Removals in Bromley: what to check before you call a firm

The quality of a removals quote depends almost entirely on the quality of the information you give. Phone a firm about removals in Bromley with a clear volume, two surveyed addresses and a confirmed date, and you get a fixed price you can hold them to. Phone with “a three-bed, not sure when” and you get a guess that changes later. An hour of preparation before you make the call is worth more than any amount of haggling afterwards.

Measure what is moving

Walk the house room by room and write down every item of furniture that is coming, with rough dimensions for anything large: wardrobes, sofas, beds, the dining table, the fridge freezer, the washing machine. Count the boxes you expect to fill, allowing roughly fifteen to twenty standard boxes for a typical bedroom and more for a kitchen and books. Then do the two rooms people forget: the loft and the garage. In Bromley’s suburban semis and detached houses these are often full, and a removal company that discovers thirty boxes of Christmas decorations and a workbench on the day will charge for a second trip. If part of what you own is not going straight to the new address, note it separately, because removals and storage is quoted differently from a straight move.

Check access at both ends

Removal companies in Bromley will ask the same access questions whatever the house, so answer them before they ask:

• Can a large van, typically 3.5 tonnes or a 7.5 tonne lorry for a family home, park directly outside? Measure the drive width and note any low trees or overhead cables.
• Are there parking restrictions on the street? If so, a bay suspension from Bromley Council is needed and must be applied for in advance.
• How many steps to the front door, and is there a side gate to the garden for garden furniture and sheds?
• Do any large items have to come through a window? Measure the stair turn and the width of doors.
• At the new address, is there a lift, a loading bay or a managing agent with moving hours?

Take photographs of the front of each property, the street and the stairs. A firm quoting by video survey can work from these and you avoid a day waiting in for a surveyor.

What is different in Bromley

Bromley is London’s largest borough by area and most of it is suburban: interwar semis and detached houses with drives, larger gardens than the inner boroughs, and streets wide enough for a lorry. That makes most house removals in the borough straightforward, but it brings its own set of items that need planning. Sheds, greenhouses, garden furniture, trampolines and the contents of a large garage take real time to dismantle and load, and are the most commonly forgotten lines in a quote. Older roofs and lofts mean loft contents may be reached through a hatch with no proper ladder, which a crew will handle more slowly for safety. Towards the Kent border, in Chislehurst, Orpington and the villages beyond, lanes narrow and some drives were built for cars of a different era, so measure before assuming a 7.5 tonne lorry can get in. Bromley Council’s bulky waste service collects items you are not taking, but it needs booking ahead and will not clear a whole garage.

Paperwork and dates to have ready

Have your completion or tenancy end date, the earliest date you can collect keys at the new property and any fallback dates. If you are in a chain, say so: good firms price the risk of a delayed completion differently from a tenancy move with a fixed date. Have the full addresses including postcodes, the number of floors at each end and the name and number of the managing agent for any flat. Decide if you want packing, dismantling and reassembly, and list anything that needs a specialist: a piano, a safe, a large aquarium, artwork. Finally, decide how you will pay and check whether the firm’s goods in transit insurance limit per item is enough for your most valuable pieces, and declare any that exceed it.

When to call a professional

Some pre-move jobs are not for the householder or the removals crew. A gas cooker, hob or gas fire is disconnected only by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Hardwired electric cookers, showers and ceiling lights are for a qualified electrician, and any new circuits at the new house in England are notifiable under Part P and should be done by a registered competent person such as an NICEIC or NAPIT member. Dismantling a shed, garage boards or old ceiling tiles in a pre-2000 house carries an asbestos risk, so stop if you are unsure. Anyone taking rubbish away must be a registered waste carrier with the Environment Agency, and you keep a duty of care for where that waste goes.

When you have the measurements, the access notes and the dates, describe the move to The Household Daily help desk and we will help you take the next step towards removals in Bromley.

Guidance is general and refers to the authority that sets each rule. Costs are indicative ranges; always get written quotes. Trade availability and credentials are confirmed when you enquire.