removal company or self drive

pie81

It really depends on which is more important to you ... saving money or having an easier life!

We're paying movers to move and pack for us (packing isn't that much extra once you've paid for the moving bit) as we don't have the time or patience to move ourselves and have quite a few stairs to contend with at both ends.

Also our insurance covers us for any items broken if packed by professional movers - but not if packed by us. Last time I moved I broke several things despite taking lots of care so to some extent the money I save there will offset the cost of the movers.

Packing - as I understand it they go through the rooms for you and pack themselves, you don't have to get it all out. They just need to know where stuff is moving to at the other end and then they do it all for you. At least I hope so since I have them coming tomorrow and everything is still in its usual place!

goldengirl28

thanks Pie81,

i'm defo sold on the "them packing" idea, good luck with your move and let me know how you get on

ET1976

From the stuff you've listed, it looks do-able on your own, provided you can rely on the help you're hoping for, and you can lift the washing machine!

Can you stagger the move or are the people on either side of you in the chain all moving on on completion day? That really puts the kybosh on doing it yourself.

dacouch

I do a bit of casual work for a removal company so here are a couple of tips for you.

a) They will be working hard, so don't forget to offer tea / coffee and biscuits (They won't want to stop more than once or twice as they want to get the job done.

b) A lot of customers give a tip, if you think your going to give a tip, mention to them at the start you will give them a tip if your happy. They will take extra special care and are more likely to do extra work that you have not paid for and won't charge you

c) If you do it yourself save yourself a lot of time by labelling the boxes or marking them eg bedroom 1 (Thats main), kitchen etc etc This means instead of putting all the boxes in one room you can put them in the correct room which will save you lots of time.

d) If you move yourself get some freezer bags and pack your fridge and freezer last, remember that a lot of fridges should not be switched on between 4 and 24 hours after being moved

e) If there are parking restrictions where you live or are moving to you can get permission to park and even get the bays suspended from the night before so you have no one park in the spaces.

f) If your moving yourself stack the boxes and uniformed shaped things in first and pack it as tight as possible. The tighter you pack the van the less the items move and the less likely they are to get damaged.

g) If your moving yourself Get some ties or something else you can use to tie the furniture to the inside of the van to stop them moving about

h) If your moving yourself make sure you get a van with a tail lift.

i) If your moving yourself start early as it will be a long day, work methodically do not rush. It's very hard work especially is you have not done it before but don't worry when you are getting dispondent with how hard / long it is taking to load the van as it only takes about a third of the time to unload it

j) Times are hard for removal companies so don't be scared to negoiate with them, if you offer a reasonable amount they will accept it as they are only working at about 40% capacity. Their busiest days are always Fridays and also on Saturdays so if you can pick another day you can get a better price (The same often applies on hiring a van)

k) Don't over load the van weight wise, the fines are pretty big and the police are good at catching people, having said that you should be ok with a smallish flat in a one load so if your not sure do it in two loads

l) Don't forget to lift properly eg bending your legs and using your legs, it's very easy to put your back out otherwise

m) When the van is full, don't rush you have plenty of time to get there, if you drive quickly your stuff will get damaged

delmar39

Best thing we found was to get some quotes. We were quoted £1000 and £270 for the same thing by different companies. I wouldn't pay £1000 for someone to do it, but I'm happy to pay £270 to save us the hassle. We're doing the packing the removal firm are just transporting. It's a local firm so we got a good price based on the big national firms.

Richard_Webster

That last post from dacouch is the sort of thing that is one of the major benefits of a forum such as this - lots of practical advice about things people might not think about, from someone with experience.

If I can add another point relating to multiple trips with the same van:

If you are selling and buying then your buyer will want in as soon as the money has changed hands, but you won't normally be able get access to the place you are buying until your solicitor has transferred the money to the other solicitor and the other solicitor has released the keys.

I get very annoyed with solicitors who are not contactable at lunchtimes, particularly Fridays. Say your solicitor has sent the money at 12.55. Solicitor goes off to lunch - his accounts people see the money has come in at say 13.02 and they send him an internal e-mail but he doesn't pick it up until he comes back at 14.30 and then phones the agents to release the keys!

So the point is that in that sort of case, if you are planning multiple trips you can usually only unload the first load starting after 14.30 and then you are going back to get the next load but your buyer is expecting to be unloading at your old house and his removal men are getting very cross the house is not empty!

There are things you can do, like putting your second load in your garage, so your buyer can put his stuff in the house when he comes, or getting your seller to agree that you can put your first load in his garage in the morning.

You would need to talk to the buyers and sellers about what you want to do, because a buyer will be very cross indeed and his removal men will charge him extra if you are still loading your van for the last run at 20.00 that day - I've known it happen!

1399steve

See this thread on the same topic:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1020529&highlight=

If you're DIYing it pay the extra £10 or so for extra insurance on the van in case someone bumps you (as happened to me!)

mrsw1983

delmar39 wrote: »

Best thing we found was to get some quotes. We were quoted £1000 and £270 for the same thing by different companies. I wouldn't pay £1000 for someone to do it, but I'm happy to pay £270 to save us the hassle. We're doing the packing the removal firm are just transporting. It's a local firm so we got a good price based on the big national firms.

We've also booked a local company. Initially we were going to do it ourselves but had a fantastic quote of under £200 for removals!:j a couple of the national companies were quoting £500+ for the same service! Ordered the boxes/packing stuff from ebay, and they are not expensive.

Welsh_Totster

We are going with a local company on recommendation and our quote is £1000 for packing an oversized 4 bed house and moving us 40+ miles. I also got a quote from Pickfords..... they quoted £2700! Top tip, gets a few quotes and then choose.

sandiep

If moving yourself and doing multiple trips, DO NOT try to short cut and quickly unload all the van into the first downstairs room. Believe me, having to move it all over again all around the house, with everything all blocked in is NOT good, and NOT easy.

(My dad taught me a very valuable lesson here when I was 11! It took us 2 days to get it all out of the front room!)

Also, make sure all beds go straight into the rooms required and then if you've got someone that's not involved in the loading, get them to make the beds all up. That way, you can stop at any time, have a takeaway for tea and go to bed.