Questions
One leg, or two
Grouped by the shape of the job. The swap-out group is the one most people need, because it is the job that surfaces three days before a delivery and nobody has thought about where the old one goes.
One leg or two
How do I know which I need?
Ask whether anything has to leave as something arrives, go back to where it came from, or be collected after being delivered. If any of those is yes, it is a two-leg job and it should be booked as one.
Is two legs twice the price?
No, and it depends entirely on whether the van waits. A single visit with a wait costs far less than two separate visits, which is why where you are in London matters as much as what is being moved.
Can the van wait?
In the outer boroughs, usually. In central London there is nowhere legal to stand for any length of time, so a two-leg job becomes two visits and the booking is shaped accordingly.
What if I only realise later that something has to come back?
Tell us as soon as you know. Added at the booking it is frequently a wait; added afterwards it is a second visit at short notice, which is the expensive version.
Swap-outs
Will the retailer take the old one?
Sometimes, and less often than it used to be. Where it is offered it usually has conditions about access and disconnection, and it is frequently declined on the day. Check before you rely on it.
Why does the old one have to leave first?
Because in most London flats there is nowhere for both to stand. A delivery crew that cannot get a new sofa in past an old one will refuse the delivery, and that is a wasted slot for everybody.
Will a charity take it?
For upholstered furniture, only with an intact fire label — no label, no collection, and that single thing decides most of these. Mattresses are usually refused outright. Tables and chairs are almost always welcome.
And if nobody will take it?
Then it needs a licensed waste carrier, which we are not. We will say so plainly rather than take the item and leave you assuming it has been dealt with properly.
Returns and hire
Can you take something back to a seller?
Routinely — a wrong size, a damaged piece, a refused delivery. What we need is the address, the deadline and whether the seller requires the original packaging, which many do.
What about a hire item?
Also routine, and the date on the agreement is the thing to tell us first. Hire companies frequently will not collect from an upstairs flat, which is usually why we are being asked.
Does the packaging matter?
For a return to a seller, often decisively. Many returns policies require the original box, so it is worth checking before it goes out with the recycling.
What if the returns window is nearly closed?
Tell us that first rather than last. It changes which days we can offer and whether the job is worth doing at all, and we would rather say so than take a booking that arrives too late.
Events and repeat runs
Should we book the collection at the same time?
Always. A venue break-down window is not negotiable and finding a van for a Sunday evening at short notice is the hardest booking in this trade.
What do you need to know about a venue?
The access window for both legs, where a vehicle can stand, whether there is a lift or a loading bay, and what the venue does if you overrun. Those four settle the whole job.
Do you do regular runs between two addresses?
Yes, as a standing arrangement rather than a series of bookings — a shop and a lock-up, a studio and a store, a base and a site. It is priced as an arrangement and it works better for both sides.
Can you store between the two legs?
For short periods, yes, and on an event job it is frequently the sensible answer when the in and out are far apart. It is listed and held rather than left in a van overnight.
Long runs
Do you do one-way runs out of London?
Regularly. A room-sized load a long way in one direction is ordinary van work and frequently better value than a removals lorry running two-thirds empty.
What is a paired return?
Where somebody else is travelling the other way on a similar date and their load fills our empty run home. Both parties pay less, and it is the entire economics of a long van job.
Can we rely on a pairing?
No, and we will not price as though you can. If one comes up you benefit; if it does not, the quotation you accepted stands. We would rather that than a figure that depends on a coincidence.
How far will a van actually go?
Across Europe comfortably and overland well beyond it. On the longest corridors we will tell you honestly when a shared lorry load would cost you less, which on some routes it plainly does.
How we work
How many crew come?
Two on any job involving furniture or stairs. One person and a sofa is how walls get marked and backs get hurt, and it is not something we offer at any price.
Do you publish prices?
No rate card appears on this site. Whether there is a return leg, whether the van can wait and where in London you are all change the figure, and none is known before you tell us.
Will you take anything to the tip?
No. We hold no waste carrier licence, and carrying waste for disposal without one is not something a reputable firm offers however convenient it would be.
What if something is damaged?
Tell us as soon as you notice, in writing within the period the terms set out, and keep the item and its packaging so both can be examined.
Not covered here?
Email, or add the question to the notes on the quote form. The three we field most are where the old sofa can go, whether we will take something to the tip, and whether the van can wait between two legs. The answers are a charity with the fire label intact, no, and it depends where you are.
Does anything have to come back?
Both addresses, what is going, and whether anything has to leave as something arrives, go back where it came from, or be collected afterwards. Any yes makes it two legs.