What a Fixed Written Quote Really Means (and Why We Refuse to Charge by the Hour)

The worry with any removal firm is the same: you get one price on the phone, then a bigger one on the day. Hourly billing is where that fear comes from, and it is the exact model we chose not to use. Every move we take on gets a fixed written quote, agreed before a single box is lifted. Here is what that means for you, and why we think it is the fairer way to charge.

A fixed written quote, in plain terms

Fixed means the figure does not move. We look at what you are taking, work out the crew, van and time it needs, and put a single price in writing. That number is what you pay. There is no meter running while we work, no rounding up because the traffic was bad, and no line you have not already seen. When we quote your move, that quote is the agreement, not an opening offer.

Written matters as much as fixed. A price said down the phone is easy to forget and easy to dispute. A price in writing, with what it covers spelled out, gives both sides the same reference. You can hold us to it, and we work to it.

Why hourly billing quietly puts the risk on you

An hourly rate sounds transparent. In practice it hands you every risk on the day. A slow lift, a narrow staircase, a parking spot fifty yards from the door, a van a size too small: with hourly billing, each one adds to your bill instead of ours. You end up paying for problems you cannot see coming and cannot control.

The part we find hardest to defend is what an hourly clock does to the incentive. If a firm is paid by the hour, a quicker job earns it less. We would rather the pressure to work efficiently sit with us, where it belongs. You should not pay more because our morning ran slow, and you should not spend moving day watching the clock instead of settling into your new home.

The things an hourly bill tends to punish are rarely anything to do with you:

• Heavy or awkward items that simply take longer to carry
• Stairs, lifts and long carries at one end or both
• Traffic and roadworks between the two addresses
• A quick estimate that under-counted, so the day overruns

None of those are your fault. With a fixed quote, none of them are your bill either.

How we keep a fixed price accurate

A fixed quote is only fair if it is right, so we do the work up front to get the number close. We ask about the property, the access at both ends, the rough volume, and anything unusual: a piano, a loft packed to the rafters, a long gravel drive. For larger moves we offer a free survey, in person or by video, so nothing is guessed. The clearer the picture we start from, the more solid the price you are given.

It also means we tell you honestly when something could change the job, rather than staying quiet and adjusting on the day. If your circumstances shift, we talk it through and re-quote in writing. What we will not do is let a surprise appear on the invoice at the moment you have the least energy to argue it.

This is the same thinking behind what actually drives a removal price: understand the real cost, quote it plainly, and stand behind the figure.

The certainty is the point

Moving is already a day of moving parts. The cost should not be another one. A fixed written quote lets you plan the rest of your budget knowing the removal line will not change, whether you are shifting a first flat or a whole house. That certainty is not a marketing extra for us. It is the reason we set the business up to quote this way in the first place.

We are a family-run team based in Shaftesbury, moving people across Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and further afield, and we are fully insured. The promise underneath all of it is simple: the price we agree is the price you pay. If you want to see the number for your move, get a fixed quote within the hour.