British Expats
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British Expats (https://britishexpats.com/forum/)
-   Moving back or to the UK (https://britishexpats.com/forum/moving-back-uk-61/)
-   -   Movers - USA to UK (https://britishexpats.com/forum/moving-back-uk-61/movers-usa-uk-800196/)

windsong Jun 15th 2013 1:20 pm
Movers - USA to UK
 
I understand that using a container to move things over means that you are charged by volume and not by weight. Is this correct?

Most of my things are very heavy (books, fabric and some other things), so I thought this might be a good approach.

If it is indeed by volume, would it make sense to put a piece of furniture (sewing cabinet - beautiful) into the container if wrapped properly, along with the rest of the things which will be boxed?

Has anyone used Crown to move things over?

I am not taking much and perhaps a 10 ft container is a bit too big. Not sure if they come smaller. Also, what is the height and width of a 10ft (long) container?

dunroving Jun 15th 2013 1:31 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by windsong (Post 10758276)
I understand that using a container to move things over means that you are charged by volume and not by weight. Is this correct?

Most of my things are very heavy (books, fabric and some other things), so I thought this might be a good approach.

If it is indeed by volume, would it make sense to put a piece of furniture (sewing cabinet - beautiful) into the container if wrapped properly, along with the rest of the things which will be boxed?

Has anyone used Crown to move things over?

I am not taking much and perhaps a 10 ft container is a bit too big. Not sure if they come smaller. Also, what is the height and width of a 10ft (long) container?
It sounds like what you need is a partial shipment (where your stuff is put in a container with other people's stuff - but they usually cling-wrap the separate shipments to avoid any mixing up).

You can ship pretty much anything, including furnture - it really depends on how attached you are to it and how much it is worth. Most used furniture is not worth shipping, it's cheaper to sell and re-buy at the other end.

I used Wheaton Worldwide. They were pretty good.

I'm pretty sure if you Googled shipment container dimensions, you'd get the answer to your other question.

Mummy in the foothills Jun 15th 2013 1:52 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Smallest container is 20foot we were told. We a using a lift van they are roughly 7 long x 7 high x 4.5 wide feet about 200sqft it's a big wooden container and it only has your stuff in it. They deliver the whole thing to your driveway or to you in somewhere like a self storage facility wherever you have arranged.

dunroving Jun 15th 2013 2:02 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by Mummy in the foothills (Post 10758324)
Smallest container is 20foot we were told. We a using a lift van they are roughly 7 long x 7 high x 4.5 wide feet about 200sqft it's a big wooden container and it only has your stuff in it. They deliver the whole thing to your driveway or to you in somewhere like a self storage facility wherever you have arranged.
Steel, surely?

windsong Jun 15th 2013 4:00 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by Mummy in the foothills (Post 10758324)
Smallest container is 20foot we were told. We a using a lift van they are roughly 7 long x 7 high x 4.5 wide feet about 200sqft it's a big wooden container and it only has your stuff in it. They deliver the whole thing to your driveway or to you in somewhere like a self storage facility wherever you have arranged.
What is the difference between a container and a lift van? Not quite sure what a lift van is.

Cardienscarf Jun 15th 2013 4:25 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by windsong (Post 10758478)
What is the difference between a container and a lift van? Not quite sure what a lift van is.
A lift van is more like a wooden crate and much smaller. They are about 87" H x 87" L x 45" wide. A container is more like 20 ft L x 8 ft H x 8 ft W.

I used Suddath International and, so far, have had excellent service. I paid for an 8-12 wk service which is cheaper than a faster delivery time which means they consolidate shipments. However, my goods are actually going to arrive in the UK 7 weeks from packing. I won't be ready to receive them so will have the UK company (Britannia) store them in their facility so that they are still covered under the insurance I paid for. If I have them delivered to my mother's garage :eek: I would have to unpack everything to inspect it and then repack it to move when I know where I'm going. My insurance will cover the shipment for 180 days from when it was packed while it is in the hands of Suddath or their appointed agent in the UK.

As I started looking for shippers, it was coming into their busy time of year and getting call backs, follow ups was quite stressful. In the end, I went with Suddath because their customer service was second to none. Plus, they have a good recommendation on movingscam.com. I highly recommend you look at movingscam.com before you select anyone!

Obviously, I don't know the condition my goods will arrive in. The packers were great so :fingerscrossed: that everything arrives in one piece, or at least the pieces they're supposed to be in!

dunroving Jun 15th 2013 4:29 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by Cardienscarf (Post 10758514)
A lift van is more like a wooden crate and much smaller. They are about 87" H x 87" L x 45" wide. A container is more like 20 ft L x 8 ft H x 8 ft W.

I used Suddath International and, so far, have had excellent service. I paid for an 8-12 wk service which is cheaper than a faster delivery time which means they consolidate shipments. However, my goods are actually going to arrive in the UK 7 weeks from packing. I won't be ready to receive them so will have the UK company (Britannia) store them in their facility so that they are still covered under the insurance I paid for. If I have them delivered to my mother's garage :eek: I would have to unpack everything to inspect it and then repack it to move when I know where I'm going. My insurance will cover the shipment for 180 days from when it was packed while it is in the hands of Suddath or their appointed agent in the UK.

As I started looking for shippers, it was coming into their busy time of year and getting call backs, follow ups was quite stressful. In the end, I went with Suddath because their customer service was second to none. Plus, they have a good recommendation on movingscam.com. I highly recommend you look at movingscam.com before you select anyone!
Britannia? When they deliver/unload, make sure you are there with the list, ticking off the boxes as they carry them past. When I used them, I helped them unload because I'm not the sort of person who can just stand by and watch other people do all the work. At the end they asked me to sign to say everything was there - how was I to know? Turned out later that there were three items missing (I had a partial shipment, so my stuff wasn't locked in the container door-to-door like it was in 2006 when I had a container of my own), but I couldn't do anything because I had signed for everything.

