Why are moving companies SO expensive?

[ilovetofu]

Just had a quote from one for packing & moving us for nearly a grand.

Is this normal?

We were recently quoted £550 to move 7 pieces of furniture (some fairly small, like a coffee table) and 2 boxes to our new house a five-minute drive away We were going to pack everything ourselves and then move smaller bits like clothing in our car. We thought it was a ridiculous price for what would have been no more than 3 hours labour and £3 worth of petrol, so we just got a man and a van and paid £200 instead.

That sounds about right for packing as well. I did all our packing after decluttering and our movers were £350 for not too much stuff including taking a fridge to a lock up but this was in the same city. They put the table and both beds back together. They had cleared the house in one and a half hours. It is so worth it particularly if you are selling and buying the same day as your belongings go somewhere and you can have lunch.

Maybe you could declutter and pack to save costs? Packers literally pack everything very quickly but carefully

We are paying £1500 just for moving, not packing but we have a 5 bed house and a lot of stuff including heaps of outside stuff as well. It’s a fair price I think

To be fair I think that price is reasonable. We're having a company pack and move a 3 bed house and quotes ranged between £1k and £2k. With the amount of work packing up an entire house and moving it I think it's well worth the money.

Agree worth every penny. Back when we were younger and more foolish we decided to pack ourselves moving out of a 2 bed flat in central London and just hiring a couple of blokes and a van. At 2.30am the night/morning of the move we discovered a whole cupboard full of stuff just when we thought we’d done. I recall having minor hysterical giggles at the sight of it.

At that point I decided never again, and we’ve always had the full packing service since.

And tipping is definitely a thing. I’m sometimes a bit stingy on the tip front with other stuff, but I’d say about £40-50 per person is not unreasonable (so long as they don’t screw up) given they work like bastards and get paid peanuts.

They can have you packed up and moved in no time.
Worth paying for.

that's a good price and yes it's worth it.

I've moved quite a few time and not been able to afford the packing service(we were usually moving across country so expensive already), so I know how bloody hard it is to do! if you can afford it, it's worth every penny.

£1k very normal a d good value if it includes packing

I paid £100 to move about a mile...! Man in a big van who came with a friend! They helped us box the last few bits but we'd boxed everything ourselves really. They were so careful with our stuff, worked really hard and we're fab. 3 bedroomed house

Very normal.

Think of the time, skills and equipment involved.

Do you want to risk knackering your back getting a wardrobe upstairs?

Worth every penny.

Damn pressed the button too quick. I hope the packing service is as godsend as it sounds, might have to use this time and have had quotes ranging from £2500+ to £1500. making me wonder whether it really is worth it?

It's worth it, but also worth shopping around. Try getting quotes out of area - often the crews will travel a long way for the work

The packing is usually cheap compared to the move. I think we only paid £200 for packing up and the rest was the long distance move.

They are incredibly expensive. We paid for just moving, no packing as it was too expensive for us (low budget). They then ask you to buy their boxes instead...

That sounds very reasonable. If you are going to have removals go with a big firm and always tip.
Man with a van is not much good in my experience.
My parents always have removals. My brother and I who have both done multiple local moves do it our selves. We have a lot of help. On my last move I had everything put the day before completion. Took me a week to get it out but by bit. Other relatives move by tractors and trailer.

ZOMBIE THREAD WHICH WAS BUMPED BY A SPAMMER LAST NIGHT. REPORTED.

DM just moved 275 miles, from a large 3 bed to a 3 bed cottage. Quotes were £4K-£8k for packing and moving. It was 4 people for 4 days. She went with £4K! Assuming half that cost is overheads, works out at £125/person/day, not too bad really.

Yes. Bloody grafters though, in my experience.

Don't do it yourself. Moving day is already tough enough!

That's cheap op.

I always wonder why people consider £1k a lot for movers, when they spend £££ on estate agents and solicitors and surveyors and mortgage fees.

I think people decide it’s a lot because firstly they don’t realise the enormity of the job or the difference packers make to the whole experience. And then it is one area of moving where they is some discretionary spend and people often hope they can save £500 especially at the end when they are running out of cash.

The thing is, so many people decide to DIY with a self hire van and a mate who is turning up at 10.30 and the whole thing is a nightmare, not just for themselves but the whole chain. They don’t have sufficient boxes or know how to pack them for weight, and then the van isn’t big enough for the full load and they don’t know how to efficiently pack it, plus lacking takes far longer than people imagine. So the self packers take far longer to get out and the removal van of those waiting to move in are outside and completion has happened and they are still shoving items into carrier bags or saying the van will be back for bother load in 45 mins. And it’s all over £500 or so.

Packing is a skilled job. Most people haven’t done it enough to develop the skill. It really is best to get packers when you’re o to your second owned property or if you’re moved from a rental where you’ve furnished it. Only those moving into a first property with a tiny amount of furniture should be contemplating DIY removals.

There are always clauses in contracts for completion saying people need to be vacating the property they are selling by mid day or oerhaos 2pm latest. Financial penalties should be imposed on those who don’t meet these obligations becaue of all the problems not meeting them leads to. People need to grasp packing isn’t something you just do on the morning of the move or without proper equipment.

People need to grasp packing isn’t something you just do on the morning of the move or without proper equipment

yes I now know it's a zombie thread, but for anyone reading, this paragraph is important.

although we've had movers in to transport, because I'm packing I've started days before hand (sometimes weeks but that was to sort out the tat I wasn't going to take) everything is already packed before the morning of the move apart from essential stuff and as much furniture as possible unscrewed and piled ready.

I've been unlucky enough to be having to wait around for a family moving from a 3 bed house in a mates van and couple of cars, it really fucked everything up

Sounds like 2-3 people and a big van for the day.

How much do you think is an acceptable daily wage for these people? (Aside from transport, overheads, insurance etc)

We've moved ourselves twice. Never doing it again and would pay triple that for someone to do everything!