My experience with what now is Fastrack Shipping actually started with the company they’ve replaced, Silverline Shipping, handled by Stuart Hansen. At the time I dealt with Mr. Mark Brown. They had the best prices in the market. I was getting quotes for shipping when he suggested that, depending on the overall weight of my goods it would be worth sending it by plane straight to my final destination. True, although more expensive than the price he had quoted me for shipping, using airfreight was worth the difference of ₤150.00 for saving the waiting time and the natural hassle of shipping goods.
They booked the collection for one day before I left the UK. Which now I realise was a bad decision, but reading other reviews and experiences from other customers I can’t see how different the outcome would be had I handed my goods any earlier. The day of the collection was a mess. Their currier never arrived so they said they would send somebody the next day, for that they would need the actual size of all my boxes. Once they’ve got it the price tripled. Cornered, I’ve opted to use shipping, instead of airfreight.
A currier then picked up my goods on the very last minute, before I left to the airport to get my flight back home. Since then getting my goods back has been a nightmare.
For 3 to 4 weeks they simply haven’t picked up the phone. When I started googling for Silverline I found out other blogs and posts all around about how they have fleeced so many others. I finally got to speak with Mr. Mark Brown, who had dealt with my shipping. He told me my goods were supposed to leave England that Saturday, which never happened. Another couple of weeks without being able to contact them, phones not being answered, emails not replied, I finally started posting online about how things were developing.
The next day Mark Brown finally answered the phone. I was then told that he had read my posts and that it was all lies. It was only then that I started suspecting that Mark Brown was actually Stuart Hansen. The way I think they operate is by giving him a different name for every few customers, I can’t say for sure, but that’s what I think is going on. He has a very strong accent, and was very rude on the phone but finally told me my goods had been sent to the port and he had a Bill of Lading to hand to me and he would also give the name and number of their agent in my country so that I could arrange the delivery directly with them.
Needless to say I thought everything would workout well from that point. I was wrong. Their agent informed me that I would have to pay all the port fees and their services, because they hadn’t been paid by Silverline Shipping (now Fastrack Shipping).
I’ve then called Fastrack and they’ve told me that since Silverline was a limited company they wouldn’t pay for any of it. Which is absolutely frustrating since they work on the same premises, they have the same employees, they answer the same phone number, they have the same website, they are basically the same company with a new name. I suspect they’ve done it because the internet is crowded with bad reviews of Silverline Shipping, further more, they also chose the name of another English shipping company that seems to be reliable, Fastrack UK. That way when people google for their company reviews they will find mixed results.
The next step, after I’ve decided to pay the fees I was being charged for, was to get the Bill of Lading so that I could take delivery of the goods myself. Another bad surprise, I found out that not event he shipper was paid. Also, I can’t pay it myself because the shipper has a non-disclosure agreement with Silverline Shipping and only they can pay for it.
That’s where I am right now. Waiting to be able to pay more than I should, wondering if all my boxes were actually shipped and worried that I may never see them again.
If you have any experience with either Silverline Shipping or Fastrack Shipping, if you know more about how they operate, or has any information about Mr. Mark Brown or Stuart Hansen please feel free to comment on this blog, even leaving your contact details and I’ll make my best to contact you and look for a joint solution.
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