Experiences with Various International Moving Companies

I'm always wary of moving companies, because I have heard a million horror stories over the years.  Whether it was a case of jacking the price way over the estimate and then holding your things hostage till you pay the sudden increase in price to stories where everything you own gets wrecked and dirty while in transit.

Therefore I was wondering if any of you could share your experiences, both good and bad, with international movers on your relocation to Britain.

I have received a wide range of quotes, which in itself makes me suspicious, but I am curious about the reputations of a few of the movers who quoted me the lowest price.  I would greatly appreciate it if any of you could impart anything at all about your experiences with the following moving companies, both good or bad.  Thanks.

1.) Trans Global Moving
2.) Global Ocean Freight
3.) IntlMOVE Inc.
4.) Sea & Air International
5.) UPakWeShip
6.) Global Express

Com'on!  Somebody must have some advice about using international moving companies!  Maybe you don't want to comment on some of the specific movers I mentioned, but if you were burned before in your move overseas, how's about telling us about.  Likewise, if you had a great experience with your international shipment overseas, tell us that too.  Eitherway, can somebody at least add something to this thread!

I used UPakWeShip in January.  I shipped 24 boxes, from San Francisco directly to my door in Bristol, UK.  Cost was just over $800.  They were great, Ive not one complaint about them or their service.

Sorry...didn't use any of those companies you listed.  UNITED packed us up in the states and a different company (can't remember their name) unpacked us here.  Ours was a piece of cake and our things arrived better than some of our state-to-state moves. 

I'm sure there is someone else out there that can provide some good insight though...probably after the holidays though.  Best of luck with the move.

I didn't use any of the ones you mentioned either, and that's why I didn't respond. Sorry! I thought you were looking for info about those specific firms only. I used Rainier Overseas and had an excellent experience with them. This was over 3 years ago, so I can't vouch for them in 2007.

http://www.rainieros.com/

Best of luck!

Com'on!  Somebody must have some advice about using international moving companies! 

Eitherway, can somebody at least add something to this thread!

You sound a bit impatient.

I was looking for a fresh start, so i sold everything before i moved, apart from a rucksack full of clothes, and a couple of boxes of books & CDs, which i shipped surface mail through the US post office.

I used UPakWeShip.  I took all my boxes to a shipping company in my city.  They palleted them and put them on a boat to ship over.  They were told to come into one port near Manchester, but actually went into the port near London and then it was trucked up to Manchester. 

What I didn't realized is by using port to port service, there were charges to pay on this end.  If I would have used Port to Door, the charges would have been included.  There was no way to do the paperwork here without using an outside agent so we had to pay the outside agent extra to take care of the taxes, import duty, etc.  That was unexpected, but not overly expensive. I think £110.  We also had to rent a truck to go pick up the stuff so that was an added expense as well.  It probably would have been cheaper and easier to get the port to door service.

Other than me getting a learning experience on shipping rules and regulations, it was relatively pain free and easy.  One contract, one trip to the state side shipping company, payment of fees and then a trip to pick up the boxes.  Boxes were all in good condition and the pallet was not damaged in any way.

Hope that helps.

~BEG

     Just saw this email and thought I should comment.

     Unfortunately, I've used Global Ocean Freight for an international move - it was a very bad experience.

     My original quote was for $8,350.00 for a 40 foot high cube container delivered to the destination - door to door. After the container arrived at a customs clearing agent at the destination, Global Ocean Freight billed me in excess of $14,000.00. Of course, they would not release the container to the final destination until the bill was paid in full. Plus, for every extra day the container stays at the clearing agent while the invoice is contested, there's a hefty surcharge added to the amount owing.

     Basically, Global Ocean Freight plays an interesting game. Even though a container will hold 2695 cubic feet as stated in their advertising materials and their web site, they have a clause in their contract that states -->  "Please keep in mind that upon packing and loading, your goods will take up more space. Do not exceed the calculated volume of 2200 cubic feet for a 40- Foot H/C container, this will allow room for loading"

     Note that the requirement to ship no more than 2200 cubic feet per 40 foot H/C container is not a contractual obligation - the above quoted phrase is only providing advice for loading.

     So - even if all of your goods fit into the container, if Global Ocean Freight calculates the volume to be greater than the advised 2200 cubic feet, they charge an additional fee per cubic foot for overflow/excess volume. Also note that the calculation is performed by Global Ocean Freight and there is no recourse to dispute this calculation.

     In my case, that additional fee was several thousand dollars...

     I gave copies of the contract and invoice to several lawyers and the Federal Maritime Commission. Without exception, all were of the opinion that Global Ocean Freight's contract, calculation methodology and the additional fees added to the invoice would be successfully contested in a court of law.

     You may wish to contact the Federal Maritime Commission and several other US Government agencies to enquire about each specific moving company. They will tell you information like the number of complaints, number of resolved complaints, whether the company is licensed, insured, etc...   It's a worthwhile inquiry and will help to weed out the dishonest companies...     All of these agency's URLS are just a quick google away...

     Hope this helps...     Good luck...

We used North American Van Line for packing and shipping. No complaints about them. It took 6 weeks to ship things from Los Angeles to London.

Hope it helps. Good luck with your move.

I'd recommend checking out this site: newcomer link: http://www.movingscam.com/ [nonactive]

It gives a lot of tips on figuring out how you should get bids and which bids are being done right.  It also has a few recommended movers, but I don't believe they are any of the ones you listed.

I used Rainier this year to ship about 700 cf of stuff. It took almost two months longer than I was quoted for (delays at the port? boat on a slow route? dunno) but the charges were exactly what they said they'd be... they even charged me less than the original quote when I shipped less.

Door to door from Seattle to Oxford was $9.95/cf.

I used Rainier this year to ship about 700 cf of stuff. It took almost two months longer than I was quoted for (delays at the port? boat on a slow route? dunno)

Wow! I used them and my stuff arrived exactly to the day they'd estimated! I guess there must be stuff out of their control. Or maybe they're just not a consistently reliable firm?

We used Nippon Express (Nitsu).  Our stuff arrived two weeks earlier than expected, they packed, unpacked and assembled the furniture, and offered to come back to pick up the boxes.  UK staff speak Japanese, which was a plus for us.

They ship worldwide.

Not sure how much they charged... we didn't pay for it.  They also were the shipping agent for the cat, which was quite pricey.  (About 1000 USD to oversee the paperwork, basically.)