r2i forum

Hi M2r2i -

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I hope by now you should have received the shipment. I am leaving to India in the last week of June and considering 21st century as well but wanted to get an idea about your experience with them. Can you pls write back to the forum and share your experience. Would be very useful for folks here.

Thanks.

Hi sumrmnik,

Yes, my shipment has arrived in perfect condition. I'll post my entire experience in detail shortly. The whole 21st Century Relocations (21CR) team rocks !!! Can't thank Mr. Chandrakant Thakkar enough who came in personally to take care of the procedure for me at Nhava Sheva.

These people are a blessing for us R2Iers. They understand what we expect and go way above and beyond it.

Will write more later.

Reached Mumbai in the evening (9:00PM) on the 29th. Once we reached home, my father gave me an envelope he’d received from Nirav. There were three sets of documents inside the envelope with places that needed signatures clearly marked.

My plan was to meet Nirav in person the next day and hand over the documents and PP. Even though I could hardly sleep that night, I had a shot of 5-Hr Energy drink (folks, keep these handy. You’ll thank me later for this tip) hopped onto a local train and went to Churchgate (saw Wankhede getting prepared for hosting WC11 final). From there took a taxi, called Nirav and he gave directions to his office directly to the driver (who needs a GPS Nav here) and in 15 minutes I was sitting in his office.

Nirav collected all the documents and PPs and reviewed each and every page. Everything was in place. Then we went over the packing list again and he prepared another list of all the dutiable items. After that, based on my input he noted the model number, year and current price of each item. I told him that I won’t mind paying under the table as long as the final amount is reasonable.

One thing I would like to mention that neither Yogesh nor Nirav at any point suggested me how to handle the payment part. They simply said they can handle it the way I wanted it. It needs to be my decision and not theirs. Totally fair. I gave Nirav a number that I thought was a fair assessment of the dutiable items. He said he would do his best to keep things to that number. He also mentioned that his father (Mr. Chandrakant Thakkar) would be present at Nhava Sheva to take care of my shipment clearance.

My shipment was scheduled to arrive in Mumbai on the 3rd , be ready for clearance on 5th or 6th and be delivered on 7th. Everything was still on schedule. However, during that week there was some strike in Mumbai and things got a bit delayed. Nirav and I were in constant touch with the status.

On Thursday afternoon he sent me a message saying the container will be cleared the next day. I called him back and got directions to Nhava Sheva. I told him that we would reach there by 10:30 AM. He told us to carry some cash and a lot of patience.

We started at 7:30 AM from Pune. The directions were very simple. On the way to JNPT we saw many places with stacked containers. I still don’t have a clear picture of how big the area is and how this whole thing is managed. We paid couple of tolls, went over a couple of bridges and from there called Mr. Vilas who handles 21CR’s daily operations at Nhava Sheva. Vilas took us to one of the facilities where our container was stacked.

Within a few minutes Chandu bhai (Nirav’s father) showed up. He is a very senior and well respected person in that area. There were other agents running around as well, but Chandu bhai’s authority showed up. A lot of people were stopping by and having a chat with him. He is a very humble, soft spoken and straightforward person. A very likeable guy. He sat with us and we went over the same list that Nirav and I had prepared in his office. According to Chandu bhai the list was fine expect for second TV, a projector and built-in microwave. I again mentioned my numbers and he said he’ll try his best.

It was 11:00 AM by that time and my skin was already getting back to its original color. I felt sorry for my wife who was also struggling in the heat but had to be present as the TR was under her name (also, more than half the boxes belonged to her).

We located the container and stood near it for a few minutes. All of a sudden Vilas showed up with a gang of 10/12 people. Two of them were wearing 21RC’s uniform. Then a guy came on a bicycle, stopped at our container, broke the seal and disappeared. I had put padlocks as well. Vilas saw them and said “I hope you have not forgotten the keys. Last time we had to arrange for a gas cutter to brake those”. Bottom line, a well spent $20 at Lowes. Now these locks are happily guarding the front and back door of my Pune home.

The container was finally opened. Everything was in place the way it was packed. That army of 10/12 people started unloading the boxes. I was right there to make sure they handled the boxes carefully. The container was kept right on a rough road and instantly the boxes taken out started looking Indian (dusty). Vilas understood my pain and said “No worries, nothing will happen to the contents.” I still told them to move the TV box back into the container shadow. All my electronics stuff was packed first followed by two sofas crated and stacked. They tried to move the sofas but after 5 minutes of wasted effort Vilas told them to leave it as it is. I could not believe that apart from the TVs and built-in microwave, no other electronic items were even taken out.

It was noon by then. Now the wait began. According to Chandu bhai, the officers can show up anytime between 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM and all we can do till that time is wait. This wait is so painful that I will put it as a primary reason not to do another R2I J.

