Moving in Melbourne

Removalists Prices - How They Work

A Word Of Warning With Moving Rates!

Subjects to consider before booking.

* Depot to Depot - Please make sure that you ask the removal company if you are you paying them to drive to your house and then back to their depot when they may be doing another furniture removal around the corner? It is not fair for two customers moving on the same day to be paying depot to depot when their trucks are already on the road? The removal company is definitely double dipping on charges and you are paying for it! You should only pay a removalist from your pick up point to your new residence because that is when they are actually working.

* Return time - Ask if you are paying the removalists extra charges for the time it takes to drive back to the original pick up point. Some removal companies will charge you back to the original place of pick up when calculating their charge. Not fair! Always ask to look at ALL their removal charges before booking with them.

* Minimum 3 hours - Removal Companies may charge a minimum of 3 hours even if the job is less than 3 hours. This is the cost of business and typically one job will follow another. A good removal company will have more work after a small removal job.

* Charges to Nearest 30min or 1hr - Some companies charge you to nearest 30min or by the full hour only. You end up paying extra for a few minutes over the nearest charge.

* Credit Card Fees - You may get charged extra for paying by credit card (particularly Visa, Master cards or AMEX). Anything from 2-5% is added to your removal cost. How can that be fair! This is a cost that needs to be considered when their hourly rate is established, not plus this plus that etc! Transcorp only believes that extra charges should be charged for premium cards such as AMEX or like cards.

* Road Tolls  - Other removal companies forward the costs to you or go the long way (extra time added) when tolls reduce their driving costs.

* Lunch breaks - Removal Companies charge you for their staff / contractors to have lunch breaks! You are paying them to go down the road and get food or to sit for 30 min or 1 hr  (that may cost you $44.00-$99.00) whilst they have their lunch! Take this off their final removal charge as you have probably also given them drinks and a snack yourself whilst they where working. Please understand, I am totally for hard working furniture removalists to have a well deserved lunch break but they MUST take this time off your final charge.

* We Break It We Fix It - Furniture Removal Companies that offer this option make the job sound assured (not insured). Let us say that you are paying $165.00/ Hr with this option yet another reputable removal company is offering $121.00/ Hr (with optional accredited insurance) then if your job took 5 hrs you would save $220.00 on  your move by using the $121.00/ hr Removalists ($165.00-$121.00 = $44.00 by 5 Hours = $220.00). On Local Removals, optional Full Cover Insurance is typically 1% of your stated value therefore $220.00 would give you $22,000 of FULL and accredited insurance - not assurance! Also the more expensive company ensure your move internally therefore there are many conditions and restrictions which apply such as you can’t help, you must follow every trolley/carry load, you must see damage done, you may need to pay a high excess, maximum claim limit, they decide the repair method etc... You MUST read all of their 1-2 pages of fine print (please ask them to forward these pages to you). I repeat, these offers are not insurance based they are only a sales technique to get you to use their service and any claims will be considered only ….they don’t have to pay out and will make it hard for you to claim! In simple keep insurance separate from the removal costs.

* AFRA Member - You should always prefer to use an AFRA Member (Australian Furniture Removalists Association) as every company needs to stick by their guidelines and procedures. This will help ensure that your move is well protected and that you have a body to go to in case you have issue during of after your furniture removal.

Think Wisely and Select Well!

Thanks
John Christoforidis Managing Director
Transcorp Removals & Storage
2008, 2008, 2010 & 2011 Removalists Of The Year
2010 Small Business Champion - Services
1300 466 838