Moving company putting us into a catch 22

[JulesTC]

It seems that we are being turned over by Bonners the moving company in a catch 22.
Their fee is about 11k - quoted from some time ago, so we dropped asking other companies. Exchange is routinely 7-10 days before the move. However Bonners will withdraw the contract (not known to us until recently) if there is not exchange before that. What the f to do? We were recommended them and they are big in their market. It’s highly unlikely that we will find anyone else in time.
This is sharp practice in the extreme.
Any ideas from you strategic thinkers?
I have no idea and it may cause the collapse of our lovely chain of buyers?

I’m not entirely sure I understand.

I thought you could simply move in later? I’m not sure I understand the problem? When we move, we pack out, and stay in temporary accommodation like a hotel for exchange, then move in whenever?
Door to door is almost impossible if there is a chain.

It’s not sharp practice they need to book the slot inc drivers, vans etc

Are you moving internationally? 11K is a huge amount to is it an intercontinental move?

Honestly you can’t seriously expect to book 11 grands worth of moving with a weeks notice. Seriously?

I can't understand the timeline of this and what the company are refusing to do?

I think what the op is saying is she has a large move coming up

The moving company wish her to sign th contract in advance which is normal but as she’s agreed to exchange only seven days before completion she doesn’t wish to sign before that, but bizarrely wishes them to keep a slot and the resources available for her should she need it

As they obviously would be off their nuts to do this, she’s decided they are engaging in sharp practice and having her over.

@Bluntness100

I think what the op is saying is she has a large move coming up

The moving company wish her to sign th contract in advance which is normal but as she’s agreed to exchange only seven days before completion she doesn’t wish to sign before that, but bizarrely wishes them to keep a slot and the resources available for her should she need it

As they obviously would be off their nuts to do this, she’s decided they are engaging in sharp practice and having her over.

Ah ok. I couldn’t quite understand what the issue was from the opening post.

Ah ok, yep I can see why that's an issue!

It seems quite simple that you need to insist on a greater period between exchange and completion, non? Still can’t work out how it’s going to cost £11k and if you get pushback the only other solution you’ve suggested is breakdown of entire chain…!

If the move doesn't go ahead do you still have to pay them £11000?

I’m also guessing that they allow you to take out their insurance at extra cost that covers cancellation. But your post is very unclear. Why is the move £11k? Presumably overseas?

£11k!? Surely that's a typo. Full pack/unpack is under £5k.

11k. I'd rather bloody carry it myself and walk it
Ffs

I’m sure their terms and conditions were available. Hardly sharp practice 🤣

£11k!? Surely that's a typo. Full pack/unpack is under £5k.

Depends how much you're moving/how far/how much packing.
Perfectly standard to pay in full when booking and take out their insurance for a change of date.

''Exchange is routinely 7-10 days before the move. However Bonners will withdraw the contract ... if there is not exchange before that.''

I might be being thick - but rather than working backwards from move day for dates, don't you usually work forwards from exchange and then give yourself plenty of time till move day? Giving everyone in the chain plenty of time with their removals ect?

I'm not surprised that Bonners expect you to have exchanged at least a week before they're expected to move you! It's never ''routinely'' that short a period when i've done it (UK, 4 times). These things can grind on for weeks in a chain even at that late stage.

Exchange to move day period - i'd expect to build in 3 weeks min.

If there's not something unusual about the move then 11 grand is them rinsing you anyway.

£11k is a shedload if it’s not an international move. We did a 3 day / 600 mile move with full packing service for a large house and that was £3.5k.

£11k? Are you moving out of Downton Abbey?

We used them a few years back and iirc there was some kind of insurance product you could pay for to deal with this circumstance. I don’t think we did in the end, but our pack, move and unpack service was more like £1k so less at stake.

iirc there was some kind of insurance product you could pay for to deal with this circumstance.

There is. It's called a cancellation or postponement waiver. All removal companies should offer it if taking payment in advance.

Hi they have rescinded the threat to cancel. We have paid in advance and taken the insurance in case things don’t happen in time. Apparently nowadays (I last moved >25 years ago, we used to DIY) the interval between the exchange and completion is 7-10 days. This made it impossible to be absolutely sure it would go ahead (buyers drop out etc) when booking, as they require, about a month in advance. Despite us taking up this cancellation insurance, Bonners stated that if we hadn’t exchanged at least several weeks before the planned move, they would pull out leaving us in the lurch. Despite their insurance! It’s a long way and dh has a shipping container full of tools, for example about the amount of stuff. I really didn’t know what to do last night, we are in a short chain. My dh emailed the world, including the removal firm’s boss, so I guess that did the job.
Thank you all for your suggestions. I hope that’s the last hitch, but who knows?