Cardienscarf Jun 15th 2013 4:30 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by dunroving (Post 10758520)
Britannia? When they deliver/unload, make sure you are there with the list, ticking off the boxes as they carry them past. When I used them, I helped them unload because I'm not the sort of person who can just stand by and watch other people do all the work. At the end they asked me to sign to say everything was there - how was I to know? Turned out later that there were three items missing (I had a partial shipment, so my stuff wasn't locked in the container door-to-door like it was in 2006 when I had a container of my own), but I couldn't do anything because I had signed for everything.
Thank you - good advice!

rebeccajo Jun 15th 2013 4:35 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by Cardienscarf (Post 10758514)
A lift van is more like a wooden crate and much smaller. They are about 87" H x 87" L x 45" wide. A container is more like 20 ft L x 8 ft H x 8 ft W.

I used Suddath International and, so far, have had excellent service. I paid for an 8-12 wk service which is cheaper than a faster delivery time which means they consolidate shipments. However, my goods are actually going to arrive in the UK 7 weeks from packing. I won't be ready to receive them so will have the UK company (Britannia) store them in their facility so that they are still covered under the insurance I paid for. If I have them delivered to my mother's garage :eek: I would have to unpack everything to inspect it and then repack it to move when I know where I'm going. My insurance will cover the shipment for 180 days from when it was packed while it is in the hands of Suddath or their appointed agent in the UK.

As I started looking for shippers, it was coming into their busy time of year and getting call backs, follow ups was quite stressful. In the end, I went with Suddath because their customer service was second to none. Plus, they have a good recommendation on movingscam.com. I highly recommend you look at movingscam.com before you select anyone!

Obviously, I don't know the condition my goods will arrive in. The packers were great so :fingerscrossed: that everything arrives in one piece, or at least the pieces they're supposed to be in!
About 4 years ago, I requested a quote from a moving company. I told the guy on the phone that I was only fishing at the time - just wishing to get an idea on the general cost. I am pretty sure it was Suddath. Like I said, it was only an initial fishing expedition, but those few emails and phone calls were professional and non-pushy.

Cardienscarf Jun 15th 2013 4:38 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by rebeccajo (Post 10758525)
About 4 years ago, I requested a quote from a moving company. I told the guy on the phone that I was only fishing at the time - just wishing to get an idea on the general cost. I am pretty sure it was Suddath. Like I said, it was only an initial fishing expedition, but those few emails and phone calls were professional and non-pushy.
My experience with them as certainly been professional and non-pushy. In the end, I had 3 quotes and they won because of their excellent follow up and customer service.

dunroving Jun 15th 2013 4:45 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by Cardienscarf (Post 10758528)
My experience with them as certainly been professional and non-pushy. In the end, I had 3 quotes and they won because of their excellent follow up and customer service.
I think it often comes down to individuals, and a lot of the global companies simply sub-contract to local companies at one or both ends.

Britannia were at the UK end when I used Wheaton - at the US (outgoing) end, the Wheaton packers were marvelous.

Mummy in the foothills Jun 15th 2013 6:54 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by dunroving (Post 10758336)
Steel, surely?
Nope wooden, and they put it in a steel container, it's sized so a set number will fit in a 40 foot container, then they take them out and deliver to all over once they arrive.

dunroving Jun 15th 2013 7:33 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by Mummy in the foothills (Post 10758646)
Nope wooden, and they put it in a steel container, it's sized so a set number will fit in a 40 foot container, then they take them out and deliver to all over once they arrive.
Ah, OK, I was reading from the start of the sentence where you were describing the smallest container (20 ft) ... I was mistakebly thinking you were saying the containers were wooden ... I was thinking, "Not since the Mayflower". :rofl:

Mummy in the foothills Jun 15th 2013 10:31 pm
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by dunroving (Post 10758665)
Ah, OK, I was reading from the start of the sentence where you were describing the smallest container (20 ft) ... I was mistakebly thinking you were saying the containers were wooden ... I was thinking, "Not since the Mayflower". :rofl:
:rofl: How old do you think I am!!

Chandler Jun 20th 2013 1:28 am
Re: Movers - USA to UK
 
Originally Posted by Cardienscarf (Post 10758514)
A lift van is more like a wooden crate and much smaller. They are about 87" H x 87" L x 45" wide. A container is more like 20 ft L x 8 ft H x 8 ft W.

I used Suddath International and, so far, have had excellent service. I paid for an 8-12 wk service which is cheaper than a faster delivery time which means they consolidate shipments. However, my goods are actually going to arrive in the UK 7 weeks from packing. I won't be ready to receive them so will have the UK company (Britannia) store them in their facility so that they are still covered under the insurance I paid for. If I have them delivered to my mother's garage :eek: I would have to unpack everything to inspect it and then repack it to move when I know where I'm going. My insurance will cover the shipment for 180 days from when it was packed while it is in the hands of Suddath or their appointed agent in the UK.

As I started looking for shippers, it was coming into their busy time of year and getting call backs, follow ups was quite stressful. In the end, I went with Suddath because their customer service was second to none. Plus, they have a good recommendation on movingscam.com. I highly recommend you look at movingscam.com before you select anyone!

Obviously, I don't know the condition my goods will arrive in. The packers were great so :fingerscrossed: that everything arrives in one piece, or at least the pieces they're supposed to be in!
Did you use their insurance or did you shop around?


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