Yorkieabroad

We were moving from Singapore, so price comparisons not really going to be relevant, but we paid about USD10k including insurance for a 40' container, packing and loading from 50th floor, and delivery and unpacking here. We didn't get any customs charges/import duty. We were paying ourselves. so we shopped around about 5 of the larger moving companies. Pickfords weren't quite the cheapest (in fact they started the most expensive till we negotiated them down) but they were very close, and they gave us the best 'feel'

Yorkieabroad

Ps - know what you mean about the rubbish - so far we have found half a bottle of fairy liquid, a dozen empty babyfood jars, and an empty shoe box - all lovingly wrapped in the moving co's wrapping paper and shipped halfway round the world.....

Cathy

I used a company called Simpsons based in Kent SE UK. They were very helpful and very fast. I had my stuff packed and shipped and it arrived in just 4 wks they said it could take 8 but for some reason it arrived a lot quicker than that.

website for you is http://www.simpsons-uk.com/or_intro.html not to expensive and insurance is offered to you but not forced on you. They send you a nice quote in a welcome pack with all the paperwork to be filled in. Telephone support is good during filling out forms and they pack from your house into your new house.

I recommend them 100% by far the most stressless move I have ever done in my life.

Regards

Cathy

Jo Brayne

I'd like to revive this topic. Anyone else had any memorable experiences with a moving company? Any one in particular? Did your move go smooth or was it problematic?

AlbaTivo

We moved to the United States in 2000 and used a company called Constantine based in Airdrie, Scotland. They were very friendly and courteous and were always at the end of the telephone to answer our questions.

We also got an estimate from Allied Pickfords, whose salesman was very pushy, which was almost twice the price Constantine quoted and charged us.

Three employees packed our house in a day and the shipping took 12 weeks - they had told us it would be 8-12 weeks. When the shipment arrived the price included unpacking also, but we asked them to only unpack the furniture so that we could unpack and re-arrange at our leisure, one room at a time.

Maggs

Hello

I used Allied Pickfords from Coventry to Chicago using the Birmingham office. I had three UK removals quotes and they were the cheapest at 898 pounds including marine insurance. It wasn't a full house content move but 13 boxes and some small items of furniture.

They came and packed everything on June 23rd 03 and it was delivered to my US address on August 4th 003. It took six weeks exactly which is what they said it would take. Nothing was broken which I was very pleased with because the majority was expensive wedgwood, antique china, family pictures, wedding presents and an antique chair.

They kept me informed about everything and phoned several times to let me know what was happening. The only cock up was on the day of delivery, the driver phoned me to say he had broken down and would be late but he would definitely be here. He turned up 3 hours late with a tow truck. Whilst he was unloading my things the tow truck was charging the battery of the removals truck!! I have to say I was very pleased with the service.

Hope this helps.

Maggie

Jo Brayne

Brittania (Appleyards) have just been, and they have said they'll have our quote in the post today or tomorrow. I dont know what they'll quote but insurance is 3% of the assigned value if we want it.

Anyone used them? When I enquired before, they were the only ones that sent me anything (their color brochure).

They've said its cheaper to send our things thru Philly even though we're moving to Texas.

ladyofthelake

We used a company called PSS International Removals
They deal only with international moves, so all their employees are very experienced with international moves. The quote (which arrived 2 days after the assessment) we had was the cheapest of all, but we chose them because we felt the most comfortable entrusting them with all our possessions. The packers were very good, prompt and efficient, nothing was broken when it arrived, and unpacking was included in the price. The container arrived in Miami 3 weeks after it left our house, so we were very pleased with the speed and ease that it all went through.

DaveC

We used Crown Relocations from Aberdeen to Texas and I would definitely recommend them. Part of the attraction was that they had a local office in Dallas. Our stuff arrived in the US about two weeks before the ETA, the service was great and we were kept fully informed all the way through.

We paid around GBP4500 (contents of a two bedroom flat) which wasn't the cheapest quote we got. We asked for a split delivery, so they dropped off the essentials and are storing the bulk of our stuff until we buy our own place.

Jo Brayne

well we got our quote from Brittania-Appleyards today, more than a week after they came to survey. Their base quote is £3,068 which is right around where I was expecting it to be. And it doesnt include a £200+VAT cancellation waiver and £25 +IPT + VAT (yep) premesis insurance and 3% charge for credit OR debit cards! Talk about scandalous, debit card transactions only cost them 50 pence!! That's for 306 cubic feet "groupage" consignment. For our own small container, they quoted us about another 8 percet. I also expect that trying to trim down wont help the cost much either. They all said that if it ended up being less volume than quoted they'd adjust it but I'll wait to see that! I suspect they'll all be like this with their own quirks. I'll keep you posted on the other 2 as they come in.

Yorkieabroad

I always thought it was illegal (or at least against their agreemeents with the CC companies) for merchants to levy a surcharge for payment with a credit card? Or is that another of those urban myths that goes around....?

Vicky88

Actually Allied Pickfords charged us the surcharge for using our credit card as well.

Yorkieabroad

They (Allied P) tried to charge us, but we argued and they backed down. That was in Singapore, and the market was extremely competitive at the time, so it may be that they decided forego the surcharge to get the business, rather than because of any 'rulebreaking'.

Yorkieabroad

Just had a quick look at www.visa.com. In their Ask Visa section:

Quote

Can merchants set a minimum purchase or charge me a fee for accepting my Visa card?
Visa merchants are not permitted to establish minimum transaction amounts, even on sale items. They also are not permitted to charge you a fee when you want to use your Visa card.

If you run into a problem like this with a merchant, please notify the financial institution that issued you your Visa card. These institutions have access to the appropriate Visa rules and regulations and can help you document and file your complaint. You'll find their address and/or telephone number on your Visa statement. Their telephone number may also appear on the back of the card itself.

Unquote

Jo Brayne

All of those who have sent us quotes are demanding payment up to 2 weeks in advance of packing. Did everyone else have to fall for this? Do they really expect everyone to have 3 grand in the bank (in our case) prior to selling their house or moving out of rented accomodation?? I always thought you signed an agreement to pay on the understanding that your funds from your house sale (where appropriate) would be used to pay for it?? Im stuck then!


BTW thsoe rules on that visa web site might just apply to US merchants.