best shipping company to use - UK to US

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

yeah, I saw your post, thanks, but you mentioned you took no furniture - I'll be taking some

quite a bit, actually

If you're shipping a lot of bulky items like furniture, you should look in to shipping containers. I know that someone on VJ used a container service, and I believe there are companies that will let you use 1/2 a container. If you have much larger things it's probably more economical.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=96828

[Jeraly 4]

excess baggage got back to me with a quote of £615 - we have 10 medium sized boxes, one armchair, decided to leave behind the kitchen chairs, one table with removable legs and a mirror... i have a guy from Doree Bonner coming to look at the stuff we're taking and give me an estimate in about 10 mins! will report back. kinda cool that they will come out free of charge, no obligation to give you a quote.

Fantastic!! You can be our price-watcher

Nice to know they come out to give quotes though

[Lansbury 19]

Nice to know they come out to give quotes though

If you find a company that just wants to price over the phone be very careful. They are relying on you giving them accurate details of the volume of the goods to be shipped. If that is wrong then you could well find yourself being charged more. All reputable removal companies will come out and give a free quote.

[zoobuffalo 0]

yep, good point. am still waiting on the quote. one thing i discussed with the guy that came out was about not having a social security number yet - you can't ship without one apparently. so i said well, it can all be done in my husband's name and he thought they might think all my women's clothes would be a bit odd to be shipped in a man's name! was suprised that this might be an issue! surely you can ship whatever you want as long as it's not illegal!! anyway, also they need my visa details to ship and i was thinking that this would delay us shipping until we got the visa, but then again if we do it in my husband's name, surely it can just go off straight away... anyway it all sounds a bit overly complicated! anyone else come up against any of these issues?

[Lansbury 19]

yep, good point. am still waiting on the quote. one thing i discussed with the guy that came out was about not having a social security number yet - you can't ship without one apparently. so i said well, it can all be done in my husband's name and he thought they might think all my women's clothes would be a bit odd to be shipped in a man's name! was suprised that this might be an issue! surely you can ship whatever you want as long as it's not illegal!! anyway, also they need my visa details to ship and i was thinking that this would delay us shipping until we got the visa, but then again if we do it in my husband's name, surely it can just go off straight away... anyway it all sounds a bit overly complicated! anyone else come up against any of these issues?

Everything was shipped in my name can't say there was a problem. Don't even remember Pickfords mention a SSN, however the shipping agent this end did ask me for it just before the ship docked. Not a problem as I had it by then.

Assuming you ship just as you leave and not weeks before you would normally be here some time before the shipment arrives and as the SSN comes about 3 weeks after you arrive, there shouldn't be a problem. The requirement has something to do with proving you are coming to reside in the USA and hence your stuff gets in free of duty. Our container left the Friday afternoon and we flew out to the States on the Sunday.

No reason at all why things cannot be shipped in your husbands name as a returning resident is allowed to import the family property duty free.

[zoobuffalo 0]

ok that's interesting, thanks lansbury! think it might just be simplest to get it all done in my husband's name to be on the safe side. the guy who said it might be a problem was going on about having to take a SS number from me now and then there being problems if it didn't match up after going through customs! i said ok, so what do most people do who are in my situation and need to ship stuff... he said... they don't. huh. anyway, got the quote back from these guys, doree bonner, huge glossy brochure - they did not email me the quote as well as they said they would, they did not get back to me regarding any of these SS issues that they said they would look into. anyway the quote was £615 as well, same as excess baggage - though i see DB's quote does not include VAT, wheras the excess baggage quote doesn't even mention VAT. oh this is getting annoying. i have just asked for a quote from upackweship so guess will see how that one comes out. good thing about doree bonner is they gave me all of the necessary forms that we have to fill in so i have them now. oh well, will keep you guys updated!

[zoobuffalo 0]

breaking news - upakweship will do it for £550, best price so far. am having a thorough read through of their terms on their site - they've only quoted on what i told them we're taking, so could be the situation that they turn up and go tsk tsk tsk no this will cost a lot more

[Jeraly 4]

Thanks for all the updates - it is really useful to read If you have any websites/contact numbers that would be awesome as well I am hoping mione doesn't cost that much to ship though or I will cry - we have so little money - I am just excited we are going to get a free sofa so I will have somewhere to sleep - Jeremy is going to have the floor until we can afford a bed

[StillThePrettiest 3]

when I was looking into my options I asked some of the companies about shipping in Dave's name - they said he had to have been here in the UK within six months of the shipping date; no real reason given as to why

can anyone shed any light on that? it may not even be true, but it's what I was told

I think the SSN thing is probably about taxes - I was also told that if I shipped early, in my name, and then wasn't yet present in the US to receive the goods, the shipment would be counted as an 'import' - ie for business purposes - and not a private domestic thing... again, not making great claims about the veracity of that; just putting it out there for consideration

[Jeraly 4]

Sounds complicated...

[BexandAlan 0]

Hi Guys

I asked excess baggage about this and they said they would need a photocopy of my K1 to attach to my shipment otherwise it will be liable for taxes. I wouldn't have though this would have helped as K1 isn't an imigrant visa but they are the experts so should know what they are talking about.

Most of the stuff I want to take will fit in suitcases. Its around £70 for an extra bag on BA so I have told my friends that if they come out to the wedding I will give them £70 towards their tickets if they let me have one of their 2 bags to fill with my shoes, clothes, books etc. Obviously they will look a bit mental if their suitcases are just full of novels but i think if its thought about then it shouldn't be a problem. It works in everyones best interests and I'm hoping it might make it easier for them to justify spending what little money they have on coming to see me (woe is a students life.)

Will be keeping and eye on this thread though, thanks for the tips everyone. Best Wishes

Bex

[zoobuffalo 0]

jeraly - will post links and phone numbers when i get an opinion on who's best. was going crazy on google earlier and now the emails and calls are rolling in John Mason International just called and is getting back to me soon with a quote, he said they didn't even need my visa details.. hmmmmm ok it goes on... bizzare.

[zoobuffalo 0]

wow i am doing 1/2 hourly updates

just got a quote from www.moveme.co.uk - most expensive yet, came in at £742.50 and that's not even door to door!!! wayyyy more than even doree bonner with all their extras and professional service claims! so, yeah not recommending that one!

[zoobuffalo 0]

John Mason International have just come in at £560 (plus insurance). seems good, but i do wonder a bit when the email is literally one line long with the price and no further info - no what to do next, no info about their insurance services, etc. have emailed them back requesting a brochure...

[zoobuffalo 0]

someone tell me if this is too much information

ok, feeling more impressed with john mason than upakweship - asked them both for a brochure and info, john mason replied back saying they'll send it today, upakweship just said that all the info's on their website. their website seems pretty unintelligable to me! bit of a mess. i couldn't find any of the info. i guess they're not too interested in sending you stuff unless they've definitley got your business. anyway they might be £10 cheaper than john mason, but they're putting me off with their brief and unhelpful emails.