A brief guide to hiring a removal company
When it comes to moving, hiring a removal company can make the process a whole lot easier. They have the skills and the equipment to conduct your move quickly and efficiently, allowing you to start unpacking and settle into your new home sooner. But how else can removal companies help you? What should you look for when hiring one? How much will it cost? This guide is here to answer all that so you can manage your move more comfortably.
Services removal companies provide
Removal companies offer a range of services. A typical removal company is likely to provide the following:
- Domestic removals
- Office removals
- Packing
- Storage
- Piano moving
Your removal company may be also able to help you dismantle furniture to make loading and transportation more straightforward. However, their expertise is in getting your items from A to B, so if you need to disconnect items such as washing machines or to dismantle technical items, consider hiring an expert. Your removal team may not have the technical skills or knowledge required to do this for you.
Choosing the right removal company
Rather than book the first company you speak to, you should do some research and collect several quotes. Moving can take time to organise, so you should request your quotes a month to six weeks before you plan to move. If you’re planning to move on a Friday or during the school holidays, request your quotes earlier than this and compare them. These are busy times for removal companies.
When you’re selecting your removals company, here are the things you should be considering:
Experience
How much experience does the company have? Ideally, they should have been operating for a few years. Is your move awkward or complicated? Ask the company if they’ve ever conducted a similar move before.
Reviews
What are other people saying about the company? A company may have one or two bad reviews, but overall, the majority of the reviews should be good. If they’re not, this could be a bad sign.
Staff
Reviews might mention staff’s behaviour. If the reviews suggest a staff member wasn’t highly trained or professional, you may not wish to hire the company for your removal. You want a team of experts to conduct your removals.
Extra fees
Your removal company should provide a quote that details all the different costs of the removal. If not, ask for a breakdown of them. Also check there are no hidden extra costs that you may have to pay on the day.
Insurance
Removal companies understand the risks and hazards of their work. A good company will have goods-in-transit insurance and public liability insurance to cover any damage — or just some of it, depending on the policy — or losses that could occur while carrying out the removal work. Check the company’s cover. If they don’t have any, stay well away.
Pricing
The cost of hiring a removal company can vary because there are several different factors the service provider must take into consideration when quoting for the removal.
According to the Homeowners Alliance (HOA), quoting estimates for a move covering 10 miles from the moving website Really Moving, removals companies will charge you between £300 and £800, the lower end figure being for 1 or 2-bedroomed properties. Long-distance moves across the country could bump the cost up to between £450 and £1,000.
For local moves within a town or to a nearby city, the company may charge you a minimum of two hours, plus for two professionals, and then for the amount of time the move takes and the number of professionals necessary.
The key question is, how much stuff do you want to move? Your removal company will want to know this and it will more than likely form the main basis for the quote, rather than the size of the property.
To your moving costs, you should add any extra services you might require, such as packing. You can expect to pay around £250 for packing, although this will depend on how much you have to pack. The company may also charge you for materials.
Moving can be a stressful process, so it pays to hire a removal company who can do all the heavy lifting and transport your items from A to B. They can do this efficiently so you can start settling into your new residence sooner.
