were in the process of getting removals quotes at the moment, & have just had the first one back. its £800 for just the removals & another £235 to do the packing. (we have a fairly large house but dont have all the rooms furnished) im quite tempted by the packing service as i have very little time or energy at the moment. but having said that, the new house does need lots of work, so maybe were better off saving the money & packing ourselves (especially as this first quote says that they will lend you cartons etc free of charge anyway)
does anyone have experience of using a packing service? was it worth the extra money?
any hints & tips on choosing the right removal company gratefully received.
thanks

I've had the packers do the work every time, and I've moved loads of times. They're very quick (much quicker than we would be) and everything is insured because they are doing it.

I think it's definitely worth the money.

Hi Firestorm - Great to hear that you are on the move at last. As a veteran (scars to prove it!!) of 12 moves in 20 years I have always done my own packing (then I know what's where ans how urgently anything needs unpacking). However, I have always got the removal men to pack up my china, glass, pictures, mirrors etc as they are SO much better at it & there is then NO quibbles with insurance company if there is a breakage. Having said that my only breakage in all those moves was the lip of a small jug.
I think I know where you are moving to (certainly from). If it's the place that sounds a little like one of Kate Bush's songs (trying to be cryptic there) your quote sounds quite pricy to me (withput the packing). I DO wish there was a PM facility on this site.
As to chosing your company - make sure they are B.A.R. (British Association of Removers).
Make sure they know it is not a company move.
Ask whether they use 'casuals' or not - if they do don't touch 'em. You want the trained guys.
Your home contents insurance may well cover you for the move - removal companys own tend to be expensive.
I've used Brittannia in different parts of the UK & have always been v. happy with them.
P......rds don't have such a good name.
If you have any flexibilty over which day you move - let them know as sometimes they are cheaper on a Tuesday (say) than a Saturday.
Good Luck!!

PS From where I'm sitting I could look out my window & wave to you!!!!

I got the removal guys to pack last time and I would always do so in future. They are so much quicker and better at it that us mere mortals. We were very strapped for cash but it was money well spent.

We just chose by getting three companies round to quote and deciding which one most instilled a feeling of confidence. They were great (local to west London so no use to you).

My folks used the packers last time they moved, no problems at all.

I rememeber my mum did spend an hour beforehand packing the truly "priceless" family heirlooms herself (the stuff that has no real monitary value, just personal value) and then left the rest to the packers.

I had wlays packed myself andhad aman with avan to do removals. However this time I hire prof removal company and they packed. They were so quick and so good and even better I got to the other end feeling ready to unpack and put things away. I would recommend it really if you can afford it. It really made adifference.

If they pack then you are insured, if you pack they can blame any breakages on your poor packing.
A friend moving abroad has just used the international division well known company who's name starts with a P and they were completely cr*p complete gorillas, managing to break the car, all the beds, the wardrobes, tables, chairs, computer stereo, china, bedding, curtains everything! They even supplied the orginal packaging boxes for most of the breakables but this lot didn't use them or put the stero in the PC box and the toaster in the stero box.
Find out who will be doing the actual packing you want to meet them if you can, you can always test them with a mug of hot tea and a coaster- thoughful people will use the coaster and that is the sort of packer that you want. Don't forget the tea kettle and biscuits very important for keeping them focused

I would recommend it - I had the full service when I moved as work were paying for it.

It's quite funny though, as they will indeed literally pack everything. A few weeks after I'd moved I was unpacking one of the last non-essential boxes and found a half-empty jar of strawberry jam that had been neatly wrapped up and boxed !

Simon

Hi Firestorm - great to think you've got this far! Last time we moved, we got them to pack for us and I would do the same again. Provided you choose a reputable company, it will save you so much time - especially with your hectic lifestyle at the moment! The removers pack all the time and aren't going through everything thinking "oh look at this", "or shall we throw this". They are experts and will do it much quicker than you can and .. as someone has already said .. your household insurance will only cover you if the removers pack. I would definitely get more than one quote though as they vary so much. Hope you'll be making a firm booking for them very soon .. whatever you decide to do!

thanks everyone for all your advice ive had 3 companies quote so far, & got another coming later in the week and 1 next week. i think that the 3 that have been so far are with the BAR.
i will try & talk my husband into letting them pack for us i think, especially if we get a quote a little lower than the first one. we didnt really want to pay more than £800. one thing i didnt mention in my original post though is that our quote also includes moving my husbands scaffold tower.
whereabouts do you live biggles? are you in the road behind the school? im lost with the kate bush songs im afraid were moving to heathfield if all goes to plan.
hi sylvm i take it still no luck your end then? its a terrible time to be selling at the moment unfortunately. i hope you get better luck soon.

The Kate Bush song was 'Heathcliff' - sounds like Heathfield, as it were.

