sherrynic

Hi all....

Planning to move to Aurora Onatrio at the end of May and wanted to know if any one used Robinson's or Doree Bonner removal company.

I have had quotes from both but wanted to hear real experiences! How was the packing, what Canadian moving company did they use and were their any damages and what was the overall experience! Not asking much really!

Any information you could provide (the good, bad and ugly) would be most appreciative!

Thanks!

daft batty

we used Robinsons and wouldnt use them again. problems with packing and breakages, the stuff arrived in canada before we did! They underestimated so we had to leave stuff behind and then pay more for what they did pack over the estimate.
We moved from Leighton Buzzard so its likely you would have the same branch move you

cynthia2373

We used Doree Bonner. The packers seemed OK, there were about 2 breakages but nothing major, a wheel broke off one of my filing cabinets, etc.
They use Brytor International this end (we moved to Tweed, Ont). They were really good and friendly.

The only problem we had was that a few things seem to have gone walkabout - not sure if they weren't packed or if they just didn't get unpacked!!
Good luck

ann m

We used Doree Bonner (from Surrey to Calgary) - and generally packing was very good, they crated my pictures and mostly did a good job. There were few breakages, and they used Tippett Richardson at the Calgary end. I ended up claiming for about six items in total.

I'm still, however, in disupte about one particular box of ornaments which were not wrapped up at all ! Nada. And it was just carelessness on the part of one young lad.

So take out as much insurance as you can

MarkG

Doree Bonner were OK, but that's the best I can say about them: they were five hours late to pick up my stuff and there was precisely zero communication after they took my money... the only way to get any information from them was to get up early in the morning and phone them, emails were completely ignored.

However, that seems specific to their south-west branch in the UK as people elsewhere in the country said they did a good job.

sherrynic

Thanks for sharing your experience! The quote said that they would use Brytor International for our move as well so I am glad to hear they were good. I would expect a few breakages with such a long journey but as long as it isn't anything major, I can live with that! My husband will be speaking with them tomorrow to book the move date! It is s a bit stressful trusting all our worldly possessions to strangers, but I suppose there is little choice when moving abroad!

I am from Canada originally and have been in the UK for 10 years now, so it is exciting to be moving back home to be closer to all my family!

sherrynic

Sorry to hear there was such a communication problem for you. It is a real pain to try and contact people with the time difference between Canada and the UK. We will be using their Houghton Regis branch which I don't think is the same one you used. Do you mind me asking if you had any breakages or insurance claims and how was the packing? We are sending a full 40 ft container and have purchased a lot of new furniture as I prefer the style here to what I saw in Canada last summer! I decided if I was going to ship everything I may as well fill er up !

Thanks for the info thus far, it is much appreciated!

sherrynic

Thanks for the advice - will make sure we insure to the hilt!

sherrynic

That is good to know. I was worried about what would happen if they underestimated the amount to be shipped. We have sole use of a 40ft container which they said will be 80% full but, I still don't want to be hit with another fee when they are in the throughs of packing!

I did have some concerns about Robinsons as they said they would only need 2 days to pack - the second day needed to load the container. All the other quotes I got (7 in total), told me they would need a minimuim of three days and anything less would be a rushed job more than likely resulting in damage! A bit worrying to say the least!

I hope you have settled in well to Canada. I can't wait to be returning home at last!

Thanks for taking the time to reply. It makes a difference to hear the views of someone who has been there, done it!

jericho

We got quotes from Dorree Bonner and Anglo Pacific.
AP seemed to be most professional and gave the best impression when the sales guy came round, and they were prepared to budge on price when we asked...so we'll be going with AP.

sherrynic

I have heard a lot of good things about AP from reading this forum. I was quite impressed with the gentleman when he came round as well but his quote was 1200 pds more than the other 6 quotes I received!!!! He also guaranteed that my container would be put on the bottom part of the ship and not in the open. This was certainly a lie as where a container is placed is decided by weight household goods are no where near as heavy as other cargo (this from a friend who is in the manufacturing business and ships consignments all the time!) It is all done by computer on the day at the port! On shipping day, my AP man won't be around to say put that one down below!

I think the AP rep might have taken the p with me a little as I said they had so many good reviews on this site! Serves me right for blabbing and could explain the extortionate quote!

Also check that they are registered with the FSA. The salesman also told me that yes of course they were but when I checked on the FSA website Anglo Pacific International PLC is no loner registered. Hence the reason they offer standard liability insurance. I have been researching the pros and cons of standard liability vs marine insurance and for us, marine gives us more coverage even though there is a Insurance premium tax to pay!

As you can probably tell I have been all aspects of this move for the past three weeks (perhaps somewhat obsessively to ensure I am making the right decisions from what company to choose to what insurance suits us best. I am not trying to worry you because as I said there have many happy customers with moves all around the world using AP (I have checked the other countries forums as well) I am just trying to be helpful as others have been to me!

My husband has a colleague who used DBonner and recommended the company to us as they were not on my original list of poeple to get a quote from. They have said they are negotiable in the price as well but we have yet to try and get some money knocked off. I found most of the quotes were in the same area about 2-300 pounds difference between them (other than Anglo of course)! So I am going to try and get a few hundred quid knocked off. I read somewhere on here that it is worth having a go as most companies want the business and will come down in price!

I wish you much luck in your move...when are you going and where to????

jericho

Thanks.
We're just waiting for my PNP to go through, but we're going to Edmonton. Expect to land around September ish.
Db were the cheapest of the two by around £300, but we were just happier with AP. Final quote was something like £3900 off the top of my head.

Lloydies

Hi there - we heading for Edmonton and just had some quotes in from PSS, Anglo Pacific, Pickfords and we're awaiting Robinsons now. I don't see anyone mentioning PSS - anyone had quotes or used them?

jericho

Not heard of em personally.
What quotes have you had?

MarkG

To be honest, I don't know. Something that was listed as 'box of DVDs' on the shipping manifest in England had become a car parcel shelf by the time it arrived in Saskatoon; but since I didn't ship all my stuff and I'd had the parcel shelf out of my old car while moving things around before I sold it, I've no idea whether I forgot to put it back in the car before selling it and they packed it or whether someone saw 'box of DVDs' on the list and decided to nick it.

The only thing broken was a silicon wafer of computer chips, but that was my fault for not packing it securely. Though I guess that putting it loose in a box of books wasn't a good plan on their part either.