So you’ve picked your three companies to get a quote from, you’ve had the Move Consultants round and showed them everything you want to move and now you’ve probably got 3 very different looking quotations in front of you – how do you choose?

What are your moving criteria?

Firstly you need to decide what is important to you about your move, are you making your decision purely on price or are there other factors to consider? for example the time it takes your things to get there, how they plan to protect your special items, someone who can take the stress away from you, their choice of destination agent or additional services that can be bundled? We’ll come to all those individually below:

Checking all quotes are like-for-like

Of course our first instinct will be to look at price first, but be careful not to just look at the £ signs. You need to make sure the quotations are based on a like-for-like service. Check:

• are all companies quoting on the same (or similar) volumes of goods? If one is quite far out it’s a good idea to try and find out why, the company might have included an area others haven’t (i.e. lofts or garden areas) – prices will be based largely on volume of goods, so if this isn’t the same across the quotes you wont be able to compare the prices. Call the moving company and let them know and they will either be able to explain why or correct their price.
• are all the companies offering the same services? for example full packing services, crating or special wrapping of certain items, are they arranging dismantling of any furniture, have they included a shuttle vehicle or outside elevator because of poor access? are they including parking fees (if applicable) or any other additional charges in their price?

Transit times

It can be easy to overlook transit times when comparing a quotation but when a removal company purchases space for your container on a vessel the price they pay can vary depending on the length of time it takes to get to destination, and the route it takes. In general slower vessels charge less for the space. If you’re not in a hurry for your belongings, this is fine and can be a way to save a little on cost – but bear in mind the costs you will incur being without your furniture and effects…will you have to stay in a hotel until your furniture arrives and you can move into your home? Will you have to find rented accommodation? Will you have to eat out until your cooking equipment arrives? It can all add up so compare the estimate of these costs to the money you are saving on a slower shipment – are you still saving?

Comparing Quality

It’s very easy for Removals Companies to portray a professional, high quality image. But there are a few things to look at to make your own determination of if you will receive the level of service you are looking for.

Check Accreditations and Membership of Professional Associations - there are many, but these are the big ones that we would suggest looking out for: 

• The British Association of Removers members are audited to ensure they provide satisfactory standards in relation to facilities and equipment, staff, complaints, sales and advertising. They also have a group dedicated to Overseas Movers who in addition provide an Advance Payment Guarantee. In the current uncertain economic environment many customers are concerned about the financial stability of their Remover. The Advance Payment Guarantee protects any payments made before your move (which is standard industry practice) in that if anything happens to your moving company whilst your move is in progress another BAR member will step in and complete the service at no additional cost to you. Without this protection it is likely you would be facing additional charges to receive your belongings (for example port fees, destination agents fees) if they are unable to be recovered from your moving company.
• For Overseas Moving: The largest professional network of international movers is FIDI who certify movers that meet the strict international standards to the FAIM standard. Movers are independently audited in areas such as financial stability, responsiveness, facilities and equipment, trained and knowledgable staff (crews and move management) and complaints and claims to demonstrate they are meeting the strict criteria developed to ensure customers receive satisfactory service. 
• ISO 9001:2008 certification demonstrates a mover implements a quality management system that provides consistent high quality of service and is independently audited by the British Standards Institute. This ensures the processes the company have in place for all departments (operations, sales, finance, human resources etc) in place eliminate room for error and poor service and in having staff follow these processes ensure quality service is provided consistently. 

Destination Agents (For international moving).

An international move is broken down into Origin Services (packing and loading, transport to docks) Freight (ocean or air transportation) and Destination Services (customs clearance, transport to your home, unloading and unpacking). There are generally 3 different ways companies offer Destination Services. Larger global companies may have their own owned overseas office who will provide destination services, others will be part of a global network (such as Bournes being part of UniGroup Worldwide UTS) where a group of independent companies form their own network to provide eachother regular destination services. The third type is where an independent UK company will just select an overseas agent to handle destination services. In all instances it’s important to check that the destination agent is a professional company i.e. do they have the same quality accreditations that you would expect here. Companies with established relationships with destination agents offer the added peace of mind that they are experienced in working together so should provide a smooth transition and preferrable rates.

Comparing Price

Insurance

Check what the cost of insurance is going to be, usually this is based on a % of the value of your belongings. Take this into account when you compare your total moving price – not just the removal costs. 1/2 a percent difference on a high value of goods can make a big difference.

All things being equal….

If when it all boils down to it you have companies offering you a very similar standard of service, level of quality and on the same volume but price is the only differentiator then i’m afraid there is no magic formula for deciding and it will be down to who you want to work with. Who did you feel most comfortable dealing with through the process so far? Who has given you most confidence? are they offering any additional services which will make your life easier? Can you ask for any references from previous customers? Be careful searching online – yes it’s great to get recommendations BUT remember people tend to make more noise when they are unhappy than when everything has gone well. Every company will have issues and complaints, accidents happen and if they tell you they never do i’d want to see proof! How a company deals with a complaint or claim can be a good measure of good service, but if you avoided every company that had a once sided bad report on the internet you’d struggle to find a mover at all! If you’re worried – ask for references from previous customers, a professional company should be willing and able to provide these.

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