At last, around 3:30 PM I saw Chandu bhai coming towards the container with a lady inspector. Some other agents were following them. My container was the first one to get inspected. The lady looked around, asked for packing list and straightaway asked for boxes of electronic items. I was really curious to know what Vilas was going to say as none of those boxes were even visible.

The dialogues below took place in Marathi. Translation experts, please help me here.

Madam : Chala . 1 to 18 wale sagale boxes kadha.

Vilas : Madam donhi TV aani microwave kadhale aahet.

Madam : Mala DVD, VCR and music system dakhava.

Vilas : Madam ek chota problem aahe. Sagale electronics che boxes ekdam last la aahet aani madhe don sofe aahet te screw marun fix kele aahet. Aamhi try kela pan te nighat nahit.

Madam (visibly upset) : Mhanaje kai? Aana screw driver aani kadha screw. Achach jau deu kai inspection shivay?

Vilas (making a sorry face) : Madam te sadhe screw nahit. Tyala battery wala screw driver pahije, aani aamhi ardha container rikama kelela aahe. Fakta 3 foot jaga baki aahe. Tyachyatali 2 foot tar sofyana lagate. Baki sagala saman urlelya 1 footat aahe. Tyanchi packing list barobar aahe madam. Tumhi please kadhlele boxes check kara.

At this point Chandu bhai made his presence felt by just telling the lady “aap in boxes ko check kijiye. Agar uske baad bhi koi shak hai to hum sofa niklwa lenge.” The lady, still upset, starts asking to open the boxes randomly.

We had taken a lot of effort to keep the list accurate. Each box also had a label listing the contents. She did not find anything wrong. Now she tells Vilas “Pudhchya welela asa kahi aikun ghenar nahi samajala ka?” J. I patted Chandu bhai’s shoulder in appreciation. He gives me a smile back. Done deal.

Now she says “At least mala model number dya”. I start saying “ES9000, DVP777ES, ASUS media …… blah blah blah. I can see that she has no clue and importantly no motivation to write them down properly. Then she asks “Ha microwave cha model kai aahe?” I said “Ikea” and my wife said “NUTID”. She wrote that down as “Nokia”. I think that sums it up.

After 5 more minutes the inspection was finally over. 21CR had another container to clear and Chandu bhai told us to wait for another 30 minutes so that all of us could go for lunch once that inspection was over.

Chandu bhai then took us to the only decent restaurant in that area. Even there a lot of people were greeting him.

After lunch we came back to the facility where the container was kept and started waiting again. Our patience was really tested that day as the officer took two more hours to show up. The agents surrounded him as soon as he walked in. However, as you must have expected by now, it was Chandu bhai, who was sitting far away from the crowd, walked into his office first. 15-20 minutes went by and he was out and came straight towards us.
I showed him my crossed fingers and he said “Everything is fine. It is 20 + 15.” He then showed me the assessed values and stuff but I really did not pay attention. Then he asked “Are you OK with this?” (did not take me for granted). I said yes. He said, “Then we are done here. We can go home. I’ll do my best to get the container to Pune in Monday night.”

Got a call on Monday around 5:00 PM from Chandu bhai informing me that the container has left Nhava Sheva and will reach Pune around 7:30/8:00. He had sent 9 people to do the unloading. The driver called me once he reached Lonavala and then Wakad. I drove to Balewadi Octroi naka, paid 10k (all official) and got the container released. It took me a while to get these things sorted out (I think I paid more than expected but it was really getting worse and I did not want to get it out of control) . It was 10:30 by the time the container reached my place.

It took them 3 hours to unload all the items. I wanted them to come back the next day, but the guys were keen on going back. I called Nirav (1:00 AM) and he said he cannot keep all of them around, but will keep at least 4 guys back. So I decided to get the things assembled right away. My mom prepared a light dinner for all of them and once done they got back to work. Unwrapping of sofas, assembling dining table, bed set, swing set AV stand was done in the next two hours and I let them go with a handsome tip.

It was a very positive experience throughout.

Every single thing with the shipping portion of my R2I was successful beyond my expectations. 21CR handled my shipment in the best possible manner. Experience matters and they have tons of it. They are well connected, highly professional, fair and always available. They offered suggestions only when asked for. They care and it shows.

A big thank you once again to Chandu bhai, Yogesh, Nirav and the whole 21CR team.

Anyone need more details please PM me.

