Removal quotes

Sausmeister

Haven’t exchanged yet, but this will be soon and completion will hopefully be late May or Early June.

we have a three bed terraced and are going to a five bed semi town house.  Both over three floors.

The distance between the two houses is approx 300 metres by road.

we have been quoted £2,300 and £1,600 from two local removal
forms.

I can dismantle beds, remove light fittings, pack boxes.  I have a class 2 HVG licence, I can drive the bloody lorry.

there are about 10 bulky and heavy items which I cannot manage on my own.  I cannot guarantee help from friends at this stage.

so weighing up the options.  £1600 is a nonsense for the actual amount of help I need.

Can anyone advise how I may plan such a move and speculate how much I may be able to get the price down to.

AnotherJoe

I doubt they will alter their prices as they seem reasonable plus there are so many people moving at the moment movers arent wanting for business, plus many went bust in the first lockdown so there are fewer companies.

I was quoted £1750 , £1750 and £2250 from three companies for moving from a three bed plus garage and shed. So your £1600 quote seems reasonable. (those quotes included packing)

You are really paying for the time of around 3 people for a day plus the cost of the lorry not the cost to drive it.  Sure, you can dismantle a bed and pack boxes, so can nearly everyone, so what, but how long will that take to do, then move them all down stairs, pack in a lorry carefully, then reverse all that ? (the fact you are moving nearby is irrelevant to the work and no reason for it to be cheaper)

My experience with DIY movers is they grossly underestimate the time to do it all and are the muppets still emptying their house at 7pm having also skimped by renting a small van and making multiple trips.

If you want to do it cheaper then perhaps contact a temp agency where you can pay for a couple of people for a day ? Then please rent a large lorry not a ford escort van.

davidmcn

As above you're largely paying for being their customer for the day - the precise amount you're shifting and the distance doesn't make a great deal of difference, the point is that they're almost certainly not having another job that day (even if they can knock off a bit earlier for you than for somebody moving, say, 30 miles).

ele_91

You’re paying for the convenience, the time saving and as others have pointed out, the fact that removal firms aren’t exactly struggling for customers. We were quoted £1500 for a 2 bed over three floors with attic and cellar.

Rambosmum

Also remember that you don't have all day to move stuff out, unless you are in rented currently. You need to move it out, usually by 12 but you also need time to do a final clean round once all the boxes and furniture are out. 

We were quoted £1200 3 years ago - prices have definitely gone up due to demand. We went with a cheaper quote and ended up having to go and hire a second van!

letsbetfair

You could very likely get a 'man with a van' for a good bit less, if you're willing to help carry and aren't fussed about insurance. If you're buying and selling the same day, though, you're also paying for the movers to get everything out by whatever time is agreed (noon?) and to wait around if your seller is running late. How much do you value risk and hassle compared to the saving?

Don't underestimate the skill involved in moving stuff from/to a house quickly. I'm reasonably fit, but used professionals for my last move and they were much, much faster than I'd have been

MovingForwards

If you want it cheaper look on gumtree for man and a van type removals. It's how I moved 20 miles from a 2 bed to a 2 bed, cost me £200 and was done in no time.

AdrianC

If you don't need a full removal service, why get quotes for a full removal service?

If all you need is help moving 10 bulky items, hire a man-and-van for an hour or two.

Assuming you're in a chained-sale-and-purchase scenario, remember you have to empty the sold property COMPLETELY before you can move one single teabag into the purchased one.

Irishpearce26

I paid £672 for a 3 bed with garage in the West Midlands. Seems pretty high but the highest I was quoted was around the £900. I had a large lorry with 3 people for the whole day no hidden fees.

Marvellousmrsmaisel

My quote was similar to Irishpearce26 above, £690 for going from a 3 bed detached to a 3 bed semi detached about 7 minutes in the car. 3 men and a fairly big truck. Also included them dismantling and reassembly of beds. Another firm quoted me £995 to do the same.

Splatfoot

We were quoted almost 5k..😦😦. We are moving to Scotland but 😮😮 so, we're hiring a lorry for a week and going to do it ourselves. We already did the hard work, packing and taking it all to storage ourselves so this should be easy.....