Removals withholding deposit, they booked the wrong size van!

Wes121708

For all our quotes we had to either take them round the house on a video call or send them a video so they can see what we've got. We've been quoted 2 Luton's and one company even quoted 3! 
Question, how much did they quote you for the full job? We've had £1,000 and one £900. It's been years since I've moved so assume this is average?! We're not going far only about 25 mins away.

Swash

Wes121708 said:

For all our quotes we had to either take them round the house on a video call or send them a video so they can see what we've got. We've been quoted 2 Luton's and one company even quoted 3! 
Question, how much did they quote you for the full job? We've had £1,000 and one £900. It's been years since I've moved so assume this is average?! We're not going far only about 25 mins away.

We are going 15 minutes away and was around £600. My partner booked it in haste before we even exchanged. 

We have since found another company for 2 vans for less than £700. 

2 lutons are definitely needed, I had this company come to my house to quote and they also said we cannot do multiple trips as we are mid chain. 

I think this guy was just trying to make more money off customers by only using one van, hoping he could get away with it. I know it may be possible to 'get away with it' but I'm not willing to risk being sued for not being out the house on time. As if moving house isn't stressful enough..

AnotherJoe

 I had a 3 bed and that took a Luton .... plus a massive 'ordinary size' removal van as well !

FreeBear

If/when I eventually move out of this 3 bed semi, it is going to need a real big removal van plus a 7.5t truck with a 30t hiab for the workshop toys equipment. One tiny little Luton just isn't going to be man enough.

tooldle

I moved from a 3 bed in a Luton, with just the one trip. 
We've recently moved again, this time from a  4 bed to a 3 bed. This time we managed it in 6 loads in a regular panel van and a couple of small loads in our Transit Connect. 
I did have a quote from a removal company whose quote was based on a Luton (one trip). 
Its not the size of your house that matters, more what you have in it and how much of that is going to the new address.

deannagone

I have moved twice with 'cheap' companies that provided an extended luton type van.  Both times it was a nightmare.  With the first removal I had to leave an oven and refrigerator (both in good condition) that I didn't need but had intended to sell at the new address.  I also had to leave plants and planters I intended taking behind.  I had been reassured the van would be plenty large enough in spite of taking boxes of books (that were packed first, to remove them I'd have had to have had the whole van unloaded).  Multiple trips weren't possible as the move was 130 miles distance.

The second time I had already got rid of most of my books, and it was a very local move.  I was prepared for multiple trips but it was again, a cheap move with young lads that had no idea.  They piled things in the hallway so you couldn't go anywhere in the house.  I have disabilities so had to move that stuff myself.  Never again.  They weren't that cheap either.

If I move again, I will go for a professional company, with the right sized van with people who know what they are doing.  The mention of a Luton Van will be enough to make me go elsewhere lol.

Lavendyr

So the aggressive attitude is not great and rings alarm bells for me.

i'd sa that it is the removal company's responsibility to assess appropriately what needs moving and if they do not do what you need the to do then it is their failure. And if that results in extra cost for you then you should be able to pass that onto them.

I suggest you set out in writing everything they will be moving. I have always provided an estimate of heavy goods plus number of boxes and our removals have gone from that. When my partner and I moved from a 2 bed house and a 2 bed flat everything we took fitted into a single Luton van. But we did a fair bit of our own moving of things we wanted to keep safe. We moved again, in March 2021, and this time had the removals vans take a lot more, from a large 2 bed to a 4 bed it was 2 Luton vans. 

Better safe than sorry in terms of removals I think, and if the people you're using are unwilling to allow you to pay more for an extra van then I'd question their professionality. Bear in mind that there are rules around the load a Luton van can take. Are the in danger of breaching that? Our removals company and those who quoted were concerned about the legality of the load in weight

peterhjohnson

I would not use a removal company that didn't want to look at my contents before quoting.  "Three bedroom house" is not a precise measurement. In my most recent move, I decluttered massively before moving, EG: I dumped my tatty old cooker because the new place had built-in. Similarly with a kitchen table. Some other items were dumped as needing replacement - which I did in the new place. Quote for 15 miles was under £500 (18 months ago)