Moving FAQs

To initiate the moving process through our contact form, certain essential information is required. Primarily, we’ll need your name, phone number, email address for communication, the date of the move, and the pickup and delivery locations. Additional details, while useful, aren’t as crucial initially. Once we receive your form, our removal representative will promptly reach out to get a clearer understanding of your moving needs. Based on this discussion, we can provide a quote or, if necessary, set up a survey for more specific information.

When planning to move between properties, one of the first things you should do when setting your moving budget is to get an accurate removal quotation. Our experienced and trained sales team can guide you trou the process of collecting all the necessary information, so you can get the best advice and price for your upcoming move. We work 7 days per week and you can get a quote even on Sunday. Here is a list of the questions we will most likely ask:

⦿ What are the full pickup and delivery addresses?

⦿ What property type are the pickup and delivery addresses – house, flat, storage or something different?

⦿ How is the access at both places – can we stop right in front or there is no close parking?

⦿ If you live on higher ground or you will be going to live above the ground floor- is there a lift or just stairs?

⦿ What services are you interested in? Do you require help with the packing, taking the furniture apart or anything in particular?

⦿ Which day you are planning to move? Is the date fixed and are you flexible with your moving date?

To calculate the size of the move we will ask you to either tell us what we need to move or send us an inventory list, photos, or video of your home. If the list of items is long and you might need extra services, we will advise arranging an on-site or video survey.

We do 2 types of surveys – we can visit your current property or we can do video surveys. All surveys are completely free and have no obligation to choose us. We conduct surveys Monday to Saturday anytime between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

How long does a survey take? Typically the viewing duration will depend on the size of the property and services required. For a standard 3 bedroom house the survey should take around 10-15 minutes. Depending on if you have any questions you want to ask our estimator or not, the survey can be longer. Our estimator will try his best to answer all your questions.

Do I get the price during the survey? We give our prices after the survey. The time period to receive our quotation is a couple of hours and it could be up to 24 hours if the moving request is not urgent.

During the survey, our estimator will need to see areas of your home or office. This can include your attic, basement, garage, or storage. We would need to have a full picture of the size of the move and services required, so we can provide accurate prices and send the right amount of people, vans, and equipment.

Our estimator will need to asses any potential health & safety issues and parking conditions. It is important to know exactly where we will park and any weight or height restrictions. Not knowing this can result in sending a wrong size vehicle where not suitable.

Once we collect all the information needed, we will prepare and email you a removal quotation. Inside the quotation will be all the important information you will need to decide if you want to hire Movivan Removals. Inside the quotation, the information is split into three sections:

1. Your details- name, addresses, phone number and email, moving date and time.
2. Our prices and services we will provide for this price
3. Our Terms and Conditions under which we will execute the services mentioned above

Once you receive the quotation, check all details are correct and if there is anything wrong or not clear do contact us to correct it or give an explanation.

Click here to see an example of what our quotation looks like.

If you are happy with the price and you want to book our services, the next step is to contact us via email or phone and inform us. We will need to confirm the dates you need us and the starting times. Once it is all clear we will send you an acceptance form which will have all necessary information included. With the email, there will be our bank details for the deposit payment, which is required to keep the dates secured. The deposit is always paid upfront and it is 25% of the total moving costs. The deposit will be deducted from the final amount on the removal day.

It is important you check the Acceptance form and go through it thoroughly. Under the moving costs section, there is an important section which must be read and signed. Once signed, must be sent back to us prior to your move. This is mandatory for all Movivan customers. 

Click here to see what our Acceptance form looks like and what sections you will need to read and sign.

Once you receive our Acceptance form, with all documents we will also send you our bank details to make an upfront deposit to secure the move. We require 25% of the total cost of your move to be paid upfront, so we can keep the date secured. For the deposit payments, we accept bank transfers and card payments. Without a deposit, we do not guarantee you a moving slot and we will not come to your address! This is a very important step, as this can cause lots of issues and stress on the day. If you are still not sure what to do, feel free to contact us on 0208 0033 260 for more information.

