Have you narrowed it down on your move yet. I was in Creston this week and other than there is no Costco or Homesense wow that is a pretty place. Weather is awesome orchards and farm land everywhere and lots of heritage style houses. You are very close to the border so going to Spokane is just a short days drive. Hope you decide on the exact right place for you.
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We did. We packed all our own things and everything arrived safe 'n sound in about one week, if I recall correctly. :)
Oh I'm glad to hear you had a good move with them since they are one of the contenders.
DBD, we used AMJ to move from Kingston to Burnaby and we were very happy with their service. :)
Oh the insurance thing is a real bear. I ran into the cents/pound thing before as well as the 'they don't insure fridges or freezers'. So far the AMJ Campbell folks tell me you just have to get the extra insurance and then it's covered because their normal stuff is pretty useless.
She also told me that even if you pack the box, if you can show the box was wrecked a bit, they cover the contents, they don't if the box is still in good condition. So she said to take pictures, mark the box as it is brought in, and note it on the sign off sheet when the mover is finished so they can't say you did it later or whatever. That seems sensible to me.
TR is coming for a quote but can't come until next week. I may be out of town by then so this may have to wait until I am back.I can't put road trip off much longer as the weather is just too good to push my luck any longer and so far the movers are saying long distance moves aren't a problem to book for the end of the month (like they are during the summer) so fingers crossed.
I have used Tippet Richardson and was very pleased with them. My brother also used them and put his stuff in storage for a couple of months while he looked for another place. There was some damage, but they were very good at repairing and replacing things.
The last time I moved, I called them for a quote, but theirs was so much higher than the two others I got. I ended up going with the one in the middle, Campbell Brothers, a United Van Lines affiliate. They did an equally good and efficient job.
If I remember properly the insurance issue is huge basically you have none. Our insurance company wouldn't cover any damage done by the third party ie Movers and the moving company only paid a few cents onthe dollar and it was by weight. It had nothing to do with the value of the item it was based on how much the item weighed. We had dquotes from several different companies and they all said the same thing. I asked them about my leather sofa tha was less than a year old and I paid $5000 for it they said I would get about $150 for it is it could not be repaired. First they would try to repair the tear in it and if they couldn't they would give us money. That is why we decided to go with the mover that gave us a flat rate as the others we at least 3 times the cost of his quote and they didn't offer any insurance against lose or damage. Be sure to read the fine print I think you will find that you get nothing for anything. We contacted our house insurance when we found out about the movers and they also said that we had none while it was inthe care of a third party. We had better insurance when we rented a Uhaul because then our houe insurance covered it as long as one of the 2 of us were driving the truck.
Take pictures. Take them now, of everything in the house, and take them when you pack the boxes, and take them when the furniture is being loaded. If you have an issue, the pictures will cover you - and if you, heaven forbid, need to deal with insurance, the pictures will be your savior.
We have used TR for moves four times now - no make that five and we always pack as much as we can. We also save the boxes just in case, and the packing paper ......
It is a function of weight and distance with the only other variable being the number of people they use to load and unload. Insurance - they carry some, but your household policy also covers you so you really don't need to buy a lot from them, We did around $10,000 IIRC. Will go back and check that out.
Sell what you can and remember they will take nothing flammable, or liquids so make sure you give away or consume all your refreshments before. Save some though and take in the car - you might need them later.
Yes there will be some things that get banged around and a few nicks here and there - and they will fix them. They have always made good on any problems we have had, ;)
PaintbrushP, I have seen that site. It seems to list movers who have signed on with the site. The ones it keeps pumping up for me are small companies which makes me nervous given the number of complaints (which are limited thanks to no good opinion sites for movers unfortunately) I've seen. Even the BBB (which is about the only source I can find for ratings) seems to rank smaller companies lower than the biggies (although I sometimes think that some of that is because they aren't typically members of BBB).
Oh, I should have taken a better look at it before referring it to you. It's always best to go with the more established companies, I think. I'm sure everything will work out great, DBD. Moving is one of those big stressors but once it is all done and you can put your feet up in your new home, it is all worth it. :)
Thanks I have requested a quote from Tippet-Richardson so we'll see how they come out.
PaintbrushP, I have seen that site. It seems to list movers who have signed on with the site. The ones it keeps pumping up for me are small companies which makes me nervous given the number of complaints (which are limited thanks to no good opinion sites for movers unfortunately) I've seen. Even the BBB (which is about the only source I can find for ratings) seems to rank smaller companies lower than the biggies (although I sometimes think that some of that is because they aren't typically members of BBB).
DBD, I'll have to ask my husband if he remembers the moving company we used. We did the packing -- which forfeited the insurance I believe -- but all our things arrived in Burnaby safely and in a timely manner.
Have you seen this website: [url]http://canadian-movers.ca/index.asp[/url]
You might have a better idea of costs for your move.
:)
Yes, I thought I had purged pretty much everything before selling when I had the house cleared, but now I am wishing I had done more. Now it's getting really picky on things like my bed and wondering do I move a 10 year old bed or not. I have to get more details as I was told there is a point where the price is pretty much stuck (mileage, surcharges, min weight, etc.) and then the rest is on top at a reduced rate. Sort of like printing (which I understand), you pay say $1000 for the first 500 and then if you add another 2000 it only adds $250 to the cost so it just makes sense to print the extra at the same time.
Does anyone have any info/experience with the major van lines they might impart? I was told to stick to the major's given it's a long distance move that may require some storage. What kills me is you can find sites for rating just about anything except Canadian movers. I found 1 whole US forum that dedicates at least some space to it, but most of the comments are about local type movers.
My husband had accepted a job in Burnaby, BC at the time we were living in Kingston, ON. We, too, were completely shocked at moving costs and we didn't have any appliances or large furniture pieces! We did what you are doing now...comparing the cost of moving something to the value of the item. And we purged like never before! Good luck!:)
Creston is where I plan my first night (going to come through the Crowsnest pass route) so I can't wait to see it. I hope I can find a mover like you did. I hate dealing with movers as I've had more bad than good moves so I have trouble deciding who to trust/use.
Open to suggestions on that count, that is for sure.
Check out Creston's weather much warmer all winter than anywhere else around here. I know the cost of the move to the Island is high because of the ferry cost I think it added about $500 to our move and we shared the truck with the people that bought our house so we only paid half the ferry. I also got rid of many things just because they weren't that important to me and I wasn't paying to move something I could care less about. They charge you by the pound so anything you can purge is well worth it. We were able to get a guy from Golden that gave us a flat rate he had a smaller truck and it was X # of $$ for that distance it didn't matter how much stuff you had he didn't weight it.
Nope. Haven't even figured out when the road trip starts as I am waiting (and waiting) for CAA to do a triptic for me. I sort of had in my mind it would be next week (and especially since the weather is so nice still) but if they don't start producing something I may have to adapt again.
This week has been spent getting moving estimates and then trying to breath again after. Like no way I am paying $100 to pack my $40 dish set and I don't even like my Mikasa set any more so why pay for that either? Shocking what a long distance move can cost and just the jump to the island from Vancouver is quite a difference in cost. That may end up having some weight when I decide where the final choice is.
Meanwhile you are the second person (and that's just this week) who has mentioned Creston to me. Maybe there is some mojo going on for it and me which is why it keeps coming up.