Shipping Report
 

Amid all the horror stories, I just thought I would post a positive account. All our stuff arrived here in Edmonton last Friday, only 4 weeks after collection in the UK. White & Co packed it very well over the course of a couple of days (although I had done a lot of flat-packing prior). It all went into four large cartons, so was guaranteed to fit in our 20-foot container when loaded in Portsmouth.

Customs clearance in Edmonton was no problem, although it might have been: on landing in Mar 08 I was advised by Customs to submit the Goods to Follow list when we returned to settle permanently. On returning to settle in Jan 09 I was advised that the only opportunity is on first landing. A long discussion followed. I was able to identify the Customs officer who gave the Mar 08 advice, and it was all overlooked in the end.

There was no damage to anything. The delivery team (Matco) did a great job, unpacking everything and taking away all the packaging in less than a day. Having the front door open for 4 hours at minus 20 was not much fun for those of us standing around playing box-bingo!

Finally, if there's a Mr Spencer reading this, PM me and I'll give you a sighting report on your boxes 1 to 11, to which it appears we gave a free ride from the UK in our container.

Oh and Whites were the cheapest of our three quotes. Happy customer here!

Re: Shipping Report
 

Well done you. I'm jealous.

But I wonder if Mr. Spencer knows where his boxes 1-11 are.

- still extremely disgusted with our shipping company (Doree Bonner) and wishing I'd used someone else.

Re: Shipping Report
 

Hi
Hope you dont mind me asking, but could you tell me how much you paid for your shipping with Whites? I am currently getting quotes to go from Teesside to Calgary
Thanks
Jane

Re: Shipping Report
 

Hi Jane, I know somebody who used Whites about 4 months a go and the cost was £3600 to Calgary. No problems and nothing broken. Sam

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Hi Sam
thanks for that. We are actually wanting to have a look around Okotoks when we come on our research trip...hopefully early may time. From what I read and hear its sounds like a great place to live
Thanks again
Jane:)

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Hi Jane, We love Okotoks, it has everything we need and we are very happy here. Please feel free to come and see us during your research trip, it would be nice to meet you. Sam

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Same here - £3600. Compared to my other quotes, and other prices posted here, it's a winning price and if they hold it I think they'll get lots of business.

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Box bingo! ROFL - yup such a fun game in the snow!

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I am glad you had no problem.......we too used Whites & Co (Leeds) Unfortunately we had a different story, we were not in the UK when they packed.......they put china plates & cups in a plastic carrier and placed in a box on top of other things. We had a bag of bits!
There is quite a bit more but I won't bore everyone with it.

My advise would be to make sure you are there when they pack.

Linda

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jane and jason we did Barnard Castle near Darlington to Calgary using Bishops Move in July 08. Cost 4 thousand pounds all in. Give Alan a ring and negotiate with him for a discount. We needed the storage in Newcastle before leaving to give us breathing space to get a property in Cochrane. Shipping took less than 4 weeks from Newcastle to Calgary. Customs clearance was easy. Do you know anybody from Stockt0n and Billingham College as I worked there for 17 years before coming out here. susieq

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Box Bingo :lol: I like it.

I joked with the guys and said a different number of the last box. You should have seen their faces, classic. :lol: They had a sence of humour :thumbsup:

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Hi Susie
Small world...I had a smallholding near Barnard Castle with my ex husband, not far from west auckland. I will give Bishops Move a call. How long did you have your goods in storage before hand? Was this included in your price? I live in Billingham but dont know anyone from the college. I did when I left school, but that was quite a while ago as I am 42 today omg that sounds old lol. My friend who lives in Ontario did her nursery nurse course at stockton and billingham tech, that was about 25 years ago. They have knocked down the college now and built houses there. Where abouts in Calgary are you? Do you have any family? My 18 year old son and 5 year old daughter are moving with us although my 20 year old daughter is staying in Uk for now with her boyfriend, hopefully she will follow us over in the not too distant future. How have you found settling in Calgary?
Thanks for your advice
Jane :)

Re: Shipping Report
 

2 interesting accounts of White & Co, will watch out for the Leeds lot as they are the ones I have chosen for my shipping as well. I don't have many breakables and only 17 or so boxes so hopefully my things will survive. Will have to post another update on how it goes. The information I have got on shipping from here was invaluable.

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just a quick question,we are also looking into quotes to calgary, is this the company? http://www.whiteandcompany.co.uk/int...l_removals.php

if so we will add them to our list.

thanks

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Yes it is. They have been proactive with calling me but not to the point of pushy and have answered all the questions I have had (plus gave me a generally good feeling about them).........we'll see how this ends with the shipping of the goods!

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great thanks

:)

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As long as your there when they pack to make sure they pack all you want then you shouldn't have a problem.
Make sure you itemise everything of value.....I had murano glass clowns that were not packed correctly and although I only tried to claim 30 pound for them, they refused as I hadn't itemised it:mad:

Also make sure they let you know when the container is leaving and arriving.
They also failed to do this and I got a call at 7.40am on a Thursday from Edmonton Customs telling me that I needed to go by 11.30am that day to accept my container, as it had been sitting there for 2 days and we would have been charged $175 per day starting from when it arrived :blink:
Luckily hubby was able to get out of work, once there everything was very easy...thank goodness.

I am not trying to put you off, but just keep on top of them, the girl in the office, if still the same one, is slack! She also tells you what you want to hear, rather than the truth:mad:

Linda

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Thanks Linda, I will definitely keep an eye on them then! It is good that you have some feedback to give me, I think this is the first time I have seen anything on White & Co. on here and it is good to have a variety of opinions when it is such a big move.

Lynds

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Just to add our 10p! We used Robinsons, Wolverhampton to Vancouver Island and have to say we were shocked that everything worked out really well. We were there to supervise the packing in the UK and we unpacked this end, just got them to unload the stuff - but have to say, nothing was broken (until we got our hands on it) and nothing appears to be missing!

Managed to negotiate the price down to GBP 4250 with insurance, while a huge slice of our savings, we thought that not too bad for a 20ft.

We found out in the middle of the journey that the container would be opened, unpacked and reloaded onto a truck in Vancouver which did not please us! Apparently it's standard procedure due to scheduling and the ferry etc. However, although we were loaded with three other ex-pats (who we met when we cleared customs in Victoria - fellow members no less!! Beanz meanz Heinz eh???) onto a 72ft AMJ Campbell truck, we all got the right stuff on the right day to right address!! We were amazed!

We can only speak for ourselves, but would happily recommend them. Hope this is helpful and wish you all well with your logistics!

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hi jane we had our goods in storage for 4 weeks free of charge ,the 25 pounds per week after that ,.i think storage is more this end.we live in cochrane which is north west calgary,just my husband,son,15 daughter ,11 and myself all have settled well .when are you planning to come. give me a pm if you want anymore advise and ill give you our phone no etc

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Don't want to teach grannies to suck eggs, but having moved almost a dozen times in too few years (including 5 transatlantic), my recipe for removals includes:

- Show the packers you trust them as professionals
- Keep them plied with tea and hobnobs/timbits
- Be organised before they get there
- Maintain a sense of humour all day and share it
- Give them a tip, so that after they have looked after your stuff carefully at the depot, they can go out for a beer and unwind.

Others may have tried all this and still had trouble, but it has mostly worked for me.

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Hi Susie
I cant find how to pm you???? We are planning to come over for research trip 1st of may, hopefully
Jane