Once the deposit is paid, we will send you a deposit receipt and confirm the dates and times agreed. You will then need to go through the Acceptance form, fill it in (if not done already), and send it back to us.

The remaining balance you can pay at any point until the time we arrive at the new address and we start unloading.

If you don’t intend to bring everything with you, consider discarding, recycling, or donating unwanted items. If you’d like us to handle this and it wasn’t included in our initial quote, please let us know before our moving date. We provide full or partial house clearance service. While many clients request our removal teams to dispose of items, we try to oblige on the day, but without a prior agreement, we can’t ensure trash collection. There might be an additional charge if we do handle disposal.

Should you decide to declutter after our initial property assessment, reach out to update the inventory. This might lower your moving expenses, allowing you to save.

If you haven`t requested a packing service from us, you will need to pack all small items into boxes. The boxes must be ready when our removal men arrive. If you need to buy boxes, you can check our packing boxes for moving house page.

If you do not want to buy from us, make sure the boxes are double-walled and properly secured. To save money you can also use second-hand boxes, but they need to be in good condition.

There are two important steps when packing the boxes:

1. Do not make each box heavier than 20kg, as taking very heavy boxes up or down the stairs can be challenging for removal men. They do this every day and their health and safety are our main priority.
2. Label the boxes clearly. Giving clear labels will make the unloading process faster. Also, it is very important for us to know if there are items inside the box that are fragile. Simply, write on top of the box ”Fragile”.

If you have small children, pets, or both try to keep them away from the moving process. If possible, arrange a nanny or ask your relatives to look after them. You can also get a pet sitter for your furry pets or maybe lock them into one room, while our movers are emptying the others.

Children or big pets like dogs or cats, while our removal men are carrying heavy furniture, is dangerous and not safe. This will slow down the moving process and create risk for us and for your loved ones.

If you will be using a cleaning service for the old property or for your new home, the cleaning must be arranged for a day or time when we are not there. It will be very difficult for us to move your belongings and for the cleaning company to clean.

The cleaning of the old property must be done after we empty the house, while the cleaning of your new home must be done before we arrive or after we unload your belongings.

When preparing for your move, you will need to consider where our removal vans will park. Be aware, that each removal van will require a minimum of two parking spaces. We also need to park as close as possible to the main entrance. Long walking distance will slow us down and this will reflect on the moving price too.

If you have trouble organizing your parking, call us and we will try to help. Also, if we are doing a survey, our estimator will give you advise where is the best place to park our vans or lorry and how you can reserve parking if you do not have one.

Be aware, that a change in the parking conditions on the moving day could lead to an increase in the final price ( even if we give you a fixed rate ). For example, if you live in a flat and you tell us we can park right in front of the building we will give you a quote based on this information. On the removal day, if this is not true and our removal men need to walk 100 m to load or unload, most likely our price will change. It is very important to give us accurate information, so you can get an accurate price!

If you have booked our removal services, but you need to postpone your move, contact us immediately. If you give us enough notice, we will move your date with no problem. What does it mean enough notice? Try to inform us a minimum of 10 days before your moving day, please. Giving us a short notice can result in not being able to move your date, as the new date you want to move is not available. It can also result in losing the deposit. Giving us a 24-48 hours notice will result in paying up to 60% of the removal quotation we gave you initially. This is an important part of our Terms and Conditions, which hopefully you have read before accepting our quotation.

Cancelling your move is the same as postponing your move. The same Terms and Conditions apply to any short notice cancellations.

Our team of professional packers will come at the agreed time with all necessary moving boxes and packing materials. After a quick introduction and a quick look at what needs packing, they will start preparing the boxes to be filled in. As you might need your bedding, clothes, or stuff from the kitchen, do let our team know what not to pack. It has to be very minimal, as this will lead to delays on the moving day. It is always a good idea, to place labels on what is not to be touched, so our packers pack everything else.

