Urgent - We need to move furniture to Plymouth any cheap options?

Furzil19

Hi,

A house purchase is going through much quicker than expected. We are moving a reasonably large amount of furniture 140 miles (just outside of Bournemouth to Plymouth). We need a 3.5 ton tail lift box cube van. As we have to stay there overnight (as there is just too much to do in one day) it becomes quite expensive.

We have considered national companies to do one way hire, but could do with suggestions of who is the best value for money.

We have also thought about removals companies that are moving people to our area & will be returning to Plymouth with an empty lorry. Any companies to approach would be helpful.

Thanks.:)

stef73

Are you sure it would fit in a Luton? I have helped a few people move with a luton and a it didnt fit in 1 load. If i was moving any distance id be looking at a 7.5 ton.

Dunroamin

http://www.anyvan.com/

Lovelyjoolz

I moved a modest amount of furniture last year and it took 2 trips in a 7.5t Luton.

I think you'll be better off with a removals firm.

I've head good things about this firm:

www.maidmans.com/bournemouth_removals_company.html

Strapped

Have used Devon Move in Kingsteignton before now, cheap and efficient, would recommend.

I'd imagine you could do Bournemouth to Plymouth in 1 day.

phoebe1989seb

We moved 150 miles with a 3000 sq ft house full of stuff (although that also included a hot tub ) and were charged in excess of £4k to move over four days by a national removal co in 2007.

Last year we were moving 200 miles with slightly less stuff (and had the hot tub moved by a specialist firm) and decided to get quotes from a smaller local firm which still came in at £2k+. We were going ahead then there were issues with our completion date so in the end we decided to hire a 7.5 tonne van with tail lift and do it ourselves........it took either 7 or 8 trips :eek:

Clearlier

I'd echo some of the questions raised by other posters about the size of the van. I recently moved into a 3 bed in the Bournemouth area and required 2 '85% full loads' of a 3.5 ton Luton.

To answer your specific question there are ads in the Bournemouth echo every day of man and van type operations. Some of these will have luton vans and some will have a tail lift as well - would query the need for a tail lift as well unless you have something seriously heavy like a piano.

You could rent a luton van with a tail lift but when you work out the cost of renting the van as well as the fuel and factor in the hassle of returning the van as well as the advantage of having somebody to give you a hand to move the stuff (assuming that would be an advantage for you) then I think a man with a van type operation beats renting your own van. You typically get quoted by the hour for this service but I'd recommend getting a fixed price. Prices I saw varied from £15 - £35 per hour.

I did a couple of summers of furniture moving as a student and was happy to get stuck in and lead my move but if that's not what you're looking for the next step up the ladder is getting in a proper removal company. I would expect these guys to have a better idea of what they're doing, they should provide boxes and will need a lot less direction. Some will also offer a full packing service where you don't even need to fill boxes but you'll typically pay quite a bit extra for that. These guys will come to your house in advance and quote you for the move.

Your choice is a balance between cost and stress. The more you pay the less you will be expected to do.