I am leaving for India next month, I shipped my items through 21st Century Relocations and in fact yesterday the container arrived in my house, movers came in did the packing and loading, so far my experience with 21st Century Relocations has been great! Yogesh does an excellent job of following up in every step. I will share my experiences once my items arrive in Bangalore!

sumrmnik;288809Hi M2r2i -

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I hope by now you should have received the shipment. I am leaving to India in the last week of June and considering 21st century as well but wanted to get an idea about your experience with them. Can you pls write back to the forum and share your experience. Would be very useful for folks here.

Thanks.

=============
Our Scenario:
=============
My wife and kid (4 years old) moved to Bombay in first week of Feb 2010. We wanted to move our personal goods (minus bulky furniture) to Bombay as a TR under my wife's name. I was to stay back in US and so our preference was a door-to-door service provided who would provide us support an peace of mind during our move.

===============
About the Move:
===============
From: NY/NJ TO: Bombay (Navasheva)
Type: Door to Door
Size: 350 Cubic feet (Packed as 100 medium size (18X18X18 inches) boxes + 2 Rugs and few paintings)
Pickup Date: Feb 19th 2010 (From our door in NJ)
Delivery Date: Apr 20th 2010 (To our door in Bombay)
Service Provider: 21 Century Relocations - 21CR.

Our Experience:
I want to keep my feedback brief and so will focus on elements in the lifecycle that were very relevant to us.

=========
Planning:
=========
Mr. Yogesh from 21CR is a professional. He (and his wife) were very responsive in helping us plan our move. They personally visited us to size the cargo and provided us a fairly accurate quote.

Value Provided By 21CR:
21CR's advise was very practical especially for our LCL cargo as they were able to save us the palletizing cost (about 20% volume reduction). The final bill was within 50$ of the original quote that was provided.

My Feedback:
21CR has people provided us practical advise during planning and packing our cargo. They advised us on the size of boxes and other packing related pointers.


===========================
Execution - Loading from NJ
===========================
21CR was very transparent with us. Mr. Yogesh kept me informed every step of the way. When the professional movers came to pickup our cargo from our NJ door, I was welcomed to drive with them to the warehouse where my goods were stored before being loaded into the container for the journey. I witnessed first hand the professionals who handled my goods at the warehouse.

Few days (about 5 days) passed when Yogesh called me to see if I wanted to see my goods getting loaded into the container. I went to the warehouse and saw my goods getting loaded into the container.

This level of transparency provided me peace of mind. That evening I spoke to my wife (who was already in Bombay) and expressed my comfort seeing our goods loaded in the container.


==============
During Transit
==============
Yogesh provided us a web link to track the movement of the vessel that carried our container. I was able to keep track of my goods while they were in transit.

One of the reasons we chose 21CR was because they are a family business with teams present in both US and INDIA.
Yogesh provided details of the process that we would expect once the goods arrived in Bombay. His brother (Nirav) who
run's their Bombay office was in touch with my wife to start the customs paperwork about 10 days ahead of the planned arrival.

Nirav and his team were very supportive and they send their person to our house in Bombay to get forms and other paperwork completed and collect from our home in Bombay. This level of personalized service was of great value for us.

=========================================================
Execution - Customs Clearance and Door delivery in Mumbai
=========================================================
We followed the advise on customs clearance given by 21CR members Yogesh (in USA) and Nirav (in Bombay).

It was the knowledge and the relations of the 21CR professionals in Bombay that made the clearance a breeze for us.
Based on the posts on this forum we had planned for an all day event but it was great to hear from Nirav that my
wife was not required to show up at the port for getting our goods cleared.

My wife DID NOT have to visit the customs place at-all, our goods were cleared with no issues (we paid about 6K INR for standard clearance processes).

We have not yet opened all our boxes but for the boxes that we have opened (about 35%) our goods in those opened boxes
have arrived in good condition.


================
Feedback Summary
================
I took about 3 weeks (spoke to about 5 service providers) before we choose 21CR as our service provider.
I am glad that we chose 21CR. They provided us practical advise, were true professionals and provided us a
very Personalized service. I would pick 21CR again for my next international move.

If you are looking for a service provider for your international move, I suggest that you give a
call to Yogesh (908) 240-1902.


I will be happy to answer any questions our members may have.

Cheers,
NS.

[INDENT]=============
Our Scenario:
=============
My wife and kid (4 years old) moved to Bombay in first week of Feb 2010. We wanted to move our personal goods (minus bulky furniture) to Bombay as a TR under my wife's name. I was to stay back in US and so our preference was a door-to-door service provided who would provide us support an peace of mind during our move.

===============
About the Move:
===============
From: NY/NJ TO: Bombay (Navasheva)
Type: Door to Door
Size: 350 Cubic feet (Packed as 100 medium size (18X18X18 inches) boxes + 2 Rugs and few paintings)
Pickup Date: Feb 19th 2010 (From our door in NJ)
Delivery Date: Apr 20th 2010 (To our door in Bombay)
Service Provider: 21 Century Relocations - 21CR.

