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Choosing a removal company in London: what to check
Written by Daniel, founder, Metro City Moves
Choosing a removal company is mostly a trust decision made with very little information. Everyone's website says the same four things. This guide is the questions that actually separate firms, written by one of them — including the answers that should make you walk away from us as readily as from anyone else.
The short version
- A removal company moves your belongings; what varies is the survey, the quote, and who carries the risk when something goes wrong.
- Get the quote in writing, from a survey. A price given over the phone from a room count is a guess, and guesses get revised upward on the day.
- Ask what the insurance actually covers and to what limit. "Fully insured" on its own means nothing.
- Ask who is doing the job. Subcontracting is common and not automatically bad, but you should know.
- An hourly rate with no cap is the single most common way a cheap quote becomes an expensive day.
What a removal company actually does
The carrying is the visible part and the smallest variable. What you are really buying:
- A survey — somebody establishing what you own and how it gets out.
- A plan — crew size, van size, the order things are loaded, the access constraints at both ends.
- Protection — floors, doorframes, communal areas. In a managed building this is often a condition of using the lift at all.
- Liability — somebody who is answerable, and insured, if a wardrobe meets a wall.
A firm that skips the first two and prices off a phone call is selling you the third and fourth without knowing whether it can deliver them.
What separates a good firm from a cheap one
"Will you survey before quoting?" The most useful question you can ask. A survey is how a price becomes a price rather than an estimate. Video surveys are fine, and for a small flat they are often better than a visit.
"Is the quote fixed, and what would change it?" A fixed price should name its own exceptions — a completion delay, access that turns out different from the survey, items added afterwards. A quote with no stated exceptions is not fixed, it is vague.
"What does your insurance cover, and to what limit?" Ask for the cover types and the limits, not the phrase. Goods in transit and public liability are the two that matter for a house move. A firm that cannot tell you the limit has not read its own policy.
"Who will actually turn up?" Employed crew, regular subcontractors, or whoever is free. None of these is disqualifying, but the answer tells you how much control the firm has over your day.
"What happens if completion is delayed?" It happens constantly in London chains. The answer should already exist, because it is not an unusual event.
Paperwork worth asking for
- A written quote listing what is included and what is not.
- Insurance details — the cover types and the limits, in writing.
- Terms, including the cancellation position. For consumer contracts agreed off-premises or at distance there is a statutory 14-day cancellation right, and a firm should be able to say how that works with a move date inside that window.
- Company details — the trading name, and the registered details if it is a limited company.
If a firm is reluctant to put any of that in writing before taking a deposit, that is the answer to the question you were asking.
The price traps, honestly
Hourly with no cap. Fine for a part load, dangerous for a full move. The incentive runs the wrong way, and the overrun lands on you.
A quote given without seeing the access. Stairs, lifts and where the van can stand are what actually drive the time. A price set without them will be revisited on the day.
Parking treated as an afterthought. On a controlled street the van needs somewhere legal to stand, and arranging that can cost real money with a notice period attached. A quote that does not mention it has not removed that cost, only moved it to you, later.
The very cheapest number. Someone has to be wrong about the job for a price to be far below the others. Usually it is the crew size or the hours.
When we are not the right firm
Worth saying plainly, because a guide that concludes "hire us" is advertising rather than advice.
- A single item. You want a delivery service, not a removals crew — see furniture delivery.
- A few boxes on a ground floor. A man and van is the right shape and the right price; a full crew is not.
- A move entirely outside London. We cover London and long distance out of it; a firm local to both ends may do it better.
Questions we get
What is the difference between a man and van and a removal company?
Mostly scope and liability. A man and van is usually a smaller vehicle, one or two people, and hourly. A removals firm surveys, plans, protects and carries the risk. For a part load the first is right; for a home with furniture, the second usually is.
Is "fully insured" a meaningful claim?
On its own, no. Every firm says it. Ask which cover and what limit, and ask for it in writing.
Should I pay a deposit?
It is normal. What matters is that you have the written quote, the terms and the cancellation position before you pay it, not after.
How far ahead should I book?
For a London move, as soon as the date is firm — and sooner if the street needs a parking suspension, because some boroughs want fourteen days' notice.
Do I need to be there on the day?
Someone with authority to make decisions does. Access, which items go where, and anything that changes all need an answer on the spot.
Sources and basis
The 14-day cancellation right referred to above is the statutory position for consumer contracts made at a distance or off-premises; your contract should state how it applies to your move date. Everything else here is operational rather than statutory, and no figures appear on this page. Figures elsewhere on this site carry the date they were read.