Choosing a removal company: how to compare the quotes

You have decided to call a removal company, and now you have three quotes in front of you that look nothing alike. One is hourly, one is a fixed price, and the third is four lines on WhatsApp. The totals at the bottom are different, and you cannot tell whether they describe the same move.

Most of the time they do not. The reason is rarely bad faith: each company priced what it saw or what you told it, and you told each one something slightly different. So the comparison is set up before you ask for quotes, not after they arrive.

One list, the same for everyone

Before you phone anyone, write one page that you will give, unchanged, to every company. It should include:

• both addresses, which floor you are on and whether there is a lift, at the old home and the new one
• how many metres there are between the front door and the place where the van can stop
• the list of large items: wardrobes, beds, sofas, bookcases, appliances
• what needs taking apart and what stays assembled
• what you will pack yourself and what you leave to them
• the date, plus a second possible date

Send it by email, so there is a written record. If a company gives you a figure without reading it, you will notice from the questions it does not ask.

The line about what you pack yourself moves the total more than any other line, so write it precisely. If you are doing the boxes, the line between your work and theirs needs to be set down in writing, item by item. Also say how many boxes there will be and what kind. If you rent Cangubox crates, whoever writes the quote knows in advance that they will be carrying crates that are all the same, each 60 × 40 × 36 cm, with the lid attached, which close without tape.

The survey tells you who you are dealing with

The survey, at your home or on a video call, lets the company estimate the job and lets you see who you are talking to. Someone who does it properly opens the wardrobes, asks whether the bed comes apart, looks at the stairs and asks where the van will stop. Faced with a big sofa, they take out a tape measure and measure the door before telling you it will fit.

Someone who looks around for two minutes and gives you a figure has based that figure on the number of rooms. On moving day they will work it out again from what they find.

Use the meeting to ask the questions that no quote answers:

• who comes on the day: the company's own staff, or another firm they pass the job to
• who applies for the parking permit for the van, and whether its cost is already included
• how you report damage, and to whom

Then check that the name on the quote belongs to a company that exists. The company name, registered office and VAT number (partita IVA) should all be written on it, and from the Chamber of Commerce (Camera di commercio) you can request the company record (visura camerale), which shows how long the company has been trading and what it does.

Three quotes side by side

With the same list behind every quote, the differences that remain are real ones, and there are usually three.

Fixed price or hourly. A fixed price covers the move as described, and changes only if the description changes. An hourly price depends on how long the day lasts, so every delay ends up on the bill, even when the delay is your fault. Neither approach is wrong, but two quotes of different types can only be compared once you have estimated how many hours the hourly one will need.

What is left out. Read the lines at the bottom: furniture hoist, floors without a lift, taking the kitchen apart, packing materials, parking. The list of what a quote should include is already in the article on choosing to do it yourself or hire a removal company. Here, use it to see which quote includes all of those items.

Payment and dates. How much you pay up front and how much afterwards, what happens if you change the date, and how long the price is valid. These are normal terms, and a serious company writes them down without you having to ask.

The first quote to rule out is the one that does not answer these three questions in writing, even if it has the lowest total.

Before you sign on delivery

The last step comes once the move is over, when you are handed a form to sign. For contracts of carriage, Article 1698 of the Civil Code (codice civile) states that a person who accepts the goods without reservation and pays what is due can no longer claim for damage, except in cases of fraud or gross negligence by the carrier. Claims for damage that could not be seen at the time of delivery are still possible, as long as you report it as soon as you find it and no later than eight days afterwards.

In practice: before you sign, walk round the furniture, look at the corners and surfaces, and if you see a scratch, write it on the form next to your signature. For closed boxes, the eight days apply. Unpack them in the first few days, and if you find damage, email the company with photos.

What to do this week

Write the list and send it to three companies. Ask all three for a survey, even by video, and note what each one asks you. When the quotes arrive, set them side by side on the three differences: fixed price or hourly, what is left out, payment and dates. Choose the one that answers everything in writing, and on moving day, before you sign, look at each piece of furniture in turn.