Which moving company did you use?

Hi all...just wondering who you used as your international moving company and what you thought of them.   Any info would be most appreciated....especially how long it took, cost ....etc.....

We used Rainier, who offered us a "slow boat" option. Our stuff went into three crates, and when enough other crates were leaving our area for the UK they were all bundled into on cargo container. They picked up our stuff around the third weekend in April and we had it by early July, which was what we wanted - we came over in early May not knowing where we'd be living and wanted the time to house-hunt.

The option we chose gave us no weight restrictions - which was good, as I had close to five dozen cases of hardback books and 400+ LP record albums. Basically, if it fit in the crate, regardless of overall weight, it went for the same price. They managed the move, contracting with a local mover to crate up everything on the sending end. They were good about the estimate beforehand (get at least three estimates - have them come actually look at your stuff, don't use a quote off the internet or phone). They arranged for Britannia movers here in the UK (a bit lackluster, but adequate) to uncrate our stuff at their warehouse and bring it on a truck up to us in Scotland and into our flat.  Throughout the trip we had the boat's name and could track it on a GPS map tracker that Rainier provided to us.

Pretty much everything went as it should and I can recommend them to you.

Thanks Nan....have already been in touch with them and got a quote....will most likely be who I use.  Am planning on using the same “slow boat” process as you since will need to find a house...something tells me storage facilities aren’t as available in scotland as in the US.  Just wondering what my other moving company options are .....also asked because someone asked a moving company question at the end of a unrelated thread so wanted to put one up specifically asking the question on its own thread.

Hope to one day meet some of you all by doing a meet up in Glasgow?, Edinburgh? Or Stirling.......   

Yeah, we should do a big meetup. Maybe at the Edinburgh Christmas Market in December (if it goes ahead after Brexit)!

Yeah, we should do a big meetup. Maybe at the Edinburgh Christmas Market in December (if it goes ahead after Brexit)!

I don’t arrive until February  .....ticket booked 

Thanks Nan....have already been in touch with them and got a quote....will most likely be who I use.  Am planning on using the same “slow boat” process as you since will need to find a house...something tells me storage facilities aren’t as available in scotland as in the US.  Just wondering what my other moving company options are .....also asked because someone asked a moving company question at the end of a unrelated thread so wanted to put one up specifically asking the question on its own thread.

Hope to one day meet some of you all by doing a meet up in Glasgow?, Edinburgh? Or Stirling.......   

They’ll hold your container (for a fee) until you are ready.

They’ll hold your container (for a fee) until you are ready.

Thanks for the info...I have 2 cousins who I’m hoping will help me out if I need storage.   One bought a huge shed for his motorcycle and another has a “outhouse “ so am hoping one of them can help.   Am trying to limit myself to 25 boxes.....thought I was bad having 5 small boxes of books weighing 250 pounds.....feel better hearing Nan had 5 dozen boxes of books.... .  Good to know I’m not the only one who won’t give up my books. 

No furniture, just books. And that was after I culled and donated 2/3rds of them to the library resale shop! 

I used Robinson’s Relocation to move from Los Angeles to Bristol. The US side was quick to respond to all my questions and they showed up on time on the day, packed everything efficiently and were out in no time. That’s where my happiness ends. They came on the 31st of March and my stuff still hasn’t arrived. The woman they assigned me will not answer me about an ETA and I’m just sitting here wearing the same clothes over and over and over again. So yeah, I would not recommend them at this time.

Good luck to you!!!! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

I used Robinson’s Relocation to move from Los Angeles to Bristol. The US side was quick to respond to all my questions and they showed up on time on the day, packed everything efficiently and were out in no time. That’s where my happiness ends. They came on the 31st of March and my stuff still hasn’t arrived. The woman they assigned me will not answer me about an ETA and I’m just sitting here wearing the same clothes over and over and over again. So yeah, I would not recommend them at this time.

Good luck to you!!!! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

Thanks for that info.  The two names that kept coming up were Rainier and Robinson’s  that were both recommended.  I’ve talked to rainier and they’ve been very helpful....I was looking up Robinson’s info a couple of weeks ago but now after what you’ve said,  I won’t bother trying to contact them and will stick with Rainier....

Hope your stuff shows up soon....

Deborah

I used Robinson’s Relocation to move from Los Angeles to Bristol. The US side was quick to respond to all my questions and they showed up on time on the day, packed everything efficiently and were out in no time. That’s where my happiness ends. They came on the 31st of March and my stuff still hasn’t arrived. The woman they assigned me will not answer me about an ETA and I’m just sitting here wearing the same clothes over and over and over again. So yeah, I would not recommend them at this time.

Good luck to you!!!! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

How incredibly frustrating!  Is she ignoring your emails or dodging the question? Could you inquire through their main contact number and ask for her superior? There should be no reason why they can't give you an estimate, they can track the ship's progress!

... They came on the 31st of March and my stuff still hasn’t arrived. The woman they assigned me will not answer me about an ETA...

You're going on six months since they collected your things!  Do they know where your shipment is?

Ask her what ship your things are on... I once tracked an item from China to the UK using marinetraffic.com.  It was just an item I'd ordered from a crowdfunding startup, but they'd really built up the excitement by telling us which ship our orders were on so we could follow their progress.  It only took a couple of weeks to get from China to the UK, and that was with stops to load and unload at other ports along the way.  It makes me wonder if your things have been misplaced... :/

After hounding them relentlessly, they finally told me my shipment arrived and cleared customs. I'm getting it on Wednesday!!

On Thursday, I will be lodging an official complaint. I just want to make sure all my stuff is safely in my possession before I do so. Six months...crazy...

After hounding them relentlessly, they finally told me my shipment arrived and cleared customs. I'm getting it on Wednesday!!

On Thursday, I will be lodging an official complaint. I just want to make sure all my stuff is safely in my possession before I do so. Six months...crazy...

So glad it finally showed up for you

Many thanks for making this thread as I had the exact same question and came seeking answers! My partner is moving over and has the same boxes of books and some hobby supplies, totalling about 195lbs! I'm getting quoted around $2k for the slow boat options from some companies. To me that sounds crazy expensive, but I know nothing about shipping. Does that sound about right or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks again for all the info - and sorry if I'm hijacking the thread!!