all. Insurance is an important additional service offered by the removers. Arranging the additional insurance for the client, the German remover is not classified as an insurance broker. The remover doesn’t have to comply with the EU Directive on insurance mediation which entered into force in 2005 in European countries. The German Removers Association successfully intervened on the national level; so no additional costs have been caused by the Insurance Regulation.

R&S: Are there any other points you would like to add about the removals market in your country?Ellen Troska, AMÖ: Life is becoming more complex and the requirements for professional work are increasing constantly, including in the removal business. We are delighted to report that the removal industry, in cooperation with the furniture manufactures and furniture retailers, set up a professional three years’ training in the existing German framework (training on the job as well as in school) for young people. Six years ago the training of the first “Specialists for furniture, kitchen and removal services” started. Qualified people are able to handle all activities associated with removals and setting up new furniture, including necessary electric and water installations.

We would like to hear from youOur companies’ sole purpose since its inception in 1977 is to serve the membership – to supply good quality, innovative packaging products at low prices. This is achieved by buying jointly on your behalf and passing on the discount achieved from this bulk purchasing power!

As a member, we should be your preferred supplier but are we? For many of you the answer will be yes but for those of you that say no then we would like to know why and what we can do to change that? Your feedback is important so please ring us on 01342 870087 or you can simply email [email protected]

We look forward to hearing from you.

As the No.1 provider of packaging to the moving professionals, we would like to be your preferred supplier - If we are not, please tell us why.

Reminder! All Members should sign up to the FEDEMAC website to receive bulletins, have access to a significant amount of information from around Europe and to use the FEDEMAC Broadcast function. Members get an exclusive free listing, as BAR Members, in the FEDEMAC directory which is public facing.

Industry News


53

Industry News


People News

John Payne joins AGS Four Winds UK

John has been deeply involved with a number of industry organisations throughout his career, including of course BAR, where he has served as

Chairman of the Overseas Group, Chairman of The Movers Trading Club (negotiating ocean freight rates for the UK membership), Area Chairman, and

Chairman of the BAR Marketing Committee. John was also a Director and Board Member of the association for four years and will be well known to BAR Members across the country and beyond. “I believe firmly that for a business to succeed it is essential that the people in the business see themselves as a team, and that they believe in and share the same vision for the business,” John said. “Working together and for each other helps us to reach individual and joint goals. I look forward to bringing this principle with me to AGS Four Winds UK and to working with the team.” Alain Taïeb, CEO and Chairman for the AGS

Group said “the appointment of John is in line with the future development of our London branch. He not only possesses the wealth of managerial experience needed for this role, but also first-rate operational expertise and an excellent understanding of changing customer requirements and quality service provision.” John lives in London with his wife, two children and Toby, their much loved family dog. A lifetime supporter of Arsenal football team, he also tries to find time for a spot of fishing and golf. London is one of 126 AGS locations in 78 countries worldwide which offer top quality international removals services from door-to-door.

BAR veteran John Payne is the new Managing Director at AGS Four Winds in the UK. A highly skilled and well-known international removals professional with 31 years of industry experience, John joins AGS with a broad range of expertise in private and corporate international removals, heavy baggage, fine art shipping, trade shipping and the UK domestic removals market.

Santa Fe appointments Santa Fe has appointed Kim Becker as Managing Director, India.

Kim is an expatriate from South Africa and brings a wealth of knowledge to Santa Fe, India. He has extensive business experience, within the relocation industry and supported by other industries.

Most recently, Kim has been with Elliott International (Pty) Ltd. as Managing Director since 2006. Kim is well known and highly respected in the international relocation industry. Kim is located in Bangalore and started his new role on 1 February 2013.

Yalda Zand has also joined the Santa Fe Group. As Chief Information Officer, Yalda will be responsible for the strategic planning, oversight, and global operation of all information systems and technology functions within the Santa Fe Group.

According to Santa Fe, Yalda will be focusing her efforts on ensuring that the group’s global relocation management system is the most secure in the industry.

54

BAR News


Diary Dates

BOARD, COUNCIL AND

COMMITTEE MEETINGS 2013

Board of Directors

April 10 & 11 2013

Advisory Committee

March 13 2013

BAR AREA MEETINGS 2013

East Anglia AreaContact: Andrew Pearson01362 [email protected]

East Met AreaContact: Paul Freeman0800 [email protected]

East Midlands AreaContact: Andy Wade01476 [email protected] 20 2013

Kent AreaContact: Tom Bourne01797 [email protected]

New Met AreaContact: Julie Thompson01932 [email protected] 12 2013 - AGMNovotel Hotel, Heathrow

Northern AreaContact: Alan Hoggin0191 [email protected] 17 2013Hallgarth

Do you have any Diary Dates?E-mail them to: [email protected]

Diary Dates

To view diary dates/events, please log into ‘MyBAR’ and click on the Calendar/Events and BAR Calendar tabs where you can view full details including time, date, location and agendas (when available).

