Removals Quote Shock

oniongirl

We've had three quotes for removals to move the contents of our three bed house 2 miles up the road. The quotes shown are for us packing.

The first company were £1344 + £140 optional insurance = £1484.
The second company were £576, including standard Liability Protection. I'm currently unsure if this is the same as the option insurance offered by the other two, so for fairness let's say it's not and add the same £140 insurance to this quote, so it totals £716.
The final company were £1248 + £140 optional insurance = £1388.

To be honest, the two more expensive quotes were significantly higher than I had expected. We aren't taking wardrobes, washing machine, tumble drier or dish washer. We are taking a super easy to take apart metal frame bed, and a slightly more fiddly IKEA day bed, plus normal other furniture (dining table+chairs, coffee table, tv table, one 3-seater sofa, couple of short bookshelves, + dressing table) and I suppose we have a bunch of just random "stuff" that will fill a fair few boxes.

Does the cheap quote sound too cheap, or are the other two too expensive? Does anyone have any advice on how to choose?

Appreciate help as always from this board.

davidmcn

Bear in mind that you'll be occupying them for the day, which means they can't instead accept a bigger / longer distance move which might better justify a higher price - so the prices aren't going to be entirely proportionate to the amount of your stuff or the distance you're travelling. I'd also be sceptical about any added "insurance" options, to check you're not pointlessly paying them for things they'd be liable for anyway.

You might want to try "man with a van" type outfits rather than the "proper" removal companies too, if your needs aren't too complex. Or gather some suitably sturdy friends, hire a van, and pay them in beer and pizza.

Falafels

Compare the companies, more specifically what their overheads are likely to be. If the cheapest one is a small local company with no presence elsewhere, then you can reasonably expect them to be cheaper for the same level of service than a nationally known company like Pickfords.

Where did you get these quotes from? I don't mean the companies themselves, but was it a reputable website like reallymoving.com?

P.S. A few years ago I was moving from the south coast to the West Midlands. I got several quotes, all of which were in the £400 - £450 range - apart from one, which was around £250. I phoned the guy back and asked him to check the amount because it was so very much cheaper than all the others, and was it correct? He assured me it was, and that everything would be fine. A couple of very nice guys turned up on moving day, very quick and efficient, and all went well.

A few weeks later, a friend was moving from the same town to the East Midlands, contacted the same company and got a quote for around £450 - even though there was only about 15 miles difference in the mileage. He queried this in light of my experience... and apparently the guy who'd given me the quote had forgotten to include the fuel cost....
(Sadly, they stopped trading in 2017).

ElizabethRose

My neighbours recently moved under 2 miles and they had a full packing and removal company for under £800. The company was recommended via their estate agents so may be worth asking. The other issue might be where you are in the country and access to the properties. 

greatcrested

Are they all members of the same/similar professional bodies?

Recommended by independant body eg Which? or Buy With Confidence (not commercial sites like TT etc)?

For the amount of stuff have you considered anyvan.com?

Do you currently have contents insurance? Often it will include cover during removals.

Soot2006

I had quotes between £500-£1500 for the exact same service ... I can't remember how much I paid. Closer to £500 and I was very happy. Can't imagine I would have been happier with the £1500 quote! I think the size of their fleet, their general availability and "home base" really comes into it.

oniongirl

Thanks everyone for the thought points.

All companies are local, we didn't get anyone like Pickfords in to quote. Perhaps I should.

We found the companies by going to the BAR website (British Association of Removers) - we just picked the first three off the list after doing a postcode search.

The quotes were given with in-person surveying of the contents of the house (all of them gave me an option for a video survey, but I didn't want to be caught out on the day for them to say "oh we didn't see that when you gave us the video tour")

I didn't think to check Which - it looks as though the company that provided the first quote was the only one of the list.

oniongirl

P.S. I don't think that our stuff would fit in a van that we could drive ourselves. We've definitely got way too much stuff to try and do this ourselves!

Mrs_F_2017

I moved in June and paid a bit less than the cheapest quote for pack and move of a three bed house, so all of yours seem very expensive if they don't include a packing service. We moved about 20 miles. 

sam121285

oniongirl said:

P.S. I don't think that our stuff would fit in a van that we could drive ourselves. We've definitely got way too much stuff to try and do this ourselves!

Don’t try and do it yourself. We decided to as we moved all our stuff into storage While our house is being finished. we have a two bed house so figured we would hire a van and get some friends to help. Took a whole weekend and was an absolute pain! I’ve now hired a company to get our stuff out of storage and into the new house in a few weeks time! 

moneysavinghero

oniongirl said:

P.S. I don't think that our stuff would fit in a van that we could drive ourselves. We've definitely got way too much stuff to try and do this ourselves!

You are only moving 2 miles up the road. Hire a van for the day and you can make as many trips as you need, you don't need to fit everything in the van at the same time. Not sure what you would have that would not fit in the back of a transit van.