Questions
Whatever stage you are at
Grouped by where people usually are when they ask. The first group is the one most people need, and the first question in it is whether it is too late. It almost never is.
When you already started
The hire van is here and it will not fit. What now?
Tell us what is left rather than what has gone — that is the actual job. If the remainder is furniture and stairs, it is an ordinary booking and we will say plainly when we can do it.
Can you take over partway through?
Routinely. A half-emptied house is easier to survey than a full one, and the quotation is for what remains rather than for what the move originally looked like.
Do we have to return the hire van first?
That is between you and the hire company, and it is worth a phone call before the return time rather than after. We can work around a van sitting on the drive.
Will you judge us for having tried?
No, and we mean that. Hiring a van is a reasonable thing to do and it works for a great many people. It stops working at furniture and stairs, which is not a character flaw.
When somebody let you down
How quickly will you tell us if you can help?
In the first minute. Taking details from somebody whose move has collapsed and then ringing back later is the wrong way round when they need to keep phoning firms.
Will you tell us what went wrong with the other firm?
No. We have no idea what happened and speculating about a competitor to somebody already upset would be a poor way to earn a booking.
Can you match the price we were quoted?
We will quote what the job costs. Where the original figure was unrealistically low, matching it would put us in the same position that firm was in, which helps neither of us.
Should we be worried it happens again?
Ask any firm you approach for a written confirmation naming the vehicle and crew, and ask what happens if they cannot attend. A straightforward answer to both is worth more than a lower figure.
When the figure moved
Why do telephone estimates go up?
Because a bedroom count is not a volume. A boarded loft, a full garage and a garden store can add half again to what a house holds, and none of it is visible from the number of bedrooms.
How do we stop it happening?
Insist on a survey, at the property or by video, and check whether the document says estimate or fixed price. Those two steps remove nearly all of the risk.
Is a revised figure ever fair?
Often. If the volume genuinely was not what anybody thought, the second number may be the honest one. We will look at what you have been sent and say so rather than assuming the worst of somebody.
What is normally left out of a low figure?
Packing materials, waiting time on completion day, parking suspensions and permits, and anything needing disposal. None of it is hidden; it is simply not in the number.
When it is in storage
Can you empty a self-storage unit for us?
Yes, and it is one of our commonest jobs. It is usually a bigger day than putting things in was, because nobody made a list and it was stacked by whoever had the van.
Can you list what comes out?
We will, as it is loaded. On a unit that has been shut for a year that list is frequently the first record anybody has of what is actually in there.
Some of it should not come home with us.
Very common. We will take goods to a buyer, a charity or another address as part of the same day. We hold no waste carrier licence, so anything for disposal needs a licensed firm.
Can you move it to a cheaper arrangement instead?
Where the goods are going to be held for a long time, container storage with an inventory is usually cheaper per volume than a unit and much better documented. We will say when that is worth doing.
When you have not started
What should we settle first?
What is actually going — loft, garage and shed included. Everything else, including every figure anybody gives you, is provisional until that is known.
Do we need a survey?
For a whole house, yes. By video is fine where the access is plainly straightforward, and it takes considerably less time than the conversation that follows a wrong estimate.
When would you tell us not to book a firm at all?
A single item across town is a courier. One room with a lift at both ends and no stairs is frequently you and a friend. We will say so, and it costs us the booking.
How far ahead should we book?
As soon as a date exists, and earlier around the end of a month when completions cluster. Nothing about that is unique to us and any firm will tell you the same.
How we work
Do you publish prices?
No, and no rate card appears on this site. The volume, the access and how much you are doing yourself set the figure, and none of the three is knowable before a survey.
Do you do house clearances?
We move goods to a buyer, a charity or another address. We hold no waste carrier licence and do not dispose of anything, so a genuine clearance needs a second firm.
Do you move abroad?
Across Europe by road and worldwide by sea and air. The Philippines, Argentina, Israel and Egypt have their own pages because each one has a first attempt people commonly make and it is worth explaining.
What if something is damaged?
Tell us as soon as you notice, in writing within the period the terms set out, and keep the item and its packaging so both can be examined.
Not covered here?
Email, or add the question to the notes on the quote form. The three we field most are whether it is too late to ring, whether half a house is worth booking, and whether a quote that went up was fair. The answers are almost never, yes, and sometimes genuinely.
Where are you up to?
Both addresses, roughly what is left, and how much time there is. If you are partway through something already, say so — that is the useful part rather than the embarrassing one.