Hi, work in the industry thought I'd offer my 2 cents.
@shineysides - I guess you've already booked a removal company and probably moved by now but if you haven't, here's some advice for choosing a suitable removal company and questions to ask.
- How to Choose a Removal Company:
Reading reviews is the best way to create a shortlist of good companies and to help you to avoid wasting time and headaches with 'cowboys' within the industry. Google 'Removals [insert city name]' and that should provide you with a list of companies. Choose at least 5-8 companies and then search each company individually (just type their names into a search engine) and you'll see what their previous clients have said about them. Also, look on dedicated review sites such Removal Removals, Trusted Trader, Trust Pilot etc…and that will help to determine the good companies from the less desirable ones.
After you’ve got a shortlist of reputable companies, it’s time to call them.
- Find Out Exactly What They Offer:
Before you fire off a lot of questions, ask them about their availability for your proposed moving date or possible dates if your completion date isn’t set in stone. From here, and if they have availability, they’ll ask you some questions to gauge the job. Let them do it first before asking your question because they need to know if they can provide a service. There’s no point diving deep into what you want to know and only to be told afterwards that they can’t help. You can expect them to ask for the addresses (obviously), property type (flat or house) and if you have any specialist items to move like a piano which some companies don’t touch.
Now it’s your turn:
- First and foremost is asking about their Goods In Transit Insurance cover and how much is included. The standard industry cover is around £20-30k per load for Luton Vans (3.5ton weight capacity) and £60k per load for 7.5ton trucks. If you have anything worth over £20k, mention it on the call to be on the safe side. On a side note, you’ll be surprised to know that although most companies offer insurance, some of them charge for it which I personally think is a joke. Never pay extra for insurance! After all, why should you pay for breakages if their staff caused the damage?!
- Dismantling and Assembling Furniture. I’ve never known a removal company not to offer this service as part of their package but never assume and check if it’s included. It’s not uncommon for companies to charge a fee for each item that needs to be dismantled such as Beds and Wardrobes but you can save yourself some money by doing it yourself or at least the easier furniture like taking the legs off a table.
- Do they offer a Packing Service and (or) loaned Packing Materials? This is very handy if you’re busy with work or with the family and although it’s an extra cost, using the professionals to do this will remove a lot of stress and most companies will get this done in a day or 2 depending on the size of the property. However, if you’ve only got a 1-2 bed flat, you can do it yourself at it doesn’t take too long to complete and ask if the removal company offers free loaned boxes and packing materials. Boxes aren’t cheap and this could save you £££. Also, some companies will deliver and collect for a small fee or try out your negotiation skills and get this fee waived?
- Cancellation or Postponement Policy. With many completion dates not set until a few weeks before the big day, it’s very important to ask if there’s a charge for postponing or cancelling. The majority of removal companies will have charges for this but it’s usually based on a tier/time system. For example, if you cancel or postpone before 14 days of the agreed moving date, there might be no charges but if you cancel/postpone within 14 days you could face a fee and a bigger fee if you cancel/postpone within 7 days. This is usually in their T&Cs and just ask for a copy.
@Bluesheep8 has made a good point with regard to carpet and floor protection. Yes, this is important and find out about their procedure. Usually, someone from the company will come round to your current property a day before the move to install carpet protection using a plastic adhesive roll. With regard to the new property, when you’ve got the keys on completion day, the removal team will lay down the carpet protection before unloading the removal vehicles.
@Dougieowner brings up a good point about the remote and in-person surveys. There are pro’s and con’s to using either method to survey a property but for larger houses with garages or workshops, a personal survey should be the preferred option
There are many other suggestions I’d like to make but this post is already quite long.
I hope that helps you and anyone else who’s planning their move.