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9 Funny Relocation Stories

Tuesday, 25 January 2011

Relocating to a different country can be quite an undertaking. Stress, frustration, piles of paperwork,  administrations that do not cooperate. And everything in a language that you possibly don't speak. Confusion at its best. That's why we called our international relocation services into life. We are here to coordinate your physical move into the country and to take care of all administrative tasks.

Read on for my personal selection of 9 funny relocation stories and jokes,.

1) A short story by H.B.M. 'I moved from London to Stockholm together with my 4 year old daughter. I used to have a pretty large leather couch. At a given point of time I wanted to push the couch through the kitchen and into the garage.  It has the same width as another couch I just moved, so I figured, why not…With my daughter watching I pushed the larger couch into the kitchen.

Before I knew it I was stuck in the walkway. Aiming to get it into a movable position again, I forced it into a vertical position. Tilting it over only to get it more stuck, I all of the sudden heard a ‘click-click-woosh’ sound. My daughter laughingly said, look daddy, fire! I somehow had hit the flame and almost lit my furniture. I managed to avoid that, but I stopped trying to move heavy furniture throughout the house for ever.'

We take care of your move.

2) By a moving company, that was unfamiliar with the content of a shipment. 'We were asked to ship a pre-packed aquarium. Nothing unusual, I thought. It did feel a bit heavier than normal, but nothing to be alarmed. Only upon arrival we discovered that we had shipped it with the water and the fish still in it. The customer then filed a claim both for the fish, that was still alive,  but probably had had a rough ride, and for the water damage. The customer also filed a water damage claim, that fortunately appeared invalid.'

We’ll take care of all insurance matters.

3) By another moving company. 'We received a request to allow the house pet- an Iguana- to stay out of it’s cage during a move, and to ride with us, in the front seat of the moving truck together with the driver for the duration of the transportation. We ended up allowing the Iguana to ride with us, as the request was so unique.'

At Htel Serviced Apartments, we will do everything in our power to realize your special requests.

4) A story by RW. 'Having moved to Paris recently, I was looking forward to receiving my new salary related to my new job. I approached the nearest bank to open up a bank account shortly after I arrived. The bank friendly told me that everything was fine, that I only needed to provide an EDF (electricite de France) invoice.

No problem, I thought, until I got to EDF, where they tell you that you can only open up an EDF account after having opened a bank account. Fortunately my boss was also account holder at the bank- and apparently a good client- as he got the bank to simply open the bank account without any documentation but a passport. Otherwise, I am not sure how long it would have taken me to open up both the bank account and the EDF account.'

Even is it gets to these levels, we'll take on the administrative hassle that comes with an international move.

5) A disaster story by HG. 'My movers show up on time. They do a  great job. No delays, everything is handled with care. Just one item is left in the truck: my grandmothers ancient clock. A 115 kilogram monster-clock, which is basically all that is left for her to remember my grandfather who passed away a couple of years ago.

Practically the whole family is watching how the movers are getting ready to unload the clock off the truck. For the 100th time, I nervously  remind the movers to be extremely careful as this is the most valuable item of the whole load. They nod their heads, they understand how important these 115 kg's are. One of them even says, "Don't worry Sir, we are professionals!"

Grandma is watching calmly, after all, the movers did an awesome job, and they can't destroy up the only item that's left.

At the sound of the 'don't worry' words, my grandmother almost faints. Movers are screaming. My family stands still with open mouths. I can't believe my eyes. The clock is falling from 1 meter high, and the whole thing is scattering all over the place.... what a distaster.....'

We take care of everything that’s important to you, whether of financial, or emotional value.

6) Upfront charges by B.J.P. 'This was the letter I received after confirming where I'd rent my new place in the heart of Berlin.

We are really pleased you chose to rent with us. You will love the city center, our inhouse fitness center and our swimming pool. The other residents are really nice. We aim to provide the best service in town. We are sure you'll be happy here.

Before you move in, we need to have the following amounts wired into our bank account.

Security deposit- 6 months rent. €4200

Non-refundable pet fee €800

Pet deposit €1200

Pet processing fee €300

For your convenience, here are contact numbers for electricity, gas, water, phone, newspaper, cable service. Please arrange to turn them on before you move in.

Signed, Mr. and Mrs. Landlord'

Our relocation services also include taking care of the preparational work of your relocation.

7) By MK and BU, and their cute son. 'When we figured out that a 2 bedroom apartment truly was no longer big enough now our little John’s little sister was born, we decided that for our relocation we required to a larger place with more bedrooms.

Our little boy heard us go over the idea of moving to a larger place, and then out of nowhere said: This is not going to do us any good,  not at all. She’d just follow us!'

We are here to relocate your entire family safely and securely.

8) By LA, about a different welcome in a fully furbished place. 'I arrived at my new place in Rome. Just got my key, and the first thing I notice in my new apartment, is a yellow memo on my desk. It's all in Italian- I didn't speak a word. I managed to decifre the text via Google translate. It said: Now that you've managed to move, here is some important information. All your utilities are hooked up. Here are a couple of documents for you to sign. You must sign everything now, if not, we'll shut off all of your utilities by tomorrow 12:00 noon.

Note these documents are blank. We will fill in the amounts after you signed them. We'll send you copies later, so that you know what you signed.

It was 37 degrees Celcius out, I decided it was probably a good idea to ignore the choking heat, and to fill in the documents as ordered. The charges were not that bad after all....

Our relocation services ensure that all administration is handled clearly and undestandibly. You won't have to face obscure practices.

My husband goes back to the cashier and says: what kind of a zoo is this? This is rubbish, there are no animals, maybe apart from one dog sitting in a cage to which the cashier replies: Yes sir, it’s a Shih Tzu.

At Htel relocation services we're here to arrange that you relocate smoothly into the Netherlands. With a smile on your face!

Have the best time of your life here in the Netherlands!

Best regards,

General Manager