Removal Companies packing service. Good or bad idea?

[MrsMacKinnen]

Hi. I am 7 months pregnant and about to move house from Clapham to Bristol. It has been recommended to me that I let the removal company do the packing. I am down with the idea but a little anxious about strangers going through all my stuff. Does anyone have experience of a really trustworthy removal company that does packing or should I just do it myself??

Genuinely the best money I ever spent was on packing services when moving!

They pack at break-neck speed though - mostly pretty securely (they use reams of packing paper) but without much thinking so you can end up with some pretty random stuff packed together.

I'd suggest packing any very sentimental or personal items yourself and then just let the packers loose on the rest.

We used the moving home company and I will never move without a packing service again. It was the most relaxing move ever.

Definitely use their packing service, pregnant or not!

Some of the best money we ever spent. Would definitely use the packing service again.

Best thing ever, I wouldn't move without it. They did the packing, I went out for coffee!

I will never, ever move without packers ever again.

They don't look at your stuff by the way, unless it's breakable and needs wrapping in paper. They are just focused on the job, and if they have to pack a room, they will pack all of it very efficiently, even the little bits of rubbish lurking at the back of drawers.

Definitely worth it in your circumstances. In our case, I packed private / embarrassing stuff myself. I also spent some time sorting and chucking as they are entirely indiscriminate: EVERYTHING gets packed. I remember opening one box marked 'kitchen' to find it contained about a squillion used plastic bags and a dishcloth 😁

Best decision we made but for us made real financial sense as they wanted to pack and load one day to drive and deliver the next due to distance.

Ditto JT05! Let go and let it happen. I used Rutherfords Of London ( www.rutherfordslondon.com ) as advised by a fellow mumsnetter and the move was a breeze. They were lovely and did the packing beautifully, labelling each box with relevant details so the unpack, which i'd advice you to do yourself is really straightforward.

Peace of

Best money we spent on moving. Super fast and insured too.

We exchanged late Tues; they arrived to pack 8am Weds; we moved on Thurs.

We moved out of 2 houses in same year (very complicated) anyway had PICKFORDS for both

1st house - we packed ourselves took so much time and effort was so stressful and really hated it

2nd house - had full packing service from Pickfords,it took them 2 days to pack a very full house and loft, while I sat on chair (that wasn't going) holding onto dog lead, while dog chilled in her bed, (had to be on lead in sitting room cos front door was open) her bed was going in our car. It was amazing to see them packing with such speed

Just wish I had done that the 1st house, so deffo get quote from PICKFORDS, it was expensive but so worth the money

Absolutely deffo if you want to relax and don't want to lug heavy boxes while pregnant

But check about loft cos it has to be a certain type of ladder for them to go up there to pack stuff up (H&S)

Good luck

Saw an online FB survey thingy yesterday that said BRISTOL was best place in country to live

Do it!

We have just moved and I 100% recommend a full pack and removal service.

They dismantle and reassemble furniture, including the beds so we knew before moving day that we were guaranteed beds for sleeping.

In fact we used the time that the guys were reassembling the beds to clean and unpack the kitchen.

Definitely worth every penny!

Good luck with the move.

Wow, thank you all so much for your promt responses. I am delighted to hear that you all have had such good experiences with packers. It is exactly what I wanted to hear. Ill take coffee and cake over hard work any day

Seriously amazing! Do it and never look back. Not only will they pack better than you it also happens right st the last minute so you don't have to fret about living among packing boxes for weeks at a time while you go at it piecemeal. Do it!

Oh yes, oh yes! Have just helped my sister pack up a two bed flat with only a man + van to shift stuff to her new place. Was exhausting and took forever. Plus she faffed around endlessly ("ooh, I remember this"..."ooh, shall we keep this or throw it out") and it was so inefficient.
I'd never move without packers (though as someone said, they do pack everything in strict "as they find it" order so well worth a big clear out first and make sure everything is in a sensible place so you can reasonably expect to find the steriliser in the kitchen box later and not the "random box of utility room" stuff three months on (yes, exh, I am looking at you...).

It was my non-negotiable item last time we moved. Worth every penny and far better value than the stress and aggro of doing it yourselves.

Btw Pickfords messed up our ndn's move and sent the wrong vehicle meaning they had basically a bed and nothing else the first night in their new home.

Roughly how much does it cost? Roughly?

How much does it cost, please? Roughly?

Do it. Use GB Liners

It cost a few hundred quid more than the standard moving with dismantling and rebuilding.

Oh it's brilliant. Ours was maybe £200 more than removals including bed dismantling and reassembling. Worth twice that tbh.

It is money well spent - I live alone (except for dog) and remember trying to pack myself for the one before last move and would never ever do that again. Try and clear out rubbish though as they do pack EVERYTHING and boxes are not filled with related stuff but at least you can unpack and sort much easier when you have time.
Would never move without a packing service - mine cost circa £350 about 6 years ago but it depends on your 'stuff'

£200? Is that all? Man, that is so cheap, for such a service that is such a stress reducer!!

Can anyone recommend any other companies in London please?

OP, do please let us know how you get on!