Hi everyone... Just trying to get organized for the big move which is getting closer! (yay!!) We have been looking into shipping companies and were wondering if anyone has heard of or used Gerards Removals based in Glasgow. If so, how did you get on with them and would you recommend them and if not are there any recommendations. We are moving from Scotland to Ontario and not taking a lot - no major furniture. I have read other posts on shipping and don't think we would have enough stuff to fill a 20' container... Anyway just looking for any info if anyone can be of assistance. Thanks in advance! Cheers.

You don't need to fill, you can have like 500 cubic feet of kit regardless of full load....it can be part of a bigger shipment but may need to flex on the outbound dates, i.e. it may delay a week or so for ther shippers to tie in with other same-destination loads.

Rich.

We didn't use them, you can see from the quotes we received that they were pretty pricey, but they were one of the few companies who followed up their quote with a phonecall which impressed me. Although that has no bearing on their packing skills/shipping punctuality etc - but it did give me the impression they cared. They didn't offer to drop their price though and I didn't waste effort trying as they could never have matched our best quote.

I found the quoter to be verrrry creepy but that's neither here nor there

>>>
Bonner.................£4,500
Anglo Pacific.........£4,285
Gerard.................£4,250
Constantine..........£3,800
Britannia..............£3,765
Allied Pickfords.....£3,410
UTS Bon Accord....£3,250
Bishop's Move.......£3,100
>>>

Good luck with whomever you chose - it's a worry until you see your stuff again at the other end!

Thanks for that! Do you know if that is for a full container or by weight or how do they price it? For the amount of stuff we are actually taking it is hard for me to justify £3500 - £4500 :scared: . Obviously if that is what it is then we need to go with it but just curious. Thanks!

Usually cubic capacity. I'd suggest alternative quotes as that seems high.
We paid over $3k for 532 cubic feet inc the insurance fee, to Vancouver then by road to Kelowna BC.

Rich.

Oh no, don't worry, that was for about 700-800 sq ft. You asked if anyone had used Gerrard in Glasgow, and we didn't, I was just giving our prices to show you why we didn't They're old anyway, I think we had them all round to quote in March 05, anything could have happened to their rates since then.

Like I said, impressed with their brochures and follow-up phonecall, but not with their prices

Just out of interest Biiiiink, who did you end up using and how did you find their service? Did you go for the cheapest?

Yes, Bishop's Move. Can't complain, packing was efficient (if scary to watch for a control freak like me!), free storage for 6wks in UK whilst we bought a house. Very short sea time when we called for the stuff, excellent service from local company who delivered and unpacked. A few breakages/damaged items - a lot less than we were anticipating. Claim was slow to be dealt with but once it was passed on to local Canadian handling agency, repairs were done within days...very pleased.

These things are all a bit dodgy to recommend though - your local Bishop's Move office might be rubbish/have higher prices/etc etc. I would just recommend calling for as many estimates as you can get - you can see how wide the range of ours was.

Good luck to all

We are in the process of moving over on the 20th January..(yes we are aware of how cold it will be ...*lol*)...........with the price of shipping against the purchase price of replacement goods and with the electrical goods useless, we are taking about 7 cubic metres.......this will cost us £1230.00 thats with us packing and the boxes / materials supplied.....didn't think that was too bad.......it takes 6 weeks and thats a company called "Dolphin"............

How early do most people get their quotes? I am moving in August and am not sure when I should be looking.
thanks
Karen

preperation.........if you contact companies and talk wiith them about what your taking they seem to have a good idea about size and bulk, then when you get a figure, go round a few websites and see which one gives you the best price...some let you pack its cheaper, some provide boxes which are included in quote, you'll soon get the hang of it

Hi,

I know of a company based in Helensborough, Movers International Plc.
www.moversinternationalplc.co.uk. tel: 01436 671832



Regards

We used Bishops Move too - friendly, very fast and efficient (helped us out of a hole when other movers let us down getting timely quotes) will hopefully be getting our stuff some time over the next week or two, so watch this space ...

Very happy with PSS. The container left us on 19th November. Got a phone call from the Canadian side today. It's now on the train to Calgary, due Friday. I can clear it with custons on Monday and they will deliver on 19th December. 1 month door to door sounds pretty good.