Understanding your costs for removals
When you decide to move home, it should be both an exciting time and experience, however, it also comes with its fair share of stress and can take a fair amount of your time from planning your move to your actual move day.
One of the critical factors for many people, especially in the current economic climate is understanding the costs associated with hiring a professional removals company to undertake your move.
In this blog post, we will explain the many different factors that contribute to the costs for removals, how we build your quote and charge for your removal and hopefully, this will help you when making your decision on choosing the right removal company to undertake your move.
Location and distance of move
The distance between your current property and your new property is a significant factor in how we charge and the costs for removals. Moving locally within the same city or town generally incurs lower costs compared to long-distance or international moves.
Location and access
The accessibility and location of your new property, including factors such as parking availability and building access, can influence the final cost. Moving your possessions from a terraced house can be easier than moving your possessions from a tenth-floor apartment in a block of flats.
Additional time and manpower will of course add to the price of the move. You may live on the fourth floor of an apartment block with no lift available, so everything will have to be carried down the stairs. From there, the access to where the removals van is parked again can add significant time to your move.
Volume and weight of your possessions
The number of items you need to move and their overall weight play a crucial role in determining our charge for the work. We work out our quote based on the volume of your possessions (measured in cubic feet or meters) and the weight of the items.
More belongings will require larger vehicles and more manpower, resulting in higher charges. It is worth remembering that if a removal van is stopped by the police for being overloaded, there are big fines and subsequent delays in getting your move completed.
When we survey your property, we can assess how many vans are required for your job to ensure this does not happen.
Packing and unpacking services
You may want to pack your possessions yourself or you may want us to pack everything for you. We offer both packing and unpacking services. As you can appreciate, packing and unpacking services can be time-consuming and you will require packing materials which do incur extra costs for removals.
While you can choose to pack and unpack yourself to save money, opting for professional packing services can provide convenience, save time and give you peace of mind that all your possessions are professionally wrapped and protected for your move.
Fragile or valuable items
If you have fragile or valuable items that require extra care and attention during the move, such as artwork, antiques, glassware, and musical instruments, to name but a few, this can also affect the price of your quote. We always go through this in detail at the survey stage.
Insurance and liability
Insurance coverage is essential to protect your belongings during transit. Removals companies typically offer different levels of insurance coverage options, and the cost will vary accordingly. It is crucial to understand the terms and conditions of the insurance policy and consider its importance in relation to the value of your possessions.
It is worth understanding how we like many removal companies cover your goods. We have three policies in place. Vehicle insurance, goods in transit insurance, and public liability insurance. Our goods in transit insurance allow us to extend liability to you if something should be damaged whilst your goods are being moved.
When you want your move performed
The timing of your move can also affect the costs for removals. Peak moving seasons, such as summer and weekends, may have higher demand and prices compared to off-peak periods.
Planning your move during less busy times can potentially result in cost savings. Moving you on a weekend or a bank holiday is more expensive than a weekday move.
We find that Friday is our busiest day of the week so please bear that in mind when you are trying to finalise your move date.
Additional services
Beyond the core moving services, removal companies may offer additional services such as furniture disassembly and reassembly, storage facilities, cleaning services, and more. These services can add to the overall costs for removals, but can also provide convenience and efficiency during your move.
Again, it all comes down to time, manpower, number of vans required, in accordance with what services you require. One thing we will always ensure is that when we quote you for a move, we quote a fixed price, so there are no surprises on the day.
Granted, you may have additional tasks at the last minute that you may wish to add to the work and they may require an additional cost, however, when we survey, we will always provide you with a detailed quote explaining exactly what we will be doing on the day.
There you have it. When you are budgeting for your move, and the total costs for removals, it is a good idea to take all the above factors into account. Understanding the key elements such as distance, volume of belongings, additional services required, and timing can help you estimate and plan for the costs involved.
Try and make sure that when you are obtaining multiple quotes you can clearly identify that the services offered are like for like, there are no hidden costs and you check for references and testimonials of the work performed to date by each removals company.
Ensuring that you do this will leave you with no surprises on the day, and you can then be rest assured that all your requirements for your move are catered for.
Take a look at our frequently asked questions.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your removal requirements and see how Van Buddies Removals can help you.
Van Buddies are members of the Association of Independent Movers (AIM).
