Should You Move Home Yourself or Hire a Removal Company?
For the vast majority of home moves, it makes sense to hire a good removal company to move you.
But there are some factors that will influence that decision and only you are able to decide if it is worth hiring a removal company.
- Ability. Do you have the necessary skills or physical ability to pack and move all the items you want moving to your new home? Consider also the stress and implications of driving a van full of heavy furniture through heavy traffic or down country lanes.
- The number and type of things to move. Large home moves may make it impractical to move yourself, international home moves will almost certainly involve hiring a removal company, but moving just a few boxes with no furniture may make it possible for a self-move.
- Available time. Your job or family may mean you just do not have the time available to pack and move yourself. Packing for a home move is especially time-consuming and professional packers will usually take about half the time to pack a home than an untrained person would.
- Lack of help. You may not have enough friends or family around you to help with the move. If you intend to move home yourself you will need plenty of help, it can be exhausting making numerous trips back and forth or up and downstairs. And moving heavy and large furniture yourself can be virtually impossible even with furniture dollies.
Find out more: Moving Home Yourself vs Hiring a Removal Company: The Pros and Cons
What to Look For in a Removal Company
So having decided that hiring a removal company makes sense for your particular home move, what should you look for in a reputable removal company?
- Are they a legal company? Your first inquiry should be at Company House to ensure that they are a legally registered removal company.
- Are they insured? You will want to ensure that your home contents and your home itself are adequately insured in the event of any mishaps. Triple check any paperwork that you are given to ensure that you are fully aware of what is and is not covered by the removal company insurance.
- Do they have the necessary skills and equipment? Does the removal company have experience of your type of home move? Do they have the necessary equipment to move your furniture safely?
- Can they move specialist items? Do you need a piano or valuable pieces of art moved? Does the removal company have the experience, packing skills and equipment to move such items?
- Are they affordable? And of course, a major consideration is value for money and affordability.
- Do they employ seasonal staff? During the busy summer months, many removal firms hire additional labour to cope with the extra workload. Ideally, you want full-time, fully trained staff to carry out your home move. Moving in the quieter months of the year such as autumn should ensure that your removal team is the best that the company employs. Ask the question of any prospective removal company that you are considering hiring.
- Are they a member of BAR? BAR is the British Association of Removals. It is a professional body of removal firms that abide by set rules and operating standards. Additionally, they offer certain guarantees for your home move. They also offer an arbitration service should you have a dispute with your removal company. If this is important to you check that their membership is in date.
Also read: How to Choose a Reputable Removal Company
Where to Get Recommendations for a Good Removal Company
It is difficult to know whose advice to trust. So we would recommend that you seek recommendations from as many reliable sources as possible.
- Friends and Family. Personal recommendation of a removal company can be particularly valuable as you know the source of the referral.
- Reviews. Find a reputable source to get your removal reviews from. It is a sad fact that some companies use marketing firms, and even their own staff, to write reviews to boost the company rankings. The better review sites will allow you to contact the reviewer so that you can ask specific questions if you so wish. The removal review website should also make use of different filtering techniques to help filter out fake reviews.
- Forums. Forums can be particularly useful if you are embarking upon an international home move. For example, if you are moving to France seek out an expats forum where there will be many people who will be able to recommend or warn you against using a specific international removal company.
You may like to read: Why Social Proof Matters When Moving Home
How to Compare Removal Companies
When you have a shortlist of potential home moving partners create a list of things that are important to you, such as a crating service or the level of insurance they provide.
Ask each of the removal companies exactly the same question. You will then be in a position to compare the pros and cons of each company that has provided you with a quote for your home move.
- Get an in-home removal survey. An online or over the phone estimate can never be truly accurate but will give you a good idea of approximately how much your home move is going to cost you. The vast majority of removal companies will want to visit your home to complete a survey so that they can give you a far more accurate price whilst at the same time formulate a moving day plan. If the removal company does not offer any sort of survey, this is commonly being done via apps and video surveys these days, you may leave yourself open to additional costs and problems on moving day. How can the removal company factor in the cost of moving items down 5 flights of stairs or know if it’s possible to get the wardrobe through the doors if they have not surveyed your home?
- Compare estimates. Once you have about 3-4 estimates you can see how comparable the costs are. Many aspects of the home move price are fixed such as mileage and fuel, so any additional costs will be down to the level of service they provide or the quality of the packing materials they use for example.
- Check reviews. Be sure to pay particular attention to any reviews you read about the removal company. You should look for recent reviews that are for home moves of a similar size and distance to yours.
Get more information here: How to Compare Removal Companies
How to Get a Removal Company Cost Estimate
In the first instance you will want to find a removal company that has been verified as being a legitimate business, has a good reputation, has the skills and equipment to move you, and is available on the date you wish to move. And of course, come in at the right price.
The easiest way to do that is to complete an online removal cost estimate request. It takes just a minute to complete the form and you will then receive up to 4 removal quotes.
It is then up to you to decide which of those removal companies would best suit your home move.
Find out more: How to Get a Free Online Moving Cost Estimate
Essential Questions to Ask a Removal Company
Asking the right questions of your removal company is essential to ensure that you can make a fully informed decision about hiring them.
Think of as many questions as you can. The more information you have, the easier your decision will be in choosing the best removal company. And ask for proof. If they state that they have fully trained staff, ask to see the certification. If they say they are eco-friendly – how so? Are the vehicles new or electric? Do they use recycled boxes or tote boxes?
Here are a few ideas of questions that you may want an answer to:
- Are they legally registered as a business?
- How long have they been in business?
