Moving company rec's- California to British Columbia

[simistar 2]

Hi helpful people of visa journey! 

 

I haven't been on here here for awhile, as we have been living in California with all our residency / citizenship stuff sorted. Except now, we are moving back ( husbands work)...?

 

Anyone have recommendations for a moving company they used for a cross border move ? You know... where the company didn't try to rip you off and were professional ?;)

 

My husbands company is paying the lions share , but we need to find the movers ...

recommendations appreciated

[13roots 35]

 

On 20/03/2017 at 9:57 PM, simistar said:

Hi helpful people of visa journey! 

 

I haven't been on here here for awhile, as we have been living in California with all our residency / citizenship stuff sorted. Except now, we are moving back ( husbands work)...?

 

Anyone have recommendations for a moving company they used for a cross border move ? You know... where the company didn't try to rip you off and were professional ?;)

 

My husbands company is paying the lions share , but we need to find the movers ...

recommendations appreciated

 

In doing the research for our own cross border move from Toronto to Austin a year and a half ago, we quickly found that there was a huge difference in pricing between different companies. We also learned that there were really only two companies licensed to transport unaccompanied goods into the US (Atlas and one other one I can't remember), so almost any company we got a quote from would eventually relay those goods to Atlas (or the other company). This made it easy to base our decision not on transportation part, which would be largely the same (i.e. same insurance coverage, same delivery time frame, same "transportation quality" etc), but on the before and after service (how easy are they to deal with, how much paperwork and hassle do they handle, how quickly can they schedule pickup of goods, do they provide boxes, do they provide packing service, etc) versus cost. 

 

We got about 4 quotes over a two week period and went with the company that was the most responsive and had the best customer service. The quotes are by weight and distance, so each rep came by the house and did their estimate based on the number of rooms, how many books, number of heavy equipment like gym machines, etc. but the final bill is based on the actual weight because the trucks are weighed. We used Kings Transfer - they're based out of Montreal but we dealt with their Toronto branch, which is not much help to you as you'll be needing a company based in California , but for anyone else in that region I highly recommend them. It was the most pleasant moving experience ever.

 

So best advice I can give is to call a lot of places and get lots of quotes, and stick to the ones that actually do cross-border moves, because even if their reputation is good they may be still be overpriced if their expertise is in local moves, and they may be unfamiliar with the paperwork involved and prove to be more of a headache in the end.

 

Best of luck!

 

Edited April 1, 2017 by 13roots

[simistar 2]

On March 31, 2017 at 9:32 PM, 13roots said:

 

 

In doing the research for our own cross border move from Toronto to Austin a year and a half ago, we quickly found that there was a huge difference in pricing between different companies. We also learned that there were really only two companies licensed to transport unaccompanied goods into the US (Atlas and one other one I can't remember), so almost any company we got a quote from would eventually relay those goods to Atlas (or the other company). This made it easy to base our decision not on transportation part, which would be largely the same (i.e. same insurance coverage, same delivery time frame, same "transportation quality" etc), but on the before and after service (how easy are they to deal with, how much paperwork and hassle do they handle, how quickly can they schedule pickup of goods, do they provide boxes, do they provide packing service, etc) versus cost. 

 

We got about 4 quotes over a two week period and went with the company that was the most responsive and had the best customer service. The quotes are by weight and distance, so each rep came by the house and did their estimate based on the number of rooms, how many books, number of heavy equipment like gym machines, etc. but the final bill is based on the actual weight because the trucks are weighed. We used Kings Transfer - they're based out of Montreal but we dealt with their Toronto branch, which is not much help to you as you'll be needing a company based in California , but for anyone else in that region I highly recommend them. It was the most pleasant moving experience ever.

 

So best advice I can give is to call a lot of places and get lots of quotes, and stick to the ones that actually do cross-border moves, because even if their reputation is good they may be still be overpriced if their expertise is in local moves, and they may be unfamiliar with the paperwork involved and prove to be more of a headache in the end.

 

Best of luck!

 

THANK YOU!!!
This is helpful even if we can't use the same company:-)
That's interesting about how only two can bring stuff across the border... I wonder if that's the same going back INTO Canada... Hmmm...
Thank you so much for your helpful response:-)

[13roots 35]

1 minute ago, simistar said:

THANK YOU!!!
This is helpful even if we can't use the same company:-)
That's interesting about how only two can bring stuff across the border... I wonder if that's the same going back INTO Canada... Hmmm...
Thank you so much for your helpful response:-)

I'm glad this was helpful! Some more data that could help -

 

I think with the two companies, it's not so much that no one else is licensed (or could get licensed), but that it was that it is so cost prohibitive to go through all the certifications between US CBP and the moving industry certifications, and still be competitive with quotes vs the big companies that can more easily absorb the licensing costs. I'm not sure if the same barriers exist going into Canada. I tried to research it, but it wasn't clear.