Am renting in Sovreign Harbour, Eastbourne @ present - can see Hastings from the top of the house, looking past Normans Bay etc!!!

Heathfield is really nice isn't it?? I like the slightly 'old fashioned' feel of the High Street.

Hi - we used P*ckfords and their packing service and had no problems - for the smallish amount extra it was well worth it. Be warned though our neighbour brought tea round for the boys on a tray - that was then promptly packed -in fact anything not nailed down was wrapped and straight into a box!

quote:

Originally posted by biggles:
The Kate Bush song was 'Heathcliff' - sounds like Heathfield, as it were.

Am renting in Sovreign Harbour, Eastbourne @ present - can see Hastings from the top of the house, looking past Normans Bay etc!!!

Heathfield is really nice isn't it?? I like the slightly 'old fashioned' feel of the High Street.

ahh yes, i remember you saying before that you were there. i love soverign harbour, we went for a boat trip there a few years ago, there are some fabulous properties.
one of the main reasons i like heathfield is because it is slightly old fashioned, but my main reason is that the schools are great.
my children have already started at their new school & i have a job there. its a very long tiring day, but worth the sacrifice. & all the locals are so friendly & welcoming.

quote:

Originally posted by gkargal:
Hi - we used P*ckfords and their packing service and had no problems - for the smallish amount extra it was well worth it. Be warned though our neighbour brought tea round for the boys on a tray - that was then promptly packed -in fact anything not nailed down was wrapped and straight into a box!

thanks, we havent had them quote us, i am having 5 quotes in total though possibly a little ott i know.
im getting to like the idea of someone else doing the packing for us. hopefully the other quotes will come in a little lower then we can seriously consider it.

money well spent I'd say Firestorm. I packed and moved myself recently. I dreaded the move day but it was actually harder to pack than to shift the stuff. I had really bad back ache from packing although I tried to follow the advice that came with the boxes of packing on a raised surface to avoid bending,

Reminds me a time my friend and her hubby were asked by another couple if they would help them move to their new place. They got there and found they hadn't packed anything, so not only were they requiring vehicle help/lifting, they were expecting them to pack everything with them too!

Typically polite though, they did it and then moaned about them behind their backs afterwards.

You're right Firestorm - no news this end. The Agent phoned me last week and we agreed another reduction. We then had a viewing arranged for last weekend (first in weeks) but they cancelled Saturday morning (just after we had finished cleaning up) because the guy was ill. They supposedly want to rebook but haven't done so yet. I know we've had a few drivebys because we live in a small cul de sac and you can spot them very easily but they haven't actually viewed.

got another quote through today from another BAR company (in bexhill) & it was just under £600 to pack & move i can hardly believe the difference between that & the first quote. i very much doubt that anyone else will better that so it looks like we are sorted in that respect now
on the downside though, we had a visit from the building inspector today & he`s suddenly come up with a whole list of new stuff he hasnt mentioned before that we need to have done before he can give us our completion certificate on the extension & we also got through the post another lot of stupid questions from the buyers solicitors
why are things never straightforward? i could really do without any added stress at the moment

A word of warning, we discovered broken items after removal, but because we were tardy in unpacking our boxes,(builders came in quickly) our insurance was null and void. You are only given 30 days to claim.

thanks Silverlady it probably wont be an issue for us though anyway, my husband is so tight im sure he will want us (me ) to do the packing ourselves. & we dont really have anything that we would be that bothered about if it got broken anyway.

The way it works round here is that if they do the packing they lend you the boxes etc. If you do the packing you supply your own packing materials.

Given we spent 300 on packing materials (double walled cartons, acid free tissue paper, white news offcuts, bubble wrap, tape, bags) last time it seems to me there isn't much cost difference between buying good quality packing materials or having them pack.

I'm getting removal quotes at the moment too and the man today said most people opt to pack for themselves. That's what we're doing as a) I'm too pernickety to want anyone else going through my stuff. b) Most things are still packed from last time (like our loads of books).

As we sold up and are now renting, last time we packed really carefully cataloguing where everything was and not unpacking a lot of things, so as to make subsequent moves easier. Obviously that doesn't apply to you but the point is that packing takes much longer than you first think!

I was charged £300 to move a small 1 bed flat in Kent down the road. This included 20 free boxes and the tape to stick them together with (not enough tape, I might add)

They were very efficient and quick, and they too just packed everything in sight that wasn't nailed down

If you have been quoted £600 to move an entire house plus equipment, including packing, then I would say that's a fabulous price. Do go by your gut instinct though, about whether ofr not you trust them enough to move you.

Ary.

ps. I too listed everything before closing the boxes up, and colour-coded the labels by room. It made life so much easier when I came to unpack, because I could select which boxes to unpack first.

Ary.

Watch out they don't pack your rubbish bin full of rubbish - it has been known!