How to compare man and van quotes in London

The short version

Hourly or fixed, and what each arrangement hides

Nearly every London man and van quote arrives in one of two shapes, and the two fail in opposite directions.

An hourly rate is a rate multiplied by a duration. The rate is the figure everybody compares and it settles remarkably little, because the duration decides almost everything and the duration was never quoted. Two crews on the same street at an identical rate can finish an hour apart, because one of them had a working lift and the other had four flights of stairs.

A fixed price transfers that risk to the removals company, which is genuinely valuable. It is only as solid as the information behind it. If nobody has inspected the job — no visit, no video call, not even an inventory of what is going — the figure remains an estimate, simply written with more confidence. Estimates get revised when the van arrives and the wardrobe will not come down the staircase.

Neither arrangement is a trick. They price different unknowns, so the useful question is what each company did to remove the uncertainty before it sent you a number.

What the clock is actually running on

On an hourly booking, six details settle the bill before anybody lifts a box. Put all six to every company in the same words.

• Where the clock starts. Some companies charge from the depot and others from the moment the van reaches your door, and across London that difference is comfortably an hour.
• Where it stops. At the final item through the door, or when the vehicle returns to base — two very different endings.
• The driving between addresses. Normally inside the charged period, but confirm it rather than assume it.
• The minimum. Minimums of two, three and four hours are all common, so a ninety-minute job booked against a four-hour minimum is a four-hour job.
• Loading and unloading. Both should be charged time, and on a smaller move they are most of the day. A quote counting only the driving is not describing the actual work.
• Rounding and waiting. Establish whether part of an hour rounds to the next quarter or the next full hour, and what happens while the crew waits for a lift slot.

Crew size changes the job, not only the rate

A quote for one person and a quote for two are not quotes for the same work, even when the addresses and the inventory match exactly. One person carries one end of everything, so a sofa either waits for you to take the other end or does not move at all. Two people share the carry and nothing stands still.

The arithmetic generally runs the opposite way from expectation, because doubling the crew does not double the bill on an hourly booking — the hours fall instead, and on staircases they fall a long way. Establish how many people are arriving, whether the driver carries or only drives, and what the price assumes if you cannot help. Say plainly if you intend to carry alongside the crew, because it genuinely changes the duration and the number of people a company sends.

Vehicle size, and why one load beats two

A second trip repeats the loading, the driving, the unloading and the parking problem. It rarely adds a little to the price; it comes close to doubling the portion of the job that consumes time. Choosing a vehicle slightly too small in order to economise is the most dependable way to spend more than you intended.

Ask each company which vehicle is in the price, and whether that price assumes one load or two. Where two quotes name different vehicles, the difference between them is frequently explained by that alone. Our removal van sizes guide matches vehicles to properties.

The exclusions, where comparison usually breaks down

Exclusions are the point at which two quotes quietly stop being comparable. None of these is unreasonable; they cause difficulty only when nobody mentions them beforehand.

• Dismantling and reassembly. Beds, wardrobes and desks, and the commonest single reason an hourly booking overruns.
• Materials. Blankets and straps are normally included; boxes, tape, mattress bags and wrapping frequently are not.
• Stairs above a stated floor. Some quotes cover two storeys and charge separately beyond them.
• Waiting time. For a booked lift slot, a key release, or a completion landing later than expected.
• A second address. A storage drop or a collection from a relative is another leg of the job.
• A long carry. Where the van cannot stop near the door, some companies charge by carrying distance.
• Disposal. Anything you decide not to take becomes separate work under separate regulations.
• The cover. What is protected and what is excluded. Read this one properly.

Ask for the exclusions in writing. A company that lists them is easier to compare against its competitors, not poorer value than they are.

The charges that are not the removal company's price

Part of a London moving bill is collected on your behalf and set by somebody else. The Congestion Charge and the low-emission charge belong to TfL, and a suspended parking bay belongs to the council. A company is right to pass them on, but they are not that company's labour and they should not be invisible.

The comparison point is straightforward: are they inside the number you were sent, outside it, or unmentioned? A quote listing them separately at cost can be compared with another quote, while a single rolled-up figure cannot, because you cannot see how much of it is work.

Current amounts live in dated guides rather than here, which keeps them accurate: see ULEZ and the Congestion Charge on moving day and London parking suspensions.

What to ask before you compare man and van quotes

Send an identical list to every company. Identical information going out is the only way the numbers coming back can genuinely be compared.

1. Is this an hourly rate or a fixed price?
2. If it is hourly, how many hours do you expect, and what is the minimum?
3. When does the clock start, and when does it stop?
4. How many people are arriving, and does the driver carry?
5. Which vehicle is in the price, and does it assume one load or two?
6. Is dismantling and reassembly included?
7. Which materials are included, and which are charged separately?
8. What happens if the job overruns, at what rate, and will you ring me before it does?
9. Are the Congestion Charge, the low-emission charge and any bay suspension inside the price, and are they itemised?
10. Is there a charge for stairs, for a long carry, or for a second address?
11. What does the cover protect, and what does it exclude?
12. Can I have all of that in writing before I book?

Nobody has to answer every point exhaustively, but a company that will not answer any of them in writing has told you something useful regardless.

What a written quote should contain

Briefly: the crew, the vehicle, the expected hours or the fixed figure, what is included and excluded, which public charges are passed on, and what happens if the day runs long. The longer version sits in our London removals cost guide.

How we quote, so you can judge ours the same way

We survey every job before pricing it, by video call or in person. It takes roughly fifteen minutes, and it exists so the hours are calculated rather than guessed. The quote arrives in writing with the crew, the vehicle and the exclusions on it, and the number you accept is the number you pay. We are fully insured.

If you are weighing up a part load, a studio or one awkward item, our man and van service explains how the booking itself runs.

Common questions

Sources and basis

There are no council or statutory figures on this page, so there is nothing here to date. It is operational: how removals quotes are built, and where comparisons break down. Third-party charges sit in the dated guides linked above.