Hi

Our container took 14 days to get to Canada but it then took 28 days to get through customs here - no explanation ever given as to why it took so long. The wait was highly stressful and costly in terms of things we had to buy that we couldn't wait for any longer.

no not my choice , it was a decent cane sofa , also i had a lovely cane basket type thing my sister bought for me ( i gave it back to her ) import restriction , they said it was hollow and bugs live inside , i also have wicker baskets , etc and they are coming. we did leave it to be packed and hoped we could sneak it in , but they would not wrap it , they said customs would hook it out ?? i spoke to a friend who works in customs and she said , if they are being difficult and decide to take it out , it will delay things as they will go through everything to see what else we are trying to sneak in, unfortuneatly i can only be quided by them , not ever having done this before. Upside to this , the house we have bought , the lady is leaving a full size pool table , a 1 year old sofa in the basement , and a table as she has moved to a smaller house , all in excellant condition and can not be bothered to struggle to get them out

When our belongings were packed and taken to a shared container we were told it would take 6 weeks to get to us in Red Deer. 8 weeks later we called UK and were told "it hasn't left Portsmouth yet!" Hubby's tools that he desperately needed for work were in this container, he was getting by on a borrowed mechanics set that was about 100 years old and VERY basic (hammer and screwdriver )When our shared container arrived in Vancouver there was a dockers stike for ages followed by a truckers strike and then 5 months after waving goodbye to our stuff we finally saw it again. The only good thing we found about having a shared container was that the storage charges were split between the 6 of us so we only had to pay an extra $1200.00 (not covered under insurance as the storage charged were to do with the strikes).

My shipment (part container) left the UK on 23rd Oct and arrived at the Toronto shipping agents yesterday (8th Nov). Going to pick it up tomorrow, I assume it's made it in one piece...

ours got packed in Aberdeen at the end of August

we are still awaiting...........................

although apparently is sitting on the dock of the bay in Montreal presently
(have had about 3 different versions from the agent in a week)

we move into our new house tomorrow with our suitcases from the flight & some hastily bought plates,cutlery & kitchen table from ikea

biggest problem though is facing the recent winter weather in Calgary with our winter gear in container (& am too tight to buy new stuff short term)

if you see a bloke in trainers & cord jacket trudging thru the snow to work please take pity

this was all done thru a reputable company, but don't let this put you off
-am sure many of them estimate 6weeks but turns out to be longer

quoted 6 weeks arrived in toronto today after leaving portsmouth on the 27th october , ready to collect wednesday , just got to go to customs to clear , apparently it has been inspected on route $175 to pay

We have been told today that the original quote for 630 sq feet was well under, they are now saying we have 930 sq feet to be shipped.... How can they get it so wrong...I am waiting to hear back how much extra it will cost.

I can't see what I can do if we think it's too much...they have all our things at their depot!!!

On a good note.....we exchanged contracts today !!!!
and will be completing 1st December.


Linda

Hi Linda,thats not good news,can I ask who you are using? We have PSS coming on the 27th to pack up our entire house.The guy seemed very experienced so I'm hoping he got it right!It really does feel like you're at someone elses' mercy throughout this whole process.
Congrats on the house sale though,it's a good feeling when thats all sorted
Tracie

Hi Linda


Good news about the exchange and now you have a completion date it's more final, all sorted for Xmas.

Hope you sort out your container ! I'm sure it will work out fine.

Looking forward to catching up next week, when we're out

Elli

Snow boots and thermals packed!!

Hi there Tracie,

Whites & Co, I have just received an email, we have to pay an extra £439, in fairness I don't think that's too bad...although I still can't understand how they got their estimation so wrong???

So in total it will be £3812 for 930 cu-ft from Selby to Edmonton

Most of our things were in boxes in two attics, so they were up and down ladders the whole time.

Also they took the job in at last short notice, we were due to compete last Friday, so they only got a weeks notice!!!

I will let everyone know the outcome when we open it this end......but so far they have been very easy to deal with.

Linda

Hi Ellie,

Won't be long!!!!

Yes, it's a huge relief!

I feel better now that I know how much extra the shipping will cost, another box ticked!!!!

Looking forward to meeting you all....have a good journey, who are you flying with? are you coming into Edmonton or Calgary?

Linda

Hi Linda

We're flying in on Saturday with Air Canada, direct from London Heathrow into Edmonton!

See you soon

Elli

Hey Linda
You can get a decent nights sleep now. !! No more expats at 2.40am. !!!
I'm really pleased its finally happened for you.

I'll pm you !

Deb x

My situation isn't relevant to the threadstarters question, but I had to comment on the problem of sharing a container. In short, be prepared for major delays! I had 5 tea chests to move from Australia to Canada. They were picked up from my home on 14 May and taken to Brisbane. There my tea chests sat until they found space in a container on a Russian ship on 1 October. They arrived in Vancouver 31 October and the moving company (Allied Pickfords) contacted me last week. I filled out the necessary customs forms and mailed them to Vancouver, and I should get my stuff by the end of November. So, six and a half months. Fortunately, I knew it would take ages so I brought all the necessary stuff with me on the plane, like computers and things.

So the upshot is, if you have to share a container, you will save a lot of money, but be aware that your things won't arrive any time soon!