The quote
One figure, and the exceptions in writing
“No hidden costs” is something every removal company says. The useful version is a published list of the only circumstances in which the figure moves.
Fixed, not hourly
We quote the whole job at one figure. We don’t do hourly work, and the reason is about incentives rather than principle: an hourly rate pays us more when the job runs long, which is not a thing you want sitting between you and the crew carrying your wardrobe.
If hourly is what you want — and for a single room or a handful of items it often genuinely is — a local man-and-van operator will be cheaper and faster. We’d rather say that than take the booking.
What’s on the quote
- The figure, once, in plain words.
- What’s included, itemised — not a paragraph of prose you have to interpret.
- Anything optional you asked for, on its own line so you can strike it out.
- The goods-in-transit and public liability cover actually applying to your move.
- The four circumstances below, printed on the quote itself.
The quote
Four things can change it. Here they are.
Anyone can say “no hidden costs”. The useful version is a published list of the only circumstances in which the figure moves, so you can check it against what actually happened.
- 1
There is materially more than we surveyed
A loft or a garage we were not shown, or a second property added to the collection. We will tell you before we load rather than after we unload, and you can decide.
- 2
The access has changed since the survey
Scaffolding gone up, a lift out of service, a road closed. Rare, and we would rather raise it on the day than absorb it silently and cut corners elsewhere.
- 3
You add something
Packing you decided you wanted after all, or a second vehicle once you saw the volume. Added as its own line, agreed before it happens.
- 4
A parking suspension is refused or obstructed
Where that turns a short carry into a long one, the extra crew time is chargeable. We will raise it at the time, not put it on the final invoice unannounced.
Those four. Nothing else moves the figure — not the day of the week, not how long it takes us, not how many stairs turn out to be involved. If we got the estimate wrong, that is ours to carry.
If we got it wrong
Sometimes an estimate is simply wrong — the crew takes far longer than we judged, or the vehicle turns out to be tight. That is our misjudgement and we carry it. You are not charged for our estimating.
What we won’t do
We won’t quote low to win the job and find reasons later. That approach works exactly once per customer, and it’s the reason this industry has the reputation it does.
We also won’t give you a figure without knowing what we’re moving. A price quoted off a bedroom count alone is a guess dressed up as a quote, and the correction always arrives at the least convenient moment.
Send us the two addresses
Roughly how much there is, and whether your date is fixed. You’ll get one figure back, and nobody will ring you about boxes.