A topic we often discuss with our customers are deposits, payments in advance and cancellation fees. These are important for both the removals company and customers. Read on to learn more about deposits and advice about the all-important question “Do you pay removal companies upfront?”

Should you pay 100% of the move in advance?

The answer is in two parts:

• “NO”, do not pay for 100% of the move far in advance
• Paying the remaining balance somewhere in the final 72 hours is commonplace in the industry and reasonable (in our opinion!)

Should a deposit be paid?

You probably will have no choice. Almost every removal company (including Expert Moves) will insist on a deposit.

To a removals company, a deposit is a form of insurance policy against late cancellation by the customer of the removals work. In a fair contract to both parties, this is fair and justifiable, it is a contractual commitment from both parties. The removal company are committing to be available on a given date and the customer is honouring this commitment with finance.

The removal company will receive the deposit as compensation in place of lost work. Every removal company have a right to their own terms and conditions, just as a customer has a right to accept these terms or not. Here are some recommendations from Expert Moves on what to accept:

i) Cash-only deposits – do not pay a cash-only deposit, especially without a receipt or written acknowledgement

ii) Deposit level – we feel a deposit between 10-25% of the total contract is reasonable, e.g., on an £800 removal job this would represent a deposit of between £80-£200

iii) Non-refundable deposit – if you are asked to sign an agreement with a non-refundable deposit this is unreasonable. Circumstances change, and reputable removal companies understand this. A reasonable term might be that you lose your deposit if you cancel less than between two to four days before the move is due.

Should I agree to a cancellation fee?

Again, you may have no choice. The deposit is an insurance cover to protect the removal company from a loss of earnings. If you want to book a removal company, you will need to agree to a cancellation fee. The alternative is to book a move late on in the last few days, but this runs the risk of not being able to find an available company.

What method should I choose to pay?

You are always more protected if you pay electronically, e.g., by Debit Card or Credit Card. First of all, it means you can PROVE you paid and in the event of a dispute you can contact your card operator to assist with recovering the financial loss.

It is unreasonable for a removal company to INSIST on cash-only if they do it is a warning sign and possibly the sign of a rogue trader.

Whatever method you choose to pay, we always advise that you obtain a receipt as proof of transaction.

What are Expert Moves payment terms?

Taken from Expert Moves’ Terms and Conditions, our terms relating to payment and cancellation are:

• Upfront deposit of 10% at the time of booking to secure the van and date/time and the balance to be paid 24 hours before the moving date
• Free changes (date/time/inventory) or cancellations can be made up to 48 hours before the moving date
• Any changes in terms of dates and/or cancellations done with less than 48 hours’ notice will incur a 50% surcharge of the original quote value to cover any losses our business might incur due to the late notice. This surcharge will still have to be paid in the event of cancellation
• Right de lien – we reserve the right to not authorise our team to unload if there are any outstanding charges. The balance must be cleared by the time our team arrive at the destination to unload your goods

Contacting Expert Moves about “do you pay removal companies upfront”

If you were asking should you pay removal companies upfront, hopefully we’ve got you covered. Although our standard terms and conditions “are what they are”, we are happy to discuss them with individual customers. Speak to us about your removals contract and how we can be of service to you.

Call Expert Moves today on 0333 090 7997 (landline) or 07405 648478 (mobile) to book your removals contract. Alternatively, complete our contact form for a call back. Receive a FREE quotation for any of our removal services when you complete our instant quote removal form.

 

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