Terms and conditions

1. Scope

These terms govern household and commercial removals, packing, storage and international movements carried out by Removals Directory in the United Kingdom and abroad. They become part of our agreement once a written quotation is accepted.

2. What this website is

This website belongs to a single removals company. It is not a directory, a listings service or a comparison site. We do not list, rank, recommend or accept payment from other removals firms, and no advertising, affiliate link or paid placement appears on it.

The glossary and the entries on this site are general information about how terms are used across the removals trade. They are not advice about any particular job and they do not form part of any contract. Where the glossary and your written quotation differ, the quotation governs.

3. Waste and clearance

We do not hold a waste carrier licence and do not undertake the carriage of waste for disposal. We will move goods to a purchaser, a charity, a storage facility or another address.

Where an enquiry requires disposal, we will say so and decline that part of the work. We do not sort, value or advise on the disposal of belongings, and nothing we say should be treated as probate, valuation or legal advice.

4. Quotations and surveys

Quotations follow a survey at the property, or a remote survey by video or photographs where the volume and access are plainly straightforward. A quotation given without either is provisional and is stated as such.

Every quotation states what it includes and what it excludes, including whether waiting time, permits, materials and — on an international movement — destination charges form part of the figure.

5. Access and the information you give us

Describing access at both ends is your responsibility: floors, lifts and lift door openings, staircases and their turns, doorway widths, parking restrictions and approach roads.

Where access differs materially from what was described and additional work is required as a result, that work is chargeable. Where we identified a problem in advance and told you, no charge arises for work not attempted.

6. Booking and payment

A booking becomes firm once the written quotation is accepted and any deposit stated on it is paid. A deposit is returned in full on cancellation more than seven days ahead of the booked date; inside that window some or all may be retained against costs already committed.

The balance falls due as the written quotation states, and in any event within fourteen days of the invoice date unless agreed otherwise in writing.

7. Shared loads and consolidated consignments

Where a shared load, part load or groupage consignment is quoted, your goods travel with other consignments and are handled at a depot at one or both ends. Collection and delivery may be carried out by different crews.

Departure is governed by the vehicle or container being loaded for the route rather than by a date you select. Where your dates are fixed we will recommend against a shared consignment.

8. Packing

Where we pack, materials and labour are as stated on the quotation. Cartons packed by you are covered for loss or damage arising from our handling but not for damage attributable to the packing itself.

On consolidated and international consignments we may decline to carry customer-packed cartons where we judge them unfit for the journey.

9. Goods we will not carry

Hazardous and prohibited items: fuel, gas cylinders, fireworks, solvents, open paint, corrosives, ammunition and similar. Nothing perishable and nothing living; plants travel at your own risk. Money, jewellery, deeds, passports and medication should stay with you.

Destination countries apply their own prohibited and controlled lists, several of which cover items that are unremarkable in the United Kingdom. Those lists are reviewed at survey and compliance with them is a shared responsibility.

10. Cover

Goods in transit and in store are covered to the level your written quotation and storage agreement state, subject to the exclusions written there. The quotation states the limit per item rather than relying on a general description. Declare items of unusual value before the move so that appropriate cover can be arranged.

11. Storage

Goods we hold are loaded, listed and recorded at the collection address and a copy of the list is provided to you. Charging runs from the collection day in the periods the storage agreement sets out, and access requires reasonable notice.

Where storage charges go unpaid and written notice allowing not less than thirty days has been given, we may exercise a lien over the goods and ultimately sell them to recover the debt, accounting to you for any surplus.

12. Matters outside our control

Planning gives us no authority over traffic, weather, road closures, sailing schedules, port congestion, a chain not completing, a building withdrawing permission, or customs processing at either end. Where any of that bears on your job we tell you at once and work out the best remaining option with you.

13. International movements

Customs clearance is handled by us or our appointed agent against the inventory taken before departure. You are responsible for obtaining the documents marked as yours on the relevant country page, for the accuracy of what you tell us for the declaration, and for the timing of your own arrival where a relief depends on it.

Duties, taxes and charges imposed at the destination are payable by you unless the written quotation states otherwise. Where a shipment cannot clear because a document attached to you personally is not yet in place, storage and demurrage at the receiving end are payable by you.

14. Claims

Tell us as soon as you notice loss or damage, and in writing within seven days of delivery or of goods leaving store. Keep the item and its packaging so both can be examined. A late report may limit what the cover will meet.

15. Cancellation by us

Work that would be unsafe, unlawful or impossible for reasons beyond our control may be cancelled or postponed, with sums paid for work not carried out refunded.

16. Law

The law of England and Wales governs these terms, and its courts have jurisdiction over any dispute arising under them.

Anything unclear?

Ask before you book, on the contact page.