- Do they employ only full-time, fully trained staff?
- Do they belong to any of the removal industry associations such as BAR?
- Do they have the necessary moving equipment?
- What additional services do they provide?
- What type of packing materials do they use?
- How eco-friendly is the business?
- Do you offer storage?
- What happens if I cancel my home move before moving day?
- What level of insurance do you provide?
Find out more: Questions to Ask Your Removal Company
Which Removal Company Do You Need?
You may not need every service that the removal company provides. So you may choose a company that has a fantastic reputation as the best packers in the industry and choose to drive your own van.
You may need a removal company that specializes in moving antiques or wine collections.
Decide what services you need, what is essential, and what is nice to have in the ideal removal company.
Good to know: Are Full-Service Removals Worth the Cost?
How to Hire a Good Removal Company
There is a process of hiring a good removal company and by following each step of the process you will have the best chance of hiring the right removal company for your home move.
- Know what services you need.
- Know exactly what are you moving to your new home.
- Get recommendations for good removal firms.
- Get an in-home removal survey.
- Research the removal companies.
- Book the removal company as soon as you have a move date.
You may also like: Removal Industry Trade Associations
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a Removal Company
- Booking a Removal Company at the last minute. This leaves you little choice in who may be available to move you. Start the process of hiring a good removal company as early in the home move as you can. The more time you and the removal company devote to the planning of your home move, the more successful and stress-free it will be.
- Not getting an in-home survey. You are risking a hike in the price on moving day or even worse, the removal company not having a big enough van for example to move all your things.
- Booking the first removal company you find. Act in haste and repent at leisure. The level of service, and price, between different removal companies can vary enormously. Ideally, you want to be able to compare 3-4 different removal firms to give you a good idea of what different removal firms offer.
- You did not ask enough questions. This could cost you dearly. Failing to understand the level of insurance cover or any additional costs that you are liable for could blow your home moving budget. The more information you have the better your ability to choose the best removal company. And read the small print of any contracts. It is a good idea to put your questions in writing and email them to the company so that you have written confirmation should you need it in the event of a claim.
You may also like: Why it Pays to be Honest With Your Removal Company
Can you Negotiate with a Removal Company?
Certain aspects of your home move such as distance from old to new home is set and the majority of removal firms will charge a similar amount. There may however be additional services that they charge for that you may not need so there is a possibility that you could save some costs there.
If you are flexible in your moving date, choose a midweek date, outside of the moving season. Moving home in autumn, on a Wednesday for example, can save you a significant amount of money.
If you have only a few pieces of furniture to move, can the removal company make use of any available space in another removal van?
Tell the removal company you are open to suggestions, be flexible, and you may just save yourself a few pounds on the cost of your home move.
And use the oldest trick in the book. Tell them you would love to hire them but you have had an offer from their main competitor which is cheaper. Will they match that price? Ask. You have nothing to lose.
Just be realistic, there are not huge profits to be made by the removal companies, it is a very competitive market. But if you don’t ask, you won’t get.
Must read: How to Negotiate With a Removal Company
Avoid Being Ripped Off by a Removal Company
It is a sad fact that there are removal companies that will try to rip you off. But there are red flags that you should be aware of which will stop you from being their next victim.
- Reviews. They only have 5-star reviews and all the wording is similar. Not many removal firms are absolutely perfect. They are human after all. So if they have only 5-star reviews, that use recurring phrases or words be cautious. Also, check at the bottom of the removal companies profile page. If there are numerous filtered reviews that would suggest that somebody has been trying to post fake reviews.
- Only a mobile phone number. If the company only has a mobile phone number this may be a sign that they do not have a legitimate office. How will you contact them if there is a problem? Try to get as many forms of communication with the company as possible.
- A Random email address. Most professional removal companies will have a professional email address rather than john123@gmail.com.
- Unprofessional call answering. If the phone is answered without giving the company name this could be a sign that they do not want to be contacted by their customers.
- There is no depot. Go and visit their registered address. You ideally want a company that has a physical address rather than a company that sets up companies in a nondescript office block.
- No in-home survey. The company does not offer any form of an in-home survey, whether it be a physical visit or a video survey. How can they possibly give an accurate price or formulate a moving day without having seen your home?
- Trust your gut. If you have any worries or uneasy feelings about anyone that you deal with at the removal company, walk away. Your gut instincts can often be incredibly accurate.
- It is too good to be true. If the price and service they offer you are too good to be true, it probably is. Ask yourself how they can do it so cheaply.
- Never sign a contract you have not read. If you are unsure about any aspect of the contract or do not understand exactly what you are signing, then don’t sign it. Never sign blank pages and if there is no contract at all, that is another red flag.
Must read: How to Avoid Moving Scams
For more in-depth advice and top tips on choosing a removal company for your upcoming home move be sure to refer to the many guides that we have produced to help you make the right decision for your home move.
Each guide concentrates on a specific topic of choosing a good removal company and will make the whole process easier and safer for you, and may save you some money in the process too.
Posted on February 1, 2020
Peter Langley
Peter is a regular contributor to the blog and a relocation specialist. He is also a seasoned UK and International homeowner, who now brings the knowledge gained from those moves, to add real-life experience to his work.
Peter has also been at various sales and marketing positions within companies in the industry so he has deep knowledge of the relocation process.
Since 2017, Peter is involved with the relocation industry in the USA as he has extensive knowledge on long distance household relocation. With his articles, he have helped tens of thousands of people plan their relocation. His work have been featured on many industry blogs and publications.
You can contact Peter at peter@mymovingreviews.com
