Removal companies - Dudley, West Mids moving to Oswestry, Shropshire

Katgrit

Hi,

I'm moving house by myself next Thursday (2nd) and have still not booked a removal company. Is it too late? Work has been horribly bad so havent had time to phone round and no-one to do i for me and help me out. :eek: I'm in a right panic now - as with everyone's house move its been so stressful.

I have been a bit of a horder over the years and have manged to declutter massively but still a fair more than normal to shift. I have a 2 bed semi, and I'm moving 60 miles to an area I hardly know.

Can anyone recommend a good company in the Dudley / West Mids area? I could possibly get a company half way between here and new house but I'm not sure if they'd treck all this way just to give me a quote. How does iit work? Do they visit first to have a look at everything I'm moving to assess size? Or have they done their jobs long enough to know just by what I say over the phone? I dont know how it works! Can you hear the panic in my voice??!:eek:

I've found a google round some review sites and theres one called Sandwell Removals that have lots of good reviews on one site, but because they are all so good, and all on the one site, I am now fretting and getting supsicious they are all cons and written by the company owner.

Can anyone recommend a good company or at least how I find one. I'm going into meltdown trying to do all his by myself.

Please help.

Kat
xxx

dacouch

You could try Bradshaw International who are very good http://bradshawinternational.com/web/ (The distance is not neccessarily a problem)

As well as trying companies local to your current home, try companies at your final destination as the actual mileage for the lorry is the same as if you use one local to your current home

Doozergirl

Why Wait Removals based in Wollaston, Stourbridge. Brilliant and cheap.

0800 619 5959

I originally found them using a removals comparison site. It's slightly cheaper if you don't move on a Friday as well - we did it on a Wednesday so we didn't have to pay more.

They will come and do a survey first, let you have a price. Great value for money, All boxes and packing materials included - as many as you need. Fully insured and they worked like dogs Nice guys too, I kept them in fizzy drinks and a beer at the end of the day.

I've recommended them to two different friends since and they were happy too.

Easy

Katgrit

I just want it all to be over so I can look back on this and laugh! I have just phoned a local company and ended up crying down to the phone to a poor bloke who told me they were fully booked but managed to calm me down, and was actually very helpful. Ha ha ha poor man. He said that any good company would come out first to assess volume.

dacouch wrote: »

You could try Bradshaw International who are very good http://bradshawinternational.com/web/ (The distance is not neccessarily a problem)

As well as trying companies local to your current home, try companies at your final destination as the actual mileage for the lorry is the same as if you use one local to your current home

Thought about that but I didnt think that a company would drive 60+ miles just to assess my contents volume if theres no guarentee I'll go with their quote.

Doozergirl wrote: »

Why Wait Removals based in Wollaston, Stourbridge. Brilliant and cheap.

0800 619 5959

I originally found them using a removals comparison site. It's slightly cheaper if you don't move on a Friday as well - we did it on a Wednesday so we didn't have to pay more.

They will come and do a survey first, let you have a price. Great value for money, All boxes and packing materials included - as many as you need. Fully insured and they worked like dogs Nice guys too, I kept them in fizzy drinks and a beer at the end of the day.

I've recommended them to two different friends since and they were happy too.

Easy

Cheers for the heads up. I like the sound of insured rather than relying on my own contents insurance. Is company insurance normal? I'll give them a ring. I assume its ok for me not to sign on the dotted line and get another company round for a quote aswell? I need something confirming soon for my sanity, but I dont want to just go with the first company I get. Is it sensible to get more than one quote or do most people not usually faff that much?

Thank you so much for everyone helping me out so quickly - I have calmed down a fair bit since I've cried down the phone to the fully booked man! :rotfl:

Doozergirl

If you google for removal comparisons it will give you a very quick idea of prices and also bring up some more local companies for you to try. Of course they'd expect that you will get more than one quote if they come out to survey.

Having their own insurance is essential for a company that takes itself seriously! I wouldn't let anyone move my stuff that didn't have adequate insurance in place. Expect my husband, lol!

Katgrit

Tried google and yell, but they come up with companies who seem to do more company/office removals than domestic ones. Or it just seems to plump Dudley in with Brum and came up with companies miles away, and I'll be moving this way, not that way. Just wasn't sure whats a reasonable distance to expect them to come to quote.

I did get one bloke who said he could send a man with a sprinter van which ha hah ha even I knew was ridiculous! How many 120 mile round trips would THAT take?!

dacouch

Doozergirl wrote: »

If you google for removal comparisons it will give you a very quick idea of prices and also bring up some more local companies for you to try. Of course they'd expect that you will get more than one quote if they come out to survey.

Having their own insurance is essential for a company that takes itself seriously! I wouldn't let anyone move my stuff that didn't have adequate insurance in place. Expect my husband, lol!

Having a removal company with their own insurance is a good sign, if you ever actually need to claim for an expensive item though it would often be best to claim from your own home insurance assuming it includes cover. The reason for this is the removal company will have an indemnity policy (The pay the second hand value of the item taking into account wear and tear) your home insurance will pay most claims on a "New for Old Basis".

Doozergirl

dacouch wrote: »

Having a removal company with their own insurance is a good sign, if you ever actually need to claim for an expensive item though it would often be best to claim from your own home insurance assuming it includes cover. The reason for this is the removal company will have an indemnity policy (The pay the second hand value of the item taking into account wear and tear) your home insurance will pay most claims on a "New for Old Basis".

Thanks for the heads-up.

Out of interest then, would there be a difference in how home insurers would treat claims from people that were moving DIY or with a 'man and van' type that didn't have insurance?

dacouch

Doozergirl wrote: »

Thanks for the heads-up.

Out of interest then, would there be a difference in how home insurers would treat claims from people that were moving DIY or with a 'man and van' type that didn't have insurance?

It depends on the wording of the policy, most policies that include the cover use the words "Professional Removal Company".

Here is the wording from Direct Line which is roughly what most companies use.

"11 Household removal
We will pay for accidental loss of or damage to the contents while
they are being permanently removed, by a professional removal firm,
from your home to any other private property you are going to
live in within the British Isles, including while they are temporarily
stored for up to 72 hours.
But not
a) loss of or damage to money or valuables
b) loss of or damage to china, glass, earthenware or other fragile
items, unless they were packed by professional packers
c) loss or damage caused by uninsurable risks; or
d) the first £25 of any claim, plus the amount of any excess shown
in the schedule" http://www.directline.com/home/home_policy_document_hm137.pdf (Page 32).

I deal with Insurance and also do removal work on the side (I've worked for very large blue chip removers and Man and Vans)as I enjoy the hard work.

I have not seen any claims from Man and Van companies, but would guess it would depend on the Insurer and the type of Man and Van company (There is a massive variety in professionalism).

I would hazard a guess that an Insurer MIGHT deem a Man and Van company as being professional if they had a land line number and or proper terms and conditions and / or their own Insurance rather than someone moonlighting on gumtree with a mobile number.

In my experience you can find out a lot about a Man and Van company by reading their Terms and Conditions (Lack of them is not a good sign), these tell you a lot and also often indicate if they have their own Insurance.

With regard to DIY moves a home insurance does not normally cover it as the potential for claims is massive. In reality a lot of policyholders fraudulently put in claims some time after the move under the accidental damage part of the policy where the common excuse is they dropped the tv etc down the stairs when moving it between bedrooms

Doozergirl

What a comprehensive reply! Thanks