York Removals Advice

23rd July, 2014

Even with the best York removals advice, there’s a reason people say that moving home is one of the most stressful times of life, up there with bereavement and divorce.
More often than not the reasons a move doesn’t go smoothly are due to the removal company you choose and a lack of organisation. Sometimes factors such as completion dates can be out of your control but there are a lot of areas in which you can enhance to ensure a stress free day.

One of these is getting to know your removal company, asking the right questions and finding out what they’d do should unexpected events occur.

York Removals Advice

An Address

Some sites allow removal companies to post anonymous quotes, they hide behind a name that can be changed at will and you don’t receive access to their real details until you’ve paid a deposit.
You need to know exactly who you’re dealing with, where they are on the web, where they’re based, if they have an office, who they’ve worked for before. You need to find a solid presence not just a virtual one.

Reviews

Onsite reviews are great but of course any removal company is biased and will only use the best on their website. Give your removal company a Google, see what others say. Google the contact number too as many fraudsters will change the business name when they receive negative reviews. We ourselves have reviews pages, but more importantly show happy customers’ feedback on Google and Freeindex.

Extra Costs

If you go on to a certain, well known removals website, you’ll be presented with the option for an online quote. You’ll be asked the size of the house and the distance you will be moving.
Now the online quote looks great but it doesn’t include a lot of factors such as:

• VAT
• Hourly Rates
• Insurance
• Delays
• Fuel

If you book these for a real quote you’ll be surprised to learn that their charges are at least three times what they’ve quoted online. Beware as sometimes, they leave you with little choice as the quote comes just weeks before your move, when everyone else is booked up.

Many removal firms have extra costs for:

Waiting for keys

If your keys aren’t available when they arrive at your new property a lot of removal firms will charge by the hour, and their hourly rate is quite expensive. Our hourly rate stays the same as on your Quote

Insurance

You need your items covered when in transit. To cut costs you can check if your contents insurance covers this.

BEWARE: Some removals firms don’t cover items you’ve packed yourself (which unless you use a packing service is ALL of your items). They will still charge £500 plus for insurance though despite NOTHING being covered.

Other Costs To Watch Out For

• VAT: Make sure you know if VAT is included as this can be quite expensive.
• Fuel: Is fuel included in the price? Some charge extra.
• Insurance against Damage at Your Collection Address: Yes, some charge £300 plus for this even if they damage your property themselves with the move
• Insurance against Damage at Your Delivery Address: Again, you’re looking at £314
• Cancellation Fees: Some charge an extra £400 so if you cancel you don’t incur extra costs
• Extra Items: Beware as if there are any extra items not listed in the inventory some removal firms will charge extortionate rates to move these too.
• Payment Charges: Some removal firms charge an extra 2.5% for paying with a credit card. This adds up if your move is in quoted as £2000 plus.
• Removals Firm Doing the Move: A good removals company will be able to answer all your questions. If they avoid answering any questions before the move it may be best to find someone else.
• Contracts: Your removal company should have terms and conditions on their website that you can view without paying a penny. These will highlight key areas such as costs and cancellation policies. Read through them thoroughly. If they don’t have terms and conditions you have nothing to protect you.
• Receipts: If you make a deposit you should receive a receipt. Its common sense but some fraudsters don’t offer this as they don’t want to leave a paper trail.

See our other articles on how to avoid hiring the wrong York removals company and questions to ask your removals. Read into the matter, and look for pages such as this with thorough explanations of their removals services.