How do I complain about a removal company?
That may seem an unusual question. We are Brits, we are professional complainers – usually about the weather- too hot, too cold, the endless rain, we will find a reason to complain about anything.
But what if we have a real complaint about the removal company we have used?
Our furniture is damaged, there is damage to our property, or we have broken china.
With the best will in the world, accidents happen, your precious items are being handled many times and despite careful packing, the worst can happen. So,
- What do I do if the moving company damaged my wall?
- Who do I contact when I have a removal company complaint?
- What is my best course of action to resolve my moving company complaint?
In this article we will show you how to hopefully prevent the need to complain, the steps to take in preparation for your complaint, how to complain if the worst happens, and who to contact – every step of the process to get your complaint resolved.
Let us start at the beginning. How did you choose your removal company?
Hopefully, you used a removal review website to thoroughly research the company you used.
This is vitally important and you must do your homework thoroughly.
You may also like to read: How to Pick a Good Removal Company – The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide. Picking the right removal company is essential and will save you lots of stress and heartache in the future. In this guide, we take you through the steps to find the best removal firm for your particular home move.
As part of the process to find the right removal company, ensure you know what their complaints procedure is. Ask them.
Ideally, they should belong to BAR (British Association of Removers) or The National Guild of Removers and Storers as they have set procedures that both you and the removal company should adhere to.
You may also like to read: Home Removal Trade Associations and Organisations. There are numerous trade associations for the removal industry and in this guide, we look at what benefits each organisation offers you as the consumer.
But if you just scoured the local ads and found a ‘man and a van’, you probably are kicking yourself right now. It is unlikely that he is insured to cover your goods. It is even more likely that he will not even acknowledge your complaint, assuming he even answers your phone calls after moving day.
But let us be prepared for complaining to him anyway……….
Tips To Make a Complaint Easier
There are a few simple steps that you should adopt whether hiring ‘John and his mate’ (good luck with that!) or one of the big international removal companies:
Insure Your Home Move
Whilst your removal firm will offer you insurance on your home move, often the amount is not enough to cover fully the replacement cost of an item. So carefully check any policy you have.
You should also know that many insurance companies will not cover your household goods in transit if you have packed them yourselves, so check with your insurance company.
You may like to read: Home Moving Insurance – Do I Need It? In this guide, we look at the different types of insurance you can take out when moving home. From late key waiver to goods in transit cover, this guide is essential reading.
Hire Professional Packers
Packing for a home move is arguably the worst moving task, it is also one of the most important.
Hiring professional packers will not only save you a lot of time but means that you will not be living amongst piles of boxes for weeks before moving day.
But the most important thing is that packers know exactly how to protect your things, they will pack efficiently and quickly, whilst ensuring the right packing materials are used to prevent any damage.
You may also like to read: Are Home Packing Services Worth the Money? In this guide, we look at what a professional packing team does, how much they cost, how much time they will save you, and whether they are worth hiring for your home move.
Photograph Everything
Before you even begin to pack, photograph, or video, everything so that you have evidence of its original condition. A time-consuming task but it may pay dividends in the long run.
This is monotonous but photograph your especially valuable items once again having packed them. You may need rock-solid evidence that you did all you could to protect your items in transit.
Make an Inventory
Make an inventory of every item packed, use a packing list if you prefer. Number each box and ensure you have a list of exactly what is in each box. Make sure you keep this list safe and preferably, make a copy.
Mark each box containing fragile items ‘fragile’. Possibly a waste of time as ‘John and his mate’ will take no notice, but you will demonstrate during the complaint procedure that you took every precaution possible.
You may also like to read: How to Make a Packing Inventory. In this guide, we show you have to make an easy inventory list of the things you are moving to your new home and why it is a sensible thing to do.
So now all our worldly goods are photographed in their original condition and photographed again once packed.
Every item is listed, a copy of that list is made and is safely stored should you need it.
Everything is well packed and marked fragile as appropriate.
We have chosen a reputable company from the removal review website, and of course, we believe we are well-insured for moving home.
We have done all we can.
I moved from the Isle of Wight back to the mainland in early March 2021 because of my husband’s failing health. I found, what sounded, a good removal firm which had lots of good reviews. I liked the Assessor who came out who was very polite and sounded knowledgeable so decided to go with this company. We had 4 different quotes but this one, although not cheap, appealed to us and thought it would be the best. I took out insurance with the removers and asked them to pack everything because my husband and I are both elderly and my husband is disabled. I asked them to be very careful with all my ornaments and kitchen china and could they pack them in plenty of bubble wrap? One of the boys said they had finished and that everything was packed and on the van and they would be leaving shortly. My husband asked if he had emptied all the wardrobes, especially the fitted ones in our bedroom. He said yes, everything is out. We thought we had better check and found all our clothes were still in the fitted wardrobes. We managed to call the boys back just as they were about to close the doors on the lorry. The senior on the 2 removers brought an ordinary box in to pack everything. My husband asked did he not have any wardrobe boxes?, to which he said yes, but they are hidden behind the cab and he couldn’t get to them. He just left the clothes on the hangers, folded them in half and put them into the bottom of the box. Some of our coats and jackets were very expensive leather ones, made by the Native American Indians with the leather fringes on and when we unpacked them they had a lovely fold mark across them. The removers spent one day packing and the next day travelling and unloading the van. It took my husband and I about 3 weeks in all to unpack everything and this is when we noticed the damage. We also noticed my collection of nearly 100 LP records had been packed flat with one on top of another. The box was marked ‘books’. I telephoned the removal company and they said to take photographs of all damaged items and send them in with the claim form which I had to download. In the meantime there were lots of telephone calls going back to the company to try and find out what was going on because it seemed to drag on. After about 4 weeks I received an email from their insurance company to say that the claim would not be going any further and they were not going to pay me any compensation because my claim was admitted after the 7 day time period. I spoke to the removal company and told them of the situation and was told I should have sent the claim in earlier. I commented that 7 days was not enough time for me to unpack all the boxes and check everything because of mine and my husband’s age and of his health problems. I had to do the unpacking myself. I told him that not only am I my husband’s carer but I also have to do everything including taking care of my husband, all the cooking, cleaning, shopping, gardening, etcetera and this takes up all my time. I said I unpacked everything as soon as I was able. I told him I am very upset about all the breakages because of the sentimental value they have and some of the items were over 60 years old and belonged to my late mother and some my were gifts my late father gave me. The guy at the other end of the telephone said he could understand, and hear, how upset I am and would speak to the owner of the company to try and get me some compensation, but it would not be anywhere near what I have applied for in my claim. I had to do all the telephoning to the removers so it was costing me money. My last telephone call to the removers I made on Monday 19th July and was told that they are closing my case and I wouldn’t be receiving any compensation. I thanked him for his time and said I would have to try and find another way of getting some sort of satisfaction for the damage caused to my items by his employees. He asked me what I was going to do and I told him I don’t know yet. He asked me if I would let him know when I decide. I told him I am not sure about doing that after all the upset and problems I have had.
I doubt if I shall get anywhere with my case but I would like to thank you for your time. I did give them a bad review on their web site so I just hope others look before they book and heed my words of dissatisfaction.