Our Experience:
I want to keep my feedback brief and so will focus on elements in the lifecycle that were very relevant to us.

=========
Planning:
=========
Mr. Yogesh from 21CR is a professional. He (and his wife) were very responsive in helping us plan our move. They personally visited us to size the cargo and provided us a fairly accurate quote.

Value Provided By 21CR:
21CR's advise was very practical especially for our LCL cargo as they were able to save us the palletizing cost (about 20% volume reduction). The final bill was within 50$ of the original quote that was provided.

My Feedback:
21CR has people provided us practical advise during planning and packing our cargo. They advised us on the size of boxes and other packing related pointers.


===========================
Execution - Loading from NJ
===========================
21CR was very transparent with us. Mr. Yogesh kept me informed every step of the way. When the professional movers came to pickup our cargo from our NJ door, I was welcomed to drive with them to the warehouse where my goods were stored before being loaded into the container for the journey. I witnessed first hand the professionals who handled my goods at the warehouse.

Few days (about 5 days) passed when Yogesh called me to see if I wanted to see my goods getting loaded into the container. I went to the warehouse and saw my goods getting loaded into the container.

This level of transparency provided me peace of mind. That evening I spoke to my wife (who was already in Bombay) and expressed my comfort seeing our goods loaded in the container.


==============
During Transit
==============
Yogesh provided us a web link to track the movement of the vessel that carried our container. I was able to keep track of my goods while they were in transit.

One of the reasons we chose 21CR was because they are a family business with teams present in both US and INDIA.
Yogesh provided details of the process that we would expect once the goods arrived in Bombay. His brother (Nirav) who
run's their Bombay office was in touch with my wife to start the customs paperwork about 10 days ahead of the planned arrival.

Nirav and his team were very supportive and they send their person to our house in Bombay to get forms and other paperwork completed and collect from our home in Bombay. This level of personalized service was of great value for us.

================================================== =======
Execution - Customs Clearance and Door delivery in Mumbai
================================================== =======
We followed the advise on customs clearance given by 21CR members Yogesh (in USA) and Nirav (in Bombay).

It was the knowledge and the relations of the 21CR professionals in Bombay that made the clearance a breeze for us.
Based on the posts on this forum we had planned for an all day event but it was great to hear from Nirav that my
wife was not required to show up at the port for getting our goods cleared.

My wife DID NOT have to visit the customs place at-all, our goods were cleared with no issues (we paid about 6K INR for standard clearance processes).

We have not yet opened all our boxes but for the boxes that we have opened (about 35%) our goods in those opened boxes
have arrived in good condition.


================
Feedback Summary
================
I took about 3 weeks (spoke to about 5 service providers) before we choose 21CR as our service provider.
I am glad that we chose 21CR. They provided us practical advise, were true professionals and provided us a
very Personalized service. I would pick 21CR again for my next international move.

If you are looking for a service provider for your international move, I suggest that you give a
call to Yogesh (908) 240-1902.


I will be happy to answer any questions our members may have.

Cheers,
NS. [/INDENT]

Yes.
We just started working with Mr.Yogesh for shipment to Hyderabad and he looks very good in responding emails and phone calls with great promptness.
We have decided to go with 21CR.

We moved from Northern Virginia to Bangalore in December 2010. Thanks to r2i forum, I was able to get lots of useful information about packing and shipping.

We shortlisted 3 companies and finally went with 21st Century Relocations as they had good reputation and we were directly dealing with the owner brothers. Their price was about the same as 2 other companies.

We did the packing of kitchen items and small stuff ourselves and hired a packer (Pack Mules). All the items we packed came safe, but a couple of items packed by Packmules had minor damages. They did not use good packing material. They simply wrapped the wood with thin plastic wrap and delicates with home depot boxes. There were some minor scratches as a result and fortunately there were no major damages. When I told them about the packing supplies, they said it is good enough and they never had any damages before! I gave this feedback to Yogesh also so he could warn future r2i'ers about packing and this packing company.

My overall experience with 2st Century Reloc was quite good. Yogesh was phone call away and was available all the time in US. Their staff in B'lore was pleasant to work with. They did not demand any extra money or tips. We tipped the movers in B'lore moved the stuff to 4th floor voluntarily. We had a couple of minor damages and they took care of it later on. Their contract said they would charge extra if the dest house is beyond 1st floor, but they did not charge possibly due to the fact that apt. we moved had lifts.

We did not have lots of dutiable items (new 52" LED, new bedroom furniture and sofa were the big ones) We did have to pay a reasonable amount of which they gave receipt for only 1/3rd the amount.