Wheeler-Jones

I think you would be hard pressed to find any moving companies that have a 100% track record - often it can come down to a rude crew member and it ruins your experience - trust me as I have often been let down by a surly crew member on the collection day. Crown have a good reputation in UK, but to tell the truth I never came across them in Canada.

tahititim

i AM STILL VERY BUSY TO PHONE THEM AND NOW IT'S A WEEKEND, SO WILL TRY ON MONDAY, I ALSO HEARD THEY ARE GOOD, JUST THEY HAVE NOT RESPONDED YET.

Dorothy

That should tell you something. If you have a problem are they going to get back to you? If it were me (and I've moved long distance too many times) I would go with a company with good customer service who answer your enquires right away. As the customer you shouldn't have to chase them to spend your $10k.

tahititim

You arew absolutely right, and I am still waiting for their response:curse:

Budawang

Hmmm.. Minimum wage in Canada? Try $8 per hour. Australia? Over $13.

Canada and particularly US have much more of a two-speed economy. The working poor versus the privileged white collar middle class, lucky enough to be working for big corporations or the public service.

I know what I'm talking about - I lived and worked in Canada for 10 years.

Budawang

Cost of living comes out similar to Canada, in my opinion. Some manufactured goods are quite a bit cheaper in Canada, but these days you can buy online or just buy it in Canada before you leave or when you visit. I find you can haggle a lot here - just tell them you can buy the same item online for X dollars and they usually knock-off 10-20%. Some Aussie retailers are shameless with their pricing. You have to shop around more here to find good prices.

comet555

I just thought I'd add that we bought a new computer before we left Canada. As long as it does 110-240V & 50-60Hz then you just need a cheap adapter for the plug and it works fine. The only things we brought were computers, digital cameras or battery operated things. Nothing else would have worked.

Also the computer and camera we bought right before leaving were way cheaper in Canada.

tahititim

Finally got a response from Crown, asking to fill in the form for the amount of belongings I have and then they will give me an app. number. So, will do that and see what's gonna happen???!!!

tahititim

Thank you. That is what I clearly see that computers are much cheaper so it pays to bring it over or buy a new one here in Canada.

torcraw

I chatted with someone at Brytor today and they were willing to answer every question I had even though she knew I was several months away and will have a relatively small volume. Person I spoke with said to send her an e-mail with what I think I will be shipping and they'd give me an estimate based on current costs (obviously fuel is increasing nowadays, so this could change by the time I'm ready, and they always do an actual visual before giving a definitive quote). So far so good.

On the other hand, been trying to contact someone at UVL Canada's International Division and got zero response so far. I heard they were good, but their non-responsiveness does not raise my confidence.

I'll try Crown myself soon to see what their customer service is like.

torcraw

I've been doing some googling and if you're technically savvy, there are a number of independent stores (e.g. mwave and i-tech) that are substantially cheaper than the big chain shops in Australia if you're buying individual parts to build your own.

tahititim

Agree, so far Brytor is #1 for me sounded like people who know their business...

gday_eh

Just wanted to say thanks all for the invaluable info. This is my first post, but I've been loitering about on the forum for some time now, and it has helped us tremendously. We're moving from Canada (Northern Ontario) to Australia later this year, and are trying to get the straight goods on shipping costs, restrictions, etc, for a 20-ft container. We've talked to 3 companies and have had 3 very different responses. One fellow suggested that our goods cannot be "owner-packed" due to tightened security restrictions at the ports. We were also considering shipping my OH's tools in a wooden crate or two (no 20-footer); same guy suggested that it's not worth it, that the wood needs to be certified, etc. and only place he's aware of that does this to Oz customs specs, is an outfit in TO (we're in Thunder Bay, lumber capital of the province). Funnily enough, he was also the most expensive of the three. He also indicated that OH's tools would need to be professionally steam-cleaned and certified as such. Another co indicated that we could do the packing and loading ourselves for a substantially reduced service fee, and did not mention having to go to a "professional" for cleaning of our tools. Yet another provided us with a "door-to-port" quote i.e. packing and loading container ourselves (from home) then arrange for transportation to final destination upon arrival at Brisbane port, for essentially half the cost of "door-to-door".

Any thoughts/advice/similar experiences?

Pollyana

Even if the tools are steam cleaned and certified, there is no guarantee that AQIS won't want them done again. Just clean them thoroughly with strong disinfectant and ensure there is no dirt or soil on them. Waste of money getting them certifiably cleaned. Same with the wood. It doesn't need certifying. AQIS are only concerned about wood carrying pests - so things like live woodworm, or stuff coming from places like Central America or SE Asia.
Ordinary wooden articles are fine, just make sure they are declared. They may not even be inspected.
If you do self-pack then AQIS may inspect more boxes, but if you do a good inventory there they may just pass most of them straightaay and just look at a couple.

Personally, forget the certifying/professional cleaning, and just decide whether you want to pack for yourself or not.

Dorothy

From my experience I would say let them pack everything for you. You will get so much more in and less breakage if it's packed professionally. Don't forget it's going by rail to Vancouver before it goes by boat to Brisbane. We did the door to door thing and it was so much easier. The company we used (AMJ Campbell) said they would not deal with customs if we packed it ourselves, so rather than us have to try to deal with customs as well as all the other bits that go with moving to a new country we let them do it. Over here it's Allied Pickfords who take care of the move.

Just on a personal note...I spent a year living and working just outside Schreiber in Rossport when I was much younger. My boyfriend at the time worked for CP rail and used to take me all the time to TBay (big trip to the city!!) when he had a western run. I love it up there but sure don't miss the cold and snow.

Comet555 is from Ft McMurray and lives in Brisbane. I think they're back visiting family at the moment, but look for her user name. She's very helpful.