To view area minutes, please log into ‘MyBAR’ and click on the BAR Areas tab and then one of the 15 areas listed. Minutes from past area meetings can be viewed and downloaded (where available).

North West AreaContact: Annette Harris0161 [email protected] 8 2013Spring Ball and Golf DayThe Worsley Park, Marriott Hotel

Northern Ireland Area Contact: Dominic Murray02890 [email protected]

Scotland Area Contact: Georgina Berry01505 [email protected] 12 2013Hilcroft Hotel, Witburn

Southern AreaContact: Peter Doman01372 [email protected] 6 2013Romsey Golf Club, Southampton

South Western AreaContact: Sue Christophers01637 [email protected] 19 2013The Ley Arms, Kenn, nr Exeter

Sussex AreaContact: Miranda Hyder01342 870087

[email protected]

Western AreaContact: Ria Russell01278 [email protected] 12 2013Brent Knoll, East Brent

West Midlands AreaContact: Sarah Pargeter01384 [email protected]

Yorkshire AreaContact: Graham Puddephatt0845 [email protected] 18 2013

York Golf Club, Strensall

55

Industry News


56

BAR News


Memberships

Registered:The following Members have registered:

National & European Group

1st Choice RemovalsMemb No: I021Unit 11Canford Business ParkMagna RoadWimborneDorsetTel: 01202 570970Web: www.firstchoiceremovals.net

Aston Spinks and ATNs Piano Logistics & Specialist InstallationsMemb No: A120Unit 10The Argent CentreSilverdale RoadHayesMiddlesexUB3 3BLTel: 0208 561 4321Web: www.aston-spinks.co.uk

Applications:BAR has received the following applications for:

National & European Group

Steve Frieze Removals Ltd3A Princes WayCroydonSurreyCR0 4RDWeb: www.stevefrieze.co.uk

Glasgow Removals Ltd192, Swanston StreetGlasgowScotlandG40 4HWWeb: www.aglasgowremovals.co.uk

BAR Memberships March 2013

Any Member wishing to make any comment regarding an application should do so in writing to BAR Head Office within 21 days of receipt of this notification. Details of membership applications in process may also be found on the BAR website: www.bar.co.uk


Trade Services

Ireland Channel Islands

France

Scotland/Europe Isle of Man

Scotland and Islands

SHETLAND ISLESIAN F REID

Removals & StorageUnits 5&6, Lower Blackhill Ind. Estate, Lerwick, ZE1 ODG

Regular nationwide serviceTel: 01595 696268 • Fax: 01595 693515

Email: [email protected]

This space is available from just £33 a month

When booked as a mono unit for a series of 12 issues.

58

Trade Services


Germany Germany and Austria

Switzerland

Italy For Sale

This space is available from just £33 a month

When booked as a mono unit for a series of 12 issues.

This space is available from just

£67 a month

When booked as a mono 2 unit space for a series of 12 issues.


Trade Services

Cyprus and Malta

Greece

GREECEby Road

&ITALYENROUTE

• 7day transit time

• Twice-monthly departures

• BritishCrews & ProfessionalService

• Highlyrecommended in Greece

00441733311561 | [email protected]

www.nomad-international.com

Spain Europe

UK Office: 01843 585055, [email protected] Office: 0034 971 693566, [email protected] website: www.william-worldwide-webb.com

Weekly Scheduled Service, Containerised Storage DepotsHolder of Spanish Transport Licence

for our Tranship vehiclesUnrivaled Infrastructure in Mallorca, Menorca & Ibiza Excellent Rates, Payment in Euros or GBP accepted

Purely The Balearics, No Bull!

WEEKLY

REGULAR

MALLORCAMENORCAMAINLAND

SPAINFRANCE

IBIZAPORTUGAL

CYPRUSNORWAY

Memb No: W001

TEL: 01202 576514FAX: 01202 574011

[email protected] www.whitesmovingandstorage.com


£67 a month

When booked as a mono 2 unit space for a series of 12 issues.

France - Spain - Portugal - ItalyWeekly Service for the Trade. Call now for best rates

Depots in Preston, Chester, Alicante, Malaga

PRESTON 01772 651570Email: [email protected] Web: www.moversint.co.uk


60

Trade Services


China Singapore

Dubai & Qatar

Europe

Scandinavia

United Arab Emirates

Worldwide


Trade Services

Caribbean

For Sale

Worldwide

We offer Trade storage at competitive rates. Undercover Loading & Unloading Flexible hours

£6.00 p/w no handling charge

www.trekremovals.com [email protected]: 0800 1389242 or 01708 552981


£33 a monthWhen booked as a mono unit

for a series of 12 issues.

LOCAL MOVING • WORLDWIDE SHIPPINGWEEKLY EUROPEAN SERVICE

Recommended by the worlds finest piano manufacturers,auctioneers, music colleges & academies.

A family run business, Est. in 1968.

