You have two or three quotes in front of you and no idea how to read them.
They are not quoting the same job
The first thing to establish is whether the quotes cover the same work. They very often do not — one includes packing and another does not, one includes protection as standard and another lists it as an optional extra, one assumes you have already dismantled the beds.
Line them up on paper. The cheapest quote is frequently the one covering the least, and the difference emerges on the day when it is far too late to compare anything.
- Is furniture protection included, or an extra?
- Is dismantling and reassembly included?
- Is it a fixed figure or an hourly rate with an estimate attached?
- Does it say what the insurance cover actually is?
- Does it list what would change the price?
Fixed versus hourly
An hourly rate with an estimated duration is not a quote. It is a rate card with a guess on top, and the risk of the guess being wrong sits entirely with you.
It also puts an unhelpful incentive between you and the crew: a firm paid by the hour earns more when the job runs long. That does not make anyone dishonest, but it is worth noticing which way the incentive points before you choose.
Ask what would change the number
This is the single most revealing question you can put to a removal company, and it takes one email. A firm that has thought about it will give you a short, specific list. A firm that has not will say "it depends".
Then check whether that list appears in writing on the quote itself. A verbal reassurance is worth very little at the point where it matters.
Check the insurance line
Almost every removal firm says it is "fully insured", which on its own means nothing. Ask what the goods-in-transit cover actually is, and whether a single valuable item is covered at its real value or capped.
If you own anything you genuinely could not replace, declare it before it is packed. Undeclared, it is usually treated as ordinary contents however carefully it was handled.