Burke Bros International Movers : A Review

This is a continuation from my previous post where I talked about how we ended up choosing Burke Bros as our international movers when we emigrated from the UK to Canada.

I expected to get slightly different prices quoted to me but I was very surprised at just how much the prices varied. Not only that but some of the moving companies, despite being shown exactly the same items that we wanted to take with us, and being told exactly what was and wasn’t going, ended up with huge differences in the volume that they estimated would be in the container. When I say huge I’m talking over 50%! One company reckoned that there was no way that we would get everything in a 20ft container and we would need a 40ft container instead.

Most companies estimated that our possessions would fit in a 20ft container with about 50-100 cubic feet to spare. And one removal company estimated that we would use only about half of a 20ft container and quoted us for a shared container as well. A shared container (or groupage as some to the removal companies call it) is where you don’t have enough stuff to justify a 20ft container on your own. What they do is wait until they have a few customers and enough volume to fill a container and then they group various customers boxes together and send it in the one container. It can work out a lot cheaper for the customer, and I suspect it works out a lot more profitable for the removal company.

It definitely is a good move to get as many quotes as you can. I ignored the quotes that were at the 2 extremes for volume and figured that if the bulk of the quotes were coming in at roughly the same volume then that was probably right. I also crossed off the list the company that quoted a ridiculously high price, and, not suprisingly the company that quoted the lowest volume came in with by far the lowest price.

That quote was interesting, because when I got it in the post the first thing I noticed was that the list of items we were taking was both incredibly short and ambigous. There was a stipulation in the contract that anything not on the list that we ended up taking would be charged extra. I rang the guy up at the removal company and asked him why he had missed so many things off his list. I was pretty surpised at his reaction as he flew off the handle straight away! I’d been polite in how I’d asked and he immediately adopted an aggressive manner and claimed that he put down exactly what I had told him. I knew that was a lie as I’d gone round the house with about 10 different removal companies and had told each of them the same thing, and by the time I saw him I had the routine off pat.

Besides, some of the things that were missing from the list were such major items that there was no way I was going to ‘forget’ to tell him. It struck me that this was possibly his companies way of securing customers. Come in at an absurdly low price, deliberately miss things off the list, and then on the day of the removal suddenly find all these ‘extras’ to pack that you can charge the customer for. By that time it is too late for the customer to do anything about it other than pay whatever amount the removal company demands. How many customers actually read the small print of the contract or even bother to read what they are sent?

So how did I end up with Burke Bros?

Well, Ben Hingley, the guy from Burke Bros who came round and provided me with the quote was excellent. He told me all about how Burke Bros would expertly pack our possessions and how they would treat everything with care. He also explained a little about how Burke Bros were members of BAR and FIDI so were a reputable company. I have to say that he really left me with a feeling of confidence in Burke Bros, that they really would look after our possessions and make sure they were wrapped and packed properly and got to our destination safely.

Without a shadow of a doubt Ben Hingley from Burke Bros was miles ahead of any of the other reps that came round to see us. In fact, some of the people that turned up were absolutely shockers and it really left me wondering if they had ever had ANY training or if the removal companies involved ever checked up on how these guys represented the removal companies services to the public.

So that’s why we ended up choosing Burke Bros. The price they quoted us was middle of the range, but the confidence I had in the company following Ben Hingley’s visit was huge.

I don’t in any way blame Ben, he only told me what Burke Bros were supposed to do. If they had only done what they were supposed to then I wouldn’t be writing this now. My daughter would still have all her clothes, I wouldn’t be missing a fortune in PC equipment, and items that we treasured might not have ended up damaged due to Burke Bros negligence.

So, you’re probably wondering, given the state that our possessions ended up in (those that reached us anyway), how on earth did we end up choosing Burke Bros as our removal company?

Well, It came down to two factors for me. Price, and confidence in the company to do a good job.

We made a list of about 10 or so different removal companies that offered international shipping. Some of them we had come across at the Emigrate show that we had attended in Coventry. Others I had found by looking in the Yellow Pages, from the Internet, or from recommendations.  Ironically, Burke Bros were a company that I heard of by word of mouth. I had been told that the police use them, so they must be reliable, and besides, all the people they use to pack have been vetted.

I’d also heard some horror stories about other moving companies where the customers had witnessed the removal men stealing money from the childrens piggy bank, and various tales of breakages etc. So, before they even turned up Burke Bros were ahead for me, although I was quite happy to give every removal comany an equal chance. And as I already mentioned, it really was going to be down to price and a gut feel for how trustworthy and reliable they were.

When we started out getting quotes we knew that we were going to take pretty much everything with us. Well, when I say everything, I mean everything that would fit into a 20 foot shipping container. We knew that the contents we had were probably just a little too much for a 20 foot shipping container so were going to have to throw a few things out. Given that we had boxes in the loft that hadn’t been unpacked from when we moved into the house over 16 years ago that probably wasn’t going to be too much of an issue.

We started by going around each room and identifying what we defintely wanted to keep, what would be nice to keep, and what we could get rid of. We went through everything a couple of times and then looked at each others things. It’s amazing how your wife can find so many non-essentials that you never knew you had.

Here’s a tip for anyone that is moving to Canada or the USA (or any country where the voltage is different from where you are moving from)…

If the item is a relatively low cost but high voltage item then just bin it and buy it again in the country you are emigrating to. The sort of thing I am talking about is kettles, hairdryers, etc. In the UK they cost £10-£30 typically but are high voltage items (ie. over 750 watts). Hairdryers and kettles are normally around the 1500-2000+ watts mark.  I’ll cover solutions for how to take lower wattage items and use them overseas easily in another post.

So, back to how we decided on what to take!

We weeded out the high voltage, low cost items, and we also decided that none of the white goods in the kitchen (dishwasher, fridge, freezers, tumble dryers, microwave etc.) would be coming with us. Partly due to the voltage issues (Canada is 110v and the UK is 240v) and partly down to the fact that just about every house in Canada comes with these pretty much as standard, whether you are renting or buying.

On that basis we managed to get what we were taking down to just under the amount for a 20 foot shipping container. And in my next post I’ll continue with how with how we got various removal companies our moving quote, how they differed MASSIVELY in price, and what to watch out for when they do quote you. You will be surprised!

Just over a year ago my wife and I decided we wanted to move to Canada. We were sick of the UK and we wanted to emigrate. One of the most expensive parts of moving overseas is the cost of international shipping and removals.

The company we finally chose was Burke Bros., based in Wolverhampton, UK, and this site is all about how it went badly wrong and ended up with lost boxes, personal possessions lost and damaged, and thousands of dollars worth of uninsured damage, including irreplaceable and treasured personal items.

We are still battling to get this sorted out. If you are looking for a moving company, or planning on using an overseas removal company then you NEED to read this site and learn from my experience. It could save you a LOT of heartache and save you a fortune in the process.

The story is still ongoing, so bookmark this site now or subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up to date with the latest developments.

After opening numerous boxes where there was a sicking amount of damage to the personal possessions that we had entrusted Burke Bros with I decided that on the next box I was going to video it as we opened it and unpacked the contents. I’m glad I did, because the video below gives you a pretty good idea of what could happen to YOUR personal possessions at the hands of a removal company that simply doesn’t care less about your treasured possessions.

I’ve got to apologise in advance for the quality of the video. It was simply a spur of the moment thing as we unpacked one of the cardboard removal boxes. The lighting is very poor in places, but I think the video gets across the message pretty well…

Now the question is, do you want a moving company doing that to YOUR personal possessions?

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