Marriage, raising children and moving house are known to be three of the biggest stresses most will face at some point in their lives. However, for some, these stresses can be made far greater by circumstances beyond their control. For the following families, their experiences when attempting to move house reveals just what a nightmare the whole process can be.

“We chose one of the cheapest removal companies based on the fact that it appeared to be a bargain, and that the company had also received good reviews. However, on the day of the move, the company was more than 3 hours late. After phoning to see what the hold-up was, the company (of two men), claimed that the van had been in an accident and had been written off, and the driver was in hospital. We later discovered that the company could only offer such low prices by securing multiple jobs, making it worth their while financially. If they couldn’t secure enough jobs, they’d cancel and would employ some form of sob story to play on people’s good nature.

 
Rather than being transparent about this, they failed to organise another replacement service and chose not to refund the money we had paid, meaning that we had to contact the provider, who helped us to reclaim our deposit. We then had to beg another company to make the journey for us, paying an extra £100 than what we had originally budgeted for to make the move. We couldn’t afford to wait any longer as we both had jobs starting, and we needed our possessions owing to moving with a young baby. The whole ordeal was a nightmare and was very stressful!” – Russell, 24, Cambridgeshire.

 
“We were moving from our small apartment into our first proper family home. The apartment was on the second floor of the building, so we thought we’d get professional help in for the move. One of the items we needed moving was a piano I’d inherited from my mother. They decided to attempt to carry it down the communal stairs, which I was somewhat sceptical about. We were horrified to see one of the men lose his grip on the piano and the whole thing went crashing down the stairs. The noise was phenomenal. It was lucky, that no one was injured! The removal firm did cover the piano’s repair on their insurance, but it was still an extra job to get sorted, which is not what you need when you’re moving house.”

– Eric, 33, London.

 

 

“We had the removal from hell. Everything appeared to be going to plan; the guys who were packing up our home were polite and efficient. It was only when they had finished packing and it was time to go that they managed to back their lorry into our house damaging not only the property, but our belonging in the truck! Everything after than was a nightmare. They changed from being polite and helpful to being unbelievably difficult and abusive. We would never use that removal company again and would advise others to avoid like the plague. It was a nightmare trying to get everything sorted, and I’ll never forget that day as long as I live.” – Jane, 41, Colchester.

 

“We had a removal company lose one of our boxes in transit. We saw this particular box being packed, but when the lorry was being unloaded, it wasn’t there. It didn’t have anything of significant value in it – just some toys, blankets and a rabbit comforter my young son loved. It wasn’t the monetary value that was upsetting, more that my young son had lost something that reassured him and comforted him. When you have a young child, you’ll know how important that one item is.” – Melanie, 30, Manchester.

 

 

With a growing number of market places offering a wide variety of removal services, it can be difficult to distinguish which company to trust and which is best to avoid.

 

Filip Mijatov from Removers.org, commented: “A professional, trusted and reputable company should provide you with proof of insurance. If they do not; you have the right to ask to see such papers. If they still fail to provide you with the appropriate proof and documentation; that’s a sure sign that you should not sign any contract with that company, no matter how competitive their prices are.”

 

Feature Image: Credit to http://www.sunsetremovalsnewcastle.com.au/