Removal costs

thewinelake

We're moving in Jan 2020 and have started asking for quotes from removal companies.

Although we're moving from a 5 bed house, only 3 bedrooms have anything in them, and all the wardrobes are fitted, so there's not a lot of stuff for a house of this size. No white goods coming either.

The house is probably a 2/2.5 hour drive away for a truck limited to 50mph.

The first removals firm to quote say that they don't want to drive straight from our house to the new house, as they're worried that they will get there and there won't be much daylight left - and there may be issues with getting keys. So they're suggesting that they take the trucks to their warehouse overnight and do the drop off the next morning.

This all sounds fair enough but the price (including packing and a 2 truck job) seems pretty high at £4k+VAT. Does this sound about par for the course?

[Deleted User]

Crikey that's a huge amount to pay. I've always done my own packing and got a man with a van for no more than £500!

giraffe69

Sounds high to me although a second van will add to the cost. Common to store overnight if it is a longish drive. I'd get another quote or two.

paddyz

You could get it a lot cheaper if you do your own packing, but they are fantastic when they pack, I had packing and unpacking done in a day many moons ago but you do pay a lot more for the service

spadoosh

As a squaddy brat, the idea of paying for someone to move your stuff within the same country is outrageous. £4000 for the privilege is well alot.

Takes a few hours to load up a van, a bit less unloading. Van hire for a day will be about £80 a day for 3.5 tonne vehicle. Or about £100 a day for luton size (7.5 tonne).

Teenagers make for good cheap labour although typically require a lot of direction.

Liability will largely fall on you for damaged items.

Does the £4k include boxing and packaging or do you have to do that yourself anyway?

Monkeysocks42

We've just obtained 4 quotes to move a 4 bed house but, like you, we dont have stuff in all the rooms so more like a 3 bed. The quotes include a full packing service and we are moving just over 1 hour away so they will do most of the boxing up the day before then load on the morning of the move. All 4 quotes came in at around £1400 including VAT so your price does seem very high in comparison.

RelievedSheff

That is an silly amount of money quoted.

Packing the stuff yourself will save a big chunk of money.

phoebe1989seb

We've never used the packing service and have paid approximately £4300, £2500 and £3600 for three 200+ mile moves over the past twelve years.... the caveat being that unlike the OP, we do have a lot of stuff, including some antique furniture that required export wrapping to protect it in transit. Over the years we've gradually reduced the amount of furniture we have, downsizing from a six bed to a five, then a four till our current cottage which is a largeish two bed [STRIKE] however, we still have six sofas[/STRIKE] :eek:

The most expensive of the three above was bishop's move. Each time we moved we obtained several quotes and they were all fairly similar, with only a couple of hundred £££ separating the highest and lowest. We went with the company we felt most confidence in.

The company - a small independent - that did the £3600 move (from South Wiltshire to the West Midlands) took three days to load/travel to our new home and a further two to unpack, so five days in total......

When we attempted a DIY move it took seven loads in a 7.5 tonne Luton van

thewinelake

spadoosh wrote: »

Does the £4k include boxing and packaging or do you have to do that yourself anyway?

Yes. I was assuming that the labour charge would be modest, and it's a shame there's no break-down of costs.

thewinelake

Thanks all - we have another firm coming to quote on Tuesday. I'll tell them to break the quote down into individual bits so I can easily trim bits off for DIY where necessary.

I think a firm that could say "if we can get in on the day it will be X, otherwise Y" might be at an advantage. That would mean that we'd potentially need to reserve use of the trucks (even if not the staff) for another day, just in case. I think the risk of this is lower, as the house we're moving to will have been emptied several weeks earlier. Also there is a small barn-like space where, in extremis, things could be unloaded to.

davidmcn

thewinelake wrote: »

and there may be issues with getting keys

Says who? Surely the longer the drive, the less likelihood there is that the keys won't have been released by the end of the journey?

What's the issue with daylight? Are there no streetlights at the destination? Surely their trucks have lights?