Cheapest way of transporting myself and my things to London - please help

sophlowe45

I've just finished my degree and am moving from my uni halls in the Midlands to London.

I need to transport myself and my things to London, i don't drive and you have to be 23 or 24 to hire a car anyways...

I have contacted a compapny who quoted £96 to deliver my things to London...

I am considering trying to get a friend (who's over 23/24 so looking at PhD students) to perhaps hire a car and drive me to london and then drop off the car....still expensive but the cheapest solution i can think of...

Is there any other solution anyone can think of? Should i try a man with a man from the yellow pages? but could i trust someone i find in the yellow pages with all the things i own?

I have already Ebayed loads of things (even things i wanted to keep) and thrown away all my noted (even ones i thought i might need in the future) and gotten rid of as many clothes etc. that i could to minimise the amount of stuff i have.

Final idea - make two trips in a day to London on bus/train/tube with a big suitcase each time, anything i can't transport - i get rid off and re-buy. (As if transporting stuff will be so expensive i might as well spend that money on buying new replacements and give away the old stuff).

Please help with any solutions/suggesstions you can think of.
Thank you!

tr3mor

Have you not got any family who could help you shift stuff? I think your best option is to persuade someone to drive you down there.

Bogof_Babe

Is there a fairly direct inter-city coach service? Try the National Express website, or Stagecoach. They might be willing to let you stow all your luggage in the under-floor baggage hold. You'd only have to take a taxi at each end then. You'd probably need a proper taxi cab type of vehicle not a mini-cab, but most areas have larger vehicles available if requested, or even people-carriers.

sophlowe45

OMG! Thats an awesome idea!!!! We have a Megabus stop 10 mins from my uni and i'm sure i can get someone to help carry my stuff to the bus stop and then just cab it from Victoria to East London!!!!


Thank you!!!

I gues i should check in advance how much luggage they will allow, any ideas?

In the meantime, i will concentrate on getting rid of as many more things as possible! Just worried about transporting things like printers etc. without damaging them...

u2o

megabus luggage allowance is 1 luggage per person, up to 20kg. not sure how good that is to you but worth contacting them and seeing what they can do.

kiddy_guy

You can get a just 15 ticket via Chiltern from Snow Hill to Marylebone 15 quid return, so you could do 3 trips for 45 quid.

Alternatively how about using a distibution company. Pallet rate would probably be about 50 quid.

kittiwoz

Failing persuading parents or someone else with a car to drive me (which is what I will shortly be doing Manchester to London) I would try the classified ads in the local paper for a man with van and ring round for quotes. Tell them you've found a company that will do it for £96 and ask if they can beat that. They'll be insured and you'd be travelling with the stuff so I don't see that there should be any problem.

sophlowe45

thanks everyone for your suggestions - they're really helpful - i can get the £15 ticket for £9.90 as i have a young person's railcard, its just that dragging stuff around so much would be sooooo knackering and not worth it i think...

problem is people with cars are busy or are working etc. so its hard to get someone to to give up so many hours to help me...

yes, i looked up the Megabus luggage allowance on their website and National Express luggage allowance too which is 2 x 20kg suitcases and a normal amount of hand luggagge...

i have booked a funfare £1 national express ticket (the stop is my university stop so i don't even have to get a cab) if i find an alternative method £1 lost is nothing...then i can cab it to my destination in London..

kittiwoz - are you moving from uni in Manchester to work in London? I start work in London in 2 weeks, its quite scary now how soon i'll start!!!

kittiwoz

I'm moving back to my parents house for a year to save on rent and bills while I do another course. I'm only going to be looking for part time work for the minute. Good luck to you with your new job. I hope it all goes well for you.

Glitterari

Hmmm - cab fare in London for that distance will be pretty steep!!

sophlowe45

i know Glitterari i'm going from Victoria coach station to Bethnall Green, but i don't have any better options...

unless i can hire something other than a cab in london like a man with a van or something??? Any suggestions please help!