Moving House - Warning!!!!

This happened to a friend of ours the other week and, according to the police, is becoming much more prevalent. Fifty cases last month in a large town near us!

They picked a removal firm from the internet and made all the arrangements for moving - packing up the kitchen equipment (they'd done most of everything else themselves) and time for moving.

First thing, on the day of moving, they turned up. The packing men were supposed to turn up the previous day but there was only the kitchen to do.

The boss of the men said, straight away, that the price had gone up by £1,000!!! He told them where they could go and the boss got aggressive and said that they would sue him as they had a contract. He was demanding the money on the spot. He picked on the wrong man!

He sent them packing .

This could be a problem for people who have to get out because the purchasers would be moving in that afternoon. Especially if you have young kids.

Our friend was in a luckier situation. They'd already moved a lot of stuff into their new home and the purchasers weren't moving in for a couple of weeks.

About an hour later a very large man turned up (he had originally come to work out how much lorry space would be needed for their furniture) and said our friend owed him £500 for the assessment work he had done. Our friend said 'No' and asked him to leave. He said he wouldn't leave until he had his money.

As our friend's wife was getting agitated he sent her off to a friend and then told the man that there is no way he was getting any money. The man just plonked himself down in the armchair and refused to move. So my friend called the police, which didn't seem to bother the man.

Two hours later the police turned up and the man told them that he had done the work and wanted his money and that it was a civil matter and not a police matter. Our friend, who knows his law, agreed that it was a civil matter and said to the police that the man should sue him in court. He then asked the police whether he had their permission to throw the intruder out.

After another hour of arguing the police told him to go otherwise they would arrest him, and that if he wanted to he should sue my friend.

After he had gone they told him that this was happening quite a lot.

So, if you need a removal firm, check with other people locally and preferably use a well established local firm.

 

contracts have agreed service AND price, so they broke the contract... pretty unpleasant having the heavy come round though :(

 

A nasty situation indeed shiney.

Reminds me of a situation a few years ago when a friend moved, they did everything by the book got quotes from several removals companies and picked what seemed to them the best. On moving day the removals company turned up, loaded their van and that was the last they ever saw of them and all their possessions! The police never tracked them down nor their belongings. Sadly they were uninsured since the belongings were between houses, so even though they had current contents insurance it didn't pay out.

So it certainly pays to use a local firm that others can verify and recommend.