A move from the Isle of Benbecula to Luxemburg

Being required by your company to immediately relocate abroad is, understandably, a very stressful event. But just imagine how much more stress is involved when your destination is Luxemburg and your home is on the Isle of Benbecula. The Hebridean isle is one of the furthest tips of the UK, accessible only by a daily ferry. Having called other movers who declined the request the customers entrusted to Abels Moving Services, which has considerable expertise in international removals, the move turned into one of the most challenging jobs the company has ever undertaken.

Abels had to overcome many obstacles in order to complete this move over a route very rarely travelled – especially by large vehicles requiring a demanding and critical time scale. Due to the speed of the relocation, the customer preferred to provide a comprehensive list of possessions over the phone so that Abels could calculate the volume and estimate how long it would take to professionally pack and then load the removal vehicle. Timings had to be exact to ensure that the crew did not miss the one daily ferry that would take them back to the mainland.

The main challenge was the bad weather and poor road conditions on the outward leg of the move. Whilst in transit regular reports were being received that the roads on the final section of the journey north were closed and ferries were being cancelled! Because of the tight timetable, this was a fairly serious situation, despite the fact that the pantechnicon was carrying snow chains (regularly used on jobs in the Alps) and the crew were used to operating in very challenging conditions. The crew continued on route and were fortunate to gain a suitable crossing during a lull in adverse weather.

Neil Pertoldi, general manager international services, said: “The time deadlines due to the customer commencing a new job, only one ferry per day and terrible weather combined to make this a very challenging operation for Abels, however the customer needed to be moved and we could not let him down. Meticulous planning and the expertise of the crew ensured we arrived at the customer’s house and completed the packing in good time.

“ Remarkably once on the island the weather lifted and the crews packed in glorious sunshine, they returned with pictures of the packing location and had it not been for the weather reports we would not have believed they had needed snow chains to make their destination only days earlier! From the customers perspective the move went without hitch, all possessions being packed and delivered in one piece and within the time deadlines set. We look forward to his move back and hope he extends his contract to the summer!”

Abels was the first firm to be granted a Royal Warrant for Removal & Storage to H.M. the Queen. It operates from three centres in the UK – Brandon in Suffolk and Huntingdon and Ely in Cambridgeshire – providing national and international home and office removals, specialist relocation and packing services, and the home delivery of new furniture for both retailers and manufacturers.