Removals companies - local or at the new place?

[oblio]

In previous house moves we have used a locally based company to move us however I was wondering if it was best to get a company local to where you are moving from...or one that is near your new place?

Any thoughts?

[Pent]

get a price for both? and see who offers the best service not just the cheapest price. what are the terms and conditions of breakages etc..

personally never used a company but i am poor and just hire a 7.5T

[JagYouAre]

I would guess price wise there wouldn't be much difference, as one has to come to you empty and drive back full, the other has the same distance to go but goes out full and back empty.

Practically though I would have thought it makes more sense to get someone local to your current place, as if it's all being done on the one day (i.e. not packing up the night before) they won't take as long to get to you and can start nice and early. Also, when we were getting quotes for our move, most of them came out and physically had a look at what they'd be moving, I suspect a local company would be more inclined to do this and maybe get a more accurate quote.

[OutInTheShed]

If you're moving to Devon, it can pay to use a local company which has a smaller lorry.
Some places, they park the big lorry up the road and shuttle to the house with a Bedford Rascal size thing.

OTOH, it's easier to get quotes and sort packing from a company local to your old house.

[DonkeyApple]

oblio said:

In previous house moves we have used a locally based company to move us however I was wondering if it was best to get a company local to where you are moving from...or one that is near your new place?

Any thoughts?

I've always held the random theory that you'll get better service using a company local to where you're moving to. It's the simple metric that people hesitate longer prior to fking over someone who can drive to their boss' office to have a word. If you need to have stuff kept overnight it'll be at their yard rather than elsewhere and as mentioned above, they'll know the local roads etc.

But another aspect arises if you have one urban location and one rural in that the employees at the urban end will possibly be more transient and if they need to pull in extra help could be scraping a barrel to do so.

To be honest, I've found the most important thing to actually be the person who comes first to do the inventory and quote. The one who takes their time to check all the cupboards and make a proper list including what requires additional protection almost always guarantees a superior quality service on the day versus the slack who knows everything, takes five minutes and leaves it all up to the chaps on the day to sort all his problems.

[oblio]

Thanks all

I'm getting a quote firm a national who are going to do a video survey. We used them to move to our current place and were well pleased with them.

I am also getting a quote from an independent local to us who said to let them know when we have found a place to buy and they will pop out the next day to do a survey.

[Mr_J]

We moved from Sussex to Lincolnshire a few years ago. The price difference between local and national companies was shocking!

We used a Sussex company, they were quite literally around the corner. They had a crew finish another job early who then came to help pack. They were planning on being completed for 16:00 but we were able to hit the road at 15:00 having run the hoover around. For that reason I'd go local to where you live now, if they have a problem their yard is close by.

[bennno]

JagYouAre said:

I would guess price wise there wouldn't be much difference, as one has to come to you empty and drive back full, the other has the same distance to go but goes out full and back empty.

.

We did a 200 mile move, the remote end companies weren't interested in travelling to quote, the local ones were.

All depends on the distances involved.