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Looking for cross-province movers

  • Last Updated:
  • Oct 30th, 2020 6:35 am
Jr. Member
Mar 7, 2011
132 posts
9 upvotes
Winnipeg

Looking for cross-province movers

Hello,
I am moving from Winnipeg, MB to Ottawa area, ON, for mid - end of October / November.
Looking for recommendations on movers. I've heard horror stories of stuff being held ransom. I also have some instruments, so I need to trust these ppl not to break them!

I'd like to find a company that does multi-moves, aka more than just your stuff in their truck.
I have comparably not much stuff, a studio apartment, and very little/lightweight furniture. Mostly books, bike, clothes, kitchen stuff, and other 'stuff'.

Does anyone know of companies that particularly do 'multi-family' moves? Is there a word for that?
Also, those shipping container things, they are not an option.

Thanks!
6 replies
Deal Guru
Jul 7, 2017
10212 posts
5525 upvotes
SW corner of the cou…
You either pay a lot for the big franchised movers (e.g., Atlas, Allied, United) or take a risk with lower tier operators, or DIY (e.g., U-Haul).
I smile when I see container ships sailing past my house laden with stuff made in China
Deal Addict
May 30, 2010
2136 posts
1965 upvotes
thriftshopper wrote: You either pay a lot for the big franchised movers (e.g., Atlas, Allied, United) or take a risk with lower tier operators, or DIY (e.g., U-Haul).
This. Call the big guys' main numbers and have them refer you. Don't go directly to one of their agents, even if all they do is the big guy's moves. This way, you are the big guy's customer regardless of which agent does the move.
Deal Addict
Jan 22, 2017
1784 posts
774 upvotes
my0gr81 wrote: This. Call the big guys' main numbers and have them refer you. Don't go directly to one of their agents, even if all they do is the big guy's moves. This way, you are the big guy's customer regardless of which agent does the move.
what do you mean have them refer you?
are we there yet?
Deal Addict
Oct 24, 2010
2982 posts
3186 upvotes
Ottawa
Remember to get at least 3 quotes. I'd actually aim for 5.

For Saskatoon to Calgary, I used Ray's Moving in Saskatoon (affiliated with United). I also used them to move a large piece of heirloom furniture from my parent's home in Saskatoon to Calgary a few years later.
When we moved from Calgary to Ottawa, we used Premiere Van Lines in Calgary (affiliated with Atlas).

If you go with a big van line, keep in mind that the big van lines are represented by local franchise owners, but the move itself (load, unload, transport) is all handled by the truck driver.

The only variable that you can really control is the franchise you go with. You'll never know if you're going to get a good truck driver. The important thing is to find a franchise company that estimates accurately, coordinates well with the truck driver and the national van line, and stands up for you on things like insurance claims (every single move I've made has had some).

Note that when using a national van line, you don't really need to stick with a company in your city. It makes it difficult to get accurate in-person quotes, but a United Van Lines agent in Halifax can book a move for someone in Vancouver, since the load, unload, and transport is all handled by the driver and not the agent anyway. When we moved Calgary to Ottawa, I almost decided to go with Ray's in Saskatoon just because I had a good experience with them in my move from Saskatoon to Calgary. I shied away because United's tonnage was a bit higher than Atlas's, and I obviously wasn't able to get an in-person quote from Ray's.

No huge issues with either. We had insurance claims with both, and all claims were settled promptly and to our satisfaction. The driver for Atlas was a bit poor on the communication front. We only found out the night before that he would be at our door in Ottawa the next morning.
Deal Addict
May 30, 2010
2136 posts
1965 upvotes
techjedi wrote: what do you mean have them refer you?
As an example, call AMJ Campbell main number, and have them provide you a quote, using their local franchisee as a carriage for transport, rather than calling the franchisee directly.
Jr. Member
Mar 1, 2017
107 posts
69 upvotes
Contact a guy I have used and a bunch of friends for cross province and into the US.
His name is Guy Furoy from AMJ.
gfuroy@amjtoronto.com
Don’t trust a small guy for cross province. Just watch Marketplace to see the horror stories.

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