How to choose a removal company: the questions that matter

Most people move house three or four times in their adult life. Every time, they start from scratch: which removal company, what to ask, how to tell the good from the dodgy. Below is the short version of what a good crew looks like, based on moving people for a living.

If you would rather skip the shortlist, here is what you get from us as your removal company in Gillingham.

Insurance: read the actual numbers

Every removal firm will tell you they're insured. What matters is what the cover actually pays out. Two things to check:

Public liability insurance covers accidental damage to your property (the new carpet, the door frame, the floorboards). Look for £2 million minimum.

Belongings liability cover applies to the belongings being moved. Ask what the liability limit is per vehicle and whether an optional higher limit is available.

Ask what public liability insurance and belongings liability cover they carry, and the limits, in writing. If a firm hesitates to put that in writing, ask why.

In-house crews vs. subcontractors

A lot of firms you'll find on Google are brokers. They take your booking and sell it on to whichever crew is available on the day. The problem isn't that brokers are cheats; it's that no one owns the experience end-to-end. The people who quoted you never meet you. The people who arrive never heard the specifics.

If it matters to you who's in your house on moving day, ask: 'Is this your crew, or is it subcontracted?' Then judge the answer.

Fixed price vs. hourly rate

Both are fine, but for different jobs.

Fixed written quotes work for straight-forward moves: known property, known distance, known list of services. You pay what you were quoted. No surprises.

Some Gillingham removal firms still bill by the hour for small or hard-to-estimate jobs (single items, house clearances, loads where the volume is a guess). It can come out lower than a fixed quote, but only if the crew is honest about the time, and only if the firm hasn't padded an opening minimum into the rate. Marley Moves quotes everything as a single fixed number in writing before the day, with no hourly meter on move day. If you do go with an hourly firm, ask for the rate upfront, the crew size included, and a realistic estimate of hours in writing so the bill on the day matches what you signed up to.

Red flags

A quote given without anyone asking about access, stairs or the bulky items. An in-person survey is the usual way to cover that, but a phone call or a video survey often does the job too.

Cash-only pricing. Legitimate firms take card, bank transfer, or both.

No fixed business address. A PO box isn't a yard.

A high review score based on only a handful of reviews. Look for steady, detailed feedback built up over time.

Questions worth asking

What does the crew size look like for my move?

How do you protect flooring and doorways during the move?

What happens if something is damaged, and what's the claims process?

Do you subcontract? (You know what you're looking for now.)

If we need to change the date, what's the policy?

The Marley Moves angle

We're family-run, based in Shaftesbury, and we've built the business on word of mouth. Full public liability insurance, plus liability cover for your belongings of up to £25,000 per vehicle as standard, or £50,000 per vehicle as an optional paid upgrade agreed in writing before the move date, in-house crews only, a written quote within the hour. If any of the above sounds like how you want your move handled, we'd love to quote it.

For the wider comparison, our guide on how to compare removal companies walks through it.