AnimalcouriersAvis 

Complete operational failure and forced upcharging—avoid the office staff!

The actual drivers who transport the animals are fine, but the booking and office administration staff are an absolute nightmare.

I booked this company three weeks before a major international move from Ireland to Spain to transport my three pets, including a very large Caucasian Shepherd. I provided my exact dates, paid the deposit, and arranged all my own logistics (flights, Airbnb, rental car) to line up perfectly with their confirmed pickup date of June 27th.

Shortly after booking, the office emailed to say they had "booking issues" and wanted to delay the pickup by 3 to 4 days. I explained that I would literally be out of the country by then and could not change my flights. Instead of finding an internal solution, they unprofessionally tried to pressure me into hiring an independent pet sitter or paying to change my flights. After extensive back-and-forth, they agreed to pick the animals up on the morning of the 29th, right before my flight. I paid the full bill, assuming we were finally set.

Then, just three days before the rescheduled pickup (on a Thursday), they emailed again stating their only driver capable of handling large dogs was unavailable due to sudden illness, telling me once again to find a local pet sitter for a few days.

When I stated that I expected them to honor our legally binding contract, the administrator offered only one "solution": they found an alternative carrier, but I would have to pay an extra €400 out of pocket to cover it. Under EU Consumer Protection regulations, a company is generally expected to absorb the operational costs of their own logistical failures or rebookings. Instead, the administrator explicitly told me I could either pay the extra €400 immediately or they would simply cancel, refund my money, and leave my three animals completely stranded right as I was scheduled to board a flight.

I was given absolutely no choice but to pay the extra €400 to ensure my animals' safety. The replacement carrier they outsourced to was fantastic and handled the actual transport smoothly, but that is zero credit to this company's office staff, who utterly failed to deliver on their contract and caused an immense amount of panic and stress during an already difficult international relocation.

This company clearly lacks the basic infrastructure or contingency planning required to handle employee sickness or booking adjustments without forcing the financial penalties onto the customer. If you need a reliable, stress-free transport that honors its word, look elsewhere.

In a pretty worrisome and low point in my life, I entrusted these guys with my two cats, Grey and Luli. Travelling from Spain to England. So glad I did. Arrived as and when stated, relaxed and as happy as they could be considering being carted around for a few days. What I needed to do in preparation was clear, no surprises, and I was updated at key points along the way with photos and information regarding where they were and what was happening by the courier (Ricardo). Great service, was also the cheapest I could find at the time (having checked three other possibilities).
They were looked after, fed, given water and as Grey and Luli get on extremely well, we're allowed to be together in their container, rather than separated, which I think really helped to keep them comfortable. Very happy with the all-round service, the time-frame, the understanding, the care taken.

Thank you Animal Couriers!

I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU (and to Ray) for getting Hamish and Charlie couriered to me last week. They travelled so well and Ray is just lovely.
The boys have settled in so well already. I have recommended you to everyone who will listen.

Thank you so much again for your time, patience and efficient service 😊

What a super star service!!! I can not recommend this company enough. Everything was so organised and everybody was very helpful with paperwork. My two dogs has travelled to Sweden and then back to the UK again. They been so well looked after and I had frequently updates from drivers Julie and Eugene. The dogs arrived happy and relaxed. 5* from me.

AMAZING !!! SERVICE !!! DOOR TO DOOR
We travelled from UK to SPAIN with 6 Cats and 4 Dogs! - It was a seamless experience throughout. Wonderful dedicated people. The animals arrived happier than when they left! I can do nothing but praise this company!!!

Animal Couriers were extremely competent at helping move our precious cat from Athens to London. We had good support from their UK office with full details as to the documents needed and how to prepare our cat for travel. The couriers communicated in advance as promised and arrived on time to collect him. During the journey they kept us fully informed as to how he was coping with the travel (incredibly well) and we had every confidence in them and their care of him. Upon approaching the UK they made careful arrangements to deliver him to his new home and arrived exactly on time.
The experience for us was wonderful and we think it was also for our little cat! Thank you Animal Couriers!

The owner Julia is rude dismissive and gaslights you. I asked some questions when I paid deposit she was dismissive saying don’t worry we do this all the time when I wanted the finer details on how my dog would be taken care of. Then they got it wrong moved the date of departure after my flight booked which made it impossible for me to deliver her to them for the trip. I expressed my concerns that poppy must be on the truck before my departure Julia became rude defensive and completely unprofessional blaming my concern to their mistake causing her to get stressed and upset as she doesn’t do stress well her words BTW. They finally rearranged the trip to take poppy before I departed where she sent me a curt text to say we had to rearrange the trip when it was booked by me where they ask you to book your departure ticket 5 days within the departure of your dog. It was confirmed one day either way of 26th they moved it to 1st or 2nd December but I wasn’t accepting that move as I departed on the 30th November. Horrendous experience avoid this company poor management they get it all mixed up and don’t commit so they can change it to suit them. Julia should step down from managing the company she has no customer service skills and left me upset and stressed I only took it as I was held to ransom with the fact that they had my full payment and poppy needed to go. I was so upset with Julia I tried to get poppy on another courier and was prepared to lose my money but there weren’t any who could commit at such short notice. Huw the driver was lovely kept me updated but poppy arrived stinking which suggest she sat in her own wee and the truck doesn’t appear to be heated for the animals at wintertime. AVOID never again will I use this company. Julia you were horrendous to deal with when you were the ones who messed up !!!

Fantastic service. Massive thankyou to Julia and her team, for bringing my cat back from Greece. Despite the 5 day trip she arrived fit, well and happy and settled straight in. A very efficient service, who really tried to help make things work, thankyou so much.

