removal firms

[misdee]

as its very likely we will be moving shortly i have looked at the prices of using a removal firm. the max distance we will be moving is 10miles, and the firms online quotes have been around 300-500pounds. now the problem is we are in a masionette atm. i was told that because of more stairs etc we may have to pay more. all the stairs are internal (no communual staircases) so does this make a difference in insurence cost for moving? its all very confusing, as have always moved ourselves with family members helping and hiring a van, but as everyone health seems to be bad atm am thinking of using a real firm. is there anything i need to check, make sure of etc? i dont want our stuff getting lost at all.

Does that cost include them packing up for you? To compare...I had a quote of £300 to move stuff (2 Mercedes Sprinter van loads) out of our 3-bed terrace house, to a town 20 miles from here. Another £120-£200 if they do the packing up for us, too. I have heard of quotes as low as £70 for packing. We are outside Southeast/London, if that makes a difference.

Tell you what I'm thinking about... seeing if we can pack up ourselves, and see if we can "hire" one man and his van (there are lots of adverts for these people in phone book, too). DH and this man+van would then do the move in 2 or 3 trips, all on one day. Might cost as little as £75, I think.

Because you are moving on mdical ground, can't Social services or DSS help towards the cost?

we moved recently and used a removals firm - worth their weight in gold! saved so much hassle (and our backs!).
we were advised to use firm belonging to BARS - the professional body for removal firms (i think that info is correct).
i'm surprised stairs are adding to the cost and would be VERY suprised if they added to insurance costs.
firm we used were based in kent but moved us within surrey - i'll dig out the details if you'd like them?

If you can possibly afford it, then removers who also do the packing are a godsend.

Do check your household insurance, as some policies cover you for removals. You'll save money because you won't need the removal firms's policy.

when i last asked around for removal forms, we were living in a 2nd floor flat. i know this increased the cost of moving as extra insurences for the outside stairs.

i dont know if DSS or social services can help with removal costs, and if they can help i will still need to get quotes.

I would love to get people in to pack for us, would be a lot easier but i'm not sure how much we can afford.

DH unfortuantly cant help with lifting this time as his heart is pretty bad atm, so in the reality i'll be dealing with the move and he'll be looking after the kids for the day and taking care of things there.

we dont really have a huge amount of stuff. a lot of it is still packed after last move, some of it from the move b4 that (3yrs ago?). i know we should just throw those boxes out but havent had chance to sift thro them. but i am getting rid of loads of little girls clothes from birth-12months. big clear out happening and gonna raise some cash at car boot and ebay b4 we move (as soon as we get offered a place again)

some things we will be moving ourselves (dh decks and records, my bad taste bear collection, due to the amount these item cost to repalce, some of the records and bears would be impossible to replace).