Why Moving Companies take Full Payment Before the Move Day.
It is a standard practice for removals companies to take full payment prior to the work commencing. Of course, this doesn’t work if you are just hiring a man and van on an hourly rate, but for professional moving companies that provide written quotes for their work, it’s seen as vital.
Moving companies have limited resources and once those resources, (vehicle, crew, etc) are allocated to a job, they can’t be used elsewhere. This is why they provide written quotations and require their customers to accept those quotations before they book the job in their diary. Once the quotation is accepted, the contract is in place and the customer can be confident that the mover will turn up on the day. Likewise, the mover can be confident that their resources will be generating income on the contracted day(s).
Cancelling or Postponing a Move.
At the time of booking, you will usually pay a deposit to secure your dates. The size of the deposit varies from mover to mover, but it is usually stipulated that the balance should be paid before the moving day. The deposit is generally non-refundable.
Remember, your contract with the mover is for the work to be done on the specified day(s).
Your mover will have Terms & Conditions that lay out the payments due if you cancel. This may be on a sliding scale, depending on how much notice is given, but usually means that cancelling within a day or two leaves you liable for the full cost of the move.
Postponing a move may be different depending on your chosen mover. Many movers offer a Postponement Waiver, which allows the customer to change their date once without further cost. If this option is available and used, it may be worth paying for the Postponement Waiver a second time in case you need to move your date again.
