Moving Company Recommendations

[marisp 0]

Hi,

Looking for recommendations on moving companies from Canada to the US...I have read a lot of reviews here on how good U-Pack is, but because I have multiple pick up points and no help loading at this end, I don't think its going to be an option.

Any experiences with more "full-service" door-to-door companies would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

We used Atlas Van Lines and found them very good. We did have one problem with the guy they sent to do the estimate - he wrote down the wrong pickup date but fortunately, as they send a confirmation of details, I picked up on the error and got it sorted out in plenty of time. The movers were great, they came when they said they would (a friend of mine let them in since I had already left and crossed the border), picked up everything, marked it and listed it, and delivered it exactly on the scheduled date. I had them pack my good Royal Doulton china left to me by my Mom as it was very fragile and very precious and I didn't want any of it broken but packed everything else myself. Everything arrived in perfect condition - nothing was broken. In fact, they even brought a bag I had left for my friend to put out as garbage which I guess she missed, hehehe. The actual price was somewhat higher than the estimate but I am pretty sure it was because the guy who came to do the estimate (and who got the pick up date wrong) under-estimated the weight of the boxes of books I had packed. Overall, I was pleased with the service and would have no problem recommending them. They were professional, efficient, knew what they were doing with the cross-border move, and even had a package of information that they gave me to help me understand what needed to be done.

[OBX 51]

I used Atlas as well, moving from the Niagara Region to New Jersey. The local office was excellent; well versed in cross-border moves. They were very familiar with all of the required forms and I had absolutely no problems with the paperwork. They were extremely accommodating with the scheduling even when I had to change my pick-up date to coordinate with my husband's move here.

The actual movers were fine. I was a bit worried when they showed up as they looked like a Mom & Pop operation, including the two dogs travelling in the trailer! However, everything was packed carefully, professionally and quickly. They did not waste any time and not a thing was scratched or damaged on arrival.

The only issue I had was that my shipment did not arrive until two weeks after the move. Delivery was originally scheduled for the weekend following my pick-up day (a Tuesday) but they had a cancellation from another customer and decided to wait a week so they would have a full truck coming to the US. Understandable and it didn't cause me any problems because we had to unpack my husband's stuff anyway. If it was the only furniture I had it would have been a different story!

Overall, I was please with their service and they were less expensive than other firms I looked at.

Good luck.

[marisp 0]

I'll call Atlas, and check with United as well. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I'm open to hearing more, as we still have a little time!

[Adichiwa 0]

I'm moving my stuff down in 6 weeks and spoke to Abbywood Moving & Storage which is the local company for United here in Toronto. I'm just waiting for a quote from them but feel very comfortable with their professionalism and representation. The estimator came to my place and gave me a really good feeling about their services. They're coming to pack my fragile things and will also ship my car.

Good luck.

[marisp 0]

I am leaning towards renting a Truck one way and doing it myself. I spoke with Campbell Bros (another one of the local affiliates in Toronto for United) and got a quote back of over $3600 for a 2 bedroom apartment, plus a bunch of other tentative charges. It's kind of a shady business in my opinion, in that no one company seems to deal with the move from start to finish. I have heard from a few people about how there are weight discrepancies that can really alter an originally quoted price. A Toronto company would drive the load to a depot, where a local US company picks it up and delivers it and flips you the bill. Beyond that, they couldn't guarantee any delivery date, and ballparked it between 5 and 8 business days. Penske was $450 or so for a 26' truck, plus gas and my labor. Hmm...

Edited April 28, 2010 by marisp

[Kathryn41 3,205]

If you are renting a truck make sure the vehicle is allowed to cross the border and does not have to be returned to the country of rental origin. We had originally looked at renting as well and Penske did not do one way rentals. When we found a company that did, the nearest depot for pick up was 50 miles away - the local depots for the same supplier did not allow their trucks out of the country.

$3600 for a 2 bedroom apartment doesn't sound out of line. It is on par with what I paid for the same including a heck of a lot of books and tubs filled with arts and craft supplies. The charges are determined by the weight and volume of the load x the distance, with extras charged if there are stairs to be manouevered at pick up or delivery, plus insurance costs, and a few others. The explanations for the additional costs were all reasonable and the only difference in the quote and the actual was that the actual weight was heavier than the quoted weight.

We figured saving ourselves the hassle of trying to drive a rental truck, 6 cats, and ourselves over a two day trip with all of the possible problems we could encounter along the way was worth the cost of the moving company - and we were right.

Edited April 29, 2010 by Kathryn41

[marisp 0]

I had an employee that was thinking outside the box, and told me there were no one way drop offs from Canada, but right away suggested that I could pick it up in Tonawanda, NY and he would give me an extra day free for my trouble, and had a drop off location about 20 miles from my new home in rural Indiana. I don't have a ton of stuff (or cats for that matter), so $3600++ DOES seem a little crazy. If I could potentially save $3000 just by driving a truck and inviting some friends over to help me load and unload, I could easily afford to pay them back for their efforts with Surf & Turf afterwards! I guess to each his own...works for some, not for others.

[Flames9_RN 358]

I believe Uhaul is the only 1 that does cross border driving. I ued U-hauld back in 2004 on my move and all went well! You might want to check what the price from canada to Indiana is with U-haul, it doesnt hurt to get an estimate and can do it online at their website!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I had an employee that was thinking outside the box, and told me there were no one way drop offs from Canada, but right away suggested that I could pick it up in Tonawanda, NY and he would give me an extra day free for my trouble, and had a drop off location about 20 miles from my new home in rural Indiana. I don't have a ton of stuff (or cats for that matter), so $3600++ DOES seem a little crazy. If I could potentially save $3000 just by driving a truck and inviting some friends over to help me load and unload, I could easily afford to pay them back for their efforts with Surf & Turf afterwards! I guess to each his own...works for some, not for others.

If that would work for you then go for it - as long as they know the truck will be making a trip into Canada and back so the insurance covers cross border trips. We did something similar to bring me and the cats down. Joe flew into Detroit, rented an SUV at the airport, drove into Canada, picked up me and the cats and the stuff I needed to declare or until the moving van arrived, then drove back across the border to Georgia and returned the SUV at a local office.

Or, as Flames suggest, you can check out UHaul. I understand that they do use their newer and better conditioned vehicles for Cross-border and long distance hauls. They were the ones I referred to where the rental depot in Chatham didn't allow its vehicles to go cross border but the one in Windsor did.

[marisp 0]

Thanks guys