Get Free Removal & Moving Quotes Online

Why compare removal companies and quotes?

Getting more than one quote is the easiest way to keep the cost down and end up with a company you’re glad you booked. Prices for the same job vary by hundreds of pounds between firms, and the cheapest quote isn’t always the best one.

• Save money: you can only tell whether a price is fair by seeing what else is out there.
• Save time: one form, filled in once, rather than an afternoon ringing round companies one at a time.
• Choose with confidence: price is only half of it. You can also see how each company has handled moves like yours before you commit to one.

Should you hire a removal company?

If you’re still deciding between doing it yourself and paying someone, it helps to know what you get for the money.

• Experience: they shift heavy and awkward things for a living, and they handle the practical side, like parking suspensions and getting a large vehicle down a narrow road, without having to think about it.
• Time: it’s the main reason most people book. Handing over the lifting leaves you free for the hundred other things a move throws up.

What is included in a quote for moving

• Removal price: based on the distance, the volume of your move and the services you’ve asked for. Check whether it’s an estimate or a final price.
• Moving services included: packing, loading, unloading, furniture disassembly, and how many vehicles and staff you’re getting.
• Moving date: the dates and times of service, confirmed in writing.
• Insurance: whether your belongings are covered, and up to what value.
• Terms and conditions: what the company is responsible for, the cancellation policy, and any charges sitting outside the headline price.

Always ask whether packing materials, fuel and VAT are included in the quotation. It’s the quickest way to avoid a surprise on moving day.

Types of removal quotes

When requesting removal quotes, moving companies can provide them in different ways: instant online quotes, survey-based quotes, or binding and non-binding quotes.

• Instant online quotes: quick estimates based on the details you enter.
• Moving survey quotes: a mover visits your home before confirming the price.
• Binding and non-binding quotes: either a fixed price, or one that can move with the date and the final volume.

How to compare removal companies and their quotes

With a few quotes in front of you it’s tempting to sort by price and be done with it. Give it ten minutes first, because the lowest number usually isn’t comparing like with like. One quote might assume you’re packing every box yourself while another has the crew doing it for you.

Line them up against the same checklist instead: everything in the section above, plus whichever extras from the list below you actually want. Once each quote covers the same ground, the prices start to mean something. And if one comes in a long way under the rest, ask what it leaves out before you get excited.

House removal quotes: what influences the price?

• Distance: longer moves cost more, and some routes carry a premium simply because they’re in demand.
• Volume: more furniture means more van and more hands. Our furniture volume calculator will give you a figure to quote from.
• Level of service: having the crew pack for you costs a good deal more than a firm that loads, drives and unloads while you do the boxes. It’s the biggest single thing you control.
• Complexity: stairs, a long walk from the van, restricted parking, a lift that’s out of order. All of it adds hours, and hours are what you’re paying for.
• When you move: weekends, the end of the month and the summer are the busiest. A bit of flexibility on dates usually saves money.

Find more information about moving costs here:

• Moving Costs within the UK
• International and Overseas Moving Costs

What to look for in removal company quotes

Services you can include in moving quotes

The base price covers labour, transport and basic goods-in-transit cover, and not a lot else. Everything below is charged separately, which is where most of the confusion comes from when people sit down with two quotes. Decide which of these you want first, then ask each company to price the same list.

• Packing materials: boxes, tape, bubble wrap, mattress covers. Some firms throw in a starter set, others charge by the box. If you’d rather sort your own, our guide on where to get moving boxes covers the cheaper routes.
• A packing service: the crew packs for you, either the whole house or just the fragile things. Usually the largest add-on on any quote, and the one most worth pricing properly.
• Dismantling and reassembly: beds, wardrobes and flat-pack units that won’t go through a door in one piece. Ask about it specifically, because not every quote assumes it.
• Insurance above the basic cover: standard goods-in-transit cover carries a limit per item that’s often lower than people expect. Find out what yours is before you move anything valuable, and check your home contents policy while you’re at it, as it may already cover possessions in transit.
• Special items: pianos, safes, artwork, garden machinery, anything unusually heavy or fragile. Most companies will want photos or a survey before they put a price on these.
• Long carry and access: if the van can’t park within about 15 metres of the door, expect a surcharge. Mention it up front rather than on the day.
• Storage: handy when completion dates don’t line up. Charged by the week or the month, usually with a handling fee in and out.

Removal company reviews

Reviews are the other half of what we do. We publish them as they’re submitted, the glowing ones and the scathing ones, because a directory you can actually trust is worth more to you than a wall of five stars.

You’ll find most of the companies we work with in our directory of reviews. Once your quotes are in, look each firm up and see how it handled moves like yours: whether the crew turned up when they said they would, how carefully they packed, what happened when something went wrong. A quote only tells you the price. The reviews are where you find out what the day itself was like.

Quality certifications

Moving networks like BAR (the British Association of Removers) set standards for the industry. Membership isn’t compulsory, and lots of good independents have never joined, but a company that has signed up has agreed to a code of practice. It’s a useful tiebreaker when two quotes look much the same. Our page on moving associations covers what each network guarantees.

Ready to request removal quotes?

So that’s us. We’ll find the movers who cover your route, you’ll get real prices to compare, and you can read what other people made of each company before you decide. Three to five quotes is usually about right. Enough to see the range, not so many that you stop reading them. If you know your dates and roughly what’s coming with you, the form takes a couple of minutes.