Removals company question

[Old Man]

Need some advice..

I am moving to Scotland in a week and the movers (who i have used before) have requested all of the money up front (has previously been after the delivery of goods), which I find very odd and I would like to know if any know of this to be the norm now or?

I have suggested I pay half up front and the rest on the delivery of the goods; waiting their reply..

ty

 

[Old Man]

Sounds very suspect. This is just a normal house move - load up, drive to destination and unload in the same day ? There's no storage going on or anything ? If their cash flow situation is so poor they need a day's work paid up-front I'd be walking away.

It's a long move, so going from Kent to Aberdeen..

I pushed the mover a bit and got it so I'd show him a bank cheque for the full amount and hand it over after delivery, so it seems ok right now.

Last time I used them, they were great and everything went smoothly, so just wondering what changed.

ok fingers crossed..

 

[Old Man]

To be fair that's around 1200 mile round trip
And cost of fuel plus putting up say 3 guys overnight and cost of food for them wouldn't have been a factor in your previous move?
If it's a small moving company then
Not unreasonable to ask for something up front but yes I wouldn't pay it all up front either
Having driven from Kent to Glasgow and back many times in the past its a long old drive looking some where around 12+ hours to Aberdeen would be my guess and that's assuming no traffic problems and that the movers can take turns driving
I don't envy them I used to find it an endurance test not enjoyable in the slightest
Best I ever managed 510 miles from here to Glasgow was just under 10 hours and didn't stop even once
Though I did obey all marked speed limits near enough. including road work areas

They will be sleeping in the cab, so no problem and they have a job to pick up there as well.

I did pay 10% of the move up front and this move is costing me £2500.

Lots to pack now and going on the 19th, so hopefully power, etc (and internet) will go on as planned.

ty

 

[Old Man]

Every move through the years has always been a major pain to deal with (including this move), but what we had
not really planned for was how much older we are now and how much more work everything seems to be, as mentally
we're still 30, but the reality is hitting home badly right now.

At least we are getting out of the SE as you would not believe how bad things are down here.

 

[Old Man]

Yeah know the mind is willing but body is weak feeling from getting old

Ironically I am Scottish lol
And yeah I would believe how bad things are down here in the south east
As that's where I am sitting right now lol

Where about roughly?

I'm in Folkestone, which is the back end of nowhere and unfortunately where the headquarters for UKIP is located.

 

[Old Man]

In what respect? Just interested because I am originally from the south east but moved north years ago. Only go back to see family for short periods and really don't like it either. Crowded, busy, poor standards of driving, and the people aren't as nice.

The problems down here (from most people, but not all) is the visible dislike to those not British and as my wife and son are Swedish, we've heard a wide range of
insults since the vote to leave EU. Some people are very friendly, so it is sad that we will be leaving friends behind and going to where my family are located as it has
become too much of a problem here as it has grown steadily worse in the last couple of months; we just couldn't take it any longer.

 

[Old Man]

Folkstone .. although they're leavers - insults - who ?

.. expect to pay a deposit up front, 2.5K isn't that a mainstream company - you're packing youself ?
insurance of stuff duing moving is always derisory, although some say, they have a clause in home insurance.

Cost of the move, is ok now. I just wanted to check on here about what the norm was these days as it has been several years
since I last moved.

As for the people who live here and their attitudes towards others... it was never much of an issue when we moved down here 12 years ago,
but as mentioned, things have changed and I know of others who have had similar issues, but such are the times I guess. In any case, I will
be back in Scotland and there I will remain.

 

[Old Man]

Lol since you mentioned ukip

I am where nigel farage failed to win 4 or 5 years ago

I thought he was trying to get back in charge again or something like that.

 

[Old Man]

Full payment upfront is unusual, but not unheard of especially for longer moves. I paid up front for my move from the UK to Germany (with a UK company). But, honestly, if you don't trust them enough to believe they'll do the work after you've paid why would you trust them with all your worldly goods?

It had been more than 10 years since the last i moved with them, so i was just checking on the norm these day, but all has been sorted.

I used to live in different countries for a year while working (US, Ireland, canada and others) and almost always paid in advance for those, but this move was different of course, but
all is fine now. I was happy to find out that my internet connection will be up the morning after it's been closed at my old address, so no loss of work etc and keeping tabs on this forum .

 

[Old Man]

First 2 things as soon as I arrive after moving
Other half has to find the kettle and stuff for tea
Me I am to busy making sure they connected the Internet to notice anything else lol

True ..

Btw, just found out there are internet points in every room .

 

[Old Man]

Nice, a wired connection is always best
For speed and stability not to mention security
WiFi is something I avoid whenever I can
Not least because I once had the neighbour from hell and I learned a few WiFi tricks with a home made bi quad antenna ~surprising how far away those pick up wifi
So now I know what can be done to WiFi I avoid using it

Yup. The family each with their laptop, tablet or desktop off in a corner somewhere surfing the net to the wee hours ... Fun

Though, have to unpack everything first

 

[Old Man]

Which taxi firm is the best in Aberdeen? (living on Crown Street)

Being disabled (arthritic with balance issues), it's been impossible so far to find any good (reliable) taxi firm and what's this crap
about adding a quid or more to the total (in some cases trying to get away with up to £10 more).

ty

 

[Old Man]

I usually use Comcab.

ty .. Will give it a try

 

[Old Man]

Depends how much stuff and how many people you are moving - having done a major move in 2019 it was money well spent compared to the amount of work and hassle it would have otherwise been.

In my case I used a mover (family business) that I had used roughly 10 years ago and they were really good, but... things did not work out as they should have and I wish that I had called it off and had another mover, but what happened was the son (maybe 25) had taken over the business and I thought no problem as everything seemed ok at the time.. My family and I had to leave (the mover stayed behind to pack and load the truck) to make it on time for the train in London and later on I had a call with the mover saying if i wanted my stuff delivered, it'd cost another £1200.. I ended up paying it.. I will be going to a solicitor as I was able to get everything as an email from him and the payments were bank cheques, but to make it even worse, all the boxes were packed without anythng written on them, so i have no idea what's in them and we are still unpacking them.. Been a bad move and I am so totally upset by the whole ordeal and really can't afford a solicitor and to think he took advantage of my wife and I (both disabled).. No words to describe what I am feeling, but it's a no brainer here what i would love to do.. In any case, the added cost has hurt badly and has made a mess of things as the money was needed elsewhere... Anyway my family are getting by as we have no choice but to do so and I hope we can get something back, but not sure how realistic it is as having a solicitor is going to make it so much more costly than it's worth.. so very upset over all of this mess...

 

[Old Man]

What was the reason given for the additional £1200? They must have had basis.....

He decided he wanted more money after we left to London, so no reason other than greed. I have an electronic trail, so can prove everything, but... I imagine it's going to cost more than £1200 to get back any of the money.