Removals - can you haggle?

kates08

Hi all,

We've had two quotes for removals (2 bed, fairly sparcely furnished, no white goods included, travelling less than 10 miles).

One came in at £450 but my husband was here on his own when the guy came round to do the quote and he didn't get a very 'professional' vibe from him - the company does get good reviews online though.

The second has come in at £650 plus another £50 for additional insurance, which was more than we were expecting, but the guy was really professional and explained everything to us.

Do you think we can go back to the 2nd one and ask him if he can get closer to the 1st one? I'm aware that were probably paying more for the professionalism of the 2nd company so does that seem about right for removals? Both companies have said we'd only need their small van and two men for the move.

Kosher_Kid

You can always ask! If you don't, you'll never know ....
They can only say "No" after all.
We moved 3-4 years ago about 5 miles and paid a similar price.

SuboJvR

Go for it

If they want your business they will do their best. It depends how much they want it though really :-)

jimbog

Yes you can

ThePants999

You can ATTEMPT to haggle with anything. We can't predict whether you'll succeed!

That said, we once got a quote that included selling us packing boxes, and I counteroffered with a clause that said we could return them later for a refund if in good condition, and they accepted.

JoJo1978

Which?, Compare my move and Really moving all have sorts of calculators that you can use to get a broad idea of what your removal job costs. You input your house size, distance and level of service you need etc.

One useful thing to ask is if they will reserve a date and change it if needed for free. This had been useful for us cos our date keeps shifting!

zagubov

If you're not confident, this might be worth a read.

Mutton_Geoff

Everything is negotiable.

kates08

Thanks for all the advice, this is the first time we've ever needed removals as we're 2nd time buyers and had an overlap between rented and our first purchase. We aren't confident about doing it on our own when there will be someone waiting to get into ours!

Mutton_Geoff

If you're not used to negotiating, then just call the company you want to use and say "we liked your presentation, we really want to use you but we had a quote of £450 from XYZ. If you can match this then I'd like to book you for our move".


They may say yes or come back with a counter offer and reasons why they are better than XYZ etc. Stay quiet on the line for a few seconds then say "Is that the best you can do". And wait in complete silence for their answer.


Knock £50 off their new figure (assuming they haven't already matched XYZ) and say "OK, I would be more comfortable with £xxx, if you can agree to that, we can go ahead".


That would be about the amount of effort to spend and words to use to get the best possible price vs amount of effort negotiating with them.


Good luck.