 

If you accompany the goods (e.g. meet the moving truck at the border), it generally broadens the options to almost any company and could be cheaper (but may also be higher if it's a smaller mover). You'll definitely get your stuff faster since it's a direct door-to-door service . Our stuff disappeared for almost 3 weeks when we shipped it as unaccompanied, because we shared the container with 3-4 other shippers. The goods were loaded and dropped off in the order of the US destination.

 

About 15 years ago my family moved from Boston to Toronto, and we used a local mover... there wasn't any special about them except they took care of tagging and filling out the paperwork for customs. The two guys doing the move basically showed up that morning with their passports for the border crossing. It was very expensive because we were basically paying for a round trip (truck would be empty coming back) and didn't know better so we didn't have multiple quotes, but we got all our stuff packed and delivered to the new house the same day, so the convenience factor was priceless.

 

If your husband's company is covering some of the costs, I'd honestly go with the one that is most convenient while maximizing the reimbursement. My husband's company had a max reimbursement amount, but also caps for different categories. E.g. they did not cover cost to ship our car, so we knew for sure one of us would have to make the drive (low reimbursement), so we could spend more on the moving company. They also had a limit of one round trip flight per family member, so we took cheap one way flights and used our flight points to take extra luggage for free or low $ with stuff we could use for the 3 weeks before our stuff arrived. 

 

Moving is not fun, but at least you can get some of the cost reimbursed!

[simistar 2]

3 hours ago, 13roots said:

I'm glad this was helpful! Some more data that could help -

 

I think with the two companies, it's not so much that no one else is licensed (or could get licensed), but that it was that it is so cost prohibitive to go through all the certifications between US CBP and the moving industry certifications, and still be competitive with quotes vs the big companies that can more easily absorb the licensing costs. I'm not sure if the same barriers exist going into Canada. I tried to research it, but it wasn't clear.

 

If you accompany the goods (e.g. meet the moving truck at the border), it generally broadens the options to almost any company and could be cheaper (but may also be higher if it's a smaller mover). You'll definitely get your stuff faster since it's a direct door-to-door service . Our stuff disappeared for almost 3 weeks when we shipped it as unaccompanied, because we shared the container with 3-4 other shippers. The goods were loaded and dropped off in the order of the US destination.

 

About 15 years ago my family moved from Boston to Toronto, and we used a local mover... there wasn't any special about them except they took care of tagging and filling out the paperwork for customs. The two guys doing the move basically showed up that morning with their passports for the border crossing. It was very expensive because we were basically paying for a round trip (truck would be empty coming back) and didn't know better so we didn't have multiple quotes, but we got all our stuff packed and delivered to the new house the same day, so the convenience factor was priceless.

 

If your husband's company is covering some of the costs, I'd honestly go with the one that is most convenient while maximizing the reimbursement. My husband's company had a max reimbursement amount, but also caps for different categories. E.g. they did not cover cost to ship our car, so we knew for sure one of us would have to make the drive (low reimbursement), so we could spend more on the moving company. They also had a limit of one round trip flight per family member, so we took cheap one way flights and used our flight points to take extra luggage for free or low $ with stuff we could use for the 3 weeks before our stuff arrived. 

 

Moving is not fun, but at least you can get some of the cost reimbursed!

wow - thank you AGAIN!!
Yeah, we haven't figured out the cars yet - uuugh.
When we moved here, our cars weren't allowed into California (for super dumb reasons:-)) so we had to sell and buy cars here...
We're hoping our cars allowed into Canada! But we don't know for sure... we may truck/ship them to Seattle and drive them over the border ourselves...
Thanks for the tips on maximizing reimbursement :-) Sounds like you know what you're doing:-)

 

[HollywoodNorth 22]

I used Allied Van Lines.. truth is most of the major van lines can do this for you.

 

Allied, North American, Atlas, United,  Mayflower are the larger ones, and operate both in the US and Canada.

 

The help that they hire are drug tested and bonded, plus its a big target to go after if anything goes wrong. Most will do total price guarantees provided you don't change the shipment. The help is also trained to pack breakables, and how to pad property to prevent damage, lay down runners to prevent carpet wear, etc.

 

I've seen people get a guaranteed price on moving their house, then decide to hit up Costco and load up on 2-3 thousand pounds worth of stuff, that changes the weight/cubic footage of the shipment and throws the bid out.

 

Depending on the budget, you can have them do everything, the customs paperwork and clearance, have them pack/disassemble everything then put everything back together and unpack and take away all the left over packing material once complete, but that is the premium service.

 

What you can do is pack some items yourself [non breakables] and have the van lines pack the expensive stuff for you. Keep in mind anything shipped packed by you is at owners risk for damage and is only covered by a bulk insurance value. If the van lines pack the items/boxes for you they are responsible for condition.

