
Service
Short Notice Removals across Dorset, Somerset & Wiltshire
Most people who ring us at short notice did not leave it late on purpose. A completion date shifts, a notice period runs out, keys have to go back on a deadline, or the firm that was booked stops answering the phone. Marley Moves keeps one crew back from the fixed diary for exactly this, which is what makes same-week and sometimes same-day work possible across Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire. What we will not do is say yes and work out the details later. You get a straight answer on whether the date is possible, then a fixed price in writing within the hour, and if we cannot cover it we will tell you that quickly enough to be useful.
Get a written quote within the hour
5.0 ★★★★★ Google rating · Family-run · Insured £2.5m · Or call 01747 637070
What's included
What a short notice move includes
A crew held back for urgent work
One crew is deliberately kept out of the fixed diary. It is what makes short notice possible, and it is also why we sometimes have to say no.
A straight answer on the date
We check the diary and tell you yes or no while you are still on the phone, rather than leaving you waiting on a maybe you cannot plan around.
Completion-day changes
Chains move. If your date shifts after you have booked, tell us and we re-plan it, which is a great deal easier than finding out on the morning.
End of tenancy and deadline moves
Notice periods running out, keys going back to an agent, a property to be emptied between tenants. Deadline work is a normal part of the week.
Storage when the chain stalls
Contents go into a container at our own site and come back when the new place is ready, so a gap between the two ends does not become a crisis.
A fixed price before we set off
Priced on volume, access and distance like any other job. Urgency changes what is available, not the rate, and nothing is added afterwards.
Who it's for
Who calls us at short notice
- Buyers and sellers whose completion date has moved
- Tenants with days left on a notice period
- Executors handing keys back to a deadline
- Landlords needing a property cleared between tenancies
- Anyone whose removal firm has cancelled on them
- People who simply did not get much warning
What we can do at short notice, and what we cannot
Short notice is a question about one thing, whether a crew and a van are free on the day you need them. If they are, almost everything else is solvable, including quoting off photos or a video walk-through instead of a survey visit. If they are not, no amount of goodwill invents a second crew, and the useful thing we can do is tell you that inside a couple of minutes so you can ring somebody else. What we will not do is take the booking and hope. A firm that says yes to everything is how people end up with no van on the morning of their completion, which is the situation most of our short notice callers are already in.
When a completion date moves
Dates shifting is the single most common thing that happens to a booked removal, and it is worth saying plainly that it is not a disaster. Tell us the moment you know. How much we can flex depends on how far the date has moved and what is already committed that week, and being told on the Tuesday gives us options that being told on the Friday afternoon does not. Where the two ends of a chain no longer line up at all, the answer is usually storage rather than a cancellation, because your contents can leave the old house on the original date even if the new one is not ready.
Storage when the chain stalls
A stalled chain leaves you needing somewhere for a houseful of belongings and no idea for how long. We load into a container at our own site, keep it for as long as it takes and re-deliver when the new place is ready, so you are not paying for an empty rental or camping in a relative's front room. The container is not somewhere you visit, which keeps it cheaper than a unit you hold a key to, so the one thing worth planning is what you need to keep with you. Clothes, documents and anything for the next few weeks should stay out of the load.
Free fixed quote
Like the sound of us?
We send every quote back within the hour. It is usually fixed straight away; if a survey is needed, we confirm the fixed price afterwards. Pick whichever bit fits your pace.
How it works
How a short notice move runs
- 01
Ring or message us
Call or send a WhatsApp on 01747 637070 with the date, the two addresses and roughly what is moving. Photos beat a description.
- 02
A yes or a no
We check the diary against the date while you are on the phone. If we cannot do it, you find out immediately and can keep looking.
- 03
Fixed written quote
One price in writing within the hour, off a video walk-through or photos when there is no time for a visit.
- 04
Loaded and gone
The crew arrives with the price already agreed, and either delivers straight to the new address or into storage until it is ready.
Frequent questions
What people ask when the date is close
It depends on the day and what is already in the diary, so the honest answer is that we will tell you straight away whether we can or not. We hold a crew back for urgent work, which is what makes same-week and sometimes same-day possible, but it is one crew and not an unlimited supply.
Tell us as soon as you know. Dates shifting is the single most common thing that happens to a booked removal and we would far rather re-plan it than find out on the morning. What we can flex depends on how far the date has moved and what else is in the diary that week, and storage covers the gap when the two ends no longer line up.
The price is worked out the same way as any other job, on the volume, the access and the distance. What short notice changes is availability rather than the rate. You get a fixed written price before the crew leaves the yard, so there is no meter running and no premium that appears afterwards.
That is what containerised storage is for. We load your contents into a container, keep it at our own site and re-deliver when the new place is ready, so you are not paying for an empty rental or living out of boxes at a relative's house. It is not a unit you come and visit, so anything you need in the meantime should stay with you.
Ring us and we will tell you honestly whether we can cover the date. Bring whatever quote or inventory you already have, because it saves repeating the survey and lets us price it quickly. If we cannot do it we will say so straight away rather than leaving you waiting on a maybe.
Further reading
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Local to your move?
Free fixed quote
Like the sound of us?
We send every quote back within the hour. It is usually fixed straight away; if a survey is needed, we confirm the fixed price afterwards. Pick whichever bit fits your pace.