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

martindow

No recent figures to give you, but we found that the additional cost for full packaging varied wildly between companies. Some charged very little more than a basic quote and others quoted such high prices I assumed that they didn't want to take the job.

I would thoroughly recommend using a packing service. Manycompanies' insurance would not cover items they hadn't packed. It also avoids spending days or weeks living amongst half-packed boxes.

Murphybear

it’s a valid point about the insurance, if things like china/glass get broken the removal firm may not compensate you if you have packed it yourself. You could do a part pack. The removal company can pack glass and china and you pack unbreakable items such as books etc.

We last moved 8 years ago and it cost £1600 for a full pack and about 85 miles in the West country. We used a local firm and they only charged about £100 to pack everything.

sheramber

check your house insurance.

Some cover your contents when moving.

Bigphil1474

We paid £1,200 in 2024 for a 4 mile move - 5 guys, 2 vehicles. Just 2 of us. Furniture, about 100 boxes, and the second vehicle was just garden stuff. We packed the boxes ourselves. We took the valuable breakables in our car. Relatives moved last year and had a full packing service and it was near to £5k, but they had 2 kids with about 3 times the stuff and they moved further.

When we were getting quotes, we picked 2 local firms and a bigger regional one. 2 did a survey over video call and one came out and did a survey in person (one of the local ones). They were also the cheapest and we liked the guy. As you are asking for a packing service, can't see why you can't get a quote now. They'll just do a survey, ask where you are moving to, and quote from there.

KittenChops

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81959389#Comment_81959389

Having used the packing service when we last moved, I will never ever pack myself again. The price for that part was a few hundred pounds - they packed everything (except for personal items / passports etc) in a 2 bed decluttered house in about 2 hours - nothing broken, nothing missing. Worth every penny.

Slinky

We moved twice with packing service from GB Liners and would be happy to use them again. Having packed for myself, and had the packing service, I would never consider packing for myself again. What took me weeks, took them one day. We had to use a different company for our last move as GB weren't able to move us. The quotes we had from every company were not hugely more expensive for them to pack than for us to DIY.

It's a while since we moved, but £3K doesn't sound wildly wrong to me.

RelievedSheff

We moved a few weeks ago and used a local company.

We packed ourselves which gave us a chance to go through everything and have a big declutter in the process.

To move 2.5 miles from a 3 bed to a 4 bed with a two man team and two vans cost us £600.

They were really very good and very professional and we would have no qualms with recommending them for anyone moving in the East Midlands area.

dinosaur66

i have hired a 7.5 ton lorry and have have moved family members quite a few times from 1990s to 2019 using my brothers / nephews to help with loading and unloading

modern 7.5 cargos are a doddle to drive and anyone who has driven a van after a few mins will be comfertable in it

not done it since before covid / price then was £170 plus £20 diesel in 2019 probably about £240 now i would guess -they always used to try and sell me extra insurance.

it will depend on when you passed your test i think the law changed around 2000 and maximum size after that was 3.5 ton and before that you are still allowed to drive a 7.5 ton on a standard car license so i would guess you would have to be late 40s to 50s in order to drive it / use your uncle

you will need some long bungees just join them together/ blankets/ sack barrow helps

i never new it cost 3 grand to move /if it does then hiring a 7.5 ton is a no brainer