 

Also to note, mechanical condition of items [cars/electronics/etc] have special rules. Some things aren't covered at all, most major movers won't guarantee arrival of particle board furniture.. eg. Ikea furniture unless its completely disassembled and in its original boxes.

 

Other things to note is the company, the major van lines cost more, but some of the smaller independent movers are hit or miss in regards to help.

 

Cheaper movers often means your items are shuttled around more. For example if you have a large enough move, what will happen is that the van lines will send you one  of their top 10 or top 20 drivers [in the country]. So your stuff will get loaded by a master mover on a $300,000 big rig. He/she will load your items, do the paperwork and will meet you at the destination and unload. Your items move once onto the truck then off.

 

If scheduling is an issue, then there may be a shuttle. Local van lines picks up your item, it is crated and stored into a warehouse, then transferred to a big truck for long distance, then delivered. If there is a schedule issue with delivery then the big truck drops everything off at the local agents warehouse, then it gets transferred to a local mover truck for delivery. This is actually routine. The inventory sheets get updated with each transfer logging exemptions if anything is missing or damaged its a big deal and will be covered by the agent. With the big movers everything is under one company, with one set of procedures and everything is at government approved, climate controlled warehouses with security.

 

Smaller companies have the above situation except they are handing off to different moving companies.

 

Ideally you want the least internal transfers as possible, but that's really only possible if you are paying big money to move valuables.

 

Make sure you know in advance if there is any shuttles or additional charges. The big vanlines should know this in advance.

 

For example a move from Santa Monica, CA to Vancouver, BC has extra overhead because a big 80 foot semi truck isn't going to get to either city. Both cities often require special permits for movers and small trucks to sit in the street, combined with the cost of two small extra trucks and extra labor needed to transfer stuff along any move between those two cities will often incur a 1000-2000$ overhead charge right off the start.

 

There's also a surcharge if you are moving to a really remote area away from major cities since the moving company has to cover the deadhead miles [running empty back] and paying labor for transportation.

 

I have family in the international relocation business, so all of this is pretty familiar.

 

I've seen horror stories with cheapo websites and amateurs screwing things up [eg. u-ship, ever watch the transportation wars show on tv? Imagine those clowns moving your items].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2017 by HollywoodNorth

[HollywoodNorth 22]

 

As for specific references, I've used personally:

 

LA area:

 

http://www.circlemoving.com/

http://beverlyhillstransfer.com/

 

If you got crazy budget you can use the movers the movie stars use [actually they should be somewhat affordable, I believe they are a Atlas or United agent]:

http://www.renesvanandstorage.com/

 

Bay area:

 

http://www.nor-calmoving.com/

 

East Coast USA to West Coast or back:

 

http://www.bayshoreallied.com/

 

Canada side of things:

 

http://www.amjcampbell.com/

 

United/Mayflower are good also. Just read the fine print and go over everything with the agent rep so there's no surprises. Keep in mind what owners risk means if you want a big discount.

 

Keep in mind that all the major vanlines are pretty much owned by 2 big multinational companies

 

 

Edited April 7, 2017 by HollywoodNorth

[simistar 2]

On April 7, 2017 at 1:39 PM, HollywoodNorth said:

 

As for specific references, I've used personally:

 

LA area:

 

http://www.circlemoving.com/

http://beverlyhillstransfer.com/

 

If you got crazy budget you can use the movers the movie stars use [actually they should be somewhat affordable, I believe they are a Atlas or United agent]:

http://www.renesvanandstorage.com/

 

Bay area:

 

http://www.nor-calmoving.com/

 

East Coast USA to West Coast or back:

 

http://www.bayshoreallied.com/

 

Canada side of things:

 

http://www.amjcampbell.com/

 

United/Mayflower are good also. Just read the fine print and go over everything with the agent rep so there's no surprises. Keep in mind what owners risk means if you want a big discount.

 

Keep in mind that all the major vanlines are pretty much owned by 2 big multinational companies

 

 

thank you thank you thank you!!

This is ALL very helpful information.

Quick question, since you seem to know what you're talking about:-)
Can I pack the majority of items and just leave the big stuff, like dining table, couches , dressers, etc to them? And also maybe glasses and plates etc that are breakable...? Or is it an all or nothing thing...i.e. they either pack ALL of it, or none of it?

On our move down here to Cali from Canada, I think it was Allied who moved us. My husband's company paid for them to come and pack and move us. They were TERRIBLE. They put stuff into storage that I told them like five times was not meant for storage and also broke a number of things. I'd like to pack the majority of things myself, since I'm more organized than most movers and I like to know where things are:-)
But I also know if I pack it, I'm responsible for it. So breakable things and the TV and big things like couches etc I'd like them to take care of...

Thanks for your help!