When we moved to the Netherlands we used a company to ship the motorcycle and the BMW (Marilijn) and it was a wonderful experience. Everything happened as they said it would and they met the contract obligations to the letter. Very professional company and experience for me.
Moving from the Netherlands to Calgary I went against my better judgement and used another company that others had recommended to me. It cost us about $2500 to ship the car and bike to the Netherlands in 2010 and these guys charged $2000 to ship the bike from the Netherlands to Calgary....or so the contract said. The contract clearly stated these guys were going to move my bike from their offices in Roosendale, Netherlands to Calgary and in addition it clearly states they will clear customs for us.
The first thing that happened is the bike arrived Montreal and we were contacted and told that is as far as they will move the bike because the ship can't go to Calgary so more money to move it by train...$266 to be exact and you can call it a ransom if you like. I guess they didn't realize that Calgary was not accessible via ship before...are you kidding me!!! After arriving in Calgary the bike was put in a warehouse and we are contacted again and told more money for handling fees...only $55 this time but you have to take it in the crate.....ummm, the crate is huge and would survive WWIII if it had to and what do I do with the crate.....we don't care but not our problem was the answer. Oh, and you need to clear customs before you can get it also...what!!!...are you kidding me!!!! What is going on here?!? Off to Canadian customs...easy job to do but still. I have to take it in the crate so off to truck rental places next and $259 later I have a truck for a day with a ramp so I get can get the bike off of the truck.
Finally I get the bike from these crooks and I'm heading home...yeah!!! I'm home and start breaking down the crate and what do I find but special headed screws that are 3 inches long and no shortage of them that built up the crate and do I have the tool....YES!..I finally find the tool in my bicycle tool box. Are you kidding me!!! You build me a crate to protect the bike and it will but what are the chances that other people will have these special tools? Unfortunately for me I only have it in screw driver form so it is big time effort to unscrew these things out of the 4x4 studs but I win and the crate is broken down and the bike comes out. My big bad boy starts right up and is so happy to be out of captivity like a dog when you come home. It just romps around in total bliss...this is why I keep this bike. Covered in saw dust but now safely in the garage.
The freight forwarder that did this....Marlog Car Handling. Will I ever use them again....absolutely not. The next time my motorcycle needs to be moved I'll rent a trailer and tow it to the US. Never again will others touch it and have it in captivity. It just isn't worth it but for an overseas move, what choice do you have? Make sure you pick wisely if you need to move a vehicle overseas, Marlog is not the wise choice.
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