izzi81

our move is the week before May 21st... perhaps our containers will end up on the same ship! Probably not though. I think we'll decide in the next few days, I just have to do a round of phoning and haggling and see where we end up. There's not much to choose between 3-4 of them, so it's probably going to come down to price/how they seem on the phone. I totally agree about the need to pick one and move on - I can't wait until I've done that and don't have to keep fielding phone calls!

family_of_4

Well all our quotes are in, 3 of them have now offered/changed quotes to the same price.
Whittles are our chosen company. We've gone purely with our gut feeling after the many tel calls/emails we have made with all the companies.
As others have said, i think its pot luck on who you have on the day, there are good and bad experiences for all of the companies, so the only advice is go with who you feel comfortable with. Then

izzi81

Anyone got any negotiating tips for getting the best deal? That's the stage I'm at now (all quotes are in) and I'm not very good at this kind of thing! Feel free to message me if you'd rather not share your methods in public!

Andy_Zena

All our items left the UK on the 23rd of Feb arriving 3 weeks later at our new home in Ontario. We used the Moving Partnership who were excellent, Matthew handled everything professionally and we had no issues. All items were received with no damage. We had prices ranging from GBP 3,600 to GBP 5,700 for more or less the same level of service. In the end we decided what our budget was and then worked to get there. We negotiated the base move price then the insurance.

izzi81

Good to heat a positive review for the moving partnership, they're on our shortlist. Which company came and did your packing, was it hamiltons?
When you say you worked to get to the budget you had in mind, did you negotiate to get a price below your cheapest estimate?

Returninghome

Hi.

We went with GB Liners. We shipped from Leicester to Saskatchewan.

We had several quotes, and we shipped a 40 ft container. We were able to get GB Liners down in price 2x when we sent them the quotes from their competitors.

We had a full pack and ship. We were very pleased with the 3 guys that came and packed for us in the UK, all very hard working and did a great job. We made sure to keep a steady brew of tea for them - and got them cold drinks on one day (it was a scorcher!), they seemed very pleased with our effort. They really were great, wish I could remember their names.

The container left our house on the 3rd day and went straight onto one of the liners. It was in Canada within 4 weeks. We hadn't found a house yet, but were lucky enough to have some family offer up their garage for storage, saving us the expense (and to the joy of the 3 guys that were sent to unpack our container!)

We still have some boxes that we have not unpacked, but have not come across anything damaged or broken. We had a couple of items that we wanted to have packed with extra care, and they really did.

They let us keep our mattress till the last day, so it was good we could stay at the house and clean and carry on. My only mistake was leaving some stuff laying around - my UK hairdryer that doesn't work in the Canada, got shipped, oops.

Speaking of things that work - don't work, we say bring everything! We have a Panasonic Vera TV from the UK, works great, lots of the newer stuff does. Replacement costs are high over here, and weekly trips to Canadian Tire waiting for sales can get a bit much.

Andy_Zena

The MP used Atlantis for the packing at the UK end. The guys were fine and everything was well packed for the shipment. We used our cheapest estimate as the target but worked to a mutual agreement. Insurance is always a contentious area, we did get a 3rd party quote, this does come out much cheaper. In the end we worked with MP to reduce the insurance to a sensible level. It was clear they were never going to meet the cheapest price but you have to go with your gut. I did post a review somewhere on the site of how we rated all the various people we had around.

izzi81

Am going to decide on one this week if it kills me! We seem to be between the Moving Partnership and Whites.

Price isn't really the deciding factor, so I'm finding it tricky to work out what is (lol).

MP get loads of positive comments on here. I've only managed to find one negative review. Matthew has been great - by far the best customer service, really friendly and helpful. But they've based everything on what I've said other companies have quoted re. cubic footage, no one has come out (from Hamiltons I presume it would be) to have a look.

Whites also get loads of positive comments, although I've found a few negative ones as well. Customer service has only been average.. I liked the guy who came out to estimate, but I've had to chase up the quote. However when I spoke on the phone the guy was fine. Whites offer free storage if we need it - no idea whether we will or not, we hope not. They also have more of the official affiliations, although that hasn't stopped people posting bad reviews every now and then.

Insurance also isn't a factor because, going on advice here, I think we'll be looking at independent insurance from someone else.

I'm not sure why I'm posting as I know it's really just my decision to make now, but if anyone has any experiences to relate - particularly with MP, Whites or Hamiltons that would be great!

(I'm not sure whether the internet makes this stuff easier or harder... *everyone* has negative reviews somewhere )

Kaye5

Harder - definitely.

Before the internet, we just chose and relied a lot on luck. Let's face it, they all talk the talk and the only time we will ever know if things are fine, is after the event, when it is of course too late.

We went with MP in the end, although didn't have Whites quote. I think it was mainly as I was just bored with the whole thing and wanted to choose someone and move onto worrying about something else (which I have - have you tried to find a rental place yet - we are having a nightmare)?

Toss a coin?

izzi81

We have a rental for the first month... We're going to look for a longer term place once we arrived - too nervous about signing a long term lease without seeing the place. Just hope we can get something when we arrive.

I confess my gut is saying moving partnership, its just the lack of a visit and the different crews used that makes me unsure! Did hamiltons come out to you to estimate?

Kaye5

We are so skint, can't afford short term rental. Having said that, the way it's going we'll be back to the "tent" plan.

Where are you looking to live?

Some strange, slightly creepy guy came out from another firm as Hamilton's didn't have anyone available when I needed the estimator to come out. But still, estimated at the same volume as everyone else had. If you've had lots of quotes all saying the same volume, I wouldn't worry too much.

But if you want Hamiltons to come out, I can't see why Matthew can't arrange that?

izzi81

Yeah I'm sure someone could come out, I just should have asked sooner! But as you said, everyone has estimated the same so it probably doesn't matter, its more my mind wanting to see the company lol.

We're skint too, but I just couldn't face trying to find long term accomodation from here. In the end we got a 4 week holiday let for $1800 which isn't bad at all, and takes a bit of pressure off just now. It does mean the pressure will be on when we arrive, but we'll be focussed! We're going to nova Scotia, kings county area. Do I remember you said Ontario before?

Kaye5

If you get the guy we did - you'll run a mile!! Thankfully, he won't be the one doing the move. I guess whoever comes round is unlikely to be the one actually doing the move. Toss the coin!!

That is a good price on a holiday let - I think we'd be looking at twice that as there are five of us. It's also easier to find lets if there are only two of you - we have trouble as we need four bedrooms and large rentals are in very short supply (so we can't really pick and choose either).

We're heading for the south shore - trying to find somewhere to rent in Chester or Hubbards is proving very difficult. Might now look at Bridgewater though worried about finding work there and the commute to Halifax would be too long really (having said that, I commute nearly 2 hours each way here from the Borders to Edinburgh...).

izzi81

We stayed at somewhere near Hubbards a couple of years ago, I'll see if I can find the details and send you a PM. It was definitely bigger than we needed!

Kaye5

PM'd!