Pickford's movers - expensive?

greensalad

I've been getting quotes for movers. I had a first quote for £600 for a move over 2 days from a local small business which I thought was incredibly cheap, but their reviews weren't great so I thought I'd go elsewhere.

Decided to get a quote with Pickford's knowing they are a big chain so would give me a good example to compare against the smaller local places.

It came back as £2,500! Totally shocked.

3 bedroom house, though only one bed to move. Fair amount fo furniture but nothing extreme, (sofa, sofa bed, two chests of drawers, basic desks, no appliances). The biggest annoyance is probably flower pots in the garden as I'm determined to take about 10 of them, and I know they're not stackable. Oh, and bicycle and a gas BBQ. 

Moving 85 miles. However can also do moves over two days with a smaller van as we do not need to leave promptly, which the first guys said could help save a bit of money. 

But the idea of spending £2,500 would mean my budget is all out of whack. Getting quotes from elsewhere, but please tell me this is just a very expensive quote and not going to be the norm?!

TheJP

Pickfords are expensive because of the level of service they offer. I paid £672 for a 3 bed move 6 miles away. Generally having a move over 2 days will cost more than doing it on one day. What were pickfords offering, packing service?

greensalad

TheJP said:

Pickfords are expensive because of the level of service they offer. I paid £672 for a 3 bed move 6 miles away. Generally having a move over 2 days will cost more than doing it on one day. What were pickfords offering, packing service?

No packing service, no boxes. Just the standard move, dismantle some furniture (only 3 items dismantled) and insurance. 

The first (way too cheap) quote said that by moving us over two days they thought they could do it with a smaller van which would be quicker to load and unload, and also free up their larger vans which are apparently more sought after. So that was why they said it would be cheaper to do two days.

However we're totally flexible on that, obviously just want to get moved for a good value price. 

I was hoping for a price closer to £1k.

Waunakee

Used Pickfords (pre-pandemic) after selling holiday home in The Lakes and would definitely use them again.

Slightly complicated move as we were emptying a 2 bed 2nd floor apartment and were redistributing the contents between several addresses in South Manchester/North Cheshire.

If my memory serves me correctly the total cost was around the £1200 mark (no packing) and they were excellent.They provided very good humoured 3 porters and loaded up very quickly.The whole move only took around 5 and a half hours including the 100 mile + drive between properties.

We moved on a Wednesday (cheapest day of the week apparently) but had we chosen a busier day such as Friday the price would have been several hundreds pounds more.

greensalad

Wow, that seems so much cheaper. I am wondering if I need to get rid of the furniture rather than just telling them it won't be coming. The quote seems insanely high for what I feel like is quite a simple 3 bed move. 

Waunakee

We did obtain several quotes which varied enormously,some quite clearly weren’t that interested in moving a 2nd floor flat with multiple drops.I don’t remember all the figures but Pickfords fell about in the middle and were the best fit for our needs.

I believe removal costs have recently risen by as much as 25% in some areas due to driver shortages.

TheJP

greensalad said:

Wow, that seems so much cheaper. I am wondering if I need to get rid of the furniture rather than just telling them it won't be coming. The quote seems insanely high for what I feel like is quite a simple 3 bed move. 

Remember the demand for removal companies is high so the price will rise to reflect that. The problem with 2 small vans is they could cram your stuff in and likely cause damage.

hazyjo

Try something in-between perhaps. I've always used a removal company to pack and move my stuff. Worth every penny. Usually only around a grand all in (although agree the pandemic has skewed prices).

Ask on a local FB group or NextDoor site. Or search them. If they're anything like local groups to me, this question gets asked extremely regularly.

tooldle

Pickfords have quoted me in the past. If i recall correctly they remove the bulk of items the day prior to moving day. On moving day they send a smaller vehicle to collect the last bits and bobs. A lot less time pressure on what can be a difficult day. 
I can’t remember if there are additional charges in their contract to cover unloading time past a certain time. Quotes from cheaper companies to us did have hefty penalties for unloads after 2pm. Not a problem if you are first or second in a chain and expensive if you are towards the bottom. 

sheramber

I moved 260 miles, so 2 day job, with a 2 bedroom house. it cost £1200.

That was a local company.

I have , over many years,  used Pickfords three times , both for long distance and local moves, and had a very competitive quote and excellent service.

They were unable to move me the day I wanted so I don't know what they would have charged for the last move.

greensalad

Just got a second quote in at just over £2,000. Seems moving costs an awful lot more than I was expecting. Waiting for one more quote from another local firm to come in but will have to go with theirs or this £2,000 quote. I had no idea it would cost this much!