Editha

Edmonton Alberta to UK. Any recommendations/bad reviews?

I've just asked for a quote from Starline Overseas Moving. Anyone used them?

Golden-eye

How much are you planning on moving home.. Keep us updated with Quotes..

Get 3 Quotes.. Look at those that have affiliated offices in the UK.. When we emigrated that is what we did, can't remember who we used now as it was 24 years ago.. Allied are international movers...http://www.alliedvanlines.ca/interna...-services.aspx

perhaps go to google.co.uk and do a reverse search..

I think Pickfords in the UK is part of Allied.. or it used to be..

Editha

We don't have a lot of furniture. We've already downsized; when we sold our house in the spring we got rid of a lot of pieces of furniture, but we are taking a bed, dining table and chairs, our desks, filing cabinet, a small settee and a couple of armchairs. However, we have a huge library - about 5,000 books and they will take up most of the space in the container plus the bookcases, which are mostly collapsible.

I also have a lot of china. I have a weakness for china. I'm planning to sell some of it when I get back to the UK.

I'm expecting to need a 20 ft container, which is what we used when we came. Going back we have less furniture but more books.

We used Pickfords coming out, and had a bad experience with them, so we won't be using them.

Mummy in the foothills

we used Rainier overseas shipping, not sure if they in in your area. They were really good.

dunroving

Try Wheaton Worldwide and Rinkens.

lf1

Yes. I used them in 2012 from Calgary to Scotland. We had one minor hiccup (partly my fault), but it was resolved. Among other things I shipped artwork, some antique pieces of furniture and china. All arrived intact. I also used them a couple of years before that to ship family belongings to my cousin in Oz. Everything arrived safely. Good luck with your move.

MrMuffin

lf1: Which firm did you use? There have been several mentioned. Thanks.

lf1

Ooops. I was responding to the original post and forgot that other firms had been mentioned. I used Starline.

Editha

I've had two quotes so far.

GSSK who are based in Vancouver gave me a very low quote at $8,700, but they don't have anyone on the ground in Edmo, and although they say they will undercut any other offer, they don't appear to offer a packing service, or insurance. Not very impressed by their communication, and don't intend to use them.

From one extreme to the other. Starline's quote is for $16995 plus insurance, for a belt and braces service, packing, unpacking, and 'setting up'. That's more than I'd hoped to pay (I was thinking in terms of around $10,000 to $12,000). Plus we were intending to pack all of our books, and a lot of the other loose stuff, ourselves, and we definitely don't need an unpacking service. I've emailed them to see if they will amend their quote on that basis.

ritarro

I used youpakweship only about 6000 for 20ft and another 1000 for a 40ft. Cheaper because you pack it, so you need to arrange help. Would send your furniture and evreything else you can. Quality in the UK is expensive, just our bedroom suite made the cost of the container almost worth it. I wish I knew then what I know now about shipping. Good luck

kirstyp

We use Starline Overseas to provide destination services when we move people to Edmonton and they do a great job.

I think they are also the only FIDI FAIM certified movers in Edmonton too, which hopefully provides re-assurance that they are a reputable company to work with.

Editha

Just an update to say that I'm finding the process of getting quotes in Edmonton really frustrating.

I'm not at all happy about the fact that nobody wants to come and look for themselves, and instead want to rely on me estimating the size of the load. It's not easy for me to do.

When we left the UK, Pickfords, who had sent someone round, still underestimated the packing time and the size of the load.

So far I've got an estimate for a 40' container and another for a 20' container, from different firms which were given the same information from me.

I'm not keen on paying top dollar to Starline when they can't even be bothered to send someone round. I asked them to revise the estimate on the basis that we would pack all the small stuff, but they only took $1,000 off.

If I can't get someone to visit and talk through how they'd do the packing, then we are definitely doing all the boxes ourselves.

In '06 Pickfords sent two guys the day before the move, to pack all the boxes. They left chaotic piles of boxes everywhere, so it was difficult to move round the house, and failed to complete the job, so that the following day the container was not filled within the time allowed. We were leaving that day, so we had to leave the keys with the neighbour to let the Pickfords guys empty our garage the following day. It was a good thing we weren't completing on a sale.

I'm looking for a third quote now. It was supposed to be Allied but their head office rang me, told me a local agent would be in touch, but then I never heard from them again.

Editha

Amendment: Starline will send someone round. They didn't mention it in correspondence, but the service is mentioned on their website and they've agreed.

dunroving

In three moves US-UK-US-UK, Wheaton Worldwide was the only company who would send someone round, all the rest wanted to give a quote based on my estimated volume.

Editha

When we moved from Staffordshire to Canada in '06, all 3 firms that I got quotes from sent someone to do a visual survey and prepared the quote on that basis.