How do removals work when moving area?

Franbern "What I did find annoying is disposing of the packing cases. When I moved just a mile, back in 2003, when I had unpacked the removal company collected all the packing boxes for them to re-use. This time I was told I should just dispose of them, no collection service available. Seems an incredible waste"

That must be the reason I frequently see packing cases advertised free for the taking on a local social media site. Better than just throwing them out.

Our last move was less than two hours drive but we had so much stuff they took a day to load and they delivered the next day. We stayed overnight with my daughter four miles from our new home. I have no idea where the men slept but they were there before us, before 8am.

When I moved from Staffordshire to Torquay, our removal firm packed boxes on Day 1, packed the lorry and drove down on Day 2, slept in the cab on our drive (despite me offering them a room in our house) then finished unloading on Day 3 and drove back the following day.

We have done many long distance moves and always used Pickfords, they would pack us up on day 1 and 2 then drive to the depot nearest the new house and unpack us on day 3.

We moved from S London to N Bucks- probably about 2 1/2 -3 hours .
Load the van the day before, you find somewhere to stay (DH went on ahead and stayed closer to our new area while I stayed with friends and followed the next day with our youngest D and the dog)
The van set off early the next morning (very) and DH was at the new house to supervise unloading.

When we moved from York to Bristol the vans were loaded in a day apart from two beds which were added to the load next morning. The removers drove to Bristol and parked the load in a local company’s yard, we went by car with two car sick cats and camped overnight in the new house. The York foreman and one assistant stayed to supervise the unloading with staff provided by the local removal company. The large lorry went straight back to York, the smaller one was picking up some stuff in the Midlands on the way back. Getting everything in position in a four storey house was something of a challenge but 16 year old son had colour coded everything which worked well. There are still coloured labels on the backs of several pieces of furniture almost forty years later!

When you're moving to a new area, the removal company usually tailors the process to fit your specific needs. They can either do a very long day, where they load up your belongings, drive to the new location, and unload everything all in one go, or they might split it over two days, staying overnight somewhere if the distance is particularly far. It really depends on the distance and the company's policies. It’s best to discuss your preferences and options with them directly to ensure everything goes smoothly.

The last time we moved everything went into storage because we couldn't find a house we liked for a few months so rented.

One firm packed up our belongings one day and delivered them the next when we moved across country. Whether they made it back again the same day I don't know but presumably it is factored in to the cost of the removal.

There was a programme about, I think, Pickfords on TV a while ago, the top bod joined one of the crews and was horrified to realise they slept in the van so I think he made sure they got an allowance for b&b.

Do they do a very long day and drive back that evening or do they stay overnight somewhere?
There is a limit on driving hours. They have to be recorded on a tachograph.

MzOops moved from London to Cornwall, the truck went into the depot overnight, the next morning they parked as close as they could to the new house and transferred the items bit by bit into a small van which they then drove under the low railway bridge that leads to her front door, they did this all day until everything was offloaded, her house was up several steep steps, then 4 stories high. I imagine they cursed her all day, but they seemed to be cheerful but exhausted when they eventually left. Needless to say it cost a small fortune.

I think it depends on the distance. When I moved from the West Country to the midlands the company loaded up one afternoon, leaving me with the absolute essentials and then came early next morning for the remainder.

I went by car and got there at a similar time - apart from the longish journey with luckily, no hold ups it went fairly smoothly. I wouldn't choose to do it again though.

My worst move was when we moved to Bulgaria.
We were driving in our car.
We were told the date that our goods would arrive at the customs port ( pre Bulgaria joining the eu)
Our goods didn’t arrive that day.
To cut a long story short, the Turkish driver had a row with his boss and abandoned the removal lorry in Budapest ?
Someone was looking down on us that day because we were having our security system fitted. The owner of this company knew a customs agent.
Don’t ask me how but he found our lorry in Budapest, got a driver to go from Bulgaria and drive to us.

Thanks for all your replies.
Can't bieve were going through with .ovibg again after only 2.5 years incurrent home.

We were going to move area last time (just weeks before world came to a stop) but I chickened out.

Decided to go for it this time as don't want to be forever wondering What If?

To say I'm nervous is an understatement .
Think friends will think I'm mad so haven't told anyone yet.

Oxford to York (200 miles) involved an overnight stop.

Quite often removal vans and the like get back loads of some kind. I can remember some years ago having a small oad to get somewhere and it wss collected by a van retturning rom the area the item was to an area near me.

Most of our moves have been long-distance ones. The most recent was last week! Generally, they pack up one day, go to their depot overnight, then set out early next day.

This move, they packed us over two days and put our goods into storage for three months. They then loaded the containers onto their truck one afternoon and left their depot early morning, reaching us at 8am. It took six hours to unload inc making up beds etc.

We now have the problem Franbern mentions of empty boxes and an absolute mountain of packing paper. They will collect the boxes but already the garage is stacked high with them and we’re going to run out of space v soon.

When I moved a distance they packed up on the day of completion then stored the van overnight and made an early start arriving at the new house at about 10.00am. No waiting for monies as upthread because we’d completed the day before.

Most contracts will have a penalty clause in case they can’t get in to the new house in time to unload and return to base and have to stay another night.

When we moved we hired a removals lorry and drove it ourselves - yes we do have the necessary category on our driving licences.
We didn't move far, only 6 miles or so and the time factor wasn't a problem for us.
However, I can see that a long distance move would present its own challenges which would explain why it is so expensive sometimes to hire a commercial removals company.

East London to North SOmerset in 2019. They came in and packed one day, took lorry to their depot to be stored overnight ( I stayed with my daughter who lived close by). The following day lorry driven down during the morning to my new home and sat and waited for monies to go through so that my daughter who lived in N Somerset could collect the key. Fortunately, that happened early afternoon, so they were able to unpack and leave by about 5pm to return to London. If it had been much later they would have had to stay overnight.
What I did find annoying is disposing of the packing cases. When I moved just a mile, back in 2003, when I had unpacked the removal company collected all the packing boxes for them to re-use. This time I was told I should just dispose of them, no collection service available. Seems an incredible wast

Someone i know used to do removals if a job was a distance they would get night out money to pay for a b&b but would either bed down on blankets in the back of the lorry or drive home overnight.

We moved from Holland to the Midlands. It took three days of packing and the guys slept in the van and should have involved one night on the ferry but the guys went on a different route which included an extra stop in their home town which meant we had to stay in a hotel. All in all a total disaster.

Midlands to southern Ireland involved an overnight stop.
My family travelled separately and met the company at the new home.

biglouis - bet they wouldn't be insured to give you a lift these days!
?

All removal companies do different things depending on the size and number of their vans, availability of staff, depots along the route, how many hours on the daily tacho etc.
We moved from East London to Devon over 3 days, our daughter did the same move over several hours with a different company.

It was an overnight stay for them when I moved from Norwich to Glasgow.

It varies, as they may share the drive home. But on a long day, the common option is to factor in an overnight stay.