Strange request from removal man

purpleparrotuk

Hello, I have had a few removal companies round for quotes. I understand you should have 3 companies in mind in case when you are ready they have no availability.

The guy who came last night said you pay a 25 percent deposit. If you cancel within 7 days you lose it. But what he says is don't wait until you exchange before provisionally booking a date with someone.
Surely you will have no idea of the date until you exchange. How are you supposed to guess a date and then lose your deposit if it doesn't happen?

eddddy

purpleparrotuk wrote: »

The guy who came last night said you pay a 25 percent deposit. If you cancel within 7 days you lose it.

Can you clarify what you mean?

Do you mean if you cancel less than 7 days before the removal date, you lose the deposit?

If so, does he mean you pay a deposit now and pencil in a date now e.g. 10th October. As long as you call to cancel/rearrange that date before 3rd October, you don't lose the deposit?

If so, that seems very reasonable.

moneyistooshorttomention

Ask in response how much notice of a booking they require.

There is a good chance that that amount of notice (ie you giving them a booking/ paying deposit) is less than 4 weeks. 4 weeks is the traditional time between Exchange and Completion. = no problem. Just make sure there is that traditional 4 weeks gap and then book and pay deposit to firm chosen (ie after Exchange) and Job Done. You couldnt lose - as you'd be sure of Completion Date (having had Contracts Exchanged).

purpleparrotuk

eddddy wrote: »

Can you clarify what you mean?

Do you mean if you cancel less than 7 days before the removal date, you lose the deposit?

If so, does he mean you pay a deposit now and pencil in a date now e.g. 10th October. As long as you call to cancel/rearrange that date before 3rd October, you don't lose the deposit?

If so, that seems very reasonable.

Yes, thats what I mean. I guess you pick a very late date and just keep moving it. Just hope that when exchange happens you don't complete in less that 7 days.

purpleparrotuk

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Ask in response how much notice of a booking they require.

There is a good chance that that amount of notice (ie you giving them a booking/ paying deposit) is less than 4 weeks. 4 weeks is the traditional time between Exchange and Completion. = no problem. Just make sure there is that traditional 4 weeks gap and then book and pay deposit to firm chosen (ie after Exchange) and Job Done. You couldnt lose - as you'd be sure of Completion Date (having had Contracts Exchanged).

He was saying pay the deposit before exchange though.

hazyjo

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Ask in response how much notice of a booking they require.

There is a good chance that that amount of notice (ie you giving them a booking/ paying deposit) is less than 4 weeks. 4 weeks is the traditional time between Exchange and Completion. = no problem. Just make sure there is that traditional 4 weeks gap and then book and pay deposit to firm chosen (ie after Exchange) and Job Done. You couldnt lose - as you'd be sure of Completion Date (having had Contracts Exchanged).

It's not been the 'traditional time' for many years. Most people have around 2 week between exchange/completion.


(Obviously some still want longer, and others will do it the same day.) But the average/'traditional' these days is far less than it used to be.


Of course you can insist on 4 weeks but expect others in the chain to be peed off.

eddddy

purpleparrotuk wrote: »

Just hope that when exchange happens you don't complete in less that 7 days.

I think you're misunderstanding how this works.

You are not just told what your completion date will be when you exchange contracts.

Everyone in the chain negotiates/agrees on a completion date, and then contracts are exchanged.

So you might say: "I need more than 7 days between exchange and completion"

Somebody else might say "I can't complete on 10th October because it's my mother's birthday"

Somebody else might say: "I need 2 weeks between exchange and completion, because I can only book time off work 2 weeks in advance."

And eventually, you all find a date that suits everyone.

saajan_12

purpleparrotuk wrote: »

Yes, thats what I mean. I guess you pick a very late date and just keep moving it. Just hope that when exchange happens you don't complete in less that 7 days.

Well there’s no point in arbitrarily booking dates, because you odn’t know ifthe movers will be available on the date you eventually change to, so your deposit isn’t really reserving anything. Often before exchange you have an idea of completion date, at which point you can pay the deposit. You can then rearrange with 7 days notice if completion changes but atleast if it doesn’t change then you have reserved your movers.

eddddy

... but then I guess the real risk is that you pay the removal deposit, and then the purchase falls through before exchange of contracts.

So check with the removal firm what happens to your deposit in those circumstances.

Rambosmum

You could wait until after exchange to book, we did as the proposed date kept moving. We now have very limited choice in companies though.

hazyjo

Avoid a Friday completion and you'll have far better chance of booking the company you want.