Pickfords v Britannic v Bishops Move - wide variations in quote

[Flyingsouthwiththeswallows]

Have just Exchanged and trying to work out who to use for Removals.

I have three quotes which vary widely from £2,050 into and out of Storage to £3,800 for the same service.

I would love feedback on each of the three companies just to help me made a decision.

Do you mean Britannia? Used them in the past and they were great. When we moved again their quote was more expensive than the others we'd had so we didn't go with them that time.

I wouldn't use Pickford's - they screwed up our NDN's move even though they knew it was awkward access and left them with a bed and sofa for the night then had to come back at the weekend with everything else! They also did our vendors' move and considering they paid for full packing we found lots of things in drawers and cupboards including towels in the airing cupboard, etc!

Another thumbs down for Pickfords (although it was 15 years ago). We got a quote that sounded good - company was paying so price didn't matter - they were gonna turn up in livery, wrap all the white goods, etc, etc. On the day 3 scruffy looking blokes and a big van turned up - Pickfords had got sub-contractors in to do the job. Needless to say it went downhill from there. Highly unrecommended.

I used Pickford's and they were fantastic.

Are you moving a long distance? How long do you need to store for? Can you try a smaller local firm (personal recommendations can help) that might be more competitive?

Now I have a problem.

I wanted to move Bishops Move but their quote was four times the very cheapest local company and almost twice the price of Pickfords.

Brittania was somewhere in the middle .

I signed up with Pickfords assuming that as they are a large company they should be good.

Having read your comments I am worried I might have made a mistake

I have used Pickfords internationally and recently in the uk with no problems. The admin side was a bit lacking but the movers were good.

I have used Pickfords including storage overnight for one long distance move and then one where we stored items for 3 weeks with them.

I couldn't fault them, teams were professional and hardworking. Nothing was damaged, and we paid for insurance at both properties in case of any issues.

Of course there will be horror stories, but think how many people move each day.

The only thing I would always suggest is never move on a Friday for obvious reasons of solicitors not working weekends but also it is cheaper to move at the beginning of the week.

I would recommend using a local independent firm rather than one of the big multi nationals. I used to work for one of the big ones and know how they operate.

I was a rep for one of the big firms named on here. When I moved, I used a local family run firm.

Sorry op, I didn't read your post about having booked one.

We moved house about 8 weeks ago. We got 3 quotes. Britannia was the highest.

My dh went with the lowest quote. But on asking questions etc we decided to change to Britannia.

Britannia where fantastic. We had some difficult things to move, a large heavy hot tub and large heavy bbq (stone built).

I would totally recommend Britannia.

Bluesheep - the removal firm we originally chose was a local one. They where useless.

I would pick which one you liked the most and if it’s not the cheapest then see if they will match the quote of the others. If they say no then go with one of the others. I’ve used Pickfords- no complaints. I’ve also used numerous others (moved lots) and been happy too. I have asked some to lower the price in the past, some have, some haven’t.