Stupid question - removals companies!

[BaffledMum22]

Well aware that this is probably a ridiculous question. I’ve just phoned 2 removals companies trying to get quotes for a house move. Both wanted to know a list of furniture and the exact number of boxes that would be being moved 🤔

Obviously I can give a list of the furniture but how on earth do you let them know how many boxes of stuff there will be without actually packing it?! 🤣

Whenever we've booked removals we've given them a rough idea (eg 4 bed house with 4 sofas, large dining table, etc) or they've come out to the property to have a look round and work out their quote.

Will they be packing for you? Maybe that's what they mean about "number of boxes"

When we’ve used removal companies we’ve told them which rooms and described contents. Or they’ve physically visited / done a video tour. It’s ridiculous to ask you to estimate box numbers yourself isn’t it. They’ll have much more experience to do that.

That's not my experience OP. Usually you say 3 bed house to move and they have an idea but most reputable removal people would come and do a site visit and base their quote on that.

@MsSquiz @PeterPomegranate Yeah I was expecting to tell them what big items were moving and how many rooms etc but I was very thrown off by the questions about the boxes 🙈
Definitely not packing etc for us or providing boxes etc for the move. It’s just companies to physically move the stuff from one property to another 🤷🏻‍♀️

@HavfrueDenizKisi

That's not my experience OP. Usually you say 3 bed house to move and they have an idea but most reputable removal people would come and do a site visit and base their quote on that.

@HavfrueDenizKisi I think I might get back to the drawing board and find some other companies 🤣 they were smaller local companies rather than big national ones as it’s just a small, local move but I’ll see who else I can find 😊

Last time I moved I estimated 25 boxes for a 2 bed flat. This turned out to be about right so maybe 50 for a 4-bed is normal (although I appreciate that double the rooms doesn’t necessarily mean double the stuff)

I found one that did by the hour as I couldn’t possibly work out how many boxes

Be prepared for vast price differences between the companies.

Our quotes ranged from £800 to £1800 with no packing
With packing £2.400 to £5.200.
Bed takedown/reassembly is priced separately.
A 1-mile move was involved.

We had over 100 boxes for our uncluttered family home. I really didn't think we had so much stuff!

Thanks all 😊 have ended up really busy this afternoon so will get to calling more tomorrow.

We’ve only got a 3 mile move and we are moving from a 4 bedroom property into a 2 bed temporarily so we’re actually getting rid of a lot of stuff! There’s only me, DH and baby, so most stuff is probably the baby’s 🤣
Moving 2 bedrooms, lounge, washing machine, tumble drier and fridge freezer. Then obviously our actual “stuff” from the kitchen, clothes, personal belongings etc.

Moved twice in the past 12-months and used removal firms both times (not man with van) and did all our own packing.
Had several firms around to quote but many more wanted to do video surveys, these were rejected immediately as we have a lot of stuff including garden, garage & workshop and we wanted them to get it right.

It's hugely dependent on what you have to move. We have a lot of books, for example, even having already moved some, there were a lot of boxes' worth left. Our removers came and looked round, estimated how many boxes, and were bang on the money- just a couple of boxes to spare.

The only time I had to tell exact boxes was a 'anytime man with van' - I had listed one suitcase as a box and the guy actually said it wasn't included and had to add it to the list - they were very exact.
But with household moves they have always come to look and their experience tells them how many boxes it's likely to be.
However last few times I've had the movers pack and I'd never pack myself again.

The company I used came to the house to look at what needed moving and gave a no obligation quote.

I’ve never been asked that and wouldn’t have a clue. Either they have come out to our property to see for themselves or they do a video survey