How much should I budget for removal costs with packing service?

Dave_5150

Does anyone have any recent real example costs for moves by well established national removal firms (e.g. Pickfords) with a full packing service and insurance please?

We may downsize / relocate to 3 bed in a city 40 miles away in NE England.

Just two people and we do not have a huge amount of stuff (e.g. one bed, no wardrobes).

I have not moved home for 20+ years and I have not previously used a removal firm.

I have 'guesstimated" a figure of £3,000 in my budget spreadsheet based on a few online articles. But I have no idea if this is realistic in 2026.

lincroft1710

Charges can (or could) vary depending on day of week or time of year.

No two jobs are ever the same

Putting a wardrobe or bed into a van and securing it is usually a fairly quick job. Emptying a china cabinet and securely wrapping the contents can take time. Surely the sensible thing to do is to approach several reputable firms and ask for estimates.

HampshireH

You'll probably need to get quotes as will totally depend on how much stuff you have.

I recently moved from a 2 bed (not cluttered) and with packing materials delivered for us to pack for about £1000.

We moved less than half a mile and I opted for them to disconnect washing machine and dismantle beds and rebuild/connect as part of that cost in the South

Dave_5150

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81958876#Comment_81958876

I do not believe it is possible to get any national companies to quote until they know exactly what they will be moving, where they will be moving it to and when they will be moving it.

I can not tell them any of that as I am still at the budgetting stage.

I would be very happy to be proven wrong though if anyone knows otherwise.

lincroft1710

How critical is the cost of moving to your house buying budget?

Dave_5150

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81958896#Comment_81958896

Very if I set a max budget for everything and then overshoot it because my removal guess was massively unrealistic

lincroft1710

I don't think £3K is massively unrealistic, but whereas you could easily get estimates for solicitors' fees and EA fees (presuming you are selling as well as buying), plus calculate stamp duty because you have (or will have) figures to work on, removal costs are unique to the actual job.

YBR

For a 4 bed house from East Midlands to Wiltshire, including part-pack had quotes from £3500 to over £5000. This was a 3 day move with the distance so I would expect £3k to be realistic for you.

GrubbyGirl_2

You will save a lot of money if you pack yourself. You'll also pay more for Pickfords. I've moved house 10 times and the first 5 times got a quote from Pickfords and as they were always more I stopped even asking them to quote. Find a local recommended firm (or firms) and get them to quote. I last moved 5 years ago and had to put my stuff into storage for a while, and the local firm I used were even happy to look after my plants in pots for me and after 3 months in their care they looked just as healthy when I got them back.

Get a few quotes but also get local recommendations

Also a few tips. Fridays and weekends are always more expensive so try and complete midweek. Sometimes packing up one day and delivering the next is also cheaper - it also gives you a good opportunity to get into the house and give it a good clean while it's empty. If the vendor insists on completing on a Friday - talk to the removal company of packing up on the Thursday and delivering on the Monday - again that may be cheaper and you can bunk down with friends/family for a couple of days. Keep tea/coffee and the kettle out to give the guys plenty of drinks (or have cold drinks if it's hot). Happy guys are always helpful and they will appreciate you for it

sheramber

I found Pickford to be cheaper or the same as local companies and service was excellent.

Used them for both local and long distance moves from Scotland to England and England to Scotland.

A move from central Scotland to the Far North, with an overnight stay due to distance. was the same price as a local company quoted.

They packed one day leaving a sofa and a 2 beds which they came back to collect first thing next morning. Drove up and stayed overnight at a depot local to new address.

Delivered at 8. 30 next morning.

Jude57

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6663698/how-much-should-i-budget-for-removal-costs-with-packing-service

I can't give you any figures but I can give a recommendation for a local, long established NE firm. I recently had to have some of my belongings put into storage while my Housing Association carried out extensive refurbishment of my flat and the entire block. It would have meant my moving the stuff numerous times and as every room was affected at some stage (sometimes every room on the same day!) the HA offered to have residents' stuff stored at no cost to us. They employed Brown and Illingworth, a long established local firm.

B&I were contacted by the HA on Friday morning when the contractor turned up unexpectedly and the issue became critical. B&I arrived at 4.00pm the same day. It took the 2 man team about 25 minutes to pack and clear everything from a bedroom and large, walk-in cupboard and away it went. When the works were completed, B&I arranged a time convenient to me to return everything and the 3 man team were excellent, happily placing the items in the locations I specified and even insisted on taking for free three large items I really wanted rid of when, in passing, I asked if they could quote to take them to the tip. Everything was returned in perfect condition and the staff really couldn't have been more helpful.

I'm sure they'd be able to give you a rough idea of cost and I know that they would cover the distance you need because they packed and moved me a 56 mile distance when I moved here 20+ years ago. I highly recommend them.