The list of items we will not pack is very small as almost everything can be packed into boxes. But there are certain items which you will need to take with you as we are not insured to transport them. Those are:

• Money
• Jewelry
• Small devices like phones and tablets
• Watches
• Important documents
• Illegal substances
• Corrosive chemicals
• Gas bottles and explosives
• Paint

While packing the boxes we will label each one according to the room our packers are in. If you have an exact idea of how you want us to label the boxes or maybe you have premade stickers, we have no problems using your system. Labeling of the boxes is used for 3 main reasons:

• To know how to stack the boxes inside our removal vans
• To know where all your items will go at the new property
• So you can easily find everything once the move has finished

When our removal team arrives, it’s essential to ensure adequate parking. Each of our vehicles, being 7.5m in length, needs at least two parking spaces. If parking reservations aren’t feasible, our drivers will strive to find a workaround and park near the main entrance.

Having a prearranged parking spot for our vehicles is crucial. Any changes to this on your moving day might affect the cost. If you’ve informed us of distant parking, but we manage to find a nearer spot, we’ll reduce the final bill since loading will be quicker. Conversely, if we’re advised of nearby parking and it’s not available on the day, additional charges might apply due to the extended loading time resulting from challenging parking conditions.

Every moving crew comes with a team leader. Once they arrive, the team leader will introduce themselves and briefly assess the property and your items. Before the removal process begins, there will be a brief check of the furniture to determine any items needing dismantling, the proper packing of boxes, and any items to remain behind.

Our team leader will provide a job list, noting the start time, which you’ll need to sign for confirmation. Please note, photographs of any existing damages or marks might be taken either during the introduction or loading. This is to prevent any confusion or unwarranted claims later on.

We have a particular method for loading the removal van to ensure the safe transportation of all items and to accommodate everything as agreed upon. We give special care to fragile items, regardless of whether they’re boxed. Furniture is cushioned and covered during transport, and soft items such as mattresses and pillows are wrapped with protective folio.

After loading is completed, we’ll conduct a thorough review of the property to ensure no items are left behind and none are mistakenly taken. We prefer to carry out this inspection with the customer or a representative designated by the customer. While it’s uncommon, there are instances where we might permit departure without the customer on-site. However, in such cases, we cannot be held responsible for any issues arising in the property post our departure.

After packing everything, our removal team will proceed to the new location. For long-distance moves that only involve loading, the crew will return to our base and complete the delivery the following day, if that’s what has been arranged.

If the plan is to unload your items on the same day, the movers will head to the destination immediately after the packing and final check are completed.

There’s a crucial distinction during the unloading phase. As mentioned in our discussions, the remaining payment must be settled before we begin the unloading process. If you anticipate a delay in making this payment upon arrival, you can settle it at various points: during the booking, at the time of loading, or en route to the destination. Once the payment is received, a swift evaluation of the new property will take place, and a strategy for the placement of items will be formulated with the customer. The team will then carefully unload everything to the specified rooms or spaces. Furniture that was dismantled will be reassembled. And if there’s an agreement for box unpacking, our crew will unload the contents and handle the disposal of packing materials.

Same as with the loading, once our movers are done with the move, our team leader will ask the customer to inspect the vehicles so there is nothing left. A quick inspection of all your belongings and the property will also be done to make sure there are no visible issues and everything has arrived safely.

Then, the team leader will ask for the finish time to be signed off and they will leave. Many customers ask us if they should leave any tips to the guys. This is really up to you. If you are happy with how our removal men did the move, you can give them tips if you like. We advise you this to be done once the job has been completed.

After the move has been completed, if there are any concerns or you want to express your gratitude, our customer service is ready to help you 7 days per week. You can either send us an email at office@movivan.co.uk or call us on 0208 0033 260.

If there are any concerns, damages, or claims, please reach out to us within 7 days, either by email or phone. Our designated claims window is a 7-day period! While we’re open to assisting you beyond this period, our insurance won’t acknowledge any claims after this timeframe, and consequently, we won’t be in a position to provide compensation.