londonklb

Hi everyone!

I was wondering if someone could help. My husband (Brit), son and I (Canuck) are moving to Toronto at the end of the summer.

Does anyone know any reputable international moving company? I have been researching and all of them seem to have their fair share of horror stories.

Also, does anyone know what the best way to take our savings over?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

many thanks!

exenglishman

the search button is your friend. A ton of info about both moving companies and money transfer information has been posted before,

Former Lancastrian

Read these 2 links regarding your goods being imported
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...d2-3-2-eng.pdf
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...d2-2-1-eng.pdf
or these brochures
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...f5113-eng.html
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...f5087-eng.html

dgagitw

I used Crown. I've used them several times before and always had a good experience (i.e. all my stuff got there in one piece when they said it would). They're not the cheapest I expect but they have their own employees in both the UK and Canada and don't use other firms to do the delivery for them, which helps a lot I think.

Londonuck

Have a look at this lot. My brother works in the same industrial park and i got good prices for a few boxes. http://www.bifs.net/

londonklb

Thanks for your help everyone! I really appreciate it.

kzgqgf

I'm on my way back to New Brunswick in a couple months and have been doing all the same research. Most moving companies will refer you to Currency Exchange specialists like Money Corp or Halo Financial. If you have a fair amount to transfer, that is the smart way to do it.
I am battling thru negotiations currently with movers, but Pearsons are FIDI registered and very keen to get my business. I'm still considering Robinsons and PSS. Whatever you do, make sure they are FIDI registered so you have an independent arbitrator if anything goes wrong. I have read horror stories about movers doubling the price on packing day, so I have been really insistent on FIRM or FIXED price quotes. It is usually a lot more economical to pay for a sole-use 40ft container than pay for 20ft+overflow even if you only 2/3 fill the 40ft'er. Anglo Pacific would not commit to a firm price, and I've seen posts where they have doubled the price on moving day, so I am staying well clear. They also gave me highest price quote for low-ball volume estimate. Moving Alliance are a definite NO-NO. Register at one or two of the removals web-referral sites and get as many quote are you can. Hope that helps.

kzgqgf

I'd be careful around GB Liners as well. They gave me a low-ball 20ft quote to get in the door and then some very strange things started happening when it came to providing a firm quote on 40ft container. Something well dodgy going on there.

MillieF

I'm heading to NB at the beginning of August, although my furniture is saying Bon Voyage in the first week of July. I have a 45 cube container and I am using the Moving Parnership. Evidently I haven't gone yet, but so far their service has been great, they've dropped off boxes, tape and bubble wrap etc and have already taken a large amount of my stuff. They could not have been more helpful. Good luck.

kirstyp

Hi!

If it helps you get started check out this article on Getting a Removals Quotation http://britishexpats.com/articles/mo...als-quotation/ and how to compare your quotes http://britishexpats.com/articles/mo...ng-quotations/

One of the key things as mentioned by kzgqgf is using a FIDI member - You're right, there are lots of horror stories out there but FIDI independently audits companies to ensure their resources (Staff, boxes, trucks) and processes are of a high standard to reduce the risk to the customer of anything going wrong and if it does that the company has the proper procedures in place to make sure it is rectified. You can find a list of FIDI members on their website, www.fidi.com

Money transfer wise we recommend Moneycorp, they have a vendor forum here on British Expats if you have any questions on that, they are very helpful!

Hope that helps?

Miss Clinique

Only 9 FIDI members in the whole of Canada, so may be difficult to get one in some provinces.

londonklb

Hi everyone,
Just an update...We ended up going with Doree Bonner movers in the UK. They did a fantastic job packing everything up for us. The company in Toronto was Tippetts. After 3.5 months, we finally received our goods from the UK. Everything arrived in one piece, no missing boxes or broken objects. I would definitely recommend them.

Also, we ended up using UKForex to transfer our money. We got decent rates and the transfer was easy and quick.