Choosing a Removal Company in Preston: 9 Questions to Ask Before You Book

If you are wondering how to choose a removal company in Preston, it comes down to nine questions. Put them to every firm on your shortlist and the right choice usually becomes obvious within a phone call or two. The questions cover insurance, surveys, who turns up on the day, what happens if your completion date slips, and how awkward things like pianos and glassware are handled. We have moved households across Lancashire for five generations, so we have heard every one of these questions many times, and below we answer each one the way we would for our own customers. Work through the list before you book and most moving day problems never get the chance to happen.

The nine questions at a glance

1. Do you carry goods in transit and public liability insurance?

Start with the question that matters most if something goes wrong. Goods in transit insurance covers your belongings on the vehicle, and public liability insurance covers damage to property and people while the crew works in your home. A reputable firm will show evidence of both without hesitation, so be wary of anyone vague about it.

Ask what the cover limit is, whether it applies in storage as well as on the road, and what is excluded. Boxes you packed yourself are a common exclusion worth checking. Our position is simple. Goods are covered by comprehensive insurance in transit, with separate cover available for anything in storage, based on the valuation you give us.

2. Will you survey my home before you quote?

A firm that quotes for a house move without seeing the house is guessing, and the gap between guess and reality surfaces at the worst moment, when the vehicle is full and the garage is not yet empty. A proper survey takes twenty to thirty minutes. We walk through every room including the loft, shed and garage, check access and parking, and work out which vehicle and how many packing materials the job needs. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

It is also your chance to weigh up the surveyor. If they are rushed or vague at the survey stage, that tells you how the move will run. Anyone comparing quotes for a removal company in Preston should insist that every firm surveys the property before putting a figure in writing.

3. Who will actually turn up on the day?

Some firms run a small core staff and fill the crew with casual labour hired the day before. Extra hands are fine, but it can mean the people carrying your wardrobe downstairs have never worked together. Ask whether the crew are employed, how experienced they are, and when they will arrive.

Our crews arrive for a prompt 0800 start in our own orange and white vehicles, and on most moves the aim is to be fully loaded by midday so there is time in hand at the other end. The same standard applies whether we are working in Preston or handling house removals in Blackpool and along the Fylde coast.

4. Do you subcontract any part of the move?

Subcontracting is common at the busy end of summer. You book one company and a different one turns up, working to a price the first company set. If anything is damaged, you are left between the two. Ask directly: will the vehicle and crew on the day be yours?

We are a family firm and our answer has not changed in over a century. Every move is carried out by our own people in our own purpose built vehicles, and Michael Clark personally oversees every job. If a job is beyond us, we say so rather than passing it down a chain.

5. What happens if my completion date is delayed?

Completion dates slip and chains break. Ask every firm what the plan is when that happens, because the answers vary enormously. The bad answer is a self storage unit you arrange yourself in a hurry. The good answer is that the same firm holds your goods until the new date.

Our containerised storage service takes this situation in its stride. Your belongings are loaded into sealed 250 cubic foot containers, each with its own reference number, and held in our secure gated warehouse near the M55, covered by CCTV, from £10 per week. When the new date arrives, the same containers come straight out and finish the move.

6. Are packing materials included, and can you pack for me?

Firms differ widely here, and it changes the real cost of a quote. Some include boxes, some sell them, some leave you to find your own. Ask what is included and when it arrives. We deliver purpose built cartons free of charge before the move, including wardrobe cartons for hanging clothes, and collect everything for recycling once you have unpacked.

If you would rather not pack at all, our full and part packing services cover everything from the kitchen cupboards to a single cabinet of glassware, and the kitchen is packed on the morning of the move so you can live normally until the last day.

7. How will you move my piano, antiques and fragile items?

This question separates removal firms quickly. A piano is not simply a heavy piece of furniture. The weight sits awkwardly, the finish marks easily and stairs change the job completely, so ask exactly how yours would be moved. The same goes for antiques, mirrors, large pictures and televisions, which should be export wrapped rather than draped in a blanket and hoped for.

Glassware and china are packed by hand, furniture travels under heavy duty transit blankets with mattress protectors as standard, and awkward items going into store are export wrapped and palletised. If a firm hesitates here, or suggests the piano can ride in the van with everything else, keep looking.

8. How much notice do you need?

Four to six weeks is the comfortable window. Fridays, month ends and school holidays fill first, in Preston as much as on the coast. Do not assume a short notice move is impossible though: completion dates arrive faster than expected, and we take jobs at shorter notice when the diary allows. Ring as soon as your sale looks likely to complete, even before the date is fixed, so a provisional slot can be pencilled in.

9. Can I see recent reviews of your work?

Reviews will not tell you everything, but patterns will. Read the most recent rather than the best, and look at how the firm responded when something went wrong, because that is the part you are buying. Ask for examples of recent moves like yours.

Above all, check that the firm on the phone matches the firm in other people's accounts. Five generations of trading in the same part of Lancashire is our answer here. Reputation is the only advertising that has ever worked for us.

Frequently Asked Questions