Sent 2 cats from Leeds to Italy and the team was just amazing. Thank you Julia, Simon and Theresa for all your help, and Ricardo and Huw for looking after the cats. Great service and fair prices :)

These guys helped me move my 2 dogs door to door to Spain from Northern Ireland for a fair price. Julia went above and beyond to get the dates I needed. The driver Eugene kept me updated every day. The dogs didnt want to leave him after their 4 day road trip 😆 thanks again to the team and we look forward to enjoying our new life in Spain from Nicola, Lucy and Peanut

Absolutely fab from start to finish! Animal couriers transported my cats from lake como to my house in Berkshire and they were delivered to my from my door. Amazing service - was kept updated all the journey and they now are reunited with us in the uk. 10/10

Animal Couriers were wonderful to work with and did an amazing job in helping me move with my 3 dogs (a Boxer, Doberman Pinscher, and Dogo Argentino) from the Frankfurt, Germany Airport to Chievres, Belgium. Their driver Huw was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. I highly recommend them if you are in need of moving your furry friend.

I would, without hesitation, highly recommend entrusting your beloved pet into the hands of Animal Couriers to bring them safely home to you. We entrusted Sophie, our labrador, into their care transporting her by road from Sicily to the UK. My soninlaw Jason handed her over to them for the journey, he messaged me to let me know the Van was immaculately clean and the area where Sophie would be resting during the journey was spacious and immaculately clean too. The drivers, Jason informed me, were lovely people and she was in good care. I am so grateful to Animal Couriers and all involved in Sophies safe return. Sophie arrived completely contented, considering she had had a very long journey. Once again, Animal Couriers is highly recommended, they take great pride, care and love in the work they do. A big THANK YOU to all at Animal Couriers. Christine Gaeta

Can 100% recommend Animal Couriers.
I needed to get a dog urgently from Sweden to UK and Animal Couriers could not have been more helpful.
It was a very stressful and difficult situation and my mind was completely put to rest by Julia and her team, who took care of everything,
Gwen collected and travelled with the dog, and kept us informed of progress all along the route. Gwen is obviously a complete professional and a natural with dogs, our little girl loved her and kept looking for her when she left.
I will always be grateful to Animal Couriers for helping me and can totally recommend them.

I used Animalcouriers' services to relocate my dog from London to Switzerland! it has been a very smooth and professional experience from beginning to end. Communication was very regular - both from the admin team and the two drivers - Adam and Huw.
I cannot recommend Animalcouriers highly enough!

They are professionals and look after the animals very well. My dog (a Labrador) arrived in very good spirits despite the lengthy car trip! The drivers take good care of the and your pets will be happy!

Superb and professional service throughout the whole process. Looked after all the admin and paperwork for me taking all the angst out a very stressful experience. My dogs arrived right on time and they had been very well looked after. Communication excellent throughout. Very highly recommended.

I couldn't thank Animalcouriers enough for their professionalism, support, caring and my goodness their efficiency. A special thanks to Huw who took such great care of my dogs and kept in regular contact with me with messages and videos of the journey and to Julia and Simon for their consent communication and information in the run-up to my dogs leaving the country. I HIGHLY recommend Animalcouriers

quality of service
care for the customer
reliability

Many thanks for all the support and the impressively high quality service.
We will full-heartedly recommend AnimalCouriers to anyone needing a similar service. You are a testament to professionalism and reliability, and we are impressed by the quality of the care to customers.
As for Huw: is an outstanding professional, with a clear love and respect for animals. He's utterly reliable, incredibly approachable and open, very accommodating and respectful of both the pets and the people he's working with. His service was impeccable and we have not enough words to praise him for his job.

A very professional and personal company. They took care of our dog Hugo like it was their own, answered every question we had of which there were many as it was the first time we had ever transported an animal.
He arrived at the time agreed, happy and stress free.
The drivers(Trevor and John) could not have been more helpful along the journey ( 4 days in total from Ireland to Spain) with regular updates.
Regarding the cost, it was reasonable and worth it for the service we received and would have no hesitation in using this company again.
Graham, Naomi and Hugo

Our experience with Animal Couriers has been extremely satisfying. These great people came to help our family when we were going through tough times, and were feeling on edge and hopeless. It really came as a blessing having someone lend a helping hand to us at these difficult times.
My family fled the war in Ukraine with only a handful items in their suitcase and their 12-years cat. They got stuck in a makeshift shelter in Poland for three weeks not being able to arrange the cat relocation to the UK. I was struggling to find a suitable pet transportation service as some of them had 3-4 weeks of lead time, some of them have never replied to my emails or phone calls and others were way too expensive for us. After finding out about our situation, Julia from Animal Couriers generously offered to help us bringing our cat to the UK free of charge! Moreover, she was very supportive throughout the whole journey, guiding us from the start until we received our cat in the UK. She explained in detail the DEFRA procedures for bringing pets into the UK, advised on getting the right documents and assisted in arranging a rabies quarantine facility for our cat on arrival.
Despite being busy dealing with hundreds of requests from other people, Julia always found the time to respond to my text messages and emails. This was highly appreciated because the time was crucial for us whereas my experience showed that other companies had taken 72 hours to respond or never responded at all. Not to mention that I was made to hold the line for 40-90 minutes, while calling abroad, to speak to someone from some animal cargo service.
Other team members from Animal Couriers such as Ray, Gwen and Huw were also extremely supportive, kind and simply amazing. They spent their time, money, energy and sleepless nights helping our cat to travel all the way from Poland to the UK. They kept us informed all the time by sending us photos of our cat and updates about his behaviour and health. These people truly love animals and they care for them like they are their own. We greatly appreciate their generosity, sincerity, compassion and great support and we will certainly use their service again once it is safe for our family and cat to go back home.