Excess Baggage

Liars. Asked for a quote for door-​to-​door service, and they even asked whether I have a lift/​elevator on both ends (moving from London to San Francisco). After payment, they tell me, that actually means «curb-​to-​curb». When I raised this issue with my contact Zhe Li, he said they’ll waive the fee on London’s end, but I will have to pay out of pocket for the SF end. WHY ON EARTH WOULD I ONLY WANT MY BOXES TO BE DELIVERED TO MY FRONT DOOR AND NOT INSIDE MY FLAT?
Also, when I asked whether they offer student discounts, he said he’ll ask his manager and call me back the next day. Offered to waive the delivery fee of the free packaging materials. You know what? My friend also called them not mentioning she’s a student and they told her the free packaging materials come with free delivery.
Zhe Li, did you really think you could fool me? Wrote him telling him he messed with the wrong person. I attend a school in London where 90% is international community and we move every day around the globe and have a portal where we share recommendations. He never wrote back nor addressed my points.
Definitely NOT recommending Excess Baggage to our school and have posted about them on portal so each time someone looks up «international movers», they’ll see mine and other students’ negative experience with Excess Baggage.
Liars. ’nuff said.

I wouldn’t recommend them. They started off good, but once it came to the Japan end, it was a total mess. The local agent they selected doesn’t do home delivery (as I was led to believe they would), and can’t even help arrange it. I got loads of misinformation, which led to the stuff being in storage for a month (during which time I didn’t have my stuff, and I was unknowingly paying for storage). I wasted two days going back and forth between local agents, customs and various places. I never really understood what the local agent did that cost more than the shipping cost from the UK, but in the end I just handed over the money and cut my losses. It was a massive hassle. Excess baggage aren’t replying to my messages any more. If I was doing it again, I try to find a company which has a more robust end-​to-​end service.

Brilliant. Quick, reliable service, and friendly staff all around.
Moved from London to Denmark in «no rush”-tempo. Items were picked up 25 March (day after I contacted them), and delivered 7 April, or 2 – 3 days from when it was shipped from their warehouse.
Excellent communication throughout.
Cost was around £230 including VAT for 6 standard cardboard moving boxes totalling 135 kilos /​12 cubic feet.
Will use them again when possible.

This is a godsend of a service if you’ve ever had to face moving internationally (I have, twice). After providing you with an estimated quote for either sea or air shipping (you’ll go with the boat — air is only for if you’ve got the budget of a royal), they’ll also send you a handy little time line of every step you should be taking going forward on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis leading up to your move.
They’ll come pack up your belongings if you wish, but I just had them drop off boxes at my house a few days before my intended move. The nice thing is that, not only do they deliver empty boxes right to your door… they also have outlets that are open fairly late when you realize at the last minute (as you inevitably will) that everything you’ve accumulated over the past two years will *not* fit into four 35 kilo boxes. The last time I moved back to the States I sprinted into the Liverpool outlet, out –of-​breath, just before close at 11pm to beg for some more boxes… they joked with me about sliding in there at the last minute and my state of disarray, but in the nicest possible way… they obviously understand the high-​stakes pressure that moving can be, and further, the need for some comic relief.
Then, with your belongings all tucked away… you schedule a pick-​up, and the same guy that dropped off the empty boxes now shows up to take them away with your former life inside. Whew… this is a lot less work than doing it yourself, and definitely one of the cheapest possible ways of getting your things from one side of the pond to the other.