We used Ellis to move our household from Vancouver...

We used Ellis to move our household from Vancouver to the UK, based partly on their excellent reviews and reputation.

Our belongings were treated with care, packed well, and arrived without a scratch, dent, or crack (including a piano, a lot of art, and two large mirrors).

Unfortunately, the administrative organisation left much to be desired.

We mentioned many times this was our first move overseas, and that we'd be relying on Ellis' international expertise to ensure everything was packed and processed correctly. We asked multiple times when packing was happening about the inventory, knowing we would have to provide some detail of our belongings. We were assured they were noting what they needed to.

None of our belongings were inventoried properly while packing - we had boxes labeled and inventoried with nothing more than "misc" or "closet" on the boxes and inventory sheet. This led to a 10-day delay on the UK side while we spent hours going back and forth with our customs broker as UK customs attempted to sort out what exactly we had brought. Even the unpackers (who regularly deal with international moving) were shocked that the shoddy inventory made it through customs at all.

We were also nonchalantly handed an insurance form and customs declaration *after* our entire household was packed (without a useable inventory to refer to) and we had to attempt to recall, from memory, the exact breakdown of our belongings so we could claim damages if there was loss or breakage, and to make an appropriate declaration upon landing.

There was also a 2-week delay on the Canadian side when it came to sending our belongings on their way. Despite having plenty of notice for when our shipment was to leave (Ellis had it in their warehouse for a month), they still cited problems getting a shipping company quote and getting the container on its way. They seemed unconcerned by all of this and brushed us off every time we tried to press for details on the delays.

While I'm pleased our things all arrived in good condition - a testament to the packing job by Ellis' team, I'm still feeling the sting from having to basically "camp indoors" for three weeks because of delays that seemed totally preventable with a bit of professionalism from Ellis' back-office operations.

So go ahead, use Ellis for your local move. But would recommend you look elsewhere if you are attempting an international relocation.