Joana's moving experience from the UK to Portugal

Moving to Portugal from the UK – Joana’s Interview

We understand that choosing a moving company is a tough decision. Tell us – how did you succeed in finding the matching company out of thousands for your request?

I was relocating to another country and it was very convenient to hire a company to deal with my boxes so I could take fragile items with me on the plane. I would like to share my successful experience of relocation from London, United Kindgdom to Fafe, Portugal.

I don’t have furniture so I didn’t need anything fancy, and I was also time constrained. The moving company, Sherpr, was quite good sticking to the schedule and overall it went smoothly. The only hiccup was on the day the boxes arrived at the destination, the driver said they had no address so they rang me to ask where they should go. I assumed it had been a lapse on Sherpr’s part so I sent them an email informing, but obviously I can’t be sure what went wrong.

I needed a budget-friendly option as I wasn’t ready to spend a lot of money. I read some reviews, mostly good, but some mentioned items going missing, so I added insurance which was quite cheap and had good coverage. After emailing a few companies, I was happy with how professional Sherpr sounded and thought communication was quite good. I also searched them on different independent websites and forums and it felt legit and trustworthy. However, I must say I didn’t have any valuables in my boxes, so I wasn’t extremely anxious about one of them getting lost. I made sure I took everything that was important and valuable out just in case something went wrong.

Now to the fun part! Describe the moving day of your relocation – did everything go according to plan?

Sherpr gave me a time frame from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., so I was ready with the all boxes organised at 9. Unfortunately, I had to wait until after 4 p.m. to get the boxes collected, which was a long time.
It was a bit annoying not having a smaller time frame, as I could have done other things during that time, but there is a more expensive option of service where people can choose the time if they wish – I just chose not to pay for that.
The collection was quite smooth, the driver was friendly and professional so it all went very quickly.

What are  a couple of  tips that you think could help others make their moving day more organized?

I would say buy insurance – I tend to save money on insurance for things like small trips and stuff, but I’m glad I didn’t take the chance this time. Although I didn’t have anything too valuable (money and sentiment wise) in my boxes, they are still my things and there is a reason I wanted to take them with me. The insurance is cheap and has a good coverage so it gives a bit of peace of mind. It doesn’t replace our things obviously, but it covers the cost at least.
Also, read all emails carefully, they’re not ill-intentioned, but at times they get things a bit confused and I almost paid too much for added boxes.

Do you have any comments on budget or costs?

I only had boxes and they were not heavy (except for one), but also I didn’t have super expensive items in them. Concerning the moving company, I would say good quality-price ratio and good communication. I would recommend.

Disclaimer: the views shared on this blog belong only to the client. Sirelo is an independent platform and the expat testimonials provided are intended for informational purposes.

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