THE PIANOSPECIALISTS

Mem. No G005

100 BOLLO LANE, CHISWICK, LONDON W4 5LXTel: +44 (0) 20 8994 9733 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8995 0855Email: [email protected] www.gandrremovals.co.uk

G&R Advert 60x60mm:Layout 1 20/10/08 16Piano Specialists Trade Storage

NO NEED TO GO ANYWHERE ELSE FOR YOUR TRAININGOPERATIVE TRAINING THAT COMES TO YOUR FRONT DOORPACKING • MANUAL HANDLING • EXPORT WRAPPINGVEHICLE LOADING • CONTAINER LOADING

REMOVAL SPECIFIC HEALTH & SAFETY TRAINING ON SITEHEALTH & SAFETY POLICIES • HEALTH & SAFETY ASSESSMENT • ACCIDENT CONTROL • FIRST AIDRISK ASSESSMENT • HSE COMPLIANCE

Call BARTS on 01923 699484 or email [email protected]

Training

Trailer Hire

Warehouse Containers

Abrahams (since 1865)

1 Crown Close, Bow, London E3 2JHTel: 020 8980 1937 • Fax: 020 8980 3762Email: [email protected]

• 250 cu ft warehouse (archive) containers• 192 cu ft liftvans• Bespoke cases & crates - plywood/triwall• Art cases: commercial and museum

Specialist Services

Specialist Services

Lifting solutions, from the unusual to the down right awkward, we have the equipment and expertise to deliver.• HeavydutylongreachHIABcrane’s• Londonfurniturehoist&gantryhire• Minispidercranes&StairclimbersWe regularly transport and install: Heavy stone work, Sculpture’s, Safe’s, Complex artwork, large furniture etc

www.sp-in.co.uk [email protected] Tel: 020 8561 4321

Specialist Installations

[email protected]: 020 8561 4321PianoLogisticspartoftheAstonSpinksgroup

When it comes to piano transport, use the pianist’s choice• Grandpianoexportpacks• Crane&specialiststaircrews• UK-GermanyWeekly• London-ScotlandWeekly• Pianotuning&caseworkrepairs

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Classifieds

Removals & Storage March 2013 Removals & Storage March 2013

Are You Looking To Sell?

We are looking to buy good quality household moving and storage companies in London and the

home counties.

Please call 07933 123 123 in full confidence for a quick decision.

Dorset BasedRemovals & Storage

Business for Sale Long running and successful

removals and storage business.Based in West Dorset.

Full details for serious enquiries:

Tel: 07530 812 216

For Sale

Opportunities

For Sale

For Sale

New cartons, blankets, handling equipment, wooden storage containers and archive

conversion kits. All good condition. Low prices. Telephone: 01268 763344

Used 250ft3 storage containers £75 each. Contact Mandy on 01285 641003

Containers for Sale

Second hand 250 cuft. Buyer collects. £50 + vat.

Call James (Bristol) on 01275 877844

Wanted7.5T Removal vehicle aged

between 2002-2006 max. Must have side opening doors.

Call Orwell Removals on 01473 411531

For Sale Wanted

VEHICLES FOR SALE

No reasonable offer refused. All vans come with test.

12 tonne DAF chassis. A two man sleeper pod, registered July 2000.Available at £7,500 +VAT

ALL PRICES REDUCED TO SELL

2 - CONTAINER (plus space)

7.5 tonne chassis. Marsden body on a DAF 45 chassis. The vehicle has a two man sleeper pod and full height barn doors at the rear.

02 reg at £11,000 + VAT.

3 - CONTAINER

Contact Rob on 07976 938483 or 01432 377480

Branches at: Aberdeen • Brighton • Bristol • Cheltenham • Cirencester Edinburgh • Hereford • Leeds • London Loughborough • Manchester

www.gbliners.com

Classified RatesSituations Vacant £2.15 per word (min 15 words)

Sales and Wants £2.15 per word (min 10 words)

Boxed Advert £30 (per single column centimetre)

(Picture £20 extra)

Box number £30

Loose inserts £280 (per 1,000 inserts supplied)

Half page mono £510

Half page colour £615

Quarter page mono £425

Quarter page colour £500

Vehicle sales box Price related to content and size

Sell it, Fill it, R&S it!Your R&S is the perfect ‘vehicle’ to advertise your:

- Business- Vehicles- Vacancies- And much more besides!

Call Sandra on 0117 957 5400 for details


BAR News

Advertising Deadlines

Classifieds

Sell it, Fill it, R&S it!Please see the deadlines for the remainder of the year:

Call Sandra on 0117 957 5400 for details

Issue Booking Artwork

Deadline Deadline

Apr 18th Mar 22nd Mar

May 15th Apr 19th Apr

Jun 31st May 5th Jun

Jul 19th Jun 24th Jun

Aug 15th Jul 19th Jul

Sep 16th Aug 22nd Aug

Oct 18th Sep 24th Sep

Nov 17th Oct 23rd Oct

Dec 15th Nov 21st Nov

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BAR News


Documents

R&S March 2013 Magazine