Is This Quote Fair?

Spectralis

Please can someone advise me about consumer rights regarding a removals quote?

On Sat 24th June, I provisionally booked a removal for Sat 1st July with AnyVan and was quoted £176. The confirmation email I received claimed that I could add more items up to 24 hours before the removal day.

I wasn't sure exactly how many boxes I would pack so I stated, 4 large, 4 medium and 4 small. The quote was £176.

I eventually packed 14 medium boxes, 6 small boxes, a folding camping table and two art portfolio folders. So on Thursday at 16:40pm I updated the removal items and was quoted £355! 

I was shocked so I phoned AnyVan. The call handler seemed surprised about increase too but was told by his manager that this was correct.

I looked at AnyVan's terms and conditions and found that if I cancelled with 48 hours I would only be reimbursed 50% of the fee i.e. half of £355.

I contacted another company who quoted me £167 but after I read AnyVan's T&C I realised I would end up paying over £350 anyway if I cancelled so I had to stay with AnyVan.

I'm so upset because I've had to move to temporary housing after a cancer diagnosis because my flat is no longer suitable. I've tried to organise everything properly before I begin a stem cell transplant on 3rd July but this has blown my budget. I'm very worried that AnyVan may end up charging me even more and there's nothing I can do about it. What can I do?

eskbanker

Spectralis said:

The confirmation email I received claimed that I could add more items up to 24 hours before the removal day.

Did this state, or even suggest, that this could be done without affecting the price?

Spectralis said:

I wasn't sure exactly how many boxes I would pack so I stated, 4 large, 4 medium and 4 small. The quote was £176.

I eventually packed 14 medium boxes, 6 small boxes, a folding camping table and two art portfolio folders. So on Thursday at 16:40pm I updated the removal items and was quoted £355! 

I was shocked so I phoned AnyVan. The call handler seemed surprised about increase too but was told by his manager that this was correct.

Not sure I'm understanding the shock - you asked them to move significantly more stuff and so they increased the price accordingly?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

I wasn't sure exactly how many boxes I would pack so I stated, 4 large, 4 medium and 4 small. The quote was £176.
I eventually packed 14 medium boxes, 6 small boxes, a folding camping table and two art portfolio folders. So on Thursday at 16:40pm I updated the removal items and was quoted £355! 

I was shocked

Are you being serious 🤔.

comeandgo

You doubled the number of items to move so increase seems fair.

cymruchris

Your volume of goods went up considerably, your quantity of boxes/items went up considerably - to be fair I'd be expecting the price to go the same way as a result, and wouldn't necessarily be shocked. It might mean being allocated a different vehicle that used more fuel, it might mean another member of staff got allocated to the job, there are variables at play that need to be costed into the pricing. None of us can really comment as we don't know what resources would have been allocated if you'd stuck to your original quantities. But in essence - to move more - costs more. 

It's better when quoting when you don't know how much you need/want in any case (moving, drinks for a leaving party, cement for a wall) to over-estimate what you might need and give yourself a safety margin to try and avoid costly fees when you suddenly find you are needing more of something at short notice. 

In terms of rights - we'd need to see the contract/terms & conditions you'd signed up to in term of cancellations and amendments to advise further. 

Spectralis

The quote was for 12 boxes (4 large, 4 medium and 4 small). I deleted the 4 large boxes and added 10 medium boxes, 2 small boxes and a folding table that weighs 4kgs.
I expected the price to increase but not to almost double. I wasn't made aware that the price might double at any point nor was there any warning about that possibility within 48 hours of the job.
It's pretty convenient for the company to double the price considering their policy of only a 50% refund within 48 hours. That way they can extend their 24 hour no refund policy an extra 24 hours. I think that behaviour is very shocking. Especially as they advertise changes to the delivery up to 24 hours before the removal date without any caveats.

cymruchris

cymruchris said:

In terms of rights - we'd need to see the contract/terms & conditions you'd signed up to in term of cancellations and amendments to advise further. 

If you're able to dig out the email/terms & conditions etc - and blanking out any personal details and posting them here, there are certainly plenty of experienced posters that might be able to advise on any course of action you might or might not have. I suspect there won't be any comeback, but without seeing what you signed up to, it's impossible for us to be sure. 

Spectralis

I forgot to add that each of the 4 large boxes (45.72cm x 45.72cm x 60.96cm) I deleted are almost double the size of the medium boxes (45.72cm x 45.72cm x 31.75cm). So in terms of van space, I'm only adding 2 medium boxes, 2 small boxes and a folding table. I'm also supplying all the boxes.
How can adding 2 medium boxes, 2 small boxes and a 4kg folding table justify almost doubling the price?

cymruchris

Spectralis said:

I forgot to add that each of the 4 large boxes (45.72cm x 45.72cm x 60.96cm) I deleted are almost double the size of the medium boxes (45.72cm x 45.72cm x 31.75cm). So in terms of van space, I'm only adding 2 medium boxes, 2 small boxes and a folding table. I'm also supplying all the boxes.
How can adding 2 medium boxes, 2 small boxes and a 4kg folding table justify almost doubling the price?

I suspect they might work on a range of volumes when deciding what they charge. 

So up to and including X metres cubed would be £XXX - between X metres cubed and Y metres cubed would be £ZZZ - and so on on a sliding scale. Sometimes you could add a tissue box and you'd fall into the next category. (Extreme example - but it's how things might work) - again without seeing what you've signed up to - we're all just guessing. 

Spectralis

I just tested the AnyVan system by requesting a quote for exactly the same number of items, travelling a similar distance with the same number staff (driver and assistant) and was quoted £207.

Alderbank

Spectralis, you don't seem to have any idea how Anyvan, and similar sites like Shiply, work.

To avoid unpleasant shocks make sure you are sitting down before reading more. 

Anyvan is just a marketplace, a sort of eBay for ManwithaVan firms. It doesn't do any calculations about total volumes of boxes etc. It just puts your request on its board to its paying subscribers who bid what they feel like for your job. If someone has space in  the van or a paying delivery going the other way they will bid a low price. Otherwise not so much. 
Anyvan just passes on to you the best price it gets. That's it. If you post exactly the same job each day for a week you will get seven different prices probably from seven different firms. Their prices will be based on various factors but there is no conspiracy against you. They don't care who you are.  No breach of your consumer rights.