Within their 25 years experience of moving people and possessions overseas, UK’s leading overseas removals company, Burke Bros Moving Group (www.burkebros.co.uk), explain how they are seeing a growing trend towards people making the same common mistakes when moving overseas.
As we all know, when it comes to moving house, the organisation of removals plays a large part in the whole process. So, when you add to the equation moving abroad, it always brings added pressure to ensure the move runs smoothly.
The common mistakes identified by Burke Bros’s team are a lack of early planning, not fully engaging the children, inadequate packing preparation, incorrect insurance coverage, and not fully understanding the true implications of the payment process.
Burke Bros’s Managing Director, Gary Burke, started by commenting on people’s lack of early planning. He said, “When moving overseas, people need to start planning earlier to help them make the right decisions on picking the most appropriate International moving company. Plus making sure both they and the movers are well organised. There are many important things to get right to prevent last-minute problems arising. People need to get quotations and information 3 to 4 months before they plan to move.”
He added, “They need to be very careful when obtaining remover’s details off the Internet as many advertisements and websites are not necessarily from bona fide movers. A slick and pretty website does not guarantee that the company in question has a high professional standing.” He said “Always look for companies that have their own vehicles and packers and check accreditations and past customer testimonials to make sure you are in safe hands”.
Chris Burke, Burke Bros’s Co-Director, talked about the fact that no matter how excited or sure people are about moving overseas, they will always have doubts in their mind as to whether they are doing the right thing. Chris stated that, “Many people are worried about how their children will react to moving overseas. Talk to them early on about the prospect of moving abroad. Involve them in the planning process, give them credit, and get them involved, taking their views, fears, and concerns into consideration.”
Gary continued, saying, “The next thing I’ve noticed is that people don’t prepare as well as they ought to regards packing their belongings safely and effectively. People may need tailor made crates for pianos, clocks, glass cabinets, as well as even preparing packaging and crates for motorbikes to be shipped. Burke Bros have overseas trained packers so it does pay to take advantage of these services and expertise. It’s not as easy as it looks!”
Chris Starkey, Burke Bros’s Head of International, said, “People need to make sure the moving company they are using is registered and authorised by the FSA (The Financial Services Authority) to offer marine insurance to them. Customers are not taking this into consideration.
