For parcels from approximately 30 kg and less, see the international post page.

British Removal companies

Sites for getting quotes from several removal companies

NOTE ABOUT BIDDING SITES: You need to be careful before accepting bids on removal bidding sites, as there are goods transport companies that pass themselves off as removal companies without understanding removals. Here are some examples of the problems that may occur:

• They may ask you to tell them the exact volume and weight. If you know it, good, but without removal quoting experience, it can be difficult to get these figures right.
• They may give unrealistically low bids to win the job, without having taken the time to read your descriptions, so they may provide vans with insufficient volume or weight capacity. Example: 20 cubic metre vans ('curtain vans') have a low weight capacity around 1.2T, and if you fill them to volume capacity with furniture and removal boxes, you may end up overloading them with a total of 2.5T.
• They may ask you to wrap your furniture and stick corner protections on them with tape, possibly damaging your furniture with the tape, or wrap your own sheets around the furniture (the sheets may well be good for the bin on arrival), not understanding that one of the differences between goods transport and removal is that removers are used to dealing with and protecting household items.
• They may not have terms and conditions or insurance suitable for removal but only for goods transport, and refer to the standard terms and conditions in the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR), not taking into account that that Convention specifically states that it does not apply to furniture removals.
• They may claim that insurance is included in the price, and when you start digging, you find out that the insurance only covers £8 per kg and no damage, and the terms and conditions, if you finally get them, limit damage liability to £40 per item or box. A 32" TV weighs perhaps 8 kg, so 8 x £8 = £64. How do you get another TV for that? A game console weighs perhaps 1 kg, may be worth £200, and you get £8 in case of loss. The problem with some of the companies that bid on these sites is that they may not tell you this unless you keep insisting.

If you use such sites, you therefore need to check this, as you don't know how competent the bidder is.

Anyvan. Delivery auction for everything from parcels to full removals.
The Road Ahead. Removal quote site. Site admin is very helpful, but some of the companies quoting are not. Pot luck. You won't necessarily receive many quotes, so don't rely on this only.

French Removal companies

Be sure to get recommendations from reliable sources before letting a French removal company handle your possessions. You cannot presume they have the same standard of care and quality as you find in the UK and other countries where quality service is the norm. I'm speaking of experience.

Imo2.com. Directory of French removal companies and storage space by département and special competence. Lorry hire. Sale of packaging. Comparative quoting. etc. In French.

Van Hire

A word of caution: You can hire 20 cubic metre vans with an ordinary B driving licence, but if you fill such a van up completely with furniture and removal boxes, you can easily end up having charged twice as much weight as allowed. Not only will you be fined in case of a police control, you will not be allowed to continue unless you offload enough for getting the van below the allowed maximum weight. That means hiring a second van, moving half the stuff over there, and finding someone to drive it - or leaving one van with contents on the spot until you can get back to collect it, hoping that no one has emptied it in the meantime. Finally, if seriously overcharging a van, there is a real risk of tyre explosion because of the increased tyre deformation and friction that wil overheat the tyre. A 12 m³ van can typically load 1075-1500 kg, which is more than the maximum of 625-900 kg for a 20 cubic metre van. The motorway tolls are more expensive for a 20 m³ van than for 12 m³, by the way. For an ordinary removal, less may therefore mean more. Ask at the local mairie (town hall) where you can weigh the van before starting out if you want to play it safe.

Rent and Drop. One-way van hire.
Rent a Car. One-way van hire possible.
Hertz. Large choice of vehicles.
Budget. 
National / Citer. 
Europcar. 
Sixt. 
Ada